There is a growing trend of bastardising
activism and the difficult but often thankless work activists do to safeguard
rights, speak up against abuse of power and hold institutions accountable.
It
is increasingly becoming fashionable to treat active citizenry with suspicion,
turning the title ‘activist’ into a pejorative. This deserves to be challenged.
A look at the history of Kenya, and most
recently the post–June 25, 2024 political moment, makes it clear that any and
all of us can and should be activists in one way or another. When citizens
speak out, they can influence government policy, force legal and institutional
reforms and challenge misconduct in public life.
In the age of smartphones and
internet access, nearly everybody now has the capacity to participate in public
discourse on issues affecting society. This is not merely a democratic right
but also a constitutional obligation. Article 3(1) states that “every person
has an obligation to respect, uphold and defend this constitution.”
There are many definitions of activism, but
Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
describes it as “collective action that exerts pressure on centers of power to
remedy grievances and felt injustice.” In practice, activists often occupy a
position similar to journalists.
They operate at the frontline of challenging
power and exposing abuse, usually with little direct personal benefit and often
at considerable personal risk. Yet despite this, activism is frequently
dismissed as disruptive, attention-seeking or foreign-driven.
Without activists, Kenya would not have
developed the democratic culture and constitutional framework it has today.
Politicians eventually occupied centre stage during periods of democratic
transition, but activists and civil society actors did much of the early and
sustained work of resisting authoritarianism during the Kanu era.
They organised,
documented abuses, mobilised citizens and kept pressure on the state at a time
when open dissent carried real consequences.
The constitutional review process leading
to the 2010 Constitution is a clear example. Many politicians focused primarily
on power-sharing arrangements and institutional architecture, important as
those issues were politically.
But activists and civil society actors
consistently pushed broader questions around social and economic justice,
leadership and integrity, police accountability, environmental protection and
constitutional safeguards for citizens’ rights.
Their interventions helped
shape the wider democratic character of the constitution beyond elite political
negotiations.
Organisations such as Africog and the Kenya
Human Rights Commission, alongside activists like Gladwell Otieno, George
Kegoro and Njonjo Mue, also played important roles in strengthening
constitutional accountability.
Africog was central in litigation and advocacy
surrounding the nullification of the 2017 presidential election results. The
organisation also pursued justice efforts following the 2007 post-election
violence at The Hague and produced influential research reports on state
capture and corruption during the Jubilee administration.
These are not the
actions of people merely chasing media attention or donor approval. They are
examples of citizens and institutions engaging in difficult and often unpopular
public-interest work.
Activism should also not be reduced only to
politics and electoral disputes. Governance issues receive the greatest
attention because they dominate public debate, but activism in Kenya extends
far beyond that.
Activists and advocacy groups work on environmental
conservation, land rights, labour justice, reproductive health rights, digital
safety, disability rights, indigenous communities’ rights, education access and
policing reforms, among many other issues.
Behind these issues are real people and
real consequences. It often takes activists, sometimes working alongside
journalists, to bring neglected injustices into public view and force
institutional response.
A look at the work of organisations such as the Kenya
Human Rights Commission, Defenders Coalition and Amnesty International shows
the range of civic advocacy taking place in Kenya and the impact it continues
to have on people’s lives.
It is therefore concerning that activists
are increasingly dismissed as opportunists or agents of foreign interests.
It
has become common in television panels, social media discussions and public
discourse to hear claims that activists organise protests merely to attract
donor funding or media attention. Such arguments are usually unsupported and
reflect a poor understanding of both constitutional rights and civic
engagement.
Article 37 explicitly protects the right to
assemble, demonstrate, picket and present petitions peacefully and unarmed.
Public protest is one of the constitutional tools citizens can use to express
grievances and demand accountability.
There is also little evidence to support
the claim that activists are acting on behalf of foreign interests when they
campaign for affordable living, fair taxation, protection against land
grabbing, police reform or judicial accountability. These are issues rooted in
the daily realities of ordinary Kenyans.
The irony is that many people who ridicule
activists are themselves beneficiaries of freedoms secured through civic struggle
and public advocacy.
Democratic space, constitutional protections, media
freedoms and even the ability to openly criticise government did not emerge
automatically. They were secured over time by citizens willing to challenge
authority and demand reform.
In a period marked by political polarisation,
including among supposedly “leaderless and tribeless” young people, Kenyans
should remember that activists often remain among the few actors consistently
engaged with questions of public accountability outside electoral cycles.
Politicians calculate electoral interests and political consequences.
Activists, by contrast, tend to remain engaged on issues whether elections are
near or not.
That is why activism should not be reduced
to conspiracy theories or casual contempt. A society that teaches citizens to
distrust civic participation weakens its own democratic culture.
Kenya’s
progress, however imperfect, has depended significantly on citizens willing to
organise, document abuse, demand accountability and defend constitutional
principles.
Activists, like all public actors, deserve criticism where
necessary. But they also deserve honesty about the role they have played in
shaping and safeguarding many of the freedoms Kenyans now take for granted.
The writer is a former Star reporter now living in the United States
Hassan Albeity and Muhuri director Khelef Khalifa at the Muhuri legal aid clinic in Mombasa on Tuesday. Kenyans should remember that activists often remain among the few actors consistently engaged with questions of public accountability /FILE
