Nairobi, Kenya | 13 July 2026: We, the undersigned civil society organizations, human rights defenders, citizens, grass roots movements, and champions of accountability, strongly condemn the escalating, coordinated, and lawless campaign of intimidation leveled against The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), its Executive Director, the entire team, and other Okoa Uchumi Campaign members.
Increasingly, we are witnessing a chilling regression towards dark-era police-state tactics specifically targeting defenders of public finance integrity and civic space. TISA is the latest defender of democracy to come under attack – an attack we believe has been instigated by this government. This state-sanctioned assault seems to grow bolder by the day, as illustrated by the alarming incidents documented below:
- The All Saints Cathedral Church attack, where state-hired goons targeted a meeting of civil society actors working on public finance management within a sanctuary of prayer. The goons publicly confessed to having been sent by some powerful government officials to carry out the heinous attack. Notably, TISA was one of the co-conveners of the event that was disrupted by goons on June 12, 2026 alongside Okoa Uchumi partners.
- Surveillance and Road Harassment: Since early June 2026, TISA’s Executive Director, Diana Gichengo, has been subjected to a continued pattern of intrusive surveillance and road harassment by tinted Subaru and Prado vehicles, including repeated tailing along routes she regularly uses to and from work. This came shortly after she was informed that individuals close to a well-known government official had been making inquiries about her, on the basis of TISA’s public finance management accountability work.
- On Thursday, July 2, 2026, at least 13 suspected state security officers in four Subarus attempted to gain entry into the TISA offices. Operating entirely outside of legal procedures, the men aggressively demanded the identification and surrender of “the lawyer” who works at TISA.
- This pattern of state-led attacks and intimidation of vocal human rights defenders is clearly visible. The regime has previously unlawfully rendered KHRC staff member Martin Mavenjina to Uganda, and continues to refuse his return to be reunited with his family. This intimidation escalated further a year ago, when suspected state-hired goons attacked a press conference organized by KHRC and Inuka Kenya at KHRC’s office, injuring one of their board members. The press conference had brought together mothers of victims of police killings and enforced disappearances, alongside journalists, to call on the regime to end the killing and disappearance of their children, an appeal the goons were evidently sent to silence.
- Additionally, the state denied Brian Kagoro of the Open Society Foundation entry into Kenya and unlawfully returned him to South Africa, despite his having legally resided and worked in the country for decades.
- It did not stop there. During the June 25 commemoration, police arbitrarily arrested and forcibly disappeared seven human rights defenders, who were later found abandoned and tortured in different parts of Nairobi. The seven were Fredrick Ojiro, Collins Otieno, Muteti Mulinge, Elisha Alam, Michael Ngugi, Christine Lubanga, and Davis Luchuma. Abdulaziz Duba Molu, Michael Oloo Osura, and Macmillan Kiarie Mugo are still forcibly disappeared even though their unlawful arrest happened before the June 25 commemoration.
This is not law enforcement; it is organized state-enabled terror against citizens exercising their constitutional rights. The continued deployment of armed, masked, plain-clothes, and unidentified security personnel operating alongside or in protection of state-sponsored goons has become a defining feature of the assault on Kenya’s civic space. These actors routinely operate outside the law, conceal their identities, use unmarked vehicles, carry out unlawful arrests, enforced disappearances, assaults, and intimidation, while enjoying apparent protection from accountability. This coordinated architecture of repression must be dismantled immediately, and those responsible, whether they planned, commanded, facilitated, or protected these operations, must be investigated and prosecuted.
The actions of the security agencies and their proxies fly directly in the face of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. We remind the state and the National Police Service (NPS) of the explicit constitutional boundaries and obligations contained in articles 10, 29, 33, 36, and 244 of the Constitution of Kenya in the ongoing harassment and intimidation of civic actors.
