Welcome to this edition of the Amnesty International Kenya Gazette. In August, we celebrated young voices reimagining a safe and inclusive digital future, honoured journalists who dared to speak truth to power, and stood in solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence and families of those lost to extrajudicial killings. We share stories of Kilifi’s elders living in fear, the national outcry against femicide, and the ongoing demand for accountability in the Ahmed Rashid case. We also reflect on our 4th Annual Delegates Conference, where members renewed our leadership and direction. Each story is a reminder of our mission—to protect, defend, and advance the rights of all in Kenya.

The Kenya Forest Services has just triggered a fresh controversy for the Kenya Kwanza administration by unilaterally taking control of the 93-year-old Karura Forest. Legitimate public concern now exists, and interest is mounting regarding the vested interests that have once again threatened one of Kenya’s most cherished public spaces.

JOB TITLE: Technology and Human Rights Intern

Wednesday’s celebration of one of the nation’s most important teenagers, the Constitution of Kenya (2010), was remarkable. 2024 saw one of the fiercest battles for constitutionalism yet. A renewed focus on the cancer of corruption in all public spaces accompanied this week’s celebrations. Looking past the current Parliament and Executive shouting match, it maybe the Gen Z spirit that offers us a new governance culture that is a match for our constitutional values.

Nairobi, 22 August 2025: Amnesty International Kenya welcomes the appointment of Irũngũ Houghton to the Panel of Experts on Compensation of Victims of Demonstrations and Public Protests. For several years, we have documented and demanded justice for victims of violent suppression of protests by law enforcement officials. This has included, but is not restricted to, the 2017 and 2023 post-election violence, COVID-19, the Masimba killings and the recent Gen Z protests, among others.

As documented in Amnesty International’s 2024/25 State of the Human Rights Global Report, billions of people and international human rights law face a multiplicity of assaults. The most pernicious of these is the steady spread of authoritarian laws and practices that deliberately target civil liberties, civic and media freedoms, as well as economic and social rights.

Tragically, what should have been a peaceful Saba Saba celebration of Kenya’s fight for human rights and democratic governance turned into a harsh show of state force on 7 July 2025. To stop protests, the government used excessive force, made arbitrary arrests, and sealed off public spaces. Roads into Nairobi were blocked, especially affecting low-income areas like Githurai, Mlolongo, Roysambu, Kitengela, and Ruaraka, effectively denying many Kenyans their right to protest. While hundreds were injured, at least 43 people died from gunshot wounds suspected to be from police issued firearms. The incident included 12-year-old Bridgit Njoki, who was shot dead by police while watching TV at home. 

Missing Voices Coalition (MVC) is a coalition of grassroots, local, national and international civil society organisations committed to ending enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Kenya. MVC works through data collection, verification and publication of data (documentation), advocacy, and partnership with stakeholders in the human rights sector to seek justice for victims of police abuse of power (PAP), and humanise victims of police abuse of power. By uniting member organisations, MVC has become a central player in advocating for police accountability and protecting the rights of affected communities.

What is the value of a human life, and how should victims of wrongful deaths caused by state officers be compensated? President Ruto’s 6 August announcement of an Implementation Panel to compensate victims of protest-related deaths dating back to 2017 opens a new chapter in Kenya’s transitional justice journey. It raises critical questions. Is financial compensation enough? Or should justice and accountability take precedence in addressing state violence and abuse?

All my life, imposter syndrome has lived in my head rent-free like the kind of roommate who never contributes to rent but always has something negative to say. I’ve grown up believing that there are spaces I will never step into, people whose numbers I dare not save, offices I’ll only ever see in documentaries, and clothes I’d admire from behind glass. You name it, if it was beautiful, expensive, or empowering, I convinced myself I wasn’t supposed to have it. Why? I honestly can’t tell you. But I do know that growing up constantly hearing things like, “Pascaliah, don’t aim too high, you’ll just be disappointed,” or “No one in our family has ever done this,” or “We don’t know people in high places to open doors for you,” carved those doubts deep into my skull. Even now, when something good happens, like receiving an acceptance email, I read it a hundred times. I’ll delete every other email in my inbox, but that one becomes scripture—a digital memory verse.  

The BBC Africa Eye “Madams: Exposing Kenya’s Child Sex Trade” documentary is classic investigative journalism. Given the gravity of the findings and the public call for action to be taken to stop the trade in women and girls, the Interior Cabinet Secretary’s reaction was unexpected. How big a problem does Kenya have, and what could be done to better protect it?

Nairobi,15 August 2025 Amnesty International Kenya is deeply concerned by the remarks by the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, terming the BBC Africa Eye, Madams of Mai Mahiu, expose by BBC Africa Eye as a “hoax”. These remarks not only water down the lived experiences of the survivors, but also embolden the perpetrators of child sex trafficking and are a dangerous attempt to discredit and silence legitimate journalism