Guard your right to criticise and hold all state officers accountable

Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton. [Denis Kibuchi, Standard]

A new Mzalendo Trust study confirms suspicions that strategic lawsuits are being increasingly used to legally intimidate citizens from expressing criticism of individuals in public offices.

The use of strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP) now needs the attention of all who believe in an independent media and free expression. Some 30 years ago, it was widely acceptable, commonsense even, that anyone who dared publicly criticise the Head of State and his kitchen cabinet, question their health or use of public finances had earned themselves a solitary room at Kamiti Prison.