Nairobi: Kenya`s governing duo of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have spent their first year in office undermining civil rights and operating with "rampant impunity", two rights groups alleged Wednesday.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) said Kenyan authorities "have attempted to clamp down on dissenting voices, either through the adoption of restrictive legislation aimed at further regulating the NGO or media sectors."
The groups also condemned "violent police crackdowns on demonstrators" and alleged "judicial harassment of protesters and human rights defenders".
The past year of the Jubilee coalition government "has been a period within which freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly have been constantly under threat," said KHRC director Atsango Chesoni.
"This undermining of these and other constitutional human rights gains must stop if Kenya is to truly follow the path of democracy and the rule of law," she added.
Kenyatta and Ruto were also criticised for refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), where they face charges for crimes against humanity over their role in post-2007 election violence.
The violence, which Kenyatta and Ruto are accused of orchestrating while they were political rivals, left at least a thousand people dead.
"Instead of fulfilling their obligation to ensure that victims of post-election violence get justice and redress, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto have spent their entire first year in office actively undermining these non-derogable rights," FIDH President Karim Lahidji said.
"It is time for them to uphold Kenya`s constitution and its international obligations," he said.The groups also lamented that "at the national level, there have been few prosecutions of mid-level perpetrators of the violence and most of them have ended in acquittals."
"In addition, those advocating for victim`s rights to justice have been the constant targets of stigmatisation and intimidation," they said.
The groups said human rights violations have also been committed under the country`s attempt to crackdown on Islamist militants, operations which have become a top national priority following last year`s attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.
The attack, which left at least 67 dead, was claimed by Somalia`s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels and prompted a string of major security swoops in and around Nairobi and along the Muslim-majority coastal region.
"Under the guise of preserving the country`s peace and security, authorities have conducted anti-terrorism operations which have, in some cases, been marred by serious human rights abuses," the groups said in a statement.
Over the last year the Kenyan parliament has pushed two controversial bills seen as restricting the east African nation`s vibrant media and civil society.
A new media bill, which has yet to be given final approval and is being challenged by major Kenya news organisations, would see journalists and media outlets policed by a special quasi-government body.
One of the most contentious elements of the bill includes the power to impose up to 20 million Kenyan shillings ($230,000, 165,000 euros) in fines on news organisations.
Deputies have also attempted to push through another bill that would cap overseas funding to NGOs, that would severely restrict the activities of groups like the KHRC.
