UDA warns UN Commissioner for Human Rights against being ‘misused’ by politicians
By Joel Sang, July 22, 2023United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has raised concerns after the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights pointed out what they called a disproportionate use of force against protesters.
The Police and civilians have clashed on numerous occasions during the protests organised by the Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition.
The UN Commission for Human Rights, through its spokesperson, Jeremy Laurance, called for prompt, thorough, independent, and transparent investigations into the deaths and injuries. The call infuriated the ruling coalition, which termed the protests ‘violent opposition-sponsored demonstrations.’
‘One-sided pronouncements’
“The statement was made in the absence of a genuine factual basis for its conclusions and was blind to the context within which the demonstrations took place; such one-sided pronouncements may jeopardize the independence and gravitas of the institution.
“Kenya is a vibrant democracy that has a sterling reputation for upholding human rights, constitutionalism, and the rule of law. Since independence, the political leadership has returned to the people for a fresh mandate to serve. By so doing, the people of Kenya, as the ultimate sovereign authority, have rejected dictatorship and insisted that their government must be one elected in free and fair elections,” UDA said in a statement.
UDA further called out the opposition, referring to them as politicians who do not accept the outcome of elections.
“Despite our country’s enviable democratic credentials, our nation has in the past three decades grappled with a breed of Kenyan politicians who simply cannot accept election outcomes unless they have won or are part of the winning team.
“The ongoing violent demonstrations by the opposition, in limited locations across the country, are the latest example of this refusal to accept and respect the voice of the people of Kenya as expressed at the ballot box,” it added.
Police lauded
The ruling party went on to condemn the opposition and their supporters for what they called violent demonstrations and laud the police for how they have dealt with the issue.
“However, what Kenyans and the world have witnessed in recent weeks and months has been a far cry from the peaceful and unarmed demonstrations envisaged by the Constitution of Kenya. Opposition supporters have been filmed attacking innocent Kenyans, looting businesses, pummeling vehicles with stones, and even obstructing our emergency services personnel from reaching people in need.
“The National Police Service and other security organs have exercised great restraint in the face of obvious provocation by well-organized and well-funded saboteurs trying to bait them into excessive responses. Our law enforcement heroes have not fallen to the bait even as several of their colleagues have lost lives and others suffered serious injuries at the hands of the opposition anarchists,” the statement continued.
Disappointed UDA
UDA also wants the UN Commissioner, whom they say did not contextualize the situation in Kenya, to condemn Azimio in the same way they pointed out the alleged police use of force.
“The coalition is also disappointed that the statement fails to condemn the opposition for resorting to violence after losing at the ballot box in a free and fair election and thereafter losing an election petition before the Supreme Court.
“The UN Commissioner for Human Rights should be wary of being (mis)used by politicians for their own purposes,” the statement continued.