When Kenya had her presidential elections in 2022 where Hon William Ruto emerged the winner, one of the promises he repeated severally during the campaign period was that his government will not target the opposition, activists, and human rights defenders. True to his word, the community of active citizens who make it their duty to hold people in power accountable on behalf of Kenya`s citizenry have not been arrested, sued or disappeared since he was sworn in.  

This seemingly peaceful existence was brutally shattered when an active citizen who used social media for activism, otherwise referred to as a political blogger was found brutally murdered in December 2023 in one of Kenya´s 47 counties, a region known as Meru. A postmortem done after his body was recovered from a well–known dangerous and crocodile infested river revealed he had been severely tortured with various weapons and sand stuffed down his throat then bound with razor–sharp wire all over his body before being dumped in the raging waters. The death of Sniper as he was popularly known online sent shockwaves in the human rights defenders’ community and a spirited campaign was launched to demand that his killers be arrested. Suspects connected to the current Meru Governor were arrested and the court case is ongoing.  

Last Sunday, the 7th of April, another well-known political activist known as Duke was found in what is being staged as a suicide but all indicators of the state of his body point to murder. He was placed in a kneeling position with his belt around his neck supported by an old hut structure that cannot in any way or form hold the weight of an adult man who intended to hang himself. Sources close to the case claim he had wounds that are not consistent with the suicide narrative. The investigations into his death are currently ongoing and no suspects have been arrested yet.  

Though these cases are extreme as they end up with the death of the targeted activists, the human rights defenders´ community is increasingly receiving reports of intimidation tactics that aim to ensure we are pushed into silence on the injustices and cases of corruption we expose. One notable case is the recent defamation suit amounting to a demand for damages worth a ridiculous Ksh 100,000,000 (740,000 EUROS), against a popular anti-corruption woman activist known as Jerotich Seii by the sitting Governor of Nairobi, Johnson Sakaja.  

In the last few months, Jerotich has been exposing what she terms as `construction cartels´ who have illegally taken over Nairobi´s green spaces and available plots of land to build concrete jungles that do not adhere to construction regulations that govern our city plans. The cartels comprise of very connected Chinese and Somali nationals who have managed to corrupt Nairobi County officials, rendering them untouchable by city planners and regulators. The hundreds of illegal buildings coming up all over Nairobi are being built 24 hours a day, giving their neighbours endless sleepless nights while denying residents access to their right to a safe and habitable environment by reducing access to clean water, efficient sewer systems and other amenities. 

For exposing these cartels and questioning what Nairobi´s Governor is doing to protect us, Governor Sakaja has responded by suing her in a frivolous and vexatious strategic litigation suit to silence and intimidate Jerotich.  

As a human rights defender who has had an attempted kidnap, been illegally jailed, physically assaulted, lost a livelihood and even had to seek protection in Europe and America with my family, such stories not only worry me intensely, but they also work to paralyze my activism entirely. This of course is exactly what our corrupt leadership wants: a numb terrified community of active citizens.  

Though there haven’t been any cases linked to our current president, people in power under him are increasingly taking Kenya back to the dark ages where any dissent or activism exposed us to physical, financial, emotional and mental harm.  

It is because of this worrying trend that ISHR-Kenya chapter took part in launching a report on the use of Strategic Litigation against human rights defenders by corrupt and powerful leaders. By partnering with other like–minded civil society organisations, ISHR-Kenya hopes to fight back against the impunity that is abuse of power and call on Kenya´s President Ruto to reign in his rogue officials. The report, titled “The effect of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) on freedom of expression and citizen participation in public dialogues in Kenya”, documents past attacks on activists and human rights defenders. It is indeed a working document considering the attacks against Kenya´s human rights community seem to have escalated in recent months.  

Wanjeri Nderu
President ISHR-Kenya