Community Networks namely; Muungano Wa Wanavijiji; The Youth Congress, Nairobi People’s Settlement network and Kutoka Network supported by Hakijamii and one of its donors, KIOS held a linking and learning exchange visit on land, housing and eviction campaign in Nairobi at St. Joseph Catholic Church Sinai on 1st November 2011.
Security of tenure has for many years been taken for granted by successive governments resulting in endemic cases of forced evictions especially of the urban poor. Forced evictions in Kenya have been used as a way of oppressing and often result into violations of a number of human rights. It is for these reasons that the need for a strong national grassroots movement to stop the practice is a key component of Hakijamii’s advocacy work.
Through sharing and learning grassroots urban advocacy groups are able to forge sustainable solidarity and build a strong constituency that is able to compel policy makers to respond to their needs. The exchange visit enabled the community groups to share their experiences and deliberate on the way forward on the issues of forced evictions and other human rights violations linked to the right to adequate housing in their respective regions. The meeting attracted media coverage and the deliberations were aired by KTN TV during its 9 pm news on the same day. Through such activities community voices and concerns are given wider visibility and their rights get recognition in the national political debates.
In its continued efforts to meaningfully contribute to the implementation of the Constitution, Hakijamii and its community partners and other civil society groups organized a campaign rally at Ufangamano House-Nairobi on the 12th day of October 2011. The main objective the activity was to remind the Government of its obligation to ensure that adequate measures are put in place for the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing, water and sanitation and speed up land reforms in conformity with the Constitutional provisions.
The rally was attended by four hundred and sixty participants from urban informal settlements in Nairobi. Participants were drawn from some of the most vulnerable groups including persons with disability, the elderly and youth. Out of the total participants 224 were female and 236 male. A petition by the participants was presented to the various policy makers who were present at the meeting. These included officials from the Ministry of Housing, The Ministry of Internal Security and Provincial Administration, and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). In the Petition the participants demanded, among others, for the immediate adoption and implementation of the Eviction and Resettlement Guidelines and operationalization of the National Land Commission.
This was yet another clear example that the marginalized groups are becoming key actors in claiming their rights. The participants vowed to follow up on the commitments made by the various duty bearers to ensure implementation. They also resolved to name and shame those who do not fulfill the promises and also the offices that are reluctant to attend such meetings in the future.
In its continued efforts to meaningfully contribute to the implementation of the Constitution, Hakijamii and its community partners and other civil society groups organized a campaign rally at Ufangamano House-Nairobi on the 12th day of October 2011. The main objective the activity was to remind the Government of its obligation to ensure that adequate measures are put in place for the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing, water and sanitation and speed up land reforms in conformity with the Constitutional provisions.
The rally was attended by four hundred and sixty participants from urban informal settlements in Nairobi. Participants were drawn from some of the most vulnerable groups including persons with disability, the elderly and youth. Out of the total participants 224 were female and 236 male. A petition by the participants was presented to the various policy makers who were present at the meeting. These included officials from the Ministry of Housing, The Ministry of Internal Security and Provincial Administration, and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). In the Petition the participants demanded, among others, for the immediate adoption and implementation of the Eviction and Resettlement Guidelines and operationalization of the National Land Commission.
This was yet another clear example that the marginalized groups are becoming key actors in claiming their rights. The participants vowed to follow up on the commitments made by the various duty bearers to ensure implementation. They also resolved to name and shame those who do not fulfill the promises and also the offices that are reluctant to attend such meetings in the future.
On 25th and 26th October 2011 Hakijamii organized a meeting to develop a community-driven monitoring and evaluation tool with various stakeholders to test the applicability of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) social tariff in Kibera and Mukuru. The intended use of the tool is to test the standards of use of the social tariffs in terms of charging and to get recommendations on the tariff regulations.
The outstanding achievement of the activity was that a guided questionnaire was developed which will be used to come up with a fine tool to be used in monitoring and evaluation in the water sector which can not only be used by community members but also various stakeholders in the water sector like the service providers and water vendors.
A lot of information on water related issues was also shared across the board which was very empowering for all participants.
As part of Hakijamii’s efforts to push for the realization of the right to basic education in informal settlements, the organization is engaging in trainings to enable community groups in informal settlements to make demands for integrity and accountability in the education sector with the aim of stamping out corruption. Two such activities were conducted on 8th October 2011 at The Pumwani Social Hall and on 8th November 2011 at the Makadara Mbotela hall.
The objectives of these sessions were to assist participants to understand and appreciate accountability and integrity both at the national and international levels; identify accountability and integrity issues in the education sector at all levels and how they are currently being addressed at the community ,school management, Civil Society , Government and donor levels; identify gaps and opportunities for community groups to promote rules, accountability and enforcement systems that would deal with malpractices in the management and administration of education and to build consensus on specific recommendations(proposed rules, accountability measures and enforcement )
The participants developed clear recommendations aimed at improving accountability and integrity in primary school management. They resolved to undertake follow up measures that would promote accountability and integrity and reduce cases of corruption in the use of resource and school management.
