This evening, two leading human rights defenders, Mr. Oscar Kamau King’ara and Mr. John Paul Oulu (also known as GPO), both of Oscar Foundation, were executed in cold blood by a group of men in two vehicles. The two were driving to meet Mr. Kamanda Mucheke of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights at his office. Eyewitnesses have said that the assassins were policemen. In fact, the minibus driver was in police uniform.
An eyewitness at the scene was also shot in the leg and was later taken away from the scene by policemen. We are calling upon the police to reveal the whereabouts of this man since he might be the only one who can positively identify both the assassins and their vehicles. Therefore, we fear for his life.
Oscar was a trained lawyer and a human rights advocate who was the Chief Executive Officer of Oscar Foundation. He was a member of the Law Society of Kenya.
Mr. GPO Oulu was a former student leader, and an educationist who has worked for many human rights organizations, including the Youth Agenda. He left the Youth Agenda recently to join the Oscar Foundation as the Communications and Advocacy Officer.
Oscar Foundation is a registered charitable organization that offers free legal services to the poor. Some of its major projects include organizing caravans to offer free legal aid to the poor around the country. They have a strong track record researching corruption in the police force, the prisons, and police brutality against the urban poor. The latest activity was researching and documenting cases of enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings.
The Oscar Foundation has been a major source of information to Parliament on atrocities playing out against the poor in the country. On February 18, 2009, before Parliament debated the motion on extra-Judicial killings, he presented Oscar Foundation’s findings on ongoing extra judicial killings to Hon. Peter Mwathi, the motion’s mover. Their last engagement with Parliament was a presentation to the Kioni Committee investigating organized gangs a couple of days ago.
We believe they were killed because of the sensitive information they had shared with both the Prof. Philip Alston the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and with the MPs.
Where we are in Kenya today is where the Jews were in Nazi Germany shortly before the Holocaust. The Nazis stage-managed a smear campaign that made the public hate the Jews and allow for their extermination.
During the Emergency the colonial government hired collaborators to commit atrocities which they blamed on the Mau Mau to give them a bad name so that they could exterminate them.
We hold the Government Spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua complicit in the two murders for making wild allegations that the Oscar Foundation was a civil society front for Mungiki, and they were going to deal with it. What does he know about the assassinations? Was this what he meant by dealing with the Oscar Foundation?
As we condole with the families of the deceased, we assure them, and the nation that their deaths are not in vain.
Signed
Kenya National Commission for Human Rights and other Kenyan Civil Society Organisations
About the Author
It is very clear that Kenyans are hostage to a cartel of criminals bent on denying them all forms of freedoms enshrined in the UN Charter for Human Rights. Moreover Kenyans do not have to beg nor ask for what is their birthright and need not make apologies to anyone for what is rightfully theirs. This cartel of criminals purporting to be the elected leaders of Kenya have for many years used both lawful and violent means to subjugate the Kenyan people. The time has come for Kenyans to arise from slumber and take back their country and lives, as they are losing ground to this cartel with each passing day.
This is dictatorship!!what is the difference btw coalition and Moi,or Sadaam?Even the sore of last year has not dried!NO MORE MISERY!These criminals should be hanged.Kenya is for all,freedom for all and we need our Right Kenya.We are paying you too much money for this coalition,yet is these what we deserve…?
My my my. Such a heavy weight to have such shallow leadership. We just 46 years now having som middle age crisis. I would like to reiterate that they chose wrong. Now they are even more in a mix. Lets see how their slippery tongues get them out of this.
Surely the next is ready to replace these backfiring guns that sit in office and represent the country continentally and internationally. They do not see abundance of and in the country since they will never be satisfied, so their mind set is that ther is never enough. PUT SOME FAITH IN THE PEOPLE, YOU ARE THEIR REPRESENTANTS!!
Not complaining but it costs toooooooooo much in this status quo and if the keppers at the gates ain´t making moves that make a difference then out they have to go. Good we are just complaining not outright war!!!
Blessup
(stay focused, those with faith in another Kenya being possible)
Kenya is back to the bad old days of State terror on innocent citizens. RIP King’ara and Oulu. The struggle continues.
They can silence the voices but will never kill the struggle. With every slain soul, the struggle intensifies. It is such a shame that Kenya; a country that was not long ago beaming with developments and achievements in the fields of democracy and humna rights has now been reduced to this level. But as Arne says, ‘Another Kenya is possible’!
KSB: Well said Beryl.
The Government has done it again but when real democracy will dawn upon Kenya, change will come. What a loss, considering the dedication from the two slain human rights leaders. There is no giving up.
Once again we are unfortunate to witness how vile the lions in sheep skin & wolves in sheepclothing that we call ‘Government’ and we expect them to deliver good to its citizens. They know they are sitting on a ‘time bomb’ as their days are numbered.
May the Creator of all things rest our slain brothers peacefully… Their works will live on from one generation to the next. Even though this is but a tip of the iceberg (millions die of hunger & starvation among other lamentations on a daily basis, as the guilt rests on the conscience of the blood sucking vampire eating the bread of sorrow), we shall continue fighting for our freedom and justice.
Revelations reveals the beast in our time and he knows he is sitting on a time bomb. Thats how we verify that such desperate actions are but the last kicks of a dying horse. No stone shall be left unturned in this judgement. God and nature will judge you, you merciless butcher…
(Ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh-wa!)
See them fighting for power (ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh-wa!),
But they know not the hour (ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh-wa!),;
So they bribing with their guns, spare-parts and money,
Trying to belittle our
Integrity now.
They say what we know
Is just what they teach us;
And we’re so ignorant
‘Cause every time they can reach us (shoobe, doo-wa)
Through political strategy (shoo-be, doo-wa);
They keep us hungry (shoobe, doo-wa),
And when you gonna get some food (shoobe, doo-wa),
Your brother got to be your enemy, we-e-ell!
Ambush in the night,
All guns aiming at me;
Ambush in the night,
They opened fire on me now.
Ambush in the night,
Protected by His Majesty.
Ooh-wee, ooh-wee. Ooh-wa-ooh!
(Ooh-wee) Ooh-wee, ooh-wee (ooh-wa), Ooh-wa!
Ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh wa-ooh!
Ooh-wee, ooh-wee, ooh wa-ah!
Well, what we know
Is not what they tell us;
We’re not ignorant, I mean it,
And they just cannot touch us;
Through the powers of the Most-High (shoobe, doo-wa),
We keep on surfacin’ (shoobe, doo-wa);
Thru the powers of the Most-High (shoobe, doo-wa),
We keep on survivin’.
Yeah, this ambush in the night
Planned by society;
Ambush in the night;
They tryin’ to conquer me;
Ambush in the night
Anyt’ing money can bring;
Ambush in the night
Planned by society;
Ambush in the night – /fadeout/
Bob Marley put this song live and direct.
Bless