Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga has announced the start of peaceful mass action protests against President William Ruto’s government, kicking off with a major demonstration planned for 20 March, in Nairobi. This comes after the lapse of the 14-day ultimatum, which Raila had issued to President Ruto to address the cost of living, open the 2022 presidential election servers and stop the process of appointing new members of the electoral agency, IEBC.
Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings - they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. In conversation with Irungu Houghton, we explore the state of human rights work in the age of massive disruption.
Despite the enormous burden that mental ill-health imposes on individuals, their families, society, health systems and the economy, mental health care remains a neglected area of public policy in Kenya. Dannish Odongo speaks.
How the myth of ‘institutions’ has hobbled the fight against graft and wasted precious time and money. The Elephant in conversation with Sheila Masinde, Executive Director at Transparency International Kenya.
Africa is often seen as a continent of mass migration and displacement caused by poverty, violent conflict, and environmental stress. Yet such perceptions are based on stereotypes rather than theoretically informed empirical research. The Elephant in conversation with Nanjala Nyabola. - This interview is part of a series on migration and displacement in and from Africa, co-produced by the Elephant and the Heinrich Boll Foundation’s African Migration Hub, which is housed at its new Horn of Africa Office in Nairobi.
Dr Wandia Njoya explores developments in Kenya’s education sector since independence. She explains that the initial 7-6-3 system was designed to recreate a British style elite; 8-4-4 created more rounded Kenyans who were better critical thinkers; now we head into the uncertainties of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which seems to be a throwback to the original 7-6-3 system. Dr Njoya also explores the implications of these developments.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labour leaders, faith-based organizations, religious leaders and other civil society representatives play a critical and diverse set of roles in societal development. Will the shifting external environment for civil society have any place in civil society? The Elephant in conversation with Dr Wandia Njoya, a scholar and a social and political communicator.
We have a conversation with Njoki Njehu as she takes us through who she is, what informs her politics, her role as the Africa coordinator of the Fight Inequality Alliance and finally we learn about their upcoming Global Organising School.
Political changes in Kenya in the last several years, elite hubris, and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an imminent collapse of the feudal system that has sustained crony capitalism, misogyny and ethnic chauvinism. The Elephant in conversation with Dr Wandia Njoya and Dr Mordecai Ogada.
For tax justice to truly work on behalf of the citizen, it must be founded on the principles of human rights. This demands that the financial architecture and fiscal systems in place allow for: citizen participation in decision making; accountability of systems; non-discrimination in implementation of programmes; empowering processes that enhance social mobility; requisite sanction in the face of transgressions; and legitimacy through applying the rule of law. The Elephant in conversation with Leonard Wanyama, regional coordinator of the East African Tax and Governance Network (EATGN).
Millions of Kenyans are still stretching begging bowls each year for relief food and not to forget the cost of food which has skyrocketed making affordability out of reach for many, especially in the urban areas. It is time, Kenyans challenged the status quo by demanding from the political class to have the food agenda on the table of discussion. The Elephant in conversation with Claire Nasike Akello, Project Lead and Food For Life Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa.
Civil society organisations have in the past played a key role in the democratisation process of Kenya. As the country moves toward the polls, will we see a robust civil society at the forefront championing electoral justice? The Elephant in conversation with Wambua Kawive, an educationist, a literary scholar and a writer.