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Table of Contents
Country Reports
Kenya, Landmine Monitor Report 2003

Kenya

Key developments since May 2002: Pending formal approval in September 2003, Kenya will host the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty at UN facilities in Nairobi from 29 November–3 December 2004. Kenya has served as co-chair of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies since September 2002. In April 2003, Kenya’s Department of Defense confirmed plans for destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in 2003. In response to demands from the local population, the Kenyan military has begun some risk education in areas contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

Mine Ban Policy

Kenya signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 5 December 1997, ratified it on 23 January 2001, and it entered into force on 1 July 2001. Kenya has not yet enacted national implementation measures as required by Article 9, but has expressed its intention to do so.[1] Kenya has indicated that it submitted its annual updated Article 7 transparency report to the United Nations on 7 February 2003.[2] As of July, that report was not posted to the UN website.[3] Kenya has submitted two previous Article 7 reports.[4]

Kenya attended the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002 and the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in February and May 2003. During the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, the Kenya delegation stated, “Kenya remains fully committed to fulfilling her obligations as a State Party to the Convention. In the last year, Kenya actively participated in all areas of the convention’s activities including at the intersessional meetings where we played the role of co-rapporteur to the Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness, and Mine Action Technologies. We believe this active participation has and continues to encourage others to work towards the fulfillment of the objectives of the Convention.”[5] Kenya also welcomed the Landmine Monitor Report 2002 for its documentation of the progressive steps of the international community toward embracing the new international humanitarian norm of rejecting antipersonnel mines.

At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Kenya became co-chair, with Belgium, of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Risk Education and Mine Action Technologies. At the May 2003 intersessional meetings, States Parties agreed to accept Kenya’s offer to host the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty at UN facilities in Nairobi from 29 November–3 December 2004, pending formal approval at the Fifth Meeting of States Parties in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2003.[6]

In November 2002, Kenya voted in support of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, promoting universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, and Destruction

Kenya has never produced or exported landmines. The government reported a stockpile of 38,774 antipersonnel mines of British, Belgian and Israeli origin, of which 3,000 will be retained for training and development as permitted under Article 3 of the Mine Ban Treaty.[7] Kenya clarified in February 2003 that it does not possess Claymore-type directional fragmentation mines.[8]

At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Kenya noted that a “large number of developing countries including Kenya are experiencing difficulties in fulfilling their obligations particularly in the technical and financial areas” and urged “those who are able to provide such assistance to increase their support.”[9] While attending the official launch of the Landmine Monitor Report 2002 in Nairobi in September 2002, the British Deputy High Commissioner said, “United Kingdom is willing to assist the Kenyan authorities in the task of safely destroying Kenya’s stockpile of landmines, a process due to start in 2003, and which must be completed by 2005.”[10]

In April 2003, Kenya’s Department of Defense confirmed it “has finalized arrangements for the destruction of its stockpile in 2003. Details on the destruction program will be made available to all parties in time to allow for the attendance of the media and public to [the] destruction event.”[11] Kenya’s treaty-mandated deadline for completion of stockpile destruction is 1 July 2005.

UXO Problem and Clearance

Kenya does not have a landmine problem, but is contaminated by unexploded ordnance (UXO), especially in the pastoral north of the country where annual military drills by Kenyan and foreign military forces are carried out, and in areas where the 1950s Mau Mau rebellion was intense.[12] The British military has carried out live-fire training in Kenya for several months each year since 1945.[13]

These annual military drills are carried out around the Archer’s Post and Dol Dol areas of Samburu district and expose more than 600,000 people and their livestock to potential danger.[14] A case lodged against the UK Ministry of Defence for damages to the affected population was settled out of court in July 2002.[15]

The British Army, in conjunction with Kenyan authorities, started clearance operations in the Archer’s Post area in April 2001.[16] In 2002, UXO clearance continued in Archer’s Post Sector Two, in 15 training sectors covering 1,500 square kilometers.[17] Some 300 square kilometers of contaminated areas have been cleared. During operations, clearance teams found on average four to five pieces of ammunition per square kilometer.[18]

British forces train Kenyan military in clearance techniques and provide some of the equipment needed to conduct clearance operations.[19] At the regional level, Kenya has remained involved in demining along the Eritrea/Ethiopia border as part of the UN peacekeeping mission.[20] Kenya’s Department of Defense confirmed that the demining team abroad has not suffered any casualties, nor have there been casualties in Kenya since the start of the UXO clearing exercise in April 2001.[21]

