Intensifying legal protection against human rights violations in the Covid-19 era: A case study of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Pages: 90-122
• Published date: 01 April 2021
• Citation: (2020) 7(2) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 90
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v7/i2a4
• Date: 01 April 2021
• Author: Tom, R.

https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v7/i2a4 90

INTENSIFYING LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE

COVID-19 ERA: A CASE STUDY OF KENYA,

UGANDA AND TANZANIA

Ratemo Tom Junior*

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has, since its outbreak in late 2019, not only caused

a global health care crisis but has also had a negative impact on the exercise of

social, economic, cultural and political rights. Vulnerable and marginalised groups

in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among the worst affected. To respond to the

crisis, the three East African countries imposed several measures aimed at curtailing

the spread of the disease, which included a mandatory 14 days of self-quarantine

for persons arriving from abroad; the closure of borders, religious and educational

institutions; the suspension of international and domestic flights; the suspension of

public court proceedings and gatherings; the imposition of a dusk to dawn curfew;

and the restriction of people’s movement in certain areas. All these measures in one

way or another affect the exercise of fundamental human rights. In the past few

months, the number of reported cases of human rights violations has been escalating.

This article seeks to highlight the three states’ practice of avoiding the ‘naming,

shaming and prosecuting’ of perpetrators of human rights violations during

the coronavirus pandemic. It also exposes instances of human rights violations

in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania during the pandemic. In addition, the paper

proposes measures to be undertaken to intensify legal protection against human

rights violations during the coronavirus pandemic. Finally, the paper explores the

elusive option of making the top state officials legally accountable for individual

human rights violations.

Keywords: COVID-19; human rights; violence; housing; accountability

Résumé

La pandémie de coronavirus a depuis son déclenchement à la fin de 2019 non

seulement provoqué une crise sanitaire à l’échelle mondiale, mais également eu un

impact négatif sur l’exercice des droits sociaux, économiques, culturels et politiques.

Les personnes vulnérables et marginalisés au Kenya, en Ouganda et en Tanzanie

sont les plus touchées. Pour répondre à l’impasse du coronavirus, les trois pays

d’Afrique de l’Est ont imposé plusieurs mesures visant à freiner la propagation

de la maladie qui, entre autres, consistent en: une auto-quarantaine obligatoire de

quatorze jours pour les personnes arrivant de l’étranger; la fermeture des frontières,

* Postgraduate Diploma in Law CCA BCom LLB LLM PhD; Lecturer, Kenyatta University

School of Law, Nairobi, Kenya. Email: jrtom2001@gmail.com.

(2020) 7(2) Journal of Comparative Law in Africa 90

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

INTENSIFYING LEGAL PROTECTION AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

IN THE COVID-19 ERA: A CASE STUDY OF KENYA, UGANDA AND TANZANIA 91

https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v7/i2a4

des institutions religieuses et éducatives; la suspension des vols internationaux et

internes; la suspension des procédures devant les cours et tribunaux ainsi que des

rassemblements publiques; l’imposition du couvre-feu du crépuscule à l’aube; et la

restriction de la circulation des personnes dans certaines zones. Toutes ces mesures

affectent d’une manière ou d’une autre l’exercice des droits fondamentaux reconnu

à tout être humain. Au cours de ces derniers mois, le nombre de cas signalés de

violations des droits de l’homme a augmenté. Cet article cherche donc à mettre

en évidence une pratique dans ces trois États concernés consistant à éviter de

«dénoncer, réprimer et poursuivre» les acteurs des violations des droits de l’homme

dans le contexte de la pandémie de coronavirus. Il expose également des cas de

violations des droits de l’homme au Kenya, en Ouganda et en Tanzanie pendant

la pandémie. En outre, l’article propose des mesures à prendre pour intensifier

la protection juridique contre les violations des droits de l’homme pendant la

pandémie de coronavirus. Enfin, l’article explore l’option impensable de rendre les

hauts fonctionnaires de l’État juridiquement responsables des situations concernant

des violations individuelles des droits de l’homme.

Mots clés: COVID-19; droits de l’homme; violence; logement;

responsabilité

Introduction

The month of January 2020 began on a high note in Kenya, Uganda and

Tanzania, with everyone oblivious of what would be in store in the next

few months. The swift global spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)1

brought with it challenges and suffering. Since its discovery in late 2019,

it has caused not only a global health care crisis, but it has also had a

negative impact on the exercise of social, economic, cultural and political

rights.

The governments in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania introduced several

measures to prevent the spread of the disease.2 These measures included

1 The coronavirus disease is a novel global infectious respiratory disease, transmitted primarily

through droplets of saliva or nasal fluid discharge whenever an individual sneezes or coughs.

The disease was first discovered in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in 2019. See World Health

Organisation ‘Coronavirus’ available at https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1

[Accessed on 10 June 2020]; World Health Organisation ‘Emerging respiratory viruses, including

COVID-19: Methods for detection, prevention, response and control’ available at https://openwho.

org/courses/introduction-to-ncov [Accessed on 10 June 2020]; Shah, S.S. ‘Impact of COVID-19 on

Kenya’s economic development’ 15 April 2020, available at https://www.policycenter.ma/opinion/

impact-covid-19-kenyas-economic-development#.XuDEf7gk38w [Accessed on 10 June 2020].

