NCJ Number
195750
Date Published
May 2002
Length
130 pages
Annotation
This report attempted to investigate the impact of weapons inflows on the level and nature of political violence in Kenya through testimonies given by perpetrators, victims, and witnesses.
Abstract
In an attempt to prevent further bloodshed in Kenya, as well as other regions, the Human Rights Watch presented this report examining in detail the outbreak of political violence on the Kenyan coast in mid-1997. It is a case study of both the orchestration of violence as a political tool and the devastating impact of small arms on human rights. The increased availability of weapons within Africa had contributed to the growing culture of violence taking hold inside Kenya. The report is divided into two sections: (1) weapons inflows and the impact of regional conflict and (2) violence as a political tool in Kenya, the case of the coast. In a summation of section one, it was noted that the Kenyan government had not pursued a comprehensive approach to the widespread circulation and use of small arms. The government focused the blame for illegal arms on refugees. It diverted its responsibility in its role in permitting the transshipment of weapons with inadequate controls, its failure to make the professionalization of security forces a priority, and its contribution to the insecurity that drives small arms proliferation. Section two presents case studies and testimonies of violence and its use as a political tool in Kenya. Case studies of armed political violence on the coast included testimonies given by perpetrators, victims, and witnesses. They told a consistent story of why and how large groups of highly disaffected youths in pursuit of an ethnically exclusive political agenda were recruited, armed, trained, and led to carry out brutal attacks on civilians from other ethnic groups. The Kenyan government needs to take comprehensive measure to address the problems of firearms availability and organized political violence. Several recommendations were presented to the Kenyan government. The major recommendations included: (1) take action to prevent politically motivated violence and ensure accountability for past incidents of such violence; (2) ensure accountability of local security structures and apply strict norms of discipline and accountability to the police reservist program; and (3) strengthen legal controls. The violence so often used for political ends and without accountability and at risk of being seen as legitimate means of political discourse must be curtailed.