100. The Respondent State submits that as a general rule under Section 84 of the Kenyan Constitution, the
prohibition of discrimination shall not extend to distinctions, exclusions, restrictions or preferences made by
State Parties between citizens and non- citizens provided that such provisions do not discriminate against
any particular nationality. It submits further that, non-indigenous Kenyan communities that do not qualify for
automatic citizenship by birth fall under this provision and in considering whether people who fall under this
category warrant the grant of Kenyan citizenship, the National Registration Bureau in Kenya, has put in
place varied vetting procedures.
101. According to the Respondent State, members of African, Arab and European descent are subjected to
the same vetting process as those of the Nubian Community where they are required to provide birth
certificates of their parents and those of their grandparents to as certain their suitability for Kenyan
citizenship. The Communities that live along the border such as the Taita, Maasai, Somali, Luhya, and
some coastal Communities are also subjected to similar vetting processes.
Alleged violation of Article 5
102. The Respondent State submits that in order to protect the dignity of everyone in its territory, the
Constitution of Kenya provides that no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading
punishment or treatment. Slavery, forced labor and corporal punishment are equally prohibited. The
Respondent State outlines reforms it has undertaken in the prison sector and the rules that protect the
integrity of detainees.
103. It avers that Kenya enacted The Statute Law (Repeals and Miscellaneous Amendment), Act, 1997,
which expressly prohibits torture being used by the police to extract information/evidence. The Respondent
State points out that the efforts of the Government to combat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment have been supplemented by civil society organizations working in Kenya. It points
out further that Kenya laws, whether statutory or administrative, are not discriminative but apply to all
without distinction.
Alleged violation of Article 12
104. The Respondent State submits that the Kenyan Constitution deals with protection of freedom of
movement and provides that no citizen of Kenya shall be deprived of his freedom of movement, the right to
reside in any part of Kenya, to leave Kenya and immunity from expulsion from Kenya. This freedom may
only be restricted in the interest of defence, public safety, order, morality and public health or in the
enforcement of a court order.
105. It states that the right to freedom of movement applies to Kenyans and foreign nationals alike, so long
as they are in the country lawfully. The Respondent State avers that members of the Nubian community
who have successfully applied for Kenyan citizenship enjoy freedom of movement within Kenya in the
same way as all other Kenyans following the issuance of National Identity Cards to them. It also avers that
members of the Nubian community, who fall within the category of aliens, enjoy equal rights as any other
legal aliens without any discrimination whatsoever.
106. The Respondent State argues that it is not proper for the Complainants to allege a violation of Article
12 of the Charter if they have not sought the procedures to acquire citizenship. The Respondent State
maintains that Article 12 of the Charter allows states to discriminate vis a vis the movement of foreign
persons to curb insecurity. The Kenyan Government as part of exercising territorial sovereignty within the
meaning of customary international law has every right to determine its internal issues especially when it
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