The Defenders Coalition will this Mashujaa Day October 20th 2019 hold a Heroes concert dubbed Mashujaa Festival in Nairobi to celebrate human rights defenders in the country.
The concert will take place at Alliance Francaise and will seek to honor over 200 human rights defenders and social justice activists who have made unparalleled sacrifices and contribution into the liberation of the country, advancement of human rights and social justice. The Coalition will emphasize its recognition on human rights defenders and social justice activists who have played a crucial role in liberating Kenya with a special mention of Prof. YashPal Ghai.
Top musicians and poets expected include Sarabi band, Mbogi Konnection, H_Art the band and spoken word poets including Javan the poet, Ndungi Githuku, gravity band, Anthem Republic.
Some of the major gains by human rights defenders in the country so far include encouraging social accountability mechanisms, mobilizing organizations and Kenyans into joint action in advancing human rights and creative a supportive space for disadvantaged groups. The campaign will culminate with a summit to Mt. Kenya on Jamhuri Day.
Kamau Ngugi, Executive Director, National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, had this to say, “For far too long we have had major contributions of many human rights defenders who have continuously pursued the social justice but sadly do not get to be celebrated in any way. Mashujaa Festival is a creative space where as a society we recognize and honor these heroes and heroines. Through the concert, we will be celebrating the significant gains we have made in the fight for freedom and justice while we call for resilience from Kenyans to continue fighting for their rights. This is part of a larger campaign called Climb for Justice that seeks to raise Kshs 50m to construct a home for all human rights defenders in the country. Through recognizing these good deeds we hope to inspire many more Kenyans to stand up and voice out social injustices so that we can have a society founded on human rights.”