Activists from Kenya

"People back home call me a heckler, a troublemaker, an irritant, a rebel, an activist, the voice of the people. But that wasn't always me. Growing up, I had a nickname. They used to call me Softy, meaning the soft, harmless boy. Like every other human being, I avoided trouble. In my childhood, they taught me silence. Don't argue, do as you're told. In Sunday school, they taught me don't confront, don't argue, even if you're right, turn the other cheek. This was reinforced by the of the time. Kenya is a country where you are guilty until proven rich. Kenya's poor are five times more likely to be shot dead by the police who are meant to protect them than by criminals. This was reinforced by the political climate of the day."

"We had a president, Moi, who was a dictator. He ruled the country with an iron fist, and anyone who dared question his authority was arrested, tortured, jailed or even killed. That meant that people were taught to be smart cowards, stay out of trouble. Being a coward was not an insult. Being a coward was a compliment. We used to be told that a coward goes home to his mother. What that meant: that if you stayed out of trouble you're going to stay alive. I used to question this advice, and eight years ago we had an election in Kenya, and the results were violently disputed. What followed that election was terrible violence, rape, and the killing of over 1,000 people. My work was to document the violence. As a photographer, I took thousands of images, and after two months, the two politicians came together, had a cup of tea, signed a peace agreement, and the country moved on. I was a very disturbed man because I saw the violence firsthand. I saw the killings. I saw the displacement. I met women who had been raped, and it disturbed me, but the country never spoke about it. We pretended. We all became smart cowards. We decided to stay out of trouble and not talk about it."

"June 1, 2009 was the day that we were meant to go to the stadium and try and get the president's attention. It's a national holiday, it's broadcast across the country, and I showed up at the stadium. My friends did not show up. I found myself alone, and I didn't know what to do. I was scared, but I knew very well that that particular day, I had to make a decision. Was I able to live as a coward, like everyone else, or was I going to make a stand? And when the president stood up to speak, I found myself on my feet shouting at the president, telling him to remember the post-election violence victims, to stop the corruption. And suddenly, out of nowhere, the police pounced on me like hungry lions. They held my mouth and dragged me out of the stadium, where they thoroughly beat me up and locked me up in jail. I spent that night in a cold cement floor in the jail, and that got me thinking. What was making me feel this way? My friends and family thought I was crazy because of what I did, and the images that I took were disturbing my life. The images that I took were just a number to many Kenyans. Most Kenyans did not see the violence. It was a story to them. ... That day in the stadium, I stood up as a smart coward. By that one action, I said goodbye to the 24 years living as a coward."

"And so I decided to actually start a street to show the images of the violence across the country and get people talking about it. We traveled the country and showed the images, and this was a journey that has started me to the activist path, where I decided to become silent no more, to talk about those things. ... And what is most powerful is that the images have been picked by the media and amplified across the country, across the continent."

"Where I used to stand up alone seven years ago, now I belong to a community of many people who stand up with me. I am no longer alone when I stand up to speak about these things. I belong to a group of young people who are passionate about the country, who want to bring about change, and they're no longer afraid, and they're no longer smart cowards. So that was my story."

"There are two most powerful days in your life: the day you're born, and the day you discover why. That day standing up in that stadium shouting at the President, I discovered why I was truly born, that I would no longer be silent in the face of injustice."

"In spite of being arrested, beaten up, threatened, the moment I discovered my voice, that I could actually stand up for what I really believed in, I'm no longer afraid. I used to be called softy, but I'm no longer softy, because I discovered who I really am, as in, that's what I want to do, and there's such beauty in doing that. There's nothing as powerful as that, knowing that I'm meant to do this, because you don't get scared, you just continue living your life."

""The tragedy of life is not death, the tragedy of life is what dies in one when still alive"."

"“My slogan, Ntitonaibornagol, meaning ‘a young, strong girl’, resonated well with the electorate. We spoke to the community: You sired both boys and girls, took both of us to school, and here we are now. You have been giving opportunities to boys; we now humbly request you to give girls a chance, so you can see what we can turn out to be.”"

"“Individual passion and drive are crucial for success.”"

