Over the last few months, the police have been harassing and illegally detaining young environment defenders in Mathare.
They have also been sanctioning the destruction of our people’s parks and green livelihoods.
We condemn these actions in our strongest voices, and have written a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, to put a stop to this criminalization of young people who are involved in ecological work in Mathare.
This petition can be downloaded through this link:
To learn more about the ecological work of youth groups in Mathare, you can watch this short video produced by the Ecological Justice Network, Mathare.
Last week, I had the chance to sit with the Dhobi Women Network/Domestic Workers Network Mathare, as they had a meeting for their table banking practices. This was the Tujikomboe Group; tujikomboe means liberating ourselves.
The group is composed of women who are domestic workers from Mathare but work in Eastleigh. Because of their work, the first point of convergence for these women was not the table banking, but they came together to form a support group in the face of the different violations and exploitation they were undergoing in their work environment, such as rape, assault and not being compensated after work. There are also many cases of their colleagues being killed in the work space.
This Network mobilizes domestic workers to offer each other solidarity. When they are together, they take collective action, advocate for fair labor practices, equitable wages and dignified working conditions. They also educate each other about their rights, so as to enhance their protection from exploitation in their work places.
Dhobi women, like most women in low income areas, also face numerous challenges. For example, they have limited access to formal financial systems and also face gender-based inequalities that restrict their economic independence. Because working as a casual labourer or a domestic worker means engaging in low-wage, unstable and informal employment, these women are often excluded from formal banking services due to a lack of formal identity documents, their irregular income, and other barriers. However, the Network has come up with an innovative solution to their financial struggles: this is a local version of table banking. This practice of community-based savings and lending has proven to be a lifeline, providing economic empowerment and stability to women domestic workers living in Mathare. From a revolving fund of as low as 3500 KES, the Network has been able to grow their savings to 51,000 KES, and have the goals of saving half a million by the end of the year, and buying a washing machine for their collective projects.
How The Network’s Table Banking Works
Table banking is a financial model where a group of people come together to save small amounts of money regularly, and then provide loans to each other at affordable interest rates. The practice is often organized informally within communities, and no formal banking institution is involved. Members of the group contribute whatever amounts they have as shares or savings, and also a booster amount of their liking, and then they are allowed to borrow from the pooled funds, which in this case is called the revolving fund, with the understanding that they will repay the loan within a set period and usually with a very low interest rate compared to formal financial institutions. If the period lapses and you don’t have the whole amount, you can just pay the interest fee and retain the loan, which you will then pay with light interest at the end of the month. Without a doubt, this gives woman domestic workers some level of financial dignity.
The most outstanding thing about the Dhobi Women’s Network is that they not only use this platform to meet their financial needs, but also use it to advance their agenda as domestic workers; it is a support group as well as a site to educate each other.
The savings accumulated through this process can serve as a safety net for emergencies, such as medical expenses or sudden family crises. Additionally, the ability to borrow at low interest rates enables women to invest in income-generating activities, whether it’s starting a small business, buying tools for their park and their work, or paying school fees. Table banking is then a tool for financial independence, since women are able to break the cycle of poverty and increase their economic self-sufficiency
Enhancing Social Justice Through Table Banking
The Network’s table banking has fostered a strong sense of community. For women who often face isolation and marginalization, groups like the Network provide a space for solidarity, collaboration, and mutual support. The relationships built through these groups allows for the sharing of knowledge, shared emotional support, and empowerment of each other both personally and professionally.
Across Mathare, the table banking groups often hold regular meetings that act as platforms for discussing issues affecting them and the larger community. These meetings give women a voice in decision-making processes, both within the group and in their wider community. This sense of agency is crucial for challenging the social norms and barriers that often restrict women, and gives the women back their dignity.
Sadia Bulle or Stellah Omuka, who are domestic workers in the Network, do not need a ton of documentation, credit history or a steady income to access a loan. Since the groups are based on trust, members are not required to provide formal identification or meet rigid financial criteria, as Tina Mfanga puts in her book, Wamachinga Na Haki Jiji Nchini Tanzania, where she speaks about the foundations that characterize cooperative movements
Overcoming NGOization through Socio-Economic Activities
In the Breaking the Silence on NGOs in Africa, a reflection by the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network, I reflect on how NGOs reduce grassroots community organizers, such as myself, to data collectors and mobilizers in their community for stipends at the end of the month. This then alienates these workers from the masses and the real work of organizing their community from the oppressive forms that are creating the different issues that they are documenting. It also creates a situation where community members have to be paid stipends to attend community meetings.
Instead, the table banking method provides an alternative way of organizing and community self-funding. Women meet, do their contributions, take loans, then also discuss their issues as a Network or within their community.
Conclusion
Table banking is becoming an invaluable tool in community empowerment, and more so for women participants. It provides them with access to savings, credit, and a supportive social network that helps them overcome economic hardships and build a better future. Although challenges exist, the benefits of table banking in promoting financial independence, community solidarity, and social economic empowerment cannot be overstated. As a grassroots social economic activity, it is a critical step towards reducing poverty and promoting dignified living in the informal economy. By continuing to support and expand such initiatives, we can ensure that more community organizers will have the independence to become their own agency, slowly by slowly in their own communities.
By Njeri Mwangi (Membership and Campaigns Coordinator at MSJC and member of the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network)
Statement of Solidarity With Our MST Comrades in Defense of Dignity and Social Justice
Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) unequivocally condemns the violent murders and systemic oppression targeting the Landless Workers’ Movement — the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) in Brazil.
On 10 January, the Olga Benário occupation in Tremembé, São Paulo, was attacked by armed men, who entered the occupation in cars and motorcycles.
They shot indiscriminately at residents, leaving two people dead and six people injured, and among these victims are children and elderly people.
The comrades who have fallen in the struggle are Valdir Nascimento and Gleison Barbosa.
Valdir Nascimento, known as “Valdirzão,” was a prominent figure in the struggle for agroecology and a staunch defender of occupied land. A committed member of MST since 1993, he dedicated his life to fighting illegal land sales and strengthening the peasant movement in the Paraíba Valley.
Gleison Barbosa, known as “Guegue,” was the son of a family living on the occupation. Although he lived in São Paulo, his dedication to the occupation led him to actively contribute to community efforts.
Denis Carvalho remains in an ICU ward after undergoing surgery to remove shrapnel from his head. His condition is critical.
These violent murders and abductions of people who fight for their freedom from oppression and exploitation all over the world, are a resounding rallying call for the working and struggling masses to unite, rise and defend their livelihoods and social justice. The struggle for dignity and social justice transcends borders.
As the Kenyan people continue to fight against the neo-colonial state, land is at the heart of our struggle. We declare our full and unwavering solidarity with the MST and the working people of Brazil. The MST continues to inspire millions by organizing the landless to occupy and defend their land. Their courageous resistance embodies the enduring spirit of hope and collective action in the face of imperialism.
The land belongs to those who work it, and its occupation is a testament to the resilience and determination of the oppressed to defend their dignity and build a just society.
In solidarity, Gacheke Gachihi Coordinator, MSJC. ggacheke@gmail.com ¬+254720318049
The Dhobi Women Network, in partnership with the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), convened a pivotal dialogue focusing on the rights and persistent struggles of domestic workers. This event, under the theme “Domestic Work is Work,“ brought together community stakeholders, advocates, and domestic workers to address critical issues within the domestic labor sector. This event took place on October 31, 2024.
The dialogue also marked the official launch of the Dhobi Women Network, a movement dedicated to advancing the rights, dignity, and social well-being of domestic workers in Mathare, Eastleigh, and other informal settlements.
The Dhobi Women Network.
The Dhobi Women Network is a grassroots initiative that seeks to unify domestic workers by providing a platform for solidarity, advocacy, and community-driven action. Founded by women who have lived experience of the challenges of domestic work, the Network operates as a space where domestic workers can connect, share experiences, and collectively address workplace injustices.
The Network works to:
Educate domestic workers about their rights and responsibilities to protect them from exploitation
Advocate for fair labor practices, equitable wages, and dignified working conditions
Mobilize domestic workers to take collective action, including unionization and the development of support systems
Collaborate with other organizations and campaigns to offer legal aid, training, and access to resources
By centering the lived experiences of domestic workers and partnering with stakeholders who champion social justice, the Dhobi Women Network is building a movement that aspires to transform the informal domestic labor sector.
Continuing the Fight for Justice: A Movement’s Launch
The Dhobi Women Network was introduced as a beacon of hope for domestic workers facing entrenched exploitation, unfair wages, and power imbalances. Rooted in the principles of social justice and human rights, the movement seeks to dismantle the systemic barriers that devalue domestic work and create enduring solutions for workers in the most vulnerable sectors.
