Kenya ranked among ‘repressed states’ over rights violations, 97 deaths by police reported this year

The year 2025 has been rated as one of the worst years for the observance of human rights in the country.

In its end-of-year report, the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) says Kenya—now classified among repressed states—witnessed widespread rights abuses perpetrated by government security agents, with nearly 100 people falling victim to extrajudicial killings.

IMLU’s report released on International Human Rights Day paints a grim picture of the year, documenting an alarming rise in state repression and the systemic shrinking of civic space.

To reverse the trend, Chief Justice Martha Koome is calling for the upholding of the rule of law as a means of protecting and advancing human rights.

According to IMLU, Kenyans have suffered a wide range of human rights violations this year.

“Between January and December 2025, Kenya experienced a disturbing rise in state repression, oppression of citizens and suppression of voice… excessive use of force, targeted attacks on civil society, shrinking civic space, and systemic impunity by state institutions," said Grace Kahuria, IMLU Executive Director.

According to IMLU, rights abuses recorded this year include 97 extrajudicial killings, 18 deaths in custody, 72 cases of torture or ill-treatment, 49 protest-related injuries, 1,500 arbitrary arrests and 5 enforced disappearances.

“Forensic reports reveal evidence of close-range shootings, targeting from behind and deliberate harm—strong indicators of unlawful policing and excessive force," she added.

These cases have also caught the attention of the Chief Justice, who is now urging government agencies to uphold the law and comply with court decisions.

“We still have a wide gap between the Judiciary and on-the-ground implementation. Sometimes we make decisions, but the institutions mandated to implement them fail. Why should there be reluctance to implement what is already in our Constitution? That is why we are demanding ethical leadership from the government," CJ Koome noted.

But perhaps more worrying for actors in the human rights space is the rise of cross-border abductions targeting activists. This year alone, activists such as Boniface Mwangi and Bob Njagi of Kenya, and Maria Sarungi of Tanzania, among others, were abducted either at home or abroad and tortured.

“Cross-border abductions and forced deportations point to coordinated efforts to silence civic activism. The deportation of foreign and regional human rights defenders illustrates a growing pattern of cross-border intimidation targeting those who speak out against state excesses," said Lead, Monitoring and Evaluation at IMLU Stephen Mukoya.

The organisation now wants the government to move with speed and strengthen IPOA’s investigative and arrest powers to ensure that law enforcement officers and other perpetrators of human rights abuses are held accountable.

They also cautioned against what they described as the abuse of anti-terror laws, and called for an immediate end to cross-border abductions.