Debunk Media
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An independent East African newsroom. People. Politics. Pop-Culture. Home of @DebunkLIVE @DebunkWomen & @PublicSquareKE . Pitch to contributors @debunk .media
Nairobi, Kenya
Joined May 2020
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Songs have been written and sang asking one question, what’s love got to do with it?
In his debut piece for Public Square,
@ReubenKigame
who knows not a thing or two but a whole load about songs and love writes and sings a different tune - what’s friendship got to do with it?
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*Clears throat*
This is for the grown folk, especially those who come home with gusto & fail to get some, & wonder why. This isn’t how we should be Tweeting on a Thursday mid-morning, but what are we mere mortals to do when
@AbigailArunga
has decided to go on the rampage? 😊
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The World Cup has always meant stupid memes of women fighting with their men over the remote, because apparently, women wouldn’t know a thing about sports. Mschew!
Enter our very own sports aficionado
@SheilaSendeyo
, who won’t just enjoy the game, but will do so with Mr. Man 😊
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In a span of four visits (the first coming, the second coming, the third coming & the fourth coming),
@samirasawlani
chatted cab drivers, friends, journalists & acquaintances about Kenya's upcoming (and later on concluded) general elections.
The refrain?
#WeJustHopeForTheBest
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At first
@jacqy_oh
gave away her TV, because she wanted to read more. She then quit Instagram, because she wanted to read more 😊. First relapse? Getting back on IG, because who can resist those thrifts? Then she bought an even bigger TV, because Netflix. But first the clothes 😅
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When she was 16,
@ashamwilu
owned a walkman. 😊
And when she was 16, Asha lost Bibi, her maternal grandmother.😢
Being a certain kind of Nairobi young woman in a certain Nairobi high school gave Asha some tools, a language, a playlist. And so she took the walkman & mourned Bibi.
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We are looking for contributors. You can work from home and be based anywhere in Kenya.
#IkoKaziKE
#IkoKaziDebunk
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Imagine yourself hitchhiking on boats, jumping from island to island in search of a good party (and a good story!)
@chiaontheisland
recounts her days island hopping in Lamu all the while bribing boat captains with pilsners
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You know those relentless calls & texts from digital lenders about a loan someone took & apparently you're their guarantor (without your knowledge 😅).
It can be exhausting! After tiptoeing around
@CBKKenya
’s regulations, now
@GooglePlay
comes to the save, writes
@lilymutinda
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One of the most beautiful seasons in Nairobi is Jacaranda season. You'll just know it's that time when
#KOT
blesses your timeline with that famous hashtag:
#JacarandaPropaganda
🌸
@sifumawrites
urges you to catch them while you can - before Jacarandas become a thing of the past!
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Something strange is happening to Kenya’s Lake Baringo. Locals say we need to pay attention.
Tonight at 9 pm, we take you to
#TheDrowingTown
to understand why this lake is bursting its banks.
Subscribe:
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Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, the straight-talking (albeit polite) Controller of Budget has shown a rare kind of diligence and commitment, one that is ordinarily frowned upon by the usual thieving types.
Twice she has stood firm – first when she made the revelation that the former CS
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Mr. President
@WilliamsRuto
, the nation needs you now more than ever - not as a leader constantly on the defensive, but as the leader who gave the impression of caring for the people. The authentic & self-aware man who once knelt and wept in church in 2013.
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Dear Riggy G
@rigathi
, in times of national precarity, unity is the need of the hour, not division. We urge you to leverage your unique political experience to quell the divisive noise. Your role is to serve the nation as a whole, not just certain regions or 'shareholders'.
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For the last 60 years, Kenyan politicians have played Russian Roulette, taking turns pulling the trigger & hoping the bullet doesn’t come through & blow up the country’s brains.
Faced with the rising cost of living & protests, playing Russian Roulette may prove catastrophic.
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This is not a witch hunt. We open with this disclaimer because two things happened yesterday which were meant to put what had not yet become a full blown jet-gate to rest. The first one was an off the cuff remark made by President
@WilliamsRuto
at the altar of the 21st National
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Martin is burying his mother today. They struggled to get her a hospital admission; she had difficulty breathing. She needed ICU admission. She died waiting for her COVID-19 results.
Watch Martin's conversation with
@ashamwilu
👇
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Kigame's idea of a new Kenya is "a reboot of the nation, so that we have the cleanup of the soul, not just what’s visible and is external."
