Ms Dorcas Oluoch (right) gives legal advise to a client during the legal aid clinic in Kisumu. Photo by: Martin Namasaka/KELIN

“Our legal aid clinics are not only aimed at giving legal advice with the help of pro bono advocates. They also refer some cases to relevant courts, the HIV and Equity Tribunal and to partner organisations for counselling.”

This was emphasized by Ms Belice Odamna, KELIN’s Litigation and Legal Services Officer during a Legal Aid Clinic organized by KELIN in partnership with the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK) in Kibra consitutency, Nairobi, county on 19th April, 2013. A similar clinic was conducted in Kisumu county on 5th April 2013 with the support of the Open Society Foundation.

Twenty clients (13 of whom were female) including a woman with disability were attended to in Nairobi and 42 clients (29 of whom were male) in Kisumu. Most of the cases revolved around property ownership, land inheritance, and discrimination in the workplace due to one’s HIV status. Clients were advised on available forms of redress such filing their cases in courts or tribunals or tapping alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

As the 55 new cases are being subjected to further analysis by KELIN’s Litigation and Legal Services Department, KELIN is taking on one of the cases presented during the legal aid clinics. Client Jashon, a Person Living with HIV (PLHIV), found his ancestral land, where his house stands, sold by his relatives without his knowledge and consent. The new owner has served him with an eviction notice with the intention of occupying the land.

KELIN has already asked the court to cancel the title deed issued for the piece of land which was acquired fraudulently without a grant of letters of administration in place.

The legal aid clinics ended with the recommendation on the need for more initiatives of ensuring access to justice, educating people about their rights, challenging stigma and discrimination within families, communities and the workplace in accordance with the findings of the Global Commission on HIV Law report and Article 48 of the Constitution of Kenya.

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KELIN is a legal NGO working to promote and protect HIV related human rights in order to achieve the full enjoyment of HIV related rights by all.

We do this by: Providing free legal services and support to people who have suffered human rights violations – especially people living with HIV or affected by health issues – using KELIN staff and our network of pro bono lawyers; Strategic and public interest litigation to help influence laws and policies from a judicial perspectives; Trainings for health professionals, lawyers, community workers and people living with HIV about the rights-based approach to providing services and building capacity for implementation; Advocacy campaigns that promote awareness of human rights issues to governments, organizations and communities; Researching areas relating to human rights, legal issues and health, influencing new policy and supporting evidence-based change.

KELIN’s current main programme areas are around: promoting alternative dispute resolution to secure justice for vulnerable groups such as widows and orphans, campaigning for sustainable funding for health services, ensuring the government effectively supports the rights of TB patients and persuading people in Kenya to know and use their human rights and giving them support where the same have been violated. In undertaking its duties, KELIN utilizes a rights based approach that ensures the communities affected by the issue have their capacity enhanced to enable them engage with the relevant duty bearers who are responsible to ensure these rights are fulfilled.

KELIN, in partnership with the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and The National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK), is pleased to announce a call for applications to advocates who would like to participate in a forthcoming four day seminar on HIV, law and related human rights.  Applicants are required to fill the requisite application and share as much details as possible.

Funded by the United Nations Development Programme, the seminar seeks to develop a critical understanding among legal practitioners on HIV law and related human rights in order to influence increase in legal services for HIV related violations and influence sound case law on this issue in Kenya. The four day seminar will be held in Mombasa County from 21^st – 24^th May 2013.

Criteria for eligibility:

-       The call for applications is open to advocates, whether in private practice or affiliated to an NGO, who litigate or have an interest to litigate on HIV related human rights issues. It is desirable that advocates have an affiliation to an NGO law firm or a Constitutional Commission. A total of 20 participants will be selected;

-       The advocates must have a demonstrated interest in and/or knowledge on HIV related human rights issues in Kenya;

-       The advocates must also have a demonstrated interest in and/or knowledge of international and regional human rights law in relation to HIV

-       The lawyers must be resident in and actively engaged in practice in the counties of Mombassa and Kilifi;

-       Advocates who are already working with OSIEA grantees and UNDP funded programmes in terms of provision of legal aid will have an added advantages;

-       Advocates who are members of the LSK’s Public Interest Committee and the Medical Legal Committee will have an added advantage;

-       Must be committed to attending the entire four  days seminar;

-       Must be competent in written and spoken English which will be the working language for the meeting;

-       Invitations are welcome only from serious candidates who are agreeable to join the database of the KELIN pro bono lawyers and will be available to provide legal services in this regard including participating in legal aid clinics and litigation that will be conducted by KELIN, LSK and NEPHAK in 2013 and thereafter.

