UN Human Right Office Statement On Azimio-led Demonstrations Raised Pertinent Queries
The Mt Kenya Times 
Violent mobs flocked into streets of Kisii town to protest over high cost of living photo/Elizabeth Angira
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- This time, the protestors did not even spare the government installations. They removed national flags in some of the government buildings and burnt them. They also burnt an office of the sub-county commissioner. The recently constructed iconic Nairobi Expressway was also vandalized and the damage caused stood at Sh700 million.
- Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who spoke at the scene, said the cost of reconstructing the damaged section in Mlolongo will pass to taxpayers.
- Those telling us they are doing this in order to reduce the cost of living. Do you achieve this by destroying the properties? The answer is a big No. These are economic saboteurs and the government should rein in hard on them.
My attention has been drawn to the statement released by the United Nations Human Rights Office that dwelt on their work of safeguarding and protecting the human rights of the Kenyan people.
Coming hot the heels of the Azimio led demonstrations; the statement appeared to pass a harsh verdict to the government of Kenya.
Our considered view is that the security forces were using excessive force in dealing with the demonstrators.
As envisaged in Article 37 of the Constitution, the protestors were exercising their constitutional rights.
We are asking the government of Kenya to respect these rights.
The UN Human Rights, however, noted that the anti-government protests had been rocked by chaos and mayhem that have led to the deaths of dozens of innocent poor Kenyans, destruction of the property. We call upon the organizers to change tack and strategy as they have a responsibility to ensure the demos are peaceful and held within the parameters of the law.
The statement was released just two days after the latest demonstrations.
At least 9 people were killed and dozens of others left nursing serious gunshots wounds in the ensuing bloody confrontations between the protestors and police.
This time, the protestors did not even spare the government installations. They removed national flags in some of the government buildings and burnt them. They also burnt an office of the sub-county commissioner. The recently constructed iconic Nairobi Expressway was also vandalized and the damage caused stood at Sh700 million.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who spoke at the scene, said the cost of reconstructing the damaged section in Mlolongo will pass to taxpayers.
Those telling us they are doing this in order to reduce the cost of living. Do you achieve this by destroying the properties? The answer is a big No. These are economic saboteurs and the government should rein in hard on them.
Murkomen further stated those who caused this damage will face dire consequences. They will face the full force of the law. They were captured by surveillance cameras. Some of them have been arrested.
We also saw the so called protestors trying to uproot the railway line at the Kibera area.
The video clips taken and aired by the mainstream media and social media showed these ‘protestors’ were armed to the teeth.
They were in possession of all manner of crude weapons including machetes. So, these were criminals.
Therefore, I would have expected the UN group to condemn their actions because they bordered on heinous acts of criminality.
In so doing, the group ought to have emphasized that it stood for the human rights of all Kenyans.
The rights of those not participating in demos ought to be respected and protected.
I want to remind the UN group that what was witnessed on that day rekindled memories of the post elections violence of 2007.
Raila Odinga was the main actor. This is after refusing to accept the results of the presidential elections in which the incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner.
Then Raila called on his supporters to come out to the streets and fight for truth and justice.
‘I have won the elections but Kibaki’s handlers and aides have rigged me out in broad day light.
Come out so that we can get Kibaki out of State House. He is illegally occupying my office’.
The political impasse almost drove our country to a full blown war.
The international community, however, stepped in and saved us.
By this time, 1,333 had lost their lives and properties worth billions of shillings had been destroyed.
Through the Koffi Annan mediation talks, Kibaki agreed to share the government on 50-50 basis.
First forward to 2017 elections, Raila played a similar script. Swearing himself as the ‘People’s president’ is one of the strategy he had employed to push Kenyatta to the corner.
A few days later, Kenyans breathed a sigh of relief when the two leaders emerged from a meeting in the Office of President (OP) at Harambee and shook hands.
For Uhuru, he said he agreed to climb down in order to avoid further bloody confrontations and loss of properties.
What was happening did not augur well. The standoff was inflicting great damage to our economy.
Today, Raila is playing the same card. Many believe his ultimate is to cause a total economic sabotage.
While considering Dr Ruto as having a worrier blood and hence he is a hard nut to crack, he hopes that this is only language he can hear.
In light of this, I would have expected the UN Human Rights group to be guided by the history of Raila.
However, the text showed the group had put this issue in the back burner.
In our context as Kenyans, the holding of a general election is a fundamental human right issue.
In last year’s polls, Kenyans voted and elected Dr William Ruto as the fifth President of the Republic of Kenya.
In a ruling to a petition filed by Raila, the Supreme Court of Kenya declined to overturn Ruto’s victory.
The process fully complied with the provisions of the law.
We, therefore, reaffirm and upheld the decision of IEBC chairman to declare him as the President-elect.
The local and international elections observers had also released their reports. All of them had a common thread. The election process was free, fair, credible and hence the outcome reflected the popular will of the registered Kenyan voters who participated in this exercise.
As we know, Raila was yet to recognize Dr Ruto as the President of Kenya. So, I would have expected the Human Rights Group to tell him to respect the will of the people. This is in addition to letting him know this. The interests of Kenyans are bigger than those of an individual.
We know that the key constitutional mandate of Kenya National Police Service (NPS) is to protect the lives of Kenyans and their properties. Again, this was missing in the UN group statement.
The group should have reminded the organizers of Azimio protests that they were not above the law. The police will always deal with them if they resort to endangering the lives of citizens and destroying properties.
Azimio have organized more demonstrations in coming days. We expect them to adhere to the provisions of the law.
If it did this, the group would have demonstrated it also cared for the human rights of those not participating in demos.
I hope the group will read this article. Kenyans are anxious waiting to hear your feedback.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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