CSOs

On January 3, 2024, an LGBTQ activist in Uganda, Steven Kabuye, was stabbed by two assailants. Kabuye had reported receiving death threats.

We condemn this violence. Our support for Kabuye and the work of all LGBTQ activists in Uganda is unwavering.

The attack on Kabuye goes against human rights. Every person deserves respect, dignity, and safety, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation. This is non-negotiable. We cannot compromise on protecting the rights and freedoms of each individual.

Repeal Anti-Homosexuality Act 

The attack is a stark manifestation of the appalling consequences spurred by the Anti-Homosexuality Act enacted by President Museveni in May 2023. This regressive legislation has fanned the flames of hate and intolerance against LGBTQ persons.

The law has catalyzed increased persecution and exacerbated the vulnerability of individuals within the LGBTQ community, especially those on the frontlines advocating for equality and justice. Now, anti-LGBTQ attacks are more frequent than ever before.

It is essential to recognize the direct correlation between discriminatory legislation and the surge in hate-driven incidents against LGBTQ individuals and activists. The Anti-Homosexuality Act has fostered an atmosphere of fear and discrimination.

We vehemently oppose such oppressive laws and stand in support of the rights and dignity of every individual, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We underscore the urgency of repealing the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda. It will show that Uganda stands for equality, human rights, and justice for all its citizens.

We hope for prompt action to bring the attackers of Kabuye to justice. Authorities should handle this seriously, conducting a thorough investigation to identify and prosecute the culprits to the fullest extent of the law.

Signed

KHRC

Defenders Coalition

CRECO

GALCK+

INEND

Kawangware Paralegal Trust

National Students Cauvus-Kenya

Usalama Reforms and Democracy Without Borders—Kenya

A Joint Statement by Civil Society in Kenya

On February 24, 2023, the apex court said LGBTQ persons have a right to association and reaffirmed this position on September 12.

However, this monumental decision was followed by a series of anti-LGBTQ protests in Mombasa and Lamu.

Blatant incitement to violence characterized the protests—Nyali MP Mohamed Ali rallied his supporters to kill people with different sexual orientations, audaciously invoking religious texts to justify this indefensible stance.

Now, this hate campaign is coming to the capital, and we know this will affect LGBTQ persons' lives because previous street actions placed this group in harm’s way.

We take this opportunity to unequivocally condemn all the previous and ongoing nefarious activities that continue to expose this community's rights to life, security, and dignity.

The Constitution and the court’s decision must be respected.

We call upon the Kenyan police to immediately intervene and take legal action against those who plan to harm LGBTQ persons. We wish to remind the promoters of hate and the public that under Article 33(2) of the Constitution:

 The right to freedom of expression does not extend to: (a)propaganda for war; (b)incitement to violence; (c)hate speech; or (d) advocacy for hatred that: (i)constitutes ethnic incitement, vilification of others or incitement to cause harm; or (ii)is based on any ground of discrimination specified or contemplated in Article 27(4) 

We further demand that the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) exercises its investigative mandate and collaborate with other actors in the criminal justice system to ensure effective prosecution for the acts of hate speech in this situation.

Unfortunately, this delicate matter was recently brought to the attention of the police and NCIC, who seem to have abdicated their constitutional and statutory duties of maintaining law and order and facilitating respect for diversity, respectively.

We also call upon the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to act against Mohamed Ali, whose conduct in this situation damages the leadership and integrity values and standards established for State Officers in Article 73 of the Constitution.

Finally, we wish to oblige Kenyans to exercise more tolerance and restraint—having diverse sexual orientations and gender identities is not a crime but a fundamental aspect of human diversity.

We must nurture a more inclusive and accommodating culture devoid of cruel and discriminatory motives and practices. No one should ever dare to impose their religious beliefs and social values on others, for our Constitution guarantees all people's freedom of religion and beliefs.

Let it be known that we will not relent in our unwavering pursuit of justice, equality, and the protection of the rights and dignity of all.

Signed:

1. Kenya Human Rights Commission-KHRC
2. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
3. Defenders Coalition
4. Katiba Institute
5. Independent Medico-Legal Unit-MLU
6. INUKA ni Sisi Trust
7. Kituo cha Sheria
8. Siasa Place
9. Constitution Education Reforms Consortium-CRECO
10. Social Justice Centers
11. Partnership for Empowerment Network (PEN)
12. Usalama Reforms Forum
13. National Students Guild
14. Grace Agenda
15. Democracy without Boarders
16. Kawangware Paralegal Trust
17. Kariobangi Paralegal Network
18. Center for memory and Development
19. Forum for Civic Participation in Governance
20. Women Collective Kenya
21. Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders-Kenya
22. East Africa Legal Service Network
23. Feminists for Peace Rights and Justice Center
24. Raise Your Voice
25. Women in Grassroots Uprising
26. Trust for Indigenous Culture and Health (TICAH)
27. Warembo Unique
28. Viba Explore
29. Africa’s Voice of Nature
30. Civil Society Network

For media inquiries, please contact Ernest Cornel at ecornel@khrc.or.ke or 0722253893.

In a letter to the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services Permanent Secretary, Julius Bitok, we urged the government to take immediate action to ensure the enactment of proper legislation, meaningful public participation, access to critical documentation (birth certificates and ID cards) for all Kenyans, and adequate data protection measures and adherence to the law in the process aimed at creating a digital identity system in Kenya.

We further wish to remind the government of the unacceptable consequences of discrimination, eroding of privacy and exclusion for communities that have historically struggled with access to documentation that were witnessed with a similarly hurried and flawed implementation of Huduma Namba.

We reinforce that the opaque rollout, lack of public engagements and a lack of proper procedural and legal safeguards associated with the Unique Personal Identifier/Maisha Number rollout would wreak havoc on the ways citizens access nationality documents.

The push towards creating a digital identity eco-system will assign individuals a lifelong unique identification number starting from birth and eventually serve as an ID number with the processing of the third generation identity cards beginning in the next 20 days.

The digitization process will also result in a consolidated National Master Population Register that will merge existing and independent databases into a single register of data on Kenyans and foreigners in the country.

However, steps needed for identification system upgrade and reforms have been glaringly lacking in this new introduction of Maisha Namba. Wider broad-based engagements with the public, civil society and other stakeholders have been non-existent, and to that end, the current efforts of the government to develop digital ID are cascading dangerously towards the pitfalls that stalled Huduma Namba.

“We are at a critical moment. A move to digital IDs is not a minor change but one that significantly changes how legal identification is administered in our country. As such, we need to get it right and improve access to nationality, data protection and individual’s privacy rather than erode it.”

“We experienced firsthand in our communities the harms of digital identity systems, where it locked out people who struggle with documentation, denied citizens services, excessively collected personal data and impeded fundamental freedoms.”

The government should use this opportunity to initiate a cross-stakeholders powered process with a transition period to ensure a smooth rollout of digital ID.

On 14th August 2023, the government of Kenya and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that effectively set the stage for the rollout of digital identity in Kenya.

Speaking during the signing of the MOU, Citizen Services Prof Julius Bitok said that “the digital identity project was crucial, and that the partnership would also factor in the role of stakeholders and interest groups to ensure that the envisaged digital ID gained from a broad
inclusion of ideas and acceptance.”

In the same spirit, PS Bitok met diverse civil society organizations in February 2023 to forge a partnership towards addressing the concerns with digitizing identity systems and reforming discriminative and marginalizing processes especially for many from our most vulnerable communities who face hurdles in obtaining nationality documents.

At the meeting, PS Bitok indicated that this administration was committed to continuous engagement and collaboration and to walking together with civil society as to any creation of a unique personal identifier. PS Bitok committed to conducting extensive public awareness on the system, ensuring public participation, conducting data protection impact assessment, doing away with vetting and exclusion and forming an inclusive working group to embark on reforms of the identification system in the proper manner to ensure any actions truly serve the needs of all Kenyans.

The commitment statements made by the PS at the time on public participation, transparency, engagement, and accountability have, however, not manifested in practice.

There has not been a single public participation forum or other channel created to solicit input and feedback from the Kenyan public. No data protection assessment has been made public, no public awareness has been conducted, and no safeguards have been put in place
to ensure Kenyans who have struggled to obtain documentation can acquire a UPI or related government services.

We therefore, call on the Government of Kenya, in particular the Ministry of Interior, to halt the roll-out of the unique personal identifier until the following minimum steps are undertaken and met in a public, transparent manner:

1. Enact a proper legal framework to govern the system that is fully grounded in the Constitution and aligns with requirements from the High Court judgment in Nubian Rights Forum et al. v. the Honourable Attorney General of Kenya et al.
2. Conduct meaningful nation-wide public participation on the proposed legal framework, any draft regulations, and the system design
3. Abolishment of ID vetting for all Kenyans
4. Implementation of affirmative action measures to issue documents to all persons who have been excluded or been unable to obtain the same due to the historical previous existence of vetting processes over the past several decades
5. Ensure all Kenyans have access to documentation (birth certificates and ID cards) before moving forward with digitization, including through the expansion of the number of registration and identification offices and resourcing of these offices, especially in underserved areas of Kenya
6. Conduct a robust Data Protection Impact Assessment and Human Rights Impact Assessment of the system that are made public for scrutiny and from which improvements will be made to the system design
7. Inclusion of civil society and members of the public, including minorities and marginalized communities in line with Article 56 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, in any relevant working groups or committees, including the National Digital Identity Technical Committee and National Steering Committee for Digital Identity mentioned in the media on September 12, 2023
8. Allow for a transition period prior to any roll-out to ensure time for the above steps, improve infrastructure such as electricity and internet nationwide, and any other needs identified by the Kenyan public

SIGNED BY:
1. Nubian Rights Forum
2. Namati Kenya
3. Centre for Minority Development
4. Kenya Human Rights Commission
5. Defenders Coalition
6. Access Now
7. Katiba Institute
8. Haki Na Sheria Initiative
9. ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa
10. Pastoralists Rights and Advocacy Network