NAIROBI, 18 JUNE 2026: Amnesty International Kenya welcomes the publication of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) Framework for Reparations for Victims of Human Rights Violations, including those arising from demonstrations and public protests. This framework is a significant milestone in Kenya’s ongoing pursuit of truth, justice, accountability, and reparations.
A landmark constitutional petition challenged the application of Kenya’s Sexual Offenses Act to consensual, non-coercive relationships between adolescents. The case was brought by three young people directly affected by criminal prosecutions and the Network for Adolescent and Youth of Africa (NAYA), a youth and child rights organisation.
As the primary accountability season nears, politicians suddenly pick our calls and patterns sharpen. How do last week’s Senate exchange, a youth poll, and this week’s by‑election connect and why do all parties in power need to pay attention?
If there is one thread that runs through the first quarter of 2026, it is that accountability is no longer a distant promise. It is being demanded, delivered, and defended.
For Immediate Release
For Immediate Release
This week’s vicious public attack on Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi, captured on CCTV and carried out in a busy commercial space, shatters any lingering illusion that Kenya’s next General Election will be calm, rules‑based, or insulated from violence. Now that we have another example of political violence, what would a responsible security management strategy look like?
Kenyans sneaking into Russia is not new. As the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi heads to Moscow next week, what do we know about the trafficking of Kenyans to fight for Russia in Ukraine, the government’s responsibility to protect citizens, and what options does he have?
After months of a court stay, the President appointed a Panel of Experts to compensate victims of state violence during public protests, but the High Court struck it down. Survivors, victims’ families, and all those genuinely pressing for justice and reparations should not lose heart. Justice Edward Muriithi has offered a fair and balanced way forward for all the interests involved.
Distinguished faculty, honored guests, and graduating students. It gives Amnesty International Kenya great pleasure to celebrate your achievement and step towards being professional mediators. As you graduate, I invite you to reflect on mediation as a pathway to accountable, rights-respecting communities.
Civic space in East Africa is shrinking fast. Across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, abductions, harassment, and detention of activists and political opponents are becoming frighteningly routine. Even more alarming is how these abuses are increasingly occurring across borders and how our governments seem to collaborate in committing them.
The laws that protect Kenyans’ rights to expression, assembly, and freedom from intrusive surveillance are not abstract legal concepts. They empower all democratic and rights-based societies. They equip us to speak truth to power, to gather in solidarity, and to live without the fear of being watched simply for having a voice or an opinion. Yet, across the world, even here in Kenya, these freedoms are increasingly under pressure.