Failure is not failing a new test but failing to try a new test

Failure is not failing a new test but failing to try a new test

Police Harassment

Apart from the rampant allegations of corruption that follow the Kenyan police wherever they go or operate, another disturbing feature that accompanies the police is the police harassment. Police in Kenya are said to be feared more than thieves and that is of the fact they always harass innocent people going on with their lives.

The harassment that police normally do to innocent Kenyans are;

• Extortion
• Arbitrary arrests
• Fixing of crimes on innocent people
• Use of extreme force when arresting people
• Demanding bribes

A lot of people have reported cases of harassment from the police who are meant to protect the civilians but nothing has ever been done to rectify the menace. A good example of police harassment is in Eastleigh where the police were accused by residents of harassment. The police operation was due to terrorist attacks on a restaurant in Eastleigh. The police were accused by residence that they were demanding bribes from people and business owners. Moreover the police were arresting people for trivial reason like not carrying the Identification Card. the operation in Eastleigh brought negative reviews on the police force and it is even believed that more youths turned to radicalism which was attributed to constant police harassment.

The following video was made by an Activist by the name Boniface Mwangi highlighting social injustice in Kenya and the extent of police brutality and harassment.See video here

Sexual Violence

Sexual violence refers to sexual activity where consent is not obtained or freely given.  It occurs any time a person is forced, coerced or manipulated into any unwanted sexual activity. There are various forms of sexual violence and they include; rape, sexual assault, incest, sexual exploitation and unwanted or inappropriate sexual contact. Most of these cases are not reported to the appropriate authorities and those that are actually reported are not taken seriously. An example of such an incident is Wangu Kanja of the Wangu Kanja Foundation. Back in 2002 she was carjacked and raped at gunpoint and when she reported the case to the police, they simply reported the incident as robbery with violence; not rape. She later on went to form her foundation in 2005  so that she could use her experience to help women, girls and men who have gone through sexual violence to access comprehensive care and support including medical, psychological and legal services. Through her efforts she hopes to make violence against women a social issue in Kenya.

Sexual violence against women is prominent in Kenya and this can be attributed to the societal view of the issue. Not too long ago there were cases of women being stripped in public for "dressing indecently" and the incident seemed to be repeated in different parts of the country. It was not until there was a public outcry that the government stepped in and had the perpetrators of the heinous crime prosecuted. This incident brought to light not the disease but, the symptoms of a much worse disease that has plagued our society. Whenever there is an incident of rape, others tend to justify it by laying the blame on the woman for the manner in which she was dressed. This in no way is a justifiable excuse for none has been given the power to play judge, jury and executioner.

In 2012 there was an incident in New Delhi India where a girl was gang raped 6 men on her way back home with her boyfriend. The girl had was just from seeing a movie with the boyfriend and was on her way home when the incident took place in the bus they were in. After the incident they were thrown off the bus and 13 days later, the girl succumbed to her injuries. Despite the fact that the incident took place in India, traits of the same can be seen within our society. In 2013 there was a case of a 16 year old girl being gang raped and when she identified 3 of the suspects, they were asked by the police to cut grass then later released.

This problem cannot be solved with just a blog or a couple more blogs on the same issue. Forgetful as often we are as Kenyan's, we need constant reminder that there is actually a problem and this blog is to that effect. However, for change to take place it will require the collective effort of the entire society. Women should be advised to speak up when they encounter this problem and men should be raised up to act as gentlemen. Hopefully then, we shall start to see change.

ETHNIC VIOLENCE

ETHNIC VIOLENCE

Today the greatest and most dominate form of war is not international rather interstate. The war is more of ethnic in most countries in Africa, it is the root to all problems because brothers are killing their fellow brothers just because they have different ethnic groups. People do not sit to think of the long-term effect on their community but they act in the moment forgetting this are the same people we live with, grown up and even married. Personally I believe ethnicity is the best gift because it makes us unique, also molds us and gives us a sense of belonging. Today we forget what ethnicity really is and instead it divides us when we do not agree with each other’s ideas, we choose our leaders based on our ethnic tribes which causes chaos if “our” leader is defeated. Take for example Kenya in the 2007-2008 political violence it was based on tribalism. Kenyans slaughtered each other forgetting the many years they had lived together.it was tribe against another tribe and many people died. This is a social injustice because it goes against every natural moral law and social nature of man. Man should help and uplift each other out not hunt and slaughter their own. Rwanda and Burundi are countries that have experienced genocide where one ethnic group is hunting the other, mostly the conflicts are politically fueled and that is what creates the tension. We do not benefit from this wars it only causes heartaches, makes children orphans and deprives our economy growth. Ethnic conflict is not worth it, we should all stand together and condemn it because. Ethnicity is our pride and it is what defines and brings us together to a world filled with amazing cultures.

