On 12 October 2005, Njonjo Mue, then serving as the Executive Director of Christians for a Just Society (CFJS) was arrested at the US Embassy in Nairobi where he had gone to present a petition to Ambassador William Bellamy for compensation of Kenyans who had been injured or lost loved ones following the bombing of the US Embassy on 7 August 1998. Njonjo ended up spending 30 days in Industrial Area Remand Prison after being charged with creating a disturbance. Below is a testimonial of a former President of the Kenya Community Abroad who contributed to the debate that ensued following Njonjo's arrest:
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From:
Reply-To
To:
Subject: Re: Kenyan lawyer in custody for storming US embassy
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 13:30:43 -0000
I first met Njonjo Mue in London while he was doing his studies in
Oxford. We had been communicating over the Internet on the then
premier Kenyan network, kenya-net. I had a presentation to make to an
audience in London to an audience addressing issues on technology and
development and my paper was on African Telecommunications.
Njonjo travelled from Oxford to London where we spent a good part of
the day touring the city, talking about change and discussing how we,
the young generation, can help create a better Kenya for future
generations. I learnt a lot from the young lawyer and his commitment
to the cause of change.
We remained in touch thereafter and shared ideas on how we could
continue in the actvists' world. When I was elected KCA president we
discussed the possibility of him speaking at one of our conferences.
Minneapolis, MN came in 2000 and Njonjo Mue offered to attend, indeed
paying his way to the event that also featured MPs Orengo, Kirwa and
Nyachae.
What amazed me is Njonjo Mue's courage and the ability to take on
these politicians. In his speech, he coined the term "Uhuru
Generation" and urged that old men and women that have been on the
political scene in perpetuity should step aside. He called upon the
Uhuru Generation to rise up and take the mantle of leadership, giving
examples of Dr Kiano who was minister at 27 and Matiba who was PS at
31! His argument was that the Uhuru Generation was old enough and
mature enough to take over the country's leadership.
At the same conference, he talked of the BOMB (bring our money back)
initiative. We supported this and directed efforts as a strategy to
get the necessary information to shame the country's looters and
thieves! It was a noble cause but which required extensive investment
for investigative work. Indeed, as has been seen with the NARC
government, the process for discovering where money has been stashed
abroad can be protracted, despite spending huge sums of money in the
process.
BOMB remains a noble cause; results have yet to come.
Njonjo Mue is a passionate defender of human rights and continues to
do so. He is dramatic to the point and a brave soul to boot! His
statements are gutsy and uses powerful symbolism to drive the point home.
Sincerely,
------
From:
Reply-To
To:
Subject: Re: Kenyan lawyer in custody for storming US embassy
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2005 13:30:43 -0000
I first met Njonjo Mue in London while he was doing his studies in
Oxford. We had been communicating over the Internet on the then
premier Kenyan network, kenya-net. I had a presentation to make to an
audience in London to an audience addressing issues on technology and
development and my paper was on African Telecommunications.
Njonjo travelled from Oxford to London where we spent a good part of
the day touring the city, talking about change and discussing how we,
the young generation, can help create a better Kenya for future
generations. I learnt a lot from the young lawyer and his commitment
to the cause of change.
We remained in touch thereafter and shared ideas on how we could
continue in the actvists' world. When I was elected KCA president we
discussed the possibility of him speaking at one of our conferences.
Minneapolis, MN came in 2000 and Njonjo Mue offered to attend, indeed
paying his way to the event that also featured MPs Orengo, Kirwa and
Nyachae.
What amazed me is Njonjo Mue's courage and the ability to take on
these politicians. In his speech, he coined the term "Uhuru
Generation" and urged that old men and women that have been on the
political scene in perpetuity should step aside. He called upon the
Uhuru Generation to rise up and take the mantle of leadership, giving
examples of Dr Kiano who was minister at 27 and Matiba who was PS at
31! His argument was that the Uhuru Generation was old enough and
mature enough to take over the country's leadership.
At the same conference, he talked of the BOMB (bring our money back)
initiative. We supported this and directed efforts as a strategy to
get the necessary information to shame the country's looters and
thieves! It was a noble cause but which required extensive investment
for investigative work. Indeed, as has been seen with the NARC
government, the process for discovering where money has been stashed
abroad can be protracted, despite spending huge sums of money in the
process.
BOMB remains a noble cause; results have yet to come.
Njonjo Mue is a passionate defender of human rights and continues to
do so. He is dramatic to the point and a brave soul to boot! His
statements are gutsy and uses powerful symbolism to drive the point home.
Sincerely,
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