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Climb For Justice kitty reaches Sh500,000 in Second Month


The Sh50 million rights defenders kitty has reached Sh500,000 through contributions of individual Kenyans.

National Coalition of Human Right Defenders executive director Kamau Ngugi says the amount is beyond their expectations as they did not think ordinary Kenyans would take up the matter so fast and wholeheartedly.

Ngugi told the Star during an interview that the majority of Kenyans who have contributed have sent amounts from as little as Sh100, Sh200 and Sh500.

“This shows that ordinary Kenyans have embraced our message, even forgoing lunch to support the course,” he said.

The coalition launched the drive in August under the rallying call of ‘Climb for Justice’.

Part of the drive is to climb Mount Kenya, expected to culminate in a summit on December 12.

The drive aims at raising the money to establish a safe hub where human rights activists can hold meetings for planning and strategy.

“In our planning, we thought the bulk of our support would come from corporate entities, embassies and probably well-endowed individuals. However, we are glad ordinary Kenyans have taken up the matter and are actively supporting,” Ngugi said.

The organisation has also received numerous commitments from corporate entities and embassies, he said, but did not specify the amount.

“Some entities have offered to sponsor billboards for us as part of creating the publicity for this initiative,” he said.

Ngugi said the outfit has always relied on personal generosity and magnanimity of embassies and foreign donors to support activists deserving protection.

But this is no longer tenable, he said, explaining that the dynamics of the West have been volatile in the recent past, impeding the flow of support outside the country.

“You see there is a lot of things changing in the West, particularly the rise of right-wing populism in the US and Europe. Most of these governments and their entities are inward-looking, hence reluctant to support causes outside their countries.”

The donor support to right activism causes has not been the only victim of the rise in populism in the West. Other areas like anti-HIV/Aids initiatives also suffered when the taps for support ran dry once US President Donald Trump rode to power, he said.

Expensive gatherings 

Ngugi said the right lobbies tend to be curtailed due to huge expenses of hiring spaces for meetings and training.

“It is really expensive to hire spaces in decent hotels for a press conference, seminar or meeting. We don’t part with less than Sh50,000 in any occasion. This is not sustainable,” the executive director said.

“The funds will help us establish a hub for rights defenders, including whistleblowing investigative journalists.”

The organisation has been supporting rights defenders who find themselves at conflict with the law. It bails out or hires lawyers for activists when they are arrested for the public good.

It also helps them secure a safe haven when rights activists’ lives are in danger.

“We must protect those who give their all to speak out for us. That is why we must support this initiative with our all,” Ngugi said.

Find the Story on The Star Newspaper through this Link.



PRESS RELEASE CALLING ON INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY OF OFFICERS INVOLVED IN EXTRA-JUDICIAL EXECUTIONS


7TH NOVEMBER 2018

TO ALL NEWS EDITORS PRESS RELEASE

CALL FOR INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY OF OFFICERS FOUND CULPABLE OF VIOLATING THE SIXTH SCHEDULE OF THE NPS ACT 2011

