Human Rights are Highlighted by the Dutch King on His State Visit to Kenya

As part of a state visit to Kenya that has coincided with growing accusations of human rights violations, the Dutch king made reference to Kenyans’ human rights on Tuesday. In Nairobi, King Willem-Alexander declared, “The people of Kenya, like those of the Netherlands, want their views to be heard and their rights as free citizens to be respected.” During his visit, he continued, the topic was up for discussion.

I am pleased that our countries’ strong and mature relationship allows us to devote attention during this visit to issues like human rights, good governance, and accountability,” stated Willem-Alexander. Over 20,000 Kenyans created a petition on Change.org urging Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to rethink their visit.

Last month, the Dutch government announced that the state visit will go on as planned despite receiving over 300 emails requesting the cancellation. It is anticipated that the Dutch royals would remain in Kenya for three days after their arrival on Monday night. Kenyan President William Ruto’s government office hosted a 21-gun salute and an honor guard inspection for King Willem-Alexander on Tuesday morning.

Particularly since the anti-government events in June 2024, when protesters stormed the parliament over new taxes enacted by lawmakers, Nairobi has been accused of arresting and detaining dissidents. The nation has witnessed state-affiliated kidnappings of young men for posting content on social media that the president found insulting, in addition to cracking down on protesters and restricting free expression.

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