(Press release provided by InformAction) (NAIROBI/WASHINGTON, DC) - InformAction is proud to announce that Co-Director Maina Kiai will receive the prestigious Freedom Award, in Washington DC, on Oct. 1, 2014, in recognition of his ‘invaluable contribution to the cause of freedom and democracy’. The award from Freedom House honors his work in Kenya as a prominent civil society leader, and as an internationally renowned human rights defender. It comes at a time when Kenya’s civil society – demonized as ‘evil society’ – faces increased government hostility, and legislation that threatens to restrict its freedoms and funding. Previous recipients of the award include Maryam Al Kharwaja of Bahrain 2012, Aung San Suu-Kyi of Burma, 2011, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Czech dissident and later president Vaclav Havel 1991, and US President Lyndon Johnson 1966. Maina Kiai is currently the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of peaceful Assembly and Association. In his latest InformAction film, ‘A Guidebook to Impunity,” he says that as an activist ‘I am not in the business of being popular. My job is to push boundaries’. He has faced personal threats, intimidation and demonization over a long human rights career. ‘This award is an incredible honour, and it... Continue reading →
