Human Rights Watch accuses Kenyan government of inadequate response to floods

Nairobi, Kenya — Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Kenyan authorities of failing to adequately respond to ongoing floods that have killed more than 170 people since the start of the rainy season.

The New York-based human rights group said the government “has a human rights obligation to prevent foreseeable harm from climate change and extreme weather events and to protect people when disaster strikes.”

The Kenyan Meteorological Department sent out an advance warning before the start of the rainy season, but President William Ruto only formed a response committee on 24 April. At that time, almost 100 people had died due to the floods.

Kenya, along with other parts of East Africa, has been ravaged by floods. More than 150,000 people are displaced and live in dozens of camps.

The rights group said the government failed to learn lessons from last year’s rainy season, which left hundreds of people dead.

The meteorology department had warned that the country would experience increased rainfall due to El Niño until early this year, but Ruto said in October that the country had been spared by the weather pattern.

The government announced at the time that at least 10 billion Kenyan shillings ($75 million) would be released to prepare a national response. It is unclear how the funds were used, and critics have accused the government of misappropriation.

People affected by ongoing flooding in Mai Mahiu in the west of the country have accused the government of a slow response. At least 45 people have died after a river burst its banks and destroyed homes, with more than 80 people missing since Monday. The rubble has not yet been removed to recover any buried bodies.

On Tuesday, the government advised those living in flood-prone areas to move or be forcibly evacuated, as more rain is expected across the country until May.