PRESS STATEMENT
2nd May 2019

The Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya would like to strongly condemn the gruesome murders of Kamaindi Location Chief Japheph Mayau Mukengu and the Chuka Officer in Charge of Police tation Mr Joshua Kinyua.
According to media reports, Chief Mayau was hacked to death by angry locals from Kamaindi who allegedly accused him of killing his neighbor in 2018, detaining goats of a local after they had grazed on his farm and diverting water from the drying River Thuci to their land at the expense of those living downstream.
OCS Kinyua was in the company of twelve other police officers and had gone to effect the arrests of one of the suspects who they had traced at Ugweri trading center in Embu. The suspect raised an alarm attracting a crowd, forcing the police to shoot in the air. As the police dispersed the crowd, the suspect hacked Kinyua, who later succumbed to his injuries.
We call upon the National Police Service (NPS) and specifically the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), including the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate the incident that also saw an alleged shooting to death of a resident by the police.
We acknowledge the swift response and action of the Government to deploy more security officers assist with maintaining law and order as these unfortunate incidents being investigated. In doing so, we call upon security personnel involved in the operations to work within the confines of the law and with respect to the 6th Schedule of the National Police Service Act 2011 on the use of force.
We strongly differ with the views of the Eastern Regional Commander Ms Eunice Kihiko who has allegedly condemned the entire community. We caution that her remarks may lead to collective punishment and unwarranted use of excessive force by the Police. No matter the justification, there should be other avenues of conflict resolution instead of attacking chiefs or police officers. There should be effective complaints and redress mechanisms that aggrieved civilians can use to channel their grievances and seek justice whenever they feel wronged by government officers and the police.
We call on the locals in Kamaindi to cooperate with and share any relevant information with security personnel investigating these unfortunate incidents.

…………………………………ENDS…………………………………

Signed by Members:
National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Kenya (NCHRD-K)

Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU)
Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ-K)
International Commission of Jurists –Kenya (ICJ-K)
Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)
International Jurists Mission (IJM)
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR)
Rights Promotion and Protection Centre (RPP)
Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA-K)
Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW)
Kenyans For Peace, Truth and Justice (KPTJ)
Usalama Reforms
Amnesty International – Kenya
Transparency International – Kenya
Katiba Institute (KI)
Peace Brigade International (PBI)
The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA)

No medical facility or police officer should charge you to obtain a P3 form. The Court in its ruling noted that the Poliuce Charter states P3 as a free document. It has further been established that there are some police stations who are in compliance with the charter and give the form free of charge.

As for the health facilities run by the national and the county governments, some charge for filling, the P.3 form while some do not. The same facilities issue the Post Rape form free of charge whose purpose is complementary to that of the P.3 form to assist victims of rape and assault in their evidence in their criminal cases. The post mortem report in murder cases, the P.3 form for mental assessment and other forms are supplied by the state and the county governments free of charge.

The High Court made the following declarations:

1.That a declaration do hereby issue that the respondents are jointly and severally in violation of the basic principle of access as to justice in levying of fees for issue and for filling of the Medical Examination Form popularly known as P.3 form.

2. That a declaration do hereby issue that the Medial Examination Form, that is the P.3 form or any form required or issuable to victims of crime is free of charge and that no levy shall be imposed.

3. That an order of prohibition do hereby issue prohibiting the respondents, their agents or any medical officers in charge of public health facilities at both levels of government from levying fees for issue or for filling of the Medical Examination Forms (P.3s).

Constitutional Petition No. 440 of 2013)

JUDGMENT OF ASIKE MAKHANDIA. TA, Court of Appeal, Nairobi

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is in the context of this case apt. It neatly sums up what lies at the core of this appeal. This Article recognizes that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity. Thus, strip someone of their dignity and you strip off their essence of being a human being.

Dignity since the beginning of the era of human rights has become the foundation of all other rights. It amounts to the recognition that the sole purpose for protecting , promoting and fulfilling human rights is the acknowledgement that all human beings must be accorded respect.

The concept of dignity for all men and women involves the development of opportunities which allow people to realize full human potential within positive social relationships. It is the quest for dignity, equality and equal recognition and protection before the law that made the respondent in this appeal file the petition, subject of this appeal in the High Court.

