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PWDs petition Mombasa gov’t to ensure all public offices are accessible

By
Joyce Jura
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MUHURI Rapid Response Officer Francis Auma with PWDs during the procession in Mombasa./COURTESY

Persons With Disabilities living in Mombasa on Friday petitioned the County government to ensure all public buildings in the county are accessible to PWDs.

The group held processions from Bima Towers Building along Digo Road to the Governor’s office in protest of being unable to access several buildings that house government offices due to infrastructural challenges.

Led by Coast Civil Society Organizations including Kituo Cha Sheria, Muslim for Human Rights (MUHURI), Ajenda Kenya, and HAKI Africa, the group presented the petition to Mombasa Governor Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir at the county government offices.

“According to the 2019 census, 2.2% (0.9 million people) of Kenyans live with some form of a disability. The results indicate that 1.9% of men have a disability compared with 2.5% of women,” read the petition.

The group has given both the national and county governments 30 days to comply with their demands failure to which they will proceed to court.

“According to Article 9 of the Conventions on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), State parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure all persons living with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communication,” read the petition.

“The State parties shall also take appropriate measures to develop, promulgate and monitor the implementation of minimum standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services provided to the public,” it continued to read.

  • Ajenda Kenya’s Otieno Obiero and a PWD during the procession./COURTESY

Speaking during the procession, Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights Chairperson Zedekiah Adika highlighted Bima Towers Building, Betting and Control Building, Mombasa DCC Offices at Treasury Building, Uhuru na Kazi Building and the County Assembly building as some that are inaccessible to PWDs.

He said most buildings in Mombasa are not friendly for the physically challenged.

Also read:PWDs decry inaccessibility to government offices in Mombasa

“The need and importance of personal mobility cannot be overstated. The government is bound to take steps to enforce laws and regulations on accessibility and personal mobility without which persons with disabilities cannot fully participate in all aspects of life or enjoy their freedom of movement,” said Adika.

During the procession, the Mombasa County Assembly promised to work on the accessibility issues in three months.

Meanwhile, Mombasa Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir assured the group that the County will ensure all public buildings are accessible to PWDs.

Mombasa Governor Abdullswamad Sheriff Nassir outside the County Government Offices where he received the petition on the matter of inaccessibility of public buildings in Mombasa./COURTESY

“One of the things we are going to consider is if they will not be able to ensure the accessibility then we will move our county offices to buildings that are accessible to PWDs,” said Governor Nassir.

The Mombasa Governor also took the opportunity to inform the group that Bima Towers is a national government building but assured them that he will be writing a letter to the national government to request that it renovates the building to ensure accessibility.

“The letter will be copied to the Federation of Women Lawyers and other CSOs. We will even give a commitment that in the event that the national government does not do this then we will consider very heavily that we move and find a place that is accessible to PWDs,” said Governor Nassir.

The petition was shared with the representative for Treasury, National Government, the County Assembly of Mombasa, and the Governor of Mombasa County.

The Petition is related to the inaccessibility of Government buildings in Mombasa, which has subsequently denied services to PWDs.

Local community group conserving mangrove in Mombasa sensitized on GBV

By
Joyce Jura
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Locals plant Mangrove seedlings during a past Mangrove restoration exercise in Mombasa's Mdengerekeni area./Joyce Jura

A local community group in Mombasa County’s Mdengerekeni area on Saturday planted mangrove trees along Mtwapa creek to celebrate ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’.

Speaking dduring the Mangrove restoration exercise, Otieno Obiero from Ajenda Kenya said the exercise was not only to plant trees but also sensitize the community on GBV.

Ajenda Kenya’s Otieno Obiero plants Mangrove seedlings with locals during the Mangrove restoration exercise in Mombasa’s Mdengerekeni area./Joyce Jura

“We decided to celebrate the ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence by planting mangrove trees,” said Otieno Obiero.

Otieno said there were various forms of violations against women and young girls in the community.

Among the various types of GBV, the community mentioned early marriage, rape, defilement and physical assault as some of the violations being experienced in Mdengerekeni.

