The relationship between the police and communities in Nairobi’s slums was bitter and distrustful a few years ago, but a singing activist has helped to change the story and the tone in Dandora.
Between 2017 and 2020, police-community relations in the slums of Mathare, Dandora and Kibera were toxic.
Security agents heightened surveillance to stem crime they said was on the rise.
Crime busters were deployed to the informal settlements in unmarked cars and sometimes allegedly used fake number plates when they picked up suspected criminals.
Some of those arrested turned up dead; some disappeared without a trace.
The trend of acrimony led to the emergence of neighbourhood-based human rights activists who kept track of reported missing people, documented their last activities, and connected their families with media outlets so they could tell their stories of pain and loss.
The activists formed what they called social justice centres, which became the nerve centres of their operation.
They provided space for victims’ families where they could record their ordeals and begin agitation, with plenty of support, for justice.
That is how entities like Dandora Community Justice Centre came into being.
Alaman James (formal name Brian James Omondi) is the administrator who started documenting the cases of the young men reported missing.
He has become a committed activist. He told the Star he not only documents the cases, he also sings, using his passion and art to advocate for justice.
He sings about the problems of sexual and gender-based violence, the need for police accountability, environmental justice and the rule of law.
The 33-year-old sings in the Field Marshall Band.
They belt out revolutionary songs about human rights.
He told the Star the Dandora Community Justice Centre was started when the relationship between the community and the public was at its lowest ebb.
Their work has turned around much of the bitterness fostered better if not warm and fuzzy police-community partnership.
“The relationship was not just bad between police and the community but it was also with the activists like us,” James said.
"The police and a section of the community felt we were protecting thieves and criminals from accountability; police also thought we were thwarting their work in fighting crime. It was a toxic,” he said.
“We made it clear consistently that our mission was to ensure that everybody was accorded their rights as per the law. If someone is accused of anything, including being a thief or whatever crime, it is not up to police to determine that. The accused needs to be taken to court and have a day to defend themselves before being served justice. We were also against [alleged] mob justice by the police because that is still unlawful.”
It took years to build good faith and currently, the relationship is healthy, James said.
“We have come a long way as the Dandora Social Justice Centre. Over time, the public and the police have come to appreciate the work we do. They see the value we have brought to the community as we support the police to do their work as per the law and the public have also understood we are not shielding anyone from accountability.”
James said the centre’s spaces and personnel now collaboratively work with police and the community.
He never thought he would become an activist. In high school, he was a student leader entrusted with a range of responsibilities.
Once he finished his studies, encounters with injustice awakened him to the rights of others and motivated him to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.
“It came to me naturally to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. At Dandora and at the Field Marshall Band, my passions come out naturally to risk everything for the good of the public,” he said.
His family supports him. “My parents are very supportive. They call me with ideas and also urge caution.”
His work has not been without drama. From police threats to attempted abduction, James said he walks carefully, always looking over his shoulder behind him, in case he is followed.
“Besides being singled out by Hessy wa Dandora (the Crime Busters who are killer squads), a local OCPD had threatened to deal with me,” the activist told the Star.