"Politics is a platform where you lead, where you transform, where you engage with other people to make the society better."

"If we do not have peace in our country, if we cannot be one people, then everything we aspire and we work for if futile."

"Everyday when we look after the trees, they look after us, but this trees and the life-saving fruit they bear will not survive on a 2.7 degree celsius warmer planet."

"I believe in our human capacity to care deeply and to act collectively. I believe in our ability to do what is right if we let ourselves feel it in our hearts."

"Most of the things that are happening in the world right now are because we have chosen to put profits above the people and our planet."

"But if we can get everybody around the world to love nature, to appreciate nature, and to make sure that we are doing this from deep within our hearts and deep within ourselves, then we can change so much in the world within a short period of time."

"This is about humanity's future. This is about making sure that the world right now is liveable."

"If we are going to achieve everything, we will need everyone on board."

"It's not easy to get someone to take action. That ability and the will to act has to come from deep within us so that we can do what must be done and we need to know how to get people and how to move people to actually take action. And if we get a majority of people who actually understand and feel it themselves, then we are the people that are also going to move the leaders to take action."

"That kind of people power is what is going to make a huge and real difference in the world today."

"interpersonal relation is a very powerful tool for being a good leader."

"I’d love to be remembered for inspiring young people to live their best lives, to aspire for courageous leadership, transformative leadership."

"I am not living in my mother's Shadow, I am basking in her light..."

"The lack of a data privacy law has been an enormous lacuna in Kenya's digital rights landscape."

"Write As Yourself and Write What You Know."

"I’ve found that if you put aside the desire to be seen and just write from an authentic place of wanting to tell stories you know and that you think the world might profit from hearing, it will take you a long way, even in nonfiction."

"There are many urgent issues, but I would narrow it down to two; climate change and quality leadership.'"

"It is time for young people to participate in efforts to conserve the environment because most of them will be around to suffer the effects of natural calamities that could come as a result of climate change. There are many urgent issues, but I would narrow it down to two; climate change and quality leadership."

"Fishers get a high-quality catch and therefore make more money per trap whilst reducing negative ecological impacts"

"The coral reef fish recover due to reduced fishing, and the numbers of fish increase in the tengefu and surrounding fishing grounds. At the coast, there is a growing movement called tengefu, (meaning “set aside” in Kiswahili) in which communities agree to halt fishing for a while."

"Marine management is about using a suite of methods that keep fish biomass at around 500 kg per hectare, which greatly increases the chances of sustainability and habitat resilience"

"The seines were banned in 2010. However, they are still used in some areas of the coast where people lack the political will to stop it"

"̽Growing up partly in Dar es Salaam is what made Muthiga have passion for the ocean. "My mother used to take us to the beach on Sundays. Swimming in the ocean and seeing the various creatures, shells and algae washed up on the beach fascinated me""

"A peace process is not about the mathematics of numbers and percentages in relation to who is in majority or minority. It is about plurality, diversity, participation and ownership of all affected by the conflict and who live in the context hence nothing less than full participation and ownership."

"“Feast with your enemies. So I do my best to prepare and offer food to those with whom I find myself in disagreement.""

"I dedicate myself and the right livelihood award owner to the service of peace in a practical way to consolidate the work already undertaken and to give a new energy and focus in developing peace system by harnessing the body of knowledge through establishing a University for peace in Wajir Kenya."

"A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.""

"Education is the greatest equalizer. It is the one tool that can level the playing field for the poor and the marginalized, especially for the girl child. When you educate a woman, you have educated a whole community."

"Women must stop being their own worst enemies. We must learn to support each other, to vote for each other, and to celebrate each other's successes. There is enough room at the top for all of us."

"Being in politics as a family teaches you resilience. You learn to stand firm in the face of storms, to protect your family, and to never lose sight of your values no matter the political tides."

"Our African culture is our identity. We must not let it erode. We should teach our children their mother tongue and our traditions, for a people without a culture are like a tree without roots."

"Ida is the pillar of the Odinga family. Her strength, wisdom, and unwavering support have been a cornerstone not just for her husband but for the entire ODM party. She is a leader in her own right."