2 Kenya reported its first case of the virus on 13 March 2020 and, by 11 June 2020, the number of

persons who had been infected with the virus had risen to 3 215 with 1 092 recoveries and 92 fatalities.

See Njeru, B. ‘Health Ministry awaits funds as 121 more test positive for COVID-19’ The Standard

Newspaper 11 June 2020, available at https://standardmedia.co.ke/health/article/2001374802/

health-ministry-awaits-funds-as-121-test-positive-for-covid-19 [Accessed on 11 June 2020]; United

Nations University ‘Background Note COVID-19 and Socioeconomic Impact in Africa’ available at

https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/covid-19-and-socioeconomic-impact-africa-0 [Accessed

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

92 JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW IN AFRICA VOL 7, NO 2, 2020

https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v7/i2a4

mandatory 14 days’ self-quarantine for persons arriving from abroad;

the isolation of individuals with signs and symptoms of the disease; the

closure of borders, certain business premises, religious3 and educational

institution; restrictions on the number of persons present during the burial

of COVID-19 victims; restrictions on people’s movement in certain areas;

and the regular disinfection of public and high-risk areas.

The other measures imposed by the states included the suspension

of international and domestic flights and other public transport systems;

directions on the provision of hand sanitisers and hand-washing facilities

by public transport operators; prohibitions on the use of privately owned

vehicles; the suspension of public court proceedings and gatherings;

the suspension of prison visits; the enforcement of rules about social

distancing and the wearing of masks; permission for non-essential

government employees to work from home; and the imposition of dusk

to dawn curfew periods.4 All these measurer in one way or another affect

the exercise of fundamental human rights.

on 11 June 2020]. On the other hand, Uganda had confirmed its first case on 21 March 2020 and

as of 11 June 2020, there were 679 confirmed cases with 161 recoveries and zero fatalities. See

Sentamu, K.R. ‘COVID-19: Uganda must take robust measures to defeat the coronavirus pandemic’

The Elephant News 6 April 2020, available at https://www.theelephant.info/features/2020/04/06/

covid-19-uganda-must-take-robust-measures-to-defeat-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ [Accessed

on 11 June 2020]; ‘Uganda: Coronavirus cases’ Worldometer 11 June 2020, available at https://

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uganda/ [Accessed on 11 June 2020]. The United

Republic of Tanzania, the largest country in the East African Community, reported its first case of

the virus on 16 March 2020 and, by 11 June 2020, there were 509 confirmed cases of the virus with

183 recoveries and 21 deaths. See ‘Tanzania: Coronavirus cases’ Worldometer 11 June 2020, available

at https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/tanzania/ [Accessed on 11 June 2020];

Tarimo Silver, C. & Wu, J. ‘The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Tanzania: Recommendations

based on lesson learned from China’ (2020) 48 Tropical Medicine and Health Journal 25, available

at https://tropmedhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41182-020-00214-x [Accessed on

11 June 2020].

3 Relig ious institutions in Tanzania, however, were not affected. See Materu, B. ‘Tanzania

reports 14 more Covid-19 cases’ The East African Newspaper 13 April 2020, available at https://

www.theeastafrican.co.ke/scienceandhealth/Tanzania-reports-14-more-Covid19-cases/3073694-

5522746-o9tfjq/index.html [accessed on 10 June 2020].

4 Maina, S. ‘Coronavirus poses ethical concer ns: A view on the choices being made inKenya’

The Conversation 22 April 2020, available at https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-poses-ethical-

concerns-a-view-on-the-choices-being-made-in-kenya-135338 [Accessed on 10 June 2020]; World

Health Organisation ‘Uganda uses recent outbreak experience to prepare for coronavirus’ 18 March

2020, available at https://www.afro.who.int/news/uganda-uses-recent-outbreak-experience-

prepare-coronavirus [Accessed on 10 June 2020]; Karashani, B. ‘For Tanzania, it’s business as usual,

yet’ The East African Newspaper 28 March 2020, available at https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/

ea/For-Tanzania-it-business-as-usual-yet-coronavirus/4552908-5506830-d6oxga/index.html

[Accessed on 10 June 2020]; ‘Kenya taking drastic measures to curb coronavirus spread’ VOA News

28 March 2020, available at https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/

kenya-taking-drastic-measures-curb-coronavirus-spread [Accessed on 10 June 2020]; ‘Coronavirus:

Kenya introduces tight restrictions’ BBC News 16 March 2020, available at https://www.bbc.

com/news/world-africa-51917920 [Accessed on 10 June 2020]; Aceng, J.R. ‘Status of Uganda’s

preparedness on the 2019-coronavirus outbreak’ World Health Organisation 12 February 2020,

available at https://www.afro.who.int/news/status-ugandas-preparedness-2019-coronavirus-

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd