Wajibu Wetu: Four years of strengthening civic voice, inclusive governance and community resilience

Between 2022 and 2026, the Wajibu Wetu; Jumuika, Sikika! Programme supported citizens, community groups and civil society organisations to turn rights awareness into public action. Implemented by ForumCiv through 24 partner organisations across 15 counties in Kenya, the programme helped communities move from awareness to action; claiming rights, engaging duty-bearers, resolving service delivery gaps and building stronger local organisations.

The programme is funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Nairobi.

 Where change happened 2022-2026

Kakamega County- Siasa Place:

Through enhanced advocacy and accountability skills, youth groups successfully engaged relevant authorities to follow up on and secure the resolution of 10 community issues, including stalled health, education, water, and infrastructure projects, such as Shamakhubu Level IV Hospital, Isecheno ECDE Centre, Lusheya Health Centre and Mumias Level IV Hospital.

Siaya County- RONA Foundation:

RONA Foundation advanced inclusive climate action by empowering 7,842 widows and supporting their inclusion in county climate governance structures. Widows established climate-smart farms, secured climate financing, and strengthened ecosystem restoration and co-management structures. The project also contributed to the passage of the Siaya County Widows Protection Act (2025).

 Kisumu County- Action Network for the Disabled (ANDY) / Sitarusha Mawe Tena / Talanta Africa:

Inclusive Climate adaptation for persons with disabilities, access to justice through hotlines and Ward Haki Committees, safer civic participation through movement building and non-confrontational engagements between the community members and duty bearers. The programme also contributed to addressing intersectional issues that impact access to healthcare services among the LGBTQ+ youth in rural parts of Kisumu County.

Narok County- Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW):

Women and girls in Narok County enhanced their knowledge, agency, and ability to claim their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) through life skills education, community scorecards, intergenerational dialogues, outreach activities, referral linkages, and innovative tools such as the Gutuka SRHR Game Board. These interventions contributed to improved access to SRHR information and services, enhanced health-seeking behaviours, and increased responsiveness and accountability among healthcare providers.

Nakuru County- Tribeless Youth /Twaweza Communications:

The programme strengthened rights-holder agency and duty-bearer responsiveness through legal advocacy, land justice action and youth-led accountability initiatives such as the Uwazi Festival. It also supported climate resilience by promoting indigenous knowledge and food systems through policy briefs for county nutrition and climate frameworks.

Turkana County- BUNI Media:

The programme strengthened rights-holder participation in socio-political dialogue, increased demand for accountability and amplified freedom of expression through creative media, including puppetry, XYZ skits, community exhibitions and workshops. It also supported women’s political representation and enabled the deaf community in Turkana Central to submit recommendations on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and femicide affecting persons with disabilities.

Marsabit County- Horn of Africa Development Initiative (HODI) / Indigenous Resource Management Organisation (IREMO):

Using gender-responsive and climate-sensitive governance approaches, the project strengthened community voice, climate resilience and protection systems in ASAL contexts. Communities were supported through climate awareness, women’s table banking, goat rearing, agroforestry and peacebuilding advocacy.

Isiolo County- Isiolo Gender Watch:

The programme enhanced resilience against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) by strengthening the capacity of rights holders and duty bearers and supporting laws and policies that advance women’s and girls’ rights. It contributed to the establishment of the Isiolo High Court and Children’s Division, adoption of child and social protection policies, and progress on anti-FGM, disability inclusion and women’s participation in budgeting.

Nairobi County- African Uncensored / Badili Africa / BUNI Media / Mukuru Youth Initiative / Githurai Social Justice CBO/Creative Spills/ CREAW:

Enhanced rights awareness, civic participation, and accountability were achieved through digital accountability platforms, public dialogues, women's leadership initiatives, movement building, and urban civic action. These interventions strengthened citizens' capacity to engage duty bearers, advocate for their rights, and influence public decision-making. ForumCiv's tailored youth leadership initiatives, including the NexGen Leaders Fellowship and Artivism Fellowship, have graduated over 100 young leaders equipped with advocacy, leadership, and civic engagement skills. As an early indication of sustained impact, several alumni are preparing to contest elective positions in the 2027 General Elections, demonstrating increased youth leadership and participation in democratic governance.

