Rights groups head to court over political violence ahead of 2027 polls

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) board member Kwamchetsi Makokha (center) addresses the press alongside Katiba Institute Executive Director Nora Mbagathi (right) and KHRC Senior Legal Officer John Mundia Nyoike (left) on October 28,2026 outside Milimani Law Courts. [David Gichuru,Standard]

Human rights groups have asked the High Court to compel police and intelligence agencies to investigate alleged organised political violence, warning of threats to Kenya’s 2027 elections.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Katiba Institute and the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), alongside three victims of political goonism, filed the petition at Milimani Law Courts on Wednesday, October 28.

The petitioners accuse state agencies of failing to prevent, investigate and prosecute politically motivated attacks, arguing that inaction threatens constitutional freedoms and leaves Kenyans vulnerable to intimidation as the elections approach.

Katiba Institute Executive Director Nora Mbagathi said repeated incidents of goons disrupting political gatherings and rallies had not resulted in meaningful investigations or action against those responsible.

She called for accountability not only for those carrying out the attacks but also for those financing or organising them.

“We have included research showing that these attacks are not isolated, by private individuals, but there are coordinated efforts around it,” Mbagathi said.

The petitioners want investigations into whether political parties or their officials have sponsored, financed or facilitated armed groups to disrupt gatherings, contrary to Article 91(2)(c) of the Constitution.

The provision prohibits political parties from establishing or maintaining paramilitary forces, militias or similar organisations.

KHRC board member Kwamchetsi Makokha said the organisations had identified about 10 to 12 incidents involving victims of political violence, adding that acknowledgements by authorities showed the issue required urgent action.

The petitioners say evidence of the reported attacks includes CCTV footage, police Occurrence Book entries and communication records.

They want the court to compel the Director-General of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Inspector-General of Police to preserve evidence relating to the incidents.

They are also seeking orders directing the NIS and the National Police Service to investigate the attacks, including allegations that organised groups have been recruited and financed to disrupt lawful public gatherings.

The organisations further want the court to order the establishment of a multi-agency task force within 30 days to investigate and prosecute individuals and networks allegedly behind the violence.

The proposed task force would bring together the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the National Police Service and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

It would monitor incidents of political violence, investigate those organising and financing attacks and issue periodic public reports on measures taken to prevent further incidents ahead of the elections.

Among the incidents cited in the petition is the July 6, 2025, attack on KHRC offices along Gitanga Road in Lavington, Nairobi.

Armed and masked individuals reportedly disrupted a peaceful press conference organised by Kenyan mothers of victims of police brutality, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances ahead of the Saba Saba Day commemorations.

The petitioners also cited an attack at All Saints Cathedral, the disruption of a Linda Mwananchi rally in Homa Bay and an attack at a church in Kisumu, among other incidents detailed in their court papers.

Makokha argued that attacks carried out by people presented as private actors still undermine the right to hold and express alternative political opinions.

“These attacks by seemingly private individuals circumscribe and abbreviate the right to hold different alternative political opinion,” he noted.

The petitioners argue that the police and other state agencies have a constitutional responsibility to protect political and civil rights and ensure Kenyans can exercise their freedoms without intimidation.

They warn that failure to hold perpetrators accountable encourages impunity and allows political goonism to spread, with groups intimidating, assaulting and attacking people, sometimes resulting in deaths.

“This culture of intolerance and the use of terror and fear to circumscribe the freedom of expression, freedom to make political choices is frightful, especially in the context of upcoming elections,” Makokha added.

The rights groups say the petition seeks to protect Kenyans’ rights to participate in political activities, express their views, share information and persuade others without fear of intimidation or retaliation as the country prepares for the 2027 General Election.