Oscar Kamau Kingara

Oscar Kamau Kingara

See also: John Paul Oulu

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]

Human rights work

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

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

• Human rights in Kenya

References

1. ^ ^{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. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5860870.ece. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Wikileaks writers killed in Kenya". Hawai`i Free Press/WikiLeaks. 2009-03-09. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/main/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/502/Wikileaks-writers-killed-in-Kenya.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-29. 
3. ^ ^{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. http://www.ediec.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Kenia/KNCHR_REPORT_ON_POLICE.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-29. 
4. ^ WikiLeaks (2009-06-02). "WikiLeaks wins Amnesty International 2009 Media Award". WikiLeaks. Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. http://mirror.wikileaks.info/wiki/WikiLeaks_wins_Amnesty_International_2009_Media_Award/. Retrieved 2010-12-29. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Activist laid to rest". Daily Nation. 2009-03-14. http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/545836/-/u353ff/-/. Retrieved 2009-04-02. 

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Name	Kingara, Oscar Kamau
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Date of death	2009-03-05
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