Benna Buluma was not killed by raging floods. The Mathare based leader was killed by the lack of dignified housing, urban planning and misgovernance. This and the recent release of the global state of human rights report must trigger us to rethink how to future proof Kenya, Africa, and the world.
Chuka, 18 April 2024: Amnesty International Kenya joined the family and friends of Eugine Mureithi (17) at Chuka Magistrates Court for an inquest hearing investigating his death. Eugine died on 25 July 2023, following police operation at Kajiunduthi Secondary School, Tharaka Nithi County during the maandamano protests. The court heard from three witnesses and set…
By Irũngũ Houghton A new Mzalendo Trust study confirms suspicions that strategic lawsuits are being increasingly used to legally intimidate citizens from expressing criticism of individuals in public offices. The use of strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) now needs the attention of all who believe in an independent media and free expression. Some 30…
By Irũngũ Houghton Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah was attacked again this week. Over the last year, he has faced several public verbal attacks and physical house and office raids designed to intimidate the Senator from his legislative and litigative duties as an opposition parliamentarian. Given Kenya’s post-colonial history of assassinations and the weaponisation of state…
By Irũngũ Houghton Most of us take our freedom to read what we like for granted. Dr Henry Miyinzi Chakava recently passed away after a life devoted to undermining state censorship and promoting the right to free expression. What was it like for him and others who resisted being silenced and who we owe for…
With Gaza rapidly transformed from the world’s biggest open-air prison to a giant graveyard before the world’s eyes, thousands of street protests and several blocked United Nations decisions, international legal action was predictable. What is the significance of the South Africa petition before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)? More importantly, can it bring the…
Amnesty International Kenya has been protecting and promoting human rights in Kenya since the 1970s. Many of the social, business and political leaders we protected as Prisoners of Conscience are some of Kenya’s most vibrant and ethical leaders today. Often branded as activists, we hold to the simple truth that all prosperity we can create…
Bombs are raining down on the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza with devastation that makes even the horror of El Nino seem mild. Meanwhile, an eight-month-old Sudanese conflict seems to have dropped off the Kenyan government and the international community’s radar. With the National Assembly on recess from today until 13 February 2024, all eyes…
By Irũngũ Houghton The twelve-day countdown to Jamhuri Day has begun. Sixty years ago, 25,000 men and women militarily defeated settler colonialism and the British empire to deliver national independence for 6 million Kenyans. This national independence struggle is Kenya’s greatest victory over identity-based discrimination. A opinion poll released this week sought to answer the…
By Irũngũ Houghton Coming less than a fortnight from International Human Rights Day, the release of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights “State of Human Rights” Report is essential reading for all citizens and policymakers. The well researched 24-page report details significant human rights violations and omissions that have taken place during the first…
By Irũngũ Houghton and Bishop Joseph William Tolton The recent public taunting of the Speaker and the Presidency to have the Family Protection Bill leapfrog other laws before the National Assembly suggests that interests backed by strange foreign alliances seem dead set on dropping another crisis at the feet of the President at a time…
By Irũngũ Houghton As students sit the last of the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education Examinations (KCPE), two new studies require us to look beyond a new education system to the wider learning ecosystem if the new Competency Based Curriculum is to succeed. Nearly 1,500 candidates have the honour of closing the book on nearly…