Breaking the Trap: Demanding Citizenship Rights in Kenya
Published: 26/Nov/2018
Source: Namati
Botul and her four children are members of Kenya’s Nubian community. Despite the fact that Nubians are Kenyan citizens, these Muslim-majority ethnic and tribal groups are forced to undergo a lengthy and discriminatory vetting process to obtain the identity documents necessary for daily life. Without an ID, Botul’s children were kicked out of school. Botul didn’t give up hope. With the help of community paralegals from Nubian Rights Forum – a legal empowerment group supported by Namati – Botul learned her rights and was supported through every step of the identity application process. After months of perseverance, Botul finally got her ID and her children back in school. Namati and our partners in Kenya track thousands of cases like Botul’s to advocate for systemic change. Our goal is to end citizenship discrimination in both law and practice.