INCLO members demand an urgent inquiry into armed attacks against civic space in Kenya
As organizations of a global civil liberties network, we urge authorities to thoroughly investigate suspected state complicity in the systematic armed attacks against our member the KHRC and other CSOs.
On June 12, 2026, a coordinated group of armed men violently stormed a public participation forum on the 2026/27 national budget hosted by the KHRC at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi. This brazen assault is not an isolated incident; it follows a nearly identical raid by armed militias against the KHRC headquarters almost one year ago. We demand immediate accountability, an independent investigation into state complicity, and global solidarity to protect Kenya’s jeopardized civic space.
The latest escalation occurred as more than 100 members of civil society gathered to review the newly released 2026/2027 national budget. A coordinated group of attackers launched a two-wave assault, first arriving on motorcycles before returning 30 minutes later on foot to storm the conference area, assaulting and robbing fleeing participants.
Citizens detained one suspect, Kevin Kamonjo, who claimed on camera that they were hired to disrupt the event by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi. This violence mirrors a pattern of terror from July 6, 2025, when a militia of 50 masked individuals armed with clubs and pickaxes raided the KHRC headquarters. That previous raid disrupted a press conference held by mothers seeking justice for children killed or abducted by police, violently shutting down the premises.
In response to these targeted attacks, we stand in solidarity with the KHRC and echo their demands that authorities immediately cross-examine the captured suspects’ claims regarding the alleged involvement of the Treasury Ministry. We also insist on an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation to determine who funds these civilian militias. Silencing constitutional oversight with hired violence pushes any nation toward state-sanctioned lawlessness.
Signed:
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Agora International Human Rights Group (Russia)
- Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA/Canada)
- Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS/Argentina)
- Conectas Direitos Humanos (Brazil)
- Dejusticia (Colombia)
- Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC/Australia)
- Human Rights Law Network (HRLN/India)
- Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU/Hungary)
- Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL/Ireland)
- The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Torture (KontraS/Indonesia)
- Legal Resources Centre (LRC/South Africa)
- Liberty (UK)