  1. We the Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya (PRWG-K), the Social Justice Centre Working Group (SJCWG) and human rights defenders pass our deepest condolences to police officers and civilians who have been victims of acts of crime in the recent past, and wish the surviving ones quick recovery.
  2. We are well aware that Kenyans are increasingly experiencing violent crime. We therefore cannot under any circumstances underestimate the trauma that our society is living through, due to the increase in cases of violent crime, and the apparent inability of the National Police Service to reduce these incidences and, or successfully prosecute these cases.
  3. We stand with Kenyans, especially victims of violent crime who are extremely frustrated by the increased number of suspects who continue to roam freely intimidating and threatening victims and witnesses, eliminating witnesses, and in some cases committing new crimes, mainly due to botched investigations and police corruption.
  4. However the Police Reforms Working Group- Kenya (PRWG-K) wishes to express grave concern over increasing incidences of deaths from police use of lethal force in the country. Over the past one month, incidences of torture and extrajudicial executions implicating police officers are on an all- time high. This is especially regrettable at a time when the country is embracing the new police reforms initiatives to transform our police force to a civilian-centered police service.
  1. In particular, the PRWG-K strongly condemns the alleged summary executions of 24 young men in Mathare, Majengo, Kayole and Dandora in the last 3 weeks, by officers believed to be attached to the Huruma and Dandora Police Stations.
  2. A case in point is the shooting of a twenty year old man who was walking home in Mathare North Area, after arriving from his place of work on Friday, October 26th, 2018. Incidentally, there had been a robbery at a supermarket in the area (Family Choice). In the process of police pursuing the “suspected thugs”, he was shot in the thigh. A Good Samaritan rushed him to Mathare North Health Centre. He then called his wife but her phone was off forcing him to call a neighbor. The neighbor then informed the deceased’s wife and they rushed him to the health Centre where they found him. They were advised to take him to Mama Lucy Hospital prompting the neighbor to make a call to arrange for transport. Immediately after the call, a group of over 10 officers allegedly arrived brandishing guns and asking where the ‘thug’ was and that he had their “property”. They picked him from where he was lying and bundled him into the boot of a white probox car. They then drove off with the deceased not informing the wife and neighbor where they were heading. The next day, the deceased’s employer led a search party from one police station to the other, health facilities and morgues. It was then at City Mortuary that they found his corpse with seven gunshot wounds.
  3. The actions of the police officer on the night of 28th and 29th October 2018 point to a clear contravention of Article 26, every person has the right to life. A person shall not be deprived of life intentionally, except to the extent authorized by the Constitution or other written law. Further, the National Police Service Act 2011 Schedule 6 (B) provides that ‘Firearms may only be used when less extreme measures are inadequate, and for the following purposes: a) saving or protecting the life of the officer or other persons; and b) self-defense or in defense of other person against imminent threat of life or serious injury.

We are greatly dismayed by the impunity displayed by the police officer in this incident and many more, and call for the following action:

1. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority and the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) expedite investigations into the apparent summary execution of the 20 young men and forward the report to the director of public prosecution’s office for prosecution

of the officers found culpable.

  1. We appeal to all eye witnesses and anybody else with evidence on this killing to come forward and present their information to the IPOA;
  2. The National Police Service Commission should institute disciplinary actions against the police officer;
  3. The need to speedily implement in full the National Coroners Service Act 2017 to provide for independent forensic investigations of questionable deaths;
  4. We call for the formation of a judicial inquiry into cases of extrajudicial killings in the country;
  5. We urge the government to allow the request by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit the country to assess the situation of extra judicial killings and make appropriate recommendations;
  6. We commend all police officers who have embraced the ongoing reforms and urge those officers with information on these killings to liaise with IPOA to ensure thatthat we rid the force of those not willing to change;
  7. Lastly, we continue to firmly believe that failure to hold the officers individually responsible and accountable will only continue to undermine the ongoing reforms under the central command of the Inspector General, and entrench a culture of impunity within the National Police Service.

Finally we urge the IG, IPOA, the IAU and the NPSC to enhance mechanisms of bringing to end indiscriminate executions of people without due process of the law. It is our considered view that the police cannot be investigators, prosecutors, judges and executioners at the same time.

Signed:

National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders-Kenya (NCHRD-K)

Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)

International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ-K)

International Commission of Jurists –Kenya (ICJ-K)

Legal Resources Foundation (LRF)
International Justice Mission (IJM)
Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU)

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)
Social Justice Centre Working Group (SJCWG)

 



Sengwer women: We’ve lost our dignity, rights violated in evictions


An Overview of NCHRD-K’s Report on the Effects of Evictions to Women Human Rights Defenders and Women Rights

Margaret Chesir was born in Embobut forest and for over 50 years has known no other home. She is a member of the indigenous Sengwer community, often evicted by the government in a bid to conserve the forest. An agonised Chesir was evicted in 2014, and since then, she has been in and out of the forest, struggling to get back to the hunter-gatherer life that defines her community.

Sengwer WHRDs and leaders during the launch of the Interim Report.

