Wanjeri Nderu

Wanjeri Nderu (born 1979) is a human rights activist from Kenya.

Biography Nderu was born in 1979 and grew up in Nairobi. She attended Racecourse Primary School in Kariakor, Mountain View Academy in Thika and then Kahuhia Girls High School. It was this period that kick started her activism.

Activism Nderu sees herself as a social justice crusader, working to shed light on many injustices in Kenya. She uses social media to mobilise people and often campaigns on issues that have fallen through the gaps between NGOs, such as the rape of male minors. She has run several campaigns online, including: #StopExtraJudicialKillings, #FreeSSudan4, as well as campaigning for free and peaceful elections. She has been harassed in person and online on many occasions. In 2014 she was arrested for attending a peaceful protest against higher wages for politicians in Kenya. She came close to losing her eye.

In 2018, Nderu joined the University of York on a Human Rights Defenders Fellowship, with the goal in mind to learn how to create space and systems for mental health wellbeing for activists in Kenya. Earlier in the year she and other human rights activists took the Kenya government to court over corruption within state-owned companies - the campaign was called Stop These Thieves On Your Own.

Awards International Anti-Corruption Day Awards, 2016 - Integrity Award Protective Fellowships for Human Rights Defenders, 2018 - Fellowship