Jubilee's agenda is to cripple civil societies

On December 4, 2016, a local newspaper editorialised on human rights violations in the North Rift stating that although “962 deaths border on an atrocity, the response of NGOs has been uncharacteristically muted.

"The sense of outrage that has often been associated with terror attacks in major cities of the country is lacking when the killings are in this region."

Last weekend, on January 8, the same newspaper published a false story about the Kenya Human Rights Commission alleging unconfirmed malpractices involving its board.

Drawn from an alleged investigative report prepared by the NGOs-Coordination Board, the story “accused KHRC of massive irregularities ranging from tax evasion and operating illegal bank accounts".

Is it not perplexing that this newspaper can complain about the silence of NGOs and publish malicious government propaganda designed to silence the very NGOs in one shot?

When asked about the fabricated allegations, the editor ventured that they treated the NGOs-Coordination Board as a credible source.

It did not matter that the KHRC as an organisation and its board members as individuals were not given a chance to confirm the malicious story before it was published.

It should have struck the newspaper that this so-called investigative report was released to the media before KHRC received it.

On this matter, the NGOs-Coordination Board is not a credible source of information.

As such, the newspaper abandoned its responsibility of seeking truth in favour of a smear campaign aimed at crippling KHRC by publishing and disseminating defamatory allegations?

STATE ONSLAUGHT
This much we do know: it is the stated intention of the Jubilee government to attack and cripple organisations within civil society.

This agenda did not start with the Presidential warning on Jamhuri Day last year.

It started during the 2013 electoral campaigns when well-oiled Jubilee Coalition propaganda invented the ‘evil’ society.

The renewed initiative to attack organisations within civil society is however designed to undermine their role heading into the 2017 elections.

To achieve this objective, government has enlisted the leadership of the NGOs-Coordination Board.

The media house should know this because the Jubilee government doesn’t pretend about it.

The latest attack on KHRC was executed in spite of the Commission having repeatedly sought and denied meetings with the NGOs-Coordination Board.

Eventually KHRC sought and was vindicated by the court.

It is also public knowledge that the leadership of the Board has been the subject of public ridicule for some time now.

UNSCRUPULOUSNESS

The executive director, Mr Yusuf Mahamed Fazul, was investigated by the Commission on Administrative Justice and found unsuitable to hold public office for abuse of power and misconduct.

In fact, the Ombudsman concluded that Fazul was irregularly appointed as he did not have the requisite qualifications noting that he did not complete his studies at Egerton University.

A letter signed by a Registrar at Egerton University, Prof SF Owido, seems to confirm that the student, Mohamed Yusuf, presumably aka Fazul Mahamed, was discontinued on academic grounds.

But Mr Fazul enjoys patronage at the highest level in government and can act with impunity in the discharge of his duties.

Through court order, he was able to outwit a compulsory leave issued by his CS, Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri.

Shortly afterwards, PBO matters were relocated from Devolution Ministry to Internal Security.

The vileness of the situation was brought home when CS Kiunjuri attempted to operationalise the PBO Act.

Someone started a carefully choreographed smear campaign against him using an affidavit filed by one, Delphine Bram Christopher.

Godwin R. Murunga teaches at the University of Nairobi