Oscar Kamau Kingara

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2010-029-005
Relevant SG report
Year of the report
2010
Country Geolocation

Latitude: -0.023559

Longitude: 37.906193

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Kenya
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic
  • UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
Dates of prior UN action
5 March 2009; 6 March 2009; 29 March 2009; 26 May 2009
Type of record
Named individual
Gender
Male
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

ounder and Chief Executive Officer of the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic; had been particularly active in reporting on police death squads

Type of rights defended
  • Accountability & impunity
  • Civil/political rights
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal

had been in contact with the Special Rapporteur in the course of his visit

Engagement with UN body
  • UN Special Procedures: thematic
Dates of engagement
in the course of visit 16-25 February 2009
Type of attempted engagement
  • Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Dates of mentioned reprisals
5 March 2009
Location of mentioned reprisals
Nairobi
Reprisal information

On 5 March 2009, two human rights defenders who had been in contact with the Special Rapporteur in the course of his visit, Oscar Kamau Kingara, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic, and John Paul Oulu, its Communications and Advocacy Director, were killed in Nairobi. A few hours after the killing of Mr. Kingara and Mr. Oulu the Special Rapporteur issued a press release. He stated, inter alia, “that it was inevitable under the circumstances for suspicion to fall upon the police in relation to these killings”

Types of reprisals suffered
  • Physical attack: Killing
Alleged/likely perpetrators
State actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Further case development

The delegation of Kenya took the floor and stated its commitment to human rights and to cooperation with special procedures, and promised an investigation into the matter. No information about such an investigation is available to date.

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
No
Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
No
Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
No
How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
2
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
2012
Follow up information provided in SG report 0
  1. The killings of OscarKamau Kingara and John Paul Oulu on 5 March 2009, following their meeting with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary orarbitrary executions during his country visit to Kenya in January 2009 (A/HRC/11/2/Add.6), have been referred to in my previous reports.15The Deputy High Commissioner made specific reference to these cases in the Human Rights Council on 29 March 2009 andthe Kenyan delegation took the floor to state its commitment to investigatethe killings. It is a matter of particular regret that at the time of completionof the presentreport in July 2012, information has been received from various sources indicating that there has been noprogress on an investigation. At the time of completion ofthereport, the Government hadnot responded to the communication sent by several special procedures on 13 March 2009(A/HRC/11/2/Add.1, pp. 252-255).
Followup Trends 0
Stayed same
Did the government respond? 0
No
In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
2011
Follow up information provided in SG report 1
  1. In his report on follow-up to country recommendations, onKenya), the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions referred to the killings of two prominent human rights defenders – Oscar Kamau Kingara and John Paul Oulu – who were mentioned in my previous annual report,26 with whom he had met.2779. The Special Rapporteur recalled that the Government had been requested to provide information on the steps taken to ensure that all forms of violence, intimidation and harassment against human rights defenders, particularly those who have cooperated with the Special Rapporteur, were brought to an end. The Government had also been requested to provide information on the investigations and criminal proceedings regarding the killing ofMr. Kingara and Mr. Oulu. Two years later, the Government has yet to respond to the communication.
  2. The Special Rapporteur also stressed that the status of the investigation into the killing of the two defenders remains inconclusive. Recently, the Prime Minister made a public statement requesting that the investigation into the killings should resume. The Special Rapporteur further highlighted that it was important that the Government follow up on its public statements with action. 81. During the interactive dialogue with the current Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns, at the seventeenth session of the Human Rights Council, the delegation of Kenya recalled that the Government had rejected the report of the previous mandate holder, Philip Alston, on his mission to Kenya.
Followup Trends 1
Stayed same
Date of follow up 1
26 April 2011
Did the government respond? 1
No
Was this case followed up by a UN body? 1
  • UN Special Procedures: Thematic