Defenders Coalition paid a courtesy call to Shinners C.B.O in Kisumu on 17th august 2020 and held bilateral discussions on the status of Human Rights Defenders in the Western Kenya Region especially during these unprecedented times. Shiners CBO is a youth -led that targets young men from the age of 18 years and above with Sexual and Health rights, economic empowerment Advocacy and promotion of human rights and professional development interventions.

This comes at a time when we just celebrated the International Youth Week, with the theme ‘Youth Engagement for Global Action” and seeks to highlight the ways in which the engagement of young people at the local, national and global levels is enriching national and multilateral institutions and processes, as well as draw lessons on how their representation and engagement in formal institutional politics can be significantly enhanced.
Defenders Coalition will continue to broaden collaboration and partnerships to ensure equitable, broadened and strategic partnerships that will ensure exemplary execution and delivery on its mandate.

Figure 1: Kamau Ngugi with Polycarp Okeyo of Shinner CBO 

Later, Defenders Coalition was in solidarity with 4 human rights defenders from Nyando Social Justice Centre who were appearing before the Nyando Law Courts and facing malicious criminal charges.  The Defenders Coalition will continue to offer legal representation, bail and bond for HRDs facing trumped up charges as a result of their work.

The quest to strike partnerships, support and enhanced collaboration Defenders Coalition further held bilateral discussions with OKETHA CBO that works with women and girls at risk of Sexual and Gender Based Violence, to access justice and counselling services. The CBO expressed a sense of a tough time for them during COVID19 pandemic as the increased  frequency of  violations against young girls and women who have been force to stay at home. The discussions focused on how Defenders Coalition can support OKETHA CBO offer much needed intervention to the vulnerable women and girls during this challenging times.

Defenders Coalition further visited NYARWEK to strengthen relations and partnerships aimed at supporting sexual and gender minorities from the region.