Editor's note: Read the petition here.

Reuben Kigame and the Kenya Human Rights Commission have filed a petition seeking to overturn the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024, warning that it grants the state unfettered power to surveil, silence, and even endanger citizens who criticize the regime.

Mr. William Ruto signed the contentious law on October 15, 2025, despite growing concerns that it could exacerbate state-sponsored repression.

At the heart of the challenge is a sweeping clause criminalizing the publication of what the law vaguely calls “false, misleading, or mischievous information.” The petitioners argue that this vague and overbroad definition effectively grants the regime the discretion to determine what constitutes truth and to punish those who speak out against it.

The law compels all social-media users to verify their accounts using their government-issued legal names, a move the petitioners say opens the door to state surveillance, profiling, and intimidation of regime critics. The petition notes that this is especially dangerous in a country where human rights defenders, journalists, and activists have historically been abducted, tortured, or killed after speaking out.

“The mandatory verification requirement constitutes a blanket infringement of the right to privacy under Article 31 of the Constitution,” the petition reads. “It forces the unnecessary revelation of private affairs and directly infringes upon the privacy of communications.”

Kigame and KHRC warn that the law would make anonymity, long a shield for whistleblowers and victims of state violence, illegal. It also forces digital platforms to rapidly remove posts flagged as offensive, and this will create a culture of pre-emptive censorship that silences online debate before it even begins.

“This law criminalizes speech on the basis of speculation,” the petition says. “It targets communication that the state claims could hypothetically cause harm, without any demonstrable link between expression and outcome.”

Kigame and KHRC also say the manner in which the bill was passed was itself unconstitutional, as it was not referred to or debated by the Senate, despite affecting functions that fall under county governments.

The Board of Directors and staff of the Kenya Human Rights Commission mourn with deep grief the passing of Comrade Raila Amolo Odinga on October 15, 2025, in India.

Baba, as he was fondly known in Kenya and beyond, was a renowned statesman and Pan-Africanist who will be remembered for his fearless fight for human rights, democracy, and justice. Despite what some may consider missteps in the latter years of his political life, his courage, sacrifices, and consistency in pushing for constitutionalism and democratic governance remain unmatched in modern-day Kenyan politics.

Throughout Kenya’s modern history, Baba played a key role in advancing human rights and democratic governance. His detention without trial in the 1980s for opposing one-party rule symbolized a broader struggle for political freedoms. He was at the forefront of the push for multiparty democracy in the early 1990s. He later became one of the key political figures supporting the reform movement that led to the adoption of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

Over the years, Baba consistently spoke out against state repression, championed electoral justice, and supported grassroots movements demanding accountability. His leadership during the constitutional referendum campaigns and post-election reform processes reflected a deep commitment to expanding civic space and strengthening democratic institutions.

Baba’s towering contributions to the struggle for a just society, as a compatriot and a general of the struggle, are woven with commitment and sacrifice for justice and the greater good of all people. He fought in the courts, in Parliament, in government boardrooms, and on the streets, always driven by the conviction that personal sacrifice was part of the arc of history. Whether confronting authoritarianism, demanding accountability, or defending civic freedoms, his voice was never silenced by injustice.

Since KHRC’s formation in 1992 as a non-governmental organization, Baba, through various political formations, has stood among our closest collaborators as we pursued our vision of a democratic, pro-people, rights-respecting state and society. This bond is anchored in our shared history and DNA. KHRC is a political advocacy organization founded by political activists and human rights defenders committed to transformative change through a robust and free civil society.

Our engagement with Baba was particularly significant during the constitutional and political reform struggles of the 1990s. He stood in solidarity with human rights defenders at critical moments, including joining protests in Nairobi during the campaigns against extrajudicial killings that we led. He was among the most accessible political leaders during the grand coalition government, listening to civil society ideas and often moving them forward through political channels.

We have sustained this strategic engagement and partnership over the years. A notable example was on November 8, 2023, when Baba was the chief guest at a joint launch by KHRC and the Mau Mau War Veterans Association of the veterans’ foundation, website, and book.

We honour his sacrifices and celebrate Baba’s revolutionary achievements in the struggle for a just Kenya. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Mama Ida Odinga, their children, the wider Jaramogi family, and the people of Kenya, and renew our commitment to stay the course in delivering a democratic state and society.

Baba, may you rest in Power. Your political spirit lives on.

