Rights defender receives award

Before the news of her invitation to receive an award from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for being “a woman of courage” this week, Ann Njogu was just one of many activists in town.

On Wednesday, the woman who grabbed headlines in Kenya in July 2007 after Cabinet minister Charity Ngilu “rescued” her from police custody will be walking the corridors of power at the State Department in Washington, DC, this time to be celebrated in another space and time for the same incident.

Ms Njogu was arrested on July 31, 2007, together with other activists after a peaceful demonstration against Parliament’s proposal to introduce a golden handshake for legislators.

She was detained in police cells, but the intervention of then Health minister Charity Ngilu dramatised her incarceration with the minister “snatching” her from custody and taking her to hospital for treatment.

The minister was summoned to CID headquarters for interrogation but was later released through a court order. “The minister rescued me from officers after they hurt me. They had kicked me on the head, and I sustained injuries on my back as well. She came in when she heard me screaming,” Ms Njogu said.

Through her civil society organisation she “has kept pressure on lawmakers for constitutional reforms, and ensured that the reform process is representative and not skewed to benefit the existing power structure,” according to a biography of Ms Njogu prepared by the State Department ahead of the award ceremony.

“These activities have come with great personal sacrifice,” it adds. In 2007, it says, Ms Njogu was assaulted and arrested by State security for demanding that Members of Parliament review their hefty salaries in light of the poverty afflicting most Kenyans.

In 2008 she and six others were “arrested, beaten and sexually molested by police when the group raised the issue of possible corruption in the sale of the Grand Regency Hotel,” the State Department summary adds.

“It is just another example of her dedication to exposing corruption and fighting for reforms in Kenya.” The choice of Ms Njogu as one of 10 recipients of this year’s International Women of Courage Award comes at a time of increased US diplomatic pressure for reforms in Kenya. Secretary Clinton will present the award to Ms Njogu and the others at a State Department ceremony on March 10.

The other awardees are: Shukria Asil (Afghanistan), Col. Shafiqa Quraishi (Afghanistan), Androula Henriques (Cyprus), Sonia Pierre (Dominican Republic), Shadi Sadr (Iran), Dr Lee Ae-ran (Republic of Korea), Sister Marie Claude Naddaf (Syria), and Jestina Mukoko (Zimbabwe).

The annual International Women of Courage Award was started in March 2007 to recognise women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating women’s rights and advancement. This is the only award within the Department of State that pays tribute to outstanding women leaders worldwide. It recognises the courage and leadership shown as they struggle for social justice and human rights.

After her early education in Nakuru, Ms Njogu joined Mugoiri Girls High School in Murang’a and later the University of Nairobi. She graduated with a bachelor of law degree in 1989. The following year, she graduated as an advocate from the Kenya School of Law and joined Akhaabi and Company Advocates as an associate.

The holder of a Certified Public Secretary (K) certificate joined Madison Insurance Company as legal officer in 1992 and rose through the ranks to become the chief legal officer. She is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London, and has attended human rights and management seminars at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden.

Born into a close-knit family of seven, the Executive Director of Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) was brought up in Nairobi’s Bahati estate, Eastleigh and Nyandarua. She says she began human rights activism as a small girl of just five when she demanded to know why her parents did not take her photographs while a toddler and yet everyone else in the family had photos.