A day before President Ruto launched new terms and conditions for the police, prisons and national youth service on Wednesday this week, Police officers chose to riot and rampage uninvited through the Multi-Media University of Kenya. If the last three months were not enough of a poisoned cup for Police Inspector General Douglas Kanja, who…
The Police Reforms Working Group and the Law of Society of Kenya’s attention has been drawn to an incident where a student at Multimedia University was beaten with wooden batons by police on 17 September 2024. Police proceeded to lob a tear gas canister directly at the visibly injured student at close range. We write…
Several readers of last week’s column invited this column to explore how emerging youth leaders could retain their political influence and deepen their recent governance and human rights impact as we turn to the next General Elections. While the recent online and street protests were supported by several generations, the Occupy “Gen Z” movement established…
Protester Hanifa Adan’s X post and the conviction of former Samburu Governor Moses Lenolkulal offer the nation two distinct leadership integrity styles. On Wednesday, September 4, Hanifa posted on her X page audited accounts of funding crowdsourced from 35,444 individual donors at home and in the diaspora. The post followed weeks of online abuse, unsubstantiated…
Four commissions submitted their end-term performance reports to the President this week. The moment offers both citizens and state officers an opportunity to reflect on how well they have discharged their respective accountability, advisory and advocacy mandates. Established in the sixth schedule of the Constitution or by an act of parliament, Kenya’s constitutional commissions have…
Nairobi, 28 August, The Police Reforms Working Group Kenya (PRWG-K) is deeply concerned by the continued practice of enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, despite President Ruto’s promise to end this practice. We urgently call upon President William Ruto to fulfil his legal obligation to uphold and protect the Constitution and end the harrowing practice of…
In August, we took bold steps for justice, equality, and good governance—from the streets to the courts. Justice finally caught up with the killer of activist Elizabeth Ekaru, and we saw significant progress in the fight for justice for Baby Samantha Pendo. The Gen Z demonstrations showed the undeniable power of peaceful organizing to drive…
It had been months of longing, a persistent goal staring back at her each time she reviewed her 2024 resolutions—Move your body. Every time, it whispered to her, a reminder of a promise unfulfilled. Finally, one Sunday morning, she decided to take the leap. What better way to start than with a morning run? Even…
Nairobi County Governor Arthur Sakaja has announced his intention to dispose of 120 bodies currently lying at the Nairobi Funeral Home within seven days. Given the pattern of ongoing enforced disappearances and numerous mysterious deaths since the protests started in June, a business-as-usual approach may drag state officers into courts in future if they do…
Beware the company you keep, lest you become the average of them, or so the quote goes. The reconstitution of the national cabinet offered President William Ruto an opportunity to regain ground. From the perspective of leadership integrity, what do his recent choices communicate, and what can be done to root out the impunity that…
On behalf of the Kenya Union of Journalists, Bloggers Association of Kenya, Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union, the Kenya Medical Association, Missing Voices Alliance and the Police Reforms Working Group, we award this certificate of appreciation to all Law Society of Kenya advocates who provided legal representation to Kenyans unfairly arrested or abducted…