Kenyan human rights defenders (HRDs) face numerous challenges and threats, particularly if they work in urban settlements and rural areas, or if they work on sensitive topics such as land rights, corruption and violations by the police.
Kenya hosts a large refugee population, including many human rights defenders who have been forced into exile for defending human rights in their home country. Faisal Elbagir is one of these exiles that PBI Kenya has had the privilege to meet.
On 6th March, PBI Kenya hosted the third and final session in our series of workshops examining the issues facing Human Rights Defenders (HRD) in exile in Kenya.
From 21-22 February, the EHAHRD-Net held its third General Assembly in Kampala, Uganda. PBI Kenya had the pleasure of attending the GA of the largest regional network of HRDs, which brought together individuals from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
PBI Kenya recently hosted two events with a view to inform on how to better support Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) who find themselves in exile in Kenya.
On January 7th PBI Kenya’s partner Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) celebrated the official opening of their new office in Mathare. At the event, PBI was proud to present MSJC’s administrative coordinator Stephen Kinuthia Mwangi with the Invisible Mandelas award, which he accepted on behalf of the members of MSJC. 
On December 8, 2016, PBI Kenya together with our partners at the Law Society of Kenya, Amnesty International Kenya and EACHRights, awarded the ECOSOC Pro Bono Lawyer Award 2016 to Allan Maleche, Executive Director of KELIN (Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS).
On 25th November 2016 PBI Kenya, with financial support from the European Union, successfully launched the Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) Toolkit. The Toolkit seeks to empower and support WHRDs in Nairobi’s urban settlements.
Mathare-based human rights defender Ruth Mumbi and her family recently reached an important milestone in the search for justice for the alledged extrajudicial killing (EJK) of Mumbi’s brother-in-law Stephen Gichuru in May 2015.
In August, PBI Kenya facilitated a meeting between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC).