President William Ruto presiding over the 60th Mashujaa Day at Kericho Green Stadium (now Wilson Kiprugut Stadium) in 2023.
A case filed last week seeking to stop the naming of at least 130 heroes during this year’s Mashujaa Day has drawn attention to the vetting criteria and the effectiveness of the Heroes Act.
The case was filed on Tuesday by the Safiri Salama Preservation Foundation. Although they failed to get a court order to stop the minting of new heroes on Sunday, October 20, with the government expected to file a response to the foundation’s case by Wednesday, its lawsuit brought to the fore the issues dogging the selection of the people to be celebrated.
Safiri Salama, in its suit where it listed the National Heroes Council and the Attorney-General as the respondents, argued that numerous “ordinary folks” who are “largely nondescript” are in a list of 130 released a few months ago.
The council released the list and called for objections regarding any nominee. The names include 102 living individuals and 28 who have died and will thus be honoured posthumously. Among the 28 are independence heroes Dedan Kimathi and Mnyazi “Mekatilili” wa Menza.
The 102 come from various fields. They include freedom fighters, philanthropists, artists, people with indigenous knowledge, spiritual leaders, scholars, peacemakers, statesmen and women, human rights defenders, environmentalists and sports personalities.
National heroes
However, Safiri Salama says some of the names on the list are a mockery of the stature of Kimathi and Mekatilili.
“But declaring ordinary folk as national heroes violates the Act and demeans the value and prestige of that honour for the truly deserving like Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi Waciuri and Mnyazi wa Menza,” they argue.
It questions whether all the criteria listed in the Kenya Heroes Act, of 2014, were followed.
They argue in their lawsuit that, contrary to what the law stipulates, the names were not accompanied by descriptions of what the people are being honoured for.
“The proposed list of heroes only supplies names without ‘a summary of the achievements for which such declaration is proposed’. Therefore, applicants and other members of the public who believe that the proposed honours are underserved have no opportunity to object or make their representations violating their Article 10 right to public engagement,” Safiri Salama stated through their lawyer Dudley Ochiel.
Dubious credentials
Safiri Salama fears that individuals with dubious credentials are about to be laundered and thus be placed in a position to enjoy the privileges named in the Heroes Act, which include free education for their children, getting financial support from their government, getting government services without queuing, being given housing, among others.
They further argued that the people to be recognised “must accrue from distinguished, selfless, and exemplary sacrifice or service to the nation”.
They contended that that list was not published in at least two newspapers of national circulation.
Before the filing of the case, on October 9, Safiri Salama Executive Director John Nyongesa wrote to the CEO of the National Heroes Council, asking to be furnished with the selection criteria and the dates when the notices were published to call for nominations and also for public consultations on the names settled on.
“Despite the urgency of these inquiries, the National Heroes Council has not provided a comprehensive response or clarification,” they said in their petition to the court.
Their prayers to the Judicial Review division of the High Court were to certify the matter urgently, stop the naming of heroes, quash the list of 130 and order the publication of details to back each name.
They emphasised that unless a stop order was issued, their case would be rendered nugatory.
However, Justice John Chigiti only granted the prayer for urgency. In his directions on Wednesday, he directed that the sued parties be served and to respond within seven days. The matter will be mentioned before him on November 12.
Meanwhile, Culture and Heritage Principal Secretary (PS) Ummi Bashir has explained how the selection happened. She says that Kenyans applied for the awards through newspapers and websites to enhance transparency.
Ms Bashir said the National Heroes Council selected the names of Kenyans nominated for the award and conducted “thorough” background checks to ensure they deserved the honour.
International personalities
She said this year’s celebration will see the honoured Kenyans enjoying benefits such as free access to heritage sites, unlike in the past when names were just read out and certificates presented.
“This year, we are trying to be different where apart from being awarded a medal, you can access our national parks because you have been awarded as a hero by the President. You can access our museums for free,” the PS said.
They will also be able to access government services at Huduma Centres across the country without queuing.
According to the PS, the move is expected to brighten the lives of Kenyans who have served the country diligently at home and abroad.
The awards have also been extended to international personalities nominated by Kenyans who have touched their lives for good.
Coast Regional Commissioner Rhoda Onyancha said those to be honoured were already in Kwale.
“They have been selected from every county,” said Ms Onyancha.
She was speaking during a media briefing at Jacaranda Indian Ocean Beach Resort in Diani, Kwale County, attended by Broadcasting Principal Secretary Edward Kisiangani, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, Deputy Spokesperson Mwanaisha Chidzuga and Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde.
This is the first time the celebrations are being held in Kwale and the theme is affordable housing.
In Diani, major junctions and roundabouts have been decorated. A major road has also been constructed linking Diani Airport to Beach Road, providing easy access for those landing in Diani.
Flights, hotels and accommodation are fully booked due to the increased number of people travelling to the county for the Mashujaa Day celebrations.
On Wednesday, Chief of Defence Forces Charles Kahariri led the armed forces in rehearsals there.
Reporting by Elvis Ondieki, Siago Cece and Kevin Cheruiyot