The launch on October 31 symbolized an unwavering commitment to amplifying the voices of domestic workers, advocating for their rights, and fostering a community of solidarity amid growing economic pressures and workplace injustices.
Unpacking the Struggles of Domestic Workers
During the launch, Balkisa, from Save a Girl Save a Generation, underscored the importance of educating women about their rights and equipping them with practical skills to combat workplace injustices. She reiterated that education and collective power is essential to ensuring domestic workers achieve dignity and fairness in their roles. Save a Girl Save a Generation is an organization that works with the Dhobi Women Network to protect women who face cases of gender-based violence, and they also have a campaign against forced female circumcision.
TheLived Realities of Domestic Workers
The dialogue featured moving testimonies from domestic workers, like Mama Osodo and Mama Wambui, who shared their experiences with unpaid wages, workplace violence, false accusations, and pervasive employer-employee power imbalances. These stories shed light on the structural injustices faced by many workers and reinforced the urgency of building collective action to transform their conditions.
The women have also adopted table banking as a practice to save the little resources they make from their work. Table banking, as a model of social entrepreneurship, has helped foster a sense of financial independence and discipline; it has also provided an accessible and informal platform to save and address urgent and everyday financial needs.
Collaborative Support from Advocacy Groups
Organizations like HESAID and Maisha Safe Girls reaffirmed their commitment to supporting domestic workers. By providing safe spaces and resources for those facing exploitation, these groups align with the Dhobi Women Network’s mission to create an inclusive and resilient support network.
Unionization as a Tool for Rights Advocacy
The dialogue highlighted the critical role of unionization in advancing workers’ rights. Javan Owala, speaking on behalf of the Kamukunji Member of Parliament, emphasized the need for collective organizing to strengthen legal protections for domestic workers. Unionization was framed as a necessary strategy to address the persistent invisibility of domestic workers in formal labor systems.
Legal Empowerment for Domestic Workers
MSJC’s Legal Empowerment Network provided valuable insights into workers’ legal rights and the tools available to them. Key discussions on these topics included the importance of formal contracts or agreements, adherence to minimum wage standards, and creating equitable working conditions.
The Network affirmed its unwavering commitment to ensuring domestic workers in informal settlements have access to legal and community-based remedies. It also noted that their campaigns must continue championing the ratification of the international labor instruments that protect domestic workers, mainly the ILO C189, which aim to protect the rights of domestic workers.
Alternative Justice Systems (AJS): Accessible Solutions for Informal Workers
In recognizing the limitations of formal justice systems, the event explored the role of Alternative Justice Systems (AJS) as culturally relevant and accessible mechanisms for resolving workplace grievances. AJS presents an important complement to formal systems, particularly for domestic workers who face barriers to accessing traditional legal avenues.
RESOLUTIONS: Solidarity for Sustained Change
The launch of the Dhobi Women Network marks a pivotal moment in the fight for domestic workers’ rights. The dialogue and launch concluded with a renewed commitment to sustained advocacy and solidarity, calling upon community members, organizations and policymakers to recognize domestic work as essential labor deserving of dignity, protection, and equity.
By centering the voices of domestic workers and mobilizing collective action, the Network aims to dismantle systemic inequalities, and ensure that justice and human rights are accessible to all workers, particularly those in informal settlements like Eastleigh.
The struggle for justice is far from over, but with the resilience of domestic workers and the growing solidarity within movements like Dhobi Women Network, a more equitable future is within reach.
Report by: Vincent Mahugu (Legal Empowerment Network).
The MSJC Ecological Justice Network in Mathare is growing and growing! Young people are coming together to reclaim their environment after both floods and violent evictions, and this inspiring documentary tells their story as they build together for this purpose.
The youth groups involved set up community parks and safe spaces for kids, while fostering unity among the people of Mathare through activities such as urban farming. This visionary work also allows the youth to work towards food sovereignty, while also earning an income.
The groups involved include Ghetto Farmers, Jungle Green Youth Group, Big Dreams, Team Destiny, Birdland, Yellow Bench, Vision Bearers, Smart Beginners, Twaweza , Excellent, Dhobi Women’s Network Mathare, and others.
Despite the challenges faced, especially those of intimidation and harassment from the local administration and the police, the Network has revived hope among the people that, indeed, a new Mathare where we have dignity is not only possible, but the responsibility of the people.
On October 20, MSJC’s Ecological Justice Network organised a community tree planting event to promote ecological justice, honour victims and survivors of state violence, and in memory of all of those young shujaas martyred by the state during the Occupy protests.
The Occupy memorialisation campaign continues to use different methods to keep the memory of occupy parliament martyrs alive — it is a consistent struggle of memory against forgetting.
This event attracted community members and environmental activists who participated in various activities including tree planting for memory and a reggae music session. Access the community report here:
Wakenya and many friends from all over: the floods may have come in a flash but the work of rebuilding takes time and your ongoing solidarity to Mathare residents is greatly appreciated.
Our work now shifts from crisis response towards helping families re-establish homes and lives. This is made much harder as the government enacted demolitions along and beyond Mathare’s riparian area, rendering thousands of households homeless, without any compensation provided to those affected.
All of the donations you have sent in response to this crisis are for the recovery of our people. To date our Mathare Social Justice Centre paybill has received 2,122,107 KES for Mathare flood victims. We have also received tons of food, clothing, bedding, mattresses, diapers, sanitary towels, cooking equipment and much more.
Our last statement, on May 2, 2024, accounted for 1,758,025 KES from our collective Network of Mathare Justice Centres and 313,170 KES from the phone of a MSJC secretariat member. Since then we have continued to run community kitchens in three locations. These kitchens have been running since April 25th, and at their peak could feed up to 1500 people a day.
With the funds and food donations we still have, we will be continuing the community kitchens, and providing cash transfers to 150 households. We will continue to honour and be accountable to all of those who stood with us and sent whatever they could to support these response efforts. You have really emphasised to us that Ubuntu exists: indeed, we are because you are.
In terms of long-term action, we intend to partner on a public interest litigation case on behalf of the residents of Mathare who suffered doubly from the floods and forced evictions.
We would also like to thank over one hundred individuals and organisations that supported us: we have tried our best to list all of them below, and we apologise for any names we have missed in error.
Thank you for struggling with us, and choosing to defend humanity. We are because you are.
Below and in this letter is a recognition of our supporters:
Today, June 18, many Kenyans came out to protest against the punitive Finance Bill of 2024.
While the right to assembly is guaranteed by the Constitution, the police, under the orders of the state, responded to us as though we are in war.
On the streets were grandmothers, sisters, brothers, fathers, siblings who were there to peacefully demand their right to dignity; their right to not have 16% tax on bread, diapers, sanitary towels and even cancer treatment.
Currently, we estimate that over 200 people are being held in Central Police Station, Kasarani Police Station, Muthaiga Police Station and other unknown locations. At Central Police Station, none of the protestors have been booked for any offence, although the police are still detaining them and preventing lawyers from seeing them. Those detained include Njeri Mwangi, a key member of the MSJC Secretariat.
We demand that the Ruto administration immediately release the illegally detained Kenyans who were exercising their sovereignty fully within Article 37 of the constitution. This is the article that states: “every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities.”
The grandmothers who left Mathare in the morning to join the protest were coming to let the government know that they are tired of sleeping in the ruins of their houses by the polluted Mathare river; they have been there ever since their homes were violently destroyed by the government to “save” them from future floods.
Collectively, we were all coming to say we are tired of being demumanized every day because Ruto wants to be at the service of IMF and World Bank masters.
The people have come out to exercise their sovereign power directly and have demanded that the Finance Bill 2024 be rejected in its entirety. Though we have been met with the state violence of this criminal government, we will not relent in our fight to defend the dignity and rights of our people.
African movements involved in the Afrikki Network met from the 5th to the 27th of February 2024 in Nairobi. Afrikki is a collective of social movements within Africa and the diaspora, which offers a platform for grassroots people organizations to interact and forge people inspired approaches in tackling local and continental social justice issues.
We want contribute in building Pan-Africanism of a new kind, through international solidarity and promoting popular democracy.
The collective includes various member organizations including: 1. Y’en A Marre of Senegal 2. Filimbi and LUCHA of DRC 3. Balai Citoyen of Burkina Faso 4. Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) 5. The Tanzania Socialist Forum in Tanzania. 6. Team Gom Sa Bopa in the Gambia. 7. Project South of Atlanta.
Here is the report from the convening. Viva Africa Viva!
The people of Mathare and other informal settlements (such as Mukuru, Kibera, Kayole, Githurai, Kasarani, and all affected areas) strongly condemn the UDA government for the inhumanity and indignity it has accorded the Kenyan people over the past few months.