Closing date for applications: 2^nd May 2013.

How to apply:

Please complete the attached application form and submit it together with your Curriculum Vitae to Veronica Omunga at info@kelinkenya.org. Only applications in the prescribed format will be accepted.

Should require any further information regarding the workshop and eligibility criteria kindly contact Melba Katindi at mkatindi@kelinkenya.org

Only the shortlisted applicants will be notified by email soon after the closing date and should be available for telephone interviews on 9^th -- 10^th May 2013.

Ms Belice Odamna, KELIN’s Litigation and Legal Services Programme Officer, leads the discussion on family law & palliative care

Appropriate policies, adequate drug availability and educating health care workers are key in an integrated palliative care programme.

This was emphasized by Dr. Zipporah Ali, Executive Director of Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA), during a workshop for community paralegals on health and palliative care rights that was organized by KEHPCA in partnership with KELIN from the 10th -12th April 2013 in Nairobi. The workshop was supported by the Open Society Foundation.

The participants were drawn from the counties of Eldoret, Kisumu, Laikipia Machakos, Meru, Mombasa, Naivasha, Nairobi, Nakuru, Nyeri, Siaya and Thika. The training provided them with information on human rights concepts and the link between human rights and palliative care.

Guided by facilitators from KEPHCA and KELIN, participants discussed various legal challenges in palliative care. These include decision-making for incapacitated patients, property rights for dependents of the terminally sick, access to opioids for pain relief and making referrals to pro bono advocates and human rights organizations when they encounter difficult cases.

They were guided on possible remedies to address these challenges that include: drawing basic legal documents for their patients such as wills and powers of attorney; giving basic legal advice; providing education to the communities on the existence, entitlement and benefits of palliative care; monitoring and documenting human rights violations in palliative care.

Ms Melba Katindi, KELIN’s Advocacy and Training Officer, reiterated the crucial role of the government in realizing the health rights of the patients. “The government, as required by the Constitution, has an obligation to respect, protect, promote and fulfill the right to palliative care. Citizens, on the other hand, have to be vigilant to ensure enforcement of this right,” Ms Katindi said.

By enlightening palliative care providers as community paralegals, it is expected that the knowledge on palliative care as a human right will be disseminated to the grassroots and more Kenyans will hold duty bearers to account in ensuring palliative care is incorporated as a key component of the right to health in Kenya.

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The “Weka Condom Mpangoni,” an HIV prevention education advert, has opened up discussion on HIV transmission within the marriage and stable relationship context. This is a sad and unfortunate reality that is rarely talked about in Kenya. The setting of the advert seems to have ruffled the feathers of some stakeholders, especially those that are perceived to value the sanctity of marriage, morals and family. This has led to the unfortunate withdrawal of the advert on national television a move supported by the National AIDS Control Council, a body whose mandate is to fight HIV. The fact remains that HIV continues to be transmitted in stable relationships and marriages.

Facts from the Kenya AIDS epidemic UPDATE 2012 report indicate that:
• More than 44.1% of all new infections occur in stable or long-term relationships including marriages;
• 65% of recent infections occur among women under 35 years while 40.1% for men aged between 35-44 years are infected with HIV;
• Married couples are three times more likely to become infected than sex workers who account for only 14.05% of new infections; they are followed closely at 20.28% by those engaging in casual sex like one-night stands; and
• 45% of married people who are HIV positive have partners who are not currently infected, therefore putting their discordance at great risk.

HIV Infection among adults from the Kenya AIDS epidemic UPDATE 2012

Drawing from the trend of statistical information regarding sources of new HIV infections, KELIN acknowledges that it seems abstinence and faithfulness, which are campaigns advanced previously by the government, have not effectively worked in HIV prevention. Evidence based responses should be used to scale up responses aimed at reducing infections. These include: Voluntary HIV testing, consistent condom use, education and awareness, preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), male circumcision, harm reduction, needle exchange services, repealing punitive laws and enacting laws that enable effective responses to HIV prevention, care and treatment services to those who need them in accordance with the recent findings of the Global commission report on HIV and the law.

