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Nominees of the Human Rights Defenders Awards 2022 Announced!
INTRODUCING THE NOMINEES: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AWARDS 2021 #hrdawardke
On 20th June 2022, Defenders Coalition in conjunction with the Working Group on Human Rights Defenders in Kenya sent out a call for nominations for HRD Awards 2022 that was open until 30 August 2022.
The summary of the nominations was as below:
Total Nominations were 648 under the following criteria
1. Nominations were made from all the 47 Counties of Kenya. The highest number of nomination was from Nairobi with 123 and the lowest nominations from Nandi County with 1 nomination.
2. 351 nominations were for the HRD of the year Award, 72 for the Upcoming HRD of the Year Award, 11 nominations for the Munir Mazrui Lifetime Achievement Award and 14 nominations for the Global Solidarity Award.
The Jury of the HRD Awards, using the set criteria and after a thorough background check and verification on the nominees work and profiles, has selected the following individuals for public recognition during a public ceremony on 2 December 2022.
VETTING OF JAPHET KOOME FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE NATIONAL POLICE SERVICE 8TH NOVEMBER 2022
The Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG–Kenya) welcomes the opportunity to give its input in vetting the Nominated Inspector General of the National Police Service, Japhet Koome. We note that Kenya has made progress in terms of police reforms. However, individual and command responsibility and accountability have been wanting. Other issues that have been pervasive include the politicisation of policing, lack of independence, and unlawful use of force and firearms.
We support and acknowledge the commitments made by President William Ruto on 16 October 2022, promising to end criminality, Extrajudicial Killings (EJEs) and Enforced Disappearances (EDs) in the National Police Service. These serious human rights violations have continued for years despite police reforms.
We appreciate Chapter Six of the Constitution establishing leadership and integrity standards binding all state officers to exercise public trust in a manner consistent with the purposes and objects of the Constitution, including demonstrating respect for the people and bringing honour to the nation and dignity of the office. Moreover, Article 21 of the Constitution dictates that every state officer’s fundamental duty, including police officers and the Inspector General of the NPS, is to respect, protect,
promote and fulfil the rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights.
The PRWG–Kenya takes this opportunity to seek clarification and assurances from Japhet Koome regarding his leadership during his time as the Nairobi County Commander, which was marked by serious human rights violations, including police killings of unarmed protestors and children and sexual violence.
We are guided by the findings and recommendations of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) reports and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) covering the 2017 Anti–IEBC protests, the raid of Nairobi University and policing of the 2017 elections. We are also guided by the Stephanie Moraa Inquest, which are matters of public record.
The IPOA report on the Anti–IEBC protests indicts Koome’s leadership by finding that there was no prior briefing or training of police officers involved in the public order management of the protests that caused the severe injuries in Nairobi. The report also directly indicts Koome for failure to cooperate with them (IPOA) despite his legal obligation to do so to the lawful police oversight body.
During the inquest into the killing of a nine–year–old girl, Stephanie Moraa Gisemba, the Court determined that the Police refused to provide the report of their investigation, failed to cooperate with IPOA and produce operation orders for Mathare North Area 2, covering 12 August 2017. According to the KNCHR’s report on the Police Operation at the University of Nairobi, police officers from the General Service Unit forcefully entered the UON Architecture Design and Development (ADD) Building. They apprehended and tortured students and some staff with batons, slaps, kicks, and gun butts for seven hours. Furthermore, the students were forced to do push–ups, among other forms of unusual and cruel treatment prohibited under Article 25 of the Constitution. Female students were groped, and Luo and Luhya students were targeted for their perceived political inclination
We believe that Japhet Koome should publicly and satisfactorily explain his position as a person with individual and command responsibility and what measures he has taken to reduce the violations documented in the above reports, and what measures he will take to prevent similar atrocities from happening in future as Inspector General should the National Assembly approve his nomination.
Notes:
Reports cited
Link to reports cited: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wNmnOi22PgDDLi2STyei-Du9RDi3KLIl
This Report, Dusk to Dawn? Our HRDs Story on Kenya’s 2022 Electoral Processes and Outcomes is a summary of the Human Rights Defenders’ (HRDs) monitoring exercise that was carried in one (1) year between August 2021 and August 2022.