Under the guise of saving us from nature, this government has destroyed the livelihoods of millions of Kenyans through illegal demolitions in Mathare, Mukuru, Kariobangi, and other informal settlements, without a proper relocation plan or land allocation for victims.
These acts cannot mask the criminal negligence of the UDA government, which had early warnings about the climate crisis, and its failure to act in time has exposed millions of Kenyans to death traps and hopelessness.
While the government extends the budget ceiling for State House and Parliament, hundreds of people are currently held in camps, schools, churches, and community halls that lack basic amenities for daily use. These are facilities with barely, if any, adequate sanitation facilities, and are currently the sites of cholera outbreaks.
We oppose the attempt of the ruling class and the government of Kenya to impose the ecological crisis burden onto the urban poor and the peasants of Kenya. We are already burdened by the weight of an economy that dehumanises us every day.
We expose the criminal negligence of the UDA government and its partners, who are at the service of the IMF and World Bank institutions, since they collectively violate our basic rights as enshrined by Article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution. This is: the right to decent housing, the right to food, the right to the highest attainable standards of healthcare, and the right to clean and accessible water.
The Ecological Justice Network in Mathare honours all the martyrs who have paid a heavy price for the criminal negligence of our government. It is us who have known these martyrs as they have struggled for food, dignity, employment, adequate housing and the right to life for their children. It is still us who find their bodies after the floods, and try and pick up the pieces of their lives in their death. We will not let their demise be in vain!
In memory of Mama Victor and Jacinta Adhiambo, who were our great social justice advocates and human rights defenders, we will continue on their path of demanding dignity and social justice for all.
We know Kenya will one day be liberated from the corrupt and unaccountable regimes of the UDA government, which brought the face of the hustler but is actually a overseer shepherding us to be slaves.
We the people on this eighth day of May 2024 therefore demand:
1. Quality housing for all 2. Compensation for all the martyrs who died during the floods 3. Life with a dignified environment 4. Education for all 5. Land for all the landless.
A government that cannot provide these basic needs has no right to be in power.
We call upon Kenyans to join us for mass action, starting today in Mathare, until we gain our livelihoods and social justice.
Thank you very much for the solidarity you have given Mathare residents as they seek to recover from the worst flooding they have lived through in the last forty years.
On the evening of April 24, a deluge of rain led to flooding that decimated many houses along the Mathare and Getathuru rivers. It also led to the deaths of at least 40 community members, including children and a person with a disability. Truly, we are touched by all who have supported our rapid response process: we are grateful for the financial contributions and the donations of necessary items (including dry food, bedding, mattresses, clothes and diapers). We are also grateful to those who came to offer condolence and who offered a hand as we continue to cook for the flood victims.
We especially want to highlight the rapid and effective response by many community groups and individuals in Mathare. So many helped in collecting data for the cash transfers, helping victims to find shelter, finding missing bodies, providing food and medical aid, and receiving other types of support for the victims.
Currently, there are still efforts to find the bodies of family members and friends, as well as to feed and clothe the hundreds of newly houseless individuals residing in schools, churches and even still sleeping outside even as the rain continues. All of the financial donations you have sent in response to this crisis are being put towards the recovery of our people.
To date, as The Network of Mathare Community Social Justice Centres, we have received 3,129,661 KES for Mathare flood victims. This is how the money has been spent:
1. As of Tuesday, April 30, our collective Mathare Mchanga has received:
1,758,025 KES. So far, this has allowed for 334 cash transfers to verified victims of 3000 KES each (for a total of 1,002,000 KES); we are progressively sending more cash transfers to the households impacted by floods and we will keep you updated on the process.
2. As of Tuesday, April 30, our paybill had received 1,066,636 KES and 313,170 KES to the phone of a rapid response representative. We used the 313,170 KES for the community kitchen operations that started on Wednesday, April 25—including buying food, firewood, cooking oil, soap, water and hiring a tent to have this kitchen since it is the rainy season. Since then, we have continued to feed breakfast, lunch and dinner daily to a minimum of 500 people. We are now cooking in four different sites in order to reach more of those affected. Our proposal is to use the 1,066,636 KES towards buying school items for affected children, as well as to contribute to funeral costs for affected families and cash transfers.
We will continue to honour and be accountable to all of those who stood with us and sent whatever they could to support these response efforts. You have really emphasized to us that Ubuntu exists: indeed, we are because you are.
We would also like to send a message to the government: we want to know where the 10 Billion KES to respond to the effects of El Niño went. We would like to remind you that, as the Kenyan Constitution states, “all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya.” Therefore, we are determined to make sure that this 10 billion KES is found and goes to all of those who have suffered from the combined effects of state neglect as it intersects with our global climate crisis.
We are extremely proud of how our community has defended the humanity of their people and continue to offer solidarity to each other even in their desperation. Meanwhile, our elected MCA’s and MPs continue to be silent; we will not let them rest.
We invite all to remain in solidarity with our community members in Mathare and other flooded areas; those affected continue to need blankets, mattresses, clothing, sanitary towels, drinking water, tents, food and more.
Above all, we say asanteni sana sana for all of the generosity and humanity that you continue to show for our people. We are because you are.
The Network of Mathare Community Social Justice Centres
Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) mourns the sudden demise of Comrade Benna Buluma, fondly known as Mama Victor.
We met Mama Victor in 2017 while documenting the police executions of her two sons, Victor and Bernard. Mama Victor joined our team at MSJC as a victim, and through her passion and commitment emerged a victor; defending young men from police killings and rallying fellow women to demand justice for their loved ones.
Mama Victor was the coordinator of the Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network, and this was a task she undertook diligently. She always rallied comrades to attend court solidarity for members of the Network, and even convened us to go to Embu when Kianjokoma brothers were killed by the police. Mama Victor was a gallant fighter for social justice and human rights.
Comrades are still in deep shock after retrieving Mama Victor’s body from the Mathare river. Despite her best efforts, she remained trapped in poverty and structural violence, which is now manifested in an ecological crisis that has killed more than 40 people in one night after they were drowned by floods. There was no room to escape even as she breathed her last.
We mourn the unnecessary death of Mama Victor, which could have been prevented by decent housing and proper urban planning.
The Ecological Justice Network has, for the longest time, highlighted this issue of poor systems that greatly endanger the lives of poor people in Mathare, stressing the need for decent housing and dignified lives.
Mama Victor was a symbol of hope for all striving for dignity, but she also epitomizes the crisis of capitalism in the world today; her sons Victor and Bernard were killed by the police; her daughter Maureen of a short illness, and now Mama Victor has died of the raging floods. This is the violence that poverty exposes us to.
In honour of Mama Victor, we urge all of us to continue the fight for dignity and social justice. Poverty is a common enemy we fight. “Until everyone is free,” as Pio Gama Pinto said. Truly, Mama Victor’s struggle was redemptive for the people of Mathare who had lost hope to continue fighting for social change.
Hundreds of Mathare residents are still camping outside with their children, homeless, and with no food. The MSJC Ecological Justice Network has pitched a tent in Mathare, where it is providing hot meals and receiving in kind donations.
These include: Mattresses, blankets, food, clothing for both adults and children, books, toys, sanitary towels and diapers for babies and toddlers.
If you would like to donate, please send money to or call Wanjira on: 0791334684.
Or send to the MSJC Paybill number at:
Account: 4060187
Account Name: THE MATHARE SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTRE
Long live the indomitable spirit of Benna Buluma! Long live! Soon dignity for the poor, soon!
You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they MUST protect them.
Wangari Maathai
The Mathare People’s assembly, which brought together the Mathare community in their massive elements, resolved that there was an urgent need to focus on sustainable livelihoods.
This was to be achieved through laying emphasis on environmental conservation for ecological justice. The first constituted plan of action was to establish the ‘Let the Rivers Flow’ Campaign. The campaign is aimed at engaging the community through education, to create awareness, strengthen advocacy and influence policy around issues of clean and safe drinking water, transforming Mathare and restoring Mathare River.
The campaign purposes to involve various actors including community members, environmental organisations and relevant agencies to achieve this goal. Achieving this objective would, in turn, aid in generating income for the youth and less privileged, curb social ills like crime, and transform Mathare to a cleaner and greener neighbourhood.
The river has become a dumping site. Effluent waste from neighboring areas flows through our community. Upstream estates dump their waste directly into the river. Also, the Mathare hospital drains waste into the river.
Garbage sites are placed right beside the river, burst sewers flow into the river, and, houses constructed close to the river direct their waste into the river. All this contamination makes Mathare River among the most polluted rivers in Kenya.
