The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) recently claimed that its senior legal counsel, Martin Mavenjina, has been deported from Nairobi.
According to KHRC, Mr. Mavenjina was captured just after landing from South Africa, where he had travelled on official duty.
The Public Benefits Organisation (PBO) suggested Mavenjina was arrested on account of alleged past run-ins with law enforcement agencies, terming it a deliberate crackdown on human rights defenders.
KHRC claims lawyer Martin Mavenjina has been deported from Nairobi. Photo: Courtesy.
He was said to have been on the radar of Kenyan authorities, who are investigating the alleged involvement of civil societies in the June 25th protests that were marred by violence.
Moreover, the organization noted that Mavenjina was in Kenya with a valid permit to work as its legal advisor.
“He had arrived in Kenya at 10 pm on Saturday following an official visit to South Africa. Mavenjina holds a valid work permit. Since June 25, the William Ruto regime has been deliberately targeting human rights defenders, and Mavenjina’s deportation is part of their strategy. We are working to bring Mavenjina back to Kenya,” read KHRC’s statement.
Mavenjina is a senior legal advisor on transitional justice at the commission, leading to the assertion by KHRC that his illegal deportation is part of the government’s strategy to silence human rights defenders.
