Comrade power: We are rebels with a cause

Activism. The word itself sparks a lot of mixed reactions. Activists are viewed by many as rubble rousers who are out to cause trouble. Yet most of those who define themselves by that title believe deeply in their causes and are out to improve their communities and the world. 

In Kenya, activists have a bitter relationship with the government. So bad that sometimes activists get harmed by government. Despite these challenges, there are young people who have dared to join and stay in that space. Here are a few stories from such individuals. 

PATRICIA MUMBUA 
KOMBO, 26
LAND ACTIVIST

My journey in activism started in 2019 when I was in my third year at Moi University. While on attachment, I worked with an organisation that was dealing with farmers. That was during the second cycle of Kenyans for Kenyans charity drive to support hunger stricken countrymen. As part of my job, I travelled to Turkana for the donation drive.

During the fieldwork, I interacted with locals and heard their stories first hand. For a long time, I had only heard of their miseries through the media and paid very little attention.

While interacting with the children in Turkana, I asked a young child how bad the hunger situation was, and I remember him saying it was ‘normal’. I was shocked. How could anyone grow to believe that drought was normal?

Growing up, my dad was a renowned seller of timber. He would make us plant trees every rainy season, and I really hated this as I kept imagining how other children in towns were having fun and watching TV. 

Because of this, I knew how to prepare tree nurseries at a young age. We also had a 4K club in school and to me, it felt like an extension of what I hated. It is until I went to Turkana that I realised that by growing trees, I was being prepared for something. 

When I returned home, I vowed to go back to tree planting. That is how I started Par Tree Initiative, a community based organisation that trains children on the importance of planting trees, and how to mitigate climate change.

We partner with schools and help them form environmental clubs where they can plant tree nurseries because when I was in primary school, I was part of the 4K Club, but I was too young to understand the activities.

That is how my journey into activism started. In the year 2020, I was recognised by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as Global Lands Hero. Another highlight of my career was when we successfully demonstrated against the planned lifting of the plastic ban in Kenya, and held protests against the building of a hotel inside the Nairobi National Park.  

I also participated in protests against the planned felling of a Mugumo tree in Westlands, Nairobi. We demonstrated and got the attention of then President Uhuru Kenyatta who spared the tree and ordered that it becomes part of a roundabout.

I often get invitations to address matters of land degradation and desertification. This year, I was a key note speaker at the world leader summit. I talked about creating long lasting land legacy.

I am currently pursuing my Master’s degree in climate change adaptation at University of Nairobi. 

HAWA ALLY PUZZO, 30
GENDER AND MINORITIES RIGHTS ACTIVIST

Growing up, I never really had a passion for activism. I was a timid girl who just wanted to get married and settle down.
However, things did not go as planned. I got pregnant at 21, in 2012, and that brought me a lot of criticism especially because I come from a Muslim community. 

In 2015, I got pregnant with my second child while still not married, and many began questioning my life choices.

One year later, I was in a promising relationship but my partner called off the union a few weeks to our wedding. I couldn’t believe it. I was sad and depressed.

It is at that moment that I realised that often, women are not allowed to be themselves. Maybe marriage was not meant for me but why should people not appreciate me for who I am just because I got children out of wedlock?

In 2018, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights was looking for human rights defenders in Kisii. I was among those who were picked and trained on women’s rights.

I emerged among the best and I decided to start my journey of being the voice to the voice less. In 2019, I decided to champion for the rights of the Nubian community in Kisii since I realised that they were most affected by the food shortage being witnessed across the country. 

I come from the Nubian Community that is not recognised in Kenya. Even getting identification documents is so difficult. We feel sidelined by the government.

This encouraged me to become a paralegal. In my line of work, I would educate communities on the importance of having birth certificates and IDs, and urged them to speak out on their challenges.

I encountered many setbacks, especially backlash from government officials who felt I exposed them. I have offered paralegal services in a murder case, which resulted in threats and I ended up going into hiding for some time.

I am currently working on sexual gender based violence cases. I act as a bridge between the community and the local justice system.

I view my job as a platform for giving back to the community. Nobody held my hand at my time of need, but if someone did, my story would have been very different.

I want to help my community, and remind them that despite getting pregnant, girls can still lead successful lives. Even those who are married can still fight GBV in their marriages. These are some of the issues that I am really working on and hopefully I will see the change.

I also decided to go back to University to study a course on statelessness and international laws on refugees.

JESSE ‘SIMBA’ SARUNI, 29
STUDENT POLITICAL ACTIVIST

I am currently the President of the Kenya University Students Organisation (KUSO), a body  that represents 3.6 million Kenyan students. 

I graduated with my first degree in law from Mount Kenya University in July 2022. I am undertaking my second degree in International Relations at the University of Nairobi.

From when I was young, I always found ways to address issues affecting other people.

Standing up to authority would be viewed by school administration as being rebellious, and that led to me being denied an opportunity to be a leader. Still, I grew up to believe that leadership is not about titles but commitment to the people.

It is while I was a student leader at MKU that we began discussions on revamping student leadership at the national level. KUSO had for a long time been viewed as a briefcase organisation. In August, I was elected to represent the interest of students at the national level. 

University students face different challenges, so my role is to ensure that their issues are addressed.

In the past, whenever students used the slogan “comrades power!” they were mostly referring to physical power which would result into demonstrations. But, times have since changed. We still demonstrate, but on an intellectual level. We are now more enlightened and we know that different forms of activism can be applied to achieve meaningful engagement.

I was also part of the Kenya Kwanza youth campaign team and through the platform, I managed to push for the youth agenda to be included in the coalition’s manifesto. Key among our proposals was the hustler fund, the digital superhighway and the creative economy that employs thousands of youths.

Our key agenda right now is to improve security within and around our institutions, and lobby for increased student loans, work on favorable modalities for repayment of those loans, provide industry linkages to students, and ensure recognition of internship as work experience.

ELIPAN EKAI JACKSON, 26
GENDER,MINORITIES AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM

I was born and bred in Kagitankori, a village located deep in Turkana South Constituency. I completed a Fire and Safety Aid Course at Kilimambogo institute in 2018.

Over the years, I have witnessed many cycles of drought that have ravaged our land, leaving many dead and children malnourished. The drought and famine has been so bad that residents have become used to it. They have adopted animalistic survival tactics such as migrating and eating wild fruits.

Where I come from, you would be lucky if food aid reaches to you before you die. Scenes of people dying while waiting for food aid have stuck with me over the years and contributed to my desire to fight for the rights of my people who feel abandoned by the government.

My work is inspired by fearless human rights defenders such as Boniface Mwangi who has stood up against authorities and fought for the downtrodden.

I also look up to former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga who at some point fought tirelessly for the rights of the common mwananchi during the Moi Era.

Mufasa The Poet is my other hero, and I also go by the stage name Salman Loa Peikine. I follow in his footsteps of artivism where I use spoken word and poetry as a form of activism.  I was lucky to represent Turkana county in the 2022 East Africa Poetic Hour Battle.

I have over the years been involved in several initiatives such as lobbying for construction of Loturerei Mixed Secondary school  and completion of Napeililim Livestock Market. This is part of my political activism. I am keen on just governance and equitable distribution of resources by both the county and the national government.

I have also championed for the rights of workers with the most recent case being the push to have better working condition for workers in a construction company that is charged with constructing the road from Lokichar to Lochwaa Ng’ikamatak. 

I am currently undertaking different training courses so I can have in-depth understanding on ways of justly and rightfully fighting for the rights of my community.