Through strategic litigation initiatives, mostly led by actors here today, Kenya’s Judiciary has repeatedly drawn a line in the sand against rogue police tactics and the closing of civic space. We draw strength from and cite the following landmark judgments: In Kanchory v Service & 3 others [2025] KEHC 13792 (KLR) at para 62, the High Court soundly condemned the deployment of plainclothes officers in unmarked vehicles to disappear or intimidate citizens, ruling that:
“Given their mandate to serve all, why would police officers conceal their faces and identity and bundle people in unmarked vehicles? It is only criminals engaged in criminal activities who wear hoods and masks to conceal their identity and move in vehicles without registration plates or with false plates to avoid identification and accountability.”
While our courts continue to affirm the state’s obligations to protect women, the reality on the ground tells a different story: women leaders are still routinely targeted with intimidation and violence, including sexual violence.
We note that the police’s failure to stop the goons at All Saints Cathedral Church, KHRC’s office, and other reported community meetings, as well as their active harassment of civic leaders, including those from TISA, renders them personally liable for constitutional violations. With credible allegations that security agencies have coordinated with, facilitated, or protected such actors while simultaneously deploying masked, armed, and plain-clothes officers to intimidate citizens, these actions and omissions amount to serious constitutional violations and demand urgent, independent criminal investigations into operational commanders and those exercising political authority over these operations.
OUR DEMANDS
- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Inspector General of Police must immediately halt the illegal tracking, surveillance, and office raids directed at TISA’s Executive Director and staff.
- The National Police Service must officially account for the fleet of Subaru vehicles used on July 2, identify the officers in black suits, and state the legal basis for targeting a civil society lawyer. Furthermore, the unmarked Subaru used for the illegal apprehension of human rights defenders on July 7 in CBD must also be immediately investigated. Any officers found to have participated in unlawful operations must be subjected to criminal and disciplinary proceedings.
- IPOA Investigation: The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), together with other competent investigative authorities, must immediately investigate not only the July 2attempted raid on TISA but also the broader pattern of coordinated attacks involving state-sponsored goons, masked and plain-clothes security officers, unmarked vehicles, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, assaults on civic meetings, and the protection afforded to perpetrators. The investigations must identify those who planned, commanded, supervised, and executed these operations and recommend criminal prosecutions where appropriate.
- The state must guarantee the safety of TISA staff, all civil society organizations, and human rights defenders demanding accountability from the political class at all levels. At the same time, there must be immediate investigations into the grave violations that have already occurred, including assaults, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture, illegal surveillance, officer aids and attacks perpetrated by state-sponsored goons and security personnel. Those who ordered, commanded, facilitated or failed to prevent these violations despite having a constitutional duty to do so must be held individually accountable. Any further violations committed against civic actors will constitute additional evidence of command responsibility on the part of the leadership of the National Police Service and other responsible state agencies.
- Should any harm, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention, or extrajudicial action befall any member of TISA or the civil society at large, the leadership of the Inspector General of the National Police Service will be held personally and criminally responsible.
- The Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security in the National Assembly must convene urgent hearings to investigate the July 2 raid and broader intimidation of civil society. The Inspector General of Police, Cabinet Secretary for Interior, and IPOA should be compelled to testify under oath, provide full disclosure of operations involving Subarus and other unmarked and irregularly registered vehicles, and outline measures to protect civic actors.
We stand in unyielding solidarity with TISA and the civic actors, citizenry, and human rights defenders whose safety and security are being undermined by the escalating deployment and impunity of state- sponsored and protected goons. The Constitution protects our right to speak truth to power, and no amount of black suits, unmarked cars, or state-hired goons will roll back the democratic gains won by the blood and sweat of the Kenyan people. We invite the diplomatic community and development partners to monitor the unfolding situation closely and to publicly report on the ongoing attacks within the Kenyan civic space.
