Journalists receive death threats after story on Kenyan official's death
Two investigative journalists have reported receiving death threats in Kenya shortly after airing a story suggesting foul play in a government official's death, according to news reports and local...
View ArticleKenyan court's interpretation of "citizens" limits access to information
ARTICLE 19 welcomes a High Court decision that citizens have the right to access the information held by public and state owned corporations, but is highly concerned by the court's continued narrow...
View ArticleWitnesses describe police killings of protesters, bystanders in Kenya
Human Rights Watch interviewed witnesses, civil society leaders, and government officials about police shootings that occurred in the wake of demonstrations against the Kenyan Supreme Court ruling on...
View ArticleA conversation with Boniface Mwangi, Kenyan activist and photographer
Boniface Mwangi, founder of Picha Mtaani, the first-ever street exhibition in Kenya, speaks with Index on Censorship's Julia Farrington about freedom of expression, art and activism.
View ArticleKenyan journalist threatened for exposing hospital scandal
Robert Wanyoni received death threats twice last week following his coverage of wrongdoing at a hospital in the western Kenyan town of Bungoma, according to the journalist and news reports.
View ArticleKenyan activists face threats, attacks for "supporting" ICC case against...
Attacks and threats against human rights defenders are on the rise in Kenya. Harassment of people perceived to support the International Criminal Court cases against President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy...
View ArticleEditor of controversial Kenyan news blog missing since September
Dickson Bogonko Bosire has been missing since 18 September. His news blog, Jackal News covers stories ranging from corruption investigations to the most salacious scandals, which have got him into hot...
View ArticleKenyan media face fines, prison terms under proposed media bills
The Information and Communications Bill would impose fines of up to US $235,000 on media groups who breach a code of conduct, while the Media Council Bill would allow content to be banned if it is...
View ArticleNew laws prescribe educational standards, revise code of conduct for...
ARTICLE 19 is concerned about the new media landscape in Kenya following the passage of two laws by the National Assembly on 5 December 2013. The effect of these laws is seriously damaging for the...
View ArticleKenyan media prepare to battle new press laws
Kenya’s media are preparing to launch a challenge to a new system of regulation introduced by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Early this month, journalists instructed senior lawyer Mr. James Aggery Orengo,...
View ArticleNew report documents attacks on Rwandan opponents and critics abroad
"Repression Across Borders" illustrates the persistence of attacks on Rwandan opponents and critics in exile, spanning the period of 1996 to 2014. The most recent case was the murder of Patrick...
View ArticleKenyan journalists win court victory against repressive media laws
A three-judge panel of the High Court in Nairobi has halted implementation of the Media Council Act 2013 and Kenya Information and Communications (Amendment) Act 2013 until the full Court considers the...
View ArticleLGBT rights group denied registration in Kenya due to "unacceptable" name
The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’s (NGLHRC) application to register was denied in 2013 because the Non-Governmental Organizations Coordination Board deemed the group’s name...
View ArticleKenyan authorities arrest Somali political reporter
The motive behind the arrest of Ibrahim Said Salah remains unspecified, but journalists believe that some politicians in Puntland are using Kenyan contacts to arrest the journalist, due to his reports...
View ArticleKenyan journalist covering police detained, harassed
Last month, police threatened and briefly detained Justus Ochieng, a reporter for the privately owned daily The Star, in connection with a story he wrote that alleged criminal activity by police...
View ArticleKenyan parliament to vote on restrictive security bill
Kenya's Security Laws (Amendment) Bill 2014 would, among other measures, expand intelligence agency surveillance powers. Several provisions would restrict media coverage of terrorist acts in Kenya,...
View ArticleNew Kenya security law undermines rights
The law, passed by parliament on December 18, 2014, and signed by the president on December 19, expands the search, seizure, and surveillance powers of the National Intelligence Service, curbs media...
View ArticleParts of security law restricting speech, media ruled unconstitutional
The Kenyan High Court decision has been hailed as an encouraging sign for the protection of people's fundamental freedoms.
View ArticleOn Earth Day, Phyllis Omido recognised for activism against poisonous smelter...
Kenyan activist Phyllis Omido is being recognised for standing up to the people running a poisonous smelter that endangered her community in Mombasa.
View ArticleKenya's High Court rules LGBT group can register as NGO
The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's original request to register had been denied in March 2013 because their name was deemed "unacceptable."
View ArticleKenyan editor murdered by unknown assailants in Eldoret town
Local journalists and a family member told CPJ they suspected John Kituyi may have been targeted in connection with a story in the Mirror Weekly that described the International Criminal Court case...
View ArticleThreats facing journalists in northern Kenya
Kenyan journalists are increasingly being forced to make an impossible choice in their quest to report public interest stories, as they face attacks and threats from both militant groups and government...
View ArticleKenyan government targets NGOs in tense coastal region
The harassment and intimidation of the nongovernmental organisations Haki Africa and Muslims for Human Rights, is connected to their legitimate human rights work, Humans Rights Watch, Amnesty...
View ArticleWhen civil society is attacked, Kenya's democracy is imperiled
The government’s recent pressure on nongovernmental organizations threatens a central pillar of the country’s democratic system—and ordinary Kenyans appreciate what they stand to lose.
View ArticleKenya's tradition of satire undermined by firing of celebrated cartoonist
Godfrey Mwampembwa's drawings include a 2009 cartoon that mocked President Kenyatta (finance minister at the time) for a $100 million accounting error.
View ArticleKenyan police face investigation for excessive force against protestors
“The decision by the Office of the Inspector General to investigate possible violations by police is a welcomed first step toward holding accountable those who used improper force.”
View ArticleKenya urged to investigate police use of excessive force, killing of protesters
At least 5 people died and 60 were wounded by gunfire as police tried to obstruct two largely peaceful protests in Nyanza region, Western Kenya.
View ArticleBrutal Kenyan extrajudicial killing must be investigated
Shocking abduction and killing of lawyer Willie Kimani and two others causes alarm in the face of reports suggesting police officers were involved.
View ArticleKenya: Politicians must be held to account for intimidation and harassment of...
ARTICLE 19 strongly condemns the increasing attacks targeting journalists in Kenya ahead of the General election slated for August 2017.
View ArticleKenyan politician "jokes" about rape of political rival on live TV
Former aide to opposition leader shocks Kenyans on national TV with "socialite bimbo" comments about a possible Nairobi election rival.
View ArticleProminent lawyer and human rights advocate faces forced return to South Sudan
“Dong Samuel Luak has been a vocal advocate for human rights in South Sudan for many years, and could face serious mistreatment if returned to South Sudan,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director...
View ArticleBritish correspondent expelled from Kenya without explanation
Based in Nairobi for the past five years, British correspondent Jerome Starkey was detained without explanation at Nairobi airport on his return from a visit to the United Kingdom in December 2016 and...
View ArticleKenya declares criminal defamation unconstitutional
In a landmark victory, a Kenyan High Court agreed with ARTICLE 19's legal petition, closing a dark chapter for free expression in Kenya.
View ArticleTurning the tide for LGBTQI+ rights in Kenya
LGBTQI+ people can face up to 14 years in prison in Kenya, just for having sex. Undaunted by this harsh reality, one organisation is taking its fight right to the courts, and turning the tide for...
View ArticleReporter beaten by police while investigating police violence in Kenya
Standard Media Group reporter Isaiah Gwengi was arrested while interviewing Usenge residents, who had been complaining of systematic harassment by the Quick Response Team.
View ArticleThe Trump effect
As world leaders increasingly adopt Trump's rhetoric on media, it is more important than ever for courts to protect "negative", "horrible" or "critical" journalists — for that is part of their function.
View ArticleDisappeared: South Sudan activist Dong Samuel Luak & opposition official...
Three months, 90 days, more than two thousand hours without news of Dong Samuel Luak, a well-known South Sudanese activist, and Aggrey Idris, an opposition official, who disappeared off the streets of...
View ArticleThe ghost of elections past
During Kenya's election campaign, attacks against journalists are so common that perpetrators often discuss them openly.
View ArticleRoyal Media group journalist Emmanuel Namisi threatened, assaulted in Kenya
Emmanual Namisi said the men who attacked and threatened him were angry at a story he had written alleging they played a role in the death of a woman at a political rally three nights prior.
View ArticleHarassment reaches new heights during Kenya elections
Tensions were high in Kenya following a polarizing campaign between the two leading presidential candidates.
View ArticleKenya: Journalists assaulted, detained while covering post-election violence
In the week following Kenya's national election, CPJ spoke with 10 journalists who said they were assaulted or harassed in the course of their reporting.
View ArticleData, democracy, and Kenya's contested elections
The powerful reach of Cambridge Analytica - the data analysis company that helped Donald Trump's campaign claim victory - has become a source of concern in Kenya.
View ArticleMedia company hired by Trump created Kenyan president's "anonymous" attack...
A new investigation reveals the role of an American data-based digital advertising company in the highly divisive online re-election campaign of Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.
View ArticleKenya cuts TV transmissions over coverage of Raila Odinga's "swearing in"
Officials from Kenya's broadcast regulator, accompanied by police, switched off transmitters on 30 January 2018 while TV stations were broadcasting live coverage of an opposition party event in Nairobi.
View ArticleRSF urges Kenya to end broadcast ban on four TV channels
Four privately-owned TV channels and around ten radio stations were taken off the air for defying a ban on covering opposition leader Raila Odinga's mock inauguration as president, a suspension that...
View ArticleReflections from Maina Kiai
Former UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai on challenges, inspirations and the purpose of venting.
View ArticleJournalists assaulted by police officers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
Journalists reporting on the standoff between returning opposition politician Miguna Miguna and immigration officials disputing his right to enter were harassed and abused by Kenyan police officials.
View ArticleKenya's draft Computer and Cybercrimes Bill could dramatically chill freedom...
ARTICLE 19 undertakes an analysis of Kenya's Draft Computer and Cybercrimes Bill 2017, to assess its compatibility with international human rights standards.
View ArticleRafiki: Ban lifted on Kenyan film that challenges stereotypes at home and abroad
The High Court of Kenya has temporarily lifted the ban on Rafiki. Judge Wilfrida Okwany delivered the ruling on 21 September 2018, stating “I am not convinced that Kenya is such a weak society that its...
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