Activists warn of election-year spike in State abductions

Human Rights activists have warned that the cases of enforced disappearances may spike during the next year’s General Election and want the State to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance as a move to curb the vice.

According to activists, there were 22 cases of enforced disappearances in one year alone and with the elections fast approaching they were apprehensive that more cases would be reported.

According to Free Kenya Movement (FKM) President Bob Njagi the President William Ruto administration had normalized enforced disappearances since the administration would not be liable to the international treaty that would require the administration to report periodically to the Committee that monitors how the treaty is working.

“One of the major shortcomings we have is that we are yet to endorse the international law against enforced disappearances which would then create an environment that would limit such kind of acts or criminal acts happening in the country as it is today,” Njagi said.

He added “Our lawmakers in parliament ought to as a matter of policy push that agenda of ratifying the international convention against all protection of all persons against enforced disappearances because that will be the first step towards resolving this current crisis that we are in,” he said.

Kenya is still a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, having signed it in February 2007, but has yet to ratify or fully domesticate it into national law.

Ratification is the process that makes the treaties binding on Kenya under international law, and, because of the Constitution, part of Kenyan law. This process now has to be approved by Parliament, but they have to wait until the government asks them to approve.

If Kenya ratified, it would have to report periodically to the Committee that monitors how the treaty is working. It would focus the minds of the authorities on the question of whether enough was being done to safeguard the lives of Kenyans.

On his part, Dr Davis Okombo a human right activist noted that with the reports such as the Kofi Annan Foundation report that showed that predicted the possibility of violence, there were high chances that the cases of abductions would increase and hence need for urgent action to prevent the ordeal.

“We are also likely to see a spike of abductions next year because the anniversary of the Gen Z protest coincides with the election year and therefore, when people shall go to the streets, there is an increasing fear that the state agencies would continue to abduct people and we demand accountability and we demand that constitutionalism should be practiced in Kenya,’ Dr Okombo said.

He also called on the Judiciary to take up their position and impose harsh penalties on the senior government officials, such as the Inspector General of Police, among others who blatantly refuse to obey court orders.

“All government officials who do not really care about what decisions the courts have made should be declared unfit to sit in those offices. At this point it is very important for us to call upon the judiciary to take up their position,” he said.

He decried the conduct of senior police officers who are summoned to due to contempt of court only to honor the summons, accompanied by a battery of police officers to intimidate judicial officers and end up walking scot-free.

  “We understand that they apologize and after that the contempt is purged and they are set free. I think it's high time that the court can demonstrate the powers that they have if the Inspector General of Police defies the court orders, he should be jailed in accordance with the law. So that there is a precedent and everyone in Kenya. from the President to the lowest person in this country, must obey the constitution and the laws of this country,” he said.

He added: “We are tired of the state of anarchy. We are tired of the state of lawlessness. And that is why you find police officers and all these state agents coming up and abducting people. This is not the sovereignty that we delegated to them. We demand accountability. We demand respect for the rule of law in this country.”