Kenya's FBI moves to shed militia label

Rights group, Fighting Impunity and Brutality (FBI), has condemned extrajudicial killings, police brutality, and the intimidation of young people during protests.

The group said the State must take responsibility for protecting lives instead of silencing grieving families.

The remarks came only weeks after the movement’s leader, Mr Patrick Osoi, and other members were arrested and charged over alleged militia links.

Authorities accused them of forming an armed outfit, citing viral videos of men in combat gear.

Mr Osoi voluntarily presented himself to investigators and has maintained that his group is a civic movement dedicated to peaceful advocacy.

Speaking during a press briefing in Nairobi, Mr Osoi, who is also the Founder and Leader of the movement, dismissed claims that the FBI was a threat to national security.

He said the movement was born out of frustration with systemic impunity and demanded justice for victims of police killings.

“We are not a militia. We are not terrorists. We are not criminals. We are a voice against injustice,” Mr Osoi said.

He accused rogue police officers of turning their weapons on citizens and warned that communities will not remain silent as killings continue unchecked.

“We will not stay silent while they are allowed to kill our children in cold blood,” he said.

Ms Esther Njue, a member of the FBI Queens, which is a wing of the movement catering mostly for the rights of women and children, faulted the government for abandoning basic health services, saying the poor had been left to suffer while only the rich could afford proper treatment.

“Our clinics are ignored, hospitals underfunded, and the poor left to die while the rich buy healing,” Ms Njue said.

Ms Grace Wangari, another member, highlighted the plight of young demonstrators, saying youths had been unfairly criminalised for exercising their rights.

“Our youths aged 17 to 22 are arrested, beaten, and labeled as terrorists simply because they raised their voices and exercised their constitutional right to protest,” Ms Wangari said.

The FBI Queens said their campaign is not driven by hatred, but by a desire to heal communities and secure accountability.

Mr Osoi stressed that the group seeks peaceful change, rejecting attempts to portray it as violent.

“We are not here to destroy. We are here to build, to heal, and to demand what is right,” he said.