To commemorate the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed annually on 30th August, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) unequivocally condemns enforced disappearance in all its forms and calls for an immediate end to abductions, secret detention and other forms of unacknowledged deprivation of liberty in Kenya.
Enforced disappearance constitutes a grave violation of fundamental human rights. It places individuals outside the protection of the law and violates, among others, the rights to life, liberty and security of the person, human dignity, and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It also inflicts profound and continuing suffering on families who are denied information concerning the whereabouts and fate of their loved ones.
The Government of Kenya has a constitutional and international obligation to prevent enforced disappearance, investigate allegations promptly and independently, establish the whereabouts of missing persons, hold perpetrators accountable, and provide effective remedies and reparation to victims and their families.
A Continuing Human Rights Crisis: For families of persons who have disappeared, the ordeal does not end when a loved one is taken. It becomes a daily and often unbearable search for answers—moving between police stations, hospitals, detention facilities and mortuaries, while living with the agonising uncertainty of whether their loved one is alive, detained, injured or deceased. Such uncertainty is itself a form of continuing harm.
Enforced disappearance strips an individual of the protection of the law and places them at heightened risk of torture, ill-treatment and other serious human rights violations. It is fundamentally incompatible with the Constitution of Kenya, the rule of law, and Kenya's obligations under international and regional human rights law.
The Commission emphasizes that enforced disappearance is not merely a historical concern. It remains a present and continuing human rights challenge requiring urgent State action.
In its National Reparations Framework and report, presented to H.E. the President on 15th June 2026, the Commission’s report included thirty-five (35) cases of enforced disappearance. Barely ten days later, during the protests of 25th June 2026, the Commission received and documented eleven (11) new cases involving protesters who were arrested, held incommunicado and subsequently found to have been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.
The Commission is particularly concerned that questions remain unresolved regarding the whereabouts and fate of some persons reported missing. The State must establish, without further delay, the whereabouts of all missing persons, detained in undisclosed locations or otherwise unaccounted for, and must publicly account for the measures being undertaken to locate them.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) acknowledges that victims of enforced disappearance are entitled to an effective remedy and adequate reparation for the violations suffered. The State bears a constitutional obligation to ensure that all victims of human rights violations have access to prompt, effective and appropriate reparation, in accordance with the law and applicable human rights standards. Reparation, in whatever form, must not be withheld, delayed or denied.
At the same time, reparation cannot and must not be construed as a substitute for accountability. The State has a concurrent obligation to pursue truth, justice and accountability for violations of human rights. Accordingly, while victims must receive timely, adequate and effective reparation, the State must equally ensure that allegations of enforced disappearance are promptly and impartially investigated; that perpetrators are identified and, where sufficient evidence exists, prosecuted; and that persons found culpable are held accountable in accordance with the law.
The pursuit of reparations and accountability are therefore complementary, rather than mutually exclusive, obligations. Meaningful justice for victims requires both redress for the harm suffered and appropriate accountability for those responsible.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights calls upon:
1. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to promptly, independently, impartially and effectively investigate all reported cases of abduction and enforced disappearance; establish the whereabouts and fate of missing persons; preserve relevant evidence; and keep affected families regularly informed of the progress and outcome of investigations.
2. The Ministry of Interior and National Administration to immediately disclose and publish accurate and verifiable information on the whereabouts and status of all persons who have been arrested, detained, abducted, forcefully disappeared, or reported missing. Establish effective mechanisms for tracing and accounting for persons abducted, forcefully disappeared, or reported missing, including timely sharing of information with families and appropriate independent oversight institutions.
3. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to ensure that persons against whom sufficient evidence exists are prosecuted without undue delay and that individual criminal responsibility is pursued irrespective of the rank, position or institutional affiliation. The Government of Kenya to take concrete steps towards the ratification and domestication of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and to strengthen the national legal and institutional framework for the prevention, investigation and prosecution of enforced disappearance.
4. The Government through the Panel of Experts and all relevant State authorities responsible for reparations to comply with the Court’s Order in Petition E.488 of 2026 and ensure that the thirty-five (35) victims documented by KNCHR receive their due compensation.
Following this year’s commemoration; KNCHR stands firmly in solidarity with all victims of enforced disappearance and their families and reiterates its commitment to continue monitoring, documenting and reporting cases of enforced disappearance, and to pursue all available constitutional and legal mechanisms to ensure that the rights of victims and their families are protected.
The Commission calls on anyone with information regarding a missing, abducted or disappeared person to report through: Email: haki@knchr.org; SMS: 22359; WhatsApp: 0798 849 871; and Toll-Free Line: 0800 720 627.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) is an Independent National Human Rights Institution established under Article 59 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Act, 2011. The Commission's mandate is the promotion and protection of human rights in Kenya.
Haki Kwa Wote, Kila Wakati!
Claris Ogangah,
Chairperson, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).