Kenya: Deportation of Martin Mavenjina and escalating crackdown on human hights defenders

The Observatory has been informed by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) about the deportation of human rights lawyer and transitional justice expert Mr Martin Mavenjina, a senior legal advisor at KHRC, and the ongoing pattern of repression targeting civil society and human rights defenders in Kenya.

On 5 July 2025, Mr Mavenjina was deported to Uganda immediately after landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, following an official mission in South Africa. Mr Mavenjina holds valid legal status to work and reside in Kenya and has been a leading figure in promoting transitional justice, accountability for past atrocities, and civic engagement—particularly through initiatives such as the #MachoziYaJana dialogues, a series of community-driven fora to honor victims of police brutality and demand systemic reform, as well as civil society coalitions for electoral reform.

According to the KHRC, Mr Mavenjina was initially allowed entry and had his passport stamped. However, within minutes, immigration officers reversed their decision without explanation, confiscated his passport, and held him in a detention facility. After roughly 30 minutes, officials—accompanied by five unidentified plainclothes men believed to be from the National Intelligence Service (NIS)—escorted him to a Kenya Airways desk and issued him a one-way ticket to Kampala. His passport was marked with an exit stamp, and his phone was temporarily confiscated. No formal deportation order or legal justification was presented at any point.

KHRC has condemned this unlawful expulsion, stating that it violates both national and international laws. The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 stipulates due process guarantees for the removal of residence permit of any foreigner who legally resides in Kenya. This process was not availed to Mr Mavenjina. Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on freedom of movement and right to return was also violated, as deporting someone with valid work and residency documents falls squarely within "arbitrary deprivation", such as Articles 5 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) which protect individuals from arbitrary expulsion and premature removal without a fair legal process. As such, Martin Mavenjina’s deportation appears to be part of a coordinated attack on civil society—particularly those supporting families of victims of extrajudicial killings and police brutality—just ahead of the 7 July protests commemorating the historic country-wide 1990 7th July pro-democracy protests that lay the foundation for the eventual end of the 24-year Moi dictatorship. The protests were meant to instill a culture of democracy, good governance and adherence to the rule of law. The protests have since been held on every 7th July and dabbed “saba saba”, a Swahili term loosely translated as “seven seven”.

The Observatory recalls that this incident follows a broader wave of repression. Human rights defenders, journalists, and protest organisers have been subjected to arbitrary arrests, threats, enforced disappearances, and unlawful detentions. According to Missing Voices—a coalition led by KHRC and other civil society organisations—2024 recorded the highest number of enforced disappearances since the coalition began documenting such cases in 2019. In 2024, a total of 159 cases of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances were reported, 104 of which were police-related killings and 55 enforced disappearances—marking a 450% increase in disappearances compared to 2023. The Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) also documented 67 extra judicial killings in 2023 and over 600 cases of police torture, including 63 deaths and 89 enforced disappearances in 2024. Most of these abuses occurred during the Gen Z protests - a youth led, decentralised movement against corruption, police brutality and the 2024 Finance Bill - between June and August 2024, with 58 killings tied directly to protest policing, predominantly in Nairobi, Kiambu, Migori, and other counties.

The victims were overwhelmingly young men between the ages of 18 and 34. Despite the scale of abuse, no police officers have been convicted, and only two cases have proceeded to court, highlighting the ongoing culture of impunity. Meanwhile, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has reported 60 cases related to the protests, but most have been stalled or dismissed, often citing "lack of evidence" or "need for further investigation." Although the UN Working group on enforced disappearances called on Kenya to provide details on the measures taken to search for individuals who disappeared during or after the protests, the authorities failed to demonstrate that any such efforts were made.

As part of the coordinated attack on KHRC, on 6 July, 2025, at around 14:00 hours while preparing to host a press conference by Kenyan Mothers calling for an end to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, ahead of the 7 July protests, KHRC offices were invaded by state-sponsored goons. Mothers, journalists and KHRC staff that had gathered for the press conference were attacked and phones, laptops and other valuables stolen from them. The attackers informed them they were sent to ensure the press conference did not take place.

On 7 July, 2025, the country witnessed yet another day of police brutality, by the end of the next day the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights had recorded at least 31 deaths, 107 injured, 2 enforced disappearances and 532 arrests - the numbers are expected to be much higher given night attacks reported in many of the satellite towns close to the capital city Nairobi.

The Observatory considers that this context underscores a dire climate of shrinking civic space and systemic violence against protesters and human rights defenders. Deportations have been widely used in Kenya and other East African Community member states to prevent defenders from carrying out their legitimate work. Among several cases, in 2024, Ugandan opposition leader Kiiza Besigye was abducted in Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda and arraigned before a military court while in 2025, Kenyan human rights defender Boniface Mwangi was forcibly disappeared in Tanzania and returned to Kenya. The Observatory reiterates that deportations, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and the intimidation of civic actors constitute serious violations of international human rights norms and call for urgent accountability mechanisms, including the application of command responsibility and protection of witnesses.

Furthermore, the Observatory emphasises that Mr Mavenjina’s deportation is not an isolated incident but reflects a systemic crackdown on independent voices amid Kenya’s most significant wave of youth-led mobilisation in recent history. Recent protests have evolved into a broader call for transformative governance, accountability, and human dignity—demands that the government appears increasingly unable or unwilling to address.

The Observatory strongly condemns the deportation of Mr Martin Mavenjina and the absence of due process in this case, he continued intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders and civil society organisations in Kenya, as well as the escalating violence and repression against peaceful protesters, including the use of lethal force, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary detentions.

The Observatory urges the Kenyan authorities to immediately allow the safe and unconditional return of Mr Mavenjina to Kenya and ensure the physical and psychological integrity of all KHRC members and all human rights defenders and peaceful protesters in the country.