Across Borders, One Struggle: African Rights Groups Meet in Machakos

The Gathering in Machakos

The conversations at Kyaka Hotel in Machakos were not easy ones. Over three days, civil society practitioners and journalists from Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, and Zambia sat together and talked frankly about what is happening in their countries: enforced disappearance, laws constricting civ space, as well as communities denied their rights in some cases.

The gathering was organised by CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, and co-hosted by the Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE), a Nairobi-based organisation that works on the rights of minority and indigenous communities across East Africa. The aim was practical: to build the capacity of regional practitioners to detect early warning signs of civic space erosion and move faster from documentation to action.

That gap, between gathering evidence of abuse and doing something about it in time, is one that human rights defenders across the region know all too well.

Voices from Zimbabwe

A representative from ZIMRIGHTS, a Zimbabwe-based human rights organisation, put it plainly: advocacy is not an event. It is a process, and that process does not end at the border.

"We must utilise regional mechanisms and international mechanisms for human rights violations. This includes the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights."

ZIMRIGHTS representative, Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, economic and social rights remain a serious concern. Years of neglect have left the public health system unable to meet basic needs, and those who raise their voices about it often find themselves with less room to speak.

"There are deliberate efforts to shrink the civic space and limit citizens' participation in development processes due to fear of reprisal."

ZIMRIGHTS representative, Zimbabwe

Voices from Zambia

From Zambia, a representative of the Advocates for Democratic Governance Foundation (ADGEF) spoke about the value of learning to document and respond to warning signs before a crisis fully takes hold.

"We will incorporate it continuously, to be proactive in our interventions and push back any violations of human rights before they occur or are perpetrated by authorities."

ADGEF representative, Zambia

The concern in Zambia, the representative explained, is the speed at which laws restricting civic engagement are passed, often before civil society has had time to organise a response. The space for checks and balances is narrowing.

Voices from Tanzania

The situation in some parts of the region is more acute. A representative from Tanzania's Civic and Legal Aid Organisation (CILAO) appealed to fellow East African Community and SADC member states to support Tanzania as it works through a painful period of reckoning. A presidential commission of inquiry has documented years of state violence that the country is only now beginning to reckon with publicly.

"From 2018 to 2026, more than 700 people have been reported disappeared, tortured, or killed, according to the commission's findings."

CILAO representative, Tanzania

The release of the commission's report has opened a window for national dialogue, reconciliation, and discussion of constitutional reform. Whether that window stays open is something civil society across the region is watching closely.

Voices from Kenya

Kenya, by comparison, offers a different picture, though not without its own complications. Karen Wambui, Communications Officer at CEMIRIDE, noted that the 2010 Constitution created meaningful legal architecture for rights advocacy, but that protections on paper do not always translate into protection on the ground.

"Kenya has a judicial, legal, and civic environment that allows and enables civil rights advocacy. Human rights defenders, including those from indigenous communities, have largely been able to agitate and push for their rights, though violations against defenders do still occur."

Karen Wambui, CEMIRIDE, Kenya

CEMIRIDE's work with indigenous communities has underscored how fragile those protections can be. In 2023, leaders from the Yiaku community in Laikipia were arrested simply for holding a meeting to discuss their own development. That incident and others like it are part of why CEMIRIDE and CIVICUS have invested in building regional early warning and advocacy systems.

A Regional Initiative

The Machakos training is part of a broader regional initiative. CIVICUS and CEMIRIDE hosted similar sessions in 2023, also in Machakos and in Nanyuki, focused on strengthening indigenous communities' capacity to organise and protect their rights. The current workshop expanded that scope to draw in practitioners from across East and Central Africa.

What held the three days together was not only the shared agenda but a shared frustration the evidence is gathered, the reports are written, and still the response comes too late, or not at all. The knowledge is there. The capacity to act on it, consistently and in time, is what this region is still building. Machakos was about closing that space between knowing and doing something about it . one practitioner at a time, is the work.What better time than now to teach and foster Ubuntu.

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