PBI-Kenya provides training sessions to the Network of Mothers of Victims and Survivors of extra judicial killings

On February 3, Peace Brigades International-Kenya Project posted, “The Network of Mothers of Victims and Survivors of extra judicial killings is a movement anchored at Mathare Social Justice Centre which brings together men and women whose children were felled by police bullets, survivors of torture and victims of enforced disappearance.”

“Between January 21-24 PBI provided members of the Network – from Mathare, Dandora, Mukuru, Kayole and Kiambiu – with sessions on monitoring, documentation and human rights and a psychological debrief to reflect and share their trauma with each other. The debriefing sessions are intended to enhance the participants’ coping mechanisms and abilities in managing personal stresses. The trainings are meant to build the capacities of the network as they pursue justice for their families and others.”

PBI-Kenya adds, “We hope that those who participated are as inspired as we are by their resolve, compassion, and drive. Together we are united, and united we fight for justice.”

The PBI Annual Review notes that in 2018, “Four international volunteers accompanied members of two grassroots organisations and twenty-nine human rights defenders working in the Nairobi’s urban settlements and the Mount Kenya region.”

PBI has provided the context: “People in Nairobi’s informal settlements face serious inequities in basic services ranging from water and sanitation to the state’s justice system, which threatens their very right to life.”

“Extrajudicial executions are frequently carried out in these areas by murderous police officers, whose collaboration with the regular police units and with the operational and support structures remains a mystery.”

“Such experiences do not occur in Nairobi’s affluent neighborhoods, highlighting the scorn and widespread criminalization of the urban poor.”

In April 2018, PBI-Kenya together with the Mathare Social Justice Centre, the Ghetto Foundation and Saferworld began a two-year project titled Ushirikiano Mwema kwa Usalama (Good relationships for safety) to tackle the normalization of extrajudicial killings in the Nairobi constituencies of Mathare, Kamukunji and Embakasi North.

PBI established the Kenya Project in December 2012.

Photos: In the image below, members of the Network cut a cake to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Network on January 24. The image at the top of this article features members of the Network who participated in PBI’s training sessions along with PBI’s Daniel Wang’ombe.