The Kenyan police should end its apparent harassment of Otsieno Namwaya, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch, over his work documenting serious rights abuses in Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today.
Between August 23 and 25, 2025, security officials conducted surveillance at Namwaya's house. The incidents followed weeks of attempts by individuals believed to be from the Operation Support Unit, which is based within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations of the National Police Service, to clandestinely get access to Namwaya.
"The surveillance of a Human Rights Watch staff member is a stark reminder of the ongoing threats and repression facing rights activists in Kenya today," said Federico Borello, interim executive director at Human Rights Watch. "Instead of allowing police units to target activists, Kenyan authorities should be working to improve the space in which civil society operates."
Three contacts in Namwaya's neighborhood told him that on the evening of August 23, a group of six men, who appeared to be plainclothes officers, parked their three vehicles at a local police station. They then walked toward and around Namwaya's neighborhood.
The sources said six men, apparently the same officers, returned on the morning of August 25, again parking apparently the same three vehicles at the nearby police station. Witnesses saw the six talking briefly with officers in the station which was open and then walked to Namwaya's house, with one of them constantly on his phone.
Another contact in the vicinity at the time said the team of six, one of whom witnesses said seemed to be taking pictures of the house using his phone, stood around the house for a few hours while also talking on his phone. Then they returned to the police station, where witnesses again saw them talking briefly with the officers inside the station, and then drove off in the afternoon.
The surveillance of Namwaya's house follows months of efforts by government security officials to locate and access Namwaya through people known to him. Unofficial police sources told Human Rights Watch that the team monitoring Namwaya is led by a senior member of the Operation Support Unit, which is based within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Namwaya has led Human Rights Watch work in Kenya for over 13 years, during which he has documented the use of excessive force and other abuses by the Kenyan security forces, including the police, in the context of protests. He documented recent abuses during the 2024 and 2025 protests, as well as ongoing repression against human rights advocates in the country.
Research by Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations show that, together with the National Intelligence Service and other security formations, such as the Operation Action Team, officials of the Operation Support Unit have been implicated in the ongoing abduction and disappearance of protesters since 2024.
On August 27, Human Rights Watch wrote to the inspector general of police, Douglas Kanja Kirocho, asking if a court has issued a warrant for Namwaya's arrest and, if so, for clarification regarding the allegations against him. The letter also requested specific security guarantees for Namwaya and his family within 24 hours. The inspector general has not responded.
Since the June 2024 protests against a controversial tax law, Kenyan authorities have targeted civil society organizations and rights activists. In mid-July 2024, President William Ruto accused the Ford Foundation of sponsoring the "violence and mayhem" but offered no evidence. A few days later, in an apparent effort to link the Ford Foundation to the protests, Kenyan authorities accused most of 16 human rights organizations funded by the Ford Foundation of being behind the protests.
The president later backtracked on the unfounded allegations against the Ford Foundation. The government has continued to target activists and social media influencers with abductions and disappearances. In one instance, on August 19, 2024, plainclothes officers abducted three human rights activists-Bob Njagi, Aslam Longton, and Jamil Longton-and detained them incommunicado for 32 days.
The activists told Human Rights Watch that their abductors threatened, beat, and starved them in detention, accusing them of leading and funding protests.
The whereabouts of many other protesters, activists, and social media influencers, whose friends and family have informed Human Rights Watch that they had been abducted by uniformed police officers and, in other instances, unidentified individuals, since June 2024, remain unknown.
Kenyan authorities should provide Namwaya the legal basis for surveillance and clarify why they have not used legally appropriate procedures to summon him or serve him a warrant, Human Rights Watch said. Kenyan authorities should ensure that Namwaya and his family are protected from arbitrary or unlawful legal action and immediately end all harassment against them.
Kenya's international partners should press Kenya to end its ongoing harassment of civil society and human rights activists and, most importantly, to ensure accountability for serious human rights abuses, including abductions and disappearances.
"Targeting staff working with international organizations clearly highlights the lack of accountability by Kenyan police for their ongoing ruthless attacks on civic and rights actors in the country," Borello said. "The police leadership should publicly guarantee to protect activists and hold to account those responsible for the abusive practices."