And he believes a new Kenya is going to happen, whether he is President or not.
Read full profile⬇️
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Waziri
@MarthaKarua
, your being picked as
@RailaOdinga
’s running mate ignited a flame of hope in many.
But now more than ever, even in the not-so-unfamiliar trenches, the need for you to ring-fence the people’s aspirations & guard them against political expediency is paramount.
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President Uhuru Kenyatta is known for his orders and directives especially on corruption. But just how effective are the President's orders?
@ashamwilu
asked
@AbdikadirMohami
and
@steveogollaw
to explain.
#ExplainerMonday
👉
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Michael Oyier got straight A's in his KCSE. He graduated with honours
Today, Michael cleans trenches in Mathare under the Kazi Mtaani programme earning Ksh 450 per day.
Watch Michael's story:
#SurvivingKenya
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Kenya has three languages; English, Kiswahili & silence.
That was
@AdhiamboKE
's profound diagnosis of our collective tendency to leave things unsaid. In this installment of Debunk Speaks,
@RasnaWarah
has a chat with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, who lets us in on a thing or two or three
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The poet Maya Angelou warned us that if someone shows you who they are, believe them. Time & again
@RailaOdinga
has shown us who he is. We didn't believe him. Today he's once again shown us who he is - a deal maker moonlighting as a revolutionary. Shall we finally believe him?
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The Rumours Are True 😊
After covering the election and taking a bit of a hiatus, we’re coming back complete with new teammates.
Meet them in the Press Release below, and get ready for a ride like no other.
We are Debunk! And we are back like we never left!
#AWinForJournalism
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Wondering why Lake Baringo and other Rift Valley lakes are bursting their banks? Check out our full interactive story.
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FELLOWSHIP ALERT: Our appreciation goes out to the many writers & journalists who applied for the Debunk Barbara Achermann Fellowship. Out of the tens of pitches (which shall not go to waste), we'd like to congratulate these 11 writers & journalists for emerging as fellows!
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Renowned author Nuruddin Farah shared his insights on writing, literature, culture, and society in an exclusive conversation with Debunk Media's digital producer and associate editor
@Mr_Elmami
, recorded at
@chechebooks
on May 4th, 2023.
Full video:
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Debunk Quarterly, a magazine of Politics & Culture (out Dec 2023) seeks reportage/nonfiction pitches for 4,000 word pieces from DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, S. Sudan, Uganda & Tanzania. Honorarium: $400 & a limited reporting budget. Pitch quarterly
@debunk
.media by Aug 31st.
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.
@RasnaWarah
compares the 1970s Jonestown mass suicide masterminded by the infamous Jim Jones and the 2023 Shakahola massacre orchestrated by Paul Mackenzie.
Her conclusion? Cults are a reflection of society's moral and intellectual decline.
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𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝟮
Justice Lenaola isn’t exactly your typical Alliance High School guy, the ones who never tire of reminding you that they went to Alliance.
But Lenaola is still an Alliance guy. Top of his ‘86 class, Lenaola attained the best possible score in the A-Level exam.
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It was a Friday night when
@iakello
, a Johnnie Walker Black bottie in hand, hailed a taxi.
No sooner had she settled into her seat than her Uber driver, a Qatar deportee (for drinking, among other ills) went into a trance about his drinking days in Qatar.
Trust Kenyans. 🍻😅😀
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1.7 Million Kenyans lost their jobs between April and June this year. 1.7 Million!
How do young unemployed Kenyans survive? Our limited series
#SurvivingKenya
premieres tonight at 9pm.
MUST WATCH 👉
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"You cannot be telling me to stay home then someone is in Kajiado kuongea BBI. How did you get to Kajiado my guy?" 🔥
Are young Kenyans the Covid-19 super spreaders? We asked them on
#Unfiltered
@sheila_munyiva
@PrinceCollo254
@MvValarie
and
@gatuaaa
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The dreadlocks propaganda… it’s still alive in 2023; but as
@bobbymkangi
argues, navigating it is more about unlocking minds rather than unraveling the locs. After all, si akili ni nywele?
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When
@RasnaWarah
shed light on Malindi's sex tourism issue on Twitter, she faced a storm of disagreeing replies. But Rasna stands firm, calling out the power imbalances that drive sexual exploitation, which according to her feels a lot like neocolonialism.
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Kivutha Kibwana swears by a people-centered approach to governance; drawing people into a compelling vision.