LET’S STAND TOGETHER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence is increasingly prevalent in Kenya. Many victims (me and women alike) suffer in silence and are too scared to report the crime because of the stigma attached to the crime. A demographic survey carried out by the Ministry of Planning in 2003 revealed that at least half of all Kenyan women had experienced violence sine the age of 15, with close family members among the perpetrators. Children growing up in violent homes, live with the devastating falsehoods that become the foundation of their childhood memories.

Alarming Facts about how domestic violence impacts kids:

• 63% of all boys who commit murder kill the man who was abusing their mother.
• The single biggest predictor of girls becoming domestic violence victims later in life is whether or not they grew up in a home where there is domestic violence. Children in homes where domestic violence occurs are physically abused or seriously neglected.
• Their memories are so severe they meet the clinical criteria for Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• Children exposed to domestic violence are 5-7 times more likely to experience significant psychological problems.
• Exposure to chronic abuse and violence is linked to: lower IQ scores, poorer language skills, impairment of visual-motor integration skills, problems with attention and memory.
• More than 90% of prisoners experienced violence as a child.

"Children would rather themselves be hit than allow their mothers to be beaten...It is easier to bear the physical pain than the emotional hurt and feeling of helplessness"   - Sterne and Poole , 2010

There is not a shortage of ways to help victims of domestic violence.It just takes a person taking notice of the need and acting on it.

                             SPEAK UP AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE!!

THE TEN SHOCKING NIKE'S COMPANY SECRETS

We cannot just ignore the facts cited above and dismiss them on basis that they are just rumors and propaganda. The above documentary illustrates some of the social injustices that are carried out by the businesses in the society and which result into the backwardness of the society that has allowed the business to exist in it. Social injustice include some unfair practices carried out in the societies, for example, gender inequality, discrimination on basis of race, sex, abuse(physically and verbal), unfair wages, poor labor relations etc. It basically includes situations in which rights of a person or group of people are ignored.

Businesses need to be at the forefront in promoting social justice in the society e.g. through contributing to programs that reduce poverty in the society, but in a situation where the business treats some members of the society where it exists unfairly e.g. unfair wages to workers, what then should be the role of that society in ensuring that its members are treated fairly and in a just way by the said business entity. I think the end consumers of the business products should stop buying such products, manufactured or produced on grounds of injustices until the business reforms. Madiba says that, ' the older I get the more convinced I am that social equality is the one necessary condition for all human happiness.' Let us unite together in promoting social equality in the society and not 'just do it.'

Land-grabbing impunity

In early January, protests ensued over a school’s playground in Nairobi being ‘grabbed’, illegally fenced off and seized.  The case of Langata Road Primary School is a classic land-grabbing one, a clear indication of government impunity, and indeed, it’s said to be the project of Deputy President William Ruto.(lifted from New Internationalist Blog). see video

With the school located in a zone controlled by the government’s opposition forces, the information spread like a burning bush-fire, attracting public attention. A demonstration to oppose the move was set up.

Civil society organizations, parents and a group of children’s rights activists led a protest demanding the land be given back to the school. Pupils of the same school joined in the protest and tore down the perimeter wall, to express their anger towards the government. Police at the scene tear-gassed the demonstrators, including the pupils. More violence ensued, leaving at least five pupils seriously injured; a police officer was also injured in the mix and several activists arrested for participating in the demonstration. As a way of dispersing protesters (among them, mostly school children), the police used tear gas against them.

The public condemned tear-gassing school children who were rightfully demanding their land back. The officer commanding the police division who ordered the use of tear gas against children was suspended by Cabinet Secretary for the Interior, Joseph Nkaissery. This is just but one instance of the wide-spread land-grab impunity in Kenyan society today.