WHERE TERROR RULES Torture by Kenyan Police in North Eastern Kenya Where Terror Rules: Torture by Kenyan Police in North Eastern Kenya RES0JF CF ----- : 00100 The purpose of torture is not only the extortion of confessions,of betrayal: the victim must disgrace himseIf by his screams and his submission, like a human animal. In the eyes of everybody and his own eyes. He who yields under torture is not only made to talk, but is also to be marked as sub-human. Jean-Paul Sartre KENYA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION RESOURCE CENTRE ACCESSION No: CLASS No DATE ................. ............... ......................................... ................................................. KHRC is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation established in April 1992 in both the United States of America, and Kenya and registered in Kenya in January 1994 under the Non-Governmental Orgasnisation Co-ordination Act. Its purpose is to promote and protect the enjoyment by Kenyans of nationally articulated and internationally established standards of human rights. To achieve this, it focuses its efforts and resources in advocacy and mobilisation initiatives that seek to: • secure the protection of these rights for all Kenyans; • empower Kenyans to advocate and mobilize for their inherent right; and • articulate the frustrations, aspirations, and endeavours of Kenyans as they struggle to incorporate democracy, respect for human rights, and good governance in their lives. KHRC's work is carried out through a secretariat office in Nairobi that conducts a host of activities, including; an action-oriented research and publications programme; a mobilisation programme that has organised several campaigns; a consciousness-raising and education programme; a land rights and advocacy project; and a women's rights and advocacy project. Board of Directors Makau wa Mutua, Chair Willy Mutunga, Vice-Chair Alamin Mazrui Njeri Kabeberi Mumbi Mathangani Mama Kiai, Executive Director KENYA HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION P.O. Box 41079, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: (254-2) 574999/8, 576066 Fax: (254-2) 574997 E-mail: [email protected] © KHRC, 1998 Acknowledgements • This report has been authored by Mutuma Ruteere. It has been • editedMaina Kiai. It is based on field research by Eva Kiiru and Mutuma Ruteere. Our thanks also go to Sheikh Mohammed for assisting in the research. Design and layout was done by Njuguna Mutahi. Many other individuals took time off their busy schedules to grant interviews, offer comments and make observations. Some requested anonymity and we cannot reveal their identities. To all of you, thank you. We also thank our donors for their support. 1 Preface 2 7 1998, Kenyan security forces ostensibly on a• operation rounded 38 security up residents of Mbalambala in North Eastern Kenya and subjected them to horrifying torture. OnMarchl The 38 were arrested following the killing of a police officer in a banditry attack. There is nothing accidental about the manner in which the t&ture was carried out. People were stripped naked, tear-gassed, kicked and viciously whipped. They were hung by the hands from trees leading to paralysis of the arms and subjected to the most vile and undignified treatment. Although the police have denied it, there is every reason to believe the testimony of one woman who claims to have been raped by the police officers. This is the ultimate violation of any woman. These recent tortures must be seen within the context in which the Kenya government has over the years treated the people of North Eastern Province. Since the colonial days North Eastern Province has been treated as a national irrelevance, denied infrastructural development security and social services.. Since the separatist shfta war, which started just before Kenya's independence in 1963 and ended in 1968, the area has been allowed to become a haven of banditry and criminal activity. Unspeakable violations have been allowed togo on under the seal of legality. On various occasions, government officers have illegally arrested, tortured and killed innocent citizens under the emergency 2 V Preface regulations that were in effect from 1968 1991. The Mbalambala torture should never have occurred. The initial reluctance to admit that something went wrong in the security Operation fosters doubt as to whether the government has the will to bring the 'iilprits to book. V The commission set up by the government to investigate the torture in Mbalambala must make its findings public and hastily move to prosecute the suspects. As this report shows, officers who perpetrated the torture are known. Witnesses to the torture as well as victims are willing to testify. The responsibility for ensuring that justice is done solely rests on the government. V 3 Background Following the partition of Africa after the 1884 Berlin Conference, many African communities found themselves arbitrarily split and placed in different countries. The most affected were the Somali who found themselves divided between five different colonial powers, the British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland, Ethiopia and Kenya.' The area occupied by the Somali in Kenya was named the Northern Frontier District. Owing to its aridity and the absence of resources it did not attract any development under colonialism. In addition, fighting among the inhabitants led to the invocation of the Outlying Districts Ordinance in 1902, the effect of which was to declare the NFD a closed area. No one could enter the area without a licence and no resident of the area could visit other areas of the country without a special pass. The import of these policies was starkly explained by residents in 1962: We have always been a separate entity, denied even the freedom to seek employment in the rest of Kenya, while a visa to enter Kenya does not entitle the holder to visit the NFD.... Our territory has always been regarded as a "punishment station. "Our only guests have been colonial officials, exiles and political prisoners. We ourselves have not been able to visit the rest of Kenya without a special pass. The background to this report heavily draws from an article, "Beyond the 'Emergency' in the North Eastern Province: An Analysis of the Use and Abuse of Emergency Powers" by Kathurima M'Inoti, Nairobi Law Monthly, No. 41 February! March 1992. 4 Background No one outside Kenya seems to be aware that for decades a "pass" system has been imposed upon us, not unlike the system that operates in South Africa. We are for all intents and purposes, incarcerated. The vast majority of us in the NFD have never set eyes on Nairobi. We are not allowed to do so. Yet some say we have been part of Kenya for over 60 years. 2 Thus neglected, it was natural that at independence, the people of the NFD found themselves gravitating more to their kin in the new Republic of Somalia especially since the new republic of Somali expressed common background and nationalism. A commission set up in 1962, found out that 87% of the Kenyan Somali were for secession. 3 Kenyan leaders, led by Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya Africa National Union (KANU) and Ronald Ngala of the Kenya Africa Democratic Union (KADU), opposed the amalgamation of the North Eastern province to the Somali state. In April 1961, the Kenyan Somali boycotted the regional elections in anger of the Kenyan government' s position over secession. In December. 1963 1 they again boycotted the general elections. Soon after, the shifta rebellion broke out. The Kenya government invOked Section 85 of the Constitution to declare a state of emergency in the former NFD, now North Eastern 2 Ibid; page38 Marc-Antoine Perouse De Montclos, 1998, "Elections Among the Kenyan Somali: A Conservative but Marginalised Vote," (unpublished paper) 5 Background Provnce. 4 While this declaration meant the restriction of certain rights, it is the use of the Preservation of Public Security Act regulations which allowed the most blatant derogations of human rights. Under this Act, The North Eastern Province and contiguous Districts Regulations 1966 came into force allowing the President to make regulations that may violate fundamental rights and freedoms as well as amend the operations of any written law in the area. Under the regulations, it became an offence punishable by ueath to be in possession of a firearm or to be in company of someone in possession of a firearm. Harbouring a person suspected of having or intending to act in a manner prejudicial to public security was an offence punishable by life imprisonment. Near the border, the armed forces were allowed to use deadly force against anyone attempting to cross. The provisions ofthe Criminal Procedure Code that require an inquest be held in the event of death under police hands were suspended. The armed forces could enter any premises and conduct a search at any time, detain any vehicle and destroy livestock. A person could be detained forup to 56 days. In case of detention under these regulations, the authorities were not required to gazette the detention, thus making it easy for persons to "disappear." Thus North Eastern Province was treated as though it was under a state of war although the war had ended in 1968, a development. that allowed the security forces to commit horrendous act ofhuman Section 85 ofthe Constitution allows the President to bring into operation, generally or in part of Kenya, Part III of the Preservation of Public Security Act or any of the provisions of that Part of that Act. 6 Background rights violations, with impunity. Massacres took place in Bulla Karátasi in 1980 and at Wagalla in Wajir in 1984. In the 1984 massacre, it is estimated that as many as 2000 people were killed..by the security forces. The Wagalla massacre circumstances were horrifying. On February 10, 1984, six thousand men were rounded up and herded together in the Wagalla Airstrip which is ringed with barbed wire for five days. They were then surrounded by over 1,000 armed soldiers and about 50 tanks. They were ordered to remove all their clothes and then ordered to lie down on their bellies. 6 Ten of the strongest men were selected, dressed in paraffindrenched clothes and set on fire. They all burned to ashes. Anyone who raised their heads was shot dead. Others were bayoneted to death. For five days the men, among them young boys, were allowed no water or food. Houses were razed down and women raped. International aid to the victims was barred. To date, the government has totally rethsed to institute an investigation into the massacre. Following the same pattern of discrimination and isolation of the Somali, the government in 1989 ordered for the screening of the Somali to ascertain that the were genuine citizens. After that, they were issued with a red card which they were required to carry as an additional proof of Kenyan citizenship. Kathurima M'lnoti, 1992, "Beyond the Emergency in North Eastern Province" 6 Marc-Antoine Perouse Dc Montclos, 1998. 7 Introduction In 1991, the government finally repealed the North Eastern Province and Contiguous Districts Regulations, 1966. 1 For the people ofNorthEastern Province, however, very little has changed. The North Eastern province has remained a place where the security forces continue to operate as if an emergency was still in place. The region is heavily infested with bandits who on various occasions have confronted the police killing many ofthem. This has often resulted in security operations that have led to arbitrary arrests, torture, rape and the wanton destruction ofproperty by the security forces. Collective punishment as Fafi MP Elias Shill attests, has become a regular thing to the people of North Eastern Province: It is as if the people of the North Eastern are not part of this country. People have been tortured and killed for as long as I can remember. I have witnessed it happen since I was a child. There is no media coverage of these issues in North Eastern. Human rights groups have been silent. This communal punishment is unacceptable. 8 The terror under which the people of North Eastern Province live was evident when the Kenya Human Rights Commission visited Garissa. Freshly graduated police officers were being shown round the town by their older colleagues. The fear of these new officers 8 See Legal Notice No. 540 of 1991 (29 11 November 1991). Interview with Hon Elias Shill, Nairobi April 1, 1998 Introduction was evident on the residents faces. One resident summarised it as follows: They are now being shown round before nightfall when they will start patrolling. That is when the terror will begin. Every year we receive fresh graduates and it is as if they are all trained to brutal/se. They beat up people without excuse, arrest them randomly and loot what they can. It happens every year and the local people are now used to this ic/nd of treatment. There is very bad blood between the local peopie and the police. 9 Garissa Mayor Osman Mohammed observes that residents have always called for a change of attitude of the police force: Since 1963, we have been victims of communal torture. The police here deal with people in a very primitive manner and the recent Mbalambala incident is just a tip of the iceberg. There was a lull after 1992 but now things seem to be going bad again. Sometimes we wonder whether the police are trying to create a rebellion against the government. We do not deny that there are people here with guns as there are elsewhere in Kenya and they occasionally rob and kill people. They shoot and kill policemen as they kill other Kenyans. Unfortunately, whenever they is contact between the police and bandits and a police officer is killed, communal punishment is inflicted on the entire community. It Interview with Ahmed Sheikh, Garissa, April 6 1 1998 9 IntrOduction becomes a matter of the police versus ordinary people rather than bandits.10 The relationship is such that the people are reluctant to report banditry for fear of police victimisation. As the Mayor explains: We have known bandits who stay in specific known areas but whenever the information is given to the police, they do not act. They instead turn against the person who reported or go out and terror/se villagers. The Mbalam bala tortures were sparked off the killing of a police officer 80 kilometres away. All the senior officers deny they gave orders. Now three of the officers who tortured these people have been identified, including the commander of the operation. We are waiting to see action taken. 1 ' The practice in government service has been to send officers to North Eastern Province on disciplinary grounds. This serves to cement the "special status" tagged on the region since the colonial days. As a result of this practice the officers resent the posting as it is often a punishment and take out this resentment on the local people. Fafi MP Elias Shill therefore argues that the practice should be stopped: "We are also a part of Kenya and posting to North Eastern should not be on disciplinary grounds, 112 a view that is echoed by mayor Mohammed who calls upon the government to send more Somali officers to North Eastern as they will have more respect for the local people: 10 Interview with Garissa Mayor, Siyat Osman Mohammed, Garissa, April 6, 1998 ' Ibid. 2 Seenote8 Introduction 10 The government must show seriousness in protecting the lives of its people. Illiteracy is very high here owing to years of neglect but we want to see more localpolice officers in the region) 3 10 13 SeenotelO 11 The Mbalambala Torture. 0 n March 9, 1998 1 armed bandits ambushed and killed a police officer between Shaanta-Abaq and Dujis trading centre. The officer, Yussuf Ibrahim, was in the company of two other officers who were escorting a lorry ferrying cattle from Modogashe town to Garissa. Three days later, the terror began. On March 12, 1998, Security officers launched a security operation, at Mbalambala, 80 kilometres from the place of attack and 160 kilometres from Garissa town, to recover guns stolen from the ambush. As is the practice, the operation was an unleashing of brute force. People were pulled from their houses and shops at 3.00 am and herded together, stripped naked before being brutally tortured. One of the victims, Bane Shale, 42, recounted his ordeal to the KBRC: I was sleeping in my house in Mbalambala on March 12, when I was woken up at 3.00 am by a contingent ofKenya police. By their manner, I thought they were bandits or that their commander had overthrown the government. Once oulside, I was taken with 48 others to the bush three kilometres from Mbalambala market centre where all of us, men, women and children were stripped naked and ordered to lie down. They then tested the direction of the wind with dust. We did not know what they wanted to do. 12 The Mbalambala torture \ Barre Share They started exploding tear-gas at us. We were all coughing, choking and vomiting. The burning gas was very close to our bodies. One man was burnt on the buttocks and a boy was seriously injured We were then put into a lorry and taken to the police post. At the post we were tied up with our handc to our backs. They tied my testicles with a gadget and pulled It was so painful and embarrassing. I soiled R. The Mbalambala torture 13 myself As I knelt, naked, with my hands to my back, one police officer requested his commander to allow him to sodomise me. All the time they were shouting obscenities at us. Iwas kicked and viciously whipped They all carried guns and leather whips. At 5. OOp.m., those who could bribe the officers were released. Some gave Ksh. 500 and others Ksh. 1,000. Those who had no money like me remained in the cells until the following day, I am still in pain. My chest stilipains. I cannot control my urine. I have not received any medical attention. It is not just the pain that troubles me. It is also the anger at what they did to me. They have castrated me. Jam very bitter. Ifisurvive this, I swear to God, I will certainly revenge.' 4 Fifty six year old Aden Bilat Hadun is the very picture of agony as he tosses in one of the only two beds in the Garissa lodging rocm. He cannot talk about his agony. Aden Bilat Hadun has speech challenges. According Councillor Hussein Aden Abubakar, who was taking care of the victims, Aden Bilat Hadun was like the others, arrested from his house and subjected to the same general treatment. As he lay on the ground, at the torture field, about seven police officers trampled on him with their boots. They demaided that he tells them where the stolen guns were ignoring that he had speech disabilities. Like the rest he was whipped and hit with gun butts. Interview with Barre Share, Garissa, April 7, 199*. All of the victims were interviewed on April 7, in Garissa. 14 The Mbalainbala torture According to Councillor Hussein Abubakar, they feared that Aden Bilat Hadun had suffered a broken left rib' 5 He was vomiting blood and could hardly eat. He also frequently bled from his nose. Like the rest, he had received no medical attention. Another victim, 34 year old Hassan Gure Noor has been left with virtually paralysed hands. He had his hands tied to his back while naked. Then for hours, he was hung by the hands from a tree. As a result, he has lost the use ofhis hands. He cannot feed, dress or bathe himself. The hands cannot feel anything. As a result of the kicks and gun butt blows, Hassan Gure Noor complains of difficulties in bowel movement and urinary trouble. Mohammed Abdile Abdi, a 28 year old Mbalambala shopkeeper said that he was taken from his shop on the 12 of March and subjected to the same torture as the other victims: At the Mbalambala Police Lines, I was tied to a tree naked like an animal. They then kicked me on the back, slapped me and called me all manner ofnames. They demanded guns of which I knew nothing about. I was hit with gun butts on my chest. Now I have breathing problems. I am also suffering nose bleeding. I cannot bend due to the injuries I ' Efforts to obtain the medical reports of the victims from the Garissa Provincial Hospital were fruitless. The Provincial Medical Officer of Health (MOH) claimed that the Commis sion of inquiry formed by the Police Commissioner was yet to complete its investigations and he could not therefore divulge the contents of the medical reports. The Mbalambaia torture 15 sustained on my back and I have to say my prayers seated. He showed to the KHRC, rope marks which still ring his arms the result of being tied to a tree overnight. Like the rest of the victims he is yet to receive medical attention. Issa Hassan Mursal is a member of the Mbalambala Security Committee. He was arrested with the rest of the 38 people and similarly tortured. He was shocked that the security officers did not bother to consult the Security Committee at all: f. Mohammed Abdile Abdi 16 The Mbalambala torture I have never before experienced brutality in such magnitude. The officers were not the regular ones based at Mba/am bala. They were brought from elsewhere. It was very painful to be abused the way they did. The beat me up badly. I fell on a stone and fell unconscious. They were so merciless they teargassed me while I was unconscious. I now cough blood and my left leg pains from the kicks Another victim of the orgy of the violence is 18 year old Shaiya Mohammed who was raped by one of the police officers. Shaiya contracted a venereal disease out of the rape but according to the Garissa Provincial Medical Officer of Health, Dr Philip Muthoka, the suspected officer has tested negative to the disease. However the victim insists that the suspected officer tested positive. Rape among the Somali community is so stigmatised that few women would own up to being raped. If unmarried it is impossible for a rape victim to get a husband. Shaiya Mohammed is however lucky to have the support of husband through the trauma. This is how she describes the ordeal: I am 18 years Old and married with a 10-month-old daughter as my only child. I live in Dujis Division within Dujis Constituency. The police came into my house on the afternoon of March 12. I don 't know how many came the first time, but they were several; I was alone at home and 17 The Mbalambala torture asked me to produce my husband. I explained that he was out of town. They left, but they must have marked my house before they did. At about 1.00 a.m on the night of the same day, four officers, who had formed part of the team that had come earlier on during the day, returned and knocked on my door. I opened it. These officers were in regular police attire with jungle jackets. They again askedfor my husband who I said had not yet surfaced. They didn 't stay long and left. Before they did, they ordered me not to close the door behind me. One police officer sneaked back He approached me and wrestled with me, encircling my neck with his hands. I landed on the floor with a thud and my attempts to struggle were fruitless. He raped me continuously for what seemed like most of the night. When light came, it was probably around 4.00 a. m, he left. I live in a one-roomed house and my 14-year-old sister was staying with me. He did not touch her but forced her to hold my daughter in the same room throughOut the ordeal. I am lucky because my husband took it upon himself to care for me and pay my hospital bills. Because 1 am also married, I have not had to suffer the stigma that attaches itself to Somali women who have been raped Victims of this kind of crime do not find husbands because they are ostracized socially from their community. Although I am more afraid of policemen and men in uniform now, lam willing to pursue my case in court or any other legal forum) 6 16 Interview with Shaiya Mohammed,Garissa, April 7 18 The medical view It was not easy for the KHRC team to ascertain the medical nature of the injuries sustained by the victims. Garissa town has hardly any medical practitioners and the government medical officers declined to assist the team.' 7 However the Garissa Provincial Medical Officer of Health, Dr Philip Muthoka confirmed that he had examined 15 of the victims and endorsed their P3 forms.' 8 All the injuries, according to Dr Muthoka were soft tissue injuries and only one of the victims had a serious finger injury. Dr Muthoka could not establish when this wound could have been inflicted but observed that it was septic and therefore must have been inflicted at least 48 hours before the examination time. This would fit within the time of the torture as it took the victims close to a week to move to Garissa town from Mbalambala. One victim, according to the MOH, had a wound on his lower buttock, which in his opinion could have been inflicted by burning or by falling on a sharp object. Available video tape show the victim's wound which he and his fellow victims say were inflicted by tear-gas burns. As for the rape victim, the MOH said that no trace of disease was evident after tests were conducted on the suspected officer. 17 Is Efforts to obtain the medical reports of the victims from the Garissa Provincial Hospital were fruitless. The Provincial Medical Officer of Health (MOH) claimed that the Commission of inquiry formed by the Police Commissioner was yet to complete its investigations and he could not therefore divulge the contents of the medical reports. Interview with Dr Philip Muthoka, Garissa, April 7, 1998 19 The government's position n March 21, the Minister for Rural Development, Maalim Mohammed, who is also the area MP went public with the news of the torture. 9 The issue took a new turn when the entire group of North Eastern Province Members of Parliament led by the minister demanded government action on the multiple torture and accused the government of treating the people of North Eastern as though they were "second class citizens who do not deserve protection of their right to life." 20 O The Police confirmed reports of the torture allegations and thereafter, a committee was constituted by the Police Commissioner to investigate the tt 2 ' The Garissa Officer Commanding Police Division, Mr Alphonse Kalume defended the police operation in Mbalambala arguing that the exercise targeted suspected bandits and not citizens in general: The police recovered three guns. A G3 rifle, two AK 47 rfies and one HK21, a weapon deadlier than the AK 47. Yet when calls for surrender of guns are made, people surrender only the defective ones. If banditry is to end, the local population must cooperate with the police. 22 ' East African Standard, March 27, 1998 Interview with OCPD Aiphonce Kalume, April 7, 1998 21 Efforts by the KHRC to establish the findings of the Committee were fruitless. Even after writing to the Police Commissioner we had received no response by the time ofpublication of this report. 22 For a fuller discussion on torture by Kenyan security forces, see, KHRC, Mission to Repress: Torture, Illegal Detentions and Extra-judicial Killings by the Kenyan Police. 20 r 20 The government's position Given the long history and pattern of neglect and failure to guarantee security, most residents are understandably reluctant to entrust their security on the government. 21 International Law T he Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment binds states parties to "take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction."23 In spite of Kenya having ratified this convention, torture remains an institutionalised violation, employed by Kenyan security forces as a routine procedure in their investigations and operations.24 Police action in Mbalambala is in the clear breach of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights which recognises the "right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being" and prohibits "all forms of ... torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment." 25 The Charter also guarantees that "In particular, no one may be arbitrarily arrested or detained." 26 The International Bill of Human Rights27 in unequivocal language declares torture a crime under international law. Although not a Article2(l) For a fuller discussion on torture by Kenyan security forces, see, KHRC, Mission to Repress: Torture, illegal Detentions and Extra-judicial Killings by the Kenyan Police. Article 5, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. 