"Ida Odinga has carved her own space as a formidable advocate for social causes, seamlessly blending her role as a matriarch with her passion for education and women's empowerment. She is a quiet yet powerful force in Kenyan public life."

"Mrs. Odinga's commitment to education is not just rhetorical. Through the Ida Odinga Trust, she has personally touched the lives of countless students, providing scholarships and building classrooms. She leads by action."

"I would advise you (Africans) to start your own thing."

"We need to go beyond talk and realise what climate justice means for African communities."

"We need the stories of people in the Global South who are disproportionately affected by the climatic crisis, those on the front lines, because their stories represent the reality of what the climate crisis really is."

"“This is about the countless girls, women, boys, men, and elders all over Kenya and Africa who dare today are working to bring female genital mutilation and child marriage to an end,”"

"“They will say, ‘We did this because we believed in it, but now we want to encourage girls to go back to school,”"

"Was when I was eight years old, my sister and I ran away at four a.m. and hid in a tree to escape from the cut. The next day I went to him, my grandfather was the first person who I could convince that the cut was not necessary, and was the first person who listened to me. He changed my life, and that’s why today I am the woman of my dreams. Thank you"

"And the second toast is to my elder sister, Soila, she was with me the first time I ran away, but the next time I escaped, she gave up because of the beatings we received from our family members. She was first one that got the cut at the age of ten, and since that was the only way she will be considered a woman in my own community, and that’s why I do this work today because of the sacrifice she made for me then"

"We are simply saying let's retain the good part of our culture, because we have so much that is good in our culture that we don't have to do away with"

"In the whole process of circumcision, what we hate is the cut. All the rituals, blessings from cultural leaders, people dressing in their traditional clothes as dancing and singing our beautiful songs — it's not harmful. It's good"

"Remember, they don't know how circumcision is done for girls or women, because they are not allowed to be there. ... They don't know where it's cut, or what is being done to them"

"And once they see these videos, that's when they see the pain that these girls undergo, and that's when they say: 'I will not allow my daughter, or I will not allow my sister to undergo the same"

"I spent a lot of my early blogging career sort of highlighting all the ills of the government in Kenya and all the corruption and problems."

"I always ask the question: As more Africans are going online, are they finding content that is meaningful and relevant to them, or are they just consuming from everywhere else. As Africans, we have the capacity to generate our own content."

"I believe in the power of ideas. I believe in the power of sharing knowledge."

"Blogging requires consistency, and you need to have some time on your hands, which I don't really have."

"We can't entrepreneur our way around bad leadership. We can't entrepreneur our way around bad policies. Those of us who have managed to entrepreneur ourselves out of it are living in a very false security in Africa."

"Life is too short to play-act if you don't have to."

"Anyone who has been successful and has knowledge to share is a potential mentor."

"And when the small tin lamp that went off most of the times when i was almost finishing my homework, i started dreaming of my own light. I dreamt of having electricity in future and i forgot all the reasons why something should not work and found on reason why it should."

"Always go with the choice that always scares you because that is the choice that requires most from you"

"One step at a time, I believe we can make progress. It starts with a conversation."

"Let us have a real conversation now. Each day, we can focus on winning one mother, one sister, one father, one brother. Together, we will save not just one girl, but whole generations to come."

"Society, sadly, made me feel that to be professionally successful, I had to be unattached. A pregnant or breastfeeding professional looked untidy."

"I recommend to employers to give space to families in their organisations. Let us hang photos of our loved ones in the offices as they energise us and we feel that our employer cares."