Although, Kenya has seen a dramatic reduction in HIV prevalence figures since the year 2000 from 13.4% to 6.3% the country is still recording an increase in sources of new infections particularly so among married couples and people in stable relationships. KELIN calls on stakeholders that feel campaigns such as “Weka Condom Mpangoni” are offensive to their beliefs to share alternative ways that will ensure infections are reduced within the context of married couples and those in stable relationships. Let us be aware of the fact that the key concern is to reduce new infections. If this can be achieved without ruffling moral and religious beliefs then let someone show us how before we withdraw this advert.

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WORLD TB DAY 2013 STATEMENT
A CALL FOR IMPROVEMENT IN THE STANDARD OF CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH DRUG RESISTANT TB IN KENYA

22nd March 2013

As we mark this year’s World TB day, let us keep in mind that one case of untreated drug resistant TB poses the risk of infection to seven people per year. If the government does not provide proper care for drug resistant TB; based on patient-centered treatment, and isolation facilities for the management of extreme cases of patients with drug resistance throughout the country, there is a good chance that you, or someone you know, could get infected.

“We are calling for a public inquiry into the government‘s commitment in providing quality care to patients for the management of drug resistance. We are also calling for the implementation of the Patients’ Charter for Tuberculosis Care at the community level,” says Mr. Maleche, the Executive Director for KELIN.

As the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation leads the nation in commemorating this year’s World TB day, KELIN remains concerned at the lack of support, motivation and understanding of the rights of patients with drug resistant TB in Kenya. Implementation mechanisms for TB management adopted by the government continue to ignore the high burden of care and needs of these patients who are faced with numerous socio-economic challenges. The standard of care for these patients remains a challenge.

We acknowledge the significant progress that Kenya is making in ensuring TB detection, treatment success rates and low death rates in treating TB. However, the rising numbers of ever more drug-resistant strains of TB in the country is alarming. The WHO global tuberculosis report 2012 estimated the multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) burden in Kenya at 3,400 cases with no specific data on Extensively Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB) cases. Although Directly Observed Therapy (DOTs) remains at the centre of the Stop TB strategy, its implementation in Kenya has failed to effectively address needs of TB patients’ that are an essential element for the successful completion of their treatment, which could lead to a reduction in the development of TB drug resistance.

In September 2010 KELIN along with other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) publicly condemned the arrest and imprisonment of TB patients alleged to have defaulted on their TB treatment, sighting numerous human rights violation by the government health and judicial officers. The organizations opposed the use of prison for the involuntary detention of TB patients who were perceived to be infectious

In February 2012, KELIN along with other CSOs again protested the lack of seriousness by the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation and its officers in caring for patients with XDR-TB. The organizations protested the lack of a clear policy to ensure effective treatment, management and care of XDR-TB patients in Kenya.

Today the government announced the completion of the only TB isolation ward in the country 8 years after being issued with a grant for its construction, but stated that the same is still not operational and may not be able to accommodate all patients in need of isolation. It is in this regard that KELIN protests the absence of proper facilities for cases where it is necessary to isolate patients with highly contagious TB. KELIN strongly believes that response to threats in public health such as TB will benefit immensely from unquestionably more investment in patient and community education and information to help patients adhere to and complete treatment in order to avoid drug resistance. In the absence of such investment and as a measure of very last resort, for purposes of ensuring the highest quality of care, it is imperative that adequate facilities with appropriate infection control measures be availed throughout the country.

KELIN joins the nation in adopting the slogan “adequate and sustainable financing to stop TB in my lifetime,” with a dream for Kenya where the government is more committed in upholding our national values in its pursuit of ending TB and HIV.

Please support the CALL FOR IMPROVED STANDARD OF CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH DRUG RESISTANT TB IN KENYA   

and also join our online discussions on;

Contact: Melba Katindi  Mobile: +254 788 220300  Email: mkatindi@kelinkenya.org

About us
KELIN as an organization that promotes a rights based approach to H.I.V and TB has been in the forefront for protecting the rights of TB patients through championing for the immediate construction of the TB isolation wards, championing for the rights of TB patients under arrest and demanding accountability from the government on the purchase and availability of XDR-TB drugs.

TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It usually affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but it can also affect other parts of the body (brain, kidney, bones and joints). Only pulmonary TB is infectious. It spreads easily in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. The disease is transmitted by coughing up infectious airborne droplets and transmission usually requires long-term close contact with infectious cases. TB is curable with a course of antibiotics, but drug-resistant forms can develop if the course is not completed or if the wrong drugs are used. Untreated TB can prove fatal.

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KELIN’s Mr. Francis Rakewa explains to participants the link between HIV and human rights. Credit: KELIN/Melba Katindi

“When I came to this training I did not know my rights in full, even though I knew that there was a word ‘human rights,’ I just didn’t know how it operates .Now, as a mother, I know what my children’s rights are and as a woman I know what I want.”

These were the words of Jenifer Gati Mwita, one of the 14 community trainers of trainers trained by KELIN from 12^th -15^th February 2013 in Kehancha, Kuria in Migori County. The training was organized by Sustainability Opportunity Training Epidemiology Networking Interdependence Kenya (SOTENI) in partnership with Forum for International Cooperation (FIC), and with support from Project Advice and Training Centre (PATC) Denmark. The objective of the training was to raise awareness on human rights and economic empowerment for women in Kuria.

The women who were selected for the training were selected from 50 women groups in Kuria East and West after a baseline survey was done by the Kuria Women Empowerment Project. The training session equipped them with facilitation skills, techniques, and practical approaches in community awareness as well as increased knowledge on human rights, HIV, harmful cultural practices including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the social and physical effects of various health issues such as HIV. They were also familiarized on relevant legal provisions and received practical tips on advocacy, filing police complaints and case follow-up.

During the workshop, it emerged that some schools in Kuria still conduct compulsory HIV testing as a pre-condition to admission in secondary schools and expectant girls are either expelled from school or face hostile environment upon their return that they eventually drop out. There were also detailed deliberations on customary practices such as dowry payment, FGM and woman-to-woman marriage that contribute to human rights violations of women and girls in the region.  It was agreed that there was need to conduct more sensitization initiatives on human rights, HIV and the law especially in schools to reduce violations as highlighted in the HIV & AIDS Prevention and Control Act 2006.

After the session, participants committed to work with SOTENIand KELINto ensure that the women groups they represent are sensitized on their rights, promote equality rights and define their role in promoting human rights-based approaches to HIV and harmful cultural practices, A follow up session is scheduled in April where the women will be trained on their desired areas of specialization for advocacy at the county level.

KELIN intends to scale up interventions for women and girls in Kuria through strengthened partnership with SOTENI and other interested organizations as we work towards the realization of human rights for women and girls and the elimination of harmful cultural practices like FGM.

      Tennyson Williams, Country Director ActionAid International Kenya (L), Njoki Otieno (C) & Dorothy Onyango launching the book.

“The HIV epidemic continues to pose significant challenges to Kenya as a low –income country with women and girls being the most susceptible to infection due to gender norms that have an impact on HIV transmission,” said Ms. Dorothy Onyango, Executive Director of Women Fighting AIDS in Kenya (WOFAK), at the launch of her book titled Beyond Public Confessions, on Friday, 8th February 2013.

The book launched with the support from Action Aid International Kenya (AAIK) covers testimonies of Women Living with HIV (WLHIV), the prevailing stigma that befalls them, with details of their struggles, betrayal, acceptance and triumph to live and conquer HIV amidst a myriad of setbacks.

KELIN’s board member and a Commissioner to the Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) of Kenya, Ms. Catherine Muyeka Mumma, while making her speech on Women’s Leadership in HIV response during the launch, reiterated that, “there should be no discrimination of PLHIV based on their health status.” She was part of KELIN’s team that trained 55 members of WOFAK in Bumala, Busia and Siaya districts on HIV human rights concerns and the Human Rights Based Approach to Programming (HRBAP).

KELIN has also conducted training sessions for 20 Action Aid International HIV Programme Officers from the continents of Africa, Europe and North America on Human Rights Based Approach to Programming.

KELIN is in the process of fundraising to reach more people and communities with these kind of trainings that seek to empower persons living with HIV and those affected by it to know their human rights. This is in line with the recommendations of the Global Commission report on HIV and the Law that says, “effective legal aid can make justice and equality a reality for Persons Living with HIV, and this can contribute to better health outcomes.”

