Lest We Forget: Chapter II is a powerful survivor-centred magazine by Amnesty International Kenya that documents lived experiences of police brutality, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and life-altering injuries in Kenya. Through deeply personal testimonies from families, survivors, and witnesses, the magazine humanises statistics and restores dignity to those whose lives were violently disrupted by abuse of power.
While progress seems limited in many parts of the world, this year’s Data Privacy Conference demonstrated Kenya’s growing maturity in digital governance. Two areas emerged as needing our attention: data governance in the security sector and election management.
Privacy is often dismissed as a concern for those with “something to hide.” Yet in Kenya today, the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 31 of the 2010 Constitution is under unprecedented strain, not because citizens are engaged in wrongdoing, but because surveillance is quietly becoming normalized.
Today, one of the biggest threats to a child’s wellbeing is hidden in plain sight: how their data is collected, stored, and shared by the institutions meant to protect them.
Digital violence is not new to Kenyan politics, but it has now escalated to the point at which we cannot ignore it anymore, because of its devastating effects on young people, especially human rights defenders.
The release of two investigative reports this week into technology enabled state surveillance and violence against critics of the state reminds us of a disturbing reality. Despite the Kenya authorities’ heavy investment in building an open and prosperous digital economy, digital rights violations persist. Left unchecked, they will continue to puncture the power of our constitutional freedoms and the Data Protection Act (2019).
Welcome to the 2025 edition of CTRL+Speak, a youth-driven magazine by Amnesty International Kenya’s Technology and Human Rights team. Think of “Ctrl” as the control key on your keyboard—holding it down unlocks new possibilities. CTRL+Speak does the same for your voice online: empowering young people to speak up, advocate for human rights, and shape a safer digital world.
*Names changed to protect identities
Kenya’s historic Gen Z–led protests of 2024 and 2025 showed the power of young people mobilizing online—and the alarming speed with which that power was met with digital repression, intimidation, and violence. This new Amnesty International report documents how technology has become both a tool for civic participation and a weapon used to silence, surveil, and harm young Kenyans demanding accountability.
In Quarter 3 of 2025, young leaders across Kenya amplified campaigns that challenge coercive consent, push back against cyberbullying, and demand transparent, rights-respecting data governance. This quarterly digest captures our workshops, community dialogues, litigation work, youth campaigns, and the people powering a safer digital future.
Nairobi, October 2 2025: Amnesty International Kenya today releases two critical resources designed to advance privacy rights and strengthen accountability in Kenya’s digital landscape: The 5 Years On: Citizens’ Perspectives on Kenya’s Data Protection Act Implementation study, and the Data Protection Guidelines for Civil Society Organisations, in partnership with the Data Privacy and Governance Society of Kenya(DPGSK).
Five years after the enactment of the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2019, Amnesty International Kenya has published a landmark report assessing how Kenyans understand and experience their right to privacy. The study, conducted across 10 counties through focus group discussions and key informant interviews, reveals that while the Data Protection Act 2019 established a strong legal framework, its real impact is still limited by low awareness, weak enforcement, and insufficient regional presence of the regulator.