Honoring the Legacy of Kenya Champion for Justice

Our hearts are grieved as we learn of the passing of the Chairman of the Kenya Champions of Justice, Johnson Ndichu, this week. Our condolences go out to his wife, children and his entire family in this time of devastating loss.

We are grateful for Johnson’s legacy as a strong advocate for the protection of the Kenyan people, and his courage to speak out against police violence after witnessing his friend’s death at the hands of police in 2014. Johnson was charged with false accusations of theft to keep him quiet about the murder, carrying the heavy burden of living in fear despite his innocence for more than a year before the charges were dropped.

In the ensuing years, Johnson became a passionate advocate for police to use their power as agents of the government to protect, not terrorize, the public. He lived to see the officer who shot his friend convicted for the murder, and he became Chairman of the Kenya Champions of Justice – a chapter of the Global Survivor Network that advocates on issues of police violence – in October 2019.

At one time, he shared these words for others who might have been unfairly accused of crimes:

“Keep on fighting for the truth because God will not leave you alone…God will never let one down because he is the same God who has brought us where we are today.”

We remember Johnson for his passion in fighting injustices when he came across it. He was a visionary leader who always came up with new ideas of how to grow the local survivor network to be a movement that makes a difference in the society.