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Slide 4
Defenders Coalition condemns the murder of Daniel “Sniper” Muthiani
Sunday, 31 December 2023 – Nairobi
The Defenders Coalition joins Kenyans in condemning the gruesome murder of political commentator and blogger Daniel “Sniper” Muthiani.
‘Sniper’s’ murder that sent shockwaves across the country paints the true picture of the situation of many advocates of good governance at the grassroot level: they are either harassed, surveilled, threatened, illegally arrested and detained, tortured and/or killed.
Trends point at a strong will by powerful political elites to silence all dissenting voices, whether by hook or crook, despite lawful guarantee of the freedom of speech and expression by Article 33 of the constitution of Kenya 2010.
As we condemn this barbaric killing of a young father who only wanted the best for Meru County, we call on the national government and the 47 county governments to create an enabling environment for human rights advocates, community bloggers, journalists, and social justice champions to freely express their views.
The work of these individuals and groups is pivotal in realising a dignified life for all Kenyans and thus need our support and not vilification. We call on these governments to create avenues for round table discussions and implementation of resolutions as opposed to creating criminal squads that harass, intimidate and squeeze air out of patriotic individuals.
We equally call on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to independently and professional investigate and prosecute this crime that has not only robbed Meru County a progressive comrade but also ‘Sniper’s’ children of their right to fatherly love. The killers must be brought to book.
As we usher in the new year, let us remind ourselves once gains that NO ONE DESERVES TO LOSE THEIR LIVES FOR EXPRESSING DIVERGENT VIEWS IN ANY DISCOURSE.
A total of eighteen human rights advocates were recognized on Friday 8 December 2023 for their trailblazing work in the promotion and protection of human rights.
The awarding ceremony was held at the Royal Danish Embassy where various nominees were recognized under the Upcoming Human Rights Defender of the Year Award, Human Rights Defender of the Year Award, Munir Mazrui Lifetime Achievement Award and The Global Solidarity Award and the Popular Vote Award.
Despite not being among the list of nominees, five other rights defenders and organizations were recognized at the ceremony for their dedication and exemplary commitment in serving their communities.
Here is the full list of winners under each category:
Upcoming Human Rights Defender of the Year Award
In recognition of your exemplary and innovative use of Art and Theatre for the promotion and protection of human rights in Kenya’s informal settlements and beyond.
Human Rights Defender of the Year Award
In recognition of your exemplary and outstanding contribution towards the promotion and protection of human rights for LGBTIQ+ persons in Kenya
In recognition of your exemplary contribution towards the promotion and protection of human rights including minority groups within the Lake Turkana Basin.
Munir Mazrui Lifetime Achievement Award
In recognition of your courage and exemplary contribution towards good governance, constitutionalism, rule of law, and the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Kenya
Global Solidarity Award
In recognition of your inspiration and solidarity with global struggles against human rights violations, racial discrimination and inequality across the globe.
Popular Vote Award
In recognition of your exemplary contribution towards the promotion and protection of human rights and the inclusion of persons with disability within the informal settlements in Nairobi County.
The Human Rights Defenders Awards Jury recognized five other rights defenders and organizations were recognized at the ceremony for their dedication and exemplary commitment in serving their communities. Here are their names:
1. Mukuru Community Justice Centre- for their advocacy initiatives on community land rights highlighting the impact of demolitions on families and the community within their informal settlement
2. Mark Ninga- For their uptake and utilization of social media platforms to advance sexual minority acceptance, inclusion and protection
3. Julius Kamau- For their exemplified and embodiments of article 37 on right to peaceful and unarmed protest despite facing numerous charges emanating from his arrest while peacefully protesting.
4. Alvin Macharia Kamau (Minor) – 9 year old from Nakuru who is the current Mr. Mini Environment For their initiatives towards rallying the young generation to take action on environmental rights and climate justice through tree planting.
5. Aileen Florence Akinyi (Minor)- 10 year old child philanthropist from Kisumu who is vocal on vulnerable girls and women especially widows, working with widows to raise funds for their economic empowerment and access to sanitary towels for vulnerable girls.
Read the profiles of all nominees here
PAUL KIBUGI MUITE, S.C. IS A SENIOR LAWYER and an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya with 51 years of legal practice. He was admitted as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya in June 1970 and signed the roll of Senior Counsel in 2003.
Paul K. Muite is an active member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) having served as its President in 1990/91
Muite has had a remarkable legal career characterized with a passionate and strong commitment to upholding human rights principles. Over the years he has used his expertise in constitutional law to advocate for the protection of individual liberties and justice.
During the period of the struggle, he was targeted by former President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi and planned to flee Kenya. However, his passport was seized by the government rendering him unable to flee Kenya. He became an internal refugee as a result.
His contribution is greatly acknowledged in the “Struggle for the Second (2nd) Liberation” and the fight for multi-party democracy, where he played a key role in providing political leadership that promoted the rule of law and respect for human rights.