But is Kenya ready for a Kibwana presidency?
Do his ideals and Midas Touch Suffice?
This Wednesday on
#ThePresidentialSeries
, read about the "People's Governor".
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Building or Burning Bridges? A handshake that started it all.
Can reggae be stopped? Should reggae be stopped?
What exactly is BBI?
This January, in a 7-part series. Debunk breaks down the bill seeking to amend one of Africa's progressive constitutions.
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In the dance of power, even the most astute minds can lose their rhythm. Daktari,
@DavidNdii
, we won’t take offence if you rubbish us today, but we believe it's time for you to reach across old divisions and tap into your long-standing vision for revolutionary change.
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Nairobi has undergone multiple facelifts and while it’s been mostly about fitting into the evolving modern world, the plans have ignored the basic needs of the everyday Nairobian.
The city under the sun needs pedestrian walkways, better drainage systems & green spaces. 🌳
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FELLOWSHIP ALERT!
With our inaugural issue of Debunk Quarterly coming out in December 2023, we're already seeking pieces/pitches for the second edition out in March 2024, this time the writing/reporting being supported by The Debunk Barbara Achermann Fellowship.
Read more
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Not too long ago, you'd easily drop names of MPs. But that's before their number rose to a whopping 349!
But not to worry. We've got you.
We've made it possible for you to locate your MP by searching their name, constituency, party, or county.
Let's Go! 👇
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Parenting is a high-stakes juggling act, where emotional baggage meets caretaker duties.
@_kagichu
breaks down the film Aftersun and shows us just how vulnerable parents truly are.
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.
@ibnalyyaman
highlights the harsh realities of the urban poor in Kenya, caught between the vestiges of colonial-era segregation & contemporary marginalisation, living in 'ecologies of exclusion' where policing is more about control than security.
As they navigate this reality,
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In 2015,
@AbdullahiBulle
founded
@NuriaStore
, an online bookshop that delivers books across Africa and the world. Today, it's one of Kenya's most successful bookshops, selling over 1000 books each month.
@RasnaWarah
recently spoke to Bulle about the Kenyan book industry.
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Renowned Kenyan sociologist Dr. Ken Ouko has died of Covid-19 complications. Dr. Ouko was our first guest on our podcast 'Imagining the future after the pandemic.'
#RIPKenOuko
Here are his views on the future of the handshake.
👉
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.
@wanjirunjira
is a grassroots activist who co-founded the
@MathareSJustice
and the Matigari Youth Book Club. She is a BA student at the University of Nairobi and co-host of the Liberating Minds podcast on YouTube and SoundCloud. Wanjira was nominated as human rights defender of
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If you've tumbled down the Kenyan TikTok rabbit hole, then
@justinewanda
's satirical commentary must've tickled your feed at some point 😅. What you might not know is that it all started with an open mic at Number 7, right at the junction of Monrovia and Koinange street. She
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Did your MP vote YES or NO on the
#FinanceBill2024
?
In collaboration with
@MzalendoWatch
, we’ve taken the trouble to build a tool where you can search by an MP’s name, party, or constituency to see if they voted with your best interests at heart. 👇🏾
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You can rattle off a million tunes and flicks about messy romantic splits, but what about when friends call it quits?
@_kagichu
peeks into the aftermath of a friendship fallout through the lens of The Banshees of Inisherin.
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Aleya Kassam (
@aleyakassam
) is a Kenyan multi-disciplinary writer and performer whose work explores the spaces between imagination and memory. Her writing has been performed and published around the world, from Nairobi to New York, Kigali to Stuttgart.
Her creative work explores
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Two Kenyas: one where expats flourish and bask, another where locals drown in hardship, despair and uncertainty. Urged by our own leaders (including the president) to look abroad for greener pastures,
@mwendesusu
wonders: Will Kenya ever be good enough for Kenyans?
Read more:
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The sight of Colonel Mustapha working at a construction site got the gossip mills buzzing.
But
@mwendesusu
shifts our focus from the gossip to something truly worth discussing—the glaring cracks in our broken healthcare system.
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Kenyan hospitals are not able to care for all coronavirus patients. Are you prepared to care for yourself or someone sick at home?
Full story on YouTube with
@sheila_munyiva
👇
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From challenging Moi-KANU in the '90s to being on the cusp of becoming Kenya's first woman deputy president in 2022, NARC-Kenya leader & Azimio principal
@MarthaKarua
continues to make an indelible mark in Kenyan politics.