Its title is informed by the English saying that it is ‘darkest before dawn’. This saying means that prior day break it is the darkest, and of course that translates to that before something good happens one must go through serious problems. That has been Kenya’s history with elections since 1992. President (Dr. William Ruto) the eventual winner of 2022 presidential elections has been part of the government that has been in power for the past 09 years. He served as the Deputy President under President Kenyatta between 2013-2022.
Under that government Kenyan people suffered a lot socially, economically and also politically. Now the question that bothers Kenyans is whether with Ruto’s presidency, Kenya will change for the better; in other words, will Kenyan people fortunes change so that we get out of the dusk that we have been going through culminating in COVID-19, to a new dawn of hope and optimism? Only time will tell. In the meantime, HRDs have a lot of work to hold the ‘new’ government to account for all the pledges they made during the campaigns.
Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) as used in this report, is a term derived from the UN Declaration of HRDs, of 1998, which identifies HRDs as individuals or groups who act to promote, protect or strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms through peaceful means.13 Thus, States are obligated to recognize the value and important contribution of HRDs to peace, sustainable development and human rights and to respect HRDs on a nondiscriminatory basis, protect them against any arbitrary action as a consequence of the legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the Declaration.
Since the introduction of multiparty in the early 1990s, elections held in Kenya, elections are highly contested and elicit mixed feelings and anxiety. Further, there have been periods where elections are marked by violence especially in 1992 and 1997, with the ‘climax’ being in 2007/08 when Kenya was in the cusp of a precipice. This has invited actions to monitor and respond to these factors. This has seen a huge investment by government, UN Bodies and CSOs to prioritize activities that enhance and promote peace, electoral justice, and respect for human rights.
From August 2021 to August 2022, the Defenders’ Coalition recruited a total number of 212 monitors who are essentially HRDs by training and practice to monitor human rights violations during the said period. In three (3) periods, the Defenders Coalition facilitated these HRDs to undertake monitoring in different batches: first, between August and December 2021, there were 75 monitors;14 second, from December 2021 to January 2022, there were 32 monitors;15 and finally, between June and August 2022, there were 105 monitors. This Report is thus a comprehensive compilation of what transpired in Kenya, from the views and perception of Kenyan HRDs based on Human Rights-Based Approaches (HRBA).
This Report is a consolidation of various reports by Defenders Coalition which includes among others, the Report that is titled Status of Human Rights Defenders at the Blink of 2022 Elections; this covers the period from August 2021 to July 2022. Other reports are situational reports, which are basically summing up what HRDs monitors perceived throughout the that cover various months towards the August Election, particularly the months of June, July, and August 2022 when Defenders Coalition has 105 monitors16 on the ground for those three (3) months.
FINDINGS
Overall, the HRDs monitored, documented, and reported various forms of violations during the project period August 2021-September 2022. These abuses ranged from, threats on the right to life, of not the HRDs but also the general populace including forceful and politically motivated disappearances. Indeed, 259 people were killed by police in differing circumstances and 35 disappeared in police custody. Second, and connected to the above are many cases of police brutality. Police violently dispersed up peaceful protests and assemblies especially by HRDs and in some instances caused death as a result of use of lethal force.
Further, during this monitoring period, the Defenders Coalition monitors also documented 42 cases of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV). Some of these cases related to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); forced early marriages of under-age girls; spousal domestic violence and rape being on the rise, particularly in Wajir, Siaya, Marsabit, Tana River, Baringo, Tharaka Nithi and West Pokot Counties leading the pack. It should be noted that most of these Counties have constant and overt conflict and hence there is correlation between SGBV cases and conflict.
The Defenders Coalition documented throughout the year, constant persecution of HRDs, where their operating environment is shrinking, and perpetrators act with impunity. HRDs continue facing intimidation, criminalization, harassment, stigmatization, and vilification and their work was negatively profiled by State and non-State actors. More concerning is that the perpetrators engage in smear campaigns, de-registration of HRDs organizations, and threats of staff of organizations including Defenders Coalition that was a victim of these attacks.
Of special or mention is the intolerance and attacks on HRDs working for the rights of sexual minorities and women human rights. During the project period, two (2) were founded murdered in Nairobi and Nyeri counties whilst many others SOGIE HRDs have been physically or sexually attacked or arbitrarily arrested or harassed in their homes by unknown persons, especially for Women HRDs (WHRDs), in the period under review.
