Blog

Kenya promulgated a new Constitution in August 2010 which among other things provides for a devolved system of governance which system was ushered in by the March 2013 General Elections. This system of governance is supposed to bring governance closer to the people and enhance participation of all population groups including women and youth. However, for citizens to effectively participate, their capacity needs to be strengthened especially the historically marginalized groups like women and youth. This is the basis of theWomen and Devolved Governance project which is supported by GIZ (CPS) and which seeks to strengthen the capacity of both women and Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) to facilitate effective civic engagement by women. The project is piloting in Kandara Sub County of Murang’a County, Central Kenya where CEEC trained 30 women drawn from all the six wards on devolved governance from26^th to 28^th February 2014. In addition to devolved governance, the women were trained on gender to help them understand the reasons behind women’s general marginalization and specifically their lack of participation in governance.  The training will be followed by a two days’ training of MCAs on their mandate under devolved governance. The MCAs will also be trained on ways of promoting women’s participation after which six ward based women’s forums will be held to facilitate engagement between women and their MCAs.

From 14^th to 17^th January 2014, CEEC Executive Director Jane Maina and Programs Manager Nelly Njoki participated in a workshop organized by the Initiatives of Change Centre for Governance (ICCfG) on ‘Ethics in Public Governance’. The workshop that brought together around 30 participants at Asia Plateau, Panchgani, India aimed at helping participants evolve a personal paradigm of ethical leadership and governance. One major outcome of the workshop was an idea that was mooted to start a Centre for Governance for the East and Horn of Africa region.

In 2012-2013, CEEC implemented the Promotion and Protection of Women’s Inheritance Rights Project in Central Kenya with the support of Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (VGIF). The project which was concluded in May 2013 resulted in the enhanced capacity of 27 community leaders on issues of family law and succession as well as development of a Community Trainers Manual. On 7^th January 2014, an external evaluation meeting was held at Kandara Development Office, led by Ms. Joan Omini a VGIF consultant. The meeting brought together 9 group leaders representing the 5 areas of project reach. The evaluation noted that the participants had learnt a lot from the project and they had reached out to other community members with the knowledge and skills they had gained. Overall, the project had a positive effect on the community as was evident from increased joint registration of property by married people and a reduction of property disputes. The fact that the project had male participants helped to overcome the barrier that women had in addressing men on issues of women’s rights. However, the evaluation also noted the dire need scale up the project so as to reach more community members in other parts of the project area. In addition, inclusion of a component on economic empowerment of women was highlighted as a way of complementing this kind of work.

On 27^th November 2013, CEEC launched “Sauti Mtaani” an E-Participation platform comprising of an SMS service and a Facebook application which seeks to facilitate engagement between the youth and their Members of County Assembly (MCAs). The project is piloting with twelve wards in four informal settlements in Nairobi namely; Dandora I, Dandora II, Dandora III and Dandora IV Wards (Dandora) Mabatini, Hospital, Kiamaiko, Ngei and Mathare North Wards (Mathare), Pipeline and Kwa Reuben Wards (Mukuru) and  Korogocho Ward (Korogocho). The SMS platform known as Tumatext (send a text message) is a web based portal which will enable the youth to send text messages to a number designated to their respective MCA who will in turn respond to their concerns from any web enabled device. This means the MCAs will able to communicate with the youth from their wards from anywhere in the world as long as they have internet connectivity. The Tumatext platform is linked to a Facebook Application to further broaden the reach. The Sauti Mtaani platform is part of the Youth and Devolved Governance project supported by Heinrich Boll Stiftung, East Africa / Horn of Africa Regional Office which aims at enhancing youth participation in devolved governance.

