Kenya Human Rights Commission and Katiba Institute Petition High Court Over Political Violence

A coalition of six civil-society organisations, including the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the Katiba Institute and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, lodged a constitutional petition at the Milimani High Court demanding that state bodies investigate a series of organised attacks on political, civic and religious gatherings ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The petition names the Attorney General, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Service and the Inspector-General of Police as respondents and alleges that these agencies have failed to prevent, probe and prosecute the violence.

Among the orders sought are directives for the intelligence chief and the police chief to launch investigations, preserve all relevant evidence such as CCTV recordings, police occurrence-book entries and communication data, and forward the compiled files to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a decision on possible charges, with a joint progress report to be filed within 60 days.

The applicants also request the court to order the creation of a dedicated, adequately funded multi-agency task force within 30 days, drawing officers from the National Police Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and operating in coordination with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and to require the task force to issue periodic public updates on its activities.

Further relief includes a court-approved national framework for preventing and responding to organised political and civic violence, specifying institutional responsibilities, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, victim-protection measures and reporting channels, with implementation timelines set by the court and quarterly reporting for six months.

The petition asks that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights independently monitor religious, civic and political gatherings and submit separate periodic assessments of the electoral environment and compliance with constitutional and international human-rights obligations.

The applicants also seek a report within 90 days on the outcome of a nationwide crackdown on organisers and financiers of political violence that was announced in December 2025 and referenced in statements made in April, August and September 2026.

In addition, the petitioners claim general and aggravated damages for alleged violations of the Kenya Human Rights Commission’s constitutional rights arising from attacks on July 6, 2025 and June 12, 2026, seek further compensation for the fourth and fifth petitioners linked to the July 2025 incident, and request that the respondents bear the costs of the proceedings.

The petition cites a pattern of attacks reported since early 2025, including the storming of the Kenya Human Rights Commission’s Nairobi office on July 6, 2025 – recorded under occurrence-book number 45/06/07/2025 – the disruption of a civic budget discussion at All Saints Cathedral, an assault on a proposed Linda Mwananchi meeting in Homa Bay and an incident at a church in Kisumu, all of which the applicants say undermine freedoms guaranteed by Article 38 of the Constitution.

“These freedoms cannot be meaningfully exercised when individuals attending political rallies, civic forums, religious services or press conferences face threats of violence,” the petitioners state, while KHRC board member Guami Makoha told a press conference that “the state has a duty — it has a positive duty to protect our rights, our political rights.”