Elections

PBI published its 2022 International Annual Review, reflecting upon the challenges facing environmental and human rights defenders around the world, and the impact of their work and PBI’s activities in Latin America, Kenya, Nepal and Indonesia.

The increased militarisation of public security and widespread smearing of defenders were two of the dynamics that affected the ability of activists to work effectively across the regions and communities where PBI operates.

PBI Kenya, together with other PBI entities and the members of the Social Justice Centres Working Group held a virtual speaker tour between 20th November to 10th Dec 2021. The speaker tour addressed the following issues with the UN officials, foreign governments, international NGOs, and fellow HRDs from other countries: violations of freedom of peaceful assembly, extrajudicial killings, the 2022 general elections and the safety of HRDs.

PBI Kenya began the year on a high note, by continuing to supporting the work of the HRDs of the Social Justice Centres in Kenya through a new project titled ‘Raising the voice, visibility and effectiveness of the human rights movement in Kenya’. This follows after the successful completion of the pilot project ‘Increased capacities, stronger networks’. Both are supported with German Federal Foreign Office’s funds by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Funding Programme zivik.

On Tuesday 8th August, Kenya will hold elections for the positions of the President and deputy President, members of Parliament (Senate and National Assembly) and devolved government members (county governors and ward representatives). While the last elections in 2013 were relatively peaceful, the memory of the 2007/8 post-election violence, which left at least 1,133 people dead and 600,000 people displaced, looms large in this election period.