Calling for Martin Mavenjina’s Safe and Unconditional Return to Kenya
Statement
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) has been informed that Martin Mavenjina was unjustifiably forced to leave Kenya on 5 July 2025. Mr. Mavenjina had just been elected as a Vice-President of the World Coalition on 1 July, with a two-year mandate.
Mr Mavenjina works as a senior legal advisor at the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), a prominent national non-governmental organisation committed to the abolition of the death penalty. KHRC are an elected member of the World Coalition’s Steering Committee.
The World Coalition endorses the statement issued by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights Defenders (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in which the following events are described.
Mr. Mavenjina returned to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi on 5 July, following an official mission to South Africa. He is a Ugandan citizen, and he holds valid legal status to work and reside in Kenya, having lived in Kenya since 2013. Mr Mavenjina is legally married to a Kenyan citizen and has two children who are also both Kenyan citizens. He was initially permitted to pass through immigration checks, however ‘immigration officers reversed their decision without explanation, confiscated his passport, and held him in a detention facility.’ He was then quickly escorted to a Kenya Airways desk and issued a one-way ticket to Kampala. His passport was marked with an exit stamp.
No formal deportation order or any other legal justification for this conduct was provided to Mr. Mavenjina. He was not advised why, or on what grounds, he was required to leave Kenya, and he is still yet to receive any form of notice or explanation.
The World Coalition expresses our grave concern at this ‘unlawful expulsion’. Mr. Mavenjina reasonably expects that he will be permitted to safely return to Kenya, and we call upon Kenyan authorities to immediately address, and entirely remedy this situation.
We also draw attention to a disturbing incident at KHRC’s office, on 6 July 2025. KHRC reports that a press conference was to be conducted by a group of Kenyan mothers who seek an end to arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Preparations were disrupted by a group who attacked the office and stole important KHRC equipment.
The World Coalition joins with the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in calling for ‘the safe and unconditional return of Mr. Mavenjina to Kenya’ and ensuring ‘the physical and psychological integrity of all KHRC members and all human rights defenders and peaceful protesters in the country.’
See the full declaration published by FIDH here: https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/kenya-deportation-of-martin-mavenjina-and-escalating-crackdown-on
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