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Fight against FGM defines late Nyamato
Former MP Catherine Nyamato.
What you need to know:
- In 2021, four women were killed in Marani, Kisii County, on suspicion of witchcraft.
Catherine Nyamato a former MP who died last week, was nominated to the National Assembly in 1997, becoming the first woman Member of Parliament from the then Kisii and Nyamira districts. As a political leader, her contribution to the fight against harmful cultural practices stands out as Catherine’s unique contribution in Kenya’s public life.
In 2021, four women were killed in Marani, Kisii County, on suspicion of witchcraft. Their homes were burnt down while the killing mobs hunted down family members of the four many of whom went into hiding.
The country’s human rights community determined that, to give this shocking crime a national response, it was desirable to conduct national-level advocacy activities. The human rights community supported the representation of family members at a press conference in Nairobi as a way of highlighting the seriousness of what had happened in Kisii.
Members of Parliament from Kisii and Nyamira, whom we had invited to the press conference, skipped the event. We had thought it necessary to seek their support and solidarity for the stricken families. We learnt that these leaders feared that showing solidarity with the affected families would be politically costly for them.
Criminal offence
While violence against people suspected to be witches is a criminal offence, the practice is rampant in Kisii and Nyamira, as well as Kilifi at the Coast, where it is protected by shocking levels of impunity, the result of social indifference to, or support for, the practice. With national elections the following year, these political leaders did not want to risk the chances of their re-election by standing with the affected families in Marani
Against this background, the late Catherine Nyamato, whom we had also engaged, showed up as the political face of the response to the killings, addressing a press conference in Nairobi, and becoming a visible leader in dealing with that sad situation.
Thereafter, she was the noted public personality at the funerals of the four women in Kisii. Except for deputy governor, Joash Maangi and the local MCA, elected leaders skipped the funeral.
Thereafter, Kisii governor, James Ongwae, invited nominations to serve on a taskforce to investigate violence against people suspected of witchcraft in his county. We proposed Catherine who served on the taskforce, alongside Nairobi human rights lawyer, Haron Ndubi, and US based scholar, Dr Kerubo Abuya, then living in the country. The taskforce was a first-ever official recognition that there was something wrong with this rampant, extremely violent practice that many in the community had come to accept as normal.
Over a period of about two years following the Marani incident, 16 people were charged with the killing of the four women. Aware of the low success rate of prosecutions from previous violence in the county, human rights groups led by the Utu Coalition engaged in the search for accountability, supporting the legal representation of the victim families in court, nudging the police and the prosecution to do their work, and ensuring media coverage of the trial which kept it in the public mind.
Senior lawyer, John Khaminwa, represented the families in court, making the long travel from Nairobi to Kisii for the trials each time. Under the leadership of Dr. Abuya, the Utu Coalition worked closely with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Commission the Kenya Human Rights Commission, FIDA, the Coalition on Violence Against Women, and other human rights defenders to help ensure justice for the families of the four women.
Harmful cultural practice
Eventually, four of the 16 accused were convicted and sentenced to a total of 135 years in jail.
Earlier in her life, Catherine came to be the leader in the fight against, another harmful cultural practice that was traditionally widespread in Kisii and Nyamira counties: female genital mutilation/cutting, like the killing of people suspected of witchcraft, support for FGM/C was strong in the two counties.
President Moi had imposed an administrative ban on FGM/C when he took power in 1978, but it was not until 2001 when a legal ban on this practice was secured through the Children’s Act. Later still, the Prevention of Female Genital Mutilation Act was enacted in 2011.
Surveys show that FGM/C is declining around Kenya. According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, 2022, the prevalence of FGM/C went down from 21 percent in 2014 to 15 percent in 2022. Catherine played an integral role in the gradual eradication of this deeply rooted harmful traditional practice that requires unwavering courage, dedication, and persistent efforts to enable cultural change.
She also worked with communities in Kuria and other places in Kenya to help end FGM/C.
Having worked closely with Catherine over the years, I found her a visionary, independent and courageous person. The fact that she took on two harmful cultural practices despite the risk of loss of popularity embodies her fearless and principled approach to leadership.
