Kenya: On illegal arrests and detention

Illegal arrest and detention of 31 members of Kijiji Cha Chewa IDP network and members of Bunge La Mwananchi and Nisisi chapter mobilisers.

On 26 February, members of the Mathare network of IDPs had invited Bunge La Mwananchi to help them in a petition to the area divisional officer. The issues involved were on resettlement and return to their homes and with regards to access to justice and humanitarian assistance, that is provided by the ministry of special programs but which is corruptly sold in the area of Huruma and Mathare.

As Nisisi community facilitator and other members of Bunge La Mwananchi, we were invited by Kijiji cha Chewa that borders Mathare 4A and which was burned during post election violence and saw thousands of tenants and landlords displaced who have never been able to return to their homes or hold meetings in the area due to the political violence they are subjected to by the local police stations to prevent them returning to their homes and rebuilding their livelihoods.

A meeting was planned between the committee of the IDPs of Kijiji cha chewa and members of Bunge La Mwananchi to help the IDPs in developing a petition to the minister of lands and special programs on resettlement and access to justice, and to help the youth of this area that were affected by post-election violence to organise themselves under the Nisisi Chapters a program of Inuka, in order to benefit from a USAID ‘Yes Youth Can’ youth project that is targeting the areas that were affected by post-election violence in 2007, and mitigate the youth in being involved in political violence.

This was the basis of the Wednesday meeting in Mathare 4A, to deliberate on issues and write a petition to present to the relevant authority that is concerned with the matter of internally displaced people.

The meeting had started very well with most elderly women and men gathering opposite a city council clinic in Mathare North, that borders the Kijiji Cha Chewa village, where cases of destruction and displacement of people during 2007 post election violence is well documented by human rights organisations.

After a few minutes, when the meeting had begun, four plainclothes police officers entered and we were ordered to stop the meeting while I was put under arrest. My phone, camera and a notebook was taken away by some plain clothes police officers, and I was bundled violently into a police vehicle, together with 14 other people and taken to Muthaiga police station. Another group of 16 arrested people were brought later, our names were taken and without being booked we were immediately locked in the cells as Mungiki suspects.

We were released at around 1am without charge and the OCS of Muthaiga, Mr. Johnstone Wanyama, said that he had acted on wrong information reported to him by his officers that we were members of Mungiki meeting in the area, and that this had been the reason of our arrest.

This informs the ethnic tension within the area and how the security agencies are being used by the local political class to prevent the victims of post-election violence in organising themselves to access justice and return to their homes. This has been simmering and there is heightened tension since the ICC ruling. There are reports of ethnic communities in the area organising at night and some communities are moving and shifting from one area to another, and regrouping for fear of attacks.

Members of Kijiji Cha Chewa IDP network are seeking legal assistance to pursue their case of compensation, resettlement and protection against violence from political gangs in the era, which has prevented them from resettling their land, and also help the youth in this area to organise in the Bunge and Nisisi Chapters to benefit from the ‘Yes we Can’ youth project.

This IDP network will again hold a meeting on the coming Wednesday to discuss the issues of the petition and the program of Nairobi IDPs getting justice.

During my arrest my phone, camera, notebook and flash disk were taken. Later, during the release, I was given back the notebook and the camera, but not my flash disk. With intervention, I was given it back yesterday morning when I visited the station.

I request organisations to take up the matter of illegal detention and beatings by the police in the interests of accountability and restoration of freedom to assemble for IDPs in Mathare.

Thank-you to all who raised the alarm about our arrest, especially members of Bunge La Mwananchi, Cidi Otieno , Mumbi , Kwamboka, Betty Murungi, John Githongo and INUKA , RPP, Noah. Thanks for that great solidarity.

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* Gacheke Gachihi is a community facilitator with Inuka and member of Bunge La Mwananchi.