Report warns civic freedoms in East Africa under strain

Police lob teargas canisters at protesters along Thika Road in Nairobi during Saba Saba Day commemoration, on July 07, 2025. [File, Standard]

East Africa has been ranked among the most dangerous regions for civic freedoms, with human rights defenders facing growing threats including violence, intimidation and imprisonment.

This is according to the 2025 Africa Overview from the Civicus Monitor, which tracks civic freedoms in 198 countries.

The findings, compiled with the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Civic Freedoms Forum, place Kenya among 22 countries where civic space is classified as repressed. Tanzania and Uganda fall in the same bracket, while Sudan and Burundi are listed among countries where civic space is completely closed.

From 2018 to 2023, Kenya was rated as obstructed, with freedoms generally allowed but violated at times. However, a sharp decline between 2024 and 2025, driven by the crackdown on anti-tax protests that left several dead and hundreds arrested, pushed the country into the repressed category. The report also highlights cases where activists arrested during the protests faced terrorism-related charges.

It cites what it calls blatant cross-border repression, including the abduction of Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye in Nairobi and his transfer to Uganda to face military charges.

The report further details the abduction and torture of Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhire in Tanzania, as well as the detention of Kenyan activists Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo in Uganda.

Only Cape Verde and São Tomé are classified as open civic spaces. Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles and Botswana fall under narrowed.

Speaking during the launch, People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua warned that Kenya is “fast graduating into a dictatorship” and urged citizens to resist any slide toward closed civic space. 

"Many countries are classified as Repressed or Closed and we know where we are, even countries that had shown promise are backsliding under the weight of intolerance and the seduction of authoritarian convenience," she said.

"I have said before that Kenya is fast graduating into a dictatorship country, we have seen our country moving from obstructed to repressed. If we allow the graduation to progress to closed, then we are done," Karua added

She said it is a civic responsibility for any intended move to take Kenya under those civic spaces that are closed.

"Human rights defenders are targeted with smear campaign, arrests and digital harassment, while journalists face surveillance, physical attacks and criminalisation for doing their job," she said

Overall the report lists top violations in the countries including detention of journalists, human rights defenders, attacks on journalists, excessive force during protests and detention of protesters.