Strong and democratic social movements are the main driving force for meaningful human rights advocacy. Hakijamii remains committed to working closely in assisting and strengthening of such movements throughout the country. On the 12th September 2011 Hakijamii organized a training session on leadership, governance, financial management and information, communication and technology for members of the Kisumu Social Rights Association (KISORA) in Kisumu town at Magadi Catholic Social Hall. The objective of the training was to enhance the knowledge and skills of KISORA members on democratic leadership, accountable and transparent governance, basic financial systems, resource mobilization and the effective use of information, communication and technology. .
Participants were called upon to identify some of the immediate leadership, governance and capacity gap issues and come up with suggestions on how to address them. An action plan was developed to address areas of collaboration and networking, internal reporting, membership contributions, accountability and transparency as well as effective use of information, communication and technology in human rights’ advocacy. They plan to use the knowledge gained in this training to improve their internal leadership mechanism and fundraising for the organization.
With the opening up of the budget-making process, Hakijamii’s community partners were some of the first grassroots organizations to take advantage of this new opportunity by presenting their views and concerns to the Parliamentary Committee during public hearings. Indeed, the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network, Muungano wa Wanavijiji, Kasarani Youth Congress, Kutoka Network, and Kisumu Social Rights Association were pioneers in calling for an open budget process. From 2007 they have been engaged in developing a truly People’s Budget based on the clear understanding that the budget is an extremely important tool in the realization of human rights and cannot therefore be left exclusively to technocrats and politicians.
Attached is the budget proposal as presented by KISORA on June 23, 2011: The people’s budget
Leading international human rights organizations and experts have been granted leave to be joined as amici curiae in a landmark economic and social rights petition before the High Court of Kenya in Embu. These are Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Socio-Economic Rights Institute; Community Law Centre; Centre for Economic and Social Rights (Hakijamii); Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation Social Rights Advocacy Centre; and Malcolm Langford Director of the Socio-Economic Rights Programme (Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo).
The case, filed by a community of over 1,000 residents in Garissa, Kenya, seeks to have the government enjoined from evicting petitioners from a piece of land they have been occupying for several years. The case orders that the petitioners be provided with emergency alternative housing, shelter/accommodation, food, clean and safe drinking water, sanitary facilities and health care services; relevant information on the status of adjudication, demarcation, registration and ownership of the land in question; written information exhibiting the decisions and reasons for demolition of homes and structures, the evictions, eviction notices, court orders and/or any other written authority authorizing the demolition of their homes and written information exhibiting any efforts/steps by the Respondents in providing alternative housing and/or shelter for the Petitioners.
On 28th February 2011 all the above orders were granted pending the hearing of the application inter partes. On the 20th of June 2011, the six organizations were granted leave to join as amici in the case. To date they have already filed their submission and are only waiting for the hearing date to be fixed. They are being represented by Odindo Opiata of Hakijamii. The case raises interesting issues of law particularly with respect to the positive orders being sought and the ruling is likely to have far reaching implications for the enforcement of economic and social rights under the country’s new Constitution.
The petitioners (applicants) in this case were evicted and had their homes demolished in December 2010, rendering them homeless without the provision of alternative land or housing. Due process protections – adequate notice, the ability to make representations to challenge the eviction, or the opportunity for meaningful participation in decisions related to the eviction – were not provided. The eviction resulted in households being forced to relocate to areas with no access to free and compulsory basic education for children or to other essential services. Livelihood opportunities were compromised, affecting the rights to food, water and sanitation, and health care.
Kenya has recently concluded a constitutional revision process which has resulted in economic and social rights being explicitly included in the revised Constitution, including: protection of right to property, right to housing and sanitation, right to adequate food of acceptable quality, clean and safe water in adequate quantities. In addition, under international law – the focus of the collective intervention by ESCR-Net members – forced evictions and the attendant violations to the rights to food, water, sanitation, and education are prohibited under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter), both ratified by Kenya.
ESCR-Net member, Economic and Social Rights Centre (HAKIJAMII) in Kenya has taken the lead in representing the victims in this case. Odindo Opiata, Director of Hakijamii, noted “the intervention by some of the leading international organizations on economic and social rights litigation has given a crucial impetus to the implementation of the Bill of Rights under our new Constitution. There is no doubt that the immense knowledge accumulated over many years by the organizations has provided a unique opportunity for the Kenyan judiciary to chart new ground in economic and social rights jurisprudence”.
Save the Children interviewed Hakijamii’s Executive Director, Odindo Opiata, for a pamphlet about the benefits of advocating at the grassroots level and coordinating efforts into coalitions. The interview is recreated in part here:
Q: What are your priorities right now?
A: Our housing rights campaign has been narrowed down to trying to come up with a legal framework to prevent forced evictions . . . The majority of people we’re working with are faced with this immediate threat. Se we felt that, before moving on to more comprehensive issues around their rights to housing, we needed to find a way of preventing the daily threats they were facing.
Q: How do you work with people directly affected by eviction?
A: We’re very clear that we’re collaborating with people who are already struggling for their rights – so we’re not doing it for them or taking over their struggle. We don’t want to present ourselves as ‘rescuers’ of people . . . You need to remember that, in a country like Kenya, oppression doesn’t prepare people to take forward issues in an involving and accountable way. Their only experience is lack of accountability. We don’t shy away from addressing this issue. We don’t say, “This is the sort of leader you need to be.” Instead, we help people to work through and address these issues for themselves.
Q: What are the key attributes of successful campaigning?
