Kenya’s electoral authoritarianism
The former Chief Justice of Kenya on why only a popular movement to defend the constitution can counter corruption and inequality.
From The Elephant
Nothing to write home about
For all the PR, Kenya does not pose a serious threat to the five veto-holding permanent members on the UN Security Council.
The battle within
Uhuru Kenyatta's political war against his deputy president and supposed ally, William Ruto.
Homeless in the city
The periodic evictions of poor families in Nairobi follows in a long tradition in Kenya, dating to colonialism, to keep the city as a space for the elite.
Young, gifted, and pregnant
A series of social and political interventions are required to bring down Kenya’s startling teenage pregnancy statistics.
Hip hop futures in Kenya
Rapper Khaligraph Jones