Since this Report is about monitoring elections by HRDs, one could argue with all the above, the work of HRDs has been rather complicated insofar as their mandate of fighting for the protection, promotion, and fulfillment of human rights in accordance with the three (3) international, continental and national obligations.
OTHER CONCERNS
Part of the problems as stated above plus the issue of early smear campaigns and use of misinformation and political intolerance, makes HRDs of defending of human rights becomes next to impossible. Indeed, violence and insecurity that has plagued many Counties makes HRDs vulnerable to do their work. So are attacks on media houses and journalists not to mention forced evictions and displacement and re-emergence of criminal gangs in the period under review, such as the notorious ‘Confirm Gang’ in Nakuru County which caused untold suffering to the residents.
Between August 2021 and September 2022, because marked heightened electoral and political tensions, a lot of transgressions were recorded by the monitors who were evenly distributed across the country, particularly in what the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) described as hotspot areas in its report, Report on Conflict Mapping, that was released in June 2022. The Defenders Coalitions deployed HRDs to monitor in the six (6) high risk Counties of Nairobi, Uasin Gishu, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Kericho.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
At end this Report, the Defenders Coalition makes several conclusions and recommendations internally relevant and to other stakeholders in that order. first, and internally, the Defenders Coalition has invested and revamped the Mtetezi Application (App) during this monitoring period, but it will further re-programme it to ensure it works throughout. Not all monitors in the review period accessed the App and hence there is need to reconfigure the same, as it has when it works, proved to be very vital in safely monitoring, documenting, and reporting on human rights violations across the Republic.
Second, the Defenders Coalition has trained over 300 HRDs on monitoring, documenting, and reporting. However, not all monitors filed comprehensive reports to the Secretariat. Thus, the Defenders Coalition will invest in the HURIDOCS system and see the extent to which these materials could be distributed to the HRDs across the country, so that they may make reference to these international materials to improve their role in monitoring, documenting and reporting.
Third, the Supreme Court made a raft of recommendations about the role of the IEBC and the reforms it much needs. The judgment is available for perusal by HRDs to step up advocacy around the much-needed changes to the IEBC since some Commissioners exiting the institution. Further to the above, the Defenders Coalition strongly recommends a through audit of the structures and systems of the IEBC to rectify some of the gross failures cited in this Report. One of them that stood out is the refusal of HRDs to access polling stations, yet they had their letters of accreditation and IEBC badges!
Fourth, some civil society members were closely engaged with or perceived to be aligned to either of the two political outfits: Azimio la Umoja or Kenya Kwanza. Noting this there is need for a closed-door meeting to interrogate the role of civil society in an election, and their contribution to objective discourse that ensures electoral integrity and respect for human rights. This introspection is very important to plan on the next electoral cycle and what would be our role in the envisaged reforms of IEBC and other stakeholders.
Further, we challenge the media houses and the owners to prioritize journalists’ safety when covering partisan elections and fully enforce the code of conduct for practice of journalism and ethics as per the Media Act (2013). Public and private media houses also need to interrogate the need for fair coverage of candidates, especially the presidential contenders, but also manage hate speeches, fear mongering and despondency etc. during the electoral period.
As for the security agencies, in their various formations, they should ensure that all their officers are taken through the electoral code of conduct since some of them were accused and presented before courts for gross violations of the electoral process. On the other hand, the brutality and arbitrary arrest on unarmed persons during demonstrations, particularly HRDs, must be addressed to ensure proper training and respect for human rights in public order management. Connected to this, these agencies should conclude all the investigations underway where HRDs especially WHRDs have suffered under the hands of rogue officers or unknown persons. We encourage IPOA to continuously investigate and hold these officers to account.
To the development partners, we reiterate recommendations of the July 2022: that they should set aside support for civil society that are involved in conflict early warning systems and response so that they map areas that could explode and coordinate such response. The NCIC Report came in handy to provide civil society with what to look out for during monitoring.
Finally, all stakeholders in the electoral processes and outcomes, whether they are monitors or observers should consider their conduct in times of coordinating their own safety and/or response that is effective and efficient. Through this support the stakeholders will be able to avert potential conflict from conflagrating further.
With the above, and many more in the body of this Report, the Defenders Coalition will continue contributing towards the work of HRDs by making the environment safe and also that their stand of defending human rights does not cause them harm or harm to those they represent as they undertake their mandate.
