UN human rights experts visit Kenya privately amid concerns over crackdowns, civic freedoms

Two senior United Nations officials focusing on human rights violations were in Nairobi last week in their private capacities to assess the state of Kenya’s civic space.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) hosted Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor and Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Assembly and Expression Gina Romero.

KHRC facilitated a series of meetings between the UN officials and human rights actors on the status of civic freedoms in the country.

"Their unofficial visit carries a message that Kenya must protect fundamental freedoms, ensure defenders can work safely, and uphold the rights to free expression and peaceful assembly," said KHRC on Monday.

Their decision to visit privately raised eyebrows within the human rights fraternity, coming shortly after Kenya refused to allow the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association to conduct an official visit.

Gen Z protest deaths

The rapporteur was reportedly denied the opportunity over concerns within President William Ruto's administration that the UN might seek to investigate deaths and injuries linked to the Gen Z protests.

Mary Lawlor took up her mandate on May 1 2020, following Human Rights Council decision 43/115, and has worked extensively with and on the situation of human rights defenders.

Her counterpart, Gina Romero of Colombia, was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association and began her duties in April 2024.

Before her appointment, Romero led several initiatives promoting democracy and the rule of law. She is a co-founder of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for Democracy, where she served as Executive Director for nearly 10 years.

A source at the Kenya Human Rights Commission who spoke to The Eastleigh Voice on condition of anonymity said the UN is increasingly interested in Kenya's human rights situation following the government’s refusal to allow official visits by rapporteurs.

"We had a fruitful engagement with the rapporteurs who visited us in their private capacities. We're delighted that the UN is interested in the state of human rights in Kenya," said the source.

'Dismantled democratic guardrails'

In a separate statement, the Commission warned: "The regime has dismantled democratic guardrails. Parliament has been reduced to a rubber stamp, the Judiciary battered through contempt and defiance, and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions weaponised to persecute dissenters while shielding allies."

The Davies Malombe-led organisation said the human toll is alarming.

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"Between 2023 and 2025, state security forces killed more than 246 people. In July 2023 alone, 51 protesters were killed in five days during demonstrations against punitive taxation. Enforced disappearances, abductions, torture, and arbitrary arrests have become normalised."

More than 1,700 protesters, including minors, have been unlawfully arrested, and 75 faced enforced disappearances, renditions, and extrajudicial killings. Such actions, the commission said, carry “life-and-death consequences.”

Multiple requests ignored

"As these violations are happening, the Kenyan regime continues to show an unwillingness to cooperate with international and regional human rights mechanisms. It has failed to extend standing invitations to special rapporteurs and has ignored or delayed responses to multiple requests for country visits by mandate holders covering critical areas," noted the Commission.

The KNCHR has also issued fresh recommendations urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to grant official clearance for the visit, warning that continued delays are damaging Kenya’s global reputation.

KNCHR says the human rights situation has deteriorated, with defenders increasingly facing harassment, violence, and intimidation. The commission has documented a pattern of arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, and killings, accusing state agencies of failing in their responsibility to protect rights.

"The operating environment of human rights in the country is not good; we have seen even when they are demonstrators how they are handled," said KNCHR CEO Bernard Mogesa.