"Her professional stature never overshadowed her role as a devoted wife and mother. Judy loved deeply, and family was her everything. Her love extended far beyond our home, and she gave generously to others,” Gikandi said"

"Her leadership was instrumental in positioning FIDA-Kenya as a formidable force in using the law to protect the rights, interests, and dignity of vulnerable women, children and the family well-being. Ms. Thongori personified the promise of the law as a tool for empowerment. Her pivotal contributions to advocacy, family law reform, and shaping legal practice at the Family Division of the High Court profoundly impacted the development of family law in Kenya and inspired a generation of legal professionals;Chief Justice Martha Koome"

"Her commitment to sharing knowledge and mentoring young advocates, CJ Koome says, further underscored her dedication to advancing the legal profession"

"Her insights and expertise were evident even in recent times. Just last November, during the Supreme Court @ 12 Conference, Ms. Thongori enriched a panel discussion on emerging family law jurisprudence emanating from the Supreme Court of Kenya. Her contributions to the legal discourse, particularly in family law and human rights, leave behind a lasting and transformative legacy;Chief Justice Martha Koome"

"Ms Thongori has been something of the ultimate inspiration. She combined the skills of a lawyer, writer and activism to pursue impactful change and curve her place in Kenya and beyond. She had the courage to fight in courts and the streets for those targeted for fighting for a better country. Judy is part of a generation that sought to provide light to the cause of justice when the night was pitch dark, who kept pressing no matter the odds on the path and who became living testimony that resilience and courage bring rewards. We wish her well in her next journey. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends to whom she has bequeathed a sound and honorable legacy;Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga"

"The African women conceived the idea of the Womens Peace Train from Kampala to Johannesburg during the Second Preparatory Committee of the United Nations World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD). The objective of the Womens Peace Train (WPT) was to pass on a strong message to the continent leaders, war mongers, armies, guerrillas, arms traders, and dealers in the African continent that women wanted peace and stability for their children. In its ten-day journey across seven countries, the Peace Train called upon the ringleaders and perpetrators of wars in Africa to end them forthwith. Arguing that women in Africa bear the brunt of the war burden, African women saw the WSSD as a good opportunity to campaign for the end of these wars and used the peace train to pass on the peace message."

"Aid Evaporation is a new Nortion. It is based on an academic study that comprehensively examined how ODA is governed from the source to the destination. Key ODA parameters emerged from the existing ODA governance frameworks namely; mechanism, ideology, development approach and processes. By unpacking elements contributing to aid ineffectiveness through these parameters, exploring the existence of the aid evaporation and examining the key enablers of ODA Evaporatoon, the study discovered supply side factors contributed significantly to Aid ineffectiveness. It exposed different AID Evaporation enablers which play different hidden functions such as ODA Door Openers, Appetixers, Softeners, Sponges, Convertors, Controllers, Distorters as well as Carrot and Stick among others. Key findings revealed that the prevailing perception that aid ineffectiveness was a demand side problem was only part of the story because supply side challenges were probably more responsible for billions of ODA that could not be accounted for. It has recommended the re-writing of the narrative that ODA ineffectiveness is predominantly premised on demand side by incorporating supply side factors. Findings demonstrated that while there were indeed demand side challenges such as bad governance, corruption and lack of strong institutions, there were also supply (donor) side challenges such as over-reliance of donor's own inefficient ODA governance frameworks as well as ODA delivery mechanisms, the entrenchment of bilateral interest in ODA processess and geo- political interests among other factors. In this regard, the study confirmed that the 62% of the ODA that could not be accounted for according to existing literature was either held up in the pipeline or evaporates mostly from the supply side. This finding brought clarity on the weak impact of ODA and corroborated with existing literature on the mystery of unaccounted ODA. While the notion of aid evaporation emerged as an attribution and part of a reflection on the problem of ODA dissipation at the preliminary stage of the literature review, it became the central issue of focus throughout the research investigation which involved substantive field work to bring clarity on the problem. The study has made theoretical and practical contributions to the existing concepts on ODA governance and proposed a new concept, namely the “Supply Baggage Concept”. The new concept should inform the Post Paris era in achieving Aid effectiveness by weding out Evaporation, using the Aid Evaporation Detection Framework proposed in this book"

"I don't think it represented the entire gamut of the conflict between transgender people and a few confused groups. There are millions of Kenyan Christians who respect me and the entire transgender struggle."

"We have managed to break barriers or limits that no one thought transgender people would do on their own. It wasn't just about human rights but a desire to prove ourselves capable and doing the best we could. We were also able to redefine the word 'courage'."

"The government is not responsive to the needs of transgender people and some of our families are hostile because "we embarrass" them with our gender change. Sexual exploitation is common. Poor and economically disadvantaged trans women are most vulnerable to sexual exploitation and violence."