Mine/UXO Risk Education

There is minimal mine/UXO risk education in Kenya, despite the presence of victims in UXO-contaminated areas and in camps for refugees from mine-affected neighboring countries. An estimated 600,000 people in UXO-contaminated areas and in refugee camps stand to benefit from mine/UXO risk education.[22]

The Kenyan military has begun to carry out mine/UXO risk education in Samburu district following demands from the population there.[23] The military visits schools and manyattas[24] in the district, giving lectures and staging demonstrations on the harmful effects of UXO.

A local NGO, Organization for the Survival of Il-Laikipiak Indigenous Maasai Group Initiative (OSILIGI), conducts some risk education discussion sessions within the manyattas and also carries out random evaluation checks on the progress being made in the clearance operations.[25]

The Nairobi Rotary Club, through its local program the Jaipur Foot Project, carries out limited mine/UXO risk education in Samburu district and in some parts of Masailand. The program entails the production of videos, media outreach and interactive sessions. The Rotary Club also conducts risk education in conjunction with other organizations such as the Kenya Boy Scouts movement, the National Council of Churches and the Association of Physically Disabled Persons.[26]

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2002, thirteen people were injured in reported UXO-related incidents.[27] Ten incidents were in Samburu district, one in Narok and two in Isiolo district. It is reported that more than 500 people may have been killed by UXO since the military drills began in 1945. Many more have been injured by unexploded ordnance left behind by the soldiers.[28]

In 2001, seven people were injured in reported UXO-related incidents.[29] It is believed there could be more UXO casualties that go unreported in remote areas of northern Kenya, which are used for the annual military drills.

Casualties continue to be reported in 2003.  In June 2003, a police reservist was killed and eight people seriously injured when their vehicle reportedly hit a landmine in the Moyale area.[30] 

Survivor Assistance

Public health facilities in Kenya are believed to be adequate, ranging from rural health centers to national referral hospitals ready to provide first aid and advanced medical care to patients.[31]

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hospital at Lopiding, on the Kenya-Sudan border, continues to provide physical rehabilitation to mine survivors and other persons with disabilities coming across the border from rebel-held areas of southern Sudan. In addition to providing first aid and surgical services to landmine survivors, the hospital also extends follow up assessment, nursing care and physiotherapy to patients. In 2002, Lopiding Hospital treated ten landmine survivors, all from southern Sudan.[32] The hospital’s orthopedic workshop fitted 380 prostheses, of which 78 were for mine survivors, produced 194 orthoses, of which one was for a mine survivor, and also produced 1,576 crutches and distributed 25 wheelchairs.[33]

The Nairobi-based Jaipur Foot Project manufactures orthopedic appliances for all persons with disabilities. In 2002, 465 mobility devices were produced and 150 wheelchairs distributed. In 2001, 483 patients were fitted with prostheses; seven were mine/UXO survivors. The project also provides crutches, surgical shoes, continuing medical care and a repair service using volunteer doctors and counselors. The Jaipur Foot project also provides limbs to other countries in the sub-region such as Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda. In November 2002, 100 wheelchairs worth Ksh150, 000 (US$2,000) were donated by the Rotary Club and distributed by the Jaipur Foot Project in various parts of the country.[34]

In July 2002, Britain agreed to pay more than US$7 million to more than 200 Kenyans killed or injured by mines and explosives left in military training fields by the British Army in northern Kenya. Most of the casualties were children who accidentally detonated unexploded ordnance while herding livestock. [35]

In 2002, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) opened an office in Nairobi as part of a new project called the Omega Initiative. The program provides technical and financial assistance to victims of war, and other persons with disabilities, in sub-Saharan Africa. Funded by the US government’s Leahy War Victims’ Fund, the program offers services ranging from capacity building and sustainability, employment and economic integration, physical rehabilitation, prostheses and assistive devices, to psychological and social support.[36] These services, however, were not available in Kenya as of mid-2003.

Disability Policy and Practice

The Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services is responsible for issues relating to persons with disabilities, including mine/UXO survivors. There are no laws protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, however, the Disabilities Bill 2002 has been drafted and is awaiting enactment by the Kenya Parliament. The bill sets out the rights of persons with disabilities, including rights relating to medical care, rehabilitation, employment and education. When enacted, the bill will provide for the establishment of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, which will be the focal point for all issues relating to persons with disabilities.


