The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has accused the government of escalating its crackdown on human rights defenders ahead of the highly anticipated Saba Saba protests, set for Monday.
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, the commission revealed that its senior legal advisor on transitional justice, Martin Mavenjina, was deported to Uganda on Saturday night, shortly after landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from South Africa.
“This is part of a broader state-led purge on civil society actors who have been vocal since the June 25 protests,” KHRC said.
Mavenjina’s deportation adds to growing fears that the state is systematically silencing dissenting voices amid rising tensions over governance and police brutality.
Meanwhile, chaos broke out at KHRC headquarters in Lavington, Nairobi, after a group of unidentified goons stormed the premises, disrupting a press conference that was to be held by Kenyan mothers. The group was expected to demand an end to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests, especially targeting protesting youth.
“This intimidation is aimed at crushing civic expression before Saba Saba,” KHRC added, noting that the attackers arrived shortly before the mothers’ presser.
The tension comes just days after Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen urged police to be “gentle with citizens but ruthless with criminals.” However, civil society groups argue that the line between peaceful protesters and criminals has become dangerously blurred.
Saba Saba, commemorated every July 7, marks the 1990 protest that catalyzed Kenya’s transition to multiparty democracy. It is a historically significant day for civic action—yet this year’s protests, largely led by Gen Z activists, are being met with intensified state resistance.
KHRC now warns that the government’s actions risk undermining constitutional rights, calling for an immediate halt to the harassment of rights defenders.
“Kenya’s democracy is being tested. Silencing civil society will not solve the problems that brought people to the streets,” the commission said.