A: I would never say that we’re successful! There’s still so much that we have to do. But of all the attributes, old-fashioned human trust and good faith are key. You have to campaign in that way.
As part of the continued commitment to ensure participation in the implementation of the Constitution, especially with regard to the progressive realization of economic and social rights, Hakijamii and its community partners presented written petitions to the Task Force that is reviewing education policies and laws to ensure that they comply with the new Constitution. In their petitions the focus was on the right to free and compulsory education as stipulated under article 53 of the Constitution. The petitions underscored the need to ensure that immediate steps are taken by the Government to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to free and compulsory primary education for all children because the right is immediate and is not subject to the requirement of progressive realization.
The conference was organized by Kios in partnership with East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) for Kios partners in the East African Region. Hakijamii was represented by director of programmes; Mr. Elijah Odhiambo. The conference discussed among other issues, the situation of human rights defender in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia and D.R.Congo.
The conference noted that human rights defenders face challenges as they carry out their work; some of the challenges target their institutions, while others target the human rights defenders themselves.
It is against these challenges that the conference noted that the rights of human rights defenders need to be protected against the aggressors, by taking practical measures, which include training human rights defenders on protection and management of their own security.
The conference discussed the protection and security management mechanism for HRD. This subject discussed a number of steps to undertake to ensure the security of the human rights defenders. The conference resolved that given the importance of the subject, all Kios partners who have not been trained on this subject must be trained.
Sari Naskinen (Kios), Honorary Consul of Finland to Uganda: Mr. Richard Mugera, Ms Elisa Mikkola (Executive Director-Kios) and Elijah Odhiambo (programme director-Hakijamii), pose for a photo after the conference on 5th May 2011
A clip from Good Fortune showing a Soweto Forum meeting on the slum upgrading project.
Soweto Forum can be seen in the award winning documentary Good Fortune. Good Fortune explores how massive, international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit. Through intimate portraits of two Kenyans battling to save their homes from large-scale development organizations, the film presents a unique opportunity to experience foreign aid through the eyes of the people it is intended to benefit.
On the outskirts of Nairobi, Silva’s home and business in Africa’s largest squatter community (Kibera) are being demolished as part of a United Nations slum-upgrading project (KENSUP). In the rural countryside, Jackson’s farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to alleviate poverty by creating a multi-million dollar rice farm (Dominion Farms).
Interweaving meditative portraits of its characters, Good Fortune examines the real-world impact of international aid. With a broad scope and intimate style, the film portrays gripping stories of human perseverance and suggests that the answers for Africa lie in the resilience of its people (movie synopsis taken from http://www.goodfortunefilm.com/).
During the film Silva (one of the two main characters) visits Soweto Forum, a community partner of Hakijamii, that fights for the rights of residents of Kibera.
If you have Netflix click here to watch Good Fortune instantly.
In its continued efforts to strengthen the capacity of community-based groups to effectively advocate for their housing rights and evoke response from Government institutions, Hakijamii supported Ngazi ya Chini in developing a cogent counter proposal to the Kenya Railways Relocation Plan. The Relocation process is partially being supported by the World Bank and must therefore strictly comply with the Bank’s own guidelines on involuntary resettlement. It should also be noted that with the new Constitution in Kenya, forced evictions are no longer permissible without following strict human rights procedures. The counter proposal is a clear demonstration of the ability of the people to be actively involved in decision-making and will go a long way in bolstering the negotiating position of the affected persons.
The waste from Dandora Dumpsite has led to poor sanitation for the people residing in Dandora settlement (slum)
A visit to the Dandora dump site in Nairobi, one of Africa’s largest waste dumps, reveals the unsanitary conditions to which the poor living next to the dump are exposed. Dandora, located in a low-income residential area about eight kilometers (five miles) east of Nairobi center, is the main dumping site for most of the solid waste generated by the people living in Nairobi. Health experts have warned residents of the hazards of working in and living near the dump site. For years now, the community, Civil Society Organizations, and Faith Based Organizations have asked the Government to do something about it. Dumping at the site is unrestricted leaving industrial, agricultural, domestic and medical wastes (including used syringes) scattered all over the site. Plastics, rubber, lead paint treated wood, and poisonous chemicals are just some of the hazardous items on the dumpsite.
The Nairobi River is located right next to the dump and some of the waste makes its way into the water, which carries these environmental and health hazards to communities near the dump. Downstream people use the water to irrigate food products which end up making their way to the dinner table. Every day, scores of people, including children, from the nearby slums and low-income residential areas use the dump to find food, recyclables and other valuables they can sell as a source of income. As they pick over the garbage, they are inhaling the noxious fumes from routine waste burning and methane fires. As a result people, including children, living nearby have been suffering from respiratory diseases caused by the burning of trash in the dump.
There has been a lot of talk about cleaning up the dump site, but when you visit you can see that the talk hasn’t led to any significant action. Is anyone doing anything?
A group at a education meeting in Starehe constituency (district).
Hakijamii is currently facilitating meetings in all 8 of Nairobi’s constituencies (districts) to discuss, create awareness, and recruite members to advocate for the right to education in the people’s settlements (slums). Education conveners are chairing the meetings and are planning a national public rally for the 30th of September, 2010 to provide a platform from which communities from the people’s settlements can voice out education issues that they feel are being under addressed by the Government.