The Mathare River is one of the tributaries of Nairobi River. This main river flows as a clean and crystal river from its source in Aberdare forest symbolising a natural source of life. It starts experiencing its pollution troubles once it flows through corporate industries and has exposure to household waste in Nairobi.
The River Festival
The River Festival was a commemoration of the gains and efforts the Mathare Ecological Justice Campaign members have made in conserving the Mathare River and establishing community parks along it.
Rivers have always been a place to bring people together, and for communities to enjoy their shared heritage.
Where rivers flow, life flows.
The festival was attended by more than 1000 participants, including Mathare residents and those from surrounding communities. The attendees included children, young and old community members, and people from all walks of life. It also brought together different ecological formations from other informal settlements and Social Justice Centres.
The festival was a platform to explore art and music in educating, entertaining and creating awareness about the need to conserve the Mathare River as a collective endeavor.
The festival brought together conscious artists to celebrate the history and achievements of the Mathare Ecological Network, and adopted the continuation of the ‘Let the Rivers Flow’ campaign. Furthermore, it demanded that we all must insist on ending pollution, and can bring this awareness to others through education and actionable engagements.
The festival culminated with the launch of the Ecological Justice Network – Mathare. This Network involves the different local environmental groups including at Mathare Social Justice Centre, Mathare Community Park, Mathare Green Park, Ghetto Farmers, Voice of Mathare, Vision Bearers, New Pirates Youth Group and other community organizations from Kiamaiko, Mlango Kubwa and the different parts of Mathare.
In addition, small businesses were able to showcase and sell their merchandise, and we did this to support the sustainability of ecological businesses initiatives in Mathare.
So far, there is an evident rise of youth in Mathare who clean the river not because it is their sole mandate, but as a sustained campaign to fight for social change, since they are conscious of the interrelation between the ecological crisis and struggle for social justice.
The Ecological Justice Network
The Ecological Justice Network in Mathare is part of the Ecological Justice Movement in Nairobi. It is a consortium of four organisations: Mathare Social Justice Centre, Mathare Community Park, Mathare Green Park and Ghetto Farmers. The Ecological Justice Network is a pool of ecological movements and initiatives established within Nairobi, each with a specific campaign geared towards ecological sustainability.
The Ecological Justice Network in Mathare has been a pillar for the establishment of more ecological networks in Nairobi, and especially within the informal settlements that are faced with the harmful and continuous effects of environmental pollution from the corporates and large industries surrounding them. This being the case, the Network has engaged in case study forums to analyse the sources of pollution, specifically the effluent and affluent discharges along the Mathare River.
The results have influenced the establishment of the Network, which is aimed at transforming Mathare and the people living in Mathare.
We want to move from a “slum” to an environmentally conscious society. Our ecological campaigns have impacted the community in various ways, including through crime reduction and the reduction of social ills like state violations, which mostly affect unemployed young people.
The establishment of community parks through planting trees along the river has provided a safe haven for children to play. It has also provided space for the establishment of social spaces like libraries, GBV referral centres and community meeting spaces.
These community parks have acted as avenues for community organising, and especially for conservation of the environment. The spaces have also provided self-employment for young people through sustainable economic projects like animal rearing, tree nursery beds and artwork. It is the hope of the Network that ecological sustainability becomes a question of social justice.
Launch of the Ecological Justice Network – Mathare
Gacheke Gachihi, the coordinator of Mathare Social Justice Centre, led the celebration of the launch of the Ecological Justice Network in Mathare.
Achievements, Resolutions & Action Plan of the Network
Launching the Ecological Justice Network – Mathare.
Intensify ecological justice activities including: tree planting, establishing tree nurseries, monthly clean-ups and art for awareness creation.
Unify ecological campaigns and strengthen ecological justice networks in other parts of Nairobi.
Adoption of the ‘Let the Rivers Flow’ campaign as a path towards the restoration of Mathare River.
The Mathare Local People’s assembly was convened at the Mathare People’s Park, and brought together community members and actors from across our struggles to identify various societal issues we are facing.
The Mathare People’s park is a transformed green space that was initially a garbage site, and which now hosts the Ukombozi Library, a children’s playing space, and a community park that offers the community food and a serene environment. It has also transformed young people from drug use and crime, and offered a sustainable form of economic livelihood through activities such as animal rearing and other methods of farming.
Our assembly was influenced by the urgency to explore an inclusive alternative model that involves the community in addressing its challenges.
For a while, various societies have seemed to confront these challenges at an organizational or an individual level. The objective of the local assembly was to transform the culture of personal alienated approaches which have proven to be ineffective. The assembly also wanted to further grassroots democracy and power to the people.
Mathare happens to be one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi, and is suffering from a myriad of social problems including: widespread poverty, lack of basic commodities, crime and chronic unemployment. All of these factors also lead to other grave problems.
The assembly brought 100 participants drawn from the six wards in Mathare, including Kiamaiko, Mlango Kubwa, Mabatini, Kiamaiko, Ngei and 3C.
The participants included children, local community groups, ecological justice organizations, students and elders. Among the grassroots organizations present were the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), Ghetto Farmers, and Green Park and Mathare Community Park members.
Other participants who joined the discussions emanated from the different social movements in Nairobi.
After the introduction of the local assembly’s concept, the participants engaged in a general analysis of the Mathare society; the historical injustices and the current political and social conditions. Thereafter, the members joined the various thematic groups influenced and adopted by the assembly. These are:
The Ecological and Political Committee
The Drugs and Crime Committee
The Waste Management Committee
The Water & Sanitation Committee
The thematic groups appointed a moderator and secretary, collectively examined the situation, and generated a list of possible solutions to explore. Below are the results from the committees:
Water and SanitationCommittee
Challenges highlighted include:
The rationing and diversion of water in areas like Mlango Kubwa where water is diverted to Eastleigh
Water-borne diseases
Poor healthcare infrastructure
Effluent and affluent discharges: Mathare Hospital, for example, was seen to emit its waste directly into the river. Also, most of Eastleigh waste is poured directly into the river
Corruption and water cartels
Leaking sewers
Poor waste disposal methods
Poor housing, and people are constructing homes on the river.
Proposed way forward
Participate in public participation sessions e.g. budget making processes
Develop petitions to conduct an inquiry on water institutions in Mathare
Policy development
Creating awareness through community dialogues
Mapping of polluters
Consistent stakeholders meetings
Waste Management Committee
Challenges highlighted include:
Poor waste disposal
Lack of awareness on waste management strategies
Lack of collaborations and coordination between stakeholders in waste management
Government lacked policies, incentives on waste management
Proposed solutions
Creating waste management awareness programs
Focus on existing networks to build and strengthen ecological network
Establish local waste management plans and strategies
Include children in waste management projects
Drugs and Crime Commitee
Challenges highlighted include:
Poverty which leads to crime, drug abuse
Unemployment
Addiction
Solutions proposed
Organize campaigns and seminars against drugs and crime
Involvement of different stakeholders in the campaign against drugs and crime
Establish local committees to fight against drugs and crime
Establish learning facilities for children, like local libraries
Creating of co-curriculum activities such as sports and art
Ecological and Political Committee
Challenges highlighted include:
Existing ecological injustices and pollution.
State violence including:
Harassment.
Extra-judicial executions.
Land grabbing.
High level of unemployment leading to crime
Lack of political accountability.
Existing gaps in policy development
Solutions and way forward
Establish sustainable sources for economic activity for the youth
Establish public assemblies as institutions to generate solutions for local problems
Intensify political education in the parks and in community centres
Proposed collective way forward
Establish the Mathare Ecological Justice Network, involving various community parks, which will in turn aid in:
Creating a sustainable base for young people through economic generating activities like farming and seed nurseries
Engage more children in the parks — perhaps an adopt a tree program
Establish more green spaces to transform the local ecological situation and to act as spaces for community organising
Provide more safe spaces like art centers, community libraries and community retreat centres
Curb land grabbing, encroachment and pollution of the Mathare River; #LetTheRiversFlowCampaign
Harmonise a collective ecological justice campaign by establishing ecological justice networks in the various informal settlements
Popularise local people’s assemblies as avenues to generate solutions for the peoples’ problems. Including in:
Kayole.
Githurai.
Ngong.
Establish exchange sessions with the Indigenous People’s Assemblies and existing assemblies in Italy, Britain and Scotland.
Organise more workshops and seminars at the grassroots to discuss the creation of local people’s assemblies
Creating alternatives through bicycles lanes along Nairobi River, from Michuki Park to Ruai
Create a secretariat to follow up on the resolutions and a guide for implementation
There has been concern from many grassroots groups about the oversight and governance of community-based organizations. The plight has since been crystalized by the enactment of the Community Based Registration Act No. 30 of 2022.
