A Human Rights Defender's Perspective

20/07/17 - Well Al Ghurair's printers can now be switched on to Presidential Ballot Paper printing mode (if they weren't already printing). The CoA has pronounced itself and as is consistent in a society that values the rule of law, it must be respected ... or appealed. But no not an appeal again NASA ..... Let the elections proceed!  For a fact, it throws the Article 10 principle on public participation into a spin. Yes political expediency Court of Appeal ...  but my lords, what does public participation mean to you!? At least give us some direction...  Well the cases might have been filed to address interests of candidates but the issues raises certainly raise matters of public interest, we are all stakeholders in Kenya's electoral processes.  I have come to appreciate public interest litigation to mean litigation where there is no winner looser distinction. At the end of exercise, persons have been given an opportunity to ventilate, matters which would ...

As we head towards elections it is expected that while the Opposition uses its mobilization skills and local networks around the country to “spread the word” on its behalf, the Incumbent shall as is the tradition rely heavily on state machinery and structures to popularize its re-election agenda. As the hunt for votes gears up as we approach the election year, the role of the National Government Administrative Officers will rear its ugly head yet again, exposing the feeble underbelly of the relationship between the National and County Governments. Again, the constitutional mantra of interdependence between these two levels of government will be tested. It is at this stage that a “restructured provincial administration” will either show proof that it can, intends to and has shaken off its former, post- colonial public image, or will as is widely expected take up its traditional monsterish, authoritarian role and push the government’s political agenda. The Constitution lf Ke...

As we observe the defamation proceedings between Deputy President William Ruto and Activist Boniface Mwangi, words and phrases keep flying around. Without going into the merits of the case – the matter being under judicial consideration and therefore prohibited from public discussion, the public ought to be enlightened of some of these words and terminologies. I will rely on a simple example to explain. Kamau files papers in court accusing Wafula of uttering or writing certain words causing damage to his reputation. This is what you would call a claim. Wafula while exercising his right of reply has two options; he can file papers denying the accusation even denying ever uttering or writing those words – this would be called a defence, or Wafula may opt to file a claim within Kamau’s claim with the intention of defending himself and offsetting Kamau’s claim even surpassing the enormity of Kamau’s claim. In this case, not only does Wafula deny what he is accused of, he goes on to sh...

The past few weeks have seen matters education back in the news. I continue appreciating how much education is talked about these days. It is my belief that the more matters education make for public conversation, the more scrutiny the public exercises towards those tasked with ensuring the right to education is properly implemented, the more we begin to identify which actors in the education sector are an impediment to the provision of accessible and quality basic education, the better our education system will become. A few months back the Cabinet Secretary Education was in trouble for abdicating his responsibilities of ensuring an adherence to law and policy on school fees. Previously the CS issued a directive putting a cap on amount of school fees to be charged by public basic education institutions but failed to have it implemented. The failure to implement meant Schools' Boards of management continued running public schools like private properties. Further, and sadly, it mean...

What Is The EAC Treaty? ·       In full it is knows as The Treaty for the Establishment of The East African Community. ·       It is a document that was signed on 30 th November 1999 in Arusha Tanzania by five countries namely; Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.   It took effect on 7 th July 2000 following ratification by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with the rest Rwanda and Burundi joining later in 2007. ·       Through the document (regional agreement), these countries/states agreed to cooperate commercially and politically for their common good. ·       It is the legal document that establishes an East African Community. The Treaty Establishes Institutions And Organs Of The EAC ·       The Organs of the EAC are: - a)     The Summit – Comprises of the Heads of Government of the EAC States. The summi...

I n regional news, The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) can now handle crimes of international proportion such as genocide, crimes against humanity, terrorism and war crimes following endorsement by East African Community Heads of State. The extension of the Court's mandate was made during the EAC Heads of State Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, last week, that was held under the theme, " Deepening and accelerating integration: Towards Political Federation ." The EACJ is the judicial body of the East African Community (EAC). The Court has jurisdiction over the interpretation and application of the East African Treaty of 1999. The Court   does not have competence to hear individual complaints of alleged violations of human rights law.   The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community sets out in  Article 27 that, “The Court shall have such other original, appellate,  human rights  and other jurisdiction as will be determined by the Council at...