News & events
(Video) Documentary on Mathare Social Justice Centre
“When we lose our fear, they lose their power”
– Juliet Wanjiru Wanjira; Co-founder, Mathare Social Justice Centre
We are proud to republish this short documentary film from our friends at the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC). The MSJC was founded in 2015 in Mathare, the oldest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. The documentary offers an overview of their work, which includes a number of campaigns, including their efforts to mobilize people to defend human rights and stand up to violence from the Kenyan state. They publish regular reports on extrajudicial killings by the state, and have identified nearly 100 people killed by police in the Mathare area since 2019.
They also have campaigns around ecology, such as the ‘Greening Mathare’ campaign, activities of which include the planting of trees in commemoration of victims of state violence, and a campaign to stop gender-based violence and female genital mutilation. The MSJC acts as a social centre for all people of Mathare, and brings together artists, activists, and members of the community to support one another, providing special programs for youth, and helping to organize protests for justice and human rights.
Our friends at the MSJC are also active supporters of the Kurdish freedom movement, having sent solidarity messages to the Kurdish movement, and hosted reading groups on the writings of Abdullah Ocalan. Moreover, in light of the fact that Ocalan, leader of the Kurdish movement, was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, in 1999, members of the MSJC helped to organize a protest for freedom for Ocalan on the 20th anniversary of his abduction.
Watch the film here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pfVrsPBGO8P7g2iEaV4d668h1vJ6PnwL/view