She spoke to
@RasnaWarah
about the state of the nation.
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THREAD: These are Kenyan migrants workers in Lebanon. They have been protesting outside the consulate demanding repatriation since August 10, almost a week after a massive explosion hit Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.
#StrandedInLebanon
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Embracing the hijab after reverting to Islam taught
@_kagichu
that faith is a journey, not a destination.
“Society needs to understand that Muslim women are not a monolith – we are all at different levels in our faith and the most important thing is we are striving to become
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There’s beauty in the struggle. As a new Muslim,
@_kagichu
was on a quest for perfection, but she also struggled with her identity. And then, Ramy came along and breathed fresh air into her life, offering an all-too-relatable portrayal of being a work-in-progress Muslim.
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Dear
@RailaOdinga
, keep Ufungamano a sanctuary for political impartiality.
The civil society shouldn't be a pawn in the Ruto-Odinga chess game. Let them play their role as the neutral third party.
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It's been a wild year for Kenyan music.
While
@bienaimesol
&
@AaronRimbui
affirmed all the bald men out there;
@mayaamolo
soothed us with R&B lullabies of honey & milk. 🍯
We present to you the Kenyan albums that defined our 2022.
What a time to be alive indeed. ✨
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.
@ndegwa_nguru
poignantly confides in us through this piece, narrating the trials of being a rainbow in a monochrome environment, an environment often too stingy with acceptance, and all too generous with homophobia.
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Has a break up ever landed on you while you were at the office, & you had nowhere to run &/or hide except your boss’s office?😅
Have you, ever, used dating apps? Or, have you, ever, done couple’s therapy while not married?
Listen to
@jacqy_oh
beloveds. There’s no room for shame!
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LITERARY EVENING ALERT: Debunk Media invites you to an evening of food, drinks, books & conversation as it launches the inaugural issue of Debunk Quarterly, a magazine of nonfiction & reportage. (Strictly by RSVP)
Link:
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Yassin Moyo is a name Kenya is likely to forget, but it shouldn’t. In this vivid tale,
@iakello
pieces together Yassin’s final hours, weeks, months - at the mosque, at the staircase, at the balcony where he was shot - with testimonies from Yassin’s father, mother, brother, sister.
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One of Kenya's biggest freshwater lakes has burst its banks, and it's not just because of heavy rains.
Watch
#TheDrowningTown
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On this day in 2003, Michael Kijana Wamalwa, Kenya's 8th Vice President died in London while receiving treatment.
19 years on, Wamalwa's effect echoes on in Kenya's chequered politics; beginning with this moment when the future of FORD Kenya fell in Wamalwa's hands.
Watch 👇
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12 men want to be Kenya’s next President.
But do you really know them?
Starting this Wednesday, 13 October, Debunk Media in collaboration with
@TheStarKenya
, present,
#ThePresidentialSeries
. Read Long-form profiles of each of the men looking to be Kenya's 5th President.
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Since the year 2010, Kenyan athletes have won the
#LondonMarathon
8 times. Kenyan male athletes have dominated the race for the past 6 years. Who will win the
#LondonMarathon2020
?
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Is Kenya’s domestic debt truly illegal, as claimed by
@JimiWanjigi
and
@OkiyaOmtatah
? If government borrowing hasn’t followed the law, should Kenyans declare the debt unenforceable? Are we prepared to face the consequences that come with challenging the established fiscal
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Dalle Abraham (
@Dalle22
) is a writer from Marsabit County. His nonfiction essays have been published in Chimurenga Chronic, Kwani?, Adda stories, Down River Road and Errant Journal. He has also contributed opinion pieces regularly to The Elephant. Dalle has also made occasional
2
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Ras Mengesha (
@rasmengesha23
) is a writer, zinemaker, and teacher based in Nairobi and Kilifi, Kenya. With a focus on music, their work delves into cultural and personal dimensions. Through words and zines, Ras Mengesha moves through the intersections of creativity, culture, and
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Her surname is Kenya. Yes, like the country 🇰🇪. If you're thinking of dropping a pun, think again - she's heard them all😅
@soila_kenya
is just a girl with a unique name and a story to go with it. She is also a firm believer that good name is a superpower 💪.
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"The basic structure doctrine ensures that the Constitution possesses certain unalterable constitutional values and principles."
It is the constitution’s recipe whose ingredients cannot be changed without destroying its flavour, as
@BobbyMkangi
puts it.
