
A placard, rose flower petals and a steel chain lay on the ground abandoned after riot police officers detained protesters demonstrating against a wave of unexplained abductions of government critics, along the Aga Khan walk in downtown Nairobi, Kenya December 30, 2024.
East African countries have lately been given the nickname ‘Abductistan,’ a colloquial reference to continual enforced disappearances of citizens deemed critical of governments.
A new report says the region needs stronger leadership to allow criticism while improving on accountability to citizens. That, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday, will need continuous external support towards this kind of growth.
It said nearly all East African countries last year engaged in police brutality, internet shutdowns and public lamentations on judicial systems by authorities seeking to tame public agitation.
Its report says political, social and humanitarian challenges were reported in most of the region. But it is the rise of internal agitation that brought forth most brutal crackdowns, curtailing civic and other rights.
Tirana Hassan, HRW executive director said: “This fragmented political landscape reflects a broader truth: the shared values and commitment of human rights for all cannot be taken for granted.
Indeed, the appeal of populist leaders lies in their willingness to scapegoat minorities and foreigners and offer voters the mirage of ‘solutions’ in exchange for trading away their rights and the rule of law.”
The events of the past year, she argued, underscored the importance of defending international human rights norms: “When they are denied, the cost is measured not in abstract principles but in human lives. This is the challenge – and the opportunity – of our time.”
Kenya witnessed widespread protests against economic inequality and unfulfilled electoral promises.
"Kenya’s human rights situation worsened over the past year, with authorities suppressing peaceful protests over the high cost of living through harassment, arrests, and intimidation of activists and civil society groups. President William Ruto threatened courts over unfavourable rulings, while law enforcement officers implicated in abuses faced little accountability," the HRW report says.
In Uganda, the human rights record remains grim, HRW said, after crackdowns on free expression, peaceful assembly, and dissent. The report shows that the anti-corruption and environmental activists opposing projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline faced arrests and harassment.
Despite some progress, such as the Constitutional Court striking parts of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, key discriminatory provisions remain, perpetuating violence and legal penalties against LGBT individuals. The court, however, upheld provisions still deemed discriminatory.
South Sudan’s peace process faced setbacks, with delays in implementing agreements and intercommunal violence displacing thousands.
Juba in September postponed planned elections for December 2023 by two years, raising criticism from donors. But rights watchers are concerned that delayed talks with hold-out groups that hadn’t signed the 2018 peace deal means the country cannot address accountability of violations in the past.
The dialogue known as Tumaini Initiative in Nairobi has lately been dragged after segments of the coalition government in Juba refused to engage the hold-outs, arguing it could dilute the 2018 peace deal which was mediated by the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).
Other countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia in the wider Eastern Africa have faced internal strife that has contributed to inability to protect rights.
Somalia, at war with al-Shabaab for the past decade, raised new tensions after amending sections of the constitution which some political figures opposed.
The report says Somalia must protect civilians at all times when launching attacks on al-Shabaab. In Ethiopia, the unfinished rebuilding from the conflict in Tigray means the government has had to address attendant tensions in neighbouring regions.
Last year, Ethiopia imposed a state of emergency on Amhara to tame an insurgency. But the report said it led to arbitrary arrests.
“Fighting between the Ethiopian military and militias in the Amhara region resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries, including attacks against refugees and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals.
“The government renewed a sweeping state of emergency for the Amhara region, but its provisions were applied throughout Ethiopia; mass arrests persisted once it expired. “Authorities harassed, surveilled, and detained journalists, human rights defenders, and outspoken figures, creating an increasingly hostile and restrictive reporting environment."