Report
on the Women For Peace Forum as Conducted By Young Women Initiative.
Introduction
The Women for Peace Forum was
curried out based on the research as shown on the background of the concept
paper. That is “Research has shown that peace process with increased women’s
involvement are more sustainable. On the march 22nd- 23rd
2012, 35 Kenya Civil Society and Political Women met to reflect on the Lessons
learnt on the women’s participation during the Kofi Annan’s led mediation
Process of February 2008. This was a research project investigating Women’s
Participation in the Kenya Mediation Process. The round table research
concluded that there is need for increased trainings on the matter of peace,
governance, security and Conflict as they impact on the Woman. With such
understanding, women will be able to participate in conflict Prevention,
Protection and other peace securities processes especially with regard to
Kibera as one of the 2007/08 PEV affected People’s settlement.”
Also the Women for Peace Forum
pulled the need to have such a Forum from the Fresh scars, the destroyed
property, looted women ventures, the lost limbs, the up bringing of a rapist
child, the painful cry from a sexually defiled women from the Dark corridors of
isolated and hot spot mapped sections of Kibera, the exclusions of women form
the decision on Peace, security and issues governance and their impact on the
women of the greater Kibera community that the
Youth Women initiative , given its wide and deep involvement in
sustainable and durable peace, in conjunction with Action Inter- Ethnic Youth
Dialogue and Peaceful Reconciliation Project., called upon women option shapers
within the boundaries of the great Kibera peoples settlement who came together
in numbers to deliberate widely on matters of Peace and Women’s Involvement.
We as Young Women’s Initiative,
we have tried to capture the event as it were in this Report and possibly we
have mentioned the challenges we faced before, during and after the Event.
Finally we have gone further to attach as appendices that is the program of the
day and the pictorial gallery which displays the captions from the event as it
were it’s our pleasure to present this report.
Purpose
The Purpose for which the Women
for Peace Forum was Conducted was to: Draw from all over Kibera to foster the
general understanding that women are the major contributors to the Tranquil
society and make it known that the call for peace, tolerance and fairness and
democracy must all walks of life.
Objective of the Forum
The Forum was designed in such a
way as to facilitate sharing of perspectives, lessons and possible strategies
to approach the women’s involvement into major decisions. The following were
the objectives of the Women for Peace Forum:
-
Women’s Participation in Peace building before,
during and after the General Election.
-
Women engagement into conflict resolution
-
Constitutional Opportunities for the Women of
Kibera.
-
Propose some recommendations on how the women of
Kibera will forge ahead as Kenya unveils another phase within the new
dispensation
Venue
The Women for Peace Forum took
place on the 26th February, 2013 as from 0800hrs to 1500hrs at the
Kibera Assemblies of God Kianda Village.
Target
The Target for the Women for
Peace Forum was a platform that brought seventy two women; stakeholders and
opinion shapers from all over the villages of Kibera- each village contributing
seven women to a dialogue environment.
Schedule of Proceedings
Official Opening.
The forum was officially open at
0800hrs with Nisera Wanjiru sharing with the Women in the Forum he activities
that the Young Women Initiative, pertaining to peace I Kibera. The Young women
initiative is out to build the young Women. She later lined out the objectives
of the Women for Pease Forum and out of it she’s collected view for the
attendant’s perspective of what they expected from the Forum. Lastly she
ushered the Women to participate by contributing objectively and heartily to
the discussions.
Key Note Address
This was delivered by Jane
Anyango who major questions in this address were “have we participated enough
in the decisions making processes in Kibera? Do we have willing women leaders
to participate? I believe we are currently shy from the decisions making
process or we fell it’s not our portion?
As time went by the key note addressor found it necessary to paused questions in relation to the Pease and Security Decisions that required the attention of the Women in Kibera.
As time went by the key note addressor found it necessary to paused questions in relation to the Pease and Security Decisions that required the attention of the Women in Kibera.
And as she kept toughing on
issues, she made some possible avenues that the women of Kibera can consider if
there were to have impact in their environment. Among the propositions she made
included: there must bean internal desire propelling the woman to participate
in leadership decisions and peace and security participations. She said “Women
need to be purposeful about working on the personal facts that hinders them
from taking their rightful place in the society; they need to work on the
issues of self esteem and confidence in relation to politics, society and
economic matters. Such women have purposed to do these things must familiarize
themselves with possible dynamics in Kibera, in Kenya, or in the world. Women,
given their numbers, need to work extra hard to become role models for other
aspiring women political or aspiring peace ambassadors or whatever a woman’s
aspirations might be.
And lastly, at Individual level,
women need to learn to challenge the traditional gender roles, leaves most
domestic responsibilities in their hands. Women with young families seem to
face unique challenges, therefore discouraging them form getting into
processes. ‘I usher you to participate in this discussion not as just another forum
but a an eye opener forum from where you’ll leave transformed”
Discussions 1# Women’s Participation in
Peace Building Before, during and after election.
The panelists and the
participants took to discussions the Women’s Participation in Peace Building
Before, during and after election. Among the things touched on during this
plenary sessions, included:
-
The past of theses women on record of
participation
-
The challenges faced so far in attempting to
participate in Peace Building processes.
-
The need for participation and
-
The way forward in participation before during
and after elections
The participants found it quit
involving participating in such discussions. And they made a pledge to keep the
program running, to keep the spirit of attempting to build peace a live.
Discussions 2# Constitutional Opportunities
for Women of Kibera
During the afternoon session the
participants were openly and productively exposed to the possible opportunities
for women given the constitutional opportunities as at the Kenyan Constitution
2010. Among the opportunities disclosed were:
-
Elective posts and nomination slots for women
-
Involvement into decision making processes
-
Appointment post- e.g. deputy CJ
-
Economic, social and political rights that give
women the opportunities to get involved.
-
The land rights
-
Women will infiltrate the financial systems
because of the opportunities that institutions will provide
-
The Gender rules
They ended up discussing on
possible ways to approach they should make to attend to these opportunities.
And in conclusion, the women too
made recommendations that these forums should be conducted so that the women
should be engaged and enlighten and given platforms to attempt greatness.
Challenges Faced
The Challenges faced before the
beginning of the events include changing of the Venue and Rewriting of
invitation later to redirect the participants on the changed Venue. The
intended Venue was to be at Mashimoni.
It’s
been the behavior of people to attend very many forums around election
believing that politicians are around to dish out money. This time a few
flocked the event to give their contribution to the discussion though they were
uninvited guests.
Photo Gallery
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Background
to the Event
The ideal situation of a school is a place where
young people go to learn and get information on life skills. In our present
situation, schools remain one of the major basic enlighten centre that also
offer a concept of an emerging society. It is also in schools that leadership
skills are identified, nurtured and harnessed. As such most governments around
the world strive at every opportunity to give the schools the best of an
enabling environment to achieve its intended purpose. In the case of Kenya,
government institutes formal schools that offer the best in service delivery.
However, population bulges vis-à-vis limited spaces in formal schools has
resulted in the mushrooming of informal schools especially in informal set-ups
like Kibera. While the schools in public
places are well structured and offer the best in terms of purpose, the same
cannot be said of informal schools.
A myriad of problems affect the informal schools
thus hindering students from participating fully in their endeavors to be
models of leadership and contributors to peace building. For instance, in the last five months or so,
Kibera has had gun shots and reports of death of young students learning in the
schools situated in Kibera. This is a clear indication that the rising
insecurity situation is now even targeting innocent school children. It doesn’t
help matters that these reports come amidst tensions as the
Community of Kibera is slowly picking the pace to
prepare for the General election of
2013 and having painfully emerged from a bloody
post election violence of 2008. What is more alarming is that there are a part of the students who
are taking lead roles and participating in these criminal activities. Youth in school
find their environment demanding, insecure and stringent to a point that they violently
rebel to the status quo; in return, they resort to dangerous means and harm even their
fellow youth. This is what we, as Tujue Katiba Initiative, wish to address. We want to
see how the lives of the youths of Kibera can be harnessed and be turned into meaningful
destinies; where the culture of peace becomes the order of the day in Kibera. Kibera’s
name must be redefined through the lives of the youthful populace.
Event Description.
There was therefore a call of paramount interest to all the
stakeholders in the education society and the few who still believe that
schools play an important role in our lives to come together and offer the much
needed guidance to the young boys and girls in school to take up their rightful
role in the society.
Tujue Katiba Initiative in conjunction with Sustainable Energy and Umande
Trust in their partnership project “Action Inter-Ethnic Youth
Dialogue and Peaceful Reconciliation Project” funded by the European
Union on the 22nd February
2013, from 9am at the Salvation Army Hall, Kianda, hosted ninety secondary
school students leaders from ten schools across Kibera; each school providing a
minimum of ten students to attend and
participate in a schools peace symposium.
The students were called to address candidly issues affecting them
in their major undertaking as learners, an awareness of the leadership role
they now play in school and how it can be equally implemented in the villages
they live in to foster order and peaceful co-existence was practiced.
During this time too, the students were called to map out what
they perceive, think or believe are the major threats of security, and what the
other youth on the other hand consider as the new trends and popular culture,
and address the ways of which they think this trending can be checked so that
it doesn’t spiral out of control and result in threat to human existence.
At the same time, the students were taken through a process that
tested them in their capacity to deal with rapid emerging problems. There were secret
impromptu speeches on leadership, peace building and constitutionalism.
Selected members of the student leader’s body were called upon and given an
impromptu motion to give his/her contributions after which fellow leaders took
stock of what the speaker presented. The chosen person was then be interrogated
by his/her peers to prove his personal dedication and zeal in his/her
conviction. This shall only be done to show that
Leadership and decision making is a personal choice.
Highlight of Activities.
I.
Morning Sessions.
1st Presentation- Joshua Ochieng’- Coordinator Tujue Katiba Initiative
Having
followed strictly the event schedule, the Event commenced at 0830hrs with Prayers
and National Anthem from Maono Education Centre student Leader.
Joshua
Ochieng the Coordinator Tujue Katiba Initiative took to the floor to shortly to
brief the participants about Tujue Katiba Initiative and the Students Peace
Symposium. Where he mentioned lightly on Tujue Katiba Initiative work-“Tujue
Katiba Initiative is an Organization dedicated to Constitutionalism, Policy
Issues and Leadership Development, currently we work from school to school
talking to students and reaching out to young leaders”.
Concerning
the Students Leaders Peace Symposium, Joshua Ochieng’ mentioned the Goals of
the Event “The
event strives to meet the following objectives: the student’s willingness to
share the problems affecting students in informal set-ups, Leadership as a call
to serve,
Preparedness to actively get
involved’’
Lastly Joshua Ochieng Formally
Invited Mr. Osewe Ramogi for the Keynote Address.
2nd Presentation- Keynote Address.
Title# The Insecurity and Trends among
the Student Leaders and the Students Population.
Osewe Ramogi ’- Coordinator- Initiative for Community Action
The
keynote address paused some of the key and potential questions which were later
to shape the discussions on the floor as the event coiled around its major
objectives.
These
are some of the excerpts of the Keynote address as presented by Ramogi Osewe.
“I
have noted that severally that every school walk around, behaves and conducts
itself in a particular cultured manner,-if you go to Panagani you’ll get the
Ingsh Culture, if you go to Jamuhuri High, there was the Thagary Culture there
would be no football match that end without a war, and if you go to upper hill
there was that elitist culture- the vehicles they use to travel in,
irrespective of where you come from, you would feel part and parcel of Upper Hill’s Elitist Culture…………………,
if you go to the slums you’ll see the liveliness of these people, and it’s from
these culture that we draw our common behavior. The question that we should
Where did we start and where are we heading to?
“In
regard to trends, every where you emanate from, every where you live and go to
school to affects how you relate to people and these trends pauses the
question….the trends were created to
create at least some sense of belonging currently the trends that have been
created have affected and still affects our way of life and behavior-what are
some of the trends that we pick from
high school or where we stay that at the end of the day when we have been
received back to the community these trends actually turn into threats? There
are characters that we have noted as we get along the course of high school
lives and these characters may include the following- the characters that
constantly walk with bibles, the characters that seek and dispense the latest
information, the characters that are constantly alarmists, the character who’s
always on the wrong side of the law, these and many more are indicators of the
culture we end up adopting and bring back to the society”
“The
schools we have attended have subjected us the cultures, e.g. The culture of competition these cultures
stick to us for life”
For
any set goal, you have got to work for it-as students we have to look for means
out of all these perceptions and possibly seek to create new trends toward a
peaceful environment.
II.
Mid-Morning Sessions Discussions.
Title# Nurturing Leadership and the
Culture of Peace
This
session was the most interactive session of the Students Leaders Peace
Symposium with the following facilitators taking on the floor to help guide the
discussions: Eng. Kepha Abwao - Civil Engineer, Mr.
Dan Khasiani-Teacher, Expert in Swahili and Security matters, Rachel Mumbi-Lawyer and
Nyaruiru Ndungi-Lawyer
Areas
of focus touched on the following Questions to discuss-
Q1. Are our Schools
secure or Not?
There
was liveliness in the discussions on agreements and disagreements on the
Questions at hand; having students taking stands that schools are not secure
and some taking the contrary stand.
Those
who believed the schools were not secure based their thought on the following
facts:
(i)
The location of the schools in the slums
provides them with a vice conduit leading to transfer of insecure cultures and
possibly misleading trends on the students fraternity.
(ii)
Influence from the youth populace mingling
with the day scholars hence adopting of some trends and dangerous cultures.
Q2. Are our Schools
Peaceful?
The
exchange on the floor went up hot and at some point it was as if the students
would cross the floor to hurt each other.
The
same stand was mentioned as to the state of peace in schools…. the some agreeing
schools have peace some said the schools are unsafe and peaceful
The
following were observations by he students:
-
Corporations in schools: students and their
leaders.
-
Clubs in schools helping to promote the state of peace in schools
-
Teacher’s involvement into preaching Peace.
-
Forums like this being used as eye opens to
the need for a safe and a peaceful Kibera.
Q3: What are the general
trends that can be noted as common with the students?
These
were the trends are proposed or stated by the Students who attended the 22nd
February, 2013 Students Leaders Peace Symposium as held at the Salvation Army
Church Hall:
-
There in no Democracy in electing the
Student Leaders in school and this was concluded to be the cause of upheavals
in schools.
-
The young gong tars emerging in schools
with guns
-
The drug abusing groups
-
The dress code issues.
Q4: what are the
challenges facing the student prefects?
Among
the challenges that the students identified as facing their prefects in the
respective schools included the following:
-
Trends among the students
-
Students ignorance of the school rules and
regulations
-
Peer pressure
-
Threats from students
Conclusion on discussion
sessions: the students and the facilitators concluded the
discussion by wrapping up and proposing some very positive avenue to lead the
path to peace in the local secondary schools and beyond.
It
was agreed that the students have to be very peaceful in their respective
schools; they are as leaders of their various schools responsible for their
schools peaceful states.
The
students on the other hand proposed the following recommendations:
-
Such forums should be held possibly across
Kenya.
-
Student to purpose to be peaceful in their
lives
-
Teacher to help in schools as peaceful
ambassadors
III.
Afternoon Session.
After
refreshments, a necessary break from the sessions and lunch, Platinum followed
by Impromptu Speeches from students where they were questioned. Among the
questions paused by the moderator included:
(i)
What are the possible means that we can
involve ourselves as students to promote the course of peace?
(ii)
Are there some very possible trends that we
can identify as affecting the conditions of peace in your schools?
(iii)
Mention ten roles of student leaders in
peace building?
These
were among many questions.
All
these Questions were intended to test the extent to which the students had
benefited from the forum and possibly see if they had content to deliver back
at their respective school.
The afternoon sessions was
climaxed by Declaration of Results from the competiveness of the student s
before, during and after the impromptu speeches by students. The surprise Guest
to the Students Leaders Symposium was Solo 7 whose extensive selfless
propagation of peace on the walls and buildings had handed Him a Name and significance;
Solo 7 is known by his Phrase on the walls “Peace Wanted a live By Solo 7”
Challenges faced
Mobilization of some Students leaders; were faced with
the challenge time-some schools had exams during the time and dates around the
Event and therefore could not attend
Conclusion:
Tujue Katiba Initiative Considers this a successful
event; the Target Participants were reached, constitution peaces distributed,
the goal of the forum was achieved, and lastly the community is assured of the
Students Leaders participation in providing direction on of issues of
Governance and leadership back at school and at home.
We are looking forward to
keep the Student Leaders engaged in such Forums in the Near future; we were
privileged to have held this event.
********************************************************************************
A Report on the Leadership forum with special focus on persons with
disabilities.
The leadership forum with special
focus on persons with disabilities took place on the 26th of January
2013 at AIC church Olympic Kibera. The event which started at 8.30 am and ended
at 2.30 pm had a participation 80 participants consisting of men and women with
disabilities from Kinada, Makina, Linesaba, Mashimoni and Soweto East Village.
 |
| Baba Gusto and Phillip oyoo perform their renown song 'disability is not inability' |
The meeting started with Joshua Ochieng of PMC
introducing the project and explaining the purpose of holding the event. “
having held meetings with the youth in the community on leadership and
importance of peace, it is imperative that we do not leave out the youth with
disabilities in Kibera in informing them of the opportunities for persons with
disabilities in leadership protected by the
constitution and also set out the qualities that our leaders to perform,” said
Joshua. Baba and Gurston who are artistes
with disabilities gave sterling performances of 4 songs including ‘hustling and
struggling’ and ‘disability is not inability’
First Topic: Constitutional provisions for
persons with disabilities
 |
| Ismael Kisanji talks about the constitutional provisions for persons with disabilities |
The first topic to be presented was Kisanji Ismil who
is a a person with Hearing impairment.
He highlighted the following
disability related provisions in the constitution of Kenya
Persons with disabilities
should be free from direct or indirect discrimination based on ones disability.
Article 27 (4)
Persons with disabilities
are entitled to political rights under article 38.
Persons with disabilities
should have fair representation of persons with disabilities
Persons with disabilities
have a right to reasonable access to educational institutions and facilities
for persons with disabilities that are integrated into society to the extent
compatible with the interests of the person. Article 54 (b)
Parliament should take into
account the special needs of persons with disabilities 82(2) (c)
The national assembly should take consideration of the interests of the
youth including persons with disabilities Article 97 (d)
 |
| Participants listen keenly to the discussions |
Parliament has the
obligation to enact legislation to promote the representation in parliament of
persons with disabilities Article 100 (b)
Membership of the county
assembly consists of the number if members of marginalized groups including
persons with disabilities and the youth prescribed by an act of parliament 177
(1) (c )
There public service should
include affordable and adequate and equal opportunities for appointment,
training and advancement at all levels of public service including persons with
disabilities Article 232 (1) (iii)
Matters arising
People who do not have disabilities
often have their votes stolen. What about the seats set apart for persons with
disabilities. Wont people take them away? Kisanji answered by saying one should
have confidence that in the same way people voted for the person with
disability, then they will defend the position.
Pauline Wambui encouraged persons
with disability to accept themselves and be strong. They should not have self pity
 |
| Fredrick ouko talks about leadership and persons with disabilities |
This session was facilitated by Mr. Fredrick Ouko who
is the executive director of Action Network for the Disabled, an Ashoka Fellow
and an Icon in the disability movement in Kenya.
He
defined a leader as one who is able to marshall people towards achieving a
common objective. If people feel that your agenda is important then they will
offer your support towards that cause. He added that leadership starts with knowing the
facts about the people and the place that he wants to represent.
One also has to have a strong desire to
lead. Mr. Ouko strongly came against the notion of persons with disabilities
should be given seats just because they have disabilities. He
insisted that persons with disabilities should be active in the society
providing substantive input in development of the community. No one should
expect the special seats for persons with disabilities by just sitting down and
complaining of non-representation to persons with disabilities. Leadership
starts right at the family, extending into ones neighborhood. Simple things
such as taking your child early to school can be leadership.  |
Sign Language interpreter ensures that persons with
hearing
impairment are not left out of the meeting
|
“Persons with disabilities should
be strategic in order to be represented well in the country. To benefit in
leadership positions, they must actively engage themselves in political parties.
If these parties do not have nominations of persons with disabilities one can
still get opportunity using the legal way. In addition to that, complaining
that you have not been given seats is ineffective if you are not in political
parties,” remarked Mr Ouko.
c) Role of
persons in ensuring peace in Kibera.
This session was facilitated by
Mrs. Lilian Musyimi who is a person with physical impairment and a counselor.
She sought to know what the participants felt what peace is. The following were
the views;
Having love
Being
relaxed with your neighbors
Peace is
your own choice
Peace is
when systems in the society are functioning
Peace is
having understanding between
MRs. Musyimi added to their views
by saying that peace is where there is justice. Absence of war does not mean
that there is peace. It might be that there is calm but as long as systems are
not in place, there is a possibility of not having peace.
Persons with disabilities also have
a role in ensuring that there is peace. The participants were given group work
to think about the ways that they can ensure that peace prevails in Kibera. The
following are their views.
1. Avoid
tribal critism
2. See others
as Kenyans and not in terms of tribe
3. Loving one
another
4. Preach
peace to friends and eighbours
5. Taking part
in all peace club meetings
6. Avoid hate
speech
7. Love and
respect each other’s opinion
8. Accept
other people unconditionally
People who love peace are going to
vote come March 4th . Going to vote and ensuring your friends and
family vote for a leader with good leadership qualities is one of the important
ways of ensuring that there is peace.
Conclusion
The session ended with the
participants admitting that leadership starts at an indivisual level whereby on
makes the right choices and leads other people towards achieving a good
objective. A leader votes and a leader convinces other people on the importance
of having peace. Participants signed the peace board as a sign of commitment to
keeping peace in the community.
 |
| PMC members introduce themselves |
 |
| Persons with disabilities sign the peace board as an outward sign of commitment to peace in Kibera |
*********************************************************************************
Report for Reconciliation Forum 1
Access to Justice
1.0 Introduction:
The Action Inter-Ethnic Youth Dialogue and
Reconciliation Project in partnership with Access to Justice reached out to the communities living together in
Kibera to realize the importance of neighbourliness and reconcile for the sake
of meaningful peace. The Action called together youth to discuss the effects of
elections and a number of issues were highlighted. Among these included the
effects of the just concluded General Election 2013 and the need for Kibera
residents to live in harmony amid negative posts witnessed in the social media.
There were a total of 80 youths, who represented six Kibera villages namely:
Gatwekera, Kisumu Ndogo, Makina, Mashimoni, Laini Saba and
2.0 The event
2.0.1 Participants following the proceedings at
the forum
Before the general
elections, there was a noted intra-village unease within the youth in Makina
and Mashimoni. The assumption was that the divisions were created by interests
that can either be political or economical because of the aftermath of the
party primaries. Further, an assumption was made that perhaps there is a social
incline towards the intra-village feuds
because social class played a major role in determining the winner in any seat
in the elections. The Action together with Access to Justice Team came up with
a modality to create a platform for dialogue between the youth so that they may
determine the real issues that affect them on relationship building and
constitutional provisions on civil rights, people’s liberties and youth
promises.
3.0 Deliberations
The
deliberations focused on the following three topics:
·
Effects of elections
·
Inter-ethnic harmony
·
Role of youth in
community reconciliation
3.0.1 Reflection on the
post election period
All participants agreed that before the elections, everybody
was sure that this time round the elections would be free and fair. Most of the
community members agreed that they had put behind the scenes of 2008 and were
not foreseeing negative attributes like looting and beatings by the General
Services Unit police. However there was a sharp contrast from different
participants while discussing the post-election period. Candid discussions
revealed that a section of the participants believe there is a certain ethnic
community that is controlling institutions that are deemed independent. These
participants believe that the constitution is considered insignificant in the
eyes of the people controlling these institutions. To this effect, they also
wondered why Kenya had to pump a lot of money in buying the BVR kits when the
elections results seemed to have been pre-determined.
Additionally, the participants in this category believed that
the elections were marred by massive irregularities that needed to be addressed.
Their hope in accessing justice was also shattered during the brief court
ruling that the Chief Justice made on the petition filled by CORD. One of the
participant even wondered: “Why did Willy Mutunga treat us like children by
only stating that Uhuru remains the president elect and Raila’s petition was
not successful? He should have explained all the reasons why the petition was
considered unsuccessful.” In a major resignation noted that day, one
participant had this to say: “There can never be justice in Kenya, maybe in
heaven.”
On the other hand, there were those who believed the
elections were just fair. They wondered how a person who was an equal partner
in the grand coalition government can turn around and claim that the elections
were rigged. For these participants, they believed that everybody had an equal
chance of rigging the elections and they couldn’t be convinced otherwise. They
even cited that in history the team which petitioned the elections have never
accepted election results in Kenya ever before. From these two standpoints, it
was obvious that the team needed to offer an arbitrary role for the two
opposing thoughts and there was a realization that Kibera need reconciliation.
3.0.1.1 A female participant contributing in the forum
3.0.2 Inter-Ethnic Harmony
There were
varied contributions among the members of the community who were present for
the event. Youths noted that in the just concluded elections, many youth voted
to repay a debt to the politicians they took bribes from. The youth, therefore,
agreed that people should not complain about anybody being in power if they
voted because of the money they were given. It was also noted that people voted
along tribal lines. The essence fronted is that youth felt like it was about
making sure that one tribe is in power and the other is not. At the same time,
the youth noticed that the social media was being used to spread hate and thus
a threat to harmony.
One youth
said that he thought ethnic harmony has been achieved until the last elections.
This is what he said: “Luos voted for Kibaki in 2002. However, in 2007, only 2
tribes were against the other tribes and the same happened in the 2013
elections. I really do not understand how 2 tribes can vote for one person
against the other tribes and still win. People should be mature and realize
that something is wrong.” Others were just resigned to fate as one participant
said: “Personally as long as am not in jail, life continues.”
However,
the end result was the agreement that the youth should strive as much as
possible to achieve inter-ethnic harmony. One participant summed it all when
she said: “Let us live in peace knowing that we have our constitutional rights.
Why should we fight yet the people we voted for are in power and we are still
eating our ugali and sukuma?
3.0.1 Role of youth in Community
Reconciliation
The session started with one member posing a question to the
facilitators of the day. He asked: “What do you do when your dream is
shattered?” The forum identified that a dream can never die but only broken at
some times. Further the deliberations realized that a dream that is broken can
be likened to a river that meets an obstacle on its course. A river never stops
but circumvents the obstacle. This takes time, resilience and tact. Members of
the community were reminded that for a broken dream, it doesn’t mean the end of
life. Your progress may only be delayed but not stopped. What was agreed upon
was that though one may be angry at the person who has broken that dream this
anger should not be taken out on another person who is completely innocent. One
should be careful not to eliminate the person who has broken the dream. Find a
way to maneuver the obstacle and also find opportunities along the way.
Emphasis was made to
the participants majoring on good neighborliness. It was emphasized that one
should be careful what they do to others. This is because people have egos and
will revenge for bad actions done to them whether at that time or later on
through their children. “Neighbours
should not be enemies, “one facilitator said. He further added: “Being a
responsible citizen means being a brother and a sister to your neighbor.
Whenever people run into problems in their houses it is often neighbors who
help first even before the family steps in. nobody considers tribe when the neighbors’
house is burning therefore why should we start victimizing particular tribes?”
It was agreed upon that victimizing people belonging to
certain tribes claiming that they voted for the people that one did not support
in the elections is not a valid action. This is because elections are carried
out through a secret ballot and no one can know which candidate the person
voted for. Noting that many people were angry with the courts decisions and
loss of their proffered presidential candidate, participants were told that
sometimes it is better to walk away at the moment when you are angry. This is
because at that particular moment, anger can make you do things that you will
regret.
Community
members were reminded that the election period had passed. The reality is that
some people still hold grudges while others feel hurt, robbed and victimized.
This is evident in the way people express themselves on social media insulting
and degrading each other. People have even gone to the extent of not buying
goods from shops of business owners belonging to specific tribes. The forum
resolved that whereas it is normal to have feelings when one has lost or won,
how one expresses these feelings is very important.
3.0.2.1: A facilitator
addressing the role of youth in reconciliation
4.0 Unique lessons learnt
The
following are some of the unique lessons learnt during the forum:
·
So many youth still feel the
elections were not free and fair
·
Kibera youth are aware of
their constitutional rights and are ready to defend them
·
Some Kibera
residents believes that there is no justice in Kenya and have resigned to fate
5.0 Photo Story
“Many youth voted to repay a debt to the politicians they took bribes from. Therefore people should not complain about Uhuru being in power if they voted because of the money they were given.”
“It is painful that Kenyan’s paid a lot of money for the BVR
kits to be purchased only to fail on the day of elections. I also feel like
people were positioned strategically to make sure that a certain person gets in
the presidency during the elections.”
“In life you
have to tolerate others. Give people a chance to air their opinions. It is a
fact that Kenya cannot move on without the people appointed in power, however,
everyone should ensure that peace prevails.”
“……..it does
not mean that we all have to agree with each other’s choices but we should
respect each other’s choice and opinion.
“Let us live in peace knowing that we have our constitutional
rights. Why should we fight yet the people we voted for are in power and we are
still eating our ugali and sukuma.”
"People still voted along tribal lines. It is like it was about making sure that one tribe is
in power and the other is not.”
******************************************
REPORT ON THE PUBLIC
DEBATE FOR POLITICAL ASPIRANTS IN KIBRA CONSTITUENCY
DATE:18TH DECEMBER 2012
TIME: 9:00 AM TO 4:00PM
VENUE: GLORY MINISTRIES CENTRE KIBERA
MODERATORS: BERNARD OCHIENG & PHILIP OGUNJE
RAPPORTEUR: BETTY OKERE & ANN KAMAU
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1.0.1 Background
 |
| A view of the leader board |
The Initiative for
Community Action, Umande Trust
and Sustainable Energy, through the
Partnership project The Action Inter-Ethnic Youth Dialogue and Peaceful Reconciliation
Project (AIEYD&PR), supported by the European Union, aimed to find a common ground for residents in
Kibera to come together in a public forum dubbed “A View on the Leader Board” where the local leadership aspirants were
called to give updates about the work they are doing and intend to do through
an interactive live audience and assure of their commitment to peace and
harmonious living.
This Public Forum
intended to promote activities that bring together actors that on surface may
seem not compatible, and belong to different political parties and ethnic
backgrounds, to a platform where their contribution was to generate value in
attempt to get by, and address the in-expected forms of consternation that
might ensue.
1.0.2
Opening remarks
In his opening remarks, ICA’s
Director Mr. Tonny Mateng’e welcomed the aspirants and the debaters to the
forum. He acknowledged the importance of all the participating parties in
shaping the leadership of Kibra constituency and urged everyone to uphold peace
and conduct themselves in a politically mature manner to help the process take
off well. He also thanked the organizers and the sponsors for the great
opportunity they had given to the people of Kibra constituency.
On his part, he noted that most
of the participants had not yet understood the role of the county
representatives and often confused them with the former councilors’ role. He
reiterated that this was an area that the debate needed to explore emphasizing
on the need for the participants to be vigilant about the emphasis on service
delivery and accountability for all the people seeking public office.
Ethnicity is an issue that has in
the recent past been very rampant in the country and the Director reminded all
the participants that it is their civic responsibility to report any aspects
that could make these menace thrive such as hate speech and any other tensions
that may threaten peace in the country. The citizens are also responsible for
ensuring that the leaders they elect pass the integrity test and called upon
all the aspirants and their supporters to be tolerant to each other and to
prepare themselves to accept the people’s verdict citing the sovereign power
bestowed on the people of Kenya by the constitution.
Through this social vetting
process, the participants were also urged to be at the frontline of fighting
and reporting cases of election irregularities including voter bribery. Finally
it was a call to all those present at the forum to be objective in their
engagements and not to ask personal questions aimed at pining down particular
candidates to ensure that the debate can yield fruits for ensuring development
in the constituency.
Finally, he introduced and
invited the moderators to facilitate the debate and thanked them for responding
to the call saying that this was one sure way of offering leadership to
communities without having to vie for an elective post.
A round of introductions for the
aspirants was done and this continued in various sessions throughout the forum
as more aspirants came in. The following aspirants were able to attend the
debate:
Aspirant Representation
Area
Ogonji George Lindi
Ward
Rosemary Masistsa Makina
Ward
Silvanus Juma Ochola Laini-Saba
Ward
David Odhiambo Ogutu Sarangombe
Ward
Ramtu Abdalla Makina
Ward
Kitavi David Laini-Saba
Ward
Cecilia Ayot Laini-Saba
Ward
Asha Abdi Soso Laini-Saba
Ward
Edna Auma Laini-Saba
Ward
2.0 THE DEBATE
.JPG) |
| Participants listen to one of the leaders |
2.0.1
General
background on the Bio data of the aspirant:
The event organizers felt the need for the participants to
know the personal background of the aspiring candidates. Some of the areas of
particular interest highlighted included:
o
Age of the aspirant
o
Education background
o
Past involvement in community affairs
o
Experience in leadership
o
What motivates the aspirant?
o
What do they consider their strength?
o
How can the strengths be translated to positive
leadership?
The goal of this exercise was to offer a platform for the participants to
get to know the aspiring leaders on personal grounds and identify what
motivates their desires to offer leadership.
2.0.2
General
background of the of the situation of Kibra:
For people who want to take the leadership positions
available in the Kibera area it was important to value how much the contestants
are conversant with the following situations:
·
The geographical position of Kibera
·
Boundaries of ward and constituency
·
Emerging issues on socio-political issues
·
Economic activities that the members of Kibra
are involved in
·
Opportunities currently available
·
Availability of public facilities
·
Accessibility to public facilities
This was primarily carried out to ascertain if the aspirants are well
conversant with Kibra as an area and show the enthusiasm and drive behind their
ambition.
2.0.3
Specific
information on the issues affecting Kibra as a constituency:
This was a random search in the process to show what
positive leadership can attribute to the improvement of socio-economic and
political problems cutting across the larger Kibra Constituency touching on the
following deteriorating services:
o
Housing in relation to congestion
o
Access to formal education
o
Emergent negative youth culture
o
Safe birth for expectant mothers
o
Safe spaces for children to play and grow
o
Sports as a tool for peace and development
o
Other intervention measures
The aspirants were to be taken
through this so as to offer a link
between problems affecting society and how good leadership can be applied to
change the current situation and promise improvement on future implementation
of policies.
3.0 FEEDBACK ON ASPIRANTS’ PROFILES/BIO DATA:
The first session of the forum therefore
saw the aspirants giving their biographies and where they spent better of their
childhood lives. It was a random exercise and participants came to identify
with the humble backgrounds that most of the aspirants had in their earlier
years of life. The following is how the profiles ran:
3.0.1: Aspirant 1: Ogonji George- Lindi Ward
Mr. Ogonji was born in Nyakach, part of what used to form the
larger Kisumu District (currently Kisumu County) before the de-elimination of
districts in 1997; in 1963. He attended his primary, secondary and O-Level
education in the same district before moving to Eldoret where he worked for a
year. Mr. Ogonji later joined Shanzu teachers college in Mombasa in 1987 and
upon graduating was posted to teach at Hirimani Primary School. He applied his
trade in this school until the year 1993 when he joined the cooperative
movement in the area and later became the accounts clerk of Nyakach Cooperative
Society.
Mr. Ogonji later came to live in
Nairobi in 1995. He joined Amar Security Providers Group as a junior accountant
due to the opportunities available for him at that time and later on worked
with Falcon Securities Providers in the same capacity. Due to the mergers in
the security companies he has worked for over the years, he now works for G4S
securities Dagoretti branch although he says he had reservations about working
for them being that they had been marred by various cases of theft and
credibility.
He views himself as a visionary,
passionate, competent and a person of high integrity. Over the years he has
lived in Kibera (Kibra), he founded Amua Youth Group in Kambi Muru, which he
has seen grow over the years through his vigorous fundraising activities. He
also founded Regina Women Group (which is named after his grandmother) that
offers a platform for women to practice financial merry go rounds and basket
making.
3.0.2 Aspirant 2: Rosemary
Masistsa- Makina Ward
Mrs. Masistsa was born in 1964
and raised in Kakamega County (formerly Kakamega District). She attended Luanda
Secondary School and later trained as an Information Technology specialist.
Mrs. Masistsa has also worked over the
years as an adult education teacher at Mashimoni School situated in Mashimoni
Kibera thus helping those who had lost hope in formal education acquire it in
old age.
Being a woman, she strongly feels
she need to take up the chance given by the Kenyan constitution to earn a
leadership position to help her serve the people in Makina ward and help
improve their standing point in societal issues. She is the founder of Kibera
Women for Peace, Kibera women Network and is considering herself a career
business woman. Her interest in politics has been influenced by the constant
insecurity that she continues to witness in the slums and which she hopes to
put a stop to if elected.
3.0.3: Aspirant 3: Silvanus Juma Ochola- Laini-Saba Ward
Born in 1981, Mr. Ochola is married
and blessed with 2 daughters. He holds a Certificate in Community Mobilization
from Railways Training Institute and a Diploma in the same from Africa Medical Research
Foundation (AMREF). He is the current chairman of Community Health Workers,
Mashimoni unit and works for Kibera Mashimoni Youth Group.
He believes that his strengths
are accessibility, honesty and transparency. He is inspired by the fact that
the current leadership has failed and therefore lacks transparency and cannot
be trusted to deliver in their promises. This is the situation he hopes to
change.
3.0.4: Aspirant 4: David Odhiambo Ogutu- Sarangombe Ward
Mr. Odhiambo was born in 1974 and
raised in Siaya County (formerly Siaya District). He attained his Kenya
Certificate of Primary Education in Siaya before proceeding to Kisumu Boys High
School. However, due to high mobility of his parents he had to later move to
Koibatek District where he sat for his Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education.
While in high school, he served as the school head prefect and a Christian Union
club member. He first came to Kibera in 1996 and had to stay with an uncle.
Upon settling in Kibera, he
joined a Security Guards Company and moved from his uncle’s house to start his
own life in Gatwekera. Circumstances did not work out for him at the work place
and was retrenched from his employment which prompted him to start a maandazi
business. He prides himself in his abilities to make many friends that have
seen the community understands him well. At one particular time he vied for a
post in the secretariat of the Liberal Democratic Party and emerged second. He later won the secretariat elections under Orange
Democratic Movement and became the secretary of Mama Okinda unit in Gatwekera.
He is currently the Orange Democratic Movement chairman of Sarangombe Ward and
hope to use this leadership background to offer better services to the people
if elected.
3.0.5: Aspirant 5: Ramtu Abdalla- Makina Ward
Mr. Abdalla is a 28 year old
aspirant, born and raised in Kibera Makina village. He has a Diploma in Community
Development and is trained as a professional football coach by Federation of
World Football (FIFA). Mr. Abdalla also has a certificate in Physical Education.
He takes pride in being the founder of Makina Youth Football Club that offers
young boys in Makina a chance to expose their talents for nurture.
Over the years Ramtu has been in
the frontline fighting for development. According to his own submission, he has
done this through founding and being the first chairperson of Coalition for
Young Kibra Leaders. He is the first person to ever
organize a peace walk in Kibera bringing together all age groups and stakeholders
to address peace in Kibera.
Mr. Abdalla has also taken a
significant role in agitating for sporting issues and the allocation for
sporting activities to form part of the Constituency Development Fund kitty. Currently,
he is the coordinator of football kitty in the former Langata constituency;
which has been split into Kibra and Langata constituencies.
3.0.6: Aspirant 6: David Kitavi – Laini-Saba Ward
Born in Laini-Saba in 1973, Mr. Kitavi
attended Mbagathi Road Primary School, Thika High School and later The Kenya
Polytechnic where he took a Diploma in Graphics and Design. Although he was not
a leader in his primary school, he always tried within his capacity to bring
together the slum boys. While at Thika High School, he became the dorm captain,
an honour which he terms was the highest position of leadership he got in
school.
After his college education he
worked at The Kenya Polytechnic (currently a university constituent college)
before resigning to form an organization called Youth Development Forum. Kitavi
later formed the Ushirika Primary School together with his friends from the
Catholic Church as an initiative to help young people access education. He
takes credit for initiating forty-seven women groups involved in micro finance
as well as organizing several tournaments, sporting events and environmental
groups in Kibera.
He is also proud to have begun a
legal aid program which offers help and follow up on justice for the people of
Kibera at no cost. He initiated a program through which parents could be able
to access birth certificates for their children and of the 1820 applications
made to the registrar of persons, 1560 children have so far been successfully
issued with a document.
He believes that his strength
lies in respecting people, believing in team work and is a good listener. His
position is that he continues participating in the development agenda of the
community regardless of whether elected or not. Mr. Kitavi believes that he is
a person of high integrity and therefore is fit to lead.
3.0.7: Aspirant 7: Cecilia Achieng Ayot- Laini-Saba Ward
One of the many ladies who have
taken the advantages of the constitution of Kenya 2010, Cecilia holds a Diploma
in Elementary Accounting as well as a Certificate in County Governance and Management
from Kenya College of Accountancy-University. Cecilia has demonstrated
leadership in various capacities in Kibera and other areas that she has worked
in and believes that she will clinch the county ward representative seat come
the general elections. She was the founder member and the first chairperson of
Kibera Community Development Trust, Kibera Empowerment Program and Vision
Mothers. She has also worked as a consultant with Media Focus on Africa for
community audio-visual learning through their programme the TEAM which majorly
focused on ways of restoring peace after the post election violence that rocked
the country in 2008.
Cecilia has also for a long time
acted as a community mobilizer and civic educator for Africa Youth Trust. She
is also a founder member of Usalama Reforms Forum which began as part of
community policing. She is in politics to change the status quo, give an
alternative leadership to champion community issues. She believes she is up to
the task and wants to change the pattern of women in leadership from a perspective
of have more women represented in leadership. Cecilia is also inspired to take
up political office to change the face and picture of poverty, which she says
for a long time, has been associated with the feminine gender.
She started St. Martin’s School,
which predominantly helps children from single parent families’ access
education and is proud of the success at the school, which currently has a
population of approximately 250 children. She hopes to do more at the negotiation
tables and influence decision making at policy level which she believes is the
first step towards realizing any meaningful development in the constituency.
3.0.8: Aspirant 8: Asha Abdi Soso- Lindi ward
Born 50 years ago, Asha Abdi
hails from Lindi ward, is married with 4 children and blessed with 4 grandchildren.
She is one of the aspirants who was born and has ever lived in Kibera (Kibra).
She was born and brought up in Kibera, attended Old Kibera Primary School, Khalsa
Secondary School and Kinyanjui Technical Secondary School respectively. Asha
has worked in several Asian companies in Nairobi’s Industrial area but was
never satisfied and kept on searching for better opportunities. She later
landed a job as a messenger in the local government where she had been working
to date.
In preparation for county wards
representation position, Asha enrolled for a county government course at Kenya College
of Accountancy-University where she obtained a certificate in county governance
and management. She promises to work together with the community to solve the
pertinent issues affecting Kibra constituents and believes that women can also
make very good leaders.
4.0: PLENARY
 |
It was however observed that most
of the aspirants did not come out well in articulating what they stand for as
well as what they thought the problems of the constituency were. A majority of
the aspirants did not have a clear road map and tangible ways of addressing the
said problems. From the participants’ comments, most of them assured the
aspirants that since they are known to the community; their record track is
what would help them ascent to office coupled with clarity of the things that
they hoped to achieve once elected.
It also came out quite often that
the participants wanted to be assured of peace during and after the elections
by the aspirants and that they would not incite pockets of persons from the
society to engage in violence should they not clinch the position of county
ward representatives in their respective wards.
 |
| Daniel ogonji, an aspiring county representative answers a question |
Without much success, the
aspirants tried to assure the participants that they were not planning to move
out of Kibera and in case that happened, then they would make sure that they
open offices in the constituency to enhance accessibility.
4.0.1: Excerpts for Plenary 1
The following are some selected excerpts from the day’s deliberations
where specific questions were addressed during the plenary session:
Participant: I feel that
your are selfish because even after saying that you did not want to be
associated with G4S based on your principles and ideals, cornered with dire
economic situation you still went ahead and worked for the same company. To
name a community women group after your grandmother may also insinuate that you
are a self-centered person.
Ogonji: G4S is an international group and I think people branded it
wrongly and that is why I opted to work for it later when it merged with my
former company. Regina Women Group is just a name like any other and I do not
think that such a move paints me as a selfish person. I would like to assure you
that I am a transparent leader.
Participant: Could you please tell us what you have done to the
youth and people of Lindi for the 28 years that you have worked in the Ministry
of Local Government?
Asha: I am employed and not in the board at the ministry which is
in charge of decision making. The department I work in only deal with local
authority workers and not individual people thus my mandate is limited. I have,
however, helped other people at an individual capacity including educating an
orphan in Lindi ward.
Participant: There is a very big problem in Laini-Saba regarding
accessibility of the area and as a result, during fire break outs so much
property is lost. What are you going to do about the issue once elected?
Cecilia: Advocate for a safe and dignified environment. If it might
mean the situation is dire to a point of moving out of Kibera, I will be
willing to move with as many as I can. My school also takes care of other
orphans.
4.0.2: Excerpts for Plenary 2:
Insecurity was earmarked by most
of the aspirants as a problem that cuts across the whole constituency and thus
requiring attention. There are some aspirants who believed that designing
policies that would favour the creation of jobs for the youth would help curb
the problem. Others also thought that creating a 24-hour economy in the slum
would ensure that more employment opportunities are created which in turn would
ensure that most of the youth did not stay idle and thus not get a chance to
engage in criminal activities.
The participants raised a concern
that the past leadership has not been very keen to involve the community in
development initiatives and thus most of the community projects ended up being
hijacked by individuals while others were not relevant in addressing the real
needs of the people. It was a concern that the number of toilets and water tank
that the past leaders have brought to the slums are no longer in use because the
community does not need them anymore. The aspirants as future leaders were
called upon to re evaluate themselves with regards to their past engagement
with the community and strategize a way forward whether or not they emerge
successful in the coming election as this would ensure development for the
constituency.
In particular, Asha, an aspirant
in Lindi ward, assured the participants that being a mother she understood the
challenges facing the youth and through conducting fundraising for the various
youth groups, she believes that the youth will be able to start income
generating activities to give them a source of income. However, the panel also
urged the youth to shun laziness and work harder to get themselves to positions
of leadership and work force. Without forgetting the needs of the women and the
old in the community, the aspirants promised to embrace women empowerment in
all spheres including economical, political and social spheres. Rosemary from
Lindi reminded the participants that she was at the forefront advocating for
the old peoples fund which has now gone a long way to economically lift the old
people.
Realizing that most of the
questions being asked heavily leaned on the failures of past leaderships the
aspirants promised that if they get the chance to serve, through the peoples
mandate, they would ensure that they develop a workable feedback mechanism for
the community to ensure that there is effective communication with the
electorate and that they engage the community effectively. On this note Mr.
Kitavi urged the participants to get a hold of the current Social audit book
which outlines all the projects in Kibera and how the funds were spent in each
of the projects. By keeping abreast with current development information about
the community, the leaders hoped that the community may start looking at
politics as a tool for peace and development and not exploitation by the
leaders as had been in the past.
4.0.3: Aspirants Parting Shot and Peace Messages
The following were some of the
promises that the aspirants had for the participants and their constituents in
general:
4.0.3.1: Ramtu:
He urged the participants as a
representation of the electorate to always correct them as leaders when they go
wrong. He promised that if elected, he will ensure that friendly policies are
made in the county assembly which will give the leaders the mandate to provide
services to the people and promote development. Having networked with many
stakeholders, he promises to push for 60% of the resources in Nairobi to go to
the youth and 30% go to the women. He also laid a commitment to peace accepting
that if large masses are left idle then there is recipe for chaos.
4.0.3.2: Rosemary:
Based on her past engagement,
which includes initiating Reform Youth Group to help curb crime and offer
mentorship to the youth as well as helping the women access the Women
Enterprise Fund, she promised to continue with the same activities but on a
larger scale. Rosemary also hopes to build a village polytechnic in her Lindi Ward
and change the sanitation situation in the constituency if elected. She
believes peace cannot be treated in a cosmetic way and urged all the aspirants
to engage in peaceful dialogues and campaigns.
4.0.3.3: Ogutu:
He promises to
help create wealth from garbage collection and market Kibera water which in
turn will provide income for the community. He will also be at the fore front
to push for the creation of a bio gas plant in Kibra. He hopes to be very
instrumental in using the people as a resource to help them improve their life
situations. Furthermore, he will invest in talent by creating more sports
grounds for the youth.
In health matters, he promises to
give the provision of ambulance services in Kibra a first priority although he
would always consult to ensure that the community is in agreement with his
development plans. He maintained that the achievement of peace can only come
through more sensitization and awareness and called upon all the participants
to cultivate in their own way the little initiatives that can foster peace.
4.0.3.4: Ochola:
He promises to set up a social
hub to engage more people especially the youth in Information, Communication
and Technology. He also foresees a leadership which will involve the community
in needs identification to help come up with relevant projects for the
community. He singled peace as one of the needs of the community at all times
and said it is a part of him that he must address as a leader.
4.0.3.5: Ogonji:
Mr. Ogonji
promised to give civic education to the community on what to expect from the
leaders as well as their roles as voters while discouraging them from participating
in election bribery. He plans to organize the wards into small manageable units
to prevent insecurity and give the policemen the opportunity to patrol and
ensure security in the constituency. He believed that sustainable peace is an
individual responsibility and urged the youth not to pay a lip service to peace
but keep it alive.
4.0.3.6: Asha:
The lady aspirant from Lindi ward
promises to engage her people in being development conscious and discouraging
them from hindering development by explaining the benefits of such projects to
the community. She also promises to educate her people on the need for peaceful
elections and therefore assured that the next elections will be non violent.
4.0.3.7: Ayot:
Miss Ayot
promises to address the lack of social amenities in the constituency and tap
talent especially among the youth to ensure that the youth can benefit from
their talents. She notes that the successive leaderships have not been
accessible to the people who elect them and usually lack the capacity to handle
the development money that is given to them. As such, she promises to always be
accessible to the people of her ward and ensure that their money is put into
meaningful development projects. She also advised the youth to desist from
political incitement and observe peace at all times.
5.0: POINTS OF IMPROVEMENT
There were issues that arose in
the deliberations that needed to be captured as emerging issues that could be
translated to the Public Debate for Nominated Candidates Forum next year. These
are issues needed for feedback and yardstick for improvement and could perhaps
make the Kibra leadership know what is more pressing for the constituents and
act accordingly. Below are some major concerns:
5.0.1 Key emerging questions:
·
How did the aspirants contribute to enhancing
the voter registration in their areas?
·
Which yardstick will the community use to gauge
the effectiveness of their leaders participation in policy creation?
·
What roles will the aspirants play in ensuring
peaceful elections?
·
How will the aspirants deal with grabbing of
public projects by some of the powerful individuals in the constituency for
personal benefits?
·
Do the aspirants understand their roles in the
county government and what strategies are they using to ensure that the electorates
also understand these roles?
·
How are the leaders planning to address the
hygiene and health situation in the community?
·
What strategies do the aspirants have to curb bad
leadership and irresponsible use of public money for personal gains?
·
What efforts are the aspirants putting in to
address the issue of ethnicity among the electorate?
5.0.2 Key challenges in Kibra Constituency
These are the challenges members
raised to be tackled in their order of urgency:
o Insecurity
o Lack
of social amenities such as playgrounds
o Access
to water
o Poor
sanitation
o Inadequate
schools (Both formal and informal)
5.0.3: Recommendations
·
Conduct civic education and forums for the
aspirants to enable them engage more meaningfully and tackle issues that they
view as their vision.
·
Initiate a continuous short courses program for
the elected ward representatives after the general elections to help them
deliver the needed services to the people of Kibera.
·
Formation of a Kibera ward representatives’
caucus to allow for enhanced coordination and improved service delivery.
·
Conduct the forums in different wards in the
constituency to diversify participation
6.0 CONCLUSION
The Initiative for Community
Action recognizes that real and long lasting-change will never come if
people do not feel moral and ethical responsibility towards each other as a
community. Residents of Kibera have found few reasons to take in them and
therefore feel left out in decision making processes. However, from this partnership
with Umande Trust, Sustainable Energy and supported with
the European Union through the
project “Inter-Ethnic Youth Dialogue and Peaceful Reconciliation”
(which majorly made this event a success) ICA has offered the right platform
for an opportunity to build a sense of civic pride in people who in the past
have felt sidelined, marginalized, and left to merely “survive.” This, if sustained, will in essence lead to
better leadership, finding better people-driven solutions for Kibera’s
socio-political issues and ensuring better quality life and greater
opportunities for all.
Report compiled by Ramogi Osewe
Assistant
Coordinator
The Initiative for
Community Action
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ReplyDeletehttp://allafrica.com/stories/201301240933.html
ReplyDeleteanother interesting story of Action inter-ethnic dialogue is here