Co-signed
Maina Kiai, Board Chairperson | Betty Okero, Board Vice-Chairperson | Nerima Wako, Board Member | Kwamchetsi Makokha, Board Member | Lorna Dias, Board Member | Gabriel Dollan, Board Member | Wanjiru Gikonyo, Board Member | Davis Malombe, Executive Director and Secretary to the Board

Editor's note: Read the petition here.

The mandatory housing levy by the Kenya Kwanza regime is driving Kenyans deeper into poverty while being repurposed as a political tool to woo voters, civil society groups have told the High Court.

In their petition, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, Transparency International Kenya, The Institute for Social Accountability, Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi! and Siasa Place describe the levy as illegal, unconstitutional, and socially retrogressive. They argue it unfairly targets salaried workers already weighed down by statutory deductions, while sparing the political elite and other powerful groups.

Citing data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the petition notes that more than a third of Kenyans live below the poverty line, with food inflation and stagnant wages eroding household incomes. The levy, they argue, further strips workers of scarce disposable income needed for essentials such as food, healthcare, and education.

Evidence from the KNBS 2024 economic performance report shows the levy’s regressive impact on socio-economic rights. The construction sector, central to housing delivery, contracted by 0.7 percent in 2024, reversing a 3 percent growth in 2023. KNBS attributes the downturn to higher costs of input, reduced private investment, and the levy’s drain on household spending.

Cement consumption fell 7.2 percent to 8.5 million tonnes, the steepest drop in two decades, while steel imports dipped 12 percent. Employment in construction shrank 4.2 percent, contrary to claims by the regime that the levy is creating jobs.

The petitioners also accuse the Kenya Kwanza regime of turning the fund into a vehicle for political patronage. Mr. William Ruto announced that 20 percent of houses, about 34,000 units from 170,000 ongoing projects, would be allocated to teachers after a meeting at State House. The deal was formalized through an MoU without Board approval, needs assessment, or public tendering. Ruto further promised houses to Harambee Stars players during the CHAN football tournament.

“These acts suggest misuse for patronage ahead of the 2027 elections,” the petition says.

The petitioners want the High Court to suspend all deductions and declare the levy unconstitutional.

Editor's note: Read the petition here.

Families of 21 boys who died in the Endarasha fire, backed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Elimu Bora Working Group, have sued the state and school for failing to protect their children’s lives.

The constitutional petition, filed at the High Court in Nyeri, names Hillside Endarasha Academy, its proprietors, the Ministry of Education, the Attorney-General, and education authorities as respondents.

It accuses them of negligence and dereliction of duty, arguing that the tragedy was preventable and stemmed from the state’s failure to enforce safety standards in schools.

According to the petition, the dormitory where the boys aged 10 to 14 perished was built of wood and lacked basic fire safety measures.

Despite earlier government audits warning of widespread fire risks in boarding schools, the institution was allowed to operate unchecked, petitioners say.

The families further recount being subjected to psychological torment in the aftermath, receiving little to no information from authorities, being denied the choice of mortuaries, and forced into mass burials on state-determined dates.

The petitioners are seeking a declaration that the state failed in its duty of care, accountability from education officials and the school’s proprietors, and a court order compelling the public release of investigations into the fire and a mandatory audit of the school’s safety compliance.

“The heaviest caskets are the smallest,” the petition painfully states.

Fifteen years after its promulgation, the Constitution’s transformative promise remains largely unfulfilled. Though it envisioned a democratic, accountable, and people-centered state, critical provisions on governance and social justice have been ignored, undermined, or manipulated.

Peaceful protesters, particularly young Kenyans in the recent Gen Z-led demonstrations, have been met with bullets, abductions, and killings. This undermined the right to assemble and petition under Article 37.

The Executive has repeatedly disobeyed court orders, eroded the authority of the Judiciary, and weakened constitutional checks and balances. Independent commissions and oversight institutions, established under Chapter 15 to safeguard accountability, have been starved of resources, undermined, or brought under Executive thumb.

Devolution, one of the Constitution’s most significant gains, has been systematically weakened through delayed and inadequate funding of counties, crippling essential services such as healthcare and education.

Populist directives, such as the victims’ compensation framework, which bypasses lawful processes, and the multi-agency anti-corruption taskforce, which usurps the role of constitutional commissions, continue to prove the regime’s disregard for the rule of law. Meanwhile, corruption and the wastage of public resources remain rampant, robbing Kenyans of opportunities and deepening inequality.

