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Published: June 14th 2007
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now that you're thoroughly perplexed...
the movement for political accountability (MOPA) is a KNCHR (kenya
national commission on human rights) initiative aiming to empower
kenyan voters to hold their political leaders to a higher standard.
it is, in essence, a contract that candidates in this year's
presidential and parliamentiary elections would have to sign
pledging to slash their own salaries, show up to at least 3/4 of
sessions of parliament, not resort to negative ethnicity and hate
speech while campaigning...plus a whole mess of other rights-based
demands that i wish the american congress came anywhere near
meeting.
MOPA is being rolled out across the country in a new town every
weekend, which is why (da DUM!) i scored a ride out to kenya's
gorgeous coast last week. truth be told, i knew precious little
about the program as of last wednesday, when i jumped in the car
headed out of nairobi. seven hours later we arrived in mombasa, and
i drew in that salty air, holding it in before releasing it slowly
with a languid sigh.
the steam of the tropics and predominant swahili culture combine to
give mombasa a feeling entirely different from bustling nairobi.
life
is slower on the coast...i mean, let's face it, who's in a
rush when there's a warm breeze blowing in off the indian ocean?
the unhurried pace reminded me of village life in togo and it was
in many ways a relief to sink back into that humid skin, if only
for a few days. sitting with the old men drinking ginger-infused
coffee on benches facing the harbour was like being at a tchouk
stand with a view and i ached for kaniamboua more strongly than i
have in quite some time. rambling around and taking in the old
town's ornately carved doors and balconies; hunting for avocado
juice; diving into a whole, fresh, fabulously seasoned fish with my
fingers and washing it down with a cold tusker beer at a little
beach bar...and all of this on a work trip. apparently human rights
is way more fun than even i thought.
there is so much more i could say about mombasa and the MOPA effort,
but ever since i got back to nairobi on sunday my head has been full
with all the craziness surrounding the secretive mungiki cult and
their recent activity. i'm not clear on how
much the international
press is covering all of this, but a recent bbc article sums it up
pretty well:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6744651.stm
from what i can tell, the mungiki are like a bizarre kenyan mafia.
they've been arond since the eighties and were pretty marginalized
at first, but have gained in power and influence seemingly as a
result of the kenyan security force's inability to protect its
citizens. where the police are unable or unwilling to act, the
mungiki step in and people pay them for protection, particularly in
the slums. the past few years have seen a sharp rise in violent
mungiki activity as they seem to be poising themselves to assume
some sort of position of power (speculation varies widely as to
whether they want seats in parliament or are planning a full-on
coup) and things have gotten particularly intense in recent weeks.
the kenyan police have retaliated with brutal and arbitrary attacks
in what seems to me an effort to intimidate the sect and their
supporters, and kibaki has even backed a shoot to kill order.
obviously none of this quite jives with human rights, so the
national commission i'm working with has spoken out
strongly
against the police and government for their reaction. but people
are scared and confused and human rights don't seem popular among
people fearing for their lives...there has actually been a strong
public outcry against the commission since people feel the KNCHR's
calls to respect the rule of law and due process are capitulations
to the mungiki, especially given the as-yet unexplained explosion
that went off downtown on monday. it will be a tough time for this
young institution i'm working for and i'm at once fascinated and
anxious to see how it plays out.
so far, not too well: KNCHR hosted a huge forum on police
accountability and effectiveness involving delegates from all over
the continent from monday through yesterday in an attempt to work
on their thorny relationship with security forces. while the
conference was planned log before the crackdowns began, its
relevance was of course hightened by recent events. the kenyan
police, unfortunately, abruptly pulled out of the forum, leading
police invited from uganda, tanzania, and rwanda to boycott, as
well.
it was a sharp reminder of how tenuous the commission's
progress really is. while the conference proceeded as planned, with
civil society and human rights institutions hunkering down to hash
out a plan to engage more effectively with police while holding
them to account, all of us present at the forum knew we were
preaching to the choir. it was a fantastic opportunity for me to
make contacts and see the work going on in the region, but i
couldn't help gritting my teeth when i saw ali, the police
commissioner, giving a press conference on the news since i knew
where he ought to have been instead.
debate reigns within the commission as to the best way forward. some
of the commissioners are true firebrands, outspoken, passionate,
inspiring...and yet that very outspokenness risks driving an even
deeper wedge between KNCHR and the police. unpleasant as it may be,
part of defending human rights involves engaging with those who
violate them...ostracizing such people gets you nowhere fast. the
commission has built up a strong reputation in the four years since
its inception, and the amount it has accomplished is truly amazing.
but it's phenomena like mungiki that threaten to send all that
progress forwars spiralling back...
in any case, it's an election year, so things are bound to be dicey.
and dicey is certainly more promising than the stasis that existed
in togo while i was there...that was more a stagnant calm than
peace. so while kenya may appear from the outside to be in an
uproar, it's that very uproar that gives me hope. perhaps it's the
uproar of a more open society struggling to mark the path ahead.
but hey, what do i know? i'm just an intern hitching rides to the
coast and absorbing all i can.
hope you're all well!
smile
all love
chantal
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