Dutch King highlights Human Rights during state visit to Kenya

The Dutch king referred to the human rights of Kenyans on Tuesday, during a state visit to Kenya which has coincided with mounting allegations of human rights abuses. "The people of Kenya, like those of the Netherlands, want their rights as free citizens to be respected and their voices to be heard," said King Willem-Alexander in Nairobi. He went onto say that the subject was up for discussion during his visit.

"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," Willem-Alexander added. More than 20,000 Kenyans signed a petition on Change.org asking Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to reconsider their visit.

The Dutch government last month said it received more than 300 emails asking for the cancellation but that the state visit would proceed as scheduled. The Dutch royals arrived on Monday night, and are expected to stay in Kenya for three days. King Willem-Alexander was honored with a 21-gun salute and inspected an honor guard at Kenyan President William Ruto’s government office on Tuesday morning.

Nairobi has been accused of arresting and detaining critics, especially after the June 2024 anti-government protests during which demonstrators stormed the parliament over new taxes passed by legislators. Along with cracking down on demonstrators and curbing free speech, the country also saw state-linked abductions of young men for social media posts deemed offensive to the president.

In December, during demonstrations against widespread kidnappings and abductions, dozens of peaceful protesters were arrested. Kenya was among several African countries elected to the UN Human Rights Council in October 2024.