“Life outside the forest is unbearable and we often return to the forest as soon as security agencies burn down our structures,” Chesir told the Star, holding back tears.Chesir and other women grew up in an environment where colobus monkeys chattered, jackals howled and crickets chirped. They are fond of natural fruits and vegetables found in Embobut and nearby forests.

“We don’t cut down trees because we live inside thick forests, and we rely on the forest for food and medicines,” she says.Other communities listed as indigenous include Boni (Bajuni), El Molo, Malakote, Ogiek, Sanya, Waata, Wagoshi and Yaaku.But as the world commemorated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, Chesir and company were wondering what their future holds.

LEFT BY HUSBANDS

Mary Komen, a Sengwer community women leader, says the community is now joining the list of internally displaced Kenyans after a series of evictions. The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders Kenya recently conducted a research titled “Race against eviction. The plight of Sengwer women and human rights defenders in Embobut forest”.

The NCHRD-K report, launched in Iten, shows a community that has lost its traditions and language during successive evictions. According to the report, Sengwer were forcibly evicted every year since 2007. The community has lived in Embobut forest since the 1890s, and they were given permits by the British colonial government to stay in three glades, including Kapkok, Kaptirbai and Koropken. Its members also occupy parts of West Pokot and Trans Nzoia and consist of 21 clans. The 2009 census put the Sengwer community population at 33,187.

The NCHRD-K further established that the evictions depressed the community, while frequent displacements and disruption of livelihoods have denied the community’s children the right to education. Early marriages and disintegration of Sengwer family units have also been threatened by the evictions. NCHRD-K executive director Kamau Ngugi said researchers spoke to women of the indigenous deep inside the forest.

“The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights had previously conducted a study on human rights violations. We found out that women’s views were not put into account, and that is why we decided to look into the situation of women inside the forest,” Ngugi said.

It was also discovered during the study that Sengwer women were abandoned by their husbands after forest dwellers received Sh400,000 each as payout to move out of the forest. “Men left their wives and married younger women from the neighbouring Marakwet community, and squandered the money meant for buying alternative land,” the interim report reads in part.

Article done by Stephen Rutto, Star Newspaper. Read the entire article here: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/09/11/big-read-sengwer-women-weve-lost-our-dignity-rights-violated-in_c1807215



Human Rights Defenders Securing The Right To Vote in Kenya


The History of Kenyan democracy and HRDS

In a democracy, the authority of the government derives solely from the consent of the governed and is realised by holding free and fair elections. But from 1969, Kenya was a de facto one-party state and in June 1982, the National Assembly of Kenya passed Article 2A of the Constitution of Kenya, officially declaring Kenya a de jure one-party state. This saw the consolidation of power within the ruling party, and opposition leaders and citizens at large were unable to speak freely, assemble, or move around the country to offer alternative voices, speak their criticisms of the government openly and bring alternative policies and candidates to voters. State-sponsored repression that included arbitrary arrests, detention without trial, prolonged trials arising from trumped-up charges, torture and other human rights violations were meted out on citizens, the academic community, journalists and politicians who expressed dissenting opinions or were perceived to be doing so by state agents.

Between 1982 and 1992, political leaders and human rights defenders (HRDs) in Kenya came together, amid serious repression, to champion multi-partyism, demanding democratic elections that would meet the threshold of being competitive, periodic, inclusive and definitive, and would thus give power back to citizens who would enjoy broad freedom to criticise the government, publish their criticisms and present alternative views. These efforts were met with resistance and those at the forefront experienced arbitrary arrest, incommunicado detention, enforced disappearance, threats and harassment.

The efforts of the reformers, as they were popularly known, won the support of foreign missions, primarily from western states, and bilateral and multilateral donors, which demanded that the Kenyan government should embrace democracy with all its tenets of good governance, accountability and transparency as well as respect for human rights as a condition for aid. Faced with protests, boycotts and international pressure, the government caved in, albeit reluctantly, to the demands for political pluralism, which was restored in 1992 with the repeal of Article 2A.

