Muthoni, Kenya

Muthoni is a Kenyan human rights defender and change maker. Their passion for human rights comes from lived experience and from a belief that everyone deserves the freedom to be who they are and to live without fear. As a non binary person, this is deeply personal to Muthoni. Their understanding of justice has also been shaped by the women in their life. They recognise that many of the freedoms and opportunities they enjoy today rest on the courage, sacrifices and resilience of women within various aspects of their personal and activism life. This has shaped their commitment to women’s rights and to a world where dignity and freedom is guaranteed to everyone.

Muthoni has dedicated much of their vocation to standing alongside people and communities at difficult moments in their lives. Through their work with the Defenders Coalition, Hivos and the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), they have supported human rights defenders facing threats, worked with LGBTQIA+ communities during periods of hostility, and worked on access to justice issues. They have also contributed to research on the experiences of LGBTQIA+ human rights defenders in Kenya and worked across different countries with activists trying to make their communities safer. For Muthoni, their work is centered around helping their community to hold on to their dignity, their voice, agency and their ability to keep going.

That belief pushed Muthoni to think about what people need in order to truly thrive. They founded the Rainbow Boots Collective and co-founded Grassroots Transitional House, where they serve as Security Lead, while also contributing to other grassroots human rights organisations in various leadership roles. Through this work, Muthoni is exploring a broader understanding of safety and freedom, having food on the table, earning a living, being surrounded by community, having somewhere you belong and being able to imagine a future for yourself. They want to help build communities where people are not simply surviving from one crisis to another, but have the chance to live, grow and experience joy.

Muthoni sees their time at the University of York as a chance to slow down, reflect and learn from others. While at the CAHR, they will undertake research looking into the growing opposition to LGBTQIA+ and other human rights movements and what this means for vulnerable communities in their country with a focus on grassroots organising. They also want to network, build friendships and connections, exchange ideas with other defenders and bring new thinking back to the community they work with. At the heart of it all is a simple hope of a world where people do not have to be brave simply to be themselves.