Dear Friends, Supporters, Comrades, Colleagues and Partners,
Defenders Coalition 2022 Election Report
Kenya is slated to hold its General Elections on Tuesday the 9th day of August 2022 for the 3rd time under the constitution of Kenya 2010. It’s important that the lessons learnt in previous general elections as documented in the Defenders Coalitions monitoring reports and other related reports by election stakeholders are fully incorporated in furtherance of a democracy in Kenya.
The legal framework on the Bill of Rights and specifically political rights as provided for under Article 38 our constitution and key legislation that govern election processes all enacted in a quest to attain electoral reforms that ensure a free, fair and credible election that reflects the highest aspirations of the Kenyan people.
It’s against this backdrop that Defenders Coalition, a key stakeholder in elections has capacity built and strengthened grassroot HRDs with advanced skills on Election Monitoring, Documentation and Reporting on human rights violations pre, during and post election period.
In order to ensure that the election process reflects the true wishes of Kenyans in the upcoming 2022 general election, Defenders Coalition deployed HRD monitors to monitor and document the electoral process and working environment of the HRDs.
We can proudly highlight the following key milestones made during the last one year of monitoring:
1. Revamped a phone based application monitoring tool (Mtetezi) used by monitors to document human rights violations that enhanced quick, timely rapid response to any such violations.
2. Defenders Coalition has trained over 300 HRDs and over 20 Organizations on Digital Security and Physical Security, and monitoring, documentation and reporting.
3. Defenders Coalition successfully mobilized critical partners to jointly engage in advocacy over pressing human rights issues in Kenya.
4. The presence of Defenders Coalition as the spokesperson for HRDs served to denounce and resist harmful actions on the environment of HRDs, and uses advocacy as a key tool for enhancing accountability for electoral related human rights violations.
5. Defenders Coalition innovatively responded to humanitarian and resilience needs of HRDs and CSO organizations.
6. Defenders Coalition through collaboration pathways with partner organizations have ramped up multiple coordinated interventions and strategies to expand freedom of information and transparency. The information is designed to identify malpractices and raise the quality of political contests so that they meet human right standards and principles.
FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE
CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT ON THE STATE OF CIVIC AND DEMOCRATIC SPACE IN KENYA AHEAD OF THE GENERAL ELECTIONS
Civic Freedoms Forum is a national platform composed of civil society organizations (CSOs) operating at national level with a track record and commitment to the protection of human rights, civil liberties, and democracy. CFF aims at consolidating civic actions for the advancement and protection of human rights, civil liberties, and democracy.
NAIROBI, 14 JULY, 2022 –
As the Country approaches the August 2022 General Elections, the civil society members, convening at the All Africa Conference of Churches during the Civic Space Protection Summit, note with concern the sad state of the civic and democratic space in Kenya. Civic space in Kenya is currently ranked as obstructed by the Civicus Monitor. The civil society members would therefore like to address the following concerns:
Public Order Management
Despite the ratification of international and regional treaties meant to safeguard protest, the Kenyan state and the police continue to use unnecessary or disproportionate force as well as harassment to discourage, prevent or disperse protest. Poor, marginalised groups and women often experience particularly negative treatment at the hands of the authorities.
A recent study report by Article 19 titled The Kenya: Restricting the Right to be Heard found that, instead of protecting protest, Kenya’s police are frequently responsible for unlawful conduct, including brutal use of force, violent repression and unlawful arrests of protesters. Police are meant to exercise restraint and actively help facilitate the right to protest. Instead, police brutality often leads to tragic consequences and those responsible face little accountability. For instance, in June 2022, four people were killed after police fired shots at protestors in the Masimba area of Kajiado County, when people took to the streets to protest the authorities’ inaction over the rising number of wild animals’ attacks. The investigation by the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority is ongoing, but campaigners feel that it might face obstructions and delays.
The study also found that the Kenyan authorities act especially swiftly against protests likely to embarrass the State or mobilise external pressure. In April 2022, Kenyan activist Julius Kamau was violently assaulted by three plain-clothed police officers, while protesting alone as part of the #NjaaRevolution movement which saw people protesting the rising cost of living. Four other protesters were subsequently arrested and held for simply exercising their rights. The right to peaceful assembly is thus often criminalised and not facilitated as the case should be.