SIGNED:
Supported by Co-signing Civil Society Organizations
- EndFemicideAfrica
- ActionAid International Kenya
- Activista Isiolo Chapter
- Activista Makueni Chapter
- Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG)
- African Centre for Environment Rights and Development (ACERD)
- African Initiative for Women Human Rights Defenders
- African Social Development Focus (ASDEF)
- Africans Rising
- Alliance CBO-Bondo Siaya County
- AMKA Space for Women’s Creativity
- Amnesty International Kenya
- Angaza Jamii CBO
- Arid Areas Paralegals Networks
- Article 19
- Association of Grassroot Journalists Kenya
- Badili Africa
- Bajeti Hub
- Beatrice Kayesi David – Right to Food Ambassador
- Brenda Kiprop
- Bunge Mashinani Initiative
- Bungoma Civil Society Forum(BCSF)
- Bungoma Governance and Peace Advocates
- Bungoma Youth Bunge forum
- Celine Odipo – Sustainable Action CBO
- Center for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance (CEDGG)
- Center for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW)
- Christine Kyalo-Rise and Serve Women Network
- Chyulu Development Foundation
- Civic Freedoms Forum
- Civic Voices
- Civil Society Reference Group
- Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders Kenya- (Pussy Power)
- Collins Yogo Odhiambo
- Community Advocacy and Awareness Trust (CRAWN Trust)
- Community Transformative Initiatives CBO
- Community-Led Solutions CBO
- County Youth and Adolescent Network (CYAN Kenya)
- Defenders Coalition
- Diana Kageha – Right to Food Ambassador
- Domitila Okemo – Right to Food Ambassador
- East Africa Law Society
- Edith Alysa – Right to Food Ambassador
- Eimu Bora Working Group
- Election Observation Group (ELOG)
- Elevate Livelihoods, Peace and Advocacy (ELPA)
- Elizabeth Angeyo – Right to Food Ambassador
- Eustine Iminza – Right to Food Ambassador
- Ezekiel Odeoh-Mwalie Health CBO
- Faith Odhiambo
- Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA Kenya)
- Fight Inequality Alliance Kenya
- Frontier Hope
- George Bush O-LSK-Kisumu
- Getrude Kamonya – Right to Food Ambassador
- Girl Concern CBO
- Global Afrikanas Konnection – G.A.Ks
- Good Health Community Programmes Kakamega
- Grassroot’s Voices
- Green Aid Org
- Haki Nawiri Afrika
- Haki Yetu Organisation
- Happy Life For Development CBO
- Henrica Bahati – Right to Food Ambassador
- Hope in the Desert
- Hudson Mulonga – Right to Food Ambassador
- Ignatius Nyukuri- Alliance for Persons with Disabilities
- Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU)
- InformAction (IFA)
- Initiative for Equality and Non Discrimination(INEND)
- Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA Kenya)
- Institute of Public Finance (IPF)
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
- Inua Mama Mjane CBO
- Inuka Community Developers Network
- Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!