“They have given an example of a man who was arrested a few days ago for having an affair with his daughter,” said Obiero.

After the GBV sensitization session, the community proceeded to plant mangrove trees along the Mtwapa creek.

Locals plant Mangrove seedlings during the Mangrove restoration exercise in Mombasa’s Mdengerekeni area./Joyce Jura

Speaking during the exercise Khadija Umazi Mchonyi, the chairperson of Venus Mangrove Plantation Conservation, said the group planted more than 300 mangrove trees.

“Today was about GBV and planting trees. These trees will help in improving and conserving our environment. They will also provide food for the fish and other animals,” said Khadija Umazi.

Locals plant Mangrove seedlings during the Mangrove restoration exercise in Mombasa’s Mdengerekeni area./Joyce Jura

Even though they have been facing challenges, the 23-member group, which was formed on 6th March this year, has so far planted more than 80,000 mangrove trees along the creek.

“We are facing several challenges; we do not have an office; we do not have equipment, currently we only have the two spades we used during the exercise; we do not have funders or sponsorships; and we also need a transportation vessel to cross to the other side of the creek to get seedlings,” said Umazi.

Mangrove seedlings planted in Mdengerekeni along Mtwapa Creek in Mombasa./Joyce Jura

Meanwhile, the group’s assistant secretary Jay Ndoro Mwadzame said since the formation of the group, there have been fewer incidents of cutting down of mangrove trees and charcoal burning along the creek.

He said the group has been a major contributor in mangrove conservation in the area.

“This project is about mangrove conservation but initially we had bee keeping and fish rearing which turned out to be quite expensive. We will go back to that once the group is financially stable,” said Mwadzame.

Tirus Makumi works in a Civil Society Organization. He says they learnt of the plight of the Mdengerekeni community from other non-governmental organizations and decided to carry out the mangrove restoration exercise.

“There used to be a lot of fish in Mtwapa Creek but after the cutting down of mangroves, the numbers decreased posing a challenge to those who depended on fishing as their source of income and turning them to cutting down of the trees to sell to those building houses and for home use,” said Tirus.

Mangrove trees planted along Mtwapa Creek./Joyce Jura

“Today we have planted over 300 seedlings. It will not end with the planting, we will also be monitoring their progress and growth through the Venus Mangrove Plantation Conservation group,” he added.

State of GBV: No ward in Kilifi County is free from Gender-Based Violence

By
Julius Mwashumbe
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16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence./COURTESY

As the country accelerates the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) during these 16 days of activism, the reality check is tough to bear.

According to the Director of the State Department of Gender in Kilifi County Georgina Dulu, most cases of GBV in the region include early marriages, rape, defilement, physical assault and murder of the elderly due to witchcraft claims, and economic and harmful traditional cultures.

“We have done analysis for all the wards in the county and in the 35 wards in Kilifi County, 20 of them need immediate action as they contain the highest number of GBV with the remaining 15 needing action to stop the cases from rising,” she said.

Data from the Kilifi County government indicates that in the month of January and February, 200 cases of sexual gender-based violence were recorded with the youngest victim being a two-year-old baby from Bamba.

According to the data, by March the cases were already at 383 compared to 501 cases for the full year of 2021. 

As part of ways to stop the violence, the judiciary in November this year launched Children Service Month with the aim of sensitizing the public on the rights of children and to hear, determine and fast-track cases involving children across all court stations.

According to Chief Justice Martha Koome, the move was not only to reduce the backlog of cases but also to raise awareness about children. Since the establishment of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) in 2021, more than 6,000 cases have been cleared in court.

Initiatives by many organizations such as ‘Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung’ (DSW) Kenya, an international development organization working on the topic of sexual and reproductive health and rights of young people in East Africa, are hugely contributing to change in the community.

During a radio session at Baraka FM’s Pozi 254 show, Steven Kibindio, a project officer at DSW Kenya called for the reporting of GBV cases saying it’s the only way to stop and prevent the cases.

He added that evidence was crucial when filing GBV cases.

