'Peaceful, orderly and unarmed': activists plan Saba Saba march

National Convenor of Mtetezi, Grassroots Economic Justice Movement Francis Awino.

Human rights activists are set to march to Parliament on Tuesday to petition lawmakers over extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

The move follows a notice submitted to police on Sunday, July 5, detailing the planned assembly.

Francis Awino, National Convenor of Mtetezi, Grassroots Economic Justice Movement, addressed the notice to the Inspector General, the Nairobi Regional Police Commander, the Officer Commanding Police Division, Central, and the Officer Commanding Station, Central Police Station.

According to the notice, organisers pledged that participants would remain peaceful throughout the procession. "Participants shall remain peaceful, orderly, and unarmed throughout the procession and presentation of the petition," the notice states.

The notice invokes Articles 37 and 119 of the Constitution, which guarantee citizens the right to assemble, demonstrate, picket and petition Parliament without arms.

Participants will gather at Jevanjee Gardens from 8 a.m. before a procession begins at 9 a.m. through Nairobi's Central Business District to Parliament Buildings, where the petition will be presented to the Speakers and members of the National Assembly and the Senate.

The march comes against a rise in police killings, which climbed 20 per cent from 104 cases in 2024 to 125 in 2025, according to civil society coalition Missing Voices.

The coalition's data shows June and July have consistently been the deadliest months, with 68 killings recorded during that period in 2025 alone, more than half of the year's total.

Organisers expect between 1,000 and 3,000 participants drawn from civil society groups, human rights defenders, youth organisations, religious bodies, professionals, students and members of the public.

Awino pledged that volunteer marshals will help manage the crowd and said organisers will cooperate fully with police in maintaining order.

Beyond extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, the petition also cites excessive use of force by security agencies and calls for strengthened police accountability, stronger oversight mechanisms and protection of constitutional rights.

Human Rights Watch has found that Kenyan authorities have not investigated or prosecuted security forces in most cases of excessive and lethal force during protests from 2023 to 2025.

"We respectfully request the National Police Service to facilitate the peaceful exercise of constitutional rights by providing appropriate security and traffic management throughout the event," the notice reads.

Saba Saba, marked every July 7, commemorates the 1990 pro-democracy protests that pushed Kenya toward multiparty politics, achieved in the 1992 elections.