- Irene Ojwang-Nyarongi Women Network
- Isiolo Gender Watch
- Jackline Munanga – RTF Ambassador
- James Nyabera – Tambua Social Justice Center/Right to Food Ambassador
- Japheth Ojijo – Integrated Development Facility-IDF
- Jecinta Ogando -SRHR champion
- Jijenge Youth Organization
- Jikaze Foundation CBO
- Joseph W. Muyela-Khwisero Social Justice Centre
- Josline Chemitai Rotich
- Josphine Apwoka – Right to Food Ambassador
- Kakamega Voices Community Based Organization
- Kaketumaso CBO
- Kathelwa Disabled Self Help Group
- Katiba Institute
- KELIN Kenya
- Kelvin Tsiyeli – Right To Food Ambassador (RTF)
- Kenya Devolution CSO Working Group
- Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
- Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentists Union (KMPDU)
- Kenya National Interface Team (KNIT)
- Kenya Peasant League
- Kiambu Social Accountability Network (KISANET)
- Kiambu Solidarity Network
- Kiambu Youth Bunge
- Kiengu Women Challenged to Challenge
- Kimumu Youth for Change
- Kisumu County Accountability Alliance (KISCAA)
- Kitise Kithuki Professionals CBO
- Kituo Cha Sheria
- Kwale Civil Society Consortium
- Lakeshore For Community Transformation ( LACOT)
- Law Society of Kenya (LSK)
- Likuyani Community Empowerment Organisation
- Lucky Summer Social Justice Center
- LuminousSafe-space Organization
- Magharibi CBO
- Makueni Civil Society Network (MACSON)
- Makueni Convoy of Hope
- Makueni University Students Association
- Makueni Youth WASH Parliament
- Manyatta B Social Justice Centre
- Mathare Social Justice Centre
- Mercy Mamboleo – Right to Food Ambassador
- Mildred Asibiko – Right to Food Ambassador
- Moureen Onyango – Right to Food Ambassador
- Mukuru Community Justice Centre
- Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI)
- Muungano Rural Empowerment Centre
- Mzalendo Trust
- Nahashon Nyahera – Stardy Sharp Kenya /Right to Food Ambassador
- Namvic CBO
- Naomi Wairimu
- National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission
- National Integrity Alliance
- National Students Caucus (NSC)
- Nelly Jegogo Kipketer – Right to Food Ambassador
- Network for Research & Governance
- Nitasema Foundation
- Nubian Rights Forum
- Ojwang Philip-North Karachuonyo Ward Social Accountability Network
- Okoa Uchumi Campaign
- OneToAll Initiative CBO
- Pan African Solidarity Network
- Pan-African Grassroots Women’s Liberation
- Partnership for Transformational Development -Kenya (PTD- Kenya)
- Partnerships 4 Empowerment & Networking in Kenya
- Pascal Wambua
- Paul Kuya – Right to Food Ambassador
- PAWA254
- Police Reforms Working Group
- Provident Community Initiative (PCI)
- Reproductive Health Accountability and Response Kenya-RHARK CBO
- Riabai Youths CBO
- Rita Elaki – Hamisi PAG Disabled Group
- Ruth Anyona – Right to Food Ambassador
- SAGE CBO
- Selly O. Manyala-Homabay County Peace Network CBO
- Shinyalu Policy Lab Kakamega
- Siasa Place
- Smatkkey CBO
- Solidarity and Capacity for Opportunity, Defenders in Action (SCODA)
- Spark Bridge Initiative CBO
- Stepping Stone HIV/Aids Positive Women CBO
- Tambua Social Justice Center
- Tembea Youth Centre for Sustainable Development
- The Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO)
- The East African Civil Society Organizations Forum (EACSOF)
- The East African Tax and Governance Network (EATGN)
- The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA)
- The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ KENYA)
- The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU)
- The Social Justice Centers Working Group
- Thuranira Salesio Mutuma (HRD-Meru County)
- Transparency International Kenya (TI-Kenya)
- Tribless Youth
- Tunaenda Deaf Empowerment CBO (Homabay)
- Uasin Gishu County Civil Society Network
- Uchaguzi Platform
- United Disabled Persons of Kenya (UPDK)
- United Green Movement (UGM)
- University Students’ Leaders Association (USLA)
- Uplift Mentorship and Talent Development Centre (UMTAD)
- Utu Bora Social Justice Center
- Utu Wetu Trust
- Uzalendo Social Justice Center
- Victor Olenja – Right to Food Ambassador
- Vitalis Marcel-Ndhiwa Social Accountability Network CBO
- VOCAL Africa
- Wajir county civil society consortium
- Wangu Kanja Foundation
- We Believe Community Organization
- Winam Community Social Justice Centre
- Women Collective Kenya
- Women In Justice Centers – Western Chapter
- Youth Agenda
- Youth and Women Advocacy Network (YWAN-KENYA)
For media inquiries, contact Ernest Cornel on 0722253893 or Mulayi Muni on 0729051400.