Wanjeri Nderu Human rights activist Date of Birth: 01.01.1979 Country: Kenya

1. Early Life and Education
2. Activism
3. Persecution and Harassment
4. Notable Contributions

Early Life and Education

Boniface Mwangi Nderu was born in 1979 and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. She attended Racecourse Primary School in Kariakoo, Mountain View Academy in Thika, and later proceeded to Kahugu Girls' High School. Her political awareness began in her early childhood when her estate was attacked during the "Saba Saba" riots. She pursued a degree in television journalism at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication before beginning a career in the insurance industry in 2005.

Activism

In 2013, Nderu left the insurance sector with the idea of volunteering for social justice organizations for a year. This period marked the inception of her activism. To fund her advocacy work and support her family, she works as an independent public relations consultant for non-profit organizations. A Kikuyu by ethnicity, she is married and has four children.

Nderu identifies as a social justice advocate who aims to shed light on the many injustices prevalent in Kenya. She leverages social media to mobilize people and often campaigns on issues not popularly discussed among NGOs, such as the rape of young boys. Some of her notable online campaigns include: #StopExtraJudicialKillings, #FreeSSudan4, and a push for peaceful and fair elections.

Persecution and Harassment

Nderu has faced numerous instances of persecution, both in person and online. In 2014, she was arrested for her involvement in a peaceful protest against increased salaries for politicians in Kenya. In 2015, she was attacked by a man in a shopping mall, leaving her with a swollen and bruised face and near the loss of an eye. Nderu believes she was targeted due to her vocal criticism of corruption in Kenya, both in person and online. In 2017, she was pursued by an unmarked car to her home, forcing her to abandon her vehicle, escape through a restaurant, and take a taxi home.

Notable Contributions

Nderu's involvement in the #JusticeForKhadija case highlighted the significant role that women play at the grassroots level of activism in Kenya. In 2018, she became a Human Rights Fellow at the University of York, where she explored creating spaces and systems for the mental health care of activists in Kenya. She also held an event at the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office to commemorate International Human Rights Day. Earlier that year, she, alongside other human rights activists, filed a lawsuit against the Kenyan government over corruption in state-owned companies under the campaign "Stop the Thief Gang."

In 2019, she contributed to a report by the University of Birmingham on gender-based violence in Kenya, drawing upon her experiences as an activist.