In recent months, Kenya has become the target of severe criticism from the international human rights community due to the escalation of extra-judicial killings. In one of the more high-profile cases, human rights defenders Oscar Kamau King’ara and Paul Oulu were assassinated in broad daylight while stopped in heavy traffic. Earlier in the day, they had organized a protest which called attention to human rights abuses and killings carried out by police. Hundreds of others who have spoken out against rampant human rights abuses have also been targets of violence.
Most recently, Paul Muite, a human rights attorney, has been warned that his life may be in danger because he has publicly condemned these killings and sought to draw international attention to them. Mr. Muite has not been intimidated by the threats, and continues to fight for justice. In early April, Mr. Muite drafted a letter to the head prosecutor at the ICC, Justice Moreno-Ocampo, calling for international action against the violence. Despite that fact that Mr. Muite is carrying on with his work, it is obvious that he is still in great danger.
