Interview with human rights defender Boniface Akach

By Peter Ochieng

The international Human Rights Day (HRD) is globally marked every December 10, the day on which in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This year’s theme is “Our Rights, Our Future Now!” In Kenya, the day is marked months after the June/July anti-government protests, where dozens were killed, hundreds injured, several arrested and tens of others reportedly abducted by police officers.

This writer had a sit down with Boniface Akach, one of the prominent human rights defenders in Kisumu, for an interview on the state of human rights in the country, and what he makes of the year 2024 as it comes to an end.

Akach is team leader of Kisumu Peace and Justice Center. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

PO: Today is International Human Rights Day. What do you make of this day?

BA: Much as they say it is a day worth celebrating, we don't see anything worth celebrating as the people from Kisumu. We are coming from the background of grievous human rights violations that were committed on the younger population of this county. We saw that some of the perpetrators are still walking free.

The duty bearers, the people who are responsible to ensure that human rights violations don't occur are Looking the other way. We are seeing that there is no effort to make people feel that human rights violations are being addressed. So, we are coming from a very dark background, and there is nothing to celebrate in Kisumu.

PO: How long have you been a human rights defender, and how did it start?

BA: I've been an activist since 2009. I started as a Peace ambassador. We were coming from the background of the 2007/2008 election violence. As a young person then we were greatly affected.

We realized that the violent scenario has always been used to deny us as young people an opportunity to practice cardinal rights, like the right to expression, right to participation, right to association and right to assembly.

So, it was very important for us as young people to be in the front line to ensure that despite the negative branding of young people as violent and rioters here in Kisumu, we can also be in the front line of promoting peace, cohesion and good governance.

PO: The year 2024 is coming to an end. What have you achieved as a human rights defender?

BA: I would say we have succeeded in exposing the state as a perpetrator of violence as it is. We have seen that evidence from the recent protests proved that violence is state perpetrated. As a community, we have never enjoyed five straight years of peace for the last 80 years.

The recent protests showed us that despite the people being peaceful, the state apparatus, the duty bearers, are still not ready to dialogue or to engage the public in a more constructive manner. We still have a long way to go in terms of ensuring that the protests are legal and peaceful.

We still have a lot of people who fear practicing their cardinal rights for fear of being victimized, for fear of being persecuted, for fear of being negatively branded by the state, by the duty bearers, by members of the community. So, we are still a long way to go from achieving cardinal human rights.

PO: Do you hold the view that the state is a human rights violator?

BA: The state is the one of the greatest human rights violators. Not only have we given them the mandate to ensure that there are no human rights violations, we have given them resources, we have given them the money.

We have also ensured that we create a conducive environment, giving them the legal instruments to ensure that they are able to address human rights violations. But this has still not happened.

So, we believe that the state, through the police, through the duty bearers, are either direct perpetrators or enablers of human rights violations.

PO: In your opinion, what are some of the human rights that are greatly abused by the state or other people?

BA: I think the most common one is police brutality. Like I said, for the last like eight years, we have been witnessing the cycle of violence and all the time, we have always seen that the greatest perpetrator whenever it comes to protest violence has always been the police.

There has never been any action taken on a particular police officer that we can say that this officer has been punished for the violations that they have been committing. But of course, we have other key violations, like we've seen a lot of women being killed. We have a lot of femicides in Kisumu.

We have seen there's a lot of disinheriting of property, especially to the vulnerable and underprivileged families, especially those from the rural areas. We have rape, we have insecurity. So, all these couple up to give us a community that is rampant of human rights violations.

PO: How did the 2024 anti-Finance Bill protests shape you as a human rights defender?

BA: I think by being a direct victim of police brutality, not only was my office broken into, not only was I shot, not only was I arrested and taken to court on malicious charges. I'm even currently being prosecuted; I think it has given me a lot of reflections.

As a young person, my whole life has been pegged on strengthening the relationship between the public and the police, but right now, after these protests, I now find myself as a victim of police brutality. I mean, the people who I've been working with are now the ones who are prosecuting me. My office has been visited by the Attorney General.

It has been visited by the current Director of Public Prosecutions, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, to recognize me for the good work I have been doing in the Access to Justice channel, but now that they are the ones who are on the front line of persecuting me. It has given me a lot of reflections as a human rights defender.

PO: Finally, as we mark this day, what's your message to Kenyans?

BA: Young people must stand up. We have no option. The young people must now be in the front line of fighting for their rights. We have always left this for human rights defenders.

We have always left this for human rights organizations. We have always left this for politicians and duty bearers. But it is important for us now, as common wananchi, as ordinary citizens, to ensure that we take up the mantle and we are in the front line of fighting against human rights violations.

That is my take. Young people, they should not fear, they should not feel persecuted. They should be active enough to ensure that their voices are heard in the struggle to address human rights violations.