Law enforcement in Kenya has a constitutional and public service mandate to protect people, maintain public order and enforce the law in a manner consistent with human rights.  Over the years,  law enforcement institutions have come under intense public, judicial, constitutional and human-rights scrutiny.  

Thursday, 25 June 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya — The Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG) condemns in the strongest terms the widespread violations of constitutional rights witnessed during the Gen Z memorial protests held across Kenya on 25 June 2026.

Listening to the State House speeches and reading the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Reparations Framework, I agree with transitional justice expert Tina Alai’s observation. While the moment is significant, it is not yet historic. What clarity does the Framework offer victims and a nation traumatised by state violence and what must the State do next?

The midnight home arrest of Officer in Charge of Police Station Dishon Angoya during another week of protests, perhaps not wholly surprising, was still unsettling. What does it reveal about how state power is being exercised?

Following the most compromised election in the history of Tanzania last year, Samia Suluhu’s comments at the business conference this week were hard-faced, honest and habitual. Sadly, she represents a troubling new breed of politicians who threaten violence against their own youth with disturbing ease.

Kisumu High Court’s 25 March judgment this week, awarding Sh 38.6 million to 28 victims and families, validates their long-ignored cries for justice. It confirms what human rights organisations, opposition politicians, and the media have extensively documented. Police violence during the 2023 “Sufuria” protests was deliberate, excessive, and brutally unlawful. What implications does this ruling have for the victims and the path to reparations and justice for all whose rights are violated while exercising the right to expression and assembly?

With the legal hurdles now cleared, compensation for victims of violent policing during protests is back on the table. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, now affirmed as the constitutional body tasked with delivering the President’s pledge, must define its path and steer clear of new obstacles. 

This week, several people arrested during the June-July protests – including boda boda riders, fisherfolk, politicians, and security officers – were charged in Kenya’s counterterrorism Kahawa Law Courts. The Supreme Council of Muslims (SUPKEM) also released its report on how the criminal justice system responds to religious extremism. While these two events may seem unrelated, SUPKEM’s findings shed light on a worrying trend: the growing use of harsh legal measures to silence dissent.

Tomorrow marks one year since the historic #OccupyParliament protest shook the nation’s conscience. As Kenyans prepare to take to the streets again this June 25th, peacefully and within their constitutional right, it is not just a protest. It is a mirror held up to the National Police Service (NPS), a test of whether it serves the Constitution or cowers to political masters.

Tuesday’s street anarchy in Nairobi had me scrambling for dusty copies of the Commission on Inquiry, Ransley and Kriegler reports on 2007/2008 Post Election Violence. Within 72 hours, key figures accused of coordinating the mayhem had criticised the violence, some instigators had apologised, and several national and international voices had condemned the six hours of carnage. What happened to rapidly de-escalate the situation?

In 2024, Kenya faced a disturbing resurgence of state-led violence, with enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings reaching alarming levels. As captured in the Missing Voices Annual Report 2024, the crackdown on peaceful protests—particularly those led by Gen Z and Millennial activists against the Finance Bill—revealed a government increasingly willing to silence dissent through unlawful force. This report, compiled by a coalition of leading human rights organizations, provides verified data, survivor testimonies, and expert insights into these grave human rights violations. It serves as both a record of injustice and a call to action—for accountability, reform, and justice for all those affected.

· Kenyan authorities have failed to ensure justice for the killing of at least 31 people and other abuses by the police during protests throughout the country from March to July 2023.