THE RIGHT TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT: 18 HOURS IN AN AMBULANCE!

A patient, Mr. Alex Madaga died at Kenyatta National Hospital after he was denied emergency medical treatment in various medical facilities and had to be in an ambulance for 18 hours since it was the only medical facility available to him. It is alleged that at least four hospitals had refused to admit him because he could not pay Ksh. 200,000 for his admission to the hospitals. At Kenyatta National hospital he could not be admitted because there was neither a bed at the hospital Intensive Care Unit nor a ventilator to help him breath. His chances of survival were hence not helped by being denied Intensive Care for 18 hours and by the time he was admitted the chances of his survival were so minimal that the family was faced with a dilemma of whether to switch off the life support and allow him to die.

The right to Emergency medical treatment is a right that each and every Kenyan is entitled to, as per Article 43(2) of the constitution read together with Article 27 that provides that everyone has freedom from discrimination either directly or indirectly and that all have equal opportunity in political, economic, cultural and social sphere. Article 26 further provides that every person has the right to life and that it shall not be derived of intentionally.

Mr. Alex Madaga rights were violated; every person has the right to enjoy the rights and fundamental freedoms in the bill of rights to the greatest extent. He was unable to enjoy his rights due to economical discrimination of his inability to afford the needed medical fee. More so the state and every state organ has a constitutional fundamental duty to observe, respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights and fundamental freedoms in the bill of rights. The right to emergency medical treatment and right to life that the Mr. Alex Madaga is entitled to were unfulfilled by the state. The late Mr. Alex Madaga terrifying story is a story that many people who are already in the cemetery have and it is a story that needs to stop now!

The state has failed Mr. Alex Madaga for failing to ensure the largest hospital in Eastern and Central Africa serving millions of people has enough facility for medical treatment and has only 21 beds for Intensive care Unit as per the present status. The Health Facilities have failed Mr. Alex Madaga for placing money before his life. We have failed Mr. Alex Madaga for failing to put our leader to account on how they spend our resources carelessly and leaving our health in sorrowful state. I have failed Mr. Alex Madaga for not speaking out on things that matter.

OBAMA-MANIA: THE GREAT VISIT AND THE GREAT INJUSTICE

THE GREAT VISIT

POTUS (President of the United States) Mr. Barrack Hussein Obama was in the city. Potholes were covered, grass was planted, security was tightened, flags were hoisted and street families evacuated from the City. In those three days POTUS was on the land of his forefathers, he had placed Kenya on the spot light, the whole world had converged in Kenya and our country was topic of discussion in every corner of this planet. Kenya grabbed these opportunity to shine and of course we outshined and for sure the future is more than bright.

Mr. Barrack came to represent the interest of the American People and we met him as a partner in creating an enterprising environment that will ensure economic development that will meet Kenyans Interests.

Apart from the high class motorcade, we are going to remember Obama for pointing out that empowering woman, youth, media and civil society as the foundation for a democratic society. More so he noted that the fight against corruption and terrorism was the way forward for economic development. His visit to Kenya for sure is a symbol of the confidence the Global Entrepreneurs have in investing in Kenya.

THE GREAT INJUSTICE

As an advocate of Human Rights I cannot fail to note how street families vanished from the street. Information from independent trusted Media Houses alleged that the street families were “arrested” by National Youth Service (NYS) at night and placed in Lorries and taken in “custody” at Joseph Kangethe Community Centre in Woodley. The center was guarded by County askaris all through the period Mr. Obama was in town to prevent these economically disadvantaged people from escaping. Journalists were as well denied entrance to the centre and it was hard to know the conditions they were being subjected to during their stay at the centre. They were then released immediately the visitation ended.

This type of Act was unconstitutional, inhumane and should be rebuked with the strongest terms possible.

Is it a crime to be poor? Why were these families discriminated on economic and social status grounds yet everyone is equal before the law?

Every Kenyan has inherent dignity and the right to have that dignity respected and protected and actually the main purpose Kenya has a Constitution as per Article 19(2) is to preserve the dignity of individuals and communities. These economically disadvantaged Kenyans dignity as humans was violated. They were treated as second class citizens who ought to be hidden from the eyes of visitors and investors. Yes, we need to impress our visitors but it should not be at the expense of violating any human being rights and freedoms.

It is the high time the government and we Kenyans partner together and come up with a permanent solution to stop such acts. As per the Kenya Budget for the fiscal year 2015/2016 read by the Cabinet Secretary, Honourable Henry Rotich, Street families and vulnerable children were allocated approximately Kshs. 9.7 Billion. This money is enough to progressively empower these vulnerable members of the society to ensure they are empowered and self-reliant. Poverty is the greatest violation of human rights and freedoms that no man should be subjected to.

THE REPRODUCTION HEALTHCARE BILL, 2014: SHOULD ADOLESCENT SCHOOL CHILDREN BE GIVEN CONDOMS AND CONTRACEPTIVES?

Should your adolescent child be given a condom to ensure he does not impregnate a girl in school? Should your adolescent girl be given contraceptive pills without your consent to pop them out whenever she needs them? This are the questions that will be answered once the fate of The Reproduction Healthcare Bill, 2014 is determined by the August House and if it sails through then be sure your child will have these entire product within his or her reach.

The Reproductive Healthcare Bill, 2014 is a long awaited bill which will play a fundamental role in improving accuses and provision of medical services. For instance it provides for the requirements for surrogate parenthood agreement, it provides for establishment of a level five hospital in every county and each to at least to have five ambulances. It further provides for emergency treatment and clarifies issues concerning abortion as enshrined in the constitution.