26 Article 6, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. 21 The International Bill of Human Rights consists ofthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. 13 22 International law treaty, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has over the years achieved the moral authority of binding law. Article 5 of the UDHR declares that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Article 7 employs the similar language in outlawing torture. The UN General Assembly has adopted a Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officers which, though without the force of law offers useful guidelines on the limits of power of law enforcement officers. Article 5 of the Code declares that "No enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, nor may any law enforcement official invoke superior or4ers or exceptional circumstances such as a state of war or a threat of war, a threat to national security internal political instability or any other public emergency as ajustification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." 28 28 Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, UN resolution 34/69. The commentary to Article 5 points out that the• prohibition of torture "derives from the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly, according to which: "[Such an act is] an offence to human dignity and shall be condemned as a denial of the purposes of the Charter of the United nations and as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [and other international human rights instruments]." 23 Kenyan Law Section 74 of the Kenya Constitution states that "No one shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment." The Government therefore has an obligation to ensure that security officers do not subject any persons under its jurisdiction to torture, inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment. 24 Conclusion The torture that took place in Mbalambala must be seen within the wider context of the way the Kenya Government has historically treated the people of North Eastern Kenya. Although torture is prevalent all over Kenya, the impunity and scale in which security forces have violated the rights of the North Eastern Province is in its own special category. The fact that the rest of the country too has been largely unconcerned over the incidents of violations in this region has only helped fuel the fires of repression. The Mbalamba1atorture took place. The culprits are known and the evidence is there, as stark and painful as the wounds that the victims carry. And as a matter of priority, medical attention must be accorded the victims. Recommendations The Kenya Human Rights, having carried out investigations and made the above findings and conclusion, makes the following recommendations: To the Kenya government 1. Security of the person and property is a constitutional and human right and the Kenya Government has a duty to ensure the security of the residents ofNorth Eastern Province and their property. 2. Discrimination of any persons is unconstitutional and a r 25 Conclusion and recommendations violation of the accepted universal standards. Thus the Kenya Government must revoke all policies that allow the discrimination of the peopic of North Eastern Province. Specifically the requirement that all Kenyan ethnic Somali carry a card ascertaining their Kenyan nationality in addition to the Kenyan national identity card should be revoked. Torture by security officers is a violation of the Kenyan Constitution provisions and the International Bill of Rights and the Kenya Government has a duty to prevent it and to carry out immediate and credible investigations into torture allegations. The victims must be urgently accorded medical attention. The Kenya Government must adopt humane and profession methods of fighting banditry in North Eastern Province and involve the local people rather than alienating them. The posting of police officers to the North Eastern Province on disciplinary grounds must stop. Communal punishment is in violation of the Kenyan Constitution and international standards and the Kenya Government must ensure that security officers do not subject the people ofNorth Eastern province to this kind of treatment. The Attorney General must in unequivocal terms denounce "Communal Punishment." The Government must carry out investigations into ALL the violations and massacres that have taken place in North Eastern Province since independence and ensure prosecution of all culprits. 26 Conclusion and recommendations Development is a right and the people of North Eastern Province have as much right to development as other Kenyans and the Kenya Government must ensure this right is respected. The government must work for the involvement of the residents in security keeping. The Police must involve the residents injoint security committees to ensure the people have an input into their security. Civic education must be vigorously conducted within the North Eastern Province and all over Kenya stressing the integral position of the Province to the rest of the country. To the international community There should be a greater focus on the conduct of Kenyan security forces in the North Eastern Province. The international community should make investigations into the activities of the Kenyan security forces in North Eastern Province with a view to establishing whether there has been commission of crimes against humanity.