The legislation introduces regulations pertaining to community-based organisations’ registration, administration and financial provisions.
Most CBOs are established within the community and are at the forefront in responding to societal needs. Before the Community Groups Registration Act, many community organisations were registered with few procedural requirements, allowing room for their effectiveness and the adoption of simple organisational models and structures.
On 15th August 2023, Mathare Social Justice Centre received a letter from the Mathare Sub-CountySocial Development Officer (SCSD/MAT/SHG/8/2023(007). The letter in part reads: “it has been noted by the Sub-County Social Development officer that your activities are more nurturing and protecting the fundamental Human Rights of the individuals, and families of the Mathare Community which is not in line with our community registration activities as per our new Community Groups Registration Act, No. 30 of 2022. We therefore as an office request your organisation to amend its group objectives so that they can be in line with our Act…”
On 19th September, a month after we received this letter, MSJC organized a grassroots workshop to address the Act’s attempts to undermine the Constitution and grassroots democracy, by interfering with the autonomy of community-based organizations.
The workshop was attended by 20 participants and contributors, including Prof Kivutha Kibwana, a constitutional lawyer and former Governor of Makueni County, and Charles Maina formerly of the International Justice Mission (IJM). They, notably, advised us on the constitutional and legislative framework that governs the new Act.
Other participants were the District County Commissioner and Sub-County Social Development Office represented by Chief Mugo, Mabatini Ward, the membership of the Social Justice Centers – Nairobi Chapter (which included Mathare Social Justice Centre, Kayole Social Justice Center, Githurai Social Justice Center, The Social Justice Travelling Theater, Mathare Social Justice Centers Network, Kiamaiko Social Justice Centre, Ghetto Foundation and Ruaraka Social Justice Centre), Missing Voices and other legal advisers.
The participants went through the history of social justice centers and their formation process, looking into case studies from Mathare Social Justice Centre and Kayole Community Justice Center.
Mathare Social Justice Centre was registered in 2015 as a space to document human rights violations that were rampant around Mathare during that period. The Mathare Social Justice Centre was started in 2014, three years after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
It was noted that during the process of registration, the Office of Social Development had disapproved the registration of the name “Mathare Social Justice Centre,” on account of the “social justice” character of the organisation, even while MSJC had paid registration fee. This was contrary to Article 10 (2) (b) of the Constitution which provides that; “The national values and principles of governance include: – human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights, non-discrimination and protection of the marginalized.”
Kayole Community Justice Center noted that they had great challenges with registration. They share that the Social Development Officer in Kayole denied them registration, and were only registered after Noordin Haji, the then Director of Criminal Investigations intervened after attending the launch of the centre. The organisation does not appear in the register of community based organisations despite them having a valid certificate of operation.
Participants reflected on the deregistration of Clarion, an NGO, which operated in the ‘90s on account of its human rights activities and protection of democratic spaces in Kenya.
The Social Justice Movement was reflected on as a mass-based social movement whose duty is to safeguard grassroots democracy and protect the values and spirit of the Constitution. It was noted that the passing of the Act without public participation, and the letter sent to Mathare Social Justice Centre, was a direct attack on grassroots democracy and exposed the deliberate shrinking of civic spaces in our country.
Participants highlighted other legislations such as the Public Order Act and the NGO Act of 1990 that continue to muzzle the spirit and space of human rights and democracy in Kenya.
The discussions were then organised into different groups to allow the participants to interact with the contents of the Act intensively. This involved a thorough perusal of the Act; identifying constitutional contraventions and opportunities.
It was noted that there are now 21 registered social justice centres in Nairobi, and that people face numerous frustrations at the Social Development Office when seeking registration; there are also other Social Justice Centres which are pending registration, some of which the Social Development Office has denied registration. These are, for example, Mau Mau Haki Centre and the Social Justice Centers Travelling Theatre.
Deliberation points to note:
Participants noted that before the legislation came into effect, there was no regulatory framework under which community-based organisations were registered. The new law is found to be restrictive as far as it limits fundamental human rights including the right of association. The justice centres have operated since 2015, and there has never been a complaint that their actions were in contravention of the Constitution or any law.
The Act contravened Article 1 of the constitution which provides: “all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with this constitution.”Grassroots organisations form the collective voice at the grassroots, and denying people the right to organise at a grassroots level is infringing on the sovereignty of the people of Kenya. The Act fails to acknowledge the supremacy of the Constitution by contradicting its values.
The Act contravenes Article 10 (2) (a) of the Constitution, which states that “The national values and principles of governance include: – patriotism, national unity, sharing and devolution of power, the rule of law, democracy and participation of the people.”
The Act contravenes the values of democracy and grassroots organisation; community was not involved in any deliberation of it.
Further, Article 186 (2) of the Constitution, read along with the fourth Schedule – Part 2(14), clearly provides for the functions and powers of national and county government. Part 2 (14) of the fourth schedule reads; “the functions and powers of the County are; ensuring and coordinating the participation of the communities and locations in governance at the local level and assisting communities and locations to develop the administrative capacity for the effective exercise of the functions and powers and participation in governance at the local level.”
Participants noted that all community activities cannot be divorced from the aspiration to promote social justice and the realization of the potential of all human beings. The essence of registering a community-based organization is that the community is aware of its priority issues and can develop its solutions through programs that intimately involve the whole community. Through community-based organizations, the community can participate in governance at the local level.
Violation of Article 19 of the Constitution
Participants did an analysis of Article 19 which provides that the Rights and fundamental freedoms provided for under the Bill of Rights are inherent and inalienable rights and freedoms.
Article 19 (2) provides: “The Bill of Rights is an integral part of Kenya’s democratic state and is the framework for social, economic and cultural policies.” It further provides that “the purpose of recognizing and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms is to preserve the dignity of individuals and communities and to promote social justice and the realization of the potential of all human beings.”
It was noted that the activities of a CBO cannot merely be limited to economic rights (empowerment) devoid of social, political and cultural rights. Participants noted that civil and political rights are indivisible. Article 43 of the Constitution provides for social and economic rights, which are reinforced by Article 38 that provides for political rights and Article 36 which provides for the freedom of association.
That the Director of Social Development has the sole authority to decide who forms a special interest group was also identified as alarming.
There was emphasis on Article 24 which provides: “a right or fundamental freedom shall not be limited except by law, and then only to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom, taking into account all relevant factors including the relation between the limitation and its purpose and whether there are less restrictive means to achieve the purpose.”
Violation of Article 36 of the Constitution
Violation of Article 36 of the Constitution provides for the right of every person to associate, and which includes the right to join and or participate in the activities of an association of any kind. Such an association must be a voluntary association. Members noted that the social justice centres accept membership of voluntary individuals who live, work and interact with the realities of their communities. As such, Mathare Social Justice Centre, and all social justice organisations, are constitutionally permitted to exist as community based organisations based on the fact that they involve members of the community and exercise their mandate within the Mathare community in accordance with the laws and policies of the Republic of Kenya.
Ambiguity of the Act
It was noted that the Act was ambiguous in so far as it did not specify the ministry responsible for enforcing and overseeing the implementation of the Act.
The Act provides for the Office of the Director, which shall be an office in the public service. It also provides for the Social Development Office, which is an office under the ministry responsible for social development, which is the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.
The Act does not provide for a transition clause to guide the CBOs that were registered before the Act. There was a lack of a coherent policy guiding the registration of community based organisation then, which would interfere with the process of interpretation of and reference to the new law.
Participants noted that most community-based organisations, whose objective is human rights oriented, have experienced similar procedural challenges in recent times with the concerned registration institutions
Participants challenged the monarchical status of the Director of Social Development as provided for by Section 3 of the Act.
The financial provisions as stated in the Act are unclear and restrictive of community organizing.
The definition of civil society organisations deliberately limits how a CBO can interact and relate with other organisations.
Overall, participants agreed that the legislation has made the mistake of over-regulation, which limits the rights and freedom of individuals and communities. They agreed that CBO’s should have a policy of self-regulation in order for all Kenyans to participate in governance at the local and community level. After all, these organisations exist to do what the government has failed to do at the grassroots.
In the definition of a community group, one participant posed a question: when the Constitution provides for social and political rights and sovereign people organise and debate around those issues, are they political?
Therefore, the activities proposed by the CBO registration forms have not been constitutionally developed. This then requires a review process on the development and implementation of the policy itself.
What is to be done?
The Community Registration Act cannot exist without scrutiny; there should be discussion of the issues raised above about its legality and constitutionalism.
Participants resolved that, to address these key issues, the strategy and tactics required would be both short and long-term and would be applied in a two-line strategy: the legal strategy and the creation of an alternative leadership mechanism. The workshop then formed two committees to oversee the process. The committees are: 1) the legal committee and 2) committee against the shrinking of civic and democratic spaces.
