Author: Rasna Warah
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A Nudge For Raila Odinga and Martha Karua
Full disclosure: I have voted for Raila Odinga in every election since 2007, except during the October 2017 repeat election, which he asked his supporters to boycott, and which I obediently did. I almost didn’t vote in the 2022 election because I had by then lost faith in him and in our electoral process –…
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The Cost Of Human Error In The Aftermath Of The Earthquake In Turkey
Two disturbing things have been highlighted by the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey, which has so far claimed nearly 30,000 lives. The first thing is that most of the more than 12,000 buildings that collapsed did not meet engineering standards to withstand earthquakes. According to a BBC report, Turkey’s construction industry regularly flouts building codes…
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Tyre Nichols Was A Victim Of Systemic Racism
Parents of young Black men in the United States live with constant fear, wondering whether or when their sons will be killed by white police officers. As a result of this, African-American fathers and mothers must then have “the talk” with their sons, to ensure they do not antagonise a white police officer in any…
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Debunk Speaks To Rose Lukalo
ROSE LUKALO is a seasoned journalist with experience in print, broadcast and digital media. She began her career in journalism in the late 1980s when being a free-thinking journalist or creative in Kenya was hazardous, if not life-threatening. Rose advocates for free expression, media diversity and inclusion, and has served as the Chairperson of the…
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Debunk Speaks To Angi Yoder-Maina
Mental health issues are increasingly coming to the fore as the world faces increasing uncertainty about the future. However, an increasing number of mental health practitioners understand that drugs or psychotherapy are not sufficient – or even desirable – to treat people and societies dealing with traumatic events, whether they be wars or the effects…
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Hustler Fund Could End Up Hurting The Poor
Is the government’s Financial Inclusion Fund, popularly known as the Hustler Fund, a boon for low-income Kenyans seeking to start small businesses? Or is it as predatory and punitive as other digital loans? My tuk-tuk driver believes it is the latter. He applied for a Hustler Fund loan on the day it was launched and…
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Yes, Mr. President, Extrajudicial Killings By Police Must End
In October 2022, shortly after he assumed office, President William Ruto told officials of the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) that extrajudicial killings by police must end, describing these killings as “illegal” and “unconstitutional”. This surprisingly firm stand on police brutality and impunity from none other than the head of state was welcomed by human…
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Debunk Speaks To John Sibi-Okumu
JOHN SIBI-OKUMU has had a long and illustrious career as an actor, director and playwright. He has played more than 40 characters on stage, including Shakespeare’s Romeo, Shylock and Oedipus, and has acted in films, including the Hollywood production, The Constant Gardener, where he played a corrupt minister. He has also been a TV presenter, and…
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Was Meghan Markle Naïve About Racism in Britain?
I have never been a fan of kiss-and-tell stories. I find them distasteful and dishonest. I don’t understand how anybody can be intimate with someone one minute and tell the world about it the next. Which is why I find the revenge videos of ex-girlfriends that men put up on social media so hateful. I…
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Debunk Speaks To Norma Swenson
In the early 1970s, a group of women in Boston, USA, began sharing their stories around the ill-treatment they felt they had received from male doctors. Their stories ranged from being misdiagnosed to being ignored by a medical fraternity that was hostile or insensitive to female patients’ needs. This disgruntled group went on to form…