Advertise

Advertise

Activist Evance Otieno seeks justice for Homa Bay residents

 

Activist Evance Otieno has a lot of friends and enemies.

The human rights defender, chosen as a Star Person of the Year, has fought many people to help Homa Bay residents get justice.

More than 200 petitions by Otieno and colleague Michael Kojo are pending in court.

He was inspired and armed with knowledge and skills in trainings by NGOs.

“They sharpened and enhanced my understanding of our Constitution and human rights-related laws,” Otieno told the Star.

Born in 1986 at Lwanda village in Gwassi South, Suba South, Otieno said he started small by defending the rights of his siblings when he was 14 years old. Their parents had died.

As the eldest in a family of 14, Otieno said he could not afford to proceed with learning after sitting the KCPE exam.

He had to look for food and pay school fees for his young siblings.

“I ensured we safeguarded the lands from people who wanted to take advantage of us to either re-demarcate or grab them,” he says.

To provide for the family, Otieno started subsistence farming, growing maize, beans, sorghum, sukuma wiki and tomatoes.

At 20, Otieno joined a free welding training workshop in Rodi Kopany Trading Centre in Homa Bay town. Later he could earn Sh80 per day.

He began his own welding workshop in 2008 in Homa Bay town. It's still in business.

In 2011 and 2012  NGOs such as Plan International, World Vision and others started sensitising people in Homa Bay and countrywide about their rights.

Otieno remembers he was selected for trainings because he was a member of a Community Based Organisation known as Homa Bay County Bunge La Wenye Nchi.

The trainings gave him an understanding of the Constitution and law.

He was elected as Bunge spokesman in 2014.

Otieno talked about the need for a just society whenever he could on local FM stations. He focused on residents' issues and sensitised them on corruption, sexual offences, use of public funds, land rights, police use of force and other issues.

In 2015, he began working seriously as a human rights activist due to many complaints he received from residents who turned to him.

They said their rights were violated and they wanted help.

Complaints also came from employees of the county assembly and the county executive.

“The complaints range from defilement, excessive use of force by police to general breach of laws in the county assembly, the executive and learning institutions,” Otieno said.

He said they wrote to Bunge La Wenye Nchi, demanding legal action.

In 2018, Otieno started his own CBO called the Interface Community Help Desk after realising that he could not advocate for the rights of many residents by himself.

He said some members of the Bunge La Wenye Nchi would secretly use information from aggrieved individuals for monetary gain.

His Interface CBO protects whistle-blowers.

“I registered Interface CBO because I was going to lose focus. Some people could get compromised with money and leak crucial information,” he Otieno said.

Since then, he and colleague Michael Kojo have become a thorn in the flesh of corrupt individuals and suspected lawbreakers.

Governor Cyprian Awiti and his administration have not been exempted from the heat.

In 2018, Otieno petitioned the Controller of Budget not to approve budget estimates for 2018-19 until the county government explained how the funds for the previous financial year were spent.

Awiti and his administration were accused of improper spending.

The governor challenged the matter in the Homa Bay High Court.

The court dismissed the petition on grounds of delays in delivering services to residents.

In the same year, Interface CBO petitioned Awiti to explain why he had not appointed young people to his executive committee. The High Court ordered Awiti to comply with the law.

In 2019, Otieno and Kojo asked the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kisumu to block the national census until KNBS answered questions about hiring officials.

They argued that public servants were recruited improperly.

“The law does not allow a state officer to earn more than one salary,” Otieno said.

The case was transferred to Mombasa and quashed.

Last year when DPP Nordin Haji toured Homa Bay, Interface CBO asked him to direct the rearrest and prosecution of a man who allegedly defiled a girl. He also allegedly made her pregnant.

The man disappeared after he was allegedly released on police bond at Homa Bay police station.

“I’m happy the man was rearrested in Kericho and arraigned," Otieno said.

The two rights activists also asked the court to stop Education CS George Magoha from reopening some schools in October, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.

They wanted Magoha to open schools in January. The court in Kisii agreed and called for consensus with the Ministry of Education.

“We agreed on staggered opening of schools to reduce chances of contracting the virus. That’s why some learners will return to school next year,” Otieno said.

Lack of funds is a major problem for the CBO. Otieno said they cannot hire experienced lawyers to handle certain cases.

“Despite the work being challenging, it's a calling and I will persist for the sake of justice for the people," he said.

Due to his advocacy, Otieno sits on the county's Corruption Prevention Committee.

No comments

Translate