"I like people for who they are, not because of their gender. I am not interested in the gender of my sex partners. I don't identify as bisexual, gay or lesbian. i just think sexual labels complicate matters of love and sex."

"Despite that, I am now a very happy woman. All my struggles have finally paid off, not only for me but I am able to assist tens of other ladyboys who are struggling with a similar predicament. i am their mother; they call me Mama T (Transgender)."

"Being an environmental activist is a lifetime commitment, that requires resilience and a strong support system. Right Livelihood Award"

"It's never a bad thing to fight for what is right."

"Our goal is to challenge the state to enforce the Constitution and the private actors to respect their business and human rights responsibilities, but also to give a voice to those who are systematically not listened to."

"I see no issue if you can be able to give your voice to people and help them. My only problem would be if you know nothing about what you are speaking of hence, misadvising listeners"

"My advice to such radio presenters is, go to a counselling school and learn do you can offer constructive advice. Radio is a very powerful tool and some listeners take our word as the gospel truth"

"I talk to myself. Najiambia ‘Anne, whatever you have, put it behind. You are the voice of hope to the people outside there"

"The brain is a very powerful organ, whatever you tell it, it does. The body will just adjust"

"Unless the people are equipped with all the information they require, and they need, to make the right decisions"

"They’ll never be able to shake off the shackles of oppression"

"I wanted to die. For three months, I cried every day"

"We still felt the fear, but continued to do it anyway because it was the right thing. We understand that it is our duty, and that of our generation, to replace the present despair with a new hope"

"In Africa and in Kenya we have all the resources"

"It’s only that we have the wrong priorities, the wrong leadership to direct those priorities, and the levels of corruption that make it impossible for that potential to be realized"

"When you speak up, our government listens. When you activate your networks, that is awesome"

"The time for change has come"

"and there’s nobody that’s going to stop that kind of change that is brewing across the country"

"We hear the voices from across the world telling us, yes it has been done elsewhere — it can also be done in Kenya"

"Women’s dressing has been weaponized. Society uses the dress as a backlash against women who are proponents of certain changes."

"My philosophy is that in life you either succeed or learn."

"Things that change your life are the people you meet and the books you read."

"We should be agitated for change, especially the many things that don’t work as opposed to sitting back, moaning and groaning."

"When you are involved in activism, your goal is never to get rewarded but to create impact and change."

"I have used my voice to give the voiceless a voice."

"When you find a network of people who are thinking alike with a common desire to bring change, you achieve a lot."

"What I want for myself and for all African women, is autonomy, choice and freedom, health, and happiness."

"And so we need inspiration. I am inspired by people in all fields who devote energy, intellect and time to honing their skills and excelling. I am inspired by African artistic work and culture, past and contemporary, and by African intellectual work and thought. I am motivated by collectivity and solidarity, and by love."

"I have chosen the political identity of “feminist” because I believe in my own autonomy, choice and freedom—as well as those of all other women. African women continue to face the denial of autonomy, choice and freedom in all areas of life, alongside an enduring lack of access to and control of all kinds of opportunities and resources."

"In many ways Kenya is a model example of community social welfare. It's a community keyed to the extended family, in which each generation helps the other."

"A problem concerning a child is dealt with in the context of its family, never just on its own."

"When we arrived, Eldoret had only one building, of mud and wattle, which was the bank, post office, and rest house combined. My father built the first shop of wood and iron in the main street for J.H.S. Todd, and they stocked everything needed for farmers. It had a lovely wide verandah back and front, and I always said this building was the start of my interest in architecture."

"The women of Kenya have made Kenya proud through our athletes, the late Wangari Maathai, and the rest. I am so overjoyed because the women have done it."

"Being in a mixed science school is the ultimate test of your survival."

"When my first results came, Eighty per cent of the girls had between A and B-. Soon the girls were writing to tell me that though they admired my work, they felt I was destined for bigger things."

"[Urban planning is] an ideal profession for a woman because it builds on her innate capacity for providing an orderly and aesthetic environment for herself, her family and the community in which she lives."