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Written by Lyla Latif | KELIN Pro bono Advocate |

KELIN Pro bono advocates Lyla Latif & Martin Rabera, listen as a woman seek’s legal advice

“Police officers need to be sensitized on the rights of Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) to prevent discrimination against people infected and affected by HIV”, said Lyla Latif, during a Legal Aid Clinic meeting organized by KELIN and the Kenya AIDS NGOs Consortium (KANCO) in Nakuru on the 7^th of December 2012.

KELIN’s registered and trained pro bono advocates Martin Rabera, Rahab Rivers and Lyla Latif were part of a panel providing legal advice to women in Nakuru county on the enforcement of the right to non- discrimination on the basis of their health status.

Grace, who is one of the women that presented her case to the panel of lawyers, has been given silent treatment by her neighbours and exposed to ridicule. People who know her and learned about her status have emotionally abused her by making comments on her inevitable death and she, being a “disgraceful sinner,” hence HIV is God’s punishment to her. Her attempts to seek help from the police have all seemed futile.

“The police are less concerned with assisting us, they say domestic issues have nothing to do with the police,” said Grace during the legal aid clinic.

The women live in constant fear and have been isolated by their neighbours, family and friends.  They are reluctant in formally raising complaints against the persons subjecting them to abuse and ridicule because they lack faith in the intervention of the area chief saying that he does not care about them because of their status.

The panel provided them with the relevant legal information and advised them to formally register their complaints with the police and report back to the panel in the event that they get turned away so that the advocates can follow up and take the appropriate measures against the police.

The legal aid clinic ended with the recommendation on the need to empower the community on existing organizations in Nakuru advocating for the rights of PLHIV. It was found relevant to put together a team of advocates who can litigate against the abuse suffered by these women to ensure they access justice.

Working in partnership with the National Empowerment Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK), and the relevant Constitutional Commissons, KELIN intends to continue giving these women legal aid.

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Participants from Kenya, Ukraine, Russia, Uganda and Canada at the meeting

“Lawyering on the Margins” is a unique global gathering of lawyers working with marginalized groups, namely people who use drugs, sex workers, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It is an annual seminar for lawyers who are working towards social change and believe that the law is an important means to achieving it.

Held on the 4^th – 7^th December, at the Town House Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa. The meeting was conducted under the auspices of the Public Health Programme of the Open Society Foundation. It brought together over 30 lawyers from the continents of Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Australia. The global meeting, which sort to give lawyers a chance to share skills and knowledge, had the following objectives:

• To recognize the important work that is being done by lawyers in all parts of the world to advocate for the rights of marginalized groups;
• To provide a space for lawyers working with people who use drugs, sex workers, and Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people to meet and share successes, challenges, strategies and aspirations for ensuring that those who are on the margins of society have access to justice; and
• To provide a space for participants to forge networks amongst each other,  strategize about how they can support each other’s future work, and discuss ways in which lawyering for marginalized groups can be fostered as a unique field of public interest lawyering.

KELINs Executive Director, Mr. Allan Maleche and the Litigation and Legal Services officer Ms. Belice Odamna participated in this meeting.  Ms. Odamna made a presentation on her experience while working for Keeping Alive Societies’ Hope (KASH) as a probono lawyer on the link between the police and marginalized communities.

Other than PowerPoint presentations, panel discussion and the use of videos, site visits were made to Women’s Legal Center, SWEAT and Gender dynamics. The site visits allowed the participants to freely engage with the members of the marginalised groups with a view of learning from some of their best practices.

At the end of the meeting Ms. Odamna said:

“This seminar has been an eye opener for me as I have picked up additional strategies on how to use the law to protect the rights of marginalised groups. The site visit, particularly to the Women’s Legal Centre, was very beneficial to me as I have gathered tools that I will use to better the provision of services in our litigation and legal services department at KELIN”

This meeting is in line with one of the key recommendations of the Global Commission on HIV and the law which states that “to ensure an effective, sustainable response to HIV that is consistent with human rights obligations; countries mustprohibit police violence against key populations. Countries must also support programmes that reduce stigma anddiscrimination against key populations and protect their rights”.

KELIN remains committed to working with the marginalised groups with a view of ensuring that the law is utilised to protect, promote and respect their right to health and other related rights. 

You can also follow KELIN on our Social Media Platforms for the latest news, jobs, updates, videos, info, events and much more here;

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