By Getrude Angela
The East Africa Civil Society Organizations’ Forum (EACSOF) Kenya Chapter with support from International Centre Not-For-Profit Law (ICNL) on 15th September 2022 relaunched the Protection of Civic Space in East Africa Platform – an open interactive platform that seeks to re-enforce the capacity of civic actors in East Africa to counter shrinking civic space by sharing information, human resources strategies and share best practices in the region. The platform was originally launched on 19th September 2019.
Speaking at the relaunch, Hon. Zein Abubakar, a former legislator of the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) stated that one of the cornerstones for creating the platform was to safeguard public participation in civic space.
He noted that constraining constitutional and legal frameworks from different EAC partner states have advanced the shrinking of civic which has left only Kenya with a fair legal framework in the region.
Ms. Florence Nakazibwe, Legal Officer at ICNL said the platform will consolidate expression and intensify efforts to address the challenge faced by civic actors and CSOs. Adding that it will also incorporate influential people such as traditional leaders, youth and FBOs, social movement activists, and trade unions as key allies that will amplify the civic space. She called on civic actors in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to build the capacities of civic actors in the new states joining the EAC.
The chair of EACSOF-K, Mr. Morris Odhiambo urged members to interact with the platform as it will enable them to get regular updates on emerging trends in civic space saying that the platform will offer the opportunity for information sharing across the region and formulation of strategies to enforce and safeguard civic space.
