All human beings are born free and fully self-expressed. The rest of our lives are dedicated to expanding this freedom. Being independently in control of our life choices and safe in our relationships with others is key. Our Constitution is built around these foundational ideas
Equality
Article 27 of the Constitution upholds everyone’s right to dignity, respect, and protection. It promises a Kenya that recognises every person is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law. It forbids the State from directly or indirectly discriminating against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth. It further commits the state to take legislative, affirmative action programmes and policies that address past and current discrimination.
Under Article 3.1 of the Constitution, this current generation carries a responsibility to the freedom fighters of the last century to challenge prejudice, discrimination, and violence against any person. Today’s price of our freedom is the historical obligation we bear to disrupt the normalisation of prejudice and pain in all spaces within the republic.
KEY FACTS
69% of Kenyans identify themselves based on their nationality.
49% of Kenyans have directly experienced discrimination based on one or more of their identities.
54% of Kenyans know people who have been discriminated against based on their identities.
60% have been discriminated against at their place of work, 15% at home, 6% at their place of worship, 4% at medical facilities and 3% at transport facilities.
3 in 10 people think bias and discrimination have contributed to mental health issues in Kenya.
38% of Kenyans feel that further public awareness would arrest identity-based discrimination.
DRIVERS OF DISCRIMINATION
Political, social, or religious populism is both alluring and corrosive. It sets people against each other and fragments the social fabric of households, communities, and nations. It also dismantles respect for cultural diversity. With this comes the disinformation, lies and prejudice we experience daily. There is a direct link between radicalised influential Christian cults exposed by the Shakahola Massacre, rising gender-based violence, anti-refugeeism, hate crimes against LGBTIQ+ persons, the draft anti-LGBTIQ Family Protection Bill and attempts to roll back the Sexual Offences Act or the Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Act.
These trends are not isolated or disconnected. Left unchallenged, epic historical conflicts such as the German holocaust, Rwandan genocide, or the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims loom closer with each murder, cult, claw-back legal amendments, hate bill, delayed access to justice or attack on minorities. Sandwiched between intolerant and discriminatory attitudes, cancel culture and social media algorithms that accelerate violent differences, the possibility of upholding Article 10 of the Constitution narrows daily.
WHAT AMNESTY IS CALLING FOR
Governments to:
- Get rid of discriminatory laws and release anyone who is in prison because of them.
- Protect everyone – whoever they are – from discrimination and violence.
- Introduce laws and policies that promote inclusion and diversity in all aspects of society.
- Take action to tackle the root causes of discrimination, including challenging stereotypes and attitudes that underpin discrimination.