Mombasa, the second largest city in Kenya, has some of the most vibrant grassroots and civil society groups in the country. Like most major urban areas the city faces very serious problems especially when it comes to the provision of housing and other basic services. A majority of the residents live in informal settlements including Muoroto, Tudor, Kibarani, Bangladesh and Owino Uhuru among others. When Hakijamii started working in Mombasa in 2007 it became clear that most of the grassroots groups were not working together.
Kibarani Settlement, Mombasa, Kenya
Fortunately most of them had strong desire to find a common platform on which they could galvanize their energies. The arrival of Father Gabriel Dolan in the village of Bangladesh provided a decisive impetus to the process. Within a short period he created a grassroots group called Haki Yetu (Our Rights). Working closely with Haki Yetu and the other grassroots groups in Mombasa, a strong grassroots network composed of twenty community based organizations, has been formed and has achieved success in a number of cases. These include: resisting attempts to forcibly evict residents of Bangladesh by Kenya Railways in 2009, mobilizing against environmental degradation by a battery-making company in Changamwe.
One the most visible successes by the group came on 10th December, 2009 when they organized a human rights day celebration calling for the implementation of the National Land Policy. It was attended by many including professor Yash Pal Ghai a distinguished international and constitutional scholar and former chairperson of the Constitutional of Kenya Review Commission.
As matters stand now, the future looks very promising for sustained people-led advocacy in the coastal town of Kenya.
On 12th August 2010, the civil society under the leadership of Hakijamii, Ufadhili Trust, Shelter Forum and others, organized a consultative meeting that brought together all stakeholders (Communities, NGOs, Private sector, Faith based organizations and Government representatives).
The meeting was successful and resolved that there is a need to work together for sustainable development in Kibera.
Click here to see the May 15, 2010 draft of the Relocation Action Plan
There is a meeting organized by Hakijamii and Haki Yetu in Mombasa on August 20, 2010 to discuss joint strategies for the implementation of the new constitution.
The village of Owinohuru, located in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya faces so many challenges that their community organization, the Owinohuru Self-Help Group, is struggling to fight all its battles.
Haki Yetu- “our rights”- is Hakijamii’s main partner organization in Mombasa. Haki Yetu works with community groups in and around the city. John Paul Obonyo is the organization’s Program Officer, and he took us to Owinohuru and provided some history of the village’s issues.
John Paul Obonyo, Program Officer for Haki Yetu, Hakijamii's main partner in Mombasa.
First is the all too common threat of eviction. I have touched on the problem of forced evictions in Kenya (see The Ladder That Runs Down, Eviction Task Force) due to poor land and housing policies. In the 1950s, an Indian family owned the land in Owinohuru. People gradually moved in and set up houses, businesses, churches, and schools. The landowner left, leaving a houseboy to take care of the property. The people of Owinohuru lived there peacefully for 40 or more years. Just recently the landowner (or a relative of, this was unclear when we asked) has spontaneously demanded the land back- likely in order to develop the area- which would force the entire community to leave their homes and livelihoods.
The land case has recently gone to court, and was postponed until September of this year. Though the landowner has papers claiming to have paid KSH 58 million (725,000 USD) for the land, he has not yet produced a title for it. The community hopes that the newly passed constitution, which involves barring non-citizens from absolute ownership of land and power to reclaim grabbed public land, will work in its favor come the next court date. This threat of eviction has consumed the community’s efforts and resources for the time being.
The battery factory, owned by EPZ Metal Refinery Ltd, lies at the entrance of Owinohuru and operates at night so as not to draw attention.
An even more disturbing concern threatens the community’s health: in 2007, a battery recycling factory was installed in the village, producing toxic smoke so thick that community members could hardly breathe when it was operating. Shortly thereafter, people began getting sick, complaining of incessant coughing, difficulty breathing, high fevers, etc. Children were hit the worst and began having trouble learning in school. It was found that several of the children had high levels of lead in their blood.
After outcry from the community, the factory was shut down for a short time, but has since re-opened- operating, shadily, at night. The factory owners refuse to even have a discussion with the community members, doing everything they can to keep it operating.
Because this issue is so heartrending, I have made a video that explains the story through interviews with community members much better than I could ever put in words. Please watch it, and show it to as many people as you can. It seems that the only way for Owinohuru to remove the factory is to bring enough negative attention to the factory that it is forced to shut down completely.
Kibarani People’s Settlement (slum, informal settlement) is located in Mombasa along the railway to Uganda. The residents of Kibarani live in mud brick houses with no running water or electricity. Life is difficult, but residents like the inexpensive location with a beautiful view of the ocean, fertile soil to plant small gardens, and a bus stop nearby so they can easily travel to wherever they need to go.
View of Kibarani with the container depot in the background. Owners of the depot want to expand into Kibarani. To do this the homes seen above will be demolished and the people residing there will need to relocate.
Kibarani was once the main garbage dump for Mombasa attracting many poor families to come settle and earn a living collecting and recycling trash (plastic, cardboard, metal). Around 8 years ago the city landfill was relocated to Mwakirunge and parts of Kibarani’s dump were cleaned up making unusable land usable again. With this newly available land business men saw an opportunity to invest putting up truck yards and container depots. The poor families that moved to and built homes in Kibarani are now being threatened with eviction by these private developers.