On 14th-16^th November 2013, CEEC conducted a training for members of Nairobi County Assembly at Capital Hill Lodge, Nakuru. The training brought together MCAs from Mabatini, Hospital, Kiamaiko, Kwa Reuben, Pipeline, Korogocho and Sarang’ombe wards. It covered issues of leadership, transparency, accountability and public participation. The main focus was the MCAs’ mandate, duties and responsibilities and particularly how they can enhance youth participation in devolved governance through SMS and Facebook platforms. This was the second phase of the Youth and Devolved Governance Project supported by the Heinrich Boll Stiftung, East Africa / Horn of Africa Regional Office, the first one being youth training on devolved governance that took place in October 2013

On 3rd May 2013, CEEC launched a Training Guide on women’s inheritance rights in Kandara, Murang’a County. The Guide was a culmination of a year long project Promotion and Protection of Women’s Inheritance Rights in Central Kenya which was supported by Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (VGIF). The project worked with 27 community leaders, both men and women, strengthening their capacity to be women’s inheritance rights champions in Kandara, Central Kenya.The launch was officiated by the area Senior Chief Phillip Muturi Gituru. The Guide will assist the community leaders trained under this project and other interested parties in sensitizing the community on women’s inheritance rights.

This project which was building on the work CEEC had done in 2012 , was implemented against the backdrop of the post election violence that broke out in 2007/8 and in anticipation of the 2013 general election. The aim was to build the capacity of the youth to promote and maintain peace before, during and after the general election. CEEC worked with a total of 57 youth (both male and female) on issues of nonviolence, peaceful electioneering, respect for diversity and inter ethnic dialogue. The youth were drawn from seven informal settlements in Nairobi namely; Kibra, Mathare, Korogocho, Mukuru, Dandora, Kawangware and Kiambiu. In the run up to the March 2013 general election, the youth traversed their respective informal settlements particularly areas considered hot spots, advocating for peaceful elections and harmonious inter ethnic co-existence through travelling theatre. They also used posters, stickers, wrist bands and key rings to pass the message. In addition to the travelling theatre, the trainees also participated in talk shows in two community radio stations, Pamoja FM in Kibra and Koch FM in Korogocho with a view of spreading the message of peace to a wider constituency. During monitoring visits and evaluation of the project, CEEC learnt from both the community members and the youth themselves that the project had contributed to the peace that was experienced before, during and after the 2013 general election. Indeed some of the youth CEEC interviewed admitted to have been perpetrators of violence during the 2007 general election but in their own words, they had now become “transformers who were transforming others”.

The project aimed at building the capacity of 60 women of faith from Central Kenya to safeguard women’s inheritance rights. It had the following components;

• Training of 60 women of faith on gender, family law and succession as well as conflict resolution and communication skills.
• Packaging the law on family and inheritance in a simplified and user friendly booklet.
• Mobile legal aid clinics
• Supporting litigation for selected needy cases on Succession and Inheritance.

This project was the first of its kind and it was very well received by the women and the community around them. The legal aid clinics and the support for needy cases were two very important complementary components. Since the trainees could not reach a wide audience, the legal aid clinics facilitated interaction between CEEC’s pro bono lawyers and the community members. About 300 community members had their legal questions answered especially those that related to marriage, property and inheritance. CEEC also supported 13 women who were at risk of being disinherited and could not afford legal fees to file their cases in court. The trainees were given copies of a simplified booklet on Family law and Succession to help them in their outreach efforts.

Under the Promotion of Women’s Inheritance Rights in Central Kenya Project which is supported by Virginia Gildersleeve International Fund (VGIF), CEEC carried out a Family Law and Succession training on 26th to 30th November 2012. The training brought together 27 community leaders from Kandara, Central Kenya, 19 women and 8 men. Using a draft guide, the trainees are already disseminating what they learnt within their communities. CEEC plans to conduct monitoring and follow up visits in February 2013 to assess participants’ progress in implementing their action plans.

CEEC held an inter-ethnic dialogue training for youth from Nairobi’s informal settlements on 13th to 15th November 2012. The training which was supported by Heinrich Boll Stiftung, East and Horn of Africa Regional Office brought together 25 youth, both male and female from six informal settlements. The main objective of the training was to build the capacity of the youth to contribute to harmonious inter ethnic co-existence generally and specifically within the informal settlements especially within the context of the March 2013 general elections. The trainees have held inter ethnic dialogue forums within their respective informal settlements mainly targeting the youth. The response has been very positive with the youth calling for more of such forums. During these forums, the trainees have been screening the documentary “Heal the Nation” which is a very powerful depiction of the disastrous effects of negative ethnicity during the 2007/8 Post Election violence. After participating in the forums in the informal settlements, CEEC’s overall impression is that it is possible to avert a repeat of the 2007/8 by mobilizing youth for peace. This however means reaching out to as many youth as possible.