“I like advising people that when you have reported the case to the police or a health facility and are handed documents such as the P3 form, take photos or photocopies and preserve them well because they are the only ones that will help you get justice. Sometimes people ask for our help but we can’t help because they have even forgotten the OB number,” he said.

Kenya has taken steps in the right direction with major legal reforms such as case management and easy access to health assistance including the P3 form by the survivor and the opening of the first-ever special sexual gender-violence court at Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa; however, the numbers are still high.

In 2010, Kenya Violence Against Children reported that 32% of young women aged 18-24 years and 18% of their male counterparts in the country reported experiencing sexual violence before the age of 18.

“There is no part of the county that is safe from gender-based violence and this shows that there is a lot of work to be done in order to stop these acts,” said CEC Georgina Dulu.

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DSW also has a project, HAPA (Holistic Action Project for Young Adolescents), aimed at improving sexual reproductive health for young adolescents aged 10-14 in primary schools in Kaloleni and Mariakani wards in Kilifi County.

The project approach comprises young people teaching themselves in HAPA clubs, which are school clubs that have 45 members, both boys and girls.

They equip them with information that they then pass to fellow club members, further having youth mentors who talk to the young adolescents during visits to different schools and media channels (radio) for a wider reach of young adolescents in and outside the county of Kilifi.

DSW Kenya is a non-governmental organization that focuses on the needs and potential of the largest youth generation in history. The organization is committed to creating demand for and access to health information, services, and supplies for the youth, and to securing their right to a brighter future.

Communities still reluctant to accept ex-inmates

By
Joyce Jura
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Shimo La Tewa Maximum Prison in Mombasa County./COURTESY

The community is still reluctant to accept back people who have been released from prison.

Speaking in Mombasa at Shimo La Tewa Women’s Prison, Zedekiah Adika from Kituo cha Sheria said people leaving prisons still had challenges when it came to settling back into the community.

“We have one who was released and found his land had been grabbed, and his parents had already died and no one wanted to help him. Such things can make someone commit a crime to go back to prison because it feels more like home,” said Adika.

Speaking during the ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ celebration, Adika also said there was no allocation by the government to help people who are exiting prison.

Adika who is the Programs Officer at Kituo Cha Sheria said they had been training inmates as paralegals because most of them could not afford lawyers.

“In the process of training them, they are helping other inmates. They have assisted many inmates, in the last three years they have assisted more than 200 people,” said Adika.

Adika said they had trained 180 paralegals who have helped at least 297 people at the Shimo La Tewa maximum prison. 113 were released through appeals and 75 had their sentences reviewed.

At the Shimo La Tewa Women’s prison, 376 have been assisted. Five have been released, 19 plea bargains, and others assisted through legal aid.

“I must commend what is happening. When we started the women’s side had around 200 people, as we speak, the population here is 66 people,” said Adika.

“This shows that the number of people being locked up has reduced and that is what we want as a community,” he added.

African countries urged to include climate change,food security in economic agenda

By
George Otieno
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Treasury CS Njoroge Ndung'u (center) with other AERC officials

African economies have been urged to include food security,climate change mitigation and adaption framework in the economic agenda.

This was said during the African Economies Research Conference (AERC) 57th Biannual Research Workshop.

Speaking at the event, CS of the National Treasury and Economics Planning Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, reiterated the need for governments across the continent to focus on protecting private investments, recovering the health in infrastructure, education and nutrition as part of recovery from the multiple shocks that.

“We can accelerate African economic recovery journey through collaboration and cooperation towards research that focuses on how to protect private investors, how to reinforce education, recover the health infrastructure, food security, and food markets, and how to develop, and protect markets to help our economies to recover from the current shocks,”  he said.

He also encouraged African economies to develop, regulate and even protect the markets as part of economic recovery. He further challenged economic researchers to focus on domestic resource mobilisation and digital resolution in the African set-up. 

In the last two decades, African economies have weathered multiple negative global shocks and remained resilient even when these shocks hit hard the core of key macroeconomic indicators. However, the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the war in Ukraine and climate-related shocks have caused permanent damage that could take years to mend.