Taita Taveta County- Haki Africa:

The programme advanced climate justice advocacy by empowering climate committees to engage in environmental stewardship and county budget processes.

Lamu County- Haki Africa:

The programme promoted climate justice advocacy by empowering climate committees in Lamu East to strengthen environmental stewardship.

Kilifi County- Kilifi Citizen Forum / KWACHA Africa / Akili Dada:

The programme supported ward accountability structures and community follow-ups, contributing to the recovery of a Sh5 million Chivunguni borehole, which had been under private control for more than eight years, and the establishment of its community management committee. There has also been support to community monitoring and organising, for example Marafa Social Audit Team, contributing to the identification and follow-up of community-proposed projects, including water pipelines, stalled dispensaries, road works, footbridges, ECD centres, and water pump electrification. There has also been gender equality advocacy and young women’s leadership.

Mombasa County- Collaboration of Women in Development (CWID) / Haki Africa / Manyatta Africa:

The programme strengthened community resilience by addressing climate vulnerabilities and social inequalities, especially among women, through kitchen gardens, briquette production, urban farming and youth enterprise. Grassroots groups accessed seed funding and invested in local income-generating initiatives.

Wajir County- Wajir Community Radio:

Through radio advocacy, the programme strengthened civic awareness, access to justice, gender equality, human rights and climate resilience among nomadic pastoral communities in Wajir, Moyale and Marsabit. It created platforms for women, youth and marginalised groups to speak out, contributing to outcomes such as new classrooms at Biad Primary School, repair of Buna Bridge and advocacy on the Minority Rights Bill.

Kwale County- Akili Dada / Manyatta Africa:

The programme empowered 20 young women to strengthen leadership, advocacy and community organising skills in response to GBV. Some transitioned into county-level leadership and representation roles, while five new CBOs were registered and one self-help group became a CBO, enabling continued SRHR, menstrual health and GBV prevention work reaching over 1,000 women and girls.

National Reach:

Africa Uncensored- Enhanced rights awareness and accountability through high-impact investigative pieces e.g Migration is Not the West’s Problem, It is Africa’s,  Title Deals, Fatal Faith and Carbon Colony. There was also enhancement of innovative systems such as Wizileaks; Africa Uncensored corruption tracking portal.

Institutional strengthening:

The programme strengthened 24 partner institutions by improving their governance structures, policies and accountability mechanisms, thereby enhancing efficiency, prudent resource use and effective delivery. It also served as a catalytic fund, enabling partners to attract additional resources to enhance their impact.

Enablers and bottlenecks of the results

Enablers:

• Relationships and trust: Long-term community presence and constructive relationships with duty bearers enabled quick civic action and accelerated results.
• Programme design: Integrated programming linked community awareness, institutional engagement and policy change for stronger outcomes.
• Adaptive management: Flexible budgeting and adaptive work planning enabled partners to respond effectively to emerging shocks and changing contexts while sustaining implementation momentum and progress towards intended outcomes.
• Collective action: Coalition and consortium approaches amplified collective capacity, enabled coordinated action, and generated systemic results that extended beyond the reach of individual organisations' capacity.
• Creative and digital advocacy: Artivism broadened civic participation among youth, low-literacy groups and politically sensitive communities. Digital tools expanded reach and offered safer advocacy channels during repression and surveillance.

Bottlenecks:

• Political: The evolving civic and political environment in Kenya presented operational challenges for some partners, including reports of threats, arrests, surveillance, intimidation, and legal action, particularly during the Finance Bill 2024 protests.
• Economic: Economic vulnerability and inflation affected implementation costs, limiting sustained participation.
• Technological: Online harassment of partners working in the digital space, Technologically Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), surveillance, and digital security risks.
• Environmental: Floods, drought, and climate-related disruptions hindered activities, affected livelihoods, and limited access to services in several counties.
• Legal and policy: Various legal and policy changes affected partners' implementation, including the Public Benefits Organisations Act, 2013, the Housing Levy, Social Health Insurance, and the second-tier pension scheme. These changes increased financial pressure on partners by raising the costs associated with meeting statutory compliance requirements.