It should be recalled that the repeal of Article 2A to allow for multiparty politics was not complemented by other legal and institutional reforms to enable a thriving democracy. This was compounded by state efforts to scuttle the conduct of free and fair elections by persistent state-orchestrated inter-ethnic hatred that translated into political and ethnic clashes that took place in 1992 and in every election period since the introduction of multiparty democracy in Kenya.

Violations during elections and civil society responses

The climax of simmering ethnic tensions was the eruption of violence following the 2007 general elections that plunged Kenya into political, economic and humanitarian crisis. The conflict saw serious human rights violations committed in a context where over 600,000 Kenyans were internally displaced and close to 2,000 people were killed. The stalemate between rival presidential candidates Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki was resolved in February 2008 following the negotiation and signing of the National Peace Accord and the subsequent enactment of the National Peace Accord and Reconciliation Act. Among the agenda items this laid out was the need for a new constitution, which was drafted and promulgated after a referendum in 2010.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) and HRDs in Kenya once again played a critical role in the documentation of human rights violations, championing justice for the victims and accountability for perpetrators. The documentation of human rights violations by HRDs was particularly critical in laying the foundation for the investigation of the 2007 election violations by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and subsequent prosecution of six individuals believed to have been most responsible. The role of CSOs and HRDs in documenting violations has ever since put them in the crosshairs of the political elite, who have targeted individual HRDs with threats, harassment and intimidation, and have aimed negative rhetoric at CSOs with the aim of denting their credibility in society. There is also an attack on the media and journalists, despite the constitutional protection of media freedom and media independence.

Article by Kamau Ngugi and Yvonne Owino-Wamari, National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders – Keny
Get more stories about 2018 Re-imagining Democracies across the world here: https://www.civicus.org/index.php/re-imagining-democracy


NOMINATION CALL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AWARDS 2018


INTRODUCTION

Civic space in Kenya continues to be under pressure as a range of actions are being directed against the work of Human Rights Defenders (HRD) and Civil Society organizations in Kenya. Physical attacks, criminal and administrative actions, 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 and development partners concerned with the protection of HRDs, is organizing the third edition of the HRD Awards on the 30th of November 2018. The aim of the ceremony is to honour and publicly recognize the important work of HRDs in Kenya, by giving out awards to men and women who have demonstrated courage and impact in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The awards are presented in three categories: the Munir Mazrui Lifetime achievement award, the Human Rights Defender of the year award and the upcoming Human Rights Defender of the year award.

THE OBJECTIVES

The objectives of these awards are to:

  1. Honour the extraordinary work of HRDs in the promotion and protection of human rights;
  2. Profile the work of HRDs and challenges they face as agents of social change and transformation;
  3. Recognise and appreciate the human rights work of young and upcoming HRDs in Kenya and support talent;
  4. Enhance the safety and protection of all HRDs in Kenya.

SELECTION PROCESS


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-Kenya (NCHRD-K) and other partners. This call outlines the criteria for eligibility for nomination.

A panel then shortlists five individuals per category within the set out guidelines for shortlisting candidates.

The panel verifies the HRDs human rights work through field visits, and interviews with the nominators, the nominees and their references.

The Independent Selection Panel, which comprises of eminent individuals in the human rights sector, will decide who will receive the awards based on the profiles of the nominated HRDs.

Will be held on the 30th November 2018 in the presence of CSOs, the government, selected HRDs, representatives from the international missions, and the media who will cover the event.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The following will be taken into consideration:

AWARD

The winners will receive:

All nomination forms should be sent back to the NCHRD-K via advocacy@hrdcoalition.org with a clear subject line “HRD AWARD NOMINATION” by 20th July 2018, 12.00 pm.

