The Civic Freedoms Forum (CFF) is increasingly concerned that Safaricom is targeting the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), the Nation Media Group, and individual journalists through legal threats and other punitive actions, in an attempt to silence and dissuade further reporting on its alleged involvement in aiding abuses by the Kenyan state.

On October 29, a Nation investigation found that Safaricom unlawfully shares customers’ location data with law enforcement officers to aid in the identification and tracking of suspects in operations that may have included enforced disappearances, rendition, and extrajudicial killings. The report also detailed how Safaricom may have frustrated the course of justice when Kenyan security forces are accused of enforced disappearance and murder.

Despite the exposé and its grave implications, Safaricom has not directly addressed the allegations, instead choosing to flex its political and financial muscle by bullying and harassing the Nation and its journalists. Safaricom threatened to take legal action against the Nation Media Group, the individual journalists who reported the investigation—Namir Shabibi and Claire Lauterbach—and the reporters who did a follow-up story—Daniel Ogetta, Kepha Muiruri, and Evans Jaola.

Then, on November 12, it was reported that Safaricom suspended all adverts with the Nation Media Group as persecution for its October 29 investigation and subsequent coverage.

Concerned by Safaricom’s attacks on the Nation and freedom of the press, KHRC and MUHURI wrote to the company on November 14, urging it to respond to the detailed allegations. Instead of responding to the allegations of criminality, Safaricom issued a subtle threat to KHRC and MUHURI on November 18, ordering the organizations to stop making public statements or actions on this issue. Safaricom further demanded that KHRC and MUHURI remove its letter to the telco from all its social media pages. KHRC and MUHURI rejected Safaricom’s attempts to intimidate them.

The telecoms company’s retaliatory attacks on Nation Media Group, KHRC and MUHURI constitute brazen attempts to silence public interest journalism, also known as “strategic litigation against public participation” (SLAPP). To date, Safaricom has not responded to critical allegations in the Daily Nation story, including those highlighted in KHRC’s and MUHURI’s letter.

The fact that Safaricom attempts to cast itself as the victim in this matter is as manipulative as it is absurd. It is the Kenyan people who are victims, and urgently deserve answers to the allegations in the Nation’s investigation.

Threats of SLAPP suits, such as the ones being issued by Safaricom, have been a tool by large corporations to silence critics and avoid accountability. CFF will not allow it to succeed on this or any other occasion.

CFF demands that Safaricom respond to the issues that KHRC and MUHURI raised in their letter, and those that Daily Nation carried in its story. Furthermore, Safaricom’s parent company, the Vodafone Group, must end its calculated silence, apologize to the Nation and its journalists, and urgently announce a clear and transparent investigation into the conduct of its subsidiary.

To leave no doubt: CFF stands in solidarity with KHRC, MUHURI, the Nation Media Group and its journalists. CFF will not be deterred from making further public statements regarding Safaricom’s alleged involvement in criminality against the Kenyan people. We also urge the Nation Media Group to maintain its brave stance, support its courageous journalists, and not cave into threats and political and economic bullying.

Signed by

1. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa
2. Constitution and Reform Education Consortium - CRECO
3. Defenders Coalition
4. Independent Medico-Legal Unit - IMLU
5. InformAction TV
6. Initiative for Inclusive Empowerment - IIE
7. Kenya Human Rights Commission - KHRC
8. Muslims for Human Rights - MUHURI
9. Partnerships 4 Empowerment and Networking in Kenya (PEN KENYA)
10. Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!
11. Haki Yetu Organization
12. Transparency International - Kenya

As we close the Fourth Civic Space Protection Summit, which coincides with the second anniversary of the Kenya Kwanza regime, we wish to express our disappointment over the troubling current state of civic space and governance in Kenya. This is even as Kenya joined the other countries in celebrating the International Day of Democracy on September 15, 2024. Over the past 24 months, the state has demonstrated that it has no regard for the Constitution, independent oversight bodies, or civil society.

Defiance of court orders and people’s wishes by senior state officials continue to be one of the key challenges to advancing civil liberties in the country. We condemn this culture of impunity and expect the immediate-former acting Inspector-General of police, Gilbert Masengeli, to lead by example by obeying the court order and present himself to the Commissioner General of Prisons to begin serving his six-month sentence. If Masengeli fails to do this, Kenyans will expect the Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kindiki Kithure, to initiate steps to have him committed. The primary reason for the court summons against the Masengeli is to ensure that the three people abducted in Kitengela—Boby Njagi, Aslam Longton and Jamil Longton—are produced in court. We still demand their immediate, unconditional release. Should the Interior CS fail to initiate the steps to commit Masengeli to prison, we urge the public to initiate citizens' arrest against the immediate-former acting IG. We also demand a stop to the police-led persecution of Boniface Ogutu, an activist in Kisumu who has been leading pro-accountability protests in the county.