The most controversial provisions are the section of the bill that deals with Adolescent Reproductive healthcare. The bill provides that adolescent shall have access to condoms and contraceptives but it is silent on how the children will be given access to contraceptives and condoms. The public is then left to predict where the condoms and contraceptives will be provided and since a school is the place where there is a great number of children and where adolescent children spend most of their lifetime then provision of condoms and contraceptives in school will be the place.  More so the innuendo of the bill is that it acknowledges the fact that children as early as ten(10) years engage in premarital sex and hence it seeking to provide means for them to have sex in a safe way  without consequences such as being pregnant or contacting HIV/AIDS.

Statistic done by Kenya Bureau of Statistics and various organizations shows that there are approximately 10 million adolescent children, this is 25% of the Kenya population. Statistics further show that 31.4% of the teenagers by the age of 16 already had sex, 56% of teenage girls in urban areas already use contraceptives, four out of ten girls get pregnant while in school, 8% of teenage girls drop out of school due to pregnancy, 23% of teenage girls are teenage mothers and HIV/AIDS prevalence among the teenagers is at 830 new infections per day (globally). If these statistics are true then these bill is a savior to our teenagers because their well-being is very fundamental to our country.

But the Bill may not address the root cause of the problem which is parenting. Parents have failed to undertake their obligation to ensure that the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society and the basis of social order to be the learning base where good morals are passed to children, Instead parents have given this duty to politicians to rear their children through such Bills. Kenya is a failed state of morality if such policies are what will determine the conduct of children in Kenya.

THE BANDIT TERRITORY

In 1688 King James II of England was disposed out of his Kingship throne through the Glorious Revolution. One of the reasons he was disposed was that he had introduced a law that attempted to disarm the protestant and strip them their weapons and yet leaving the Roman Catholic people with Weapons. The protestant reacted by inviting William III of Orange, a protestant ,  to invade England and overthrow King James II on the terms and conditions codified in a bill which came to be known as the English Bill of Rights of 1689.William III of Orange succeeded and became the new king.

The English Bill of rights of 1689 had a very unique provision that reestablished the ‘ancient right’ and liberty of protestant to have arms for their defense within the rule of law. The right to keep and bear arms in English history was regarded as a natural right of self-defense and closely tied to natural and legal defense of the right to life. In 1791 USA borrowed the same idea and made the Second Constitutional amendment to protect the right of people to keep and bear arms. These laws still exist up to date in England and USA.

Maybe it’s a high time Kenya should have a constitutional amendment and provide for the right to keep and bear arms to protect their life and property without special conditions. The continuous killings in the Rift which occurred at Nadame and Kasarani region causes us to worry of if the government has the capacity to ensure the security of every citizen. There is a lot of lawlessness and people are living in a state of nature where might is right, murder is the order of the day, yet the security officials keep on giving empty ultimatums, as they have always done since time in memorial and that’s why maybe we need a constitutional amendment for all the people to have the right to bear and keep arms in order to protect their lives and property.

But before we run towards this desperate decision at this desperate moment, the government should first address the historical injustices that have occurred in the Rift region among the pastoral communities. The pastoral people in the Rift region have been living in a state of abandonment and insecurity for a long time hence the people had to look for means to protect their lives and property these led to them acquiring the “right to keep and bear arms”. For them to give up these “right” without any “revolution” the government must first gain their confidence that they (government) have the ability to protect their lives and property. After these the government can then begin their disarm programs, cause the people in the Rift cannot fully surrender their arms unless they are assured of the security of their lives and property (cattle). Then the government should open-up these region by building roads towards these regions, providing education and offering all necessary infrastructure in order to change the economic lifestyle of these Kenyans so that cattle is not the main economic activity.

Finally, a society mainly exists to protect people lives and property. The moment these reason is not fulfilled it is considered a failed society or a failed state as per Public International Law. Kenya should not be a failed state. We all have an inherent right to Life, which the government should fully protect.

THE FUTURE OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUAL, TRANSEXUAL, INTRASEXUAL, QUEER (LGBTIQ) IN KENYA

In this world there is one thing that is inevitable no matter how hard you will try to stop it, and that is CHANGE. No one can stop change and history has continuously reminded us of these fact that when time to change has reached you must change.

The High Court has given a landmark judgment that the NGOs Co-ordination Board should proceed to register an organization with the name “Lesbian and gay” as part of their registration name after they had declined since the Board was of the view that the names were “repugnant and inconsistent with the law”. The court observed that the matter was not an “issue of marriage or morals” on which the board had based its argument but rather the right to freedom of association and non-discrimination.

Any Historian and legal scholar on human rights will tell you that Human rights developed as a result of people exercising their right to freedom of association. Freedom of association is always the first step toward the discovery of any right or freedom and now that the LGBTIQ persons have this right as provided for in the constitution and affirmed by the court, then Kenya is on the highway of having almost all the rights of LGBTIQ persons recognized.

Freedom of association creates a platform for people to revolt, it creates a platform for people to come together and make their demands. Thinks of Spartacus revolution when all slaves came together and demanded for their freedom, think of the 1777 USA Declaration of independent when the Americans came together and successful demanded for their freedom from their colonizers, think of the 1688-1689 Constitutional Revolution in England that led to the Englishmen being granted  their rights (this is just to mention a few) and  here in Kenya think of the MAU MAU and the various pre-independence Political parties that placed people together to fight for a given course and finally in 1964 Kenya became fully an independent state and you will realize that right of association is the tool and weapon that all persons have used ever since time in memorial to achieve their goals.

The above examples are what the right to freedom of association can do and that’s why am convinced that the LGBTIQ people in our society should no longer be discriminated but society should find means to create common ground with them. Though they may not take up arms and engage the society in physical fights as other revolutions have done centuries ago but am sure they are going to engage the society constructively in various ways and soon the LGBTIQ persons will be entitled to each and every right that the society has withheld from them and the society has to accept this change. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE.