Corruption and abuse of freedoms exist only with peoples compliance

Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri) Board Chairman Khelef Khalifa at a press conference in Mombasa on August 11, 2015. The attacks on Muhuri by the Jubilee Coalition were a dress rehearsal to what the state intended to do with organisations in civil society. PHOTO |KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• The attacks on HakiAfrica and MUHURI were a dress rehearsal to what the state intended to do with organisations in civil society.
• Many of them have an extremely juvenile conceptualisation of the complex reality we call democracy and the equally complex and contradictory actors within the struggle.
• Kenyans must abandon their calculated amnesia, lethargy and juvenile refugee in political tribalism and be stringently consistent in defending civil liberties.

By GODWIN MURUNGA
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Three weeks ago, the Centre for Human Rights and Policy Studies convened a meeting that examined trends, dynamics and conditions of violence in the region.

Dr Mutuma Ruteere challenged us to constantly remember that ‘the people,’ that category so beloved by the radical left and within civil society, are not always supportive of the values enshrined in civil liberty and human rights.

He argued that, ‘the people’ in fact do have an extremely problematic relationship to these values.

This point has repeatedly been brought home since 2013 when the Jubilee Coalition attacked civil society as corrupt lackeys of imperialism.

The Jubilee Coalition has advanced a campaign of vilifying civil society.

In this, they have been joined by those who unquestioningly love the Jubilee Coalition.

Initially, they used social media to advance their campaign, but more recently, this vilification was consolidated into a state policy of harassment and constricting of civic space.

The attacks on HakiAfrica and MUHURI were a dress rehearsal to what the state intended to do with organisations in civil society.

Though the court has issued orders against this brutal harassment, these organisations remain gagged and their accounts frozen.

This is in spite of the indignities of deregistering organisations that the international community perceive as credible and useful agents for constructively engaging large groups of Muslim populations.

REPRESSIVE GOVERNMENTS

Even the US government signalled its concern by inviting these organisations when President Barack Obama visited.

Now state authoritarianism has intensified with threats against the Kenya Human Rights Commission, an organisation with a track record of defending human rights.

The KHRC has never enjoyed the luxury of carelessness with its operations; this was the hard lesson its founders imbibed with Kanu’s brutal authoritarianism during the struggle for multi-party politics.

But the Jubilee Coalition, like many increasingly authoritarian regimes, operates under constrained conditions.

It is no longer advisable to be openly repressive against citizens.

Thus, repressive governments have adopted a language of respect for human rights even when their actions around law enforcement are the complete contrast.

The constraint of democracy has forced governments to act ‘smart’ when abusing the rights of citizens.

One trick is to carry ‘the people’ along.

So when a local TV station exclusively reported that 957 organisations would be deregistered for non-compliance, the NGO Co-ordination Council had not even notified those organisations.

According to the KHRC, all communication on this alleged non-compliance was coming to them through the media.

JUVENILE CONCEPTUALISATION
Worse, though there is an alleged notice of deregistration, organisations like KHRC have not received the notice.

It is trendy for governments to accuse organisations within civil society of corruption.

This attracts unquestioning support from ‘the people,’ many of whom care less about the veracity of the accusations.

Lost in all these is that the KHRC, for instance, publishes its audited accounts, yet tech-savvy, so-called social media activists cannot cross-check this.

Ironically some of those celebrating also want to pass as pro-democracy activists.

Many of them have an extremely juvenile conceptualisation of the complex reality we call democracy and the equally complex and contradictory actors within the struggle.

In this generalised attacks against civil society is one sad reality; the reality that Pamela Kimwele aptly sums: “The erosion of civil liberties and space will ultimately shrink space for everybody, not just MUHURI and HakiAfrica.”

Just think of Edward Lowassa; he now has this unenviable task of operating from the opposition.

He will need the civic space that safeguards all of us when political affiliations change.

Kenyans must abandon their calculated amnesia, lethargy and juvenile refugee in political tribalism and be stringently consistent in defending civil liberties.