Recently, a truck transport company located next to Kibarani has talked with the local government about buying a plot of land, within Kibarani, to expand their container depot. To do this they must evict the residents that currently reside there. The company hired a firm to get the residents of the plot to agree to move for a small sum of money. The company wrote an agreement to pay residents to leave and got 100 people to sign it. On the 14th of July, 2010 there was a notice that the plot had been sold and anyone residing there needed to vacate the land within 14 days.
The local CBO (community based organization) Village Development Committee went to Haki Yetu (a partner of Hakijamii in Mombasa) to ask for help to stop the evictions. Haki Yetu helped them to identify and make a list of everyone that lived within the plot. After completing the list they found that only 45 of the 100 people that signed the agreement were actually living in the plot. With this and other information Haki Yetu and the Village Development committee has brought the case to court.
Dan Okongo of the Village Development Committee speaks to us about the pending evictions.
Though there has not been a final decision made on the case residents of Kibarani say that people still come (sometimes at night) to try and evict them. Dan Okongo ,a business man that has lived on the plot for 20 years, told us that most people living in the settlement are opposed to any relocation. “We don’t want to move. We have houses, businesses, a school, and a church on this plot of land.”
This isn’t the only case of evictions happening in Mombasa or even in Kibarani. In 2006, Kenya Railways evicted residents of Kibarani. They were never given a reason for the eviction and the land has stood idle ever since. After the eviction, the residents set up camp at the government office that gave the go ahead to evict; refusing to leave until they were given a place to relocate. Eventually, they were allowed to rebuild on a riparian zone prone to flooding.
The riparian zone where the people evicted by Kenya Railways rebuilt their homes.
In Owinohuru Settlement descendants of former occupants of the land have come back, decades after their family had lived there, claiming they still own the land. They want to sell the land to private developers. (See Advocacy Project Fellow Christy Gillmore’s Blog to learn more)
If the communities don’t take action on their own they will continue to be exploited. Groups like Haki Yetu work to empower the people being directly affected so that they can claim their rights. With assistance from groups like Haki Yetu residents of these communities are learning how to stop private developers from taking the land they have called home for years.
In its continued commitment to work with and support emerging popular democratic grassroot organizations throughout the country, Hakijamii supported seven representatives from Muungano wa Wanavijiji, Kutoka Network, Nairobi Peoples Settlement Network, Soweto Peoples’ Settlement Forum, Ngazi Ya Chini and Miss. Koch (all based in Nairobi) for an exchange visit to Garissa. Garissa is one of the new areas where Hakijamii has identified as requiring urgent attention because of the historical marginalization that people from that area have been subjected to not only by successive governments but even civil society organizations. Because of its close geographic proximity to the Coast Province it was felt that it would make sense to bring together groups from both Garissa and Tana River. Following an initial training session, it was decided that an exchange visit be organized to allow Nairobi groups to share experiences with their counterparts in Garissa.
The exchange visit took place on the 17th July 2010. The main objectives were:
1.To bring together community groups from Garissa, Tana River and Nairobi to share experiences and information regarding successes and challenges in their daily struggles.
2.To provide community groups from Garissa, Tana and Nairobi to discuss and share aspects of group governance with each other
3.Provide a platform for community groups from Garissa and Tana River to find ways of forming a network.
4.To identify common areas for future joint advocacy actions and campaigns.
At the end of the meeting that was attended by representatives of groups from Garissa and Tana River, a network was formed. An interim office was also inaugurated with Abdi Ali Abdi being elected the interim Chairman. The meeting was held at Madogo.
The network identified the following as its key objectives:
•To provide for platform for solidarity among different community groups
•To foster unity and networking among community groups and other non governmental agencies
•To coordinate development activities related within their communities.
•To mobilize resources so as to advance the group’s objectives
•To represent group members and community at large in local government and national government processes.
•To provide emergency responses to disasters, catastrophe or any humanitarian crisis.
•To raise the level of human rights awareness and engage in lobbying and advocacy.
This event is an important milestone in the quest for the establishment of a real national movement for human rights.
Since 2007, Nairobi People’s Settlement Network (NPSN), in collaboration with other community groups,* has been holding an annual forum led by residents of the people’s settlements (slums) to prioritize the people’s needs and make recommendations to the Kenyan government on how to allocate the national budget. According to the People’s Budget, “[t]he primary responsibility of the government is to respect, protect, promote and fulfill all human rights of its citizens. To achieve this… the government must [enact] appropriate laws and policies as well as provide money and resources to address the basic needs of its citizens.”
A government’s commitment to fulfill basic human rights is determined by how it allocates its resources (national budget). It does not matter how just a constitution or laws are if the government does not provide the resources needed to put these laws into practice. Every government disperses resources through its annual budget and through this budget it becomes clear whom and what are valued by the government. Therefore, it is the belief of residents of the people’s settlements that the budget is a highly effective tool in improving their standard of living and claiming their rights.
See the following video to learn more about the People’s Budget:
Before the People’s Budget, most residents of the settlements had no platform to make their priorities heard by the government. The government would create the annual national budget with little input from the common Kenyan; projects that residents of the settlements found most essential to improving their quality of life were rarely funded. Nairobi People’s Settlement Network decided it was time for the people of the settlements to become more involved in the budgeting process and stop waiting for the government to solve their problems for them.