Get the application form here:NOMINATION FORM FOR THE HRD AWARDS 2018



Celebrating Mama Rahma, women rights defender in Kiamaiko


Mama Rahma has been a gallant Woman Human Rights Defender since 1984. In celebrating the International Women’s Day, she is one of the few women celebrated by the Standard Newspaper. Her journey has ben a successful one in overcoming all the odds especially in her Borana Culture to emerge as the only woman elder in the community. Read more at: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001272491/married-off-at-12-mother-now-saves-abused-girls



PRESS STATEMENT CONDEMNING THE KILLING OF EVANS NJOROGE


[pdf-embedder url=”http://nchrdk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Presser-Evans.pdf”]



COVERAGE FOR THE HRD AWARD 2017 IN THE STAR NEWSPAPER


Elias Kimaiyo is congratulated by selection Panel member Lorna Dias flanked by NCHRD-K’s Board Chair, Mary Simat and Communications Officer, Francis Ndegwa.

NCHRD-K is honoured to have hosted the Second HRD Awards Ceremony in partnership with Working Group on Human Rights Defenders. The Awards are meant to give visibility to the grassroots Human Rights Defenders and also to Lifetime Human Rights Crusaders

Kimaiyo Wins Human Rights Defender of the Year Award



Government Ordered to Protect Election Observers, Journalists Who Will be Monitoring Polls


The Government has been told to secure the observers and journalists who will be will be monitoring the August 8 General Election. The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (NCHRD-K) decried harassment of the civil society and the fourth estate during the party primaries and ongoing campaigns, despite the groups playing a critical role. According to a report released by the NCHRD-K yesterday, 13 cases of intimidation of human rights defenders, monitors and journalists have been reported since April.

Read more at:  https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001248671/government-ordered-to-protect-election-observers-journalists-who-will-be-monitoring-polls



PRESS RELEASE: DECISION ENTERED IN FAVOUR OF MS LUCY HANNAN AT THE HIGH COURT, NAIROBI


NAIROBI,

05 MAY 2017

“The National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders – Kenya (NCHRD-K) welcomes the judgment entered, on 4th may 2017, by the High Court in Nairobi granting Ms. Lucy Hannan a two year work permit as she finalizes her application for citizenship. Justice Isaac Lenaola ruled that the decision by the government not to renew Ms. Hannan’s work permit in 2013 was unprocedural and in violation of the Constitution.

This positive decision comes after a protracted four year court battle where Lucy Hannan, a British journalist and human rights defender who has been resident in Kenya since 1988, sued the State in December 2013 for refusing to renew her work permit on grounds that she was a “subversive”, a ‘threat to national security’and ordered she be removed from the country.

“At a time when the prevailing environment for human rights defenders in Kenya can only be described as volatile, the judicial system remains an instrument of intimidation of HRDs. Therefore, this ruling inspires a level of confidence in the independence of the judiciary in ensuring justice for human rights defenders. ” Says Kamau Ngugi, Executive Director of the NCHRD-K.

The position of the NCHRD-K is reaffirmed by the findings of a report released on 3 May 2017, KENYA: 2017 Elections: Broken Promises put Human Rights Defenders at Risk, after a fact finding mission by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, that human rights defenders in Kenya are often criminalized on the basis of trumped-up charges, which aim at intimidating them through episodes of frequent arrests, detentions in police stations, long trials and punitive bail and bond terms. This inevitably prevents them from pursuing their legitimate human rights activities.

Lucy Hannan with Main Kiai, the immediate former UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of peaceful Assembly and Association, established a human rights institution, InformAction in 2009 and have been instrumental in driving community discussions to encourage ordinary citizens to speak out and take action against human rights violations. The organization has empowered hundreds of thousands of Kenyans in rural and marginalized areas using mobile human rights clinics. Consequently, they have received numerous threats, both online and offline since 2013.

The NCHRD-K:
1. States that the work of human rights defenders is essential in upholding democracy and the
rule of law and this can only be achieved by ensuring a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders to work.
2. Calls upon the State to support the work of human rights defenders and put in place mechanisms that will ensure the protection of human rights defenders from harassment, intimidation, threats and attacks.

For additional information contact Kamau Ngugi on dkngugi@hrdcoalition.org or Yvonne Wamari yvonne@hrdcoalition.org

Signed,
KAMAU NGUGI
Executive Director, National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders – Kenya”



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