By PETER  OPIYO

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has differed with Attorney General Amos Wako on plans to appeal against the award of Sh40 million to Nyayo House torture survivors.

The PM, who hosted some of the torture victims, at his Karen home, said the Sh40 million awarded as compensation was just a, token.

"It is unfortunate that the AG, without consultation, made such statements," said the PM.

There are similar tortures cases in court, but Raila said the Government was keen to settle them out of court

"We will talk to the AG to withdraw some of the cases so that we have out of court settlement," said the PM;

Add a comment

By Hoa Quach, SDNN

In 1995, Taiga Wanyanja was in a torture chamber at Naivasha GK Prison outside of the Kenyan capitol, Nairobi. He never thought he would survive.

Wanyanja, a husband and a father of two, was arrested on a charge involving a movement against the government of the East African nation. He says the allegations were false, but it didn’t matter to the Kenyan government.

Add a comment

Mwatikho Torture Survivors Organization (MATESO) congratulates Dr. Mohamud Said, an IMLU board member, for being elected President of the Executive Committee of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) in the recently concluded IRCT council meeting, held on 21st and 22nd of November 2009, in Nairobi, Kenya. MATESO further congratulates the other seven newly elected Executive Committee members from the IRCT centres.

The IRCT is the umbrella for 143 independent torture rehabilitation organisations in over 70 countries. Members in Kenya are IMLU, based in Nairobi and Mwatikho Torture Survivors Organization (MATESO) based in Bungoma. Each year IRCT members treat more than 100,000 torture survivors and their families. IRCT’s vision is a world that values and accepts shared responsibility for the eradication of torture. IRCT seeks to promote and support the rehabilitation of torture victims and work for the prevention of torture.

It is also a great honor that for the first time in twenty-five years that the IRCT council meeting was held in Africa and specifically in Kenya. In addition, it is also the first time that the president of IRCT comes from Africa.

Add a comment

 Civilian residents of El Wak injured during a brutal October 2008 operation by police and military forces gather at the town’s hospital to seek treatment. That operation saw the security forces round up and beat or torture hundreds of civilians in El Wak and other local communities.

    Related Materials: 

"Bring the Gun or You’ll Die"

"All The Men Have Gone"

Kenya: "Trained in Terror"

This is not a question of a few bad apples disobeying orders. This operation was the result of a strategy devised by senior officials to use brutal force against Kenyan citizens.

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch

Add a comment