At the same time, the regime has failed to realize the socio-economic rights guaranteed under Article 43. Millions of Kenyans face worsening unemployment, collapsing education standards, and a failing health system.

Against this backdrop, President William Ruto’s declaration of Katiba Day appears less about honoring the Constitution and more about sanitizing a record of consistent violations. For the last 14 years, citizens, civil society, and progressive actors have faithfully marked the anniversary of the Constitution’s promulgation, even under hostility from successive regimes. Katiba Day has always provided a moment for Kenyans to reflect, take stock, and reaffirm their commitment to defending the Constitution. They did not need a presidential proclamation to remember this day, as it has always belonged to the people.

This year’s theme, “Inuka Uilinde” or “arise and defend the Constitution”, is a timely reminder that the Constitution must be rescued from political expediency and defended by the people it was written for. The Gen-Z movement has already shown the power of citizen action in exposing impunity. It must now be sustained and broadened.  As civil society organizations, we demand the following actions in defense of the Constitution:

1. There must be a fidelity to the letter and spirit of the Constitution. Populist, unconstitutional directives must be abandoned in favor of lawful processes anchored in the Constitution.
2. Interference with Parliament and the Judiciary must end. Legislators should be free to exercise their oversight and lawmaking roles without Executive influence, while independent commissions and oversight bodies must be adequately resourced to fulfill their mandates free from political manipulation.
3. There must be justice for victims of state violence, past and present. Corruption and wastage must be confronted decisively, and those responsible for human rights violations and the looting of public resources must be held accountable.

Signed:

1. Act Change Transform (Act!)
2. Article 19 East Africa
3. Civic Freedoms Forum (CFF)
4. CRECO
5. Defenders Coalition
6. Haki Yetu
7. Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU)
8. InformaAction
9. Initiative for Inclusive Empowerment
10. International Justice Mission (IJM)
11. Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!
12. Katiba Institute
13. Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
14. Kenya Land Alliance (KLA)
15. Kituo cha Sheria
16. Mazingira Institute
17. Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI)
18. Siasa Place
19. The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA)
20. Transparency International Kenya (TI-Kenya)
21. Wangu Kanja

Editor's note: Read the court's decision here.

The High Court in Eldoret has handed transgender Kenyans a historic victory, directing the state to enact a Transgender Protection Rights Act, after ruling that prisons do not provide protections for their dignity and privacy.

In the alternative, Justice Reuben Nyakundi ordered the amendment of the Intersex Persons Bill, 2024, to plug the glaring gaps in the law.

The court’s decision came on August 12, 2025, following a petition from SC, a transgender Kenyan who fought for recognition after invasive and nonconsensual medical procedures were carried out during her incarceration.

SC was born male but identified and lived as a female from childhood. She obtained official documents, including ID, birth certificate, and passport with female sex marker, and competed as a female athlete.

However, on June 14, 2019, police arrested SC at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and charged her with “personation” under Penal Code s.382. SC was initially detained in the women’s section of Eldoret police station and remanded at Eldoret women’s prison.

But a prison strip search degraded her even more, and a court ordered “gender determination”. SC was taken to MTRH for tests, underwent genital examination, radiology, hormone testing, and blood sampling without her consent and beyond the court’s order. Her private medical records were also leaked to the media.

SC filed a constitutional petition seeking recognition as transgender Kenyan, protection of her rights, damages, and prison law reforms. She won the case, with the court recognizing her transgender status and agreeing that her rights to dignity and privacy had been violated through the stripping, searches, and medical examinations, and offering her Sh1 million in damages.

We welcome the court’s decision, which further held that state-imposed limitations on SC’s core rights, including freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, equality and non-discrimination, dignity, freedom and security of the person, and privacy were unconstitutional.

The court’s decision to recognize SC as a transgender person further upholds the right of transgender persons to determine their self-identified gender. The state is directed to grant legal recognition of that gender identity within Kenya’s legal framework. This is a decisive step that moves recognition from debate to duty.

The court’s order for the enactment of the Transgender Protection Rights Act, or, in the alternative, the amendments of the Intersex Persons Bill 2024, clearly calls on Parliament to complete the work of achieving equality.

