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Paying homage to Binyavanga Wainaina

Article

If life was a highway, then Binyavanga drove on the fast lane.

If he skidded, he hardly took the gas off the pedal. "(Ferdinand Omondi, BBC)

 

Gender

Kenya grapples with fake news as women, politicians take the hit

Article

Women politicians and journalists have fallen victim of false information, most often through personal attacks meant to discourage them from politics or silence their voices in the media. Studies by AMWIK, ‘Women Journalists’ Digital Security’ in 2016 and 2017 indicate that social media has been the most used platform for attacks against female journalists, with the most common gendered attacks being cyber stalking, sexual harassment, impersonation with parody accounts, surveillance and un-authorized use and manipulation of personal information, including images, and videos. With more women in the public limelight, it is projected that more will become victims of fake news.

Is democracy on retreat? Kenya after the #Repeal162 ruling

Article

In 2016, the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC), the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), and the Nyanza, Rift Valley and Western Kenya Network (NYARWEK) together with partners filed petitions 150 & 234 of 2016 respectively, at the high court. These petitions challenged the constitutionality of sections 162 (a), (c) and 165 of the Penal Code of Kenya.

more on Gender

Democracy

Civic Voices on the State of Eritrea

Report

Hbs Nairobi supported the convening of a diverse group of 16 Eritrean professionals and intellectuals in December 2018 to discuss the implications of the sudden amelioration of the relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia earlier in the year. Over the 6 months which followed the workshop, participants engaged in intense consultations and decided to publish their joint reflections just a day ahead of Eritrea’s Independence Day on 24 May 2019.

Call for Papers- Patriarchy and the Roll-back of Democracy in East and Horn of Africa

Call for Papers

Hbs in partnership with African Feminism seeks academic contributions that illustrate the convergence and/or role of patriarchy in the roll-back of democracy in East and Horn of Africa, as well as the role of feminist theory and practice in widening democratic spaces. We encourage African writers from or working across the region to submit abstracts for papers on a topic of their choice relating to the theme.

Sudan’s Civil Society - Aspirant Revolutionaries Once More

Article

Civil society has always played a key role in Sudan’s long ongoing struggle for political reform and the National Congress Party, which has ruthlessly clung to power for nearly 30 years, is cognisant of this.

Very few political analysts could have predicted what has transpired in Sudan over the past four months. On 19 December, a small protest ostensibly over a treble price hike in bread triggered a domino effect of protests across the country, including in former ruling party strongholds. It soon became clear the initial protests lit a powder keg within Sudanese society, frustrated at 30 years of authoritarian rule with mass corruption and an unwieldy security apparatus --Sudanese citizenry have had enough.

more on democracy

Environment

Tribunal halts construction of Amu coal power plant in Kenya

Article

The Government of Kenya has proposed a 1,050 Megawatt (MW) coal plant to be built in Kwasasi, Lamu County, 20km from Lamu Town. The project will be operated by Amu Power on a joint venture by two Kenyan companies, Gulf Energy and Centum. Residents of Lamu County are opposed to the power plant due to the negative economic, environmental, and health impacts it wil have on the ecosystem in Lamu. Building the plant will cause Kenya to be in violation of international treaties and impact Kenya's ability to keep its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Accord. 

Proposed Lamu Coal Plant: The Wrong Choice for Kenya

Report

The Government of Kenya has proposed a 1,050 Megawatt (MW) coal plant to be built in Kwasasi, Lamu County, 20km from Lamu Town. The project will be operated by Amu Power on a joint venture by two Kenyan companies, Gulf Energy and Centum. Residents of Lamu County are opposed to the power plant due to the negative economic, environmental, and health impacts it wil have on the ecosystem in Lamu. Building the plant will cause Kenya to be in violation of international treaties and impact Kenya's ability to keep its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Accord. Potential affected communities groups have banded together to form the deCOALonize campaign to keep the coal industry out of Kenya.

more on environment

International Dialogue

New Website Documents Extrajudicial Executions in Kenya

Article

Missing Voices is an effort by Heinrich Boell Foundation and lobby groups under the Police Reform Working Group to track and document all extrajudicial killings and disappearances and follow cases that are in court. The website is a one-stop database of all extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances that happen in Kenya; it explains the circumstances under which the victims were killed and/or disappeared.

Highlights from the Somali Heritage Week 2018

Event report

It is becoming clear that in order to build communities that are successful at improving conditions and resolving problems, we need to understand and appreciate different cultures, establish relationships with people from cultures other than our own, and build strong alliances with different cultural groups.

more on International Dialogue

Newest Publications

The Evolution of Kenyan Art and the Kenya Arts Diary

FREE DOWNLOAD

Supported by the Heinrich Boell Foundation and coordinated by Nani Croze of Kitengela Glass, the Kenya Arts Diary has become a popular annual art exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya and identified with the Heinrich Boell Foundation. The diary has built a new physical but portable space whose multi-functionality allows local artists to display their craft, advertise their skills, join a regional network, and find belonging.

First published in 2011, the Kenya Arts Diary is a catalogue - complete with descriptors - of photography, installations, oils, acrylics, patch-work quilts, wood, cement and scrap metal sculptures, some from “stitched found objects”. The Diary also carries artists’ bios and a directory that provides artists’ contacts and announces the range of collectives and studios where contemporary artists pursue their passions.

 

 

Events

Launch: People and Power

Stories of Small Scale Renewable Energy Entrepreneurs in Kenya
Nairobi

Gender Forum

Taita Taveta County

Gender Forum

Taita Taveta County
Ocean Atlas

The Ocean Atlas illustrates the important role played by the ocean and its ecosystems – not only for people living on the coasts but for all of us. It aims to give a current insight of the state and the threat of the seas, that are our livelihoods.

Latest Publications

Catch up with all our latest publications.

Energy Futures in Eastern Africa

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Publication
Whereas the momentum of economic development in the 20th century depended on abundant fossil fuels and centralized electric power, countries are now revisiting their energy strategies to reduce the risks of unpredictable climate change. Our countries are not exempt from this dilemma. Should they continue to power their transition from agricultural to industrial societies by exploiting fossil fuels and centralized power? Or is a different energy system possible? Which investments will get priority? Who will benefit from whatever energy system is put into place, and who will be the biggest losers? 
 
Produced by the Society for International Development (SID) with the support of  Heinrich Böll Stiftung, East and Horn of Africa Regional Office, this booklet presents and explores possible scenarios that could unfold in four Eastern African countries. The analysis and three stories presented imagine practical future scenarios for energy and how these would affect energy poverty in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania.

Series of Event

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