A Human Rights Defender's Perspective

THE BELOW ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE WEEKEND EDITION OF THE STAR NEWSPAPER - 5/04/2014 SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014 - 00:00  --  BY BEMIH KANYONGE IMPOVERISHED: Refugee women wait for food rations at Dadaab camp. The government?s newest encampment seems to care little about the dignity of refugees. Photo/File The massive use of force by the government, often to kill innocent people, violates several provisions of the constitution. And its treatment of refugees violates Kenya’s obligations under international law. Ever since it came in power, the government has shown no respect for the rule of law. Article 2 proclaims the supremacy of the constitution. Anything done outside the constitution is void. No one can claim or exercise authority that is not recognised by it. Article 10 emphasizes two of the key national values of leadership and governance: the rule of law and good governance. The senseless killing of innocent people at the hands of criminals in the Coa...

THE BELOW ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE WEEKEND EDITION OF THE STAR NEWSPAPER - 22/02/2014 In a speech during the launch of   ‘The State of the Judiciary and Administration of Justice Report 2013' on February 7, Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga raised a few important issues   touching on the administration of justice in Kenya. The Chief Justice highlighted consequences of disobedience or disregard of court orders – “…a fairly reliable down payment for anarchy …” The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution weighing in on the debate over the impeachment of the Embu Governor  termed the disregard “…an assault on the rule of law, and threatens the very basis of our constitutional order …. Separation of powers does not insulate state organs from constitutional obligations.” In Zambia and the United Kingdom, disobedience of court orders has been deemed an "undermining of the justice system and leads to a complete state of lawlessness and a...

Interesting times ahead in the socio-legal world. This blog will interrogate the issues that affect Kenya’s and the world’s ‘social fabrique’ from a legal perspective. A lot will be happening on this front. Matters ICC The Hague trials will resume. Debates around the genuineness of the prosecutions and the politics of the ICC will definitely get back to the lips of many both locally and internationally. There will again emerge voices for an African renewal and we’ll be observing the African Union to see how objectively it will try to push the “African-ness” agenda. This blog will not refrain from scorning the African Union when it strongly believes that it’s agenda is pushed by an exclusive club of old dictators keen on protecting their behinds from harmful acts they are likely to commit on their own people. This blog will however applaud any genuine African voice that seeks a renewal for the African woman, child, elderly, marginalized, person with disability etc. African human ...

The ICC has been on a back foot lately. Accusations of bias hammered at every forum attended by African leaders on the continent and abroad, and writings and opinion pieces by African and other international scholars have been a la mode ! Lecture halls and public rallies’ podiums in Kenya and other parts of the continent have been reduced to a castigation of the ICC as neo-colonial and overtly biased. The discussions and counter discussions which are unlikely to end soon have been tied in with the general declared war against afro-pessimism and a call for African renaissance that has taken center stage giving it a fair share of talk time. This coupled with the apparent fumbling characterized by the manner in which the Court has handled its cases lately most notably the Kenyan Cases – the seemingly unprofessional gathering of evidence, claims of witness coaching and intimidation among other things has greatly muddied the Court’s image even at its most genuine self. These ...

The African culture is a very welcoming one. Going back ages, Africans are known to be best at offering a shoulder to their neighbors in times of adversity. In Kenya for example, foreign nationals tend to feel comfortable fast and assimilate more easily than when Africans relocate or even visit Europe or the Americas. It is therefore no surprise that Kenya hosts one of the largest refugee camps in the world. It is not just about our proximity to conflict prone countries or the economic advantages we are likely to get as development partners come in to assist with the issues, but more importantly an appreciation of the importance of protecting the dignity of these neighbors in their greatest hour of need – a concept that sadly immediately disappears once a conflict breaks out. Neighborliness aside, the willingness to host gives birth to certain obligations internationally recognized and respected. The fact that the Kenyan Parliament saw if fit to make legislation in the form of...

YouTube Video Recording of the Play 'Shackeles of Doom' Courtesy of WTV There was a huge uproar in support of and keelhauling the 'controversial' play by Butere Girls high School. The period during which the issue came up is quite significant. It was the 'let us keep the peace and move on' period. A period when any utterances questioning, dissenting or raising concern about things going wrong was immediately categorized as hate speech and gagged. A period Gathara's World refers to as the return of the 'Republic of Fear' . What got me even more exasperated was the castigation of the Media house that first aired the story, a condemnation of both the school and the playwright, and the apparent uniformed support for the Kenya National Drama Festival's unprocedural, unconstitutional and in my opinion cowardly decision to ban the play on the basis that it would "put national cohesion and integration in danger."  Petition 192 of 201...