As of the 2019 national census in Kenya, over 900,000 Kenyans lived with a disability, representing 2.2% of the general population. According to the United Nations Population Fund in Kenya (UNFPA), mobility-related disabilities account for about 42% of this total. In comparison, visual-related disabilities account for 36.4%, cognitive disabilities for 23.2%, and hearing-related disabilities for 16.7%. It is also noted that more than 80% of persons with disabilities live in rural areas. These Persons with disabilities continue to face a myriad of challenges living their day-to-day lives, with children missing school, parents can’t access opportunities, and the elderly remain confined to their homes, simply because assistive devices seem to be a luxury rather than a necessity. 

Nairobi, 10 March 2026: Over 900 Kenyans, persons with disabilities, advocates, and allies within the broader disability inclusion movement, have today called on the Social Health Authority (SHA) to review its benefits package to include assistive devices. As it stands today, the current SHA cover does not provide comprehensive coverage for assistive devices such as prosthetic limbs, orthotics, wheelchairs, hearing aids, crutches, and other essential mobility and rehabilitation products. This exclusion places an unbearable financial burden on persons with disabilities and their families.As the Authority approaches the mandatory two-year review of its benefits package, we urge the Social Health Authority and the Ministry of Health to give serious consideration to this petition and the voices behind it, and to use this review process as an opportunity to address a structural barrier that deepens inequality and entrenches poverty.

Hon. Hanna Cheptumo,

The phrase “family values” has been the subject of vexed and emotive debates in Kenya, Africa, and globally. A curious inquiry into its origins reveals a nexus among moral standards, social structural order, religious beliefs, and economics. A scan of its evolution in the twentieth century depicts individuals and groups rushing to rectify the deterioration of morals, aiming for an ideal they imagined: the nuclear family.  

After months of seemingly endless waiting, the Gender‑Based Violence Technical Working Group’s report has finally reached the Presidency. What exactly have they proposed, and how do we ensure those recommendations translate into real action?

Diana Russell, a pioneer researcher on violence against women, is credited as having popularized the use of the term ‘femicide’ to describe the killing of women because of their gender. She used the term publicly when she testified on the crimes against women during the first International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women held in Belgium in 1976. In a 2022 report, UN Women and UNODC estimated that in 2023, Africa had over 20,000 women killed by their partners. The Initiative for Strategic Litigation (ISLA) is trying to hold states accountable for failure to tackle this crime and is advocating for the inclusion of femicide as a crime within African legal systems.  

The recent release of the Aga Khan University’s study on femicide related media coverage in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda re-ignited a sense of personal urgency. Shockingly, the Gender-Based Violence Technical Working Group Report remains shelved in the Office of the Deputy President. How can we leverage these findings to reignite public and policy momentum to ensure meaningful action?

Online Predators is a powerful, visually engaging resource designed to raise awareness and empower children and caregivers to stay safe from the growing dangers of online luring, child abduction, and trafficking.

Nairobi, 19 May 2025: Amnesty International is shocked to read the response of the Kenyan Ambassador to Saudia Arabia Mohammed Ruwange to our 12 May 2025 report Saudi Arabia: Locked in, left out: The hidden lives of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.  

Ukiwa katika nchi kama Saudi Arabia, huna pesa, uko peke yako kwa hivyo huna msaada wowote… Nilikuwa nimefungiwa ndani, kutoka nje haikuruhusiwa. Sijawahi kutoka nje ya nyumba na sikuwahi kuwa na siku ya mapumziko.

Wanawake wa Kenya ambao huajiriwa kufanya kazi za nyumbani Saudi Arabia hulazimika kuvumilia mazingira ya kazi ambayo ni ya kikatili na kibaguzi. Mazingira haya yanaweza kufananishwa na kazi ya kulazimishwa na ulanguzi wa watu, Amnesty International imesema katika ripoti yake. Ripoti hiyo inaangazia namna waajiri wanavyowanyanyasa wanawake hawa majumbani mwao kutokana na mitazamo ya ubaguzi wa rangi, na namna wafanyakazi wa nyumbani wanavyotengwa na sheria ya kazi na mageuzi yanayohusiana na kazi nchini Saudi Arabia.

Nairobi, 13th May 2025: Kenyan women hired as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia endure gruelling, abusive and discriminatory working conditions, which often amount to forced labour and human trafficking, Amnesty International said in a new report. The report highlights how employers subjected the women to extreme exploitation in private homes, often fuelled by racism, and how domestic workers continue to be excluded from Saudi Arabia’s labour law and other limited reforms.