Digital Space Protection
In Kenya, the freedoms of expression, access to information, the right to privacy and other fundamental freedoms are well entrenched in the Constitution. Despite this, Kenya still staggers towards limitation of digital rights in certain aspects. A raft of legislations, executive orders and actions in the digital space have been witnessed since 2010 thus limiting the civic space in Kenya.
In March 2017, a report by Privacy International documented how the information acquired from unlawful communications surveillance is justified by the state as a response to counterterrorism – from surveilling, profiling, locating, tracking, and arresting targets to abuse, torture, abduction and extrajudicial killing.
During this electoral period, there have also been concerns that human rights defenders (HRDs) and journalists are continuing to be surveilled by the government because of the nature of the work they do, including because such work can be critical of the government, rather than for a valid law enforcement purpose. For instance, on 27 May 2022, twitter accounts linked to the Social Justice Centers and the #NjaaRevolution Campaign leaders, for allegedly exhibiting ‘suspicious behavior.’
The government “periodically polices the internet for content that is perceived to be morally objectionable,” and “has increasingly sought to have content removed online” and from social media profiles. The use of social media monitoring, the techniques and technologies that allow companies or governments to monitor social media networking sites creates potential for misuse by the government in identifying and targeting certain people and groups in society including HRDs and journalists.
Media and Access to Information
Although Kenya has an elaborate legislative and institutional framework on Access to Information, Kenyans still face challenges in accessing information due to a culture of secrecy in public and private bodies performing public functions. Despite initiatives to enhance transparency and fulfill the right to information, execution has been slow and allegations of opaqueness stemming from a culture of secrecy remain widespread.
Access to information at the county level has been a work in progress with counties like Elgeyo Marakwet, Makueni, Nandi and Isiolo being exemplary. For instance, in 2020 Elgeyo Marakwet was the only county to publish all seven of its budget documents as required by Kenya’s Public Finance Management Act of 2012. Additionally, the CAJ developed a model law on Access to Information for county governments and so far five counties – Embu, Kisumu, Bomet, Kwale and Kiambu – have passed the County ATI Law.
Disinformation and misinformation practices, especially at election time in Kenya, aren’t new. But platform media provide easier and faster ways of fabricating information and distributing it at scale. Those involved are doing so with little fear due to the platforms’ ability to enable anonymity and pseudonymity. This involved massive data manipulation done through the deliberate posting of fake news. There is evidence that these practices are on the rise for the upcoming polls scheduled for August 2022. Many governments are failing to act because of conflicting demands. On the one hand, they need to protect the public from perceived harmful information. On the other hand, they need to protect citizens’ rights to information and freedom of expression. It gets even more complicated in countries such as Kenya where the state, as well as extensions of the state, are actively involved in misinformation and disinformation campaigns.
A survey by the International Budget Partnership Kenya (IBP-Kenya) shows Kenyans still have limited participation and information on county budgets. West Pokot, Laikipia, Nyeri, Makueni and Samburu were the top five, most transparent in the budget-making process for the current financial year ending June 30 while Kirinyaga, Narok, Taita Taveta and Wajir each scored zero as they provided no information at all.
Finally, protection for whistleblowers is also a fundamental principle of Access to Information. Individuals who release information on wrongdoing – whistleblowers – must be protected from any legal, administrative, employment-related sanctions, reputational and physical harm. Unfortunately, Kenya has a history of failing to protect whistleblowers.
Safety and Protection of Human Rights Actors
Kenya has no clear policy or legislation to protect human rights defenders (HRDs). Despite many actors advocating for stronger protection of HRDs and hopeful promises made by the government, no concrete steps have been taken to implement new policies. The African Commission offers a monitoring mechanism for the situation and safety of Human Rights Defenders through a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders for Africa. In Kenya, however, no concrete policy proposals have followed from this mechanism, nor has any report on the situation of HRDs in Kenya been issued.
Important progress has been made by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders- Kenya (Defenders Coalition) and other Civil Society Organisations. This includes the KNCHR Model HRD Policy and Action Plan in May of 2017. This policy provides a framework for the protection of HRDs, accompanied by an action plan that identifies the priority areas on safeguarding the rights of HRDs. KNCHR has continued to advocate for adoption of this policy, but no steps have yet been taken towards its implementation.
The last twenty-seven months have witnessed increased cases of attacks, killings, and intimidation of HRDs, allegedly committed by state and non-state agencies. They have been harassed by local administrators and other private actors and in some cases they have faced trumped up charges aimed at intimidating them into silence. Unfortunately, many of these cases are not prioritized and receive little national media attention.
