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** SPOTLIGHT
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Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai at a press conference after she was abducted and later released, Nairobi, Kenya, 13 January 2025. (Monicah Mwangi/Reuters)

Kenya must support activists – not target them

When Tanzanian activist Maria Sarungi Tsehai ([link removed]) was abducted in Kenya on 12 January, it was the latest in a disturbing string of disappearances allegedly carried out by the country’s security services.

In November 2024, security forces were also thought to be behind the kidnapping ([link removed]) of prominent Ugandan activist and four-time presidential contender, Kizza Besigye, while he was in Kenya attending the launch of a book written by a critic of the Kenyan president.

Security forces also allegedly arrested ([link removed]) 36 members of Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party in Kisumu in July. The authorities transported the group back to Uganda, where they reportedly tortured them and indicted the party members on charges related to terrorism.

In October 2024, the government also repatriated 4 Turkish refugees ([link removed]) .

It is shocking that Kenyan authorities appear willing to collude with other governments in the region to crack down on critical voices, ultimately taking part in operations of transnational repression. The targeting of exiled activists from neighbouring countries must never be tolerated.

‘The abduction of Maria Sarungi Tsehai and the other individuals on Kenyan soil without regard for the law is a brazen attempt to silence people who speak truth to power and highlights the growing dangers faced by human rights activists and government critics in East Africa. The Kenyan government must ensure its territory is not used for such acts of intimidation and stand firm in protecting the right to free expression.’

– Mugambi Kiai

(Regional Director, ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa)

Governments in the region must not use Kenya as a site to target and abuse their critics and other citizens, or for any unlawful actions that undermine the rule of law and people’s rights to free expression and liberty,

Read more about the work of ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa ([link removed]) .


** ALSO IN THE NEWS
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Publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai, currently imprisoned in Hong Kong. (Hong Kong Free Press )

UK government acts to protect journalists imprisoned abroad

Last week, Blair McDougall MP put forth the Jimmy Lai Bill ([link removed]) in the UK parliament to ensure British journalists and citizens imprisoned abroad have the legal right to consular access.

Currently, journalists such as Jimmy Lai ([link removed]) , who is being held in solitary confinement in Hong Kong, and all British nationals held overseas, are unable to turn to the embassies of their home country, and the diplomats who work there, for help, advice, and support on their cases.

We hope this bill will help to secure Jimmy’s release, while also sending a strong message to states that imprison journalists in retaliation for their work.

Act now to free Jimmy Lai

The Jimmy Lai Bill will undergo a second reading on 7 March.


If you’re a UK resident, write to your MP ([link removed]) urging them to hold the government responsible for its promises to secure Jimmy’s release.

DeepSeek’s censorship: A feature, not a bug

As Chatbot DeepSeek’s tops AI app purchases, news that the product is heavily censored ([link removed]) comes as no surprise. Those wishing to view content about Taiwan, Tiananmen Square, or the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong will face inevitable disappointment.

Make no mistake, says Michael Caster, Head of our Global China Programme, this censorship is a feature – not a bug:

‘China is engaged in developing emerging technologies such as generative AI tools, but also the norms by which to govern them – norms that are at odd with international human rights.’

Find out more about our work ([link removed]) to ensure AI serves humans – not the other way around.

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