Association

Kenya’s constitution guarantees the right to freedom of association. In practice, the right is only partially respected. Unregistered societies are not legally permissible and the government has wide discretion in placing conditions upon NGO’s activities. Human rights groups- including- especially those working on issues relating to police accountability- are routinely harassed and intimidated by state officials. In April 2015, two highly respected human rights NGOs, Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) and Haki Africa were publicly alleged to have links to terrorist groups. They had their assets frozen and their offices raided, and were only able to resume full operations after more than six months in response to a court order.