While acknowledging increasing efforts in many countries to protect the rights of members of Sexual, Orientation, Gender, Identity and Expression (SOGIE), we remain seriously concerned with the widespread violation of these communities in Kenya in recent years. We are concerned that within the past one year, Defenders Coalition has documented 23 cases of violations including but not limited to violent murder, assault, and forceful eviction of LGBTQ+ individuals across Kenya with little to no action by the relevant duty bearers in promoting the safety and security of sexual minority individuals as well as seeking justice for the victims.
In order to secure civic and democratic space during elections and beyond, the civil society members demand the following:
Signed by the following
It is injury time for Kenya as the August 9 general elections approaches. Its that time when like others who believe in democracy the citizen have the opportunity to renew mandates of their leaders to govern the state in their behalf, or replace them with those that they believe provide alternative solutions to their problems or meet their aspirations. To make informed choices, political parties and individuals develop and market their manifestos.
Various government agencies are tasked with putting their houses in order for the peaceful conduct of the election and to ensure the process lead to free, fair and credible. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for example must act as a fair umpire and ensure the field is fair for all players by ensuring that enabling laws are in place and followed to the letter, and the electoral infrastructure is beyond reproach. The security agencies ensure the leaders freely and safely market their candidature and the citizens make choices out of free will and not through coercion, intimidation, violence, threats or insults. On the other hand, advocates of human rights including civil society organizations (CSOs), Community Based Organisations (CBOs), HRD Networks, Human Rights Movements and human rights defenders (HRDs) are keen to promote electoral integrity, respect for human rights and accountable leadership prior to, during and post election 2022.
Defenders Coalition which is concerned with good governance, rule of law and the respect of human rights for all by working with human rights defenders at the frontline to ensure that they are safe when conducting their frontline role of promoting peace, harmony, justice and the respect for human rights. We have made deliberate efforts to strengthen the capacities of Civil Society Groups and individuals to effectively play their critical role of monitoring, documenting and reporting human rights violations during the election period for timely remedies and justice for the victims. Defenders Coalition has trained and deployed 105 monitors to conduct this work across 29 counties in Kenya. We are also collaborating with our partners that have monitors in the other counties to share critical information that is helpful in advancing the safety of HRDs and election monitors from all the 47 counties in Kenya.
Among the benefits that HRDs have gained from the Coalition is skills to confront and manage risks during the 2022 elections period. Over One hundred and Fifty HRDs (155) undergone training in digital security management following documentation of risks encountered when HRDs conducted advocacy at digital platforms. Out of 155, trained, 60% are Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and sexual minority rights advocates.
In addition to leadership in enhancing HRDs safety, Defenders Coalition has been encouraging the HRDs family to prioritize the physical and mental wellbeing. As a demonstration, we launched and continue to rally HRDs to participate in outdoor excursions. The most successful in 2022 being able to successfully conquered Mt. Kenya in March. During this physically challenging but rewarding endeavour 17 out of 17 climbers made it to Point Lenana demonstrating resilience and commitment to a good cause of raising awareness on human rights violations and to funds for the establishment of the Haki Village; a resource hub for HRDs and the larger human rights community.
It is unfortunate that we such positive human rights strides we also encountered huge setbacks. Human rights defenders Elizabeth Ekaru and Sheila Lumumba were brutally murdered in 2022 with little progress in holding those responsible to account. In the case of Elizabeth, an arrest was made and the matter is in court. However no arrest were made for the killers of Sheila despite massive public outrage. Other Cases of HRDs killed in previous years remained unresolved including Paul Ndirangu Kioi killed in 2020, environmentalist Joanna Stutchbury, in 2021, Journalist Betty Barasa in 2021, and Joash Mosoti in 2021. There has also been worrying escalation of attacks of the rights of sexual minority individuals and groups with impunity including routine harassment by law enforcement agents, arbitrary arrests and detention, extortion, sexual violence, physical assault, and evictions.
The state also intensified tactics violating or limiting civic action by regularly arresting HRDs who dared to assemble peacefully and petition various duty bearers over a range of issues. Because of these harassment Defenders Coalition support to the criminalization through bail, bond and legal representation increased. It’s unfortunate that judicial harassment remained the leading tactic of limiting HRDs agency.
