Civil society and unions join to keep Mombasa county in check

Kenya University Staff Union TUM branch chair Kassim Ziro and Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights chair Zedekiah Adika display the MoU in Mombasa on Tuesday / BRIAN OTIENO

Kenya University Staff Union TUM branch chair Kassim Ziro and Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights chair Zedekiah Adika sign the MoU in Mombasa on Tuesday / BRIAN OTIENO

Kenya University Staff Union TUM branch chair Kassim Ziro and Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights chair Zedekiah Adika exchange the MoU in Mombasa on Tuesday / BRIAN OTIENO

Human rights activists have signed an MoU with professional unions to collaborate in ensuring the rights of workers are not violated.

At least 143 human rights bodies under the Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights have signed the deal with eight unions in Mombasa.

They want to ensure Mombasa workers are well taken care of.

Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights chair Zedekiah Adika described the MoU as a “coalition of the willing and progressive forces” that will make Mombasa county and Kenya better in terms of promoting good governance, transparency, accountability and effective public participation delivery.

“We want to promote, protect and advance human rights and social justice across the region and to strengthen advocacy initiative among the two coalitions,” Adika said.

He spoke on Tuesday during the MoU signing ceremony in Mombasa.

The MoU will also see the two parties conduct joint dialogue forums involving communities, government and stakeholders to address issues of governance and human rights.

The parties will jointly mobilise resources to ensure their interventions are successful and then develop and implement joint programmes under thematic groups.

Adika said the political class, who mostly hold the resources and run the country, are forming coalitions.

He said without a strong coalition of progressive forces, the political class will not work for the people who elect them but for themselves.

“Evidence is all over in the Auditor General’s report which reads like a conviction for a murderer. We are looking forward to ensuring the Auditor General’s report genuinely looks progressive in a way that gives hope to Kenyans,” Adika said.

“The political class in Mombasa now must know they have not only the civil society to deal with but also stronger unions coming for their necks, especially if you are a thief,” Adika said.

The coalition will also ensure they have thousands of people behind them so that whenever there is a call for demonstration, there will be massive turnout.

The main aim, he said, is to reduce instances of human rights violations and increase accountability.

Kenya University Staff Union’s Technical University Mombasa branch chair Kassim Ziro said just as the civil society has been loud on the performance of governments and government bodies, unions also fight for workers’ rights.

“We, unions, have for a long time been deemed to only be bothered about internal matters of where they work. But we have come to a conclusion that what happens out there also affects us,” Ziro said.

He noted that when roads are impassable due to poor workmanship due to corruption, it affects the workers too.

“That is why we have come together to have one voice to speak out on issues that affect us as a Mombasa society. It doesn’t matter whether we are in civil society or in unions.

“The resources that come to Mombasa are the taxes of everyone, no matter which category one is in,” Ziro said.

He said the prudent use of those resources is what matters most.

“Having just one voice from the civil society, maybe, has become monotonous and is not taken seriously anymore. But having an additional voice from the unions will make things happen,” Ziro said.

He said a louder voice will ensure resources that belong to the public are prudently used.

 INSTANT ANALYSIS

Unions have been known to only care about their own interests at work. However, this is set to change as they join forces with civil society to ensure they check governance, accountability and integrity.