R Clay introduced Elizabeth:
Elizabeth is from Kenya, currently in Tanzania as a refugee and seeking help to come to Canada.
Further to the presentation by Elizabeth, Amnesty International have just released a report on human rights abuses in Kenya that rates itamong the worst. Below is the link to the report.
Elizabeth shared her story via a power point presentation.
Elizabeth Muthoni Wanjau is a Kenyan citizen aged 37 years and a human rights defender. She came from Nyeri County, in a small, semi-urban sub-county called Nyeri Central Sub-county. She is a single mother of two children, a boy aged 12 years and a girl aged 7 years.
She is the first born in a family of four. Her father left when she was 9 years old and was brought up by her mother. Prior to the departure of her father, they lived in constant fear due to his violence and would often spend the night outside in the cold. Her mother relied on odd jobs to raise the family which took a toll on her physical health.
Elizabeth studied up to college but had to drop out to take care of her mother and younger siblings when her mother took ill. Elizabeth has aquired various skills and hopes that in the future, she will have an opportunity to complete college.
She has been a human rights defender for over 15 years. During this period, she has dealt with matters touching on
•Child abuse and neglect
•Sexual abuse of children and young women
•Matrimonial property disputes
•Women land rights
•Livelihood support for vulnerable families
•Educational support for children survivors of sexual violence
•Child support and maintenance
•Governance, rule of law and civic engagement
In public service she has served in these public positions both in government and in civil society
1.A coordinator with Nyeri Young Women Empowerment a community based organization I co-founded to help deal with issues of sexual and gender based violence against young women and children.
2.A member of Voice of Nyeri Initiative which is a lobby group that advocates for good governance and accountability from leaders and public servants.
3.I served for six years as a board member of the Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company representing special interest groups(women)2008 – 2015.
4.I served as a youth representative in the Municipal Council of Nyeri where I articulated youth issues having been nominated by my political party.(2008 – 2012)
5.I served in the Nyeri Town Constituency Development Fund Committee and advocated for women and youth involvement and inclusion in development.(2008-2012)
6.I served as chair of the Nyeri District Youth Development Forum, which lobbied for creation of the youth ministry and led to formulation of the National Youth Policy
7.I am currently the Chairperson of Solidarity Kenya, a community based organization that works in Laikipia, a neighboring county
8.I have continuously been engaged as a long term election observer by several organisations where I sensitize the community on the importance of voting and also free, fair and credible elections as well as observing the process on the material day
9.I am a member of the steering committee for Action for Orphans, a project that undertakes to sponsor orphans and vulnerable youth through vocational training
10.I belong to the Nyeri County Budget Coalition a lobby group that demands accountability and prudent use of public funds. We are involved in sensitizing members of the public on the budget process and helping them prioritize their development needs during the forums that are arranged at the county and national levels.
There is no law in Kenya that lays out the relationship between human rights defenders and the government or even a law that protects human rights defenders. This basically means that human rights defenders operate on their own with little or no goodwill from the community they operate in since in most cases they are viewed as outcasts and are highly marginalized.
However in the same breath, they are often called upon to help lobby for various community issues if and when they arise e.g. sexual and gender based violence, environmental issues, police brutality etc.
There is no support structure that exists to support human rights defenders and the organizations that work to protect the welfare of human rights defenders work with very constrained budgets since the government has established a law (Public Benefits Organizations Act,2013) that caps funding from international partners to the civil society and directs funding to be channeled through various ministries and departments.
Human rights defenders majorly work on volunteer basis and their reprieve comes when larger organisations engage them as agents to undertake various assignments in their respective communities. This also means that they are mostly not economically empowered.
Some of the other challenges they face include; Murder and attempted murder, arbitrary arrests, threats ,judicial intimidation, harassment, defamation, disappearance, discrimination on employment and other economic activities, stigmatization, alienation by family members and the community, threats of female genital mutilation for women in a bid to “teach her a lesson”
Elizabeth's own situation is as follows:
Since October 2020, I have constantly felt threatened alongside my children and feared for my security. This has been due to the following incidences:
In October 2020, an unknown person showed up at my door, looking for me. I had just stepped out and he found my children. He asked for my whereabouts and when he learnt that I was not in, he left with a message that he would be back. He did not leave any contacts which made it very suspicious since at the same time I was involved in pursuing a case of sexual abuse of a minor amongst other cases relating to land. I reported to the police but no action was taken
On different occasions last year, I was tailgated as I drove home by unknown persons who were very careful to conceal their identity and also ensured that I was not able to get the number plates of their motor vehicles and motorbikes.
These people followed me all the way to a few metres to my home where I had been forced to relocate to after the 2020 incident. This made it very difficult to report to the police. This went on randomly despite me changing my time of getting home. These incidences made me fear for the safety of myself and my children
On 12th November an unknown person trailed me at one of the public hospitals in Nyeri as I was seeking treatment for some children I had rescued from sexual abuse by their father. This was around midnight.
On 31st December, 2021 and 2nd January 2022, I was stalked by an unknown person as I went about my business in Nyeri town. I also reported to the police but again no action was taken.
On various occasions between 2018 and 2021, I have faced threats from the police as I pressured them to finish investigations into various cases and also when I questioned the manner in which investigations into various cases were being conducted.
There have been killings of other human rights activists in Kenya and due to the threat to her own life, she left Kenya in January 2022.
Frontline Defenders in a statement dated 10th January 2022, after the killing of the woman human rights defender from Isiolo condemned the killings of human rights defenders and in their report stated,
“Elizabeth Ekuru’s murder highlights the pervasive nature of violence against women human rights defenders in Kenya. Her killing which allegedly took place while defending land rights, is a true testimony of the risks, challenges, and attacks that women human rights defenders continue to face in their line of work. Her death is also an example of the price that women human rights defenders pay for protecting human rights and advancing the social, economic, cultural and political rights enshrined in the Kenyan 2010 Constitution. Front Line Defenders is concerned by the escalating attacks on women and in particular women human rights defenders in Kenya.”
She is currently awaiting refugee status determination by UNHCR and the government which I was recently informed is a lengthy process in this country since the National Eligibility Committee last sat in 2020, yet I have been given asylum for a period of four months up to 23rd April 2022. This therefore means that I am unable to get a durable solution in this country, I also cannot enroll my children in school and the fate of their education hangs in the balance. Going back to my country is not an option owing to the threats I face as a result of my human rights work.
With an asylum permit, I cannot be given work in this country and our days are spent holed up in the house since as asylum seekers, there is a lot of hostility from the citizens of the country. We also live in fear of our security since it is only a matter of time before our whereabouts are established. This has taken a toll on our mental health.
Her dreams include sending her children to school, then:
As part of my human rights work and support for vulnerable girls back at home, I intend to work extra hours to enable me send money home to buy them sanitary towels to continue being in school and not suffer like I did.
I also plan to consolidate my journal and publish a book to serve as an inspiration to women in similar positions to keep fighting.
I will continue to undertake my role as a human rights defender to continue with the struggle and continue to lobby from a distance for human rights defenders to get police protection.
As I finish, I wish to wind up with the words of my mentor, the late Desmond Tutu a great human rights defender who said,
“I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t”