From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013

President Uhuru Kenyatta took the reins of power on Tuesday with wonderful pledges. One of them I do not see working effectively is laptops given to standard one pupils from next year, this is taking into consideration many things including lack of electricity generations in many parts of rural areas.

While his pledges to be attained by his government within the next 100 days, which include abolition of maternity fees in public hospitals, free access to government dispensaries and health centres.

Development of a framework to direct the Sh6 billion previously allocated for the run-off to establish a new Youth and Women’s Fund are commendable, for him to lead all Kenyans — those who voted for him and those who voted for his competitors — towards a national prosperity that is firmly rooted in a rich and abiding peace in which unity can ultimately be realized, there are many issues to be taken into considerations.

First and foremost, his government must ensure that according to Section 44 on Minorities and marginalized groups in Kenya, Uhuru’s government must adhere to the following:

(1) That minorities and marginalized groups must be entitled to enjoy all the rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Bill of Rights, on a basis of equality, taking into account their identity, way of life, special
circumstances and needs.

(2) His government must take legislative and other measures to put in place affirmative action programmes designed to benefit minorities and
marginalized groups.

(3) The measures referred to in clause (2) shall include measures to ensure that minorities and marginalized groups—

(a) participate and are fully represented in governance and in all
other spheres of national life;

(b) are accorded special opportunities in the educational and
economic fields;

(c) are accorded special opportunities for access to gainful
employment;

(d) are assisted to develop their cultural values, languages and
practices;

(e) are assisted to have reasonable access to water, health services
and transport infrastructure;

(f) have a reasonable opportunity to meet their basic needs; and

(g) live a life free from discrimination, exploitation or abuse.

In order to fulfill these requirements it will mean that his government must respect the rule of law which is one of the national values covered in Article 10 of the constitution. Other values include equity, equality, inclusiveness and protection of the marginalised.

The New Constitution defines the marginalised in the interpretation in Article 260. A marginalised community is firstly one that, due to its small size, has been unable to participate fully in the economic and social life in Kenya.

Secondly it could be a traditional community that out of desire to protect its culture and identity remains unintegrated in the social and economic life in Kenya. Thirdly it would be an indigenous community that has maintained a traditional lifestyle and livelihood based on a hunter gatherer economy.

Fourthly, the definition covers pastoral persons and communities, nomadic or settled communities that due to geographic isolation marginally participate in the integrated social and economic life in Kenya.

These are the groups which are disadvantaged by laws or practises on the basis of grounds of discrimination covered in Article 27: race, sex, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture or birth, among others.

Article 204 provides for an equalisation fund of 0.5 percent of the national budget to cover service provision and infrastructure development in marginalised areas. Protection from discrimination is covered comprehensively in Article 27.

Uhuru’s government must also ensure that the vulnerable communities in Kenya are taken care of. These are individuals susceptible to poverty. Poverty has various manifestations such as lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure a sustainable livelihood.

Hunger and malnutrition; ill health; limited or lack of access to education and other basic services; increasing morbidity and mortality from illness; homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe environments; and social discrimination and exclusion. Poverty is also characterized by a lack of participation in decision making and in civil, social and cultural life.

Vulnerable groups have no choice because they have no organization. Organization gives the vulnerable a way of expressing their needs in a way that cannot be ignored. In Kenya, this approach can be demonstrated by the emergence of chamas, a Swahili term that refers to a group of individuals who have come together with a common purpose/objective to form a group.

They can be welfare groups, support groups, church groups, savings group etc. This empowerment is very important because they help its members be empowered through sharing issues/problems in order to leverage or lobby for action.

Members can contribute agreed amounts of money which act as capital for the establishment of income generating activities. Members also can get loans, which they are required to pay back with minimal interest.

Given that poverty is a major issue that causes vulnerability and it’s a major assault on humanity, there is need to support any initiative that attempts to investigate more holistic approaches to livelihoods assistance that address the constraints on the vulnerable groups.

In Kenya, the peoples who identify with the indigenous movement are mainly pastoralists and hunter-gatherers as well as a number of small farming communities. Pastoralists are estimated to comprise 25 percent of the national population, while the largest individual community of hunter-gatherers numbers approximately 30,000.

Pastoralists mostly occupy the arid and semi-arid lands of northern Kenya and towards the border between Kenya and Tanzania in the south. Hunter-gatherers include the Ogiek, Sengwer, Yaaku, Waata, El Molo, Boni (Bajuni), Malakote, Wagoshi and Sanya, while pastoralists include the Turkana, Rendille, Borana, Maasai, Samburu, Ilchamus, Somali, Gabra, Pokot, Endorois and others.

They all face land and resource tenure insecurity, poor service delivery, poor political representation, discrimination and exclusion. Their situation seems to get worse each year, with increasing competition for resources in their areas.

Another major issue that Uhuru’s government must address is the child abuse. This is because child protection measures in Kenya are currently not implemented effectively and fully.

There is alarmed about the physical and sexual abuse of Kenyan children, including commercial sexual exploitation; the increasing burden of HIV/Aids on orphans that prematurely forces them into adult roles; continuing incidences of FGM; and the inadequate access to education, especially for girls.

Currently in Kenya 80 percent of children appearing before the juvenile court are street children with some arrested for committing crimes, and some taken in to be ‘processed’ by the care and protection system.

Child labor is overwhelming increasing in Kenya everyday. This is because child labor is directly linked to poverty – is among the major drawbacks. It has prevented children from developing their potential to earn higher incomes later in life, and will slacken national economic growth in the long term.

There are an estimated 3 to 4 million child laborers in Kenya, many of whom work in hard conditions, negatively affecting their health, education and development. In some sectors of the Kenyan economy, children comprise 70 percent of the labor force, many working in violation of national and international laws.

The main Kenyan ethnic groups include: Kikuyu, 22 percent; Luhya, 14 percent; Luo, 13 percent; Kalenjin, 12 percent; Kamba, 11 percent; Kisii, 6 percent; Meru, 6 percent; other African, 15 percent (which includes the Miji Kenda); and non-African (Asian, European, and Arab), 1 percent.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
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Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002