During the first half of 2010, I made several visits to Kenya, especially to Nairobi, the capital, Kisumu the third largest city and Kakamega region.

The objectives of my visits were:

As the rest of the world debates creationism, intelligent design, and other fundamentalist issues, African Humanists have a different debate on their hands: trying to debunk the rampant belief in witchcraft promoted by fundamental Christianity and traditional African religions.

IHEU has given its first grant from a new fund for developing membership organisations. International Representative for East Africa, Deo Ssekitooleko, brought together Humanist leaders in Kenya for a meeting to try to resolve some of the conflict between Humanist groups there.

An IHEU-sponsored conference in Nairobi will provide a national platform for dialogue and reflection on the need for Humanist organisations in Kenya to come together and form a single body.

Date: 8th and 9th May, 2010.

Venue: Shaurimoyo YMCA, Nairobi, Kenya.

Theme: Developing Humanist Cohesion: Issues and Solutions.

You are invited to an IHEU sponsored conference in Kenya, on March 27 and 28.

Kenya has a population of 15 million children, constituting 54 percent of the total of 28 million. Over 12.6 million Kenyans, majority of who are children, live in absolute poverty.

The worldwide problem of belief in witchcraft and the appalling human rights abuses to which it leads received a boost in September at the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The UN Human Rights Council has published IHEU's written statement on witchcraft in Africa. The statement documents the abuse of children and others through accusations of witchcraft and supposed witch "cures". IHEU calls for improved education and policing to eliminate these twin scourges.

In a joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, IHEU has called on the Council to join the fight against the twin evils of those practising witchcraft and those claiming to find and "cure" witches in Africa.

One country that could have made a great impact on the propagation of Humanism as a practical discipline in Africa is Kenya. A country that has been confirmed by archaeologists to be the origin of mankind, (the works of the Leakey family), yet didn’t possess a Humanist organisation, not until 2004.