With the help of Hakijamii, residents of the settlements in Nairobi (and recently Kisumu) hold meetings to outline where the greatest need for government assistance lies within education, land and housing, food security, environment, economic and social empowerment, water and sanitation, health, and safety and security sectors. For the national budget to be properly utilized all citizens of the country, not just government officials, should play an active role in budget formulation. With input from the settlements the government can make a more informed decision on what, where and how money from the national budget should be spent.
Meetings have already begun in preparation for the next People’s Budget forum, scheduled for May of 2011. It is a long and arduous process, but it is worth all the time and effort. With the People’s Budget the residents of the settlements are one step closer to living a life with dignity.
We visited the Soweto Community People’s Settlement Forum, a network focused in the Kibera people’s settlement. They have weekly meetings where they learn about different topics, such as what is in the proposed Kenyan Constitution (to be voted on August 4th and the source of much controversy) and gender-based violence. The groups who comprise the Soweto Forum (24 groups, 500 families) do various activities, such as bead-making and urban gardening (see pictures below).
Women from Soweto Forum showing beads that they make and sell
Women from Soweto Forum showing their urban gardening technique, where plants grow out of the side of the rice sacks to save space.
The Forum’s main objective, however, is to make sure that community members are involved in the slum upgrading project that has been discussed by the Kenyan government and UN-HABITAT for a long time now. Initially, there was a settlement executive committee (SEC) established to represent the people of Soweto in this slum upgrading project, to act as the link between the government and the people. However, community members thought the SEC did not provide adequate communication between the government and the community, nor did it represent the people’s needs as they would have liked. To address these problems and empower people in the community to have a voice, Soweto Forum was established in 2004.
To people living in Soweto, “this [slum upgrading] project is a mirage” (John Mwihia Karanja, Soweto Forum chairman). They have been promised new houses for years now. Some people were in fact moved out of Soweto into a “decanting,” or temporary housing, site in Lang’ata, away from their community and what they knew. They were told they would shortly be moved into new houses and land, better than what they had before. These new houses were built, but were given to people from other communities for reasons the Soweto community was never informed about. Those who had been moved from Soweto were left in the decanting sites.
My understanding of these politics is very limited, and what I’ve said here is incredibly simplistic. All I can gather is that ethnicity and money play a disproportionate role in who gets what. Groups like Soweto Forum have a lot to overcome, but one must admire their courage for standing up and claiming their rights.
A short clip of John Mwihia Karanja showing the conditions in Soweto, Kibera:
I continue to be amazed at the efforts by community groups happening around me. Last week we attended a meeting with groups from the people’s settlements and the Civil Society (i.e. NGO) Housing Coalition. The purpose of the meeting: to mobilize community groups to develop a cohesive and pro-active response to evictions- a rapid response mechanism. Though there is an NGO housing coalition, community members often don’t know where to go or which group to contact when an eviction emergency occurs.
Group discussion at Housing Coalition meeting
Louis and I introduced the notorious railway evictions in Kenya. We knew little about other evictions that frequently take place in the people’s settlements. Land rights are a huge issue here; it is difficult to know who owns what land and often deals are made to purchase land where people reside- mostly, the people’s settlements.
In short, there is government-owned or unclaimed land where people settle. They live there for awhile in peace. They build houses and establish businesses, churches, schools, and clinics. Then a developer wants to build on that land. He talks to a few government employees, pays a little money and it is agreed that the settlers will be asked to leave their homes. This is often done at night to avoid riots. Police can come with teargas and guns to intimidate people. Since residents feel there is nothing they can do, many leave without a struggle, unaware that they are entitled to certain rights. Sometimes, though, they refuse to go. If the residents put up a fight, it is common for the developers to find someone willing to make a buck (probably not even that much) to burn their houses, leaving them with nothing. (For more details on this subject, read Amnesty International’s report from 2009)
The remains of a burned house in Kibera. This resident has spoken out against forced evictions and was likely targeted because of this.
Now community groups are coming together to try and prevent unfair evictions like these. They know that they deserve a fair resettlement process, that the conditions that force them to live as they do need to be changed. They are working together to create awareness, analyze which settlements are likely to be affected, and lobby and work with the government to create and enforce proper eviction and resettlement guidelines.
Whose idea was this “eviction task force”? Who thought to bring together community groups to develop a strategy to work against unfair and forceful evictions? “Oh, that was Opiata [Director of Hakijamii],” says Marcy, the Community Development officer at Hakijamii.
As the days go by and I talk to more people, attend more meetings, and do more research, it is clear that Hakijamii has had its hand in an incredible amount of pro-poor, pro-community, pro-human rights work. One amazing event that Hakijamii and the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network were on the front lines for (that organization members mentioned in passing, as if this was some small feat): the 2007 World Social Forum in Nairobi. For those unfamiliar, the World Social Forum is THE event for groups to come together to coordinate world campaigns, share and refine organizing strategies, and inform each other about movements from around the world and their issues; it is an alternative to the World Economic Forum, which revolves around capitalist, neoliberal ideas. It’s a space for those trying to create a more just, fair, and democratic world who don’t necessarily believe economics will solve the world’s problems.
