The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) strongly condemns the violent disruption of a prayer service at Witima ACK Church in Othaya, Nyeri, on January 25, 2026.
Video footage and eyewitness accounts show police officers firing tear gas and live ammunition, placing the lives of worshippers, including children, in grave danger.
These actions directly violate a High Court order issued in June 2025 following a petition by KHRC. The order expressly prohibits law enforcement officers from firing live ammunition, deploying tear gas, or attacking hospitals, ambulances, emergency medical centres, and places of worship.
The same ruling, delivered by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, further bars the use of tear gas, chemical agents, water cannons, or any crowd-control measures against unarmed persons seeking refuge in vehicles, enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces, poorly ventilated areas, or with limited means of safe and orderly exit.
Places of worship are protected spaces under the law and must never be targets of police violence. The events at Witima ACK Church must be independently and thoroughly investigated, and all those responsible, clearly identified in available footage, must be held accountable.
KHRC further calls for accountability under the principle of command responsibility for officers who knew, or should have known, of these violations and failed to prevent them, as a necessary step to halt the escalating pattern of police violence.