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Amnesty International Kenya has been in the country for more than thirty years since the days of the second liberation. The organization adopts a very unique type of financing. Elvis Salano the Executive Officer of Amnesty International Kenya says that they are a member-funded organization.
We had a sit down with the Executive Officer and had a conversation on how this unique model of funding works for Amnesty and their recently released report on the Jubilee scorecard.
Tell us about how Amnesty International Kenya started their journey in Kenya
Though Amnesty got registered as an NGO in Kenya in 2012, we joined in the fight against a single-party state by writing letters to the government of the day and funding some of the activists. The international and local pressure yielded fruit when section 2a of the Kenyan constitution was appealed and gave way for a multi-party system in 1992.
Since then, these members have been giving back by contributing various amounts annually to Amnesty International Kenya. We like it that way because that model of funding gives us the flexibility to focus on areas that matter to our members. Often when you have one donor, you have to focus on the areas that the donor is passionate about. And this restricts you from pursuing what you’re really passionate about as an organization.
How do you get funding for your programs?
We currently have 3,000 members who give annual contributions here in Kenya. On a global scale, Amnesty International is 17 million members strong who have been causing change since 1962.
These members are very passionate activists when it comes to leadership and the protection of human rights. Dr Willy Mutunga and Siaya County Senator Hon. James Orengo are a few notable Kenyan members who were very active in the fight against the late President Moi’s single-party dictatorship.
You speak very highly of your members
Amnesty enjoys a loyal and passionate following. We signed of letters from kids from Braeburn Grade 1 who sent letters to Bangkok Thailand to demand justice for a young woman who had been sexually abused.
Recently, Grade 1 students of Kiota School who are our members raised Ksh 20,000 for children in Kiamaiko slums to get necessities such as food items and clothes. We had gone to Kiota, an affluent international school based in Westlands, Nairobi. Our intention was to contrast the rights of children in well-to-do areas and those of children in poor households. We took the children of Kiota to Kiamaiko and they witnessed the hardship that children in the slums face. This trip inspired the Kiota students to raise funds.
Amnesty International has organized several debates around the country. What were you seeking to achieve?
Our members have organized more than 59 of the 69 debates that Amnesty has held in different parts of the country with various candidates who are seeking re-election. All that Amnesty does is to provide back-end support such as media support and funding where they can. This is part of the Chambua Uongozi campaign.
Chambua Uongozi campaign is meant to raise the consciousness of voters as they head to the polls on August 9th. We want to help them focus on the policy commitments of the various candidates and the issues that are enshrined in Chapter six of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. We aimed to shine a light on Integrity and corruption in these debates because corruption interferes with other rights.
Amnesty International Kenya has been very passionate about extrajudicial killings. How do you think the Jubilee government has performed?
Amnesty International Kenya led by its Executive Director Irungu Houghton has been as persistent as a honey badger campaigning against extra judicial killings. In a town hall session with United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate Dr William Ruto, Mr Irungu took the DP to task about how they would deal with the disappearance of persons and extra-judicial killings. We recently released a report called the Jubilee scorecard. The report revealed that we found 30 bodies dumped at Yala River in Siaya County in July 2022. This exercise was conducted in partnership with our friends at Haki Africa.
How do you think we can deal with extrajudicial killings effectively and permanently?
This can only happen when you institutionalize the prevention of extrajudicial killings.
We’re hopeful that the National Coroners Service Act (2017) will be signed into law. The bill institutionalizes the fight against extra-judicial killings through establishing the National Coroners Service.
Implementing the National Coroners Service Act would complement the Prevention of Torture Act by introducing an independent forensic science capacity to determine the identities of deceased persons and the time, manner, and cause of death.
What are Amnesty International Kenya’s future plans?
Amnesty plans to grow its membership by converting the 20,000 supporters it has into subscribing members. Additionally, we aim to strengthen our campaigning and grass root presence in Kenya.
Give us a brief profile of Elvis Salano
Salano is a big proponent of the theory of change who studied political science and public administration. I’ve worked in various international organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Crisis Action and Horn Institute before joining Amnesty.
My driving force is to make the system work for everyone.
