Kenya
Casualties and Victim Assistance
Casualties
Casualties Overview
|
All known casualties by end 2015 |
124 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (45 killed; 79 injured) 1999-2015. An additional 1,274 persons were reported as having been injured by ERW prior to 2004. |
|
Casualties in 2015 |
1 (2014: 7) |
|
2015 casualties by outcome |
1 injured |
In 2015, in the Republic of Kenya, one mine/ERW casualty was identified.[1] A 10-year-old boy was injured by unexploded ordnance within a live-fire range near Wamba in November.[2] Throughout 2015, the media reported frequent security forces casualties from landmines attributed to non-state armed groups; however, the means of detonation was not recorded and therefore have not been included in the total.[3]
The one casualty in 2015 is a decrease from 2014 when seven mine/ERW casualties were identified. In January 2014, a six-year-old boy was killed and two other boys were slightly injured by an explosive device near a military training field.[4] Four young men were injured while herding animals in a similar incident in October 2014.[5] No mine/ERW casualties were identified in 2013.[6] In 2012, a British World War II-era bomb killed a six-year-old boy.[7] In 2011, 29 new mine/ERW casualties were identified in Kenya, including 22 children.[8]
The Monitor has recorded 124 mine/ERW casualties in Kenya between 1999 and the end of 2015 (45 people killed and 179 injured).[9] Casualty figures are likely incomplete because there is no systematic casualty data collection mechanism in Kenya. In addition, 228 Masai and Samburu tribespeople identified as injured by unexploded ordnance (UXO) in training areas used by the British Army made an out of court settlement with the UK Ministry of Defence 2002.[10] In 2004, another 1,046 Kenyans reportedly injured by UXO were identified in a claim that was also compensated ex gratia by the UK Ministry of Defense.[11]
Victim Assistance
The total number of survivors is unknown, but is at least 1,097 (1,046 reported through the British compensation claims process and 51 survivors identified by the Monitor in 2003–2015). Mine/ERW survivors receive the same services as other persons with disabilities.
Access to services for persons with disabilities remained limited. In 2013, parliamentarians with disabilities launched the Kenya Disability Parliamentary Caucus (KEDIPA) to focus on improving physical access, economic integration, and inclusion of disability issues in government policy.[12] Additional support for persons with disabilities is provided by the United Disabled Persons of Kenya Group (UDPK), chaired by Senator Godliver Omondi. The UDPK is a cross disability organization meant to provide education and awareness for persons with disabilities. In April 2015, the UDPK participated in the Bridges between Worlds follow-up meeting hosted by the Chair of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention’s Committee on Victim Assistance.[13]
Kenya ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 19 May 2008.
[1] Monitor media monitoring 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015.
[2] “Kenya: UK Denies Troops Kidnapped Kenyan Minor” cajnews Africa, 17 November 2015.
[3] See for example: “Kenya: Five Policemen Wounded; No Deaths in Al-Shabaab Attack on Yumbis,” The Star, 26 May 2015; “Somalia: Three KDF Servicemen Injured After IED Explodes in Lamu,” Shabelle Media Network, 22 June 2015; “Somalia: Three Killed in Al Shabaab Landmine Attack,” Dalsan Radio, 14 July 2015; “Five KDF officers injured after landmine hits vehicle near Kenya/Somalia border,” Standard Media, 23 November 2015; “Kenya: Three Kenyans Soldiers Injured As Vehicle Hits Ied in Lamu,” Daily Nation, 8 December 2015; and “Terrorist killed, four others wounded after IED explodes,” Standard Media, 26 December 2015.
[4] “Six year old killed after stepping on landmine in Baringo,” KTN, 1 February 2014.
[5] “Explosive Injures Four in Mukutani,” Baringo County News, 10 October 2014. In addition, there were reports of suspected command-detonated devices targeting security forces’ vehicles in 2014, however the reports had little detail and the Monitor only records casualties from victim-activated devices. Monitor media monitoring January 2014 to December 2014.
[6] An incident occurred in the Dagahaley area within Dadaab refugee camp in December 2013 that was referred to as involving a landmine. The means of detonation was not indicated and the resulting casualties have not been included in the annual total. “Four police officers injured in landmine explosion,” Daily Nation, 30 December 2013; and “Four police officers injured in Dadaab landmine explosion,” Standard Media, 30 December 2013.
[7] “Fishermen discover live bombs in Lake Victoria,” News24, 7 May 2012; and “Deaths and injuries caused by unexploded World War II bombs left by British soldiers is a menace around Lake Victoria,” Jaluo, 29 March 2012. Both reports mention additional casualties but provide insufficient details and so were not included. In addition, throughout 2012 casualties continued from suspected command-detonated devices targeting security forces’ vehicles at the border with Somalia. Since the Monitor only records victim-activated explosive casualties, these casualties have not been included in the annual total. Monitor media monitoring 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012.
[8] Monitor media monitoring 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011.
[9] Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor global casualty database query for 1999-2015.
[10] Paul Redfern, “UK to pay munitions victims £4.5m,” News Sunday, 21 July 2002.
[11] Colin Blackstock, “Kenyans win MoD damages,” The Guardian, 12 February 2004.
[12] United States Department of State, “2013 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Kenya,” Washington, DC, undated.
[13] “Experts call for stronger bridges to be built in support of landmine survivors,” Mine Ban Treaty Implementation Support Unit,23 April 2015.