As Kenyan Human Rights Defender Stephen Mwangi from Mathare Social Justice Centre was not able to travel to the UK, the All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) met Sabine Dwinger on her own in Parliament to discuss the human rights situation in Kenya.  Sabine works with human rights defenders, such as Stephen Mwangi, on the ground in Kenya.

The main points raised during the meeting were:

• Elections are coming up in 2017, and the situation is already becoming tense. There are fears that the election may spark violence.
• Criminalisation of human rights defenders is a major problem. In the run-up to elections, there will be more protests, which are likely to be met with a bigger crackdown on activists.
• The Kenyan Government and its security apparatus must respect freedom of expression and association in the run up to the elections in 2017, and ensure that human rights defenders are protected and allowed to operate freely.

The PHRG works closely with human rights defenders from all over the world, including from Kenya, to raise our concerns about their rights and protection whenever possible.