Category: People
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Staying Sane In A Time Of Maandamano
The endless news cycles. The myriad of opinions and hot takes. The barrage of social media misinformation and its sinister twin, disinformation. Raila this. Ruto that. Rigathi blah. It’s a lot. From the moment Azimio La Umoja One Kenya launched its bi-weekly mass demonstrations on Monday 20 March 2023, each day was a guess for…
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My Journey In Islam, And How The World Views Us (Ramy)
Most contemporary Muslims face a complex and ongoing struggle to reconcile their faith in God with the many different aspects of their lives in the modern world. And for reverts, it is an especially important fight as we navigate the complexities of life and the newness of the religion while remaining true to our beliefs.…
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My Hijab Journey
Before becoming a Muslim, I would cover my hair from time to time with headscarves – mostly on bad hair days or when I thought it looked good with my outfit of the day. So, when we started the new semester in January 2020, it wasn’t really a shock for my classmates and friends to…
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Debunk Speaks To Dr. Willy Mutunga
After a long career in teaching law at the University of Nairobi, Dr. WILLY MUTUNGA was detained without trial in July 1982 by the Daniel arap Moi regime for fighting for democratisation. He went on to head the Kenya Human Rights Commission, which he co-founded, and served as the president of the Law Society of…
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The One Thing You Should Read About Grace Onyango (1924-2023)
Had Grace Monica Akech Onyango never joined politics, her contribution to society would already have been immense. Onyango was a teacher; the first woman assistant commissioner of the Girl Guide Association; and chairperson of the Child Welfare Society’s Kisumu branch. But when she sauntered into politics, her impact became immeasurable. Reckoning with the magnitude of…
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Goodbye Big Flexa: Costa Titch (10 September 1995 – 12 March 2023)
Whenever she’s on leave from work, my cousin Amina will don a pair of Burberry sunglasses and jet set to the idyllic ocean city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her best friend is a DJ at a Billionaire’s club so she’s always guaranteed a great time. The minute her feet would land back on Kenyan…
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Debunk Speaks To Naomi Njeri Mwaura
NAOMI NJERI MWAURA is passionate about ensuring women’s safety in urban transport and other public spaces. In 2014, she was among hundreds of women who led the MyDressMyChoice campaign to protest against gender-based violence in Kenya’s public transport after a video of a woman being assaulted by a group of men near a bus stop…
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Thinking of Education With Trio Mio
Late one July night in 2020, I clicked on a link that someone had shared on Twitter. I do not remember the contents of the tweet, but I remember that it was during the pandemic and I had been staying up late because we were on summer break and I was anxious about how the…
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Part 2: Debunk Speaks To Joseph Kamaru-KMRU
This interview is one of a series where CHIA KAYANDA sits down with globally recognized Kenyan artists who have found success away from home yet tend to go rather underrecognized here in Kenya. Bear with me: Joseph Kamaru did not give birth to himself (I said bear with me). Rather, his son gave birth to…
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Grief, Gin and Love
I was almost an hour late for the funeral service. The church was filled with people dressed in black suits and dresses with purple fascinators. For the first time in a little over a decade, my high schoolmates and I were in the same room. The last time we were this close was in the…