Download the entire judgement here: https://defenderscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/NGO-Board-v-Gitari-Makhandia.pdf

A defender is characterized by the activity of promoting and protecting human rights. In answering the question ‘Why Focus on WHRDs, the report provides a starting point on the understanding of the challenges faced by WHRDs in Kenya in the course of their human rights work and the reasons why WHRDs in Kenya face these challenges in the course of their human rights work.

Women Human Rights Defenders, who put themselves on the front line in the promotion and protection of human rights, are subject to the same types of risks faced by their male HRDs, but as women, they are also targeted for or exposed to gender-specific violence and violations that have gendered consequences.

Violations that have gendered consequences refers to violations that are experienced by both male and female defenders, but may have different consequences for WHRDs because different social and cultural norms govern the gender identity, sexuality, and gender role of women in different
contexts. For instance, arbitrary arrest or detention of WHRDs adds an additional threat of sexual assault or violence when in custody.

Access the fact sheet for this report here: https://defenderscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Gendered-Risk_-Challenges-WHRDs-Face.pdf

Job

Senior Program Officer, Sexual Health and Rights (Africa)

Location of Position

New York, NY, Kenya, or Uganda

Reporting Relationship

Director, Sexual Health and Rights

ABOUT AJWS

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is the leading Jewish organization working to pursue justice and fight poverty in the developing world. By supporting hundreds of social change organizations in 19 countries, we respond to the most pressing issues of our time—from disasters, genocide and hunger, to the persecution of women and minorities worldwide. With Jewish values and a global reach, AJWS is making a difference in millions of lives and bringing a more just and equitable world closer for all.

OVERVIEW OF DEPARTMENT

AJWS works to increase access to services and end discrimination, violence and abuse of women, girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and sex workers, so that they can access the full spectrum of opportunities in society and live in health, safety and dignity.

OVERVIEW OF POSITION

The Senior Program Officer (SPO) manages AJWS’ dynamic sexual health and rights grantmaking in Africa, coordinates capacity-building and programmatic opportunities for in-country staff and grantees, coordinates with other funders, and engages in strategic learning and evaluation in order to document AJWS’s impact and to improve grantmaking strategies, with a specific focus on Uganda, Kenya and Liberia. The SPO collaborates closely with country consultants and the Director of Sexual Health and Rights to develop and implement strategy in sexual health and rights. The SPO seeks strategic opportunities for partnership and collaboration that leverage AJWS’s grantmaking and promote the work of grantees, develops initiatives that advance AJWS and grantees’ work, and contributes to funder affinity groups and networks to deepen knowledge in the field.

The ideal candidate will have a proven record as a strategic grantmaker or related activism and advocacy in the field of sexual health and rights, with experience working in East and/or West Africa and in-depth knowledge of the legal, political, social and economic contexts in the region. S/he must also have a keen understanding of how local activists need to partner with national and global activist networks to create impactful change.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Develop, implement, monitor and evaluate dynamic grant making strategies in Uganda, Kenya and Liberia, in collaboration with the Director of Sexual Health and Rights, staff and consultants;
• Advance grant making program in Sexual Health and Rights by identifying new grantees, developing proposals, supporting grantees with technical assistance and access to opportunities, respond to crises and emergencies and refining grant making strategies based on learning and evaluation in close partnership with country-based staff;
• Identify and deepen relationships with collegial donors, civil society organizations, activists, policymakers and other allies;
• In partnership with the Senior Program Officer of Land, Water and Climate Justice or other staff with a portfolio in country, directly manage AJWS country consultants/staff in Uganda, Kenya and Liberia, and work closely with them to implement portfolio strategies in country.
• Engage staff to build capacity across countries and thematic areas to address key programmatic priorities aligned with AJWS strategic plan, staff professional development goals and portfolio needs;
• Develop and oversee grantmaking budget and operational plans for Uganda, Kenya and Liberia, in conjunction with the Director of Sexual Health and Rights
• Monitor the Sexual Health and Rights team grant making budget and operational plans in conjunction with the Director of Sexual Health and Rights;
• Identify emerging issues and trends in Uganda, Kenya and Liberia, as well as across the East and West African regions, and utilize findings to determine funding priorities and develop grantmaking strategies and initiatives;
• Collaborate with grantmaking colleagues to identify and analyze regional and global trends and document lessons learned and cross regional/thematic learning;
• Partner with other members of the Sexual Health and Rights team to establish departmental priorities, learning agenda, be a thought partner with the Director of SHR in developing departmental processes, and build a shared departmental identity;
• Organize and conduct at least two to three trips in the focus countries per year for exploratory research, site visits, partner meetings, and monitoring and evaluation;
• Partner with Strategic Learning, Research and Evaluation division to identify research projects that can strengthen country-based grantmaking and/or document the learning emerging from AJWS’s grant making to inform the field of HR funders and related fields of philanthropy/development;
• Partner with development staff to manage relationships, lead and plan study tours and other donor engagement visits to focal countries, write reports and fulfill other contractual obligations of donors that are supporting AJWS’s work;
• Collaborate with members of the advocacy team and International Education and Jewish Engagement to ensure a close integration of the priorities of AJWS’s grantees with AJWS’s advocacy efforts in the U.S. and internationally;
• Increase AJWS’s visibility and profile by presenting AJWS’s work to donors, collegial organizations, networks and policymakers;
• Play a leadership role in funding networks and policy arenas to advance the advocacy agendas of AJWS grantees and improve the field of international human rights funding

