Greetings Comrades and Compatriots,
J u l y 2 0 2 5
Over the past month, our beloved nation has faced one of the most volatile political moments in its recent history. Popular and legitimate protests against police killings, abductions, and economic violence, a movement that intensified following the brutal murder of Albert Ojwang in police custody, have been met with raw violence from the police force and other instruments of the state. Political leaders have become part of the conveyor belts of violence, openly sponsoring militias that, on more than one occasion, have been documented as having beaten up and sexually assaulted and raped women, robbed peaceful Kenyans, and destroyed immense amounts of property.
According to Human Rights Organizations, more than 50 of our compatriots have been killed by the Kenya Police Force since 25th June 2025, 2 have been abducted by security agencies, while over 500 other Kenyans have been arrested during this period, an unknown number dying while in custody. These figures are likely to rise as more information comes to light.
These times are also marked by the deliberate and systematic targeting of human rights defenders through arrests, trumped-up court charges, unlawful surveillance, and various other forms of harassment and intimidation. Kenyans recently witnessed activists Paul Mark Amiani, John Mulingwa Nzau, and Mutunge Mwangi arrested and presented in court on baseless, trumped-up charges. We have seen other well-known activists, like Davis Tafari, facing police intimidation. In recent days, the Kenya Police have gone as far as making phone calls to the parents and families of some activists or visiting their homes, an intimidation tactic akin to psychological torture.
These incidents are not isolated but are rather part of a systematic attempt to instill fear in those who advocate for a free, just, and peaceful Kenya. Human Rights work is not a crime!
We have compiled this information pack to not only share with the Kenyan public the profiles of some of the Human Rights Defenders subjected to various forms of intimidation and harassment, but also to highlight the transformative work that the individuals and movement’s the state is targeting, engage within their communities, in pursuit of a Kenya that is free, just and peaceful.
We take this earliest opportunity to condemn the continued harassment of Human Rights Defenders by the state and its allies. We also call upon you, our comrades at home and abroad, to use every channel available to you to amplify our cry for justice, to stop our world from slipping into an abyss of fascist dictatorship from which we may never rise again.
Yours in love and solidarity, Kenyan Human Rights Defenders.