Short Term Response
A response letter from the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) was to be sent to the Sub County Office of Social Development.
Committees were to map out other community based organisations whose registration was pending and those denied registration on account of human rights objectives.
There was a need to have a collective response to the Sub-County Social Development Office to understand which objectives and activities of Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) are not in accordance with the Act, and which specific sections of the Act that are contravened by our activities.
The Social Justice Centre Working Group was to convene meetings at the community level to created awareness about the Community Groups Registration Act.
Long Term Response
File a constitutional petition challenging the legality and constitutionality of the Act and its provisions.
Map strategic collaborations and partnerships, and hold frequent discussions on policies that affect organisations in the community.
Report prepared by Waringa Wahome, coordinator of the MSJC Legal Empowerment Network
A Report of the People’s Assemblies Forum held in theMathare Social Justice Centre’s Creative Hub on August 11, 2023
Why People’s Assemblies?
The people’s assemblies arise from the need of the people to administer and generate solutions to the problems ailing their society. The concept is a people’s driven approach towards creating grassroots strength, solidarity and democracy from a point of popular power to a pool of global solidarity. The assemblies might take different organizational and practical models in diverse communities and in various organizations, making it a viable model for decision making, identifying challenges and building a collective spirit in confronting the social, economic and political issues that exist.
Purpose of the Forum
The people’s assembly forum held in Mathare was an avenue to explore, discuss and generate action points to form, design and structure local, citizen and people’s assemblies in Mathare and other areas within Nairobi. The existing social movements, local groups and institutions are a fundamental element in steering the initial processes. The forum thus drew participants from various established local groups, social movements and members of the community, to examine and deliberate on the model and whether and how it fits into their organizational framework.
Participants in the Forum
The forum targeted 30 participants representing organizations, local groups and members of the community. Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) is one of the social movements organizing around accessing social justice in Mathare and broadly in the whole country. It has worked in close collaboration with other Social Justice Centres in Nairobi, some of which were present at the forum. They include: Githurai, Kayole, Mukuru, and Kasarani Social Justice Centers. Other organizations included the organs of the social justice movement: The Social Justice Centre’s Travelling Theater, The Ecological Justice Network, The Revolutionary Socialist League, The Communist Party of Kenya, the Young Communist League, and Shantit-Mathare (a youth-led group). This was in collaboration with women led assemblies, Grassroots to Global and assemblies from Scotland.
History of Assemblies in Kenya
To make sure the participants knew the full potential of the forum, the participants went through the history of the assemblies in Kenya. With a case study and introduction of Bunge, the Peoples Parliament. This is an assembly’s model that formulated and demanded major social and political reform processes in the history of Kenya. The setup was said to be an open conversation in Jeevanjee Park, a green space in Nairobi where people debated ideas, invoked public participation, and agreed on the best direct action strategies to apply to the imminent needs of the society. Some of the impacts included leading the campaign against the high cost of Unga (flour). There were no doubts that the initiative saw through important social impacts and constitutional gains in Kenya. This was the model that led to the inception of the social justice factor and the formation of the Social Justice Centres. The objectives were targeted towards influencing citizen-led processes and inspiring the spirit of direct-action by local people. There was visible insistence on the need and urgency to build power from below, to protect our democratic gains, and advance local, people-led action.
Different Types of Assemblies
The participants went through the different types of local assemblies as being: 1) The People’s Assembly; 2) The Citizen Assembly; 3) The Delegate Assembly.
They further explored the formations, structure and design of the various types of assemblies, the impact and the levels of interactions in each of the assemblies. Assemblies serve as an alternative to the fragmentation and compromise of individual organizations. Organizations are embedded in the actions by the people. The participants delved into the impact and organization of the past and contemporary assemblies in Kenya and internationally with a case study of the East African women-led assemblies (including the Ogiek, the Sengwer and many other communities), which are organizing assemblies around the land question, and have successfully made challenges and won in the African Court of Justice. The forum went further to assess the questions of land in the Democratic Republic of Congo, political conditions in Uganda, and the assemblies in Scotland. The activities included practical learning experiences such as group discussions and site visit to the Mathare People’s Park. An ecological justice park reclaimed along the Mathare River. For an expanded version of the presentation given on all this, please see here.
Local assemblies are among the alternatives towards building a pool of popular power from below. There exist countless hurdles within our individual organizations and in communities that can be flattened through a collective approach such as people’s assemblies. People’s parliaments envision and design how our society should look, and we see our assemblies as reclaiming and building on that tradition.
Focus of Deliberations
Building Local Assemblies
The participants saw the process towards the formation of the local assemblies as best to commence from an organizational level. Thereafter, identifying the issues for diagnosis and planning the local assemblies. The issues for the assemblies to focus on were to begin from the direct lived experiences affecting local people. In this case, issues of pollution and environmental degradation appeared to be the primary questions at play. This being agreeable, artistic and creative organizing, like the community theatre, were seen as reliable ways of communicating complex ideas and building broader engagement. This was to be achieved through organizing consistent, structured meetings building towards the assembly, developing clear internal structures (e.g. working groups to look at different aspects of the process, clear and transparent internal decision making processes etc), organizing dialogues with different actors, and outreach sessions to popularize the assembly. The organizations were to guide through the process, in effect forming the basis of a steering group with accountability to the process and all those involved in it.
2. Building National Assemblies
The path to building national assemblies to discuss national matters, was to come from the various local assemblies organized in community spaces. The local assemblies will then project their ideas through to the national assembly. This would require utmost consistency, vibrancy, commitment and a resounding strengthening of our ties with the local and national issues. It would then be important to agree on a structure to apply to that, which will be the subject of ongoing popular education through community theatre and community dialogues, which can feed into a broader conversation about the kind of national assembly Kenya needs and wants.
3. Challenges
In achieving this, various issues to handle and prioritize in the planning of assemblies were highlighted. Many of these challenges impact much more than just the assemblies, but we present them here, together, with some suggestions on how their impact can be addressed within the planning and running of the assemblies themselves:
The Ecological Crisis : This is an ongoing challenge for all of us, but it impacts, particularly, those already dealing with high levels of poverty and social alienation. In relation to the assemblies, we see the need to be able to provide sheltered spaces for the assemblies to happen within and will focus on this in our fundraising efforts..
Extrajudicial Executions : Again, this is an ongoing challenge, and could potentially keep people away from assemblies. We will address this to the extent we can by ensuring a strong communications strategy, which attempts to keep the assemblies in the public eye and by building a network of other communities also holding assemblies, as a way of building mutual care and additional public visibility. We will also self-document the assembly process and have a working group dedicated to security.
High Cost of Living : This is one of the issues that the assembly may address directly, but it also impacts on whether people will engage with the assembly. We can potentially address this by fundraising to provide food for those who attend and also potentially include workshops on mutual aid as satellites to the main assembly.
Crime and Unemployment : The intention of the assemblies is to find shared solutions to the root causes of many issues, including crime and unemployment. We will attempt to either address these directly as subjects within the assembly, or, as above, create satellite workshops giving people space to think through and collectively address these issues alongside it.
Tribalism : Tribalism has become highly politicized, so it’s vital that we come to a shared understanding on how the assemblies will approach it. While accepting the cultural importance of identity, we see the assemblies as operating underneath this, at the level of our shared, human interests and will develop our communications strategy along these lines.
Lack of Water : We will fundraise to ensure we can provide clean drinking water for those attending the assemblies.
Lack of Communication : As is clear from the above, a strong communication policy will be essential to the success of the assemblies. This will focus, not only internally on those living in the area each assembly is focusing on, but also externally, towards the wider public and (for the national process) internationally. It is essential that we develop our own clear strategy for this, building as much as we can on personal relationships of trust, since mainstream and social media are largely captured and are likely to be used to work against the assembly process.
Corruption : Again, this is an issue that may be core to the question the assemblies are directly addressing. We will want our process to be as clean, clear and transparent as possible and to ensure that good internal communications can identify and report on any attempts to unfairly influence the process.
Challenges might arise from groups and individuals seeking to use such an assembly process to advance their own interests, and from a lack of communication between those engaged in advancing the process. This requires us to build a strong shared commitment to addressing social injustice, and to commit to building the structures to overcome injustice and division.
Resolutions
1. Planning of the first People’s Assembly in Mathare, in one of the community sites, around the issues of ecological justice and state violence.
2. The need to popularize Local Assemblies towards building the National Assembly.
3. The importance of utilizing community spaces, such as green spaces, to protect and advance grassroots democracy.
4. The urgency to unify organizations within our communities and build unified approaches to local assemblies towards addressing various challenges.
