Eldoret is one of the most important cities of Kenya, well known for giving birth to some of the best athletes of the country. Unfortunately, sports are no longer the only thing Eldoret is famous for. In recent months, many activists and volunteers are denouncing a terrible reality:
the city police of Eldoret is being organized to systematically exterminate homeless children who live on the street.Far from helping these abandoned children by giving them shelter and providing them with life opportunities, the city authorities have decided to opt for the cruelest way: use the police to give them terrible beatings and to force them to leave the city. Starting in late 2015, activists say that police are now even murdering street children to terrorize the rest of the community. So far this year, the group Ex-Street Children Community Organization has recorded the deaths of 14 homeless minors, while more than seven more are missing.
Some local politicians believe these attacks could even be ethnically motivated. Many of the street children do not belong to Kenya's dominant ethnic group, and the city of Eldoret has a gruesome history of violent clashes. Peter Chomba, an elected Member of County Assembly, says: "If you look at what is happening, it is a pre-planned campaign. They profile professions drawn from certain communities and then attack them. What is happening is an attempt to claim this place for one community."
We must act together to stop this coordinated campaign to attack and kill street children and ethnic groups in Eldoret.
As an international community, we urge the United Nations to immediately investigate these murders and charges of ethnic violence. While
the government of Kenya claims law enforcement officials are not responsible for these killings, we cannot accept this answer until we know the truth. If we create a large enough international outcry, we can shine a light on this horrendous slaughter and push the U.N. to take action. Sign the petition now and share it!