Garissa is the closest city to the Somalia in Kenya with a large Somali population, as well as a number of minority groups. According to Odindo Opiata, the Director of Hakijamii, the people living in this area are extremely marginalized, with few NGOs even working there. Much of the 10 percent of the country’s Muslim population lives in northeast Kenya.
Life here is worlds away from life in Nairobi. Dry, desert land is home to many pastoralists, camels roaming at every turn. The little agriculture that occurs must be done around the Tana River in Garissa. The small villages around Garissa town are spread out; houses are made of mud, many without electricity or running water.
This farm in the Wailwana community is located next to the Tana River. The river provides the necessary water to grow the crops but the farmers risk their crops being flooded.
A village in Wailwana, Garissa
Hakijamii is has just begun working with the community groups in this area, encouraging them to mobilize the same way as the Nairobi People’s Settlement Network in order to more effectively gain the government’s attention and claim their rights.
Though there are a number of community-based organizations (CBOs) in this area, we were able to meet with one, Nigateni, which was started by the Wailwana community (pop about 8,000). Nigateni, meaning “to speak” in the local language, was started when the community realized how far behind they were in development. “We have been left behind,” stated Ramadhan Divayu Babisami, the recently elected leader, or “king” as the community calls him.
Ramadhan Divayu Babisami, the elected "king" of the Wailwana community
During the few short hours we met with members of Nigateni, visiting their homes and watching traditional song and dance, the numerous problems they face became clear. In Kenya, the literacy rate is around 78%, though the locals in Wailwana estimated that their literacy rate was between 10 and 20%. Only one man from Wailwana had made it through university, ever. They recently sent the first woman from Wailwana to university, using pulled funds from members of Nigateni to pay for the school fees. Why is the literacy rate so low here? Once you make it past the 8th grade, school fees skyrocket and most of the Wailwana community lives in poverty, subsisting on agriculture.
Additionally, one of the villages we visited in Wailwana is located right next to the Tana River. Villagers used to live along the river to have a water source nearby. From time to time, the river would flood and destroy crops and homes. The construction of dams for electricity proliferated in the 1980s, which exacerbated the flooding problem. Dam operators will open the flood gates as the water level rises, offering two days notice for farmers to pick up and move, leaving their crops and homes to be destroyed. The government has started relocating people due to the flooding, but so far has placed them on barren land in small mud houses with no electricity. At one of the relocation sites we saw, Sama Sama, residents were forced to walk 6 km or more each way to their crops and had no nearby water source.
Members of Nigateni are realizing they deserve basic human rights and are working to change their situation. The Wailwana community no longer wants to be “left behind” in terms of living conditions and access to basic services. Hakijamii hopes to bring the CBOs of the Garissa area, such as Nigateni, together so that they can create a strong network that will be heard across the country.
Halima, who serves on the Board of Directors for Nigateni, speaks of the the challenges that women face and what her hopes are for the community:
In 2003, the Kenyan government introduced Free Primary Education (FPE) for all. Since its inception, the number of students attending primary schools has significantly increased. Statistical indicators show that the FPE initiative has brought some positive changes, but it is still beyond the reach of many Kenyan families to get a child through primary school.
The FPE program provides children with staffed public schools to attend as well as learning materials. However, it does not supply them with a uniform, food, or transport to school. These costs are to be paid by the student’s parents, many of whom live in the people’s settlements (slums) and make less than a dollar per day. Therefore, they cannot afford to send them to public school.
Olympic Primary is a public school in Kibera.
Though the Kenyan government has increased funding to the education sector (to 17% of the national budget), it is beyond the scope of the budget to provide free primary education to all. Many international donors were assisting the government in supporting the initiative, but in 2009 an audit revealed that 1 million USD in grant money was missing and 26 million USD had been diverted from the education fund. Due to this incident, many international agencies (World Bank, Canada, UK and USAID) have suspended funding.
Although free primary education has provided children from the poorer areas of society with hope, it has also created significant problems. Rapid expansion of enrollment has drastically increased the student to teacher ratio, causing the quality of education to suffer. Statistics have shown that although there is an increase in the number of students taking the exam to get their Certificate of Primary Education the percentage of students that pass the exam has decreased.
As a result of the poor quality of education the number of private schools in Kenya is almost 10 times greater than before the FPE initiative started. Many people who would normally send their children to public schools have been forced towards private schools because of overcrowding. Private schools in Kenya are no longer just for the rich. There are now private schools catering toward people of all social and economic backgrounds.
Informal School in Kibera
In the people’s settlements many families send their children to private informal schools funded by NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). These informal schools provide children who cannot afford to buy uniforms or pay for transport to a public school a place to learn. Most of these informal schools don’t have electricity, running water, or sanitary bathrooms, but at least the children are given a chance to learn.
To improve education in the people’s settlements of Nairobi, NPSN (Nairobi People’s Settlement Network), with the help of Hakijamii, has brought together educational groups from each of the 8 constituencies (districts). These groups come together to discuss ways to provide a better education for their children.
