Stop violation of rights and protect freedoms
The freedoms and rights that Kenyans enjoy today, and which are increasingly being threatened, did not come easily. The struggle for constitutional reforms should not just be cherished, but also stridently defended and enhanced.
However, the government watchdog, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), has warned of an increasing erosion of these rights and fundamental freedoms.
It has flagged repression and police brutality in a disturbing wave since the Gen Z-led protests last year. Some 60 young Kenyans were killed and hundreds seriously injured in a brutal police clampdown on people exercising their constitutional rights.
Even more disturbing was the presence of masked civilian gangs on motorbikes who were unleashed to beat up and terrorise protesters and bystanders.
The watchdog, warning over a shrinking space for rights and freedoms, says there has been an increase in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and abductions. The KNCHR says in its annual report that Kenyans continue to endure a disturbing wave of abuses, many of which are perpetrated by the police, who are expected to protect them. In the period from December 2024 to December 2025, it received and processed 2,848 allegations of human rights violations.
The agency has also warned of the rising tide of gang violence and intolerance, as witnessed during the recent by-elections, which, it says, were largely not free and fair. This is alarming, considering the country has less than two years to the next General Election.
KNHCR has further warned that recent amendments to the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act pose a grave threat to freedom of expression online, enabling arbitrary arrests for social media speech. It has joined a constitutional petition to challenge those provisions.
The State should uphold the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Kenyans and punish those violating them.
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