Haki Talks: Why We Need a Dose of Human Rights Education and Advocacy Everyday

Haki means rights in Kiswahili. It is important to talk about human rights, teach others about rights because there is an inherent culture of impunity which has created an environment that normalises violation. There is also a lot of contradictions when it comes to realisation and enjoyment of rights with poor people’s rights being violated because they are powerless and the rich who violate rights of others continue to be protected.

Take an example of access to justice. Many poor people are languishing in remand homes and prisons because they do not have money for lawyers, some are in jail for petty offences, whereas if a crime is committed by an influential person, some do not even spend a day in jail. The cases are heard very fast and more often the verdict is always not guilty, why? because there was a lack of enough evidence. This is quite contrary to the image of Lady Justice, characterised by a blindfold, scales and a sword. It personifies the moral force in judicial systems and her scales represent the impartiality of justice, equality in justice.

According to Civicus, 23 countries have closed civic space, 44 countries are repressed, 47 countries have obstructed space. This translates to 114 countries globally with serious civic space restrictions[1]. With shrinking civic space comes surveillance, rights violations and abductions and enforced disappearances. Sometimes a kidnapping is accompanied with a demand for ransom and other times they end up in death of the victims[2]. Respect for the right to life is dwindling across many African states, death has been normalised, with high incidences coming about as a result of rights violations. Take conflict for example, in Africa, political violence increased from in 2020 compared to 2019, with over 17,200 distinct events of political violence, resulting in over 37,600 reported fatalities.[3]Violence was experienced in countries such as DRC, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Sudan, Mozambique, Uganda and Ethiopia, the reasons for such violence being leadership, competition over natural resources and power. In all these, it is the ordinary citizens who suffer the most. There is an increased militarised response when handling civilians and many a times citizens have genuine demands. Take for example the case of Nigeria’s End SARS[4] protest over police brutality, Sudan’s protest against military[5] rule.

Power is a key ingredient when it comes to rights violations and coupled with power there is increased militarism when handling citizens. For example, when state apparatus respond to protests, they normally use teargas, batons and sometimes live bullets. There are various reported cases of rights violations and brutality by security apparatus. For example, during evictions, residents get beaten up, houses get demolished, teargas and in extreme cases live bullets are used. Sometimes evictions are done when it is raining leaving families prone to illnesses and respiratory ailments, other times evictions are done when schools are about to re-open. Take for example the case of Nairobi’s Mukuru[6] slums where women and children due to eviction are suffering with some cooking and sleeping in the open.

It is however worth noting that rights violations are not only perpetrated by security apparatus but also by ordinary citizens. Rights violation is both intentional and unintentional. Sometimes rights are violated because of ignorance. There is also a fear of reporting cases of abuse because one does not wish to be called to become a witness. Violations also abound in situations where communities are not aware of their rights. A dialogue with both rural and urban based women during the 2021, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence in Kenya’s Kangemi (an informal settlement) and Machakos (a rural setting) confirmed that indeed communities fear reporting because they don’t want to go to court as witnesses. This in essence means that the accused person may end up going scot free and the case thrown out on technical grounds. Rights violations have also been normalised across many communities and this is despite legislations that outlaw these violations. There exists legislations that outlaw discrimination and gender based violence, however these continue with daily cases of women being beaten, men being murdered, family members committing suicide[7] because of infidelity, land and environmental rights defender being killed[8] or harassed. Data obtained from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics  estimates that 40% of Kenyan women aged 15-49 years old experience domestic violence at least once in their lifetimes and that 1 in 4 will have experienced domestic violence in the last 12 months[9].

Communities have also been responsible for taking law into their hands through mob justice sometimes on innocent people, sometimes committing crime because of greed or misinformation. Take for example the killings in Kenyan communities of elderly people accused of being witches and wizards[10] or subjecting people to mob justice for example as a result of accusation of being livestock thieves[11]

Extra-judicial killings are rampant across different parts of Africa, the main victims are youth and majority of them are found in informal settlements. Communities living in informal settlements cry out that poverty is criminalised and they get targeted because they are poor. As put out by popular artiste Anthem Republic[12] in his Mtaa Ya Mastar [13] spoken word piece where he reminds everyone that it is in Kenya’s ghettos where the best footballers, singers have come from and that it should not be assumed that because the poor are in the ghettos nothing good can come out of the ghettos. Furthermore, tired of their sons being killed, mothers who have lost children to police brutality have formed a network in Kenya - The Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network, where mothers and relatives of the murdered are coming together to speak out, to hold vigils and remember their loved ones and console mothers who have lost their children. They also come together for solidarity, to wipe each other’s tears.

When communities are empowered on human rights, there is a shift from being silence observers to being people who respond to a situation of injustice, in so doing they also defend the rights of others and alert the would be violators that they are under a watch. Furthermore, existence of community based structures such as the social justice[14] centres where communities can report case of abuse, get solidarity as well as information on rights

It is thus important to raise community consciousness on their rights so that whenever they see any form of violation, they do react to it either by reporting or by speaking out against it. There is also need to repair the broken social fabric, to speak to each other before lifting a hand to strike someone. There is need for formation of sisterhood and brotherhood cells where we can speak about issues bothering us without the fear of being judged. There is also need for a reform in justice structures so that they become more human when dealing with citizens. There is need for creation of an enabling environment where human rights and social justice can thrive. Indeed, we need a dose of human rights education and advocacy every day because the culture of impunity creates a fertile ground for rights violations, furthermore it is only when you are aware of your rights that you can stand for your rights. As Bob Marley aptly put it “Get up Stand Up, Stand Up for Your Rights”

Reference

[1] https://findings2020.monitor.civicus.org/downward-spiral.html

[2] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/kenyan-man-confesses-to-killing-more-tha...

[3] https://mg.co.za/africa/2021-02-01-africa-the-only-continent-where-polit...,

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEmrVvIbnFQ

[5] https://www.africanews.com/2022/01/04/thousands-continue-to-mobilize-aga...

[6] https://www.kahawatungu.com/hundreds-left-homeless-in-ongoing-mukuru-slu...

[7] https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2019-06-05-likuyani-man-kills-cheating-w...

[8] https://allafrica.com/stories/202107190199.html

[9] https://www.wagggs.org/ar/blog/femicide-media-sensationalism-and-victim-...

[10] https://www.helpage.org/newsroom/latest-news/older-people-must-be-protec...

[11] https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/rift-valley/2021-08-15-a-mothers-pai...

[12] https://www.facebook.com/756943257825239/posts/come-come-utembee-kwetu-g...

[13] Mtaa means neighbourhood, mastar is originates from being a star meaning an accomplished person in a given field

[14] https://africa.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2021/08/inside-ken...