[1] During the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in Geneva in September 2002, Landmine Monitor organized a roundtable for the delegations of Kenya, Uganda and South Africa to meet with the ICRC to discuss the Article 9 requirements of the Mine Ban Treaty. At that meeting, the Kenya delegation expressed its intention of seeking more information and direction on the drafting of implementation legislation from the ICRC. Apparently, it has yet to do so. Kenya’s two Article 7 reports state that implementation measures will “follow in legislation.” Article 7 Reports, Form A, 27 December 2001 and 15 May 2002.
[2] Report for Landmine Monitor, prepared by Colonel Mohamed Hussein Ali, Department of Defense, Nairobi, April 2003. This was also stated by the Kenya delegation in a meeting during the May 2003 Standing Committee meetings.
[3] See Article 7 website, http://disarmament.un.org/MineBan.nsf
[4] Article 7 Report, 27 December 2001 (for the period 28 January 2001-28 December 2001); Article 7 Report, 15 May 2002 (for the period 29 December 2001-30 April 2002).
[5] Statement by James Kihwaga, Alternate Head of Delegation, to the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 17 September 2002.
[6] “President’s consultations on developing a process to prepare for the First Review Conference of 2004,” prepared by President of the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Belgian Ambassador Jean Lint, for intersessional Standing Committee meetings, 16 May 2003.
[7] Article 7 Report, Form B, 27 December 2001. Identical numbers are contained in the updated report. For information on types of mines retained, see Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 323.
[8] Oral remarks to Standing Committee on Stockpile Destruction, Geneva, 6 February 2003 (Landmine Monitor/HRW notes).
[9] Statement by James Kihwaga, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 17 September 2002.
[10] Remarks by Paul Harvey, Deputy British High Commissioner, during the launch of Landmine Monitor Report 2002, Nairobi, 13 September 2002.
[11] Report for Landmine Monitor by Department of Defense, April 2003.
[12] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 323, and earlier editions.
[13] “Pastoralist compensation claim materializes,” IRIN (Nairobi), 22 August 2002; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 323.
[14] Population estimate based on figures obtained from local administrators responsible for the strand of communities in northern Kenya, as reported in Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 324.
[15] “Pastoralist compensation,” IRIN, 22 August 2002; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 323.
[16] Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 323.
[17] Interview with Maj. Joseph Alila, Isiolo, 4 December 2002.
[18] “Pastoralist compensation,” IRIN, 22 August 2002; Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 323.
[19] Remarks by Paul Harvey, Deputy British High Commissioner, 13 September 2002.
[20] Statement by James Kihwaga, Fourth Meeting of States Parties, 17 September 2002.
[21] Report for Landmine Monitor by Department of Defense, April 2003. The report said Kenya’s commitment to the eradication of the landmine menace is underlined by its efforts to double the personnel engaged in high risk demining activities at the Eritrean/Ethiopian border.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Interview with Maj. Joseph Alila, Isiolo, 4 December 2002.
[24] A manyatta is a cluster of traditional Samburu/Masai huts, which can accommodate up to 300 people.
[25] “Pastoralist compensation,” IRIN, 22 August 2002.
[26] Interview with Sunil Sinha, Program Manager, Jaipur Foot Project, Nairobi, 30 October 2002.
[27] Ibid; Interview with Sunil Sinha, Jaipur Foot Project, Nairobi, 13 June 2003.
[28] “Victims speak out on UK’s 540m shillings payout offer for their suffering,” Daily Nation, 2 September 2002, p. 11.
[29] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 324.
[30] “Mine explosion kills officer,” East African Standard, 11 June 2003.
[31] See Landmine Monitor Report 2002, p. 324.
[32] Interview with Sister Engred Tjosflaat, Head Nurse, Lopiding Hospital, Lopiding, 17 December 2002.
[33] ICRC Physical Rehabilitation Programs, “Annual Report 2002,” Geneva, June 2003.
[34] Interviews with Sunil Sinha, Jaipur Foot Project, 30 October 2002 and 13 June 2003.
[35] “Britain to Pay Kenyans Hurt by Explosions of Its Weapons,” Agence France Presse, 20 July 2002.
[36] See VVAF website, at http://vvaf.org/humanitarian/omega.shtml