Despite all these, we recognize the fact that the level of awareness on the need to promote and protect human rights in our communities has increased. This means that silence is not an option when violations occur. Defenders Coalition, therefore, affirms its fiery commitment to collaboratively act, with quality and in a timely manner, at the preventive and responsive levels to ensure safety, security and wellbeing of those involved in the work of speaking truth to power in all the 47 Counties in Kenya.
THE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AWARD 2022
CALL FOR NOMINATION
Civic space in Kenya continues to be under pressure as a range of actions is being directed against the work of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in Kenya. Physical attacks, criminal and administrative actions, reprisals, legislative restrictions, negative rhetoric and limitation of human rights have undermined the constitutional and international protections available to HRDs.
It is against this backdrop that the Working Group on Human Rights Defenders in Kenya, which brings together CSOs, the United Nations, missions and development partners concerned with the protection of HRDs, is organizing the seventh (7th) edition of the HRD Awards on Friday, 25 November 2022.
The aim of the ceremony is to honor and publicly recognize the important work of HRDs in Kenya, by giving out awards to individuals who have demonstrated courage, innovation and impact in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The awards are presented in four categories:
The objectives of these awards are to:
The Working Group on Human Rights Defenders in Kenya develops a call for nominations, which is then widely circulated by the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Kenya (also referred to as Defenders Coalition) and other partners. This call outlines the criteria for eligibility for nomination. Individual HRDs can be nominated in the four categories.
A panel comprised of human rights defenders, missions representatives and CSO organizations involved in the planning of the HRD Awards then shortlists five individuals per category within the set-out guidelines for shortlisting candidates.
The panel verifies the HRD’s human rights work through field visits, and interviews with the nominators, the nominees and their references.
The Independent Jury Committee, which comprises of eminent individuals in the human rights sector, makes a final decision, from the names submitted, on the recipient of the three awards and the runner up.
The feting ceremony will be held on 25th November 2022 in the presence of CSOs, the UN, the government, HRDs, representatives from the international missions, and the media who will cover the event.
SELECTION CRITERIA
The following will be taken into consideration:
AWARD
Four awards will be presented to the overall winners: the Munir Mazrui lifetime achievement award, the HRD of the year award, the upcoming HRD award and Global Solidarity Award.
The winners will receive:
WITHDRAWAL OF AN AWARD
The Jury Committee can revoke an award given to past winners if they violate human rights or go against the selection criteria of the HRDs Awards after being awarded.
To nominate your favorite human rights champion by downloading, filling and sending the filled form to us. (A link to download the form will be added).
OR Nominate them online here.
OR Nominate them via video or audio submission not longer than 5 minutes by sending the audio or video via email advocacy@defenderscoalition.org or Whatsapp/Signal 0716 200 100.
All nomination forms should be sent back to the Defenders Coalition via advocacy@defenderscoalition.org with a clear subject line “HRD AWARD NOMINATION” by the 31st of August 2022, 11.59 P.M.
Who is Eligible for Nomination;
Beyond the overall selection criteria as outlined above, nominees under each or the award category should posses/exhibit the following,
Nominee under this category should;
Nominee under this category should;
Nominee under this category should;
Nominee under this category should;
All nomination forms should be sent back to the Defenders Coalition via advocacy@defenderscoalition.org with a clear subject line “HRD AWARD NOMINATION” by the 31st of August 2022, 11.59 P.M.
Mithiini History
Colonial land alienation
Mithiini was a settled area, and some of the residents there actually had their parents living in parts of the land even before independence. Nevertheless, white settlers took possession and ownership of several chucks of land in the area which they occupied until well after the independence years. One of the white settlers, Tom Frazier lived in the area until about 1976 when he left. The reversion of the land after he left remains truly unclear, but many families were actually left settled on the very land.
This is one perspective, but both formerly white settled areas and community settled areas in Mithiini have now been lost to unclear private owners who continue to subjugate and throw out genuine squatters who should be gazetted as the true owners of the land area.
Policy Changes and Land Allocations.
Mithiini did not benefit in the orderly adjudications and distribution of title deeds that ensured a peaceful transition of the land from the former white settlers to new owners. Community members recall that a surveyor known as “Kanyi” was directed by the then President Kenyatta in 1977 to demarcate the land, into five (5) acres each and issue titles but some people from neighboring region interfered with the procedure hence stalling the process. However, adjudication was completed in Ngililya (ithanga), Kaguku and Kirathani. This means that residents of Mithiini could get their land titles.
