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.
Based on survivor testimonies documented by Amnesty International Kenya.
In the ashes of the 2007-2008 post-election violence, Kenya made a promise to itself: never again. More than 1,100 people lost their lives, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and the country witnessed how quickly political competition could descend into ethnic conflict.
Amnesty International Kenya is an integral part of a global movement of more than 10 million people who take injustice personally. Registered in Kenya and affiliated with Amnesty International, the organisation has been at the forefront of promoting and protecting human rights for all.
JOB TITLE: Equality & Anti Program Discrimination Intern
For over a decade, Kenyans have buried protesters, treated life-changing injuries and watched cycles of violence repeat on our streets and in our communities. A new draft Freedom of Assembly Bill offers a chance to break this pattern. What does it get right, where does it depart from previous bills, and what must be strengthened to ensure that demonstrations are protected, not punished?
Post about a breaking news event, share an unverified allegation, or even repeat a rumor in a WhatsApp group, and until this year you could, in theory, have faced up to ten years in prison. That was the potential consequence of Sections 22 and 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, which criminalized the publication of “false” information using broad and vaguely defined offences. The provisions cast a long shadow over anyone with access to a phone or the internet. On 6 March, however, the Court of Appeal struck them down. In a case brought by the Bloggers Association of Kenya, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Kenya, Article 19 and others, the court called them so broad they were “like unguided missiles.”
While elections produce both winners and losers, the real loser in Ol Kalou was not UDA’s candidate but the State itself. Unless Kenya radically reforms its electoral environment, the by-election offers yet another warning of how state conduct is undermining our electoral democracy. What lessons should we draw, and what must change before the 2027 General Election?