Report prepared and compiled by the coordinating committee: Gacheke Gachihi: Mathare Social Justice Centre; Kinuthia Ndung’u: Communist Party of Kenya; Justin Kendrick: Scotland People’s Assembly; Eva Schonveld: Grassroots to Global.
Moderators: Njeri Mwangi: Mathare Social Justice Centre; Eva Schonveld: Grassroots to Global.
Women Against Gender Based Violence is an initiative of the SGBV Campaign at Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), in collaboration with grassroots organizations’ advocating against gender based violence and drugs and crime in Mathare. Mathare is one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi, with almost 300,000 inhabitants in population, the majority of whom are youth. The rate of gender based violence related cases has been growing in the post-covid period.
Kenya has undergone slow progress in realizing an end to gender based violence and inequalities. However, the process has witnessed obstacles and hurdles due to the societal differences that exist within our various communities. Most of the informal settlements in Nairobi are prone to social injustices and gender related violence, which is intricately connected to the social factors at play.
The majority of the population in Mathare lives under the constant challenge of poverty, thus making them prone to abuse and exploitation. Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) has documented and championed for social justice against sexual violence and other human rights abuses such as rape, domestic violence and defilement. Most of the violations happen from the normalization of the violence within the community, and the exposure of children and young people to the harsh environment has contributed to the increasing rates of gender based violence within Mathare.
On Thursday August 17th, 2023, the “End Gender Based Violences and Sexual Harassment Tournament” was aimed at creating a platform for interaction, exchange and advocacy against the culture of the normalization of gender based injustices. The initiative was inspired by the need to interlink social injustices to all spheres affecting women including their livelihoods and empowerment. Therefore we must prioritise the creation of safe spaces and an environment for the people. The tournament brought various individuals and organizations, which permitted a rich opportunity for robust discussions, healing and advancing to the next step towards realizing an end to gender based violence in Mathare.
The tournament targeted the young mothers who mostly got pregnant at a tender teenage period. Some of whom are referred to as MSJC teen moms. Other objectives of the tournament included the generation of mechanisms to influence policy. Gender based violence cases seem to take a longer period to be processed or acted upon. Members of the community, on the other end, fail to understand or know the what to do when faced with cases of this nature. Therefore, it was important to create awareness of the existing policies, and enable an environment to discuss the challenges in addressing these grave situations. The tournament was held at the Austin Grounds in Mathare with various teams and participants from the Mathare community. It was a collaboration of the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) and the Coalition of Grassroots Human Rights Defenders. Other centres and committees present included the Githurai Social Justice Centre, Kasarani Social Justice Centre and the Ecological Justice Movement.
MSJC teen moms is a support group comprising of young women aged between 13yrs – 19yrs in Mathare. The team’s works towards community transformation, and fighting the systemic violence against women and young girls in Mathare. They also want to find practical means of sustaining themselves through art for social justice. The group is roughly 30 teenage moms from Mathare, who are actively engaged in community initiatives.
On, Thursday, August 17th, 2023, the MSJC teenage moms support group held a match against the CGHRD young mothers in the “End Gender Based Violence & Sexual Harassment Tournament.” Recently, there has been an observable rise in the number of cases of sexual and gender based violence against teenagers aged between 15-19 years. Most of the cases are perpetrated people close to the victims. From family members to friends, and people they know. After the crude encounter with the injustice, most victims tend to isolate themselves from the community and general reality.
The tournament’s main objective was to create awareness on the fight towards ending these kinds of violences in Mathare as a whole. It also served as a psychosocial support extension for teen moms. The tournament was well attended by the members of the community, and especially men who were the target. After the tournament, we had an interactive dialogue on the same theme that involved different actors and members of the community. The forum’s purpose was to stir a discussion on the way forward and the next action points. It was also meant to instigate a debate and offer a platform for community assessment and deliberation on issues related to gender relations and the increased rate of gender violence.
As a guide to the action plan, the participants proposed the following:
Organizing monthly football tournaments to create awareness and intensify advocacy against gender based violence.
Consistent documentation and referral of gender based violences. This needs an active gender based violence desk in specific zones, and during the tournaments.
Collective design of mechanisms to promote psychosocial support among victims and survivors of gender based violence.
Adopt creative modes like art, sports and theatre to sensitize and advocate against gender based violence.
Consistent reflection, analysis and proposal of relevant policy.
The creation of a collective framework in the fight against gender based violence.
A campaign on drugs and crime in Mathare and other informal settlements.
The protests that began on March 20th this year left behind a trail of terror. But most of the damage and loss experienced in the informal settlements has not been fully accounted for. The reasons for under-reporting are that most of the victims fear threats from authorities: being arrested, forcefully disappeared or killed. Also, they know that it will be a long painful road to justice — if they ever get it.
At MSJC we have been working to document these violences since the protests began in March. In a brief report we highlight some of the cases we have been following up on since early this year. These include the death of a two month old and a 13 year old: from tear gas and police bullets respectively.
None of these protests were witnessed in the leafy suburbs where the selfish politicians from both divides reside. None of their children lay in the cold slabs of the morgue with poor parents unable to give them decent burials. Our communities continue to be the collateral of their selfishness, but we won’t stop demanding and working towards justice.
A tear gas canister was thrown inside the house where their parents had hid them for safety. The tear gas choked and burned them.
Francis Oponde, 34
Injured on both legs by a tear gas canister
Annette Achewa, 14
Was shot in the back of her shoulder
Isaac Adhiambo, 19
Was cut deeply on the head by a tear gas canister
Valentine Wairimu, 2 months
She was affected when tear gas was thrown on the roof of their house; she became unconscious. Valentine died at Brother Andre hospital while receiving first aid.
Alfred Odongo Obura (40) and four others
They are all accused of stealing gas cylinders from Shell Petrol Station on Juja Road. They are at Industrial Area Prison since they didn’t have the 400k bond requested by the court. The hearing is in October.
Our local community forum, which was held on Friday, June 2nd, involved strategic deliberations aimed at action against drugs and crime in Mathare. It was convened by the Campaign Against Drugs and Crime of Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), and in partnership with Haki Africa. The meeting was attended by 44 people, among them youth and the elderly from the different sectors; local traders, business people, persons in recovery from drugs and crime, youth group members, community based organizations, local village elders and community members. The main objectives of the forum was to analyse and reflect on drugs and substance abuse. Above all to: (1) Identify factors that drive young people to drugs; (2) Understand the linkage between, drugs, crime and violence; (3) Examine the role that poverty plays in driving young people to drugs; (4) Evaluate and agree on what is to be done going forward.
In April 2022, Lucy Wambui, our member and local convenor of the Mothers of Victims and Survivors Network, wrote
We can see that the government also has a role to play, they create and sustain this negative environment. When I interacted with most youths here in Mathare, I understood why the Kenyan authorities and young men in the slums play a cat and mouse game: they are like water and oil, they can never mix. According to most youths in the area, they say that instead of police officers maintaining law and order and protecting life, they make crime increase. The police are the ones who provide guns to them to go and commit crimes, and police get money from drug dens, ensuring that drugs are always sold where poor people can see them, where poor people live. At the same time, the police are arresting youths daily using fabricated charges, and some end up being disappeared and others are killed by police. This makes youths get into crime and use drugs because they have given up on life, and they don’t know who will be next in the hands of a killer cop.
From this article, it was evident that drugs are intended to make young people in Mathare blind to the harsh realities here, and to accept the hardships caused by poverty and structural violence. In Mathare, the most thriving businesses are selling chang’aa (a locally home-distilled brew considered to be an illegal brew) and the sale of hard drugs. Communities such as Colombia, Nigeria, Kosovo, Bondeni, Mathare 3A and 3C, and Mabatini in Mathare, are mostly associated with chang’aa and/or hard drugs. These have been the most violent stricken areas in Mathare over time and in the recent skirmishes. The young people, some in their late teens, are allegedly the most involved in drugs and consequently in crime. These areas are also where most young people killed by the notorious killer cops come from.
MSJC’s membership set the scene at the meeting and introduced the campaign. The Campaign Against Drugs and Crime was birthed as an intersectional outcome of our other eight campaigns, and it aims to monitor and participate in the fight against drugs, crime, violence, extrajudicial killings and related issues.
The community best understands the effect of drugs, crime and violence. The sale of hard drugs in Mathare exists under very unclear circumstances: sale, consumption and trafficking has been conducted in so much openness but still too much opaqueness. It seems to also thrive in extensive conditions of hopelessness, fear and violence. One attendee at the meeting, who happened to be a community leader, narrated her experience while trying to fight against hard drugs in her area, Kosovo. Her home was raided and she was consequently charged with trumped up charges in a bid to threaten her to keep silent.
