The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva have issued a response on alleged cases of police brutality during the recent anti-government protests.
In a statement last week, Friday, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(OHCHR) spokesperson Jeremy Laurence condemned the alleged disproportionate use of force by the police.
"We call for prompt, thorough, independent and transparent investigations into the deaths and injuries. Those responsible must be held to account," he said.
Laurence called on the authorities to ensure that Kenyans are allowed to exercise their rights in accordance with Article 37 of the Constitution, asking relevant authorities to desist the use of live bullets to disperse protesters.
"The policing of protests must seek to facilitate peaceful assemblies, and any use of force must be guided by the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination," he added.
In a rejoinder on Sunday, the Kenyan government called out the OHCHR over the wrongful use of the term 'peaceful protests' in their statement.
The government said that Wednesday's protest entailed acts of rioting, vandalism and large-scale destruction of civilian objects which can't be termed as peaceful.
"While the Permanent Mission shares the OHCHR's concern for human rights, it is obliged to contest the characterisation of recent events in Kenya as 'peaceful protests,' the statement shared by the Foreign Affairs PS reads.
"Such a designation belies the widely and credibly documented ground reality.
"These events entailed rioting, vandalism, and the large-scale destruction of civilian objects, actions incompatible with the principles of peaceful assembly as outlined by multiple resolutions and undertakings by the Human Rights Council and the OHCHR."
The mission further contested Laurence's allegations that the protests were widespread arguing that the acts of violence were only witnessed in a few areas.
"The Permanent Mission wishes to contest the portrayal of these violent acts as being widespread," the statement reads.
"The situation was appropriately managed by our law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety of the majority of our peaceful citizens and limit the extent of the disruption."
They went on to question the reliance of the OHCHR on 'third-party' sources of information claiming that assertions from those sources 'are often not corroborated by other independent assessments.'
"The use of such information without due diligence raises concerns about the quality and reliability of the data in question," they said.
"This method of information gathering bypasses the primary duty of OHCHR to establish the facts before making such critical statements."
The mission further maintained the Kenyan government's unwavering commitment to protect and uphold the right to peaceful assembly and protests by the Kenyan constitution.
"The government of Kenya endeavours to protect the rights of individuals engaged in peaceful assembly and peaceful protests whilst maintaining public safety," the statement reads.
The mission, however, agreed with OHCHR's call for investigations into the incidents of deaths and injuries reported across the country.
"We concur with Laurance's call for thorough investigations into the unfortunate incidents of deaths and injuries, yet we emphasise that this in no way should be construed as an endorsement or tolerance of the violent and destructive behaviours that were displayed," the Permanent Mission said.
The opposition has called for another round of anti-government protests this week on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Last week's protests saw over eight people dead and multiple injured with eight of the victims having gunshot wounds.
