People disappearing in Kenya linked to counter terrorism operations by the authorities
Human Rights watch has released a report that is accusing Kenyan authorities for the deaths and disappearances people in its capital Nairobi and in North-eastern Kenya as part of the counterterrorism Operations in the East African nation.
According to the report at least 34 people are believed to be victims of enforced disappearance and at least 11 bodies of people previously arrested by state agents have been found in the last two years.
People enforced disappearance is described by the international law as the deprivation of liberty by state agents and state’s refusal to acknowledge the detention or fate or whereabouts of the people according to the rights group.
Family members say they cannot locate the relatives who were arrested, and have not been informed of their whereabouts, despite reporting the disappearances to authorities.
Witness accounts in the reports have pointed that the 34 people that have disappeared are linked to the Somali Kenyans who may have been under investigations for alleged links to or knowledge of Al-Shabaab, the Somalia Islamist terrorist group. Al shabaab has carried out numerous deadly attacks on Kenyan soils and killings along the Kenyan borders.
“This report documents how security officers from various units raided homes and compounds, business premises and schools to arrest individuals and conduct searches, sometimes in the middle of the night. Some of those arrested have never been seen again.” According to the report