“We saw the covid-19 pandemic that hit the entire world, but Africa was affected differently from the rest of the world, and today the most relevant issue is the war in Ukraine that is affecting the whole world but quite different on how Africa is being tested and we need to figure out solutions in our own way on how to tackle these many shocks,” said Professor Ernest Aryeetey, Chair of the AERC Board.

On his part, Acting AERC Executive Director and Director of Training Professor Théophile T. Azomahou noted that the economic fundamentals of most African economies have not changed much in the last three decades. 

He, said, that the recovery from the shock that is taking shape runs the risk of being uneven, widening the differences within Africa itself and between Africa, and the rest of the world.

“We observe an overstretched resource envelope to mitigate COVID-19, low productivity in agriculture arising from climate change, low value addition from manufacturing sectors and persistent trade barriers in the region that globally calls for new approaches in handling structural shocks. The outcome is declining economic activity, rising poverty and inequality, in fact, the Covid-19 has wiped the efforts in the last two decades or so on growth, fighting poverty and inequality. With low adaptation and implementation of dynamic structural transformation strategies emanating from lower capital accumulation, some of the development initiatives that could have spurred Africa out of poverty trap have been elusive,” Professor Théophile T. Azomahou said.

The conference brought together high-level policymakers, researchers, media, economists, academics, and non-state actors in a lively mix of speeches, presentations, plenary and concurrent sessions.

Story courtesy

Supervisor helps KCPE candidate deliver baby during exams

By
George Otieno
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A photo of a pregnant school girl./COURTESY

A candidate sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) on Monday gave birth during the examination.

The candidate gave birth at Chang’ombe primary school in Rabai area, during the exams which kicked off on Monday 28th November 2022.

According to Joyce Mwamusi, a KCPE examinations supervisor at the school, the candidate started having labour pain during the English paper.

However, she says the learner was overwhelmed during the afternoon test and they had to help her give birth at the school before taking her to the hospital.

“She started complaining of labour pain at around 12:20 pm during the English paper and I managed to talk to her to finish the paper. The pain subsided during lunch. At around 2:30 pm during the English Composition exams, she started feeling pain again and was only able to write her name on the paper,” said Mwamusi.

“I called officials from the Ministry of Education, and also called CEC Director and asked for assistance to take the girl to Shika Adabu health center,” she added.

Mwamusi said the ambulance arrived at the school some minutes past four when they had already helped in delivering the baby.

“Before the ambulance arrived we had already called the candidate’s mother and told her to bring some clothes and razor. So I helped deliver the baby and cut the umbilical cord,” she said.

She also indicated that another candidate in the school is also pregnant.

“She will sit the remaining papers at the hospital. We will take the remaining papers to her because she was admitted due to some tears,” she said.

Edited by Joyce Jura

17 coastal projects to be funded to the tune of sh85.4 million

By
Joyce Jura
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Grantees of the THC project grant./COURTESY

17 projects from the six coastal counties will be getting funding to the tune of €669,879.55, which is equivalent to sh.85,427,176.79, through Go Blue’s Tourism Heritage Culture project.

Under the THC project, 17 projects will receive funding from European Union through Camões.

Speaking during the onboarding event of the THC grantees, project lead Paula Vilela de Oliveira said there were 94 applications for the grant.

“Out of the 94 applications, 17 were selected and six are in the reserve list just in case those who were selected dropped out of the project. 21 were not selected and 50 were not evaluated because they did not meet all requirements,” said Paula.

Five of the selected projects are from Kwale county, five from Kilifi, three from Tana River, two from Mombasa, and one each from Taita Taveta and Lamu Counties.

“70 percent of the selected projects were not for profit, 18 percent public, and 12 percent for profit,” she said.

Not-for-profit projects received 85 percent of the funds at €570,174.55 (sh.72,712,179.44). Public projects got nine percent of the total budget with €59,205 (sh.7,550,187.19) while for-profits projects will get six percent which translates to €40,500 (sh.5,164,810.09).

