As children return to school this week, it is worth pausing to reflect on something quieter than uniforms and timetables: whether we are creating the conditions for children to speak, participate, and shape the decisions that affect their lives. This week is as good a moment as any to explore how we strengthen children’s voices and remind them of the power they hold in shaping every decision that affects them.
On 30 August 2026, the world will mark the 20th anniversary of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. This moment must prompt us to ask; how has the Kenyan state treated its own victims of enforced disappearance over the last year?
A national risk assessment by Kenya’s Ministry of Interior has warned that 18 counties are at risk of being affected by El Niño from October. For many Kenyans, this may sound like a weather forecast. For thousands of families across the country, it sounds like a warning they have heard before, and one that still haunts them. The question is: what is the human cost?
Kenya’s progressive adoption of technologies such as Biometric Voter Registration (BVR), the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS), electronic voter identification and electronic results transmission has transformed electoral administration, making digital infrastructure and personal data central to electoral integrity. Technology now extends across the electoral cycle, from voter registration and identification to results transmission, verification and public communication.
The announcement of women-focused voter registration campaign is timely. Its success will depend on breaking down the barriers that continue to exclude women from their full participation in our democracy.
Nairobi, 16 August 2026: Amnesty International Kenya strongly condemns the reported attacks on journalists, disruption of media broadcasts, destruction of property, unlawful road blockades, and acts of violence and intimidation associated with political activities in Homa Bay.
Less than one year before millions of Kenyans return to the ballot for the 2027 General Elections, the country is already entering a critical phase of its electoral cycle. The political machinery is already warming up, alliances are being negotiated, political leaders are positioning themselves, voters are being mobilised and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is preparing for the 2027 polls. But as the country moves closer to a highly charged political season, there is a question that deserves far more attention than who will occupy State House: Will human rights be protected throughout the electoral period?
The election results are only the beginning—not the end. The leaders we elect make decisions that shape county plans, budgets, and essential services, including healthcare, education, water, and sanitation.
NAIROBI, 10TH AUGUST 2026: Odipo Dev and Amnesty International Kenya (AIK) have released a report documenting a sharp rise in protests across Kenya, continued use of live ammunition and the high number of arrests and injuries during protests, signaling a deepening human rights and governance crisis. The Kenya Freedom Index documented 1,292 protest events across the country between January 2025 and June 2026. Of these, 839 occurred in 2025, while 453 were recorded in only the first six months of 2026. This represents a 29% increase in protests during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
On the morning of Saturday 18 July 2026, the homepage of president.go.ke temporarily stopped being the official website of the President of the Republic of Kenya. In its place sat a ransom note, a cryptocurrency wallet address and a deadline. The attackers wanted five bitcoins, about KSh 41.3 million at that day’s exchange rate, and threatened to publish materials they claimed to possess relating to President William Ruto[MK1] if they were not paid by six o’clock that evening.
It was too easy to dismiss President Ruto’s invitation to help him shape the country’s future through a proposed Vision 2060 blueprint as too little, too late, last week. While this initiative may not be the pathway to Singapore, the declaration does offer another opportunity for one more KenyaTuitakayo reflection.
On 16 July 2026, forty-six delegates from 23 Human Rights Friendly Schools across seven counties gathered for Amnesty Kenya’s inaugural Children’s Annual Delegates Conference (ADC). The first governance forum of its kind in Amnesty Kenya’s history. More than a milestone event, the Children’s ADC marked the fulfillment of a four-year vision to create a space where children are recognized not only as participants in the movement, but as contributors to its governance.