The African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX), a network committed to protecting and advancing the rights of all persons to speak freely, access information, and participate in governance, strongly condemns the recent violations of fundamental freedoms during the protests held in Kenya on June 25, 2025.
AFEX is gravely alarmed by reported cases of excessive force used against protesters, which has resulted in over 16 confirmed deaths and over 400 injured protesters. It is highly unfortunate that a peaceful protest that was intended to commemorate and demand justice for lives lost exactly a year earlier should result in the recurrence of dozens of casualties.
AFEX also denounces the directive by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) barring the live coverage of the June 25, 2025 protests by the media in the country. In particular, we condemn the unlawful media blackouts enforced against Citizen TV, NTV, KTN and K24. The directive was a blatant censorship move that infringes on the public’s right to access timely and accurate information, and also to express their concerns using such platforms.
These actions are not only indefensible, but also unlawful under both Kenyan and international law. The Constitution of Kenya (2010) clearly guarantees in Article 33, the right to freedom of expression; in Article 34, the freedom and independence of electronic, print, and all other types of media; and in Article 37, the right of every person to assemble, demonstrate, picket, and present petitions to public authorities peacefully and unarmed.
Kenya is also a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Articles 19 and 21 of which protect the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The current violations are in direct contradiction to these binding international obligations.
Freedom of expression, access to information, and the right to peaceful assembly are indispensable pillars of democratic societies. Attempts to suppress these rights do not only silence dissent, but also erode public trust in state institutions and undermine the rule of law.
It is, thus, untenable, that just a day (June 26) after the commemorative protest when people were still morning the dead and attending to the over 400 injured people resulting from poor crowd management skills of the Kenyan Police and other security agencies, the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Interior, Kipchumba Murkomen, would hold a press conference only to defend the CAK’s decision to switch off free-to-air signals of the media; and to attack international reporters.
While condemning the Cabinet Secretary for Interior for his statements during the presser of June 26, AFEX highly commends the ruling of the High Court in Milimani, presided over by Justice Chacha Mwita, for issuing the conservatory order that suspended the directive from the CAK barring media outlets from broadcasting live footage of the commerative demonstrations of June 25, 2025.
“A conservatory order is HEREBY ISSUED suspending, with immediate effect, the DIRECTIVE Ref No. CA/CE/BC/TV90A, or any other directive issued by the Communications Authority of Kenya to all television and radio stations directing them to stop live coverage of the demonstrations of 25th June 2025, or any other demonstrations, until the hearing and determination of the application and petition,” the Court order read.
AFEX also commends Justice Chacha Mwita for not only suspending the directive, but also for ordering for the immediate restoration of any broadcasting signals that might have been switched off following the implementation of the CAK’s directive.
AFEX also applauds the Kenya Editors’ Guild and all media stakeholders and civil society organisations for standing with the protesters and the media in Kenya to pushback the CAK’s directive.
We stand in solidarity with all Kenyans exercising their democratic rights, and we urge the Kenyan authorities to safeguard these freedoms rather than suppress them. Freedom of expression is not a privilege, it is a right. AFEX, therefore, calls on the Government of Kenya to:
- Cease the repression of peaceful protests and guarantee the protection of all demonstrators and journalists;
- Ensure an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into all acts of violence, particularly against protesters and journalists, and hold the perpetrators accountable;
- Uphold and enforce constitutional and international obligations protecting freedom of expression, press freedom, and the right to peaceful assembly.
- Provide crowd control skills training sessions for the Kenyan Police Force. Indeed, the fallouts of the June 2024 and June 2025 protests is a clear demonstration of the Kenyan Police Forces’ dearth of skill in crowd management; as well as their limited appreciation of the role of expression, including protests, in democratic dispensations.
- Desist from deploying the military to manage peaceful protests as their interventions have often been marked by abuses
