Human Rights Defenders Awards Jury Panel Statement on the Arbitrary Deportation of Zimbabwean Constitutional Lawyer Brian Kagoro
26th February 2026,
NAIROBI, KENYA
The Jury Panel of the Human Rights Defenders (HRD) Awards expresses its profound shock of the arbitrary deportation of Dr. Brian Bright Kagoro, a distinguished Zimbabwean constitutional lawyer and Pan-Africanist. We condemn and decry the alarming resurgence of transnational repression and the systematic weaponization of immigration protocols to silence dissenting voices within the Republic of Kenya.
Brian Kagoro’s unlawful deportation was undertaken by the Kenyan Immigration Officials and security agencies who detained and interrogated him for hours before expelling him from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday 22 February 2026.
We the Human Rights Awards Jury and on behalf of the human rights fraternity in Kenya refuse to be silent on Brian’s detention and subsequent deportation as such actions are not merely an attack on an individual but rather an assault on justice, the rule of law and civic freedoms as provided for in Article 47 of the Constitution of Kenya, Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on freedom of movement, Articles 5 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) which protect individuals from arbitrary expulsion and premature removal without a fair legal process.
The Jury Panel views with grave concern a pattern of extrajudicial renditions and arbitrary deportations by the Government of Kenya. This systemic crackdown on Human Rights Defenders, targeting both citizens and foreign nationals, constitutes a flagrant breach of constitutional safeguards and international human rights treaties, signaling a perilous collapse of the rule of law.
On July 5, 2025, Martin Mavenjina, a Ugandan national and Senior Legal Advisor at Kenya Human Rights Commission was illegally expelled from the country despite holding valid work documents. Another precedent involved the abduction of Ugandan Opposition Leader, Dr. Kizza Besyge who was abducted in Kenya and handed back to Ugandan authorities back in November 2024 and is still in remand despite his ill health.
In 2024, Kenya facilitated the violent kidnapping and refoulement of four UN-protected Turkish asylum seekers, in direct violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention. At the same time, Tanzanian Political activists seeking refuge in Kenya have repeatedly faced attempts to kidnapping and deportation with the latest incident being human rights defender Mshabaha Mshabaha Hamza.
Kenya’s reputation as a safe harbour for those fleeing persecution and those who seek to advance human rights is being traded for a regime of clandestine security cooperation that seeks to bypass judicial oversight, time and again. We remind the Government of Kenya that national security cannot be invoked as a blanket justification for attacks on human rights defenders (HRDs), their supporters and HRDs seeking refuge in Kenya.
We now call for:
- An official and transparent explanation from the Ministry of Interior regarding the legal basis for Dr. Kagoro’s expulsion.
- Immediate reversal of this deportation and unconditional return to Kenya.
- Government of Kenya to cease the ongoing targeting, intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders and to uphold its national, regional and international human rights obligations.
- An immediate halt to renditions of political activists to foreign regimes without following the Extradition (Contiguous and Foreign Countries) Act.
The HRD Award Jury Panel is an independent panel of eminent Kenyans responsible for identifying and recognising individuals who are courageously and innovatively conducting the important work of safeguarding and upholding fundamental human rights in Kenya, within the region and globally through the prestigious Human Rights Defenders Awards.
Signed by:
- Rachael Mwikali
- Andrew Maina
- Willy Mutunga
- Kamanda Mucheke
- Ikal Ang’elei
- Grace Lolim
- Geoffrey Mwampembwa
- Njeri Kabeberi