HTA-0568: KTU — Kenya Tuna Uwezo (Kenya, We Have the Power)

A. Story Identification

B. Content Summary

This documentary profiles Kenya Tuna Uwezo ("Kenya, We Have the Power"), a USAID-funded peacebuilding program operating in Nairobi's most dangerous informal settlements. Henry narrates the film, which documents how KTU transforms violent conflict into communal cooperation by recruiting influential community leaders — including former criminals — as "Cohesion Champions" who serve as volunteer activists, role models, mentors, mediators, and watchdogs.

The film opens with the context of Kenya's 2007 post-election violence, when youth gangs were manipulated by political leaders to engage in ethnic killing, burning, and looting. KTU's response was to go directly into the communities, recruiting people like Arjak Charles Kinyasa and former ringleader Jack Inda. The documentary follows multiple threads: youth crime transformation in Korogocho (where "a few years ago you could not walk with a camera"); property disputes in Kiyambiyu where 40 stolen homes were returned through dialogue rather than violence; ethnic and religious reconciliation between communities that "had never spoken for the last 10 years"; women's peace leadership through Jena Nyango's Kibera Women for Peace; and counter-extremism work following the 2013 Westgate Mall attack.

The film's climax documents KTU's greatest achievement: preventing a repeat of 2007's violence during the 2013 elections. Former violence ringleader Jack Inda, now a Cohesion Champion, describes how youth who were offered money to cause violence refused, managed their own election system, and achieved a peaceful election "without losing even one of our youth."

C. Structured Metadata

D. Notable Quotes

"How could Kenya prevent future ethnically driven violence?"

"A few years ago you could not walk with a camera here. I don't want to scare you, but it was not possible. Now we are enjoying the fruits of partnership."

"Women are more dangerous than men in peace because when a woman incites, it sinks more in the man."

"They say we are the people, we are the problem, we are the solution."

"To come up with a very peaceful election 2013, without losing even one of our youth, this was a God miracle."

E. Source Assets

F. Production Notes

Emotional Moments — Former criminals surrendering guns ("Here are the guns, please tell the government to pick them"); the property dispute resolution where machetes were put down for peace; Jack Inda's transformation from violence ringleader to peace champion.

Signature Henry Moments — Henry's opening narration sets the geopolitical context (2007 elections, ethnic manipulation, youth gangs) with the precision of a news correspondent, then pivots to the human question: "How could Kenya prevent future ethnically driven violence?" This is broadcast-quality documentary narration.

G. Cross-References

H. Source Provenance

I. Archival Notes

KTU is arguably the most dramatically compelling of Henry's international documentaries — dealing with life-and-death stakes (ethnic violence, murder for hire, political manipulation) rather than the economic development themes of most other Henry 4.0 productions. The film demonstrates Henry's ability to handle serious geopolitical content with the same narrative sophistication he brought to lighter PM Magazine features. The 2013 peaceful election outcome — achieved by the very youth who had been paid to commit violence in 2007 — is a genuinely remarkable story that Henry tells with appropriate gravity. The reference to the Westgate Mall attack (September 2013) helps date the production to late 2013 or 2014. Jack Inda appears in both this full documentary and the shorter Jakiwa vignette (HTA-0567), suggesting a coordinated multi-format production strategy.

I. Video Review (V2 Upgrade)

Visual Description

A comprehensive documentary spanning Nairobi's four major informal settlements: Mathare, Korogocho, Kibera, and Kiambiu. The film mixes original footage (community meetings, peace marches, interviews in corrugated-metal homes and outdoor spaces) with powerful archival material: sepia-tinted footage of 2007 post-election riots (burning vehicles, men with sticks), CCTV footage from the 2013 Westgate Mall attack, and Google Earth satellite animations zooming into Nairobi. Peace marches feature banners reading "KENYANS UNITE" and "PEACEFUL ELECTIONS PEACE EVERYWHERE." The film uses a mix of indoor and outdoor interview settings, community gatherings with singing and dancing, and street-level footage of daily life in the settlements.

Story Structure (Timestamped)

Henry's Participation

Henry shot and edited the entire documentary (credited: "Video by Henry Tenenbaum"). Narration is by Annie Mueller. This represents a division of labor where Henry handles all visual production while a female narrator provides the voiceover — possibly a deliberate choice to have a woman's voice tell stories largely about women's peace movements and community healing. Henry's editorial decisions are evident in the powerful juxtaposition of archival violence footage with present-day peace work.

