Overview
If there is one thread that runs through the first quarter of 2026, it is that accountability is no longer a distant promise. It is being demanded, delivered, and defended.
Across courtrooms, communities, classrooms, and continental platforms, Amnesty International Kenya has stood with others at the frontline of advancing justice, dignity, and rights. From landmark legal victories to shaping global conversations, Q1 tells a story of momentum, hard-won, people-powered, and deeply consequential actions.
In this Issue
- A landmark judgment that redefines Protest Policing
- Justice for Tamara
- Defending the right to education
- Missing Voices Report Launch
- Towards reparations
- Digital rights take centre stage
- A Regional Hub for Human Rights Leadership
Fight injustice and help create a world where human right are enjoyed by all
A Landmark Judgment That Redefines Protest Policing
On 25 March 2026, history was written in Kisumu. In a case where Amnesty Kenya participated as an interested party, the High Court delivered one of the most consequential rulings on protest policing in recent years. The Court found that police used excessive and unlawful force during the 2023 Azimio protests, violating the rights to life, dignity, and equal protection.
This was not abstract. It was grounded in years of evidence collection. Investigations by human rights organizations had already documented killings, injuries, and widespread abuse, with at least 31 people killed during the 2023 protests alone.
The Court’s orders were decisive. First, a KES 38.3 million compensation to victims and families. Second, a directive to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to conclude investigations, and lastly, a requirement for the police to publish clear regulations on the use of force.
This ruling does more than acknowledge past harm. It interrupts a cycle of impunity. For decades, excessive force during protests has been met with delayed or absent accountability. Now, the judiciary has drawn a firm constitutional line. Standards in policing protests must be public, violations must be punished, and victims must be compensated.
Justice for Tamara
The conviction of Nicholas Julius Macharia for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Tamara Blessing marks a painful but powerful milestone in the fight against gender based violence. Behind this outcome was sustained civil society solidarity with Amnesty Kenya’s Nyeri Circle of Conscience, standing with the family, monitoring court proceedings, and ensuring public attention never wavered.
This was more than a conviction. It signalled that survivors and families are not alone, communities can shape justice outcomes, and public scrutiny strengthens accountability in GBV cases.
Defending the Right to Education Without Discrimination
In Nyeri again, a quieter but equally significant victory was achieved. A student unlawfully suspended over fees was readmitted unconditionally following Amnesty Kenya’s intervention. By engaging education stakeholders, we affirmed the fundamental right to Education. The right to education cannot be conditional on one’s economic status. It further affirmed that schools cannot use disciplinary mechanisms to enforce exclusion rooted in inequality.
Courage is Contagious. Defend Those Who Defend Us.
Missing Voices Report Launch
Under the Missing Voices Coalition, we launched the 2025 Missing Voices Annual report before an audience of over 500 stakeholders, including IPOA and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
The report recorded lives lost, disappeared, and denied justice. During the period under review, we documented 131 cases of police violence. 125 cases of police killings, a 20% increase from 2024. 6 cases of enforced disappearances, an 89% decrease from 2024. Sadly, over 50% of killings occurred during the June and July period. 90% of the victims were men, with youth (19-35 years) being most affected. Shooting remained the leading cause of death, accounting for the vast majority of cases.
By consolidating evidence on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, the coalition continues to strengthen national accountability mechanisms, equip advocacy with credible, irrefutable data, and keeps pressure on institutions mandated to act.
Toward Reparations
For years, victims of police violence have faced harm without remedy. In Q1, Amnesty Kenya contributed to technical work with KNCHR and civil society that has unlocked progress toward a national reparations framework.
KNCHR has now committed to developing compensation pathways. This is a critical shift from reactive justice to structured redress. It signals recognition that violations demand not just acknowledgment, but repair.
Digital Rights Take Center Stage in East Africa
The East Africa Data Governance Conference 2026, co-organised by Amnesty International Kenya and the Open Institute, marked a pivotal moment in advancing digital rights across the region. Held under the theme: Navigating Duality in Data Governance: Innovation and Accountability in East Africa, the convening brought together policymakers, technologists, civil society actors, and innovators to address harnessing rapid digital transformation without sacrificing rights, privacy, and public trust. At a time when governments and private actors are expanding their control over data, the conference created a critical space to interrogate who holds power in the digital ecosystem and how that power can be held accountable.
Over two days, participants engaged deeply with issues of data ownership, cross-border governance, digital identity systems, and algorithmic accountability, while also examining the political and economic forces shaping data use across East Africa. The conference moved beyond dialogue to action, surfacing practical, rights-based approaches to data governance that prioritise transparency, inclusion, and protection of fundamental freedoms. In doing so, it helped consolidate a growing regional consensus: that East Africa’s digital future must be built not only on innovation, but on trust, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to human rights.
A Regional Hub for Human Rights Leadership
Kenya hosted this year’s Amnesty Africa and Middle East Regional Forum, bringing together 60 Country Directors alongside Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard. The convening reaffirmed Kenya’s position as a strategic hub for regional dialogue, coordination, and collective response to the evolving human rights landscape across Africa and the Middle East.
As hosts, Amnesty Kenya curated a powerful moment of reflection and engagement through the screening of Souls on Fire by Africa Uncensored at Unseen Cinema. The screening was followed by a dynamic panel discussion that unpacked the 2024 protests, examining the forces that drove mass civic action, the central role of citizens, and how human rights organisations were called into urgent response by a bold, digitally savvy, and politically conscious generation. It was a moment that not only reflected on recent history but also challenged the movement to evolve faster, sharper, and more accountable to the people it serves.