Foreign direct investment in Kenya and the rights of Indigenous Peoples: The nexus and the divergence

Abstract

While foreign investment remains attractive and is contributing to the growth and development of many African states, in most instances, its human rights impact has been reprehensible. To create a favourable environment for foreign investment, governments often prioritize economic gains over fundamental human rights and in some instances, overlook human rights abuses perpetrated by foreign investors. In Kenya, indigenous people are the most common victims of human rights abuses as a result of foreign investment. Despite Constitutional protections and judicial pronouncements, the Kenyan government has been hesitant in providing indigenous people the needed safeguards where there is conflict between their rights and state backed development projects. This chapter examines the appropriateness of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, and other human rights instruments in Kenya, investigating how these instruments have shaped the efforts of the Kenyan government in protecting indigenous peoples from human rights violations as a result of foreign investment.