Why Muhuri and Haki Africa are undergoing crippling harassment
What you need to know:
- First they were placed, in unclear circumstances and without a hearing, on the list of “supporters of terrorism.” The police promised to get back to them in two weeks, but a month on, there has been nothing but silence, reflecting the fact that this is a witch-hunt.
- Remember that having legal counsel is a constitutional and human right, available to all suspects. The organisations are simply implementing the Constitution in providing legal services.
- The worst part of this saga is that it is entrenching the Imperial Presidency where laws and due process mean nothing and institutions are tools to be used at the service of the Executive.
This week a State House operative finally revealed why the regime has been so fixated on trying to close down Muhuri and Haki Africa, two key civil society organisations operating from Mombasa.
The two organisations are being taken through the grinder of State harassment and discrimination for the work they do, in ways reminiscent of the one-party State era.
First they were placed, in unclear circumstances and without a hearing, on the list of “supporters of terrorism.” The police promised to get back to them in two weeks, but a month on, there has been nothing but silence, reflecting the fact that this is a witch-hunt.
Then they were subjected to impromptu audits from the Kenya Revenue Authority, after being put on the terrorist supporters list in a move that can only be read as politically motivated, but which KRA denied had anything to do with the organisations’ refusal to succumb quietly.
Thirdly, for Haki Africa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote to donors asking them to cease supporting the organisation, without giving reasons.
For Muhuri, the NGOs Coordination Board — which has increasingly become a tool of the Executive — wrote to the organisation asking it to show cause why it should not be de-registered for breaching the NGO Act, without specifying what provisions of the Act had been allegedly breached, even after being asked to be specific!
And now, this same NGO Board has announced the de-registration of the organisations, but without due process or providing reasons.
With all this harassment, surely the regime has strong damning evidence to target the two organisations so doggedly. But, alas, the reason provided is that Haki Africa — and by extension Muhuri — has provided legal aid to terrorism suspects. Suspects already held in Shimo la Tewa Prison!
How petty! Could they not have come up with something smarter? And since when did providing legal assistance become a crime?
IMPOSE MARTIAL LAW
Remember that having legal counsel is a constitutional and human right, available to all suspects. The organisations are simply implementing the Constitution in providing legal services.
If that is wrong, if that is illegal, if that is supporting terrorism, then they better tear up the Constitution and impose martial law (which I know a lot of regime insiders would love to do so they can plunder, kill and lord it over us with impunity).
For crying out loud, if providing legal assistance to suspects is wrong, then we might as well outlaw the legal profession forthwith. We might as well arrest Karim Khan, Katwa Kigen and the retinue of lawyers providing legal assistance to William Ruto, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity, a crime as severe and as terrible as terrorism which is why it is an international crime and not just a domestic one.
And while at that, let us also round up Steven Kay and the Kenyan lawyers who provided legal assistance to Uhuru Kenyatta when he faced charges of crimes against humanity, especially after successfully ensuring that the evidence against him could not be verified sufficiently to warrant a conviction. After all, without this assistance, which this regime wants to deprive others of, it is unlikely that Mr Kenyatta would have gotten off.
But maybe the issue is that the two organisations are offering free legal services to suspects, rather than the expensive services that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto get.
Maybe the issue is that this regime believes the poor are not entitled to any rights and if they say you are a terrorist that is sufficient evidence and you should be imprisoned. Or, worse, you should be extra-judicially executed without regard to the rule of law or the Constitution.
The worst part of this saga is that it is entrenching the Imperial Presidency where laws and due process mean nothing and institutions are tools to be used at the service of the Executive.
We have been through that, with disastrous human, social and economic consequences, during the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi regimes. Are we marching forward to the past, like Burundi?
