Fwd: [KPTJ-Communications] RE: Organisations welcome Ombudsman Report on Lang'ata Road Primary, but fault victimisation of rights defenders warning of chilling effect
Boaz WARUKU
Africa Network Campaign on Education For All (ANCEFA)
From: Michael Orwa <mo...@sidint.org>
Date: Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 1:11 PM
Subject: [KPTJ-Communications] RE: Organisations welcome Ombudsman Report on Lang'ata Road Primary, but fault victimisation of rights defenders warning of chilling effect
To: Kptj-communications <kptj-comm...@fahamu.org>
ORWA michael
______________
Programme Manager
The KenyaDialoguesProject
Society for International Development, Nairobi.
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From:
Mathias Kinyoda
Sent: 12 August 2015 1:10 PM
Cc: Irungu Houghton <iru...@sidint.org>; Michael Orwa <mo...@sidint.org>; in...@ombudsman.go.ke; comp...@ombudsman.go.ke
Subject: Organisations welcome Ombudsman Report on Lang¹ata Road Primary, but fault victimisation of rights defenders warning of chilling effect
Public Statement
For Immediate Publication: 12 August 2015
Seven organizations have today responded to the Commission on Administrative Justice (Ombudsman) Report on the violent dispersal of a peaceful protest by the Kenya Police Service on 19 January 2015[1] at Lang’ata Road Primary School.
The organisations welcomed the timely discharge of the Commission’s legal duty to investigate complaints of unlawful or oppressive official conduct within the public sector. They called on the Kenya Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police to effect the recommendations of the Commission without delay, and to investigate the matter with a view to instituting criminal proceedings against officers for the excessive use of force.
The organisations cited provisions of Constitution of Kenya, Section 37, as well as article 15 of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, article 7 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which they claim formed the basis of complains against the police. The organisations commended the Commission’s report for reiterating and upholding the rights of every person, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, demonstrate or picket.
The organizations however took exception to a recommendation by the Commission that the Teachers Service Commission issue a warning letter to Mr Peter Mugo, the Head teacher of Lang’ata Road Primary School for professional misconduct, allegedly for failing to take appropriate measures to protect the school children and ensure that they did not take part in the demonstration during school hours. The organisations termed this an illegitimate ground, emphasising that allowing the children to peacefully protest and defend their rights did not put them directly at risk, but the irresponsible acts of the police did.
The head teacher did not force the children to demonstrate; neither did he stop them from sheltering in the classrooms once after the police attacked them with teargas.
The organisations noted that although the demonstration had been violently disrupted by the police, its positive legacy endured. As a consequence of the demonstration, the playfield at Lang’ata Road primary school was returned and a perimeter wall erected by the state. Since the demonstration at Lang’ata, more than 4,000 public schools have reported cases of encroachment or grabbing, while the National Land Commission has received over 8,000 applications for titles from public schools. This, coupled with the public apologies issued for the incident, including by the Head of State, leave no doubt that the demonstration in question was in defence of human rights and public interest.
The organisations stated that they found it a paradox for the commission admonish a victim and human rights defender. They have appealed to the commission to review its recommendations, reminding it that its current position would only create a chilling effect on human rights defenders in public service and embolden perpetrators, which undermined the very essence and mandate of the Commission. They have also urged that the report should recommend the prosecution of the criminals behind the illegal transfer of the school land into private hands.
The organizations invite the Commission to stand in solidarity with teachers and communities that take action to protect public schools and the rights of Kenyan children.
This statement has been endorsed by the following organisations:
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For media interviews please contact:
? Boaz Waruku, Programme Manager, Africa Network Campaign on Education for All | 0722-663-290
? Timothy Ekesa, Director, Kenya Alliance for the Advancement of Children | 0723-234-134
? Orwa Michael, Programme Manager, Society for International Development | 0736-277-753
[1] http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nairobi/Langata-school-demo-Ombudsman-report/-/1954174/2826422/-/rq185g/-/index.html
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