The purpose
of this report is to help eliminate torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment and punishment in Kenya by making recommendations to address their
economic, social and cultural root causes. It is based on documentation provided by national NGOs and on the information
gathered during a preparatory mission that OMCT undertook in Kenya during the
month of April 2008. The mission
also included a number of fora, which gave local communities and victims of
violence the opportunity to express their views on and experience of these
issues for transmission to the Committee against Torture. These fora are
referred to in text boxes in this report.
The
report describes the extensive violence deriving from deep poverty and
inequality that is taking place in Kenya. In this respect, the particular case
of Westlands is examined. It provides information on
how the poor, particularly those living in informal settlements, are regularly
harassed, forced to pay bribes and arbitrarily arrested by the police. The
report demonstrates that Kenyan prisons are predominantly populated by the
poor, owing to the unaffordability and inaccessibility for them of justice, and
analyses the impact of lack of financial means in terms of overcrowding and
unhealthy and inhuman living conditions in Kenyan prisons. The report
discusses land conflicts that generate violence and the Government’s inadequate
response to address inequitable land distribution. In this respect, the report
draws attention to the recent allegations of torture in Mount Elgon District. The strong linkages
between denials of access to land and violence exacerbate ethnic divisions by
increasing tensions, insecurity, dissatisfaction, poverty and powerlessness.
Furthermore, the persistence of certain cultural
norms, stereotypes and traditions perpetuates discrimination and violence
against women and girls in Kenya, and lack of economic and social empowerment
prevents women from enjoying their civil and political rights, including access
to justice in the case of violence. Poverty is the main cause of the high
levels of trafficking in women and girls and sexual exploitation in the
country.
The report concludes
that the State is
directly responsible for torture and ill-treatment committed against the
poorest, for the economic, social and cultural policies that lead to such
treatment and for violence against the poor by non-State actors in Kenya.