As directed by the court, the Office of the Attorney General should explore an amendment to Part VI of the Prisons Act to address threats and violations faced by transgender persons in custody.

This ruling sets a new standard for the rights of transgender persons in Kenya. Self-identification is recognised, and legal identification is no longer optional. Duty bearers must act with care and respect in custodial settings. Privacy and consent in clinical procedures are not negotiable.

We recognise the years of suffering that transgender Kenyans have endured in police stations, prisons, hospitals, schools, workplaces, homes, and on our streets. Many have been misgendered, humiliated during searches, forced to undress, and subjected to invasive examinations without consent.

Others have been placed in unsafe cells, denied essential items and medication, and outed without their permission. Families have been strained, jobs lost, health harmed, and personal safety has been constantly at risk.

Today, we honour SC and every transgender Kenyan who has insisted that dignity means what it says. We stand ready to support drafting, training, and public participation so that what the court has declared becomes true across the country. Equality, privacy, and safety belong to everyone.

We welcome the Office of the Attorney General to lead the immediate work that follows. We welcome Parliament to take up the legislative opportunity identified by the court so that equality is a principle and a lived reality for every transgender Kenyan.

We further call for the quick provision of appropriate physical and structural facilities in police stations and prisons so that constitutional rights are protected at the point of arrest and detention.

Signed

• Amka Africa Justice Initiative
• galck+
• Initiative For Equality & Non-Discrimination
• Kenya Human Rights Commission
• National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission
• Pema Kenya

Preliminary observations and demands

The Kenya Human Rights Commission takes note of the Presidential Proclamation on the Framework for Compensation of Victims of Protests and Riots, published on August 8, 2025.

Reporting to Mr. Ruto, this initiative is intended to establish a framework for compensating civilians and police victims of protests between 2017 and 2025.

KHRC and its sector partners have long advocated for victim–and human rights–centred approaches to justice. However, given the direct involvement of past and present regimes in the violations under review, we are deeply concerned that the proposed framework risks becoming another exercise in whitewashing and cover-up rather than a vehicle for truth, justice, and accountability.

With decades of experience pursuing justice for victims of state and corporate atrocities, from the colonial era to today, KHRC sets out 10 irreducible demands. The Ruto regime must act on them as a sign of its political goodwill and seriousness. These steps require no new frameworks, only decisive administrative action that rests fully within the regime’s control.

1. An unconditional public apology from Mr. Ruto and a demonstrated expression of remorse for the brutal acts perpetrated by state security forces and complicit corporates.
2. Immediate and unconditional release of the more than 90 youth political prisoners currently detained in various police cells nationwide, as well as dozens of missing people last seen under police custody.
3. Immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all trumped-up, politically motivated charges brought against human rights defenders (HRDs) arrested in different parts of the country before and between 2017 and 2025.
4. Immediate end to political persecution and repression. In particular, we demand the unconditional return of Martin Mavenjina, Senior Program Advisor at KHRC, who was extraordinarily and unlawfully renditioned to Uganda by the regime on July 6, 2025, while returning to Kenya from South Africa.
5. Immediate and unconditional end to arbitrary and prohibitive tech repression manifesting in the surveillance, tracking, and capture of HRDs, and other forms of media censorship.
6. Prompt and full payment of all court-ordered and officially sanctioned remedies to victims of gross human rights violations in Kenya, within the period under review and beyond.
7. The regime must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all appeals filed in cases where it has been found culpable of egregious human rights violations. Ongoing cases against human rights violators, whether state or corporate actors, must be fast-tracked.
8. Immediate and unconditional stoppage of criminalization of public gatherings, including, but not limited to, protests, court appearances, and media events. The retention of the term “riots” in the framework reflects the state’s deliberate framing to delegitimize the right to peaceful assembly and protest, as guaranteed under Article 37 of the Constitution.
9. Immediate and unconditional assurance of victims’ protection, and provision of medical care to survivors of state-sanctioned human rights violations between 2017 and 2025.
10. Immediate and unconditional cessation of state violence, de-escalation of injustices, and an end to the capture of constitutional and independent institutions responsible for justice and governance in the country.

Further policy and legal concerns

While we remain committed to advancing justice for affected victims, we are deeply concerned that the proposed framework blatantly contravenes national and international laws on transitional justice in the following ways:

1. Executive overreach and lack of independence

The framework is initiated and controlled by Mr. Ruto, who is already compromised by his declaration of protesters as “terrorists” and “coup plotters,” and by issuing shoot-to-maim orders. Mr. Ruto himself praised police killings of protesters.