In June 2010 NPSN held Education Accountability meetings in each of the 8 constituencies, where members of the communities, teachers, and government officials came together to discuss the state of education in the settlements. Government officials explained the application process for funds allocated for poor and disadvantaged youth. After, members of the community asked questions directly to the officials and made suggestions for improvement of the process. With these sessions community members hope that the government will listen and utilize their suggestions. A member of NPSN said that before the network was formed it was impossible for the community to have a conversation with a government official. Now that they have unified government officials will take the time to come and listen to their ideas.
Starehe District Education Officer Mr. J. Muchiri Ndung'u. One of the government officials attending the Education Accountability Meeting.
The problems with FPE in Kenya are many, but the initiative is a step in the right direction. There needs to be an unbiased private firm doing the monitoring and evaluations to combat corruption and ensure that allocated funds go to free primary education. The government also needs to maintain a dialogue with groups at the grassroots level to better be able to meet the needs of the common Kenyan. If they manage to do these things I am hopeful that someday there will be free primary education for all.
In 2004, Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) sent out a notice of eviction to railway dwellers in Kibera and Mukuru people’s settlements. The communities reacted, bringing their objections to the evictions to court. The World Bank, upon hearing about the case, suspended funding to the KRC. In order for KRC to continue to receive funds they would need to follow the World Bank’s guidelines for resettling Project Affected Persons (PAPs). This action put a stop to evictions without relocation or compensation.
See the video below to learn more about Ngazi Ya Chini and the newest Relocation Action Plan:
To follow the guidelines KRC hired Pamoja Trust to act as human rights consultants. Pamoja Trust was responsible for creating a Relocation Action Plan (RAP), a report that seeks to ensure proper resettlement guidelines are enforced during the railroad expansion process. The consultants began by using community groups to count the number of residential houses, businesses, and institutions that would be affected by the project. They then spoke with the communities to determine what the railway dwellers considered fair compensation for their relocation. Using this information, Pamoja Trust developed the 2005 RAP.
After examining the RAP railway dwellers realized that parts of it did not reflect what they had told Pamoja Trust, spurring them to form Ngazi Ya Chini. With the help of Odindo Opiata (Then of Kituo Cha Sheria and now Director of Hakijamii), they wrote a counter proposal that was sent to the World Bank, highlighting problematic areas.
Homes and Businesses Along the Railway
Along with the counter proposal, other events caused delays in the RAP’s implementation. In 2006, the railway operation formerly run by KRC was contracted out to Rift Valley Railways (RVR), a private company. Then in 2007 the post election violence, centered mainly in the slums, uprooted parts of the railway. Most notable was a train derailment that caused 10 fatalities beyond the 5.2 meter safety zone initially proposed in the 2005 RAP.
In 2010, RVR contracted Pamoja Trust to produce another RAP. This time a 30 meter safety zone was proposed on both sides of the track. They told members of Ngazi Ya Chini that the reason for the larger safety zone was to improve operational speed, provide area to expand from one to three railway lines, and to protect railway dwellers from another derailment. According to the new enumerations done by Pamoja Trust, there are 5071 homes, 3836 businesses, and 262 institutions (including churches, medical clinics, and 49 informal schools) within this 60 meter zone.
Pamoja Trust submitted a draft of the new RAP on May 15, 2010. In it they propose that, in Kibera, parameter walls be built 23 to 25 meters from the center line of the track. With the remaining 5 to 7 meters (of the 30 meter total) they plan to create a paved 3 meter wide footpath that runs parallel to the perimeter walls and a 3-story building to house the displaced residents of Kibera and their businesses. Schools, churches, and clinics will not be relocated. The RAP gives the following options for students attending schools that will be demolished:
“Some of the public schools may be able to accommodate additional pupils within some of the classes… within the public schools additional [classrooms] can be constructed to accommodate more pupils…However, both solutions will call for additional teaching staff…and that may take some time to actualize.”
Students of an informal school within the proposed saftey zone
In Mukuru, part of the railway reserve is shared by Kenya Pipeline Company and Kenya Power and Lighting Company so it is not possible to build a three-story structure next to the perimeter walls as is proposed in Kibera. Instead, the RAP suggests purchasing land somewhere in Nairobi and providing the necessary infrastructure (water, storm drains, and roads) so that the displaced people can build their own housing units. The security of tenure granted to the displaced would be 45 years.
On the 16th through the 18th of June, 2010, Ngazi Ya Chini held meetings with the PAPs of Kibera and Mukuru. They analyzed the new RAP and discussed problematic areas, such as mistakes in the enumerations and too little area for resettlement. The residents of Kibera agreed that it was impossible to fit all of the people, businesses, and a 3-meter wide path into the 5 to 7 meter wide areas the proposal allotted for. Mukuru residents were concerned that there was not a specific relocation site written in the RAP and that they would only be given 45 years of tenure over this unknown site. One member stated, “Why would I build a house if it’s only secure for 45 years?”
Mr. Joseph Mwaniki of Kianda Segment of Ngazi Ya Chini noting mistakes in the enumerations
With help from Hakijamii, Ngazi Ya Chini will submit a counter proposal using input from these community meetings to ensure that the concerns of the PAPs will be heard.
After submitting the counter proposal Ngazi Ya Chini can only hope that the World Bank, RVR, and Pamoja Trust will modify the RAP to address the needs of those people most directly affected.
Click here to see the May 15, 2010 draft of the Relocation Action Plan
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