Portuguese Ambassador to Kenya Amb. Ana Filomena Rocha during Go Blue’s Tourism and Cultural Heritage (TCH) component On-boarding event./COURTESY

Speaking during the onboarding event, Ambassador Ana Filomena Rocha indicated the importance of the THC project to young people and women.

“This project has an added value of investing in people. People are really the wealth of a country,” said Amb. Rocha.

Go Blue Advisor, Ali Mwanzei said that tourism and cultural heritage is significant as it creates opportunities for young people to be trained and equipped with entrepreneurship skills.

“Through the Ubuntu Leadership Academy, 150 youth received training in multiple tourism and hospitality social entrepreneurship skills to find a job and/or create their own business,” said Mwanzei.

During the event, project lead, Paula Vilela de Oliveira, indicated that “the TCH component seeks to mentor and train young people, increase the capacity of JKP, and conduct a value chains analysis study to facilitate the development of a tourism and cultural heritage blueprint.”

Also at the event was Jumuiya ya Kaunti za Pwani CEO Emmanuel Nzai.

“This is a very good example of the Go Blue project in partnership with the six coastal counties and the Kenya Government on how it goes in deeper to unlock the value of the Tourism, Heritage and Culture as part of the Blue Economy,” said JKP CEO Emmanuel Nzai.

THC project managed and implemented by Portugal falls under Go Blue Growth which is component one of the Go Blue project under GIZ, AICS, and Camões, the other components are Go Blue Land-Sea planning under UN-Habitat and UNEP and Go Blue Security under Expertise France.

Mombasa begins operation to flush out street families from CBD

By
George Otieno
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0

Mombasa County government have began the process of evicting street children from the Central Business District (CBD) for allegedly terrorizing residents by engaging in petty crimes.

County askaris flanked by police officers mounted the operation around Maboxini and Uwanja wa Gymkhana believed to be their hide out.

Mombasa County Inspectorate director Charles Karisa also said such hide outs in Changamwe will also be shut down and county askaris deployed to dissuade the gangs from re-grouping.

The street children have been accused of pick pocketing, snatching phones, laptops and other valuables before hiding in those areas.

“  When they steal from you, they run to hide here. We must secure Mombasa especially as we head to December holidays”, he said.

Meanwhile traders in the affected areas welcomed the operation saying peace will finally reign.

According to one food vendor, customers have been avoiding the areas due to crime.

“ We happy they have been removed from here. They steal anything and when you raise alarm, they come for you later with bottles to beat you up”, said a trader who requested anyonymity.

PWDs decry inaccessibility to government offices in Mombasa

By
Joyce Jura
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Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights Chairperson Zedekiah Adika joined by PWDs during the protest at Bima Towers in Mombasa./COURTESY

Persons with disability (PWDs) are protesting over being unable to access several government offices in Mombasa County due to lack of disability friendly infrastructure.

Through civil society organizations (CSOs), the group lamented of not being able to access some buildings which house government offices, including Uhuru na Kazi building where the National Council for People with Disability offices are situated.

“We the Civil Society Organizations present here under banner of Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights, in solidarity with people with disability join hands to speak up on inaccessibility of government offices by people abled differently in Mombasa,” said Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights Chair Zedekiah Adika.

The group listed four buildings within the county which house several national and county government offices. The buildings are:

Uhuru na Kazi building
Uhuru na Kazi building./COURTESY

The Uhuru na Kazi building houses several government offices including the National Council for People with Disability, Coast Regional Commissioner and the Department of Migration.

The group claims the 9-storey building which had been operating with three lifts currently has only one operational lift.

Bima Towers building
Bima Towers building in Mombasa./COURTESY

The 16-storey Bima Towers located along Digo road houses the National Registration Bureau, Regional Survey Office, Land Adjudication and Settlement, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Education, County Attorney, Environment and Waste Management and Tourism offices.

“In the last three years the building has been operating without lifts, neither does it have a ramp, disadvantaging PWDs from accessing services,” said Adika.

Betting and Control building located in Kizingo.

The 6-storey building hosts several county government departments including the Human Resource and County Public Service Board, the Office of the County Secretary, Department of Youth, Gender, Sports, Department of Children and Ministry of Interior and Coordination department of probation and aftercare services.

