NEW ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST KENYAN SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 002563

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/10/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM MOPS KE
SUBJECT: NEW ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST KENYAN SECURITY
FORCES

Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Ranneberger, reasons 1.4 (b,d).

1.(U) Summary: In the last several weeks, Kenyan security
forces have undertaken two operations in the volatile region
bordering Somalia: one in the Mandera area aimed at
suppressing a local conflict between rival clans, and a
separate initiative seeking illegal arms and arms smugglers
in and around the border town of El Wak. Non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and community leaders are alleging that
both police and military personnel have committed serious
human rights abuses in connection with the Mandera and El Wak
operations. We have no independent confirmation of these
allegations, but we are actively seeking additional
information by sending officers to the region and by engaging
with senior Kenyan officials on this issue. End summary.

MANDERA: CLAN CONFLICT ESCALATES


2. (SBU) The unstable Mandera triangle region of Kenya,
located in the remote northeastern corner of the country and
bordered by Ethiopia in the north and west and Somalia in the
east, has long been the site of inter-clan and cross-border
conflict. Such conflicts are usually sparked by competition
over scarce water and pasture resources, and fuelled by
tribal politics. In September, the long-running rivalry
between the Garre and Murelle clans heated up again. Since
both sides are heavily armed, the recent cycle of attacks and
counter-attacks has caused an estimated 100 deaths in the
last two months. Authorities are concerned, with reason, that
the conflict could spread to neighboring areas and draw in
other clans. On October 30, police seized a concealed
shipment of 600 bomb detonators on a Mandera-bound bus
approximately 10 miles northeast of Nairobi. The suspect
arrested in connection with this seizure is Degodia, another
rival to the Garre clan.


3. (C) In mid-October, Kenyan security forces, including
elements of the Kenya Administration Police (KAP),the Kenyan
Army's 7th Kenya African Rifles (KAR) battalion, and the
Kenya Police Service (KPS),reinforced their colleagues
already present in the Mandera region to assist in
suppressing the clan conflict and restoring order. The
authorities have their work cut out for them: the central
government has always had difficulty policing this remote and
often hostile area, lacking the capacity to secure the porous
borders or to enforce the rule of law in an area where clan
allegiances far outweigh local residents' sense of identity
as Kenyan citizens. The Kenya National Commission on Human
Rights (KNHCR),an independent government agency, alleges
that 25 people in Mandera town have sought medical attention
after being beaten by security forces.

EL WAK: SEARCHING FOR GUNS, SMUGGLERS


3. (SBU) The town of El Wak, located south of Mandera and
just five kilometers from the Somali border, is a local
center for cross-border trade. Local and international NGOs
and community leaders allege that, on October 27, a combined
police and military operation began in El Wak and the
surrounding communities. The purpose of the operation was to
search for illegal weapons and to identify people involved in
arms trafficking. (Note: Arms smuggling is extremely common
in this remote and largely ungoverned area. Many adult male
residents engage in small-scale cross-border arms dealing to
supplement their meager incomes from livestock and farming
activities. End note.)


4. (SBU) After October 27, reports emerged from a variety of
sources, including local and international NGOs and the
Kenyan media, that members of the security forces were
committing serious human rights abuses against the local
population, including torture, assault, rape, and looting.
NGO sources allege that security forces (a combination of
KPS, KAP and military personnel) entered communities,
separated adult men and male teenagers from women and
children, tortured and interrogated the men about the
whereabouts of illegal arms caches and local involvement in
the arms trade, and in some cases also raped women and looted
valuables from homes and businesses. NGOs allege that these
security forces used a variety of weapons, including rubber

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clubs, electrical wire, and sticks to whip or beat men who
were being questioned. A number of male victims alleged that
they were beaten in the genital area, with their testicles
being pulled or hit with hard objects.


5. (C) According to the Kenya Red Cross (KRC) and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),about 300
people have sought medical treatment at the El Wak hospital
and the clinic in Wargadud. Of these, 120 had injuries
serious enough to require an inpatient stay, although the El
Wak hospital has only 32 beds. Local NGOs report that three
people have died as a result of their injuries: two in El Wak
and one in Mandera. A pathologist who works with the local
NGO Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU) has been dispatched
to conduct an autopsy on the patient who died in Mandera in
an effort to determine the cause of death. The Kenyan media
reported on November 1 that an additional 112 people were
admitted to the Wargadud health center. According to the KRC
and Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF),who were asked to assist
hospital staff in caring for this sudden influx of patients,
many men have injuries consistent with torture or abuse,
including soft tissue injuries, lacerations, and broken
bones. At least nine women have claimed to have been raped by
security officers in media interviews. Women are also
reporting having been beaten by members of security forces.
In response to the security operations, local NGOs state that
several thousand residents of El Wak have fled their homes,
either across the border into Somalia or into the bush, to
escape further reprisals. Late last week, most businesses and
schools in El Wak were closed, but some NGOs report that
residents are starting to return.

