PEN Kenya President Arrested, Beaten in Protest

March 4th, 2009 by Ben - Editor

Alert! According to reports, the president of PEN Kenya, activist Philo Ikonya, was arrested and beaten by police during a peaceful protest in Nairobi against food hyperinflation “in the midst of the current famine, which is reportedly threatening 10 million Kenyans”.

Ikonya was arrested with fellow writer Fwamba N C Fwamba. Both required hospitalization after the ordeal and – in a truly Kafkaesque twist – both “have been denied the right to lodge an official complaint against the police officer who assaulted them”.

Here’s the full report:

(WiPC/IFEX) – The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of International PEN protests the arrest and alleged police assault of Philo Ikonya and Fwamba N C Fwamba, President and member of Kenyan PEN respectively, in Nairobi on 18 February 2009. The writers were reportedly arrested while taking part in a peaceful protest and severely beaten while in police custody. Ikonya and Fwamba, who both required hospital treatment following the attack, have been denied the right to lodge an official complaint against the police officer who assaulted them. The WiPC reminds the Kenyan authorities of its duty to protect its citizens, including their right to freedom of expression, assembly and peaceful protest, as well as freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It calls on the authorities to conduct a full and impartial investigation into the alleged police assault as a matter of urgency and to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Ikonya is an author, human rights activist and the President of Kenyan PEN; Fwamba is an internet writer and a member of Kenyan PEN. Both were arrested on 18 February for taking part in a peaceful protest against hyperinflation and the rising price of maize flour in the midst of the current famine, which is reportedly threatening 10 million Kenyans. They were arrested outside the Kenyan parliament along with activist Patrick Kamotho, a member of Bunge la Mwananchi (People’s Parliament, a civil society forum purporting to offer an alternative to the official Kenyan National Assembly).