HAKI

Editor's Note

2024-04-08T11:15:18+00:00

Editorial comments on the second issue of the journal

Dilemmas in Media Coverage of Human Rights in Kenya

2024-04-08T11:15:18+00:00

Media practitioners and entities play an essential role in enabling human beings to enjoy the rights enshrined in article 19 of universal declaration of human rights, and
interrelated human rights. However, as moral agents they are bound to be occasionally in dilemmas in the process of undertaking their duties. Cognizant of
the fact that social, political, economic and moral environments varies, this study, examines the various kinds of dilemmas that media practitioners and media entities
face and deal with in Kenya. The study used Kurt Lewin’s gatekeeping theory, which was adopted by Barzilai-Nahon. A qualitative approach with descriptive
research design was employed with data being sourced from Kenya’s four largest media enterprises, namely the Nation Media Group, the Standard Group, Mediamax
and Radio Africa Limited. Through purposive sampling, the study targeted respondents who had gatekeeping capability and experience in reporting or editing
stories on human rights. Four kinds of dilemmas were found to be prevalent: ownership interests versus public interests; advertisers’ commercial interests versus
public welfare; government interests versus professional obligations; and societal moral values versus journalistic responsibility. An interesting from the study was
that the media practitioners’ ethnic, religious, and moral identity were the genesis of these dilemmas. From these, the authors concluded that whereas these dilemmas
cripple media practitioners’ capacity to undertake their duties that are crucial to human beings’ enjoyment of the right to be informed and to knowledge, and
attendant rights, in many cases the might of media owners and government, advertisers’ interests prevailed. Finally, the study recommends critical and creative
strategies for avoiding horns of dilemmas by retraining the media practitioners who cover issues of human rights on the protection and promotion of human rights.

Mount Elgon Armed Conflict and Violation of Women’s Rights, 2004-2008

2024-04-08T11:15:19+00:00

This paper attempts an investigation into human rights abuses against women perpetrated during the Mount Elgon land conflict. Drawing upon concepts of
feminist analyses of wartime human rights violations, the authors illustrate how Mount Elgon's armed conflict exacted a high toll on women and society between
2004 and 2008. It integrates critical political economy ideas on contemporary armed conflict and reveals that the Sabaot Land Defence Force-led war, which was later
countered by the Moor Defence Forces and Kenya's military, subjected women to rape and brutalization, including destabilization, resulting in massive human
misery, loss of life, internal displacement, and resource devastation, the majority of which disproportionately harmed women's livelihoods.

Challenges of Persistence of Witchcraft in East Africa: A Religious and Human Rights Concern

2024-04-08T11:15:19+00:00

In recent history, there have been reported cases of hunting, lynching and killing of suspected witches in East Africa. The situation is so dire that it constitutes insecurity
and gross violation of human rights. Loss of innocent lives, maiming of suspects and loss of property has brought fear and despondency among the aged who are the
major targets of witch-hunting. Due to the materialistic nature of contemporary Eastern African societies, individuals driven by greed the desire to grab other
people’s land, family feuds, patriarchy, climate change, drought, poverty and jealousy have all contributed to loss of life and property. Human rights promoters
have advocated for severe punishment for the perpetrators. The legal process of proving witchcraft is difficult and complicated since this practice is mired in secrecy
where the courts rely on evidence for conviction. In this article I argue that the challenges of dealing with the persistence of witchcraft are enormous since
witchcraft is both a religious and human rights concern. Witchcraft being a part of African traditional religious beliefs can only be addressed by understanding its
religious foundations and then dealing with its implications in contemporary society. I conclude by holding the view that to eradicate witchcraft and witch
hunting requires legal, religious and social interventions.

Evaluating The Awareness of Women’s Rights among Barmaids in Kenya

2024-04-08T11:15:19+00:00

This paper is based on a study titled Examination of Human Rights Awareness and Knowledge among Barmaids in Mathare Sub County in Nairobi County .In today's
society, educated women have the power to safeguard themselves against abuse and discrimination, thus fostering promotion of human rights. However, there many
others still unaware of their human rights and protective mechanisms. In this paper, we evaluate human rights awareness among barmaids in Mathare Sub County,
Kenya. Human rights are important because no one should be discriminated against and because everyone should have the opportunity to develop their talents. Sadly,
many barmaids in Kenya do not have knowledge of these basic rights and freedoms. Human rights indicators are essential in the implementation of human rights
standards and commitments, to support policy formulation, impact assessment and transparency. The paper focuses on barmaids, a marginalized group of women who
face unique challenges in their workplace. A descriptive survey design was used with 88 barmaids from 59 bars and clubs being sampled. The study established no
correlation between demographic factors like age, education level, and length of service and human rights awareness like the right to health care, emergency medical
attention, political participation, the right to life, economic and social rights, equality and freedom from discrimination, the right to be free from arbitrary arrest,
and due process in court and before administrative bodies, as denoted by X (4, N = 81) = 1.28, P =.86, X 2 (5, N = 81) = 1.69, P =.89, and X 2 (3, N = 81) = 2.9, P =.41respectively. The study concluded that human rights awareness and knowledge are essential for providing barmaids with a safe and equitable workplace. However, barmaids face abuse and discrimination due to their limited understanding of avenues available for the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights. While the debate in the wider society on the justiciability of these rights is largely irrelevant, it is worrying that a section of society still lacks knowledge of how their human rights should be enforced and secured. The lack of this knowledge has largely been blamed for human rights violations in Africa.