A brief look at Muslim courts in Kenya

How did Islam come to Kenya? As far as my history lesson went and have come to learn over time, Islam was brought mainly by Muslim traders from Asia who came by sea in the 1700s. These Arab-Muslims on interacting with the local dominant language group along the coastal Kenya, The Bantus resulted to a new Language, Swahili. Most of the communities around the coast slowly adopted Islam and the traders that moved inland also to some extent spread the religion as well. They however remained a segregated minority to some extent since they were seen by the locals as exploitative business men simply because they had means of keeping their business running, having good supply of stock through the port of Mombasa and other coastal towns from their mother countries.

What about Christianity? Christianity was brought into the country by English missionaries as you would probably have guessed in around the 1800s the same time as the colonialism set in. I would guess that people had their ways of worship, they call that indigenous. This is just my view but I think Christianity was imposed on people since they were thought to have unorganized ways of worshiping their God. The idea of God was there, it just wasn't formal.

How separate is the Church and the state in Kenya? Church and state in Kenya are separate formally but unfortunately the Church has a lot of control of what the government does. For instance the proposed constitution sought to legalise abortion, of course under some conditions but the Church strongly stands against such an idea. Reasons? They are not that clear.

Kadhi courts have been operating in Kenya and have not affected any non-Muslims as far as I know. I am pretty sure nothing has changed with the the demographic figure of 6% of Muslim population in Kenya to make it such a contentious issue in a country where the majority of the people are Christians. There are obviously bigger fish to fry in the proposed constitution but this particular one seems to warrant political airtime that should be worth so much to the taxpayers so to speak. Where do we get the time?

Are these just two words?

So what effect do two words have on a nation that is Kenya? I might be fetching this too far but the simplest congruity I can find is in martial law. Martial law provides for the use of the military force in cases of emergencies. This might not be directly mentioned but I would be led to think that an emergency generally has the effect of destabilising national security. What happens in this case? The rights of innocent public are consequently infringed without questions. You simply do not question a curfew for instance. It might not be as explicit but given these words managed to be in a draft of a constitution implicit meaning applies just as effectively.

Or is this a fear tactic dealt upon the people? Also notice the link this has with the National Security Intelligence Service.

Here is an excerpt of the article from the Daily Nation.

The Daily Nation revealed exclusively on Monday how the copies distributed last week at the official launch of the proposed constitution presided over by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga contained changes sneaked in that had not been approved by Parliament.

The correct version of Article 24 (1) (d) reads: “The need to ensure that the enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms by any individual does not prejudice the rights and fundamental freedoms of others.”

The altered one reads: “The need to ensure that the enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms by any individuals does not prejudice national security, the rights and fundamental freedoms of others.”

Who did the 'planning'?

As I read an online article that reports the resistance of a Maasai community against a geothermal project development in their neighborhood, the following words stifle me.

"We have done a census and a resettlement action plan and it's a matter of time before we reach an agreement and find them alternative land," he said.

These happen to be the words of the project manager heading the project. Assuming that he meant a survey when he says census, it would have also been prudent to tell the public what the results of such a survey found out.

The power generating company clearly claims that they have a resettlement plan but it seems that they encounter resistance from a local Maasai community which only means they still have to implement the plan. The paper reports that a local man claims "environmental degradation and claimed women had miscarried due to poisonous fumes".

What was the aim of having a resettlement plan if you were going to bring in 100 of your engineers to work the project before you even talk to the local residents? Or was your plan to start a hazardous project ahead of your relocating people to safety, of course assuming the people agree to such a deal? If an assessment has been done by the government and the World bank financing team, were these Maasai locals ignored.