EL WAK: POLICE RESPOND TO ALLEGATIONS


6. (U) On October 29, provincial police officer Stephen
Chelimo and Mandera Central District Commissioner Ole
Tutuithe told Kenyan media outlets that the operation had
been "humane" and that any injuries claimed by local
residents were self-inflicted or faked to attract media
attention. On November 1, Kenya Police Service spokesman Eric
Kiraithe said that the operation had been successful to date
and would continue until it acheived its objective, which he
described as "to recover all illegal firearms and prosecute
suspects of murder and other criminal acts." The government
claims to have recovered 47 rifles, more than 900 rounds of
ammunition, a rocket-propelled grenade, and three radios in
the first week of the El Wak operation. While the Ministry of
Defense has maintained public silence on the issue, KAP and
KPS officials insisted in media interviews that, contrary to
NGO reports, the military was not involved in the El Wak
operation.


7. (C) On October 31, representatives of three district peace
committees (groups of local leaders and elders organized by
the Kenyan government to liaise with police and assist in
maintaining law and order) met in Mandera with police
officials. According to Rahma Mohamed, a member of the
Mandera district peace committee and resident of El Wak,
police agreed to suspend the disarmament operation for 21
days. At the end of that time, elders and community leaders
would be expected to surrender all the illegal weapons in
their local areas to officials of the Administration Police.
According to Fatuma Ibrahim Ali, a commissioner of the Kenya
National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR),this agreement
has already created a demand in the local arms market. Ali
stated that local residents are rushing to buy arms for fear
that if they do not hand in enough weapons to satisfy the
police, they will face beatings and abuse by the security
forces.


8. (C) The head of regional delegation at ICRC and the
director of the KRC visited El Wak on October 28. The
director of the KRC, Guleid Abbas, alleges that the director
of the local chapter of the KRC was beaten by security
personnel on October 28. French NGO Action Contre la Faim
(ACF) also reported this attack. A five-person delegation
from the KNHCR also visited the El Wak and Wargadud areas on
October 28, and presented their findings in a press
conference on October 31. KNHCR is currently planning a
separate fact-finding mission to Mandera during the week of

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November 3. In addition to Commissioners Ali and Hassan Omar
Hassan, the KNHCR delegation also had some local community
leaders, including former Mandera Central MP Billow Kerrow
and Abdullahi Abdi, chairman of the National Muslim Leaders
Forum (NAMLEF). At their presentation on October 31, KNHCR
delegation members claimed that 850 residents of El Wak and
the surrounding area were beaten by security forces. They
also alleged that local teachers were beaten and humiliated
in front of primary school students and that security forces
engaged in widespread looting of homes and businesses. Hassan
called for a "humane approach" to the disarmament issue and
called for an investigation of citizen complaints and
accountability for any members of security forces found to
have committed human rights abuses. Kerrow described the
security operations as "collective punishment of an entire
community" and said that citizens should not have to suffer
for the GOK's failure to maintain law and order in North
Eastern Province.


9. (SBU) On November 1, Kerrow was arrested by the Kenya
Police Service and charged with inciting violence. Released
on bond the following day, his next hearing is scheduled for
December 16. At his arraignment, Kerrow's attorney argued
that the charges against Kerrow violated his right to free
speech. The presiding magistrate conceded that there was a
free speech issue and that Kerrow could file a separate
challenge in constitutional court, but ruled that the
criminal case against Kerrow could go forward.


10. (C) Comment: The remote areas of northeastern Kenya where
the recent operations are taking place are often
semi-governed at best, and have a long and volatile history
of cross-border and inter-clan conflicts that compound
Kenya's border security problems along its border with
Somalia. Many of the claims lack detail about which
organizations or units actually committed the alleged abuses.
Since police and military units wear almost identical
uniforms, correctly identifying perpetrators can be
difficult. Ambassador Ranneberger is reaching out to the
Ministers of Defense and Internal Security, as well as other
senior government officials from the military and police
forces, to engage them on this issue and to express our
concerns about the allegations. Poloffs are traveling to
Mandera and El Wak starting November 7 to seek additional
facts and information on this emerging situation. Findings
from the trip will be reported septel. End comment.



RANNEBERGER