In a deeper analysis, the major effects of hard drugs include the high rates of school dropouts and early pregnancies. During the open session, most people reflected on the interconnectedness of school dropouts and early pregnancies, and the subsequent rise of crime and substance abuse.
Many people under the age of 18 are getting married, renting houses, raising “homes” and surviving through involvement in crime. Other effects that came up during the consultative forum include: poor hygiene, sexual violence that was leading to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases, insecurity, a rise in sex trafficking and prostitution. It was also apparent that children born in a family with a case of drug abuse, more often than not, follows the same parental experiences.
It was also understood during the forum that these hard drugs do not originate from Mathare, nor are the main peddlers from Mathare. The pushers, who might be from Mathare, are in the business of sourcing for income. Other drugs, like cosmos and yellow, are alleged to have come from Mathare Mental Hospital and pharmacies that sell these drugs easily to the community.
Also, most of the aforementioned areas, like Colombia and Nigeria, have no administrative authority from chiefs, the police or the D.O or D. C., and extortion and violence forms the order of each day. Attendees noted that the recent gang fights in Mathare, which saw seven young people profiled and threatened by killer-cops on Facebook pages, were actually drug related violence disguised as ‘idle youth’ gang wars.
Drugs have continuously unified young people, who eventually form gangs mostly utilized by politicians to achieve their interests, which in most cases are personal. These gangs are, in most cases, culprits of the different forms of violence in Mathare. Thus, in order to achieve peace and security, the attendees opined that the solution would require an advocacy campaign and an organization- based approach against drugs and violence. There is also an oversupply of drugs.
Elderly men and women in attendance had also been victims of hard drugs. Idleness and poverty were highlighted as the cross-cutting issues. The participants agreed that the community must have agency to deal with issues related to drugs and crime since the authorities seemed to be complicit in the many violent cycles of drugs and crime in Mathare.
In conclusion, the participants agreed that unemployment is a common factor that had led young and old people in Mathare into drug use. Most of the participants reflected that the problem of extrajudicial killings had to be handled from its core, identified to be two main factors: drugs and crime.
Young people were also advised to be considerate of the future, to reform and turn into defenders of their human right to dignity instead of succumbing to hopelessness. They also said that instead of arresting those victims of drugs, rather those who allow for the peddling and sustenance of the hard drugs business in Mathare should be detained. The people in Mathare live in destitute conditions, most have no access to food or nutrition, have no access to safe and clean drinking water, and there is no quality education; all of these issues cause the present situation.
The participants agreed to form a committee against drugs and crime, which would be coordinated under Mathare Social Justice Centre. This committee would monitor the trend of drug use and advocate against drugs, crime, violence and extrajudicial killings.
Below is what the committee has decided to do:
Draft a program of demands on employment and social justice
Organize community barazas targeted at advocacy against drugs and crime
Organize consistent activities that bring the Mathare community together to allow for community advocacy against drugs and crime. This includes tournaments, different forms of art, graffiti and concerts, local barazas, community cafés and focus group discussions
Conduct consistent research, monitoring and documenting cases of drugs, crime and extrajudicial executions
Consistent engagements with the different stakeholders on the campaign against drugs and crime
The killing of young people in Mathare and the normalization of this injustice is what sparked the emergence of MSJC. For the last nine years, MSJC has campaigned against extrajudicial killings and the cleansing of young people in informal settlements.
First it is arbitrary arrest, followed by extortion, enforced disappearance and the final stage is death. This has been the fate of hundreds of men in Mathare. Our Who is Next report documents over 800 killings by police in Kenya from 2013 – 2016.
Our campaign has been successful in ending the normalization of EJEs in Mathare. But the killings have reduced, not ended. The police have changed tactic and they now profile young people as criminals on Facebook and then they later kill them. They then parade their dead bodies on Facebook like trophies. A very colonial practice.
See here a screenshot from the vigilante police group: “Nairobi Crime Free.”
On the evening of 23rd May 2023, a notorious Facebook page with the name ‘NAIROBI CRIME FREE’ made a post threatening seven known young people from Mathare 3C. See above. The post is made through one account believed to belong to the page’s admin, known as Saigonpunisher James. The post was directed to warn the group of seven, who are members of Vision Bearers Youth Group.
Vision Bearers Youth Group is a self-help group in Mathare 3C area that was formed in 2017 to rehabilitate youths who had reformed from the difficult life of crime and violence in Mathare. The group’s main programs are acrobatics and traditional dance, garbage collection, food programs for kids and urban farming for food security where they work closely with the MSJC ecological justice campaign. Vision Bearers have 18 members, both men and women, and their future plan is to have a piece of land that they can use for ecological farming and to have a small community library.
Last week there were politically instigated skirmishes in Mathare, and almost 50 houses were burnt, and up to ten people were injured. It is alleged that the violence started because of a stolen boda boda from Number Ten area, but politicians and the police took advantage to fuel the violence that was going on. It is during this crisis that Saigonpunisher James, of the vigilante NAIROBI CRIME FREE Facebook group, profiled and threatened the young men from Vision Bearers Youth Group, saying that they were thugs who are terrorizing Mathare residents. These assertions were to mislead the public and to justify the premeditated murder of these young people.
To fight this police impunity, on Friday May 26 2023, MSJC, together with Vision Bearers Youth Group and Haki Africa, hosted and presented a petition to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). This petition, available below, focuses on the lack of response by security agencies in addressing reports of delays in the administration of justice, resulting from incidences of ethnic skirmishes, profiling of youths, enforced disappearances, extra-judicial killings, drug abuse and crime in Mathare. The right to life is absolute and it is our right to live with dignity even as we strive for social justice in Mathare.
Our collective petition gave the following recommendations to the ODPP:
Map and order the Inspector General of Police to investigate the faces behind pseudo social media accounts allegedly being used to profile young people as a strategy for preparing the ground for their possible execution and/or enforced disappearance;
Order for the investigations of all cases petitioned during this forum to determine any incidences of culpability of any member of the criminal justice system with a view to instituting legal action against those found responsible for compromising the criminal justice system;
Investigate alleged involvement of political leaders, local elders and security agencies who are responsible for inciting the youth to get involved in conflicts and insecurity, including use of ethnicity as a card for polarization and incitement;
Investigate allegations of failure by authorities to address the problem of hard drugs trafficking and use, which the community considers as a factor which influences youth involvement in crime;
Apply your experience in collaborating with the CSOs fraternity to propose mechanisms for building and sustaining trust between communities and grassroots human rights defenders on one hand and security agencies and other criminal justice actors on the other hand, hence providing a space for effective use of community-led intelligence as a tool for fighting crime in Mathare;
Criminal justice actors in Mathare should agree on the formation of community peace and security committees with representatives from local communities, CSOs and government representatives to work together to fight crime as well as promote community cohesion;
Involve more youths and women in peace and security initiatives including those who are reforming from crime since they can be effective peace and security champions;
We thank HAKI Africa and Noordin Haji of the ODPP for making the time to visit our community. We hope together we will prioritise the right to life, dignity and justice struggles of all of whom are under threat of police and state impunity.
MSJC was part of a collaborative study on the use of lethal force by the police. The purpose of the study was “to analyse the use of force by the police in Kenya” in 2021.
This important study brings together the work of organisations including the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI), the African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF), MSJC and Laboratorio de Analise de Violencia.
The critical findings and recommendations in the report are accessible through this link:
Between November 2 – 4, 2022, there was a convening of social justice movements from diverse African contexts in Nairobi, Kenya. This meeting was organized by the Tshisimani Centre For Activist Education and hosted by Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC), and is intended to build-up to a larger convening in Africa in 2022: where social movements in Southern and East Africa will come together to share strategies’, learn, and strengthen activism.
The two-day gathering brought a lot of learning through group discussions, readings, artistic processes, engaging pedagogy, cultural night, and site visits to the Ukombozi library, Mathare Social Justice Centre, and Kayole Social Justice Centre.
You can download the report of the convening here:
After many years of community appeals, and the brave work of activists, killer-cop Rashid is scheduled to face his day in court, since the Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) have accepted IPOA’s investigations about his role in the killing of two youth in Pangani — killings that were filmed and were broadcast across the nation five years ago in 2017.
We are here to say, as we have been documenting since 2016, that killer-cop Rashid has killed many more of our brothers, some of them as young as 12 years. We document and keep documenting. For those defending him, and as he continues to protest his innocence, please see here a list of 43 young people killed by Rashid in Mathare and more in our 2017 report: Who is Next.
This list was compiled by Mothers of Victims and Survivors in Mathare, whose children have also been killed by police bullets.
We will not be silent. We will be in court to watch the prosecution of Rashid. And we will keep fighting for our children.
