Oscar Kamau Kingara
Oscar Kamau Kingara (died March 5, 2009) was a Kenyan lawyer and human rights activist. Kingara was the founder and director of the Oscar Foundation Free Legal Aid Clinic, a human rights organization based in Nairobi.[1] His 2009 assassination is widely attributed[1][2] to his work in documenting police killings.[1][3]
Contents |
Human rights work [edit]
Kingara was credited with an important role in investigative work behind police killings in Kenya.[4] In 2008, he released a report accusing Kenyan police of killing or torturing more than 8,000 people as part of a crackdown on the Mungiki criminal organization.[1] Another report to which Kingara made major contributions, The Cry of Blood — Report on Extra-Judicial Killings and Disappearances[3] was widely publicised by WikiLeaks.
Assassination [edit]
On March 5, 2009, Kingara and his assistant, John Paul Oulu, were ambushed and shot as they sat in rush hour traffic in a white Mercedes outside of the University of Nairobi dormitories.[1] Kingara was killed instantly while Oulu died soon after the attack.[1] The three gunmen, who were dressed in dark suits, escaped in two cars.[1] Critics quickly pointed to elements with the Kenyan security forces and police as responsible for the assassinations.[1] Following the assassination, WikiLeaks called for witness reports and described Kingara and Oulu as "Wikileaks-related senior human rights activists".[2] Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga condemned the killings saying, "We are hurtling towards failure as a state."[1]
Kingara was survived by his wife, Nancy Kamau, and their two children.[5] He was 38 years old. Kingara was buried at his family's home in Kiambu, Central Province.[5]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i McConnell, Tristan (2009-03-07). "Rights activist Oscar Kamau Kingara shot dead in central Nairobi". The Times. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ a b "Wikileaks writers killed in Kenya". Hawai`i Free Press/WikiLeaks. 2009-03-09. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
- ^ a b "'The Cry of Blood' — Report on Extra-Judicial Killings and Disappearances". Kenya National Commission on Human Rights/Enforced Disappearances Information Exchange Center. 2008-09-25. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
- ^ WikiLeaks (2009-06-02). "WikiLeaks wins Amnesty International 2009 Media Award". WikiLeaks. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
- ^ a b "Activist laid to rest". Daily Nation. 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This Kenyan biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
