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 NAIROBI 00002563 002 OF 003 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 NAIROBI 00002563 003 OF 003 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