Latest news with #LSK
eNCA
2 days ago
- General
- eNCA
Tanzania faces call to investigate activists' torture claims
DAR ES SALAAM - The international community must pressure Tanzania to investigate police officers accused of sexually torturing Kenyan and Ugandan activists last month, a rights coalition in Kenya said on Tuesday. Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire were detained in Tanzania's business capital Dar es Salaam between 19-23 May when they attempted to attend the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is charged with treason and faces a potential death penalty. They have both detailed torture and sexual abuse by the police officers who detained them. On Tuesday, the Police Reforms Working Group, a coalition of Kenyan rights organisations, called on "the East African Community and the international community to demand that the government of Tanzania hold accountable the police officers and their commanding officers responsible for the torture, assault, and sexual assault committed against Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire." The group spoke alongside the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) at a press conference in Nairobi. "Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are serious crimes under multiple treaties and international law," they said. "The government of Tanzania must arrest and prosecute all officers suspected of responsibility for the human rights violations against Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire and bring them to justice in a fair trial." Irungu Houghton, director of Amnesty International Kenya, said Tanzania was engaged in "a brutal campaign against all forms of dissent" ahead of elections in October. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is running for re-election but her government has banned the main opposition party, Chadema, after it insisted on reforms before taking part.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Outrage in Kenya over detention of software developer
Kenyans have expressed outrage over the detention of a software developer who created a tool to help people oppose the government's annual finance bill because of fears that it will raise the cost of living. Rose Njeri was detained on Friday after police raided her home in the capital, Nairobi, and seized electronic devises, activists said. Police and the government have not yet commented on the detention of the mother of two. Mass protests broke out last year after the government proposed tax hikes, forcing President William Ruto to withdraw the 2024 finance bill. The bill outlines the government's spending priorities for the next financial year, and how it intends to raise income. At least 50 people were killed and dozens were abducted in a security force crackdown to end the protests that broke out last year. Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president Faith Odhiambo told the BBC Newsday radio programme that Ms Njeri's detention was a "recurrence of dictatorship". The 'tax collector' president sparking Kenyan anger BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters On Sunday, a group of activists gathered outside a police station in Nairobi, where the software developer is being held, to demand her release. Ms Odhiambo said that Ms Njeri - whom activists visited in prison - was "crestfallen" because with Monday being a public holiday, she had not yet been brought to court. Attempts to get her released on bail had failed, she added. "This has always been a government way of oppressing, intimidating and suppressing citizens because they know the courts don't sit over the weekend – and now we have a public holiday," Ms Odhiambo said. Boniface Mwangi, one of the activists who had visited Ms Njeri in custody, said she told them that police had ransacked her house and taken her phone, laptop and hard drives. He said she was worried about her two children. "Imagine having to tell her children that she's in jail for developing a website that eases public participation for Kenyans who want to submit their proposals on the 2025 budget," he said on X. Ms Njeri was detained after sharing a link to a site that flagged clauses in the bill that she said would lead to the cost of living escalating. It also allowed people to email parliament, calling for the bill to be withdrawn. She also raised concern that a proposal to amend tax procedures, allowing the tax authority to access personal data without a court order, could undermine privacy rights. The new finance bill replaces the zero-rated tax provision on essential commodities with tax-exempt status. Zero-rated goods are taxed at 0%, and suppliers do not charge value-added tax (VAT) to customers but can still claim input VAT on the materials used in producing these goods. Tax-exempted goods are also not subject to VAT but suppliers cannot claim back input VAT, leading to higher prices for consumers or reduced profit margins for businesses, economists and activists say. Finance minister John Mbadi recently admitted that tax-exempt goods may be "slightly more expensive" but explained that the move was necessary to close tax loopholes. He said the government had determined that traders do not pass the zero-rating benefit to consumers, while some make "fictitious and fake" claims for refunds. Mbadi is scheduled to present the government's spending and tax proposals in parliament next week. Last week, Ruto apologised to Kenyan youth for "any misstep" in dealing with them since he took office in 2022. Last month, he said that all the people who had been abducted after last year's protests against tax hikes had been "returned to their families". How Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churches Kenyan president's humbling shows power of African youth Protesters set fire to Kenya's parliament - but also saved two MPs Mourning mother's anger at Kenyan migrant smugglers Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Kenyan rights groups condemn arrest of protest site developer
Representative Image (AI-generated) Kenyan rights groups have condemned the arrest of a software developer who built a platform opposing a contentious finance bill, warning that it reflected an intensifying crackdown on dissent. The East African country has been cracking down on critics of the government since massive protests last June against tax rises and corruption. Security forces are accused by rights groups of killing at least 60 people during the protests and abducting dozens more in the aftermath. On May 19, developer Rose Njeri shared a link to her website on X, saying it was built to oppose a new finance bill, which she warned would raise living costs and breach privacy rights. She was arrested on Friday afternoon, triggering a storm of online outrage. She remained in police custody in Nairobi on Sunday. "All efforts to secure her release on police bail have so far been frustrated by the officers in charge who are yet to cede to requests by counsel to release her," said Faith Odhiambo, head of the main lawyers' association (LSK), said on X on Saturday. Rights group Vocal Africa said on X that Njeri's arrest was "a blatant attack on digital rights, freedom of expression and civic engagement". President William Ruto said last month that all people abducted following the June-July anti-government protests had been "returned to their families". He promised it would not happen again.
