RESEARCH CONSULTANCY

KENYA MUSLIM YOUTH ALLIANCE
 

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANTS TO CONDUCT A RESEARCH ON HISTORICAL INJUSTICES METED UPON MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN WAJIR, KISUMU, KIBERA AND MOMBASA BETWEEN DECEMBER 1963 TO 28^TH FEBRUARY 2008
  

May 2010

1. Introduction

Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance (K-MY-A) is an independent national youth organization formed to articulate issues of concern to the Muslim youth in Kenya. It aims at educating and advocating for the participation of young Muslims in all spheres of human development. This is the path that promotes harmony within Kenya’s multicultural society. These events are efforts at providing a platform for strategic debate and participatory engagement of young people beyond the confines of parochial considerations and petty agenda. 

1.1 Vision, Mission Objectives and Values 

The vision and mission of the K-MY-A have been crafted to reflect its mandate and expanded portfolio of interventions. The K-MY-A aspires to nurture and positively harness the potential of the Muslim youth so as they can be responsible for their destiny in socio-economic and political participation in the country. The overriding purpose of the K-MY-A is to address the challenges faced by the marginalized Muslim youth by ensuring that the Muslim youth have a voice and access to resources while promoting knowledge creation and dissemination, and nurture community’s future leadership. The following objectives of K-MY-A have been identified with a view to enable it perform its mandate and work towards the realization of its vision:

1. To provide a functional consortium that is charged with the responsibilities of promoting the interests of the Muslim youth in Kenya.
2. To provide an integrated programme towards addressing challenges facing the youthful Muslim community which include grass root leadership gaps, illiteracy, poverty alleviation, participatory governance, human rights observance and HIV/AIDS among other emerging challenges. 
3. To strengthen the capacities of the Muslim youth organizations in their efforts to realize their specific objectives and aspirations
4. To work hand-in-hand with affiliate members organizations, representing them locally, nationally and internationally so that their voices are heard worldwide.

The work of K-MY-A is guided and underpinned by the following core values:

1. Democratic governance and management.
2. Holistic and integrated approaches in programming interventions.
3. Gender equity and full enjoyment of human rights by all including the minority and disadvantaged.
4. Transparency and accountability in resource utilization.
5. Entrenchment of stability and social sustainability.

2. Background

Following the disputed presidential election results of the December 2007 general election, Kenya got engulfed in an unprecedented wave of violence that claimed the lives of 1,133 people and displaced 350,000 others in addition to causing massive destruction to property and disrupting economic activities. The violence attracted the attention of the international community, leading to the intervention of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) which mandated a team led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to mediate between the two rival political camps.

Dr. Annan’s team was convened under the aegis of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities and was mandated with authority from the African Union with approval of the protagonists to broker peace under the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) framework. In the KNDR framework, whose first and immediate purpose was to end the violence that had rocked and paralyzed many parts of the country, the parties to the conflict later agreed on a power-sharing agreement that was legalized through the enactment of the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008. The National Accord therefore laid the foundation for a power-sharing agreement under a Grand Coalition Government that was also tasked with identifying the short and long term causes of the violence that hurtled the country to the brink of a precipice.  

After weeks of negotiations, and once the coalition government was in place, the KNDR identified key issues in Agenda 4 of the mediation process, and which constitute the long term issues that Kenya must address in order to prevent the recurrence of the kind of violence experienced in early 2008. Issues in Agenda 4 include comprehensive constitutional, legal and institutional reforms; land reforms; tackling youth unemployment, tackling poverty, tackling inequities in personal and regional development; consolidating national cohesion; addressing impunity and pursuing transparency and accountability.  

To this end, the parties to the KNDR agreed to establish a number of institutional frameworks to deal with different aspects of the crisis. The parties agreed to:

1. Establish an Independent Review Commission (IREC) on the General Elections held in Kenya on 27th December 2007.
2. Establish a Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence (CIPEV).
3. Establish a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC).
4. Review long-term issues and pursue a constitutional review process.

The calls for a TJRC had initially been made in 2003 with the appointment and eventual submission of the report of the Makau Mutua-led committee, and re-emerged in earnest after the violence that was triggered by the disputed 2007 presidential elections. The KNDR noted that the post elections violence exposed decades-old divisions over power and national resource distribution by the Nairobi based centralized government. The Panel of Eminent Africa Personalities recognized the fact that poverty, inequitable distribution of resources, historical injustices and exclusion on the part of segments of the Kenyan society are among the major causes of the deep-seated issues and divisions in Kenya that threatens the very existence of the country as a unified nation-state. These imbalances have largely been blamed on policies of early years of independence including those contained in Sessional Paper No 10 of 1965, on African Socialism and its Application to Planning which provided, among other things, that more Government resources be channeled to areas of high potential, and in those where people are most responsive to government policies with the hope that these areas would then generate enough to be re-distributed to so-called areas of low potential.  

This state of affairs constitutes the underlying causes of the prevailing social tension and emergence of youthful illegal militia such as Mungiki, Chinkororo, and Sabaot Land Defense Force precipitated by the lamentable failure by the country’s political leadership to put in place proper institutions of governance that bring about equitable distribution of resources. This situation threatens both social and political stability and the very foundation upon which a nation is build. 