Moreover, the framework ropes in the Ministry of Interior, a state organ implicated in the very violations under review; the Attorney General, who has consistently defended state-led abuses; and the National Treasury, architect of the punitive Finance Bills that sparked the 2023 and 2024 protests.

This alignment of offices, directly tied to the violations in question, destroys the political and institutional independence necessary for genuine investigations and accountability. It amounts to executive capture of a justice process, violating Articles 47 and 50 of the Constitution, which guarantee fair administrative action and impartial hearings before independent tribunals.

2. Erosion of constitutional and institutional mandates

The framework undermines the roles of constitutional commissions and independent institutions, particularly the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), which are mandated to investigate systemic human rights violations and police excesses, respectively.

3. Violation of the Victims Protection Act, 2014 (Parts V and VI)

Having a separate compensation framework under this initiative contradicts the Victims Protection Trust Fund and Board mandate to provide services, support, and restitution to victims of crime and offences. Still, it is unfortunate that taxpayers bear such compensation despite not committing the crime.

4. Contravention of international human rights standards

Based on the above findings, the framework contravenes the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and Reparations for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law. These principles call for:

1. Independent and impartial truth and justice mechanisms;
2. Full investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators;
3. Effective reparations, including compensation, rehabilitation, restitution, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition;
4. Protection of victims and institutional reforms to prevent future violations.

None of these requirements is guaranteed under the proposed framework. We are aware that there are officials within the regime who know and understand these positions, and we are dismayed and disappointed that they have now seemingly abandoned their principles and are now behaving like praise singers of the regime.

Our position

Given these political and legal realities, we call for the immediate disbandment of this compromised and unlawful initiative. Instead:

1. KNCHR and IPOA must be granted operational and political support to conduct joint investigations and report directly to Parliament.
2. The state must operationalize the Victims Protection Trust Board, long frustrated by political interference, to oversee reparations to victims.
3. Human rights organizations, UN human rights experts, and mandate holders should be allowed to monitor and supervise the investigations, compensation, and reparations.
4. To guarantee non-repetition, the Kenya Kwanza regime must ensure that all its decisions comply with the Constitution, uphold the rule of law, protect human rights, and respect the sovereignty of the people.
5. Moving forward, and to deepen individual and command responsibility and public financial accountability, we recommend amending the Victims Protection Act, 2014, to ensure compensation for victims of state-sanctioned violence is drawn from the proceeds of the perpetrators, not from the public purse. This mirrors the ICC Trust Fund for Victims, which is partly financed through fines and asset forfeitures imposed on offenders.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission is thrilled to announce the appointment of veteran human rights defender Maina Kiai as the new chairperson of its board of directors.

He assumes the leadership of the human rights sector at a time when the soul of the nation and region is under relentless assault from severe governance abuses manifest in gross violations of fundamental freedoms and rampant grand corruption.

Kiai wears the title of ‘Chief,’ after his installation as paramount chief of the Mende community for his human rights work in Sierra Leone.

He is a distinguished and bold icon in the fight for justice, bringing decades of frontline experience and political leadership in defending civil liberties in Kenya and globally.

Kiai has served as UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association and was the inaugural chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights. Most recently, Kiai worked as Human Rights Watch’s director of alliances and partnerships, returning to an organisation he had previously served as Africa Director. He was the founding executive director of KHRC.

Following his appointment, Kiai said: “Kenya is under attack by a regime that fears its people. But we will not blink. I am committed to guiding KHRC to resist, expose, and push back against any force, be it the William Ruto regime, or its enablers, that tramples rights, freedoms, and the Constitution.”

Kiai takes over from Davinder Lamba, a battle-hardened human rights general whose steady leadership anchored KHRC through turbulent times. KHRC salutes Lamba’s dedication and strategic guidance.

Kiai will be deputised by Betty Okero, who continues in the role after serving alongside Lamba. We look forward to a renewed and fearless chapter in defending human rights and freedoms.

Editor’s note: Read the report here and watch its launch here.

A new report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission has sharply criticized the Hustler Fund, describing it as a politically expedient but economically disastrous initiative that has failed to deliver on its promises of financial empowerment for low-income Kenyans.