Still, the right to peaceful protest, enshrined in Article 37 of our Constitution, remains under severe attack. Recent events, such as the protests over the 2024 Finance Bill, have shown that extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and abductions by state actors have become far too common. We are reaffirming our stance that these violations must end. We will continue to hold security agencies accountable for their actions and demand justice for those whose rights have been violated. The Assemblies and Demonstrations Bill of 2024, which is on the floor of the National Assembly, indicates that the state has no intention of implementing the Constitution. Over 60 civil society leaders and human rights defenders have lost their lives over the past two years. We demand the suspension and interdiction of the police officers involved in these criminal acts and continued harassment and abductions. We further condemn the police actions against Trever Mathege Mureithi, a first-year student at Multimedia University who was severely injured and had teargas canister lobbed at him at close range. He is currently admitted to a medical facility in critical condition. The use of such lethal crowd control weapons by the police has been normalized despite a court order banning their use.

Today, despite the robust framework on public participation under the Constitution, we continue to witness the state’s deliberate and negligent abdication of its duty to engage the public in the development process, especially those with negative consequences for taxpayers. As such, over the past months, we have witnessed the erosion of fiscal accountability, observing how mismanagement of public resources directly impacts human rights. The last two years have shown us that authoritarian leadership and corruption are not just a fiscal issue but a human right. The mismanagement of public funds, widespread corruption, and the intimidation of oversight institutions violate our right to transparent governance and limit the government's ability to provide essential services to its citizens. The recent case of Adani, which wants to take over JKIA, is a classic example of a state's deliberate effort to subvert the constitution to the benefit of a few. We want to call for stronger independent institutions, greater accountability, and an end to the misuse of state agencies to suppress dissent.

Kenyans, our country have some of the most vibrant digital activism globally. However, while young people have embraced this space, the state has continued to use repressive tactics and administrative actions to suppress freedoms. State surveillance that leads to abduction, cyberbullying, and propaganda has led to self-censorship. We stand firm in our commitment to defend digital rights and ensure that the internet remains a space for free expression, advocacy, and civic engagement.

We wish to end by reaffirming our strong position in our mission to protect, promote, and expand civic space in Kenya. The road ahead may be tough, but we are resilient. Our democracy depends on it.

The Police Reforms Working Group Kenya (PRWG-K) and Civic Freedoms Forums (CFF) are deeply shocked and saddened by the recent discovery of at least six dismembered bodies at the Kware dumpsite near Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums in Nairobi. These dismembered bodies were found wrapped in sacks and polythene bags of assorted colours, which were tied with majorly with ligatures, and retrieved from a garbage-filled quarry pit opposite Kware police station with a similar pattern of packaging according to yesterday’s statement on the X platform of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.  This horrific incident is a mass fatality issue, it represents a grave violation of human rights and raises serious concerns about the rule of law and security in our country.

This discovery comes amid a troubling surge in cases of mysterious disappearances and abductions, particularly following recent protests against the Finance Bill 2024 that has resulted in the deaths of over 40 individuals, further, how the bodies were disposed of highlights the brutal nature of these killings and the urgent need for justice in light of the National Police Service (NPS) facing severe accusations of involvement in unlawful activities.

The government must allow for a thorough investigation into these killings to uncover the truth behind these heinous acts and determine the identities of these dismembered and unidentified female victims.

PRWG-K and CFF calls for the following actions:

1. We urge the government to allow for and initiate swift comprehensive investigations into these killings. It is crucial to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths and hold those responsible accountable.
2. Because the bodies were dismembered, we are concerned that they may be co-mingled and thus, will require sorting and reassociation according to forensic medical best practice.
3. To ensure that the identities of the victims are scientifically determined for accuracy we request that the Directorate of Criminal Investigation, Division of Forensic & Pathology Services and the National Registration Bureau prioritize the collection of fingerprints of the victims immediately.
4. To ensure that the Forensic Death Investigation Process – that is Postmortems should be done together with independent observers. These processes should be done in a central location. As such, the bodies should be moved to one location and preserved awaiting forensic death investigation.
5. The crime scene should be urgently secured, and competent personnel should be involved in overseeing and or conducting forensic retrieval of all remaining remains or bodies.
6. The National Construction Authority should close all open quarries.
7. Establish a National Missing Persons Database
8. Ensure that there is a clear cooperation mechanism for purposes of evidence management, between the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and other law enforcement agencies to expedite investigations into all reports of enforced disappearances, and deaths allegedly committed by police officers. Ensuring accountability within the police force is vital to restoring public trust and upholding justice.
9. We appeal to members of the public to come forward with any information regarding missing, abducted, or deceased victims. Public cooperation is essential in aiding investigations and bringing perpetrators to justice.
10. In conclusion, the discovery of these dismembered bodies dumped in this quarry pit is a stark reminder of the urgent need to address and further publicize human rights violations and ensure the safety and security of all citizens. The PRWG-K and CFF remains committed to advocating for justice, accountability, and the protection of human rights in Kenya.

For further assistance, or to report human rights violations, please call our helplines at IMLU at 0800-721-401 or Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

This statement is signed by the Civic Freedoms Forum (CFF) and Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya, (PRWG-K) an alliance of national and grassroots organizations committed to professional, accountable, and human rights-compliant policing. They include:

Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Kariobangi Paralegal Network, Defenders Coalition, Katiba Institute, Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCW), Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), International Justice Mission (IJM-K), HAKI Africa, Amnesty International Kenya, Women Empowerment Link, Social Welfare Development Program (SOWED), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA- Kenya), International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ - Kenya), Transparency International Kenya, Shield For justice, Wangu Kanja Foundation, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO), Kenyans for Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ), Peace Brigades International Kenya. (PBI Kenya).

Members of the Civic Freedoms Forum (CFF) and leaders of national civil society organizations (CSOs) have today convened a strategy meeting to develop a plan of action that will guide the collaboration between CSOs and the government towards implementation of priority components of the PBO Act of 2013, which entered into force yesterday, 14^th May 2014.

It took 11 years and four months of struggle and efforts, including court actions and dialogue between the CSOs and the government, to realize this milestone. This commencement is an important step forward and demonstrates the commitment of the current regime and civic society to a future of an enabling environment and broadened democratic space in Kenya. With this law, the people of Kenya, and in particular the CSOs, will set a positive example for all of Africa and the world.

As we celebrate this gain, we know the hard work is beginning. As the PBO Act is operationalized, the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Act of 1990 now stands repealed. During this transition phase, we must be prepared for the following:

• Automatic transition of all CSOs registered under the repealed law.
• Transition of the NGOs Coordination Board to the PBO Regulatory Authority
• Transition of the NGO Council to the Federation of PBOs
• Development and adoption of regulations pursuant to Section 69 of the Act.
• Establishment of PBOs Disputes Tribunal
• Voluntary registration of new CSOs who would like to enjoy benefits under the PBO Act.
• Voluntary Registration of civil society organizations that are currently registered under other regimes but would like to enjoy benefits under the PBO Act.

Other than the publicized self-regulation, PBOs are expected to enjoy an array of benefits including but not limited to:

1. Indirect government support in the form of:

• Income tax exemptions on income received from membership subscriptions and donations or grants; income tax on income acquired from the active conduct of income-producing activities if the income is wholly used to support the public benefit purposes for which the organization was established.
• incentives for donations by legal and natural persons.
• employment tax preferences.
• special tax incentives for donations to form endowments and prudent investment policies.

2. Preferential treatment in public procurement procedures and bidding for contracts.

3. Provision of direct government financing for public benefit organizations that partner with the government, via budget subsidies, grants for specific purposes, and contracts to perform certain work.

In this regard, CFF calls upon the Government to:

1. Establish a joint task force (including key civil society leaders and government agencies) to oversee the transition and other prohibitive laws that restrict the enabling environment for CSOs.
2. Establishment of the joint committee of not more than fifteen members, with shared representation from both sectors (state and CSOs), as envisaged in the First Schedule, to provide reports on the application and compliance of the principles, which includes establishing, respecting, and promoting an enabling environment for PBOs in Kenya.
3. To ensure a seamless process, consider extending the term of the current Executive Director of the NGO Coordination Board until the end of the transition period.
4. Facilitate public education and sensitization on the PBO Act, 2013.
5. Assessment of the ‘NGO Council through public participation among civil society organizations for legitimacy before transitioning to the PBO Federation.
6. Immediate review of the Sessional Paper No.1 of 2006 on NGOs

CFF remains committed to providing continuous policy and political support and guidance to implementation of this law and enabling environment for CSOs.