Built for Accountability.
Made to Outlast Them.

HakiWatch is a citizen-powered platform that documents, verifies, and exposes political intimidation, extortion, and violence in Kenya. We refuse to call it anything other than what it is: goonism.

How Goonism Survives — And How We Stop It

Goonism survives because of three things:

1. Fear

People are afraid to speak. Afraid to report. Afraid to be seen as “against” the local power. Fear keeps victims silent and witnesses invisible.

2. Normalization

We have heard it so many times that it starts to sound normal. “That is just how politics works.” “Every election has violence.” “Boys will be boys.”

No. Violence is not normal. Extortion is not normal. Driving families from their homes is not normal.

3. Impunity

When no one documents, no one investigates. When no one investigates, no one is punished. And when no one is punished, it happens again. And again. And again.

HakiWatch breaks all three.

  • ✓We protect you from fear by hiding your identity completely.
  • ✓We fight normalization by naming every incident publicly.
  • ✓We end impunity by building a record that cannot be erased.

Our Principles

1

Documenting goonism is an act of patriotism.

Loving your country means wanting it to be better. Exposing what is wrong is not being negative. It is being honest.

2

Victims deserve dignity, not pity.

We do not sensationalize suffering. We record facts. We protect identities. We treat every reporter as a person, not a story.

3

Evidence beats emotion.

We are angry too. But anger without proof is just noise. Every report must be verified. Every claim must be backed.

4

The data belongs to the people.

The information we collect is not ours to hoard. It belongs to journalists, researchers, policymakers, and every Kenyan who wants to know the truth.

5

Safety first. Always.

No report is worth a life. We will never pressure anyone to speak. We will never reveal what we have promised to hide.

Let Us Be Clear

✕

We are not a vigilante group.

We do not encourage revenge. We do not publish names of individuals without legal due process.

✕

We are not affiliated with any political party.

We document goonism whether it wears red, blue, orange, or yellow.

✕

We are not a witch-hunt platform.

We verify everything. We correct mistakes. We remove reports that fail verification.

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We are not here for clicks or drama.

We are here for truth. For accountability. For a Kenya where no one has to fear their own neighborhood.

Who Is Behind This?

HakiWatch is built by Kenyans, for Kenyans. We are a mix of technologists, human rights defenders, journalists, and ordinary citizens who are tired of watching violence go unpunished.

We partner with:

  • Human rights organizations
  • Legal aid clinics
  • Investigative journalists
  • Community peacebuilders

We accept no funding from political parties. Our finances are transparent. Our methods are public.