Kenya human rights: what has been documented

Terms and how they are used

• Torture is a serious legal classification under Kenya's Prevention of Torture Act, 2017 and international law; it should be used only when supported by court findings, medical documentation or credible human-rights investigations.
• Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment covers ill-treatment falling short of the legal threshold of torture.
• Enforced disappearance is a specific legal term: state agents (or persons acting with state acquiescence) deprive a person of liberty, then deny it or conceal their fate.
• A missing-person report is not, by itself, an enforced disappearance.
• Custodial death is a death occurring in state custody; some are unlawful, others are not.
• Extrajudicial execution is an unlawful killing by state agents outside a judicial process.

How Conya avoids the terms

• The Government cannot confirm custody of the person photographed entering our vehicle.
• The subject was later released from a location we cannot disclose.
• The initial explanation is being harmonised with the second explanation.
• The Ministry of Gender Statements is deeply concerned.

Frequently asked questions