Over the years, a number of massacres of unarmed civilians have occurred in the context of enduring ethnic conflicts, like those at Malka-Mari (1981), Garissa (1982), and Turbi (2005). The 1984 Wagalla massacre in Wajir stands as the worst episode of human rights violations in Kenyan history. In the course of three days, security forces detained, tortured and brutally killed many hundreds of Degodia Somali. While the Government recently acknowledged the loss of 360 lives, other sources interviewed by the UN Special Rapporteur estimate that there were 2,000-3,000 victims. Many of the survivors still suffer physical and psychological consequences, and the widows and orphans have found no support. The true facts have never been established, and none of the alleged perpetrators has been prosecuted.  

Like other marginalized communities, Muslims living in the urban villages¹, commonly known as informal settlements or “slums”, are denied vital services and live under threats of harassment and characterized by insecure land rights; historical injustices through dispossession, disempowerment and economic decline; subject to government discrimination; under representation in politics and other policy and decision making processes and have low levels of education. Due to their under representation, these villages arguably are the least recipients of development.

Historical injustices, increased pressure on land and natural resources and the challenges facing the growing Muslim population in slums found in every major urban centre in the country where they have lived as squatters for a long time under Temporary Occupation License (TOL)² have produced uncertainties that nourish ongoing inter-ethnic tension.  This is characterized by mistrust which in turn fuels expressions of negative ethnicity that are often manipulated by political elites in a widely perceived environment of corruption and impunity. The legacy of grievous human rights violations that occurred in the past weighs heavily on the country, and unless true transitional justice is achieved impunity in the form of continued violations of human rights is bound to recur. Muslim youth blame democracy and secular politics on the challenges facing them and their society.  

Currently, the K-MY-A is implementing the Monitoring and Advocacy for the Implementation of Agenda 4 project with funding from the USAID through PACT Inc. and Pact Kenya. One of the project activities is to carry out research in the marginalized rural areas and in slums focusing on the historical injustices meted upon Muslim communities of Kibera in Nairobi, Mombasa, Wajir in North Eastern province and Kisumu.

3. Purpose of the Research

The purpose of undertaking this research is to establish and document the historical injustices meted upon Muslim communities in Wajir, Kisumu, Kibera and Mombasa between December 1963 and 28^th February 2008. The outcome of the research will aid advocacy activities and will be widely disseminated through publication of articles in the New Dawn and shared with the marginalized communities using its infrastructure and leadership structures. This will encourage the marginalized Muslim community to present their views to TJRC and advocate for full implementation. The outcome of the research will also be used to mobilize and organize them to participate in the hearings either as victims and or witnesses.

The specific objectives of the research include:

1. Establish and document the violations of human rights of the Muslim communities between December 1963 and 28^th February 2008
2. Identify the key perpetrators of the human rights violations on the Muslim communities in the targeted areas
3. Propose means through which the identified violations could be mitigated/redressed by the relevant government organs including the TJRC
4. Recommend possible measures that can be instituted to prevent such violations from recurring in future

Methodology

The consultants are expected to submit a practical methodology for executing this research. The methodology should include:

1. Review relevant information and materials relating to the historical injustices meted upon Muslim communities of Kibera in Nairobi, Mombasa, Wajir in North Eastern province and Kisumu including reference to relevant Government reports and policy documents and publications from Civil Society Organisations and other institutions.
2. Methods to be employed in data collection, analysis and reporting
3. Tools for data collection and analysis
4. Sampling framework and techniques
5. Train research assistants
6. Undertake fieldwork activity alongside the research assistants

4. Deliverables

1. Inception report
2. Field research tools
3. Report on literature review and field data analysis
4. Final report complete with statistical and qualitative data that give a picture of the historical injustices meted upon Muslim communities in the study area
5. Dissemination and validation and sharing of the report with key strategic partners through a workshop

5. Reporting requirements

The consultant will document the findings from the desk review and field interviews detailing the findings. A draft electronic copy shall be presented for review before the final copy to the programme officer in charge of Monitoring and Advocacy for the Impl,ementation of Agenda 4 – TJRC.  

6. Qualifications

The preferred qualifications of the consultant(s) include:

1. A minimum of a Masters Degree in law or social sciences from a recognized university
2. Extensive experience in field research and statistical analysis
3. Demonstrated knowledge of transitional justice
4. Sound experience in conducting research and report writing

7. Time frame and Budget

The recommended period for undertaking this research is 20 days from the date of signing the contractual agreement and the consultant will be expected to deliver the final report within this time frame. The consultant is expected to come up with a detailed timeframe and budget within which the various research activities will be accomplished.  

8. Important Information

Information to be submitted should include the following key areas:
   1.  Profile of the Individual/Curriculum Vitae
   2.  Description of similar assignments
   3.  Availability of appropriate skills
   4.  Any additional and relevant information

Successful consultants will be selected competitively. 

Expression of Interest must be delivered in plain sealed envelope marked “Expression of Interest (EOI) Tender No. KMYA/CONS/01/2010 and addressed to the following address so as to reach on or before 30^th May 2010 at 4:00 pm. 

Chief Executive Officer

Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance

Ngong Road, adjacent to Adams Arcade

PO Box 27592-00100, GPO

Nairobi, Kenya

E-mail: info@kenysmuslims.org

www.kenyamuslims.org

www.thenewdawn.info 

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