NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 30 – Amnesty International Kenya has called on the government to move beyond promises and take concrete steps to end enforced disappearances, establish the whereabouts of missing persons and hold those responsible to account.
In a statement to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the organisation said victims and their families continue to face uncertainty while perpetrators of alleged violations remain largely unaccountable.
The call comes days after President William Ruto, during celebrations to mark the 16th anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution, acknowledged the pain caused by past human rights violations.
Ruto said no Kenyan should lose their life, liberty or dignity for criticising the government, expressing an unpopular opinion or participating in a peaceful demonstration.
Amnesty welcomed the President’s remarks but said they must be followed by action.
“Words must now be matched with action,” said George Morara, the Executive Director of Amnesty International Kenya.
The organisation said the Constitution guarantees fundamental rights that cannot be treated as privileges granted by those in power.
It cited Article 29, which protects individuals from arbitrary deprivation of freedom, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as Article 49 on the rights of arrested persons.
Article 238, Amnesty noted, requires national security to be exercised in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
According to data from the Missing Voices Coalition cited by Amnesty, six cases of enforced disappearance were documented in Kenya in 2025, alongside 125 police killings.
The organisation said that while documented disappearances declined compared with the previous year, the situation remains concerning, with 19 cases of enforced disappearance and 69 police killings recorded so far in 2026.
Amnesty also pointed to a reparations framework presented by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) at State House, Nairobi, on June 15, 2026.
The framework and accompanying report included 35 verified cases of enforced disappearance, among other human rights violations linked to recent security operations and protests.
However, Amnesty said victims of enforced disappearance had yet to receive reparations to which they were entitled despite the government having established a process for compensating victims of violations arising from protests.
“These are not merely statistics. Behind every number is a person whose liberty was taken away, a family left searching for answers, and a community forced to confront the consequences of impunity,” Amnesty said.
The organisation warned that enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force have a chilling effect on civic participation and undermine Kenya’s constitutional order.
It said the experience since 2024 had demonstrated the risks of allowing security agencies to operate without effective accountability.
Amnesty called for every allegation of enforced disappearance, including cases arising from the 2024 protests and subsequent incidents, to be investigated promptly, independently, impartially and transparently.
It further demanded that the government disclose the fate and whereabouts of every person subjected to enforced disappearance and immediately release those being unlawfully detained or bring them before an independent and impartial court.
The rights organisation also called for victims and their families to have access to truth, justice and effective remedies, including full reparations.
It said anyone suspected of criminal responsibility for enforced disappearances should be investigated and prosecuted where there is sufficient admissible evidence, regardless of rank, position or political affiliation.
Amnesty also called for effective command and individual accountability within security agencies so that responsibility does not stop with junior officers while those who authorised, ordered, facilitated or concealed violations escape scrutiny.
The organisation wants the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the Internal Affairs Unit and other oversight institutions to be given sufficient independence, resources and institutional support to investigate alleged police abuses.
Amnesty further urged Kenya to ratify and domesticate the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and recognise the competence of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider individual complaints.
It also called for victims of enforced disappearance to be included in reparations programmes and for families not to be subjected to repeated trauma as they seek justice.
The organisation urged the government to protect human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, witnesses, survivors and victims’ families from intimidation, harassment and reprisals.
With the 2027 General Election approaching, Amnesty said the government must ensure that political dissent, peaceful protests and criticism of those in power are not met with arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture or excessive force.
“The State has an obligation to ensure that security agencies protect people, rather than become a source of fear,” Amnesty said.
The organisation stressed that accountability must apply to violations committed by both state and non-state actors and must be anchored in due process, independence and the rule of law.
Amnesty said Kenya’s constitutional promise of a society founded on human dignity, human rights, social justice and the rule of law must extend to all citizens, including government critics, protesters and families searching for disappeared relatives.
“No one should disappear for exercising their rights. No family should be left without answers. No perpetrator should enjoy impunity,” the organisation said.