“The building has one entrance accessible to a wheelchair user but the lifts within the building are not working, neither does it have ramps,” said Adika.

The Mombasa County Assembly building

The group claims that even though the building has been renovated several times to fit in the new needs of the County Assembly, it does not comply with the accessibility requirements for the PWDs.

They say they cannot access the assembly during the proceedings or participate in any motion in the the assembly. They also cannot access the office of the clerk to submit their memoranda or letter of consideration.

Haki Africa RRO Mathias Shipeta with PWDs during the protests./COURTESY

Speaking during the protests, HAKI Africa’s Rapid Response Officer Mathias Shipeta said access to government services was everyone’s right.

“The rights of persons with disabilities have been safeguarded under Article 54 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which guarantees the PWDs are entitled to reasonable access to all places, public transport and information,” said Shipeta.

Through the CSOs, the group called on treasury to allocate money for the repair and renovation of the government buildings to be disability friendly.

“The national and county governments should with urgency resolve the impasse of which building should be under devolved government to ensure proper allocation and stop taking parties in circles,” said Adika.

They also want the County government of Mombasa to renovate buildings housing their departments to be disability friendly, not to disadvantage PWDs from accessing services.

“The county government should prioritize resources in mainstreaming the county assembly block to be accessible to all persons in the region,” he said.

The group said even though a meeting on the matter was held with the County Commissioner on 13th June 2022, not much has been done to avert the situation creating barrier for PWDs to access government services and enjoy their freedom of movement.

Femi One wins Best female rapper at AFRIMMA Awards2022

By
Julius Mwashumbe
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AFRIMMA's Best Female Rapper In Africa Femi One./COURTESY

Kenyan musician Femi One has been named the best female rapper during the AFRIMMA awards ceremony held in Dallas, Texas on November 19, 2022.

The ‘Utawezana’ singer expressed joy on Social Media writing “We won!!! Best Female Rapper In Africa. The first East African Female rapper to take it home, it’s such a big pat on the back for my team and I for all the work we’ve put in throughout the years.”

Adding, “consistency and patience had been key in her work and has finally paid off.”

Femi also took the opportunity to encourage upcoming artists by writing; “This should be an encouragement for all the up-and-coming Female rappers! There is a spot for you in this industry, keep building, keep doing it, they are watching. Thank you all so much for the continued support.”

Kaka Empire (where she is signed) boss King Kaka congratulated her by writing on his Instagram page; “I’ve seen you grow, I’ve seen you build, now the world is ready for you. Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you The Best Female Rapper in Africa @femi_one your story is a miracle, God Loves you. The Kaka Empire Team Big Up and everyone who made this possible.”

Other artists from East Africa who won this year’s awards were Wasafi Classic Baby (WCB) boss, Diamond Platnumz who was crowned Best Live Act in Africa, his signee Zuchu who won the award for the best female artiste in East Africa, and Next Level Music president Rayvanny took home the award for the best male artiste in East Africa.

A heartbroken Zuchu who was in attendance at the event after the almost failed show due to poor attendance used to stage to console herself saying; “I’m actually very emotional right now because I spent the whole night crying yesterday because my show in Houston did not go as planned but God told me, we can always take failure as a lesson, as an upcoming artiste I’m just telling you guys this is not the end but actually the beginning of my journey.”

Other Kenyan artists nominated for the awards were Khaligraph Jones- Best Male East Africa, Otile Brown- Best Male East Africa, Jovial- Best Female East Africa, Ssaru- Best Newcomer, Sauti Sol- Best Live Act, Fena Gitu- Best Female Rap Act, Marioo X Jovial- Mi Amor- Best Collaboration, Enos Olik- Best Video Director, DJ Shinski- Best African DJ USA, DJ Poison Ivy- Best African DJ USA, and Jamal Ghadafi – Radio/TV Personnel of the Year.

All Africa Music Awards is an annual awards event that reward and celebrate musical works, talents, and creativity around the African continent while promoting the African cultural heritage. 

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