On May 29, the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) kicked off the opening ceremony of its Annual Meetings in Nairobi, Kenya. About 15 civil society representatives who are part of the Civil Society Working Group on the AfDB, however, faced security threats and were not allowed to attend.
One civil society representative, who was wearing a t-shirt with the message “We want our forum back“, was prevented from getting her badge. Security personnel at the registration desk asked her to explain why she was wearing that t-shirt and said it was not permitted inside. Shortly after, the other civil society representatives who had already picked up their badges and were inside the venue, were approached by security guards.
“They were asking us: who are you? Why are you wearing these kinds of t-shirts? Do you know it’s not allowed under Kenyan law? Are you making a demonstration?“, says Aly Marie Sagne, Executive Director of the Senegalese NGO Lumiere Synergie pour le Developpement. “I responded that for the past 15 years we have been attending the AfDB Annual Meetings without creating any problems and without facing security issues, and that we didn’t want to organize a demonstration. I also emphasized that, under the AfDB policies, we as civil society we have the right to attend the Bank’s Annual Meetings.”
Unfortunately, though, the head of the public security forces present at the venue did not let the group in. Security officers brutally teared off and confiscated the badges of the civil society representatives, pushing out all of them and saying harshly “You get out, you’re not allowed to be in the venue, move out of the conference centre area”.
“For us this incident is unacceptable: we are not animals”, adds Aly Marie Sagne.
Civil society groups were just expelled from the #AfDBAM2024 venue, simply for wearing t-shirts & bringing placards.@AfDB_Group, is this the #Africa you want?
✊We will not be silenced. And the more we’ll be ignored & censored, the louder we’ll speak. pic.twitter.com/fFgT0nWYX0
— Coalition for Human Rights in Development 🌎 (@RightsinDevt) May 29, 2024
In reaction to this Maurice Ouma Odhiambo, Executive Director of the Kenyan NGO Jamaa Resource Initiatives, added: “The Board of Directors should impress upon the government of Kenya to return our badges, and the Bank should offer an apology to the CSOs”.
On May 27 and 28, the members of the CSOs Working Group of the AfDB had gathered in Nairobi for a two-days workshop where also staff from the Bank civil society engagement unit and the Bank’s Accountability Mechanism (IRM) had attended. In the past few years, the AfDB has repeatedly said they want to collaborate closely and engage in a constructive way with civil society organizations. These commitments are in sharp contrast with today’s incidents.
“I have already reported this incident to the AfDB Board of Directors and the Office of the President. It’s their duty and responsibility to investigate and monitor this incident. And as we were going to have meetings with some Executive Directors and Senior Management, we demand our badges back,” says Aly Marie Sagne.
For more information, please reach out to:
Aly Marie Sagne,
Executive Director LSD, BP: 658, Saly Portudal -Mbour, Senegal
Telephone: +221 339572034 / +254 111573644
Email : a.sagne@lsdsenegal.org