Kenya: incommunicado detention and arbitrary expulsion of lawyer Brian Kagoro
4 March 2026
The OIAD expresses its deep concern following the incommunicado detention and expulsion of constitutional and human rights lawyer Brian Bright Tamuka Kagoro, from Zimbabwe.
Mr Kagoro is pan-Africanist, pro-democracy and human rights lawyer, who has contributed to a number of institutional processes at continental level, in particular regarding the evolution of the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union. He had never been the subject of any criminal proceedings or charges in his home country or elsewhere.
On 22 February 2026, Mr Kagoro was arrested upon his arrival at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta international airport, though he had entered Kenya legally. According to the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), he was held for around fourteen hours, interviewed by agents of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and kept in incommunicado detention.
At the end of this detention, the Kenyan authorities declared Mr Kagoro “persona non grata” before deporting him under an irregular procedure.
The reasons given to justify Mr Kagoro’s expulsion are based on allegations of involvement in political mobilisation activities. Such measures raises serious concerns regarding the respect of the right to liberty, guarantees of an effective recourse and the protection of lawyers and human rights defenders against any form of intimidation or reprisal.
Brian Kagoro’s expulsion comes a few months after that of Martin Mavenjina, a human rights lawyer and legal adviser to the Kenya Human Rights Commission, who was arbitrarily expelled from Kenyan territory in similar circumstances in July 2025.
The reiteration of such measures, targeting lawyers involved in the defence of human rights, reflects a worrying tendency to use expeditious administrative restrictions to hinder the work of legal professionals and restrict civic space in Kenya.
The Observatory recaps that lawyers must be able to carry out their professional activities without fear of arbitrary detention, expulsion or unjustified restrictions.
The Observatory is concerned about the tendency to use administrative measures of expulsion or restriction of entry into the country to hinder the work of lawyers and human rights defenders.
The Observatory also recalls no. 23 of the Havana Principles, according to which ” Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights and to join or form local, national or international organizations and attend their meetings, without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action or their membership in a lawful organization. (…) ”
The Observatory calls on the Kenyan authorities to provide a clear explanation of the legal basis for this measure, to guarantee compliance with the applicable constitutional and international standards, and to ensure that such incidents do not recur.
The Observatory reminds the Kenyan State that it is bound by its international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR):
“1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
- Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice“. (Article 19§1 and §2 ICCPR)
“(1) Every individual shall have the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of a State provided he abides by the law. (…)
- A non-national legally admitted in a territory of a State Party to the present Charter, may only be expelled from it by virtue of a decision taken in accordance with the law“. (Article 12§1 and §4 ACHPR)
