Celebrate Odede legacy at KNCHR by stepping up the fight for

ODM leader Raila Odinga and Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o during the funereal service of the late KNCHR Chairperson Roseline Odede, at Ruma Primary in Rarieda Siaya, on January 19, 2025. [Michael Mute, Standard]

It is with tremendous sadness and great shock that we acknowledge the passing of our sister and comrade, Roseline Odhiambo Odede, the Chairperson of the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights.

Her family, the country and the human rights, good governance and democracy community have lost a great, principled and fearless champion. Ms Odede was unbowed by government threats and intimidation and would repeat her statements and verify numbers of deaths of Gen Z protesters, abductees and enforced disappearances, when the government refuted the numbers, unfazed. She was firm, resolute and always fair. She transformed the KNCHR into a vibrant, professional, independent and fearless constitutional commission and ensured it effectively carried out its mandate with stoic resilience previously unheard of in the Commission. KNCHR is one of ten constitutional commissions and two independent offices established in chapter 15 of the Constitution.