Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has decried how human rights defenders are facing harassment with some being murdered in cold blood.
Speaking on Tuesday during the launch of the "Climb for Justice Campaign", at Serena Hotel in Nairobi, Karua said that the government should protect activists as they fight to make the country a better place.
The former presidential candidate said that activists play an immense role in the lives of Kenyans, adding that they need protection from the national government.
She said that she is perturbed with how activists are handled by the police and the general public. She further appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to ensure that they put in place measures to protect the lives of activists.
“We have seen human rights defenders not only being harassed but losing their lives. It happened in the Moi and Kibaki eras and it is still happening even in this era of the new dispensation,” she stated.
Her remarks were backed by Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris who said that the lives of human rights defenders are not easy, adding that there are endless challenges they face on a daily basis while in the line of their duty.