Qualifications

• BA/BS required; Masters degree in relevant field (law, public policy, public administration, public health) strongly preferred;
• Minimum of seven years of working at a foundation, international development or human rights organization in the field of sexual health and rights, with work experience in East and/or West Africa required;
• Experience with, and commitment to, grassroots social justice and human rights movements;
• Demonstrated knowledge of issues related to stigma and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sex characteristics
• Excellent analytical and writing skills; experience writing or reviewing grant proposals;
• Demonstrated experience in managing staff;
• Excellent public speaking and presentation skills and experience managing donor relations;
• Proficiency in reading, writing and speaking in English required; ability to speak Swahili or French highly desirable;
• Working understanding of human rights norms and practices, feminism(s), international development, and grassroots social movement building;
• Proficiency reviewing, monitoring and evaluating budgets and financial documents;
• Enthusiastic about spending up to 6-9 weeks per year traveling in the focus countries and/or internationally;
• Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends;
• Highly organized, with the proven ability to work independently, prioritize and complete multiple projects, meet deadlines and maintain consistent attention to detail; and
• Ability to work in and with diverse communities.

Compensation and Benefits Information:

• Additional information will be provided as candidates progress further in the recruitment process.

Additional Considerations:

People of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, trans and gender non-conforming people; women; and differently abled people are encouraged to apply. We also encourage applications from people of diverse religious, spiritual and cultural backgrounds.

All candidates must have legal work authorization in US, Kenya or Uganda.

How to Apply:

For immediate consideration, please email your resume and cover letter to AfricaSHRCareers@ajws.org

Deadline to apply is January 28, 2019.

We thank you for your interest in career opportunities with AJWS. Due to high volume, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

AJWS is an equal opportunity employer and provides competitive salaries and benefits

Front Line Defenders is currently accepting nominations for the 2019 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.

As 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the seminal Stonewall uprising which led to the global movement of LGBT+ Pride marches, the 2019 Front Line Defenders Award will prioritise honouring the work of human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk working to defend and advance the rights of the LGBT+ community.

The annual Front Line Defenders Award was established in 2005 to honour the work of HRDs who are courageously making outstanding contributions to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others, often at great personal risk to themselves. The Award focuses international attention on the HRDs work, providing them with a greater national and international platform to speak about and advocate for their work.

From an open nomination process, 5 HRDs will be identified as regional award winners for Africa, the Americas, Asia, ECA and the MENA and from these 5 regional winners, an overall global Award laureate will be identified by a jury of Irish and European parliamentarians.

If you would like to nominate a HRD working on LGBT+ rights for the 2019 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, please follow this link to the secure online nomination form: 2019 Front Line Defenders Award – Nomination Form

Please note that the nomination process will remain open until midnight (12am GMT) on Friday, 5th January 2019.

The right to privacy is a fundamental right protected in law across the world including Kenya as stipulated in the Bill of Rights in the 2010 Constitution. It is essential to the protection of human dignity and serves as the foundation upon which many other rights are built. Privacy denotes “that area of individual autonomy in which human beings strive to achieve self realization … alone or together with others.”

Human rights work demands use of communication tools ranging from face-to-face, telephones and e-mails and short message services (SMS). All these provide varied degrees of risk, which are also specific to the work the HRDs are engaged in, as well as contexts. Numerous Kenyan HRDs have raised concerns about their mobile phones being tapped and their communication intercepted.

NCHRD-K’s Salome Nduta presents the report to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom Of Association and Assembly During the RightsCon event in Tunis, Tunisia. 

These experiences have implications for HRDs and, therefore, it is essential to ensure that HRDs are not the subject of unlawful surveillance practices and that they are able to do their work without fear of snooping by anyone.

This report analyses the needs, concerns and areas of interest for HRDs in relation to privacy, data protection and communications surveillance. It also establishes how surveillance impacts HRDs work and their role as actors of change in society. Examining the risk levels based on these specifics as well as finding the best-suited measures will be important for continued HRDs protection.

HRDs drawn from Kericho, Bomet and Nakuru counties engage in a question and answer session during the launch of the report in Kericho Town in May 2019

This survey set out to:
• Assess HRDs’ level of exposure, understanding, and perception of communication surveillance;
• Document HRDs’ current strategies for mitigating, perceived or actual communication
surveillance.

   HRDs attend a class on Right to Privacy during the 2018 Human Rights Defenders Academy. 

See the Fact Sheet of the Research here: https://defenderscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/A-Perception-Survey-on-Communication-Surveillance.pdf

Justice and Peace Netherlands is launching a new call for human rights defenders at risk to participate in the Shelter City initiative around March 2019. The deadline to apply is 30 November 2018. 

Shelter City offers human rights defenders (HRDs) at risk a possibility for rest and respite by letting them escape temporarily from a threatening situation. The initiative can benefit human rights defenders that are threatened or under intense pressure due to their work. Shelter City is an initiative coordinated by Justice and Peace Netherlands together with  municipalities in the Netherlands, local partners, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

How does Shelter City work?

Through temporary relocation, human rights defenders will be offered a shelter for 3 months in one of the Shelter Cities in the Netherlands, during which they can rest, continue their work in safety, build up capacity (including a one-week compulsory training on security), extend their network and raise awareness about the situation in their country. Activities can include meetings with NGOs and public authorities, public lectures, rest or leisure, treatment for work-related problems, continuing working on human rights in their country, raising awareness of human rights among the Dutch public or participating in local initiatives organised by the municipality and/or the host organisation. At the end of the programme, participants are expected to return with new tools and energy to carry out their work at home. A monthly stipend, accommodation, health insurance, visa and return flight tickets to The Netherlands are provided.

Who can apply for Shelter City?

For the purposes of Shelter City, the term HRD is intended to refer to the broad range of activists, journalists, scholars, writers, artists, political figures, lawyers, civil rights defenders, independent media professionals, civil society members, and others working to advance human rights and democracy peacefully around the world.

Applicants must fulfill the following conditions:

In order to be eligible to the Shelter City programme, HRDs must meet the following conditions:

1. They implement a non-violent approach in their work;

1. They are threatened or otherwise under pressure due to their work.;
2. They should be able to be relocated for a period of maximum 3 months. Limited spots are available for people who are not able to stay for the full 3 months;
3. They are willing and able to return to their country of origin after 3 months;
4. They are willing to speak publicly about their experience or about human rights in their country to the extent that their security situation allows.
5. They have a conversational level* of English (limited spots are available for French or Spanish speaking HRDs);
6. They are willing and able to come to The Netherlands without accompaniment;
7. They are willing to begin their stay in The Netherlands around March 2019.

*By conversational English we mean that participants’ level of English allows them to actively participate in a training, speak about their work, communicate with the host city, etc.

Note that additional factors will be taken into consideration in the final round of selection, such as the added value of a stay in The Netherlands as well as gender, geographic, and thematic balance. Please note that we can only accept HRDs currently residing in a third country under exceptional circumstances.

To apply or submit the application of a human rights defender, please fill in the form by clicking ‘Apply Now’ below. Application forms must be completed by 30 November 2018, at 23:59 CET (Central European Time). An independent commission will select the participants.

Apply Now for Shelter City 2019

Note that the selected human rights defenders will not be automatically allowed into the Shelter City programme as Justice and Peace is not in control of issuing the required visas to enter the Netherlands.

For more information, please contact: sheltercity@justiceandpeace.nl.