Oscar Kamau King'ara

According to some of the latest cables released by whistle-blowing website Wikileaks, US representatives believed the Kenyan Government to be responsible for the killing of human rights defenders Messrs Oscar Kamau King'ara and John Paul Oulu “GPO” on 5 March 2009.

Further Information

Oscar Kamau King'ara was a lawyer, founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Oscar Foundation, a registered charity which offers free legal services to poor people in Kenya. John Paul Oulu “GPO” worked for the Oscar Foundation as Communications and Advocacy Officer. The two human rights defenders were shot dead on 5 March 2009 on Mamlaka Road outside Hall 11 in Nairobi.

According to the leaked cables, the US ambassador to Kenya reported to his superiors in Washington that undercover security agents were responsible for the killing. The ambassador subsequently offered the services of the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to assist in the investigation of the killing, although it is not stated whether or not this offer was accepted.

At the time of their killing, Oscar Kamau King'ara and John Paul Oulo “GPO” had been on their way to the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) for a meeting with Mr Kamanda Mucheke, a senior human rights officer with KNCHR, concerning how to formally respond to accusations made the same day by Government Spokesman, Dr Alfred Mutua, that the Oscar Foundation was funding Mungiki, a political and religious group.

Oscar Kamau King'ara and John Paul Oulo “GPO” had been active in reporting and denouncing extrajudicial killings in Kenya. The Oscar foundation had provided information to Prof. Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in the context of his fact-finding mission to Kenya in February 2009. Furthermore, the Oscar Foundation had presented a report on extrajudicial killings, entitled “The Killing Fields”, to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and a report on organised gangs to the Kioni Committee of the Kenyan Paliament.

Two years on, those responsible for the assassination of Oscar Kamau King'ara and John Paul Oulo “GPO” have yet to be brought to justice. In light of the latest developments, Front Line renews its call for a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those to justice in accordance with international standards.