It is a fairly known history of the area that following the sub-divisions of the land in around 1976, local residents were disenfranchised at the expense of new landowners coming from outside the region, mainly from Lari Division.
As administrative readjustments were made, taking Mithiini sub-location to be part of Kakuzi location, community members lost their voice. New powerful groups emerged associated with government functionaries which made local administration turn a blind eye on the growing grievance of land grabbing and landlessness. Many residents lost their land and had their homes forcefully demolished to pave way to the new settlers. A census of residents soon after independence, of the so-called squatters showed that Mithiini at the time was home to about 600 people.
Consequently, the status of Mithiini residents being squatters have only weakened their claim and entitlement to land that they have occupied for more than 50 years now. A generation upon generation of law-abiding citizens have been born and buried in Mithiini.
There has been no infrastructural development in the area, no certainty of titles and no proper government investments in development plans for Mithiini. However, the hardworking residents have been productively engaged, farming horticultural produce, fruits, and subsistence crops.
Instead, to date, residents face intermittent evictions, usually in the hands of rogue machette wielding youth militia and other illegal land gangs. At least at one time around 2017, a shadowy group, with no know representation from Mithiini known as MITHINI SOCIETY claimed the entire parcels of land (now subdivided into plots) in the area, and had actually promoted them for sale, interalia;
It is still unsure how adjudications, demarcations and titling of these lands were possibly accomplished. Not courts of law, not administrative bodies and not administration personnel from the area have clarified the issues to the residents.
Arrests, criminal harassments & ceaseless intimidation impacts of ‘land grabbing’ and landlessness in Mithiini.
Police stations and courts with jurisdiction on issues emanating from Mithiini area are awash with a myriad of complaints and proceedings touching on land disputes in the area. There is deep mistrust between community members pitting a section of residents against others, as some of them believe that a section of community members invite other powerful people from outside Mithiini to grab land in the area. The patterns of evictions have been accompanied with destructive tendencies involving burning of houses, raiding of livestock and destruction of crops. Several residents have lost fruit crops and their animals to such gangs.
Wherever they are arrested, numerously are not permitted to record their statements. They can neither lay complaints of the land grab in the local police stations nor file cases in court because they are poor. State investigation bodies have not helped the residents much. On occasions, some of the residents have been summoned by the area administration and cautioned against their civic activities questioning suspected fraudulent trends of land acquisition in the area. The entire Mithiini village lives in constant fears, unaware of when the police will feign next criminal and arrest them to give way to the new owners. In order to force them out of the land using charges in the criminal justice system, they are typically handed a litany of familiar charges such as shown below.
Many reports show that some people not originally from Mithiini have land claims within the area. Although they do not live within the community, they occasionally visit the place or send unspecified agents to harass and intimidate residents. Some of the squatters have been forcefully evicted from their homes and have left the area altogether. It has not helped that wherever community members who are in actual possession of the land are attacked, often the local administration (and even the police) side with the attackers, and often because they are show some forms of title deeds. Residents highly believe that such title deeds are fraudulent and should be investigated.
Attempts to gain title to the land
Community members have for a long-time petitioned authorities and leaders to intervene in their long running plea for land justice in Mithiini without success.
The local community members have in the past engaged with the human rights NGO group, Kituo Cha Sheria for a long time on this issue. In early 1990, the organization wrote to the Provincial Commissioner, Central Province pleading the case of the residents who in fact live in the land but have been denied ownership papers. On 22nd July 1997, the organization again reminded the Provincial Commissioner, Central Province that despite living in Mithiini for over 30 years, the families remained squatters and were living in fears of squabbles and unending tensions. Similar grievances and requests for interventions have been filed with non-government agencies including the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC).
In 2020, the Environment and Land Court at Murang’a dismissed on a technicality a petition brought before it by at least 2,200 residents of Mithiini for the land for adverse possession of the land. The Court advised the petitioners to show proper evidence to back their claims[1].
At the same time, mithiini residents have filed varying reports with Makuyu Police Station, among others, and even the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) on related complaints of police abuses touching on forced evictions and harassments of the residents.
[1] See Judgment on Petition No. 1a of 2017 Environment & Land Court at Murang’a