“My father Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o physically abused my late mother – he would beat her up. Some of my earliest memories are of me going to visit her at my grandmother’s where she would seek refuge. But with that said it is the silencing of who she was that gets me. Ok- I have said…
Over the last eight months since President Ruto’s Government came to power, many things have happened but one that has remained constant is the continual attacks on the media. A month hardly passes by without an attack on the media particularly from Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. His latest attack on the media was on Thursday,…
On May 3, 2023, UNESCO held a special anniversary event at the UN headquarters in New York. This was to mark 30 years since the UN General Assembly’s proclaimed an international day for press freedom. This year’s theme was “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of Expression as a Driver for all other human rights”. This…
“If you are doubting the information, we are giving you on the state of Coronavirus in the country, you can go to Mbagathi Hospital and confirm”. Those were the words of Mutahi Kagwe- Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Health on March 19, 2020 as he unleashed a warning shot to Kenyans vending unverified information in social…
Since Coronavirus was declared a pandemic, there have been reports from around the world about the surge of domestic violence cases. The number of reported cases has been so high so much so that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres has been compelled to call for “peace at home”. The UN Boss, on…
Kenyan sex workers are being forced to choose between their health and their livelihoods. Atieno* has been a sex worker for six years. A soft-spoken 24-year-old, she began her career in the lakeside city of Kisumu. Her day would typically begin either in the morning or evening when she would arrive at her spot and wait…
Some members of the PWD community is yet to receive a coin from the funds the government of Kenya allocated to them. We must stop the perpetual mistake of overlooking the specific needs of the disabled community. It is now five months and three weeks since the first positive coronavirus case was confirmed in Kenya….
By Ohaga Ohaga Every year on November 2, the world observes International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI). The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 2013 and the date selected in remembrance of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali that same year. The importance of this day,…
By Ohaga Ohaga I first met the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli back in 2006 when I was a cub-reporter with Kenya Times. It was on May 20, 2006, during his re-election bid held at Tom Mboya Labor College in Kisumu. This was my biggest assignment yet. In attendance wasn’t just the…
What you need to know: In the past four months, four incidences have emphasized the foundational right to privacy and its connection to other human rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of the media and human dignity in Kenya. The first incident happened in the beginning of April when Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe…