Signature Moments

The transition from 2007 riot footage (sepia-tinted, chaotic) to present-day peace marches (colorful, organized) is a masterful editorial choice that visually demonstrates the program's impact. Jack Inda's appearance (also featured in the standalone Jakiwa piece) provides continuity across the Henry 4.0 portfolio. The closing "WE HAVE THE POWER!" title card encapsulates the film's message.

Production Credits (confirmed from video)

- Video by: Henry Tenenbaum

- Narration by: Annie Mueller

- Program: Kenya Tuna Uwezo (KTU)

- Partners: Global Communities, PeaceNet, Youth Banner, Kituo Cha Sheria

- Funded by: USAID

Transcript

[00:05] 2007. Nairobi was already a tinderbox of tension. In the huge informal settlements or slums, suspicion festered among rival ethnic and religious communities. Endemic youth crime exacerbated fear and hatred. Then, after the disputed 2007 national elections, youth gangs were manipulated by their respective leaders to engage in violence and destruction based on ethnic and political lines, undermining the nation's fragile democracy. How could Kenya prevent future ethnically driven violence?

[00:44] I went into the community, it was all hostility. The main questions, who are you? Where are you coming from? Do you know where you are stepping right now? Celine Courier is director of Kenya Tuna Uwezo, or KTU, an innovative USAID-supported program to transform violent conflict into communal cooperation, recruiting influential leaders within communities, developing dialogues among hostile groups, educating voters about their rights under Kenya's new constitution, and establishing sustainable partners to carry on the work of peacebuilding. In Kiswahili, Kenya Tuna Uwezo means Kenya, we have the power.

[01:21] There have been organizations working in informal settlements. Everybody else has been trying to do something. My name is Arjak Charles Kinyasa. We discovered that there was a group that was completely excluded. It was in crime, mugging. The most critical at that particular moment are these youth. Taking a knife. The group that are really at the highest risk, because these are a group that were like, well, what do you do with the criminals? If you try to struggle with me, I—

[02:01] Youth crime has been one of the most volatile and intractable problems here in Nairobi. With few positive role models or prospects for prosperity, many of these boys and girls will work their way through a hierarchy of crime, from gun running to mugging to murder for hire. I try to keep these guys, these children, to be busy, don't go to crime and others to drugs, prostitutes. But in Korogocho, many of the guys, they're thugs.

[02:36] Former criminals like Jack have tremendous influence among the youth. So KTU recruits these young men and women on their own turf, carefully listens to them and engages with them, providing them with a space and tools to change should they make the personal decision to do so. KTU connects them with authorities and elders that they formerly feared and hated, and shows them the possibilities and benefits of peace and cooperation. Working alongside local partners PeaceNet, the Youth Banner, and Kituo Cha Sheria, they join a group of volunteer changemakers from across the community. KTU calls them Cohesion Champions — volunteer activists, role models and mentors, mediators and watchdogs.

[03:22] And the changes are already measurable. A few years ago you could not walk with a camera here. I don't want to scare you, but it was not possible. Now we are enjoying the fruits of partnership. We have been successful in transforming lives. That is for sure. For someone to even tell you, "Here are the guns. Please tell the government to pick them." I am ready to go and work for, do some little business in second-hand clothes, second-hand wares that can cost, can give me only 50 shillings, but it is worth, I eat that 50 shillings with a lot of freedom.

[04:04] In the settlement of Kiyambiyu, Kenya Tuna Uwezo approached a seemingly insurmountable confrontation between residents and interlopers that stole their homes. They came and took our plots and I was left with nothing. You know, that's what used to happen. People used to take them forcefully. You have your plot there, someone comes and says, "Today this is mine." Then he chases you away with panga, with machetes.

[04:34] Unable to get police help, a group of victims decided to take back their property. Yeah, we wanted to regroup. We wanted to take back our plots by force. When Kenya Tuna Uwezo came the temperatures were so high, people were planning to kill each other. We bought the pangas and we put them down for the sake of peace. We were living here, we used to be rogues, we used to be very many people who were doing very many bad things. Following the discussions, the dialogues that we had, I asked myself if it were my property that somebody was using and sitting on, how would I have felt? And we really talked a lot and we felt that we were doing a very bad thing.

[05:18] There were tenures. So when we engaged them in dialogues, they accepted that it's not right to be in someone's property and they accepted to return back the houses. By March 2014, 40 homes had been returned to their rightful tenants. There are still stolen properties to be returned, but this landlord group is now creating dialogue, not wielding weapons. They have learned to walk on their own along a new path to peace.

[05:50] But hostility and suspicion remain intense among the ethnic and religious groups that live here in close quarters. They share common problems like crime, poverty, lack of education, sanitation and decent housing. But previous efforts to promote dialogue among rivals have been met with suspicion and failure. We started to work with communities that had never spoken for the last 10 years. The villages were zoned and there were always boundaries. You can only walk up to a certain limit, you cannot cross. If you crossed for the other village, then that was the end of you.

[06:25] KTU actually decided a unique approach, whereby they engage all the communities and find out from them what is happening, what do you have to say about this other community, what this other community has to say about you. When they finally found a common platform, it seems like the same problem affecting you is affecting all of us. It's been one whole year that people can just sit down and talk about politics, about land issues, about anything else without throwing fists.

[06:52] My name is Jena Nyango. I'm the leader of Kibera Women for Peace and Family. Women are one of the keys to KTU, due to their unique roles in fighting violence and creating cohesion. Women are more dangerous than men in peace because when a woman incites, it sinks more in the man. The perpetrators of violence are their husbands, these are their sons, and just them, the women also feel violent. So that is why we are trying to empower the women so that what is coming out of them is positive. With a woman in peace, everybody else will be in peace.

[07:31] But KTU operates in a context of rising extremism. This radicalization starts in the villages, at the family level, and even houses of worship. And it has spread to Nairobi, most infamously in the 2013 Westgate Mall attack. With tensions rising in communities, KTU's Cohesion Champions have stepped in to reduce the tension and mitigate conflict. It was that feeling that a particular faith and a particular community, the Somali community, was being targeted. And that built tensions between the religious groups within the country. Muslims, they are not for the idea of coming together, because they are being harassed.

[08:12] At this special meeting of Cohesion Champions, KTU volunteers from across Nairobi spent the day outlining the challenges and seeking peaceful solutions to bring back to their communities. For us as a program, this was an opportunity to mobilize communities to demystify or pacify some of these tensions that were arising.

[08:34] Kenya Tuna Uwezo has already proven its ability to overcome momentous challenges by playing a key role in preventing the reoccurrence of the burning, looting and killing that occurred after Kenya's 2007 elections. What happened in post-election violence was really politically instigated. And the people in the informal settlements who are very poor and vulnerable are often manipulated by politicians.

[09:00] My name is Jack Inda. I was a ringleader of organizing the post-election violence in 2008. Jack Inda is now a Cohesion Champion. KTU, you came with powerful messages. Peace start with me. I can remember when Celine said, it is not how much money somebody has, but it is a way with the people against the people.

[09:29] At election time 2013, the young people who are always used to cause violence were on the street talking about peace. They were campaigning for peace and there were attempts actually to even pay them some money to cause violence. And they said no, and they managed their own election system in their own villages. To come up with a very peaceful election 2013, without losing even one of our youth, this was a God miracle.

[10:03] What are the keys to Kenya Tuna Uwezo that have made it measurably successful in converting criminals to peacemakers, preempting violence with dialogue, and abetting a peaceful political process? People have told us that our strategy, the approach is the best. People told us you have come right into the center of our villages, while others have been calling us one or two people only to the hotels, big hotels in town, you know. You people are giving us knowledge. You people are not buying your way out.

[10:37] Kenya Tuna Uwezo is giving them tools and techniques to solve their conflicts peacefully. They are present, they are persistent, they are engaged and they are inclusive. Persistence is a core value of our work. We don't give up. We went into the community with one attitude. Everybody is important. The youth have their own stories. The elders have their own stories and their own roles. Women have their own stories and their own roles.

[11:05] And they keep on saying this, they say the global communities, Kenya Tuna Uwezo, you came and you gave us the opportunities that are there. You saw us as people. You saw us as valuable citizens of this country. You believed in us. They say we are the people, we are the problem, we are the solution.