This struggle motivated him to push his legal skills and experience to Parliament and in 1992 he became the Kikuyu Constituency, a position he held until 2007.
During this time, he chaired both the Parliamentary Committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs and the Select Committee on Constitutional Reforms. His conviction and belief in changing and influencing positive governance led him to establish the Safina party, which faced great opposition when it was first formed and it was not until 1997 when it was recognized as an official party.
Muite was a key figure in advocating for constitutional reforms in Kenya in the 1980s and 90s with his extensive legal knowledge coming in handy during the formation of Kenya’s 2010 constitution where he ensured that it reflects the principles of human rights, inclusivity, and democracy and good governance.
Paul K. Muite continues to support constitutional/democratic growth and his passion for human rights issues has distinguished him as a fearless defender of the Bill of Rights championing for minority groups rights.
Muite’s consistency in challenging oppressive regimes continues to contribute to the development of the laws that continue to advance Kenya’s current constitutional order.
Sankara is a grassroot human defender and a member of the Ngong social justice and
Environment center. Sankara advocates for ecological and social justice. He advocates against police brutality, gender based violence, land grabbing and river pollution through influencing change in public attitudes, policies and laws to create an inclusive, clean, friendly and socially just society.
“My most notable success is the reclamation of public land that acted as a dumpsite for a period of time. The grabbing of this piece of land saw my arrest and that of a 11 other youths who come out in defense of this land. We suffered torture and atrocities for refusal to keep quite about the grabbing of this land.”
Sankara observes that environmental advocacy, especially on the land question, particularly when public land grabbing is involved, attracts severe response from the violators, in some cases, with connivance of the state agencies.
“…during my advocacy works against the violation of waste pickers rights, in line with the community land we were being evacuated from, I was arrested tortured and locked behind bars for a period of two weeks for leading protest against the grabbing of those pieces of land and standing ground against the violation of fellow youths working in this sector. I have also suffered torture, intimidation and violations including dispossession of personal items for being vocal against grabbing of public land and public spaces around Ngong.”
Sankara is an exceptional HRD who demonstrates leadership through the cultivation of diverse and inclusive workforce, continuous learning and championing toward talent development, social justice and ecological justice initiative.
Pema is a human rights organization that works on advocating for Gender and Sexual Minorities in Kenya. Pema Kenya promotes inclusivity of Gender and Sexual Minorities (GSM) through advocacy and capacity building with a vision of a society that embraces justice and diversity. They deploy the use of biometrics and health data, community-led monitoring; Conduct health outreaches; sensitization of sub-county health facilities through various approaches like Utu barazas with the health service providers and mental health interventions on GSMs.
The primary challenges Pema and other groups advocating for GSM face is government’s policy and the social-cultural pressure. The current laws for instance, Penal Code 162, 165 is conveniently interpreted to discriminate GSMs. And there is a potential of a far more restrictive laws in the form of the draft Family Protection Bill which presents an existential challenge for Pema-Kenya and its work
Despite the challenging legal and social reality, Pema continues to deliver on critical areas.
“Pema spearheaded county-level advocacy initiatives in Mombasa County by establishing a cohort of moderators comprised of key stakeholders (police officers, health workers, local administrators, and religious leaders) who work together in one space at the institution of service delivery to create safe space within the institutions for GSM community to access services. “
Pema play a critical role in a restricted and increasingly hostile environment where the state restricts civic space through legal, policy and administrative tools, and society through cultural means.
Shikoh works to address the negative impact of ethnicity among Kenyan youth. Through Tribless Youth, Shikoh works on shifting the politics from ethnicity to one based on issues, thus promoting peaceful co-existence. The group utilizes artivism, social media engagement, and traditional communication methods. Tribeless Youth’s decentralized leadership and operational structure, broadly online, gives it an edge over the traditional formal human rights advocacy outfits.
Since the outfit Shikoh works with, the Tribless Youth, is self-organized and mobilized, they face the challenges of raising funding for some of their activities. Members have also “experienced people sent as spies to our meetings, being followed home, and intimidations from some quarters of the county in the county government.”
“One of the significant issues we have addressed is arbitrary arrests, which often target young activists advocating for a more just society. By raising awareness about these injustices and utilizing our network, we have successfully contributed to the release of unjustly detained activists and raised the profile of these issues, leading discussions towards positive changes within the legal system.”
Addressing the negative ethnicity is a positive undertaking, especially considering its impact on governance. The targeting of the youth, and the point where they spend of most of their time, on social media platforms, and through other medium that suits them is admirable.
Njeri is a Human Rights Lawyer and defender working for the National Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Kenya. Njeri’s organization has been at the centers of a case that has highlighted the struggle for equality and human rights for all people with a bias towards sexual and gender minorities.
Njeri, through her organization access to justice through a free legal aid clinic for anyone who had been discriminated against or violated on the grounds of their SOGIE. Njeri also engages in strategic litigation and advocacy towards equality for LGBTIQ persons in Kenya.
