As more than 60 Kenyans were killed in protests and dozens abducted in alleged police operations, a Nairobi lawyer emerged at the forefront of a fight against the “tyranny” she fears is overtaking the country.

Faith Odhiambo took over as head of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) in February 2024 just a few months before the country exploded into protests against new taxes proposed by President William Ruto.

The youth-led rallies were met with a brutal police response, including a spate of kidnappings against the most outspoken protesters which rights groups say was conducted by a unit drawn from police, intelligence, counterterrorism and other agencies.

Through the turbulent months, Odhiambo became a fixture outside courthouses and police stations, demanding answers from the authorities on everything from police brutality and impunity to corruption and the erosion of legal rights.

She fears for the future of Kenya, often perceived as an island of democracy and stability in turbulent East Africa, and endowed with a Constitution revered by its citizens.

“The rule of law is slowly being destroyed,” she told AFP.

“My fear is, unless the government gets their act together, unless people have confidence in our… judicial system, then people will revert to the streets.”

No accountability

LSK represents some 20,000 lawyers in a country where the courts — although criticised for their slowness and sometime corruption — have stood as a bulwark for rights, such as in 2017 when the Supreme Court annulled the presidential election, a first on the continent.

Its tasks include advising the government and public on justice, and Odhiambo does not pull her punches.

“Young men and women keep being picked up in this country, and unless there’s pushback, particularly from the Law Society of Kenya and other justice defenders, then nothing is done,” she said.

Police have repeatedly denied involvement in the abductions and not one officer has been charged, even after a minister said he got Ruto to personally intervene when his son was allegedly kidnapped.

“There’s no essence of accountability,” Odhiambo said.

“This is the kind of tyranny that saw the development of the Moi regime,” she said, referring to ex-president Daniel arap Moi, whose decades-long rule up to 2002 became synonymous with state-sanctioned disappearances.

Retrogressing

The threat is not just to Kenyans.

A group of Turkish refugees were abducted in Nairobi and forcibly repatriated late last year.

Soon after, veteran Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye was snatched from the Kenyan capital and resurfaced in a military court back home.

A Tanzanian activist, Sarungi Tsehai, was also grabbed in the city centre and only released after a rapid public intervention rallying Odhiambo and other rights groups.

It marks a steep descent for Kenya, she said, once counted as a safe haven for exiles and dissidents from its troubled neighbours.

“Right now I cannot say with confidence, as the President of the Law Society, that I can offer my colleagues in the region asylum because I don’t know if they’ll be picked up or not,” Odhiambo said.

“We are retrogressing as a country in terms of our adherence to not only our national laws, but also international laws,” she added.

“I definitely hold our president and our political leaders responsible.”

Sad and frustrating

Ruto came to power promising accountability but — three years in — many voters are disillusioned by the lack of progress on the economy, corruption and the harsh crackdown on demonstrations.

The recent calm after the storm of the protests is deceptive, said Odhiambo.

“My fear is that if we don’t get our act together before the next election, the likelihood of (things) going violent is quite high,” she said.

Polling seasons are frequently marred by violence — particularly at the hands of the police — with more than 1,000 people killed in the infamous 2007-2008 clashes between communities.

She accused politicians of exploiting tribal divisions — “the disease that will feed violence in our country” — while really only seeking to protect their elite class.

“There’s no ‘us versus them’ in the political class. They’re all rich, they all have power,” she said.

But she also decried the way in which politicians have failed to tackle corruption — instead just demanding a share of the spoils (“my tribe should get this”).

“That is, for me, a very sad and frustrating situation,” said Odhiambo.