The report, “Failing the Hustlers,” concludes that the Hustler Fund is structurally unsound, economically unsustainable, and politically manipulated, and recommends that the government scrap it entirely.

Launched in November 2022 with a startup capital of Sh50 billion, the Hustler Fund was marketed as a game-changer for the Kenya Kwanza regime's “bottom-up” economic transformation agenda.

It promised to boost sectors such as agriculture, MSMEs, healthcare, housing, and the creative economy by offering accessible, affordable credit to millions of Kenyans locked out of the formal financial system.

However, the KHRC study found that this has not been achieved.

Quick money become dead money

By September 2024, over Sh53 billion had been disbursed. But the study found no measurable impact on enterprise development or job creation.

The loan amounts, ranging from just Sh500 to Sh1,000 for first-time borrowers, were too small to start or grow any meaningful business. Borrowers were given just 14 days to repay, a window KHRC deems unrealistic.

Worse still, the design of the Hustler Fund locks borrowers into a debt cycle.

A mandatory five percent deduction is made from each loan for savings before the money is disbursed, further reducing its utility. Borrowers must continue borrowing to qualify for slightly higher amounts, an unsustainable pattern that pushes low-income Kenyans deeper into financial distress.

Huster Fund’s performance metrics are equally poor.

By the end of 2022, the default rate stood at 68.3 percent. KHRC calculates that for every Sh500 disbursed, Sh340 is effectively lost. When added to the average Treasury bill rate of 8.2 percent (as of December 2022) and the three percent operational cost prescribed by law, the total estimated cost to the taxpayer reaches 71.5 percent.

“This is not financial empowerment. It is a loss-making scheme disguised as progress,” the KHRC said in the report. “Quick money has become dead money.”

KHRC also flagged governance failures.

The Office of the Auditor General could not conduct a full audit due to missing documentation and unsupported transactions.

The Fund was also launched without an oversight board, violating the law. Only after litigation did the government move to appoint one. Transparency around loan allocation criteria, regional disbursement data, and performance tracking remains missing.

KHRC contends that the Hustler Fund has become more of a political tool than a financial solution as it was rolled out after elections to fulfill campaign promises rather than to address fundamental economic needs.

“There is a growing perception that the Fund is a political reward for voting, and therefore repayment is optional,” the report warns. “This perception threatens the Fund’s credibility and undermines public accountability.”

Attempts to reform the Fund, KHRC says, would be futile. Technical tweaks cannot fix its design, political, and legal flaws.

“The evidence leads to a singular and inescapable conclusion that the Hustler Fund has failed and should be scrapped,” the report states.

Tanzanian authorities in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday abducted and forcibly disappeared Mwabili Mwagodi, a Kenyan activist working in the country’s hotel sector. His whereabouts remain unknown, and the Kenyan and Tanzanian regimes have remained ominously silent.

His family confirms that Mwagodi was under state surveillance in Kenya before his abduction after he exercised his constitutional right to protest. On June 23, 2024, Mwagodi led a demonstration against the William Ruto regime during a church service in Nyahururu, Laikipia.

In retaliation, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations visited Mwagodi’s parents, issuing threats and intimidation in an apparent attempt to silence him and break his spirit through fear and familial pressure.

Kenya’s oppressive alliance with Tanzania in the use of brutal state machinery to crush activists is deliberate, coordinated, and criminal. These are the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime that has lost the legitimacy to govern.

We have not forgotten that just two months ago, Kenya was complicit in the abduction, torture, and sexual assault of activist Boniface Mwangi by the ruthless Tanzanian operatives. Ugandan lawyer and journalist Agather Atuhaire faced a similar degrading treatment after she and Mwangi had traveled to Tanzania to observe the sham trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

This pattern of repression, enabled by cross-border collusion, is a grave violation of local, regional, and international human rights law. The Kenya Human Rights Commission demands:

1. Immediate and unconditional release of Mwagodi from unlawful detention.
2. In the interim, full disclosure by the Tanzanian and Kenyan regimes on Mwagodi’s exact whereabouts, physical and mental condition, and immediate access to his family and legal counsel.
3. An end to Kenya’s complicity in cross-border abductions, torture, and enforced disappearances.
4. Independent investigations into the threats made against Mwagodi’s family by Kenyan security agencies.
5. Regional and international accountability for Kenya and Tanzania’s repressive actions.