Longton Jamil Hashim is a human rights defender from Kitengela, Kajiado County, with a deep passion and desire for change within his community. For over 10 years, he has amplified the voice of the marginalized and oppressed within his community, addressing cases of police brutality, abductions, involuntary and enforced disappearances, extra judicial killings, sexual and gender-based violence and women and girls’ rights particularly ending early child marriages and FGM in the county. He notes that his efforts in fighting against these two vices, has seen the significant reduction in such cases. In addition, he works on youth matters and inclusion of disability rights in mainstream conversations.
In appreciating the power of collaborative efforts and togetherness in addressing rights violations and seeking justice, he serves as the chairperson of the Kajiado Human Rights Defenders Network and the Kitengela Muslim Association. Platforms that create a safe space for human rights defenders to articulate pressing issues within their community. He is a member of the Kitengela Business Community, a space he equally utilize for his advocacy work.
Through capacity enhancement, leveraging on digital platforms and civic education, Jamil has mentored many individuals, empowering them to speak out against injustice and engage in governance processes. In his fight against corruption, he has stood in solidarity and supported hawkers who are have been harassed and intimidated by county askaris for failing to pay bribes to them. He has refused political favoritism when some students could not access education bursaries, challenging this inequality and ensuring children within Kitengela area have access to the funds, thus access to education.
On leveraging the Judiciary, Jamil has utilised litigation as a means to addressing inequalities and access to justice for the vulnerable with the community. Through the Human Rights and Constitution Petition number 17 of 2019 filed at the High Court of Kenya in Kajiado, that challenged the constant harassment of hawkers by the county askaris. The petition was a success, where the court award the petitioners Kshs 2.5 million to be paid by the County government of Kajiado. A similar success came as a result of litigation in MCCR 786 of 2018 before the Magistrate Court, challenging the issue of community land rights.
Defending human rights comes at a price, for Longton, following the protests in the country this year, together with his younger brother and fellow HRD Bob Njagi were abducted, disappeared and held incommunicado for 32 days, before they later released. It is noted that they were tortured, with the aim of deriving information from them regarding the protests. In 2018, he was arrested and charged with forgery, upon which he was sentenced to serve a year prison term. He notes that the charges were fabricated and was only used to harass and intimidate him, so as to relinquish his human rights work. Despite these ordeals, Longton remains a steadfast human rights defender, ensuring that those vulnerable and marginalised are heard, access to justice is a reality and women, girls, the youth and persons with disabilities are included and protected.