The world marks the United Nations International Day of Families next Thursday 15 May. How can we ensure we all stay focussed on what ails the Kenyan family and not be hijacked by narrow agendas financed by foreigners.
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.
This issue of the Amnesty Kenya Gazette captures a year of reckoning for Kenya—marked by brutal state repression, rising femicide, mass evictions, and the criminalisation of dissent. Yet amidst the violence and silencing, voices of resistance continue to rise—from schoolgirls tear-gassed for performing a play, to communities demanding justice in the face of police killings. We document these truths, celebrate the courage of those who refuse to be silenced, and spotlight the power of solidarity—from our data rights allies to our new Amnesty Duka. This issue is a call to action: read it, share it, and stand with those building a freer, more just Kenya..
The release of BBC “Blood Parliament” documentary and the Amnesty International 2024-2025 Kenya report whipped up a political storm this week. Accusations of bad faith completely miss the point. Victim centered thinking knows, only justice, not amnesia, heals national wounds.
Nairobi, 6 May 2025: Amnesty International Kenya welcomes the High Court’s decision unequivocally declaring Worldcoin’s operations in Kenya illegal and order to delete all biometric data collected unlawfully. This judgment marks a significant milestone in the protection of data privacy and digital rights in Kenya. It affirms and sends a message to other corporate and state agencies that Kenyans’ personal data cannot be commodified under the guise of innovation.
Nairobi, 5 May 2025: Victims’ families, Amnesty International Kenya, Utu Wetu Trust, the International Justice Mission and the Police Reforms Working Group condemn the DPP’s dropping of charges against eight of the twelve police commanders and officers who were initially included the original charge case.
Nairobi, 3rd May 2025: The Police Reforms Working Group–Kenya (PRWG-Kenya) condemns the arrest of four independent film producers Nicholas Gichuki, Brian Adagala, Mark Karubiu, and Chris Wamae and the seizure of their equipment last night.
While some attempted to downplay the danger of using state security agencies to muzzle the Butere High School play recently, most recognised the threat it posed to our academic and artistic freedoms. This very issue continues to play out very dramatically in the United States, a country with a long history of academic freedom, in ways we can admire and emulate.
The report exposes harrowing stories of forced labour, racism, and human trafficking endured by Kenyan women working in Saudi Arabia. Based on interviews with 72 returnees, this report reveals the structural discrimination embedded in the kafala system and the severe exploitation it fosters and calls for urgent reforms to protect migrant domestic workers.
The 2025 edition of Amnesty International annual report, The State of the Worlds Human Rights, assesses national, regional and global developments across a wide range of human rights themes.
Nairobi, 27 April 2025: Amnesty International has released the 2024/25 State of the World’s Human Rights Report, documenting human rights violations and a marked shift toward authoritarian practices in 2024.[1] For Kenya, last year saw repeated attempts to infringe upon freedoms and human rights provided for in the Constitution of Kenya. These include the right to protest, freedom of expression, access to health, housing, and protection from violence among others.
Urgent Recommendations on Amendments to Protect Marginalized Communities and Promote Equitable, Inclusive, and Sustainable Development