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Google Africa celebrates Kenyan heroine Mekatilili wa Menza. Here are a few interesting things about her:
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Once upon a time,
@_kagichu
crowned herself with head scarves for hair distress or fashion finesse💁🏾♀️
Now, as she treads the path of Islam, the head scarves have transformed into hijabs, symbolizing an evolution in faith and a journey of learning.
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From Kilimani murders to nightclub shootings...Does Kenya Have a Gun Control Problem?
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Although 99% of polling stations have transmitted their form 34As into
@IEBCKenya
's online portal, the commission says it will only start its tally of the presidential results once it's received the physical copies of the forms.
#KenyaDecides2022
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President Uhuru Kenyatta has issued many orders, especially on corruption. But not all these orders have been effective. Why?
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Goldenberg nearly brought Kenya's economy to its knees- yet 30 years on, data shows that more than KES 644B was 'unaccounted for’ under the Kenyatta government.
Will Pres. Ruto meet the rising expectations of the 'Hustler Nation' or will history repeat itself?
@Rasnawarah
asks.
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Kenyans speak three languages: English, Kiswahili, and Silence.
In this instalment of Debunk Speaks, Award-winning author Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor shares her thought-provoking diagnosis of a uniquely Kenyan thing- leaving things unsaid.
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Kenya's President is set to announce the next steps to contain COVID-19. Here's the country's current curve of infections.
#Debunk
#FlattenTheCurve
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Yoni steaming, vagina facials and tea blends are popular trends for women on social media. They promise a boost in fertility as well as being a cure for conditions like PCOS & endometriosis.
But how safe are they?
@soila_kenya
Debunks these issues on the V Series Stay tuned!
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A running joke in Kenya today is that if you have a one thousand shilling note you should not bother picking up a shopping cart, what you can afford can fit snugly in your hands.
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In the heart of Kiamaiko, a staircase in Hussein Moyo's home carries more than the weight of footsteps. It holds his son’s memory and the vacancy left by a police bullet's theft.
When
@iakello
wrote this piece early this year, Yassin Moyo's friends still sat in his favourite
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@samirasawlani
continues her family's tradition of being global nomads 🌍. She recently traded in London's foggy streets for Nairobi's sunny skies and immersed herself in the experience of being a proper "mwenyeji." But she can't shake off that pesky feeling of homesickness.
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🎥 Film Review 🎬
@_kagichu
reviews 12 Angry Men - a powerful courtroom drama that leaves no room for boredom.
With compelling dialogue, impeccable acting, brilliant camera work, and a thought-provoking exploration of justice, this film keeps you on the edge of your seat.
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Try walking through Junction Mall as Azula from Avatar & the entire mall will probably stare at you like you're some kind of freak.👀
But
@soila_kenya
emphasizes that Kenyan cosplayers are not loners or outcasts- they're superheroes, powerful mages, 🧙🏾♂️ & sometimes even ninjas.🥷🏾
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If you were ever a fan of early 2000s Kenyan music, you'll never forget March 16, 2003. The day the Boomba Train came to a stop. The day E-Sir died.
“But E-Sir lives on. In our memories, our attempts to honour him, and the music he left us, he is alive.”
@rasmengesha23
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Whether you're a fresh-faced politician who stumbled into a scandal or a seasoned pro trying to dodge those pesky accountability issues, fear not!
@samirasawlani
has kindly and generously provided a foolproof guide to distracting the public's attention.
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Now in Parliament!
Eliud Okech Owalo is being vetted as the nominee for Cabinet Secretary of Information Communications & The Digital Economy.
🧵Here are a few things about Eliud Okech Owalo and the docket he shall be tasked to lead:
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You think you're anxious? Just ask
@RailaOdinga
or
@WilliamsRuto
. (But it looks like
@IEBCKenya
are on it?)
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"Your brother is going back to school and he needs to be sorted. With a reluctant ‘yes I got it covered,’ I cancel out the figures I scribbled on my notebook under the ‘dream car’ savings column. For how long will I keep doing this cancel culture? "
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What went wrong at the Kenya-Uganda border? We explore how the complex dynamics of diplomacy, disease control and commercial sex work sent Busia to top 3 counties in Covid-19 infections.
Watch Now:
#Debunk
#Explainers
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Why are police in many African countries so brutal with civilians?
#PoliceBrutality
#policebrutalityke
Full explainer by
@WakiniMims
👉
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