The primary barrier against advocating for LBGTIQ in Kenya is equal access to rights under the current legal dispensation. Kenya still retains the colonial Penal Code that contains prohibitions on consensual adult same-sex intimacy in private. The public further confers ‘criminal’ to anyone perceived to be a sexual or gender minority due to the existence of this law.
Njeri notes: “In the last two years, I have experienced a different kind and perhaps more terrifying aggressor in the form of a Social-Cultural outfit (the Council of Gikuyu Culture) who had issued numerous threats including death threats, surveillance and a physical/automotive attack”
Despite the legal and social barriers, Njeri has notched some impressive impacts through the commission.
“In my time at NGLHRC, we have attended to over 6000 clients, trained over 1500 LGBTIQ paralegals, represented clients in over 450 cases, trained thousands of stakeholders across the governmental, private and civil society sector. NGLHRC has successfully litigated for registration of LGBTIQ organizations and ending forced anal examinations.”
Njeri’s work is essential and challenging, and she understands the formal and social costs of doing what she does, making her a worthy awardee.
Makambo is a pastoralist land rights activist from Turkana County in North West Kenya. Makambo uses the Sarima Indigenous Peoples Land Forum (SIPLF), an organization he co-founded, to advocate for his community’s land rights in the face of large-scale infrastructures. The land is central to the pastoralists’ livelihood, and any annexation without due process disenfranchises them.
Makambo was at the center of mobilizing northern Kenya communities around the impact of the Gilgel Gibe III hydroelectric dam built on River Omo – a river that drains into Lake Turkana- by the Ethiopian government due to the fears of the dam’s impact on the populations whose livelihoods relied on Lake Turkana. Approximately, 300,000 people relied on Lake Turkana for their existence.
Additionally, Makambo was at the center of mobilizing communities from northern Kenya to protest and litigate against the grabbing of 150,000 acres of community land to establish the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) Project.
As an activist working on land rights, he is concerned with the private developer tactics of fighting back the community’s resistance. This is because the company constructed barriers along a local public road that connects South Horr to Loiyangalani. These illegal barriers by the private company on a public road facilitated monitoring the movement members, especially the most vocal posing the danger of elimination. During the construction of the LTWP any dissent was not tolerated by the company for fears that it will derail their project activities. Activists faced multiple threats from state agencies, the military, and the police. Any person seen advocating for the community in the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) was de facto deemed anti-government. The community is accustomed to the police’s intimidation and threats.
Despite the risks, Makambo has been consistently fighting the annexation of 150,000 acres, 607 km2- the size of Nairobi County to the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP), a private company, without the community’s consent. They took the matter to court. The High court in Meru court ruled in favor of the community.
“…a lawsuit was filed in October 2014 at the Meru High Court, with the objective of nullifying the titles and returning the land to its original status as community land. Despite the injunction issued by the Court, President Kenyatta came in person to bulldoze our land in order to launch project construction. Among the strategies that we employed include; petitions in 2012, to funders (Follow the money) i.e; Google and Overseas Private Investors Corporation (OPIC) to withdraw support.”
Makambo is among few human rights activist fighting against the annexation of indigenous land in a marginalized pastoralist land community. The land is crucial to sustaining pastoralist livelihood, and annexing it without their consent will negatively impact their lives and livelihood.
James is a human rights defender based in Nakuru who uses online media to highlight human violations in his community. His activism began when he was at school and he witnessed littering and authorities doing nothing about it thus violating the people’s fundamental human rights to a healthy environment.
Since then, he knew that something needed to be done to raise awareness and bring about change. Important to note that James has a terrific ability to draw from his own experience and observation to develop thoughtful opinions on a variety of environmental issues.
James combines his photography skills and extensive use of online platforms, especially X, formally Twitter, to mobilize and campaign on plastic environmental pollution and spotlight human rights abuse and violations, mainly when vulnerable individuals are involved. What initially started as a passion project when he was at the university has grown into a project that takes up most of his time.
While, in principle, most people favor a clean environment free of plastic, campaigning without institutional support has been difficult for James. There were many occasions when James wanted to give up, but he persisted. James also lost many opportunities because nobody wants to work with someone who can ask tough questions.
James’s persistence in his campaigns has paid off in small and big ways.
“I was also running a campaign to call for a ban on single-use plastic bags, a campaign I ran since 2013 until 2017 when eventually the minister of environment then, Prof Judi Wakhungu, banned the use, manufacture, and importation of plastic bags in Kenya. It warms my heart knowing that we have less plastic polluting the environment. My desire is that our environment will completely be free from plastics in the next decade, and I am campaigning hard for that.”
James also campaigned online for two patients detained by hospitals for outstanding medical bills; through government interventions, the hospital released the two patients.
The environment has linkages with plenty of other human rights. Linking environmental protection follows the long tradition pioneered by human rights giants like Prof. Wangari Maathai.
James believes that this award will be like new oil in an engine; it will give him the much needed fuel to keep fighting for environmental and human rights.