Kenya continues to grapple with rising concerns around police brutality, arbitrary arrests during demonstrations, and systemic discrimination against marginalised groups<\/strong>, including persons with disabilities and individuals belonging to gender minorities. Despite the progressive protections enshrined in the 2010 Constitution<\/strong>, enforcement of these rights remains inconsistent, leaving many communities vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at a recent Youth Conference on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG)<\/strong>, Dr. David Rabuor<\/strong>, Director of Community Action for Health and Development (CAHED)<\/em>, underscored the urgent need for reforms to protect citizens and strengthen accountability within state institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is imperative for state actors to fully implement the National Action Plan on Human Rights, ensure independent oversight of security forces, and expand civic education to empower rights holders across all counties in Kenya,\u201d Dr. Rabuor expressed deep concern over the alarming trend of youth fatalities at the hands of law enforcement<\/strong>, noting that very few cases have resulted in justice through the courts. He warned that the disconnect between elected officials and young people<\/strong> poses a significant threat to Kenya\u2019s representative democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While devolution has expanded democratic opportunities, challenges persist around institutional inclusivity, responsiveness, and functionality<\/strong>. Among the issues highlighted were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Rabuor called on both national and county governments to institutionalise youth engagement<\/strong>, strengthen public participation, and uphold democratic principles without intimidation or repression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference also shone a spotlight on broader governance challenges, including corruption, lack of transparency in public service delivery, and weak accountability mechanisms<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants stressed the need for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Special focus was placed on under-resourced counties such as Homa Bay<\/strong>, where the Auditor General and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission<\/strong> were urged to enhance their visibility and responsiveness to public grievances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Representing the County Commissioner\u2019s Office, Senior Chief Bob Lang\u2019o<\/strong> called on youth to engage responsibly during demonstrations and avoid violence. He further urged law enforcement officers to exercise patience and restraint when interacting with young people<\/strong>, in order to prevent unnecessary injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout peace and security, we cannot achieve economic progress. I urge our youth to refrain from engaging in activities that could be detrimental to our country,\u201d This conference took place against the backdrop of nationwide youth-led demonstrations protesting alleged abductions and extrajudicial killings<\/strong> by police. Bringing together stakeholders from the Judiciary, Gender Affairs, Department of Youth Affairs, and the County Commissioner\u2019s Office<\/strong>, the event reinforced the need for collective action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an organisation, CAHED operates at grassroots, national, and global levels<\/strong>, focusing on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG)<\/strong>. Through partnerships and civic education, CAHED remains committed to amplifying youth voices, holding institutions accountable, and fostering an inclusive democratic culture<\/strong> where every citizen can thrive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CAHED urges stronger human rights protections, accountability, and youth participation in governance amid rising police brutality and civic challenges in Kenya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281,279],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activity","category-helping","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cahedkenya.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\u2013 Dr. David Rabuor<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nYouth at the Frontline of Change<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nAddressing Governance Gaps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nThe Role of Security Agencies and Community Leaders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u2013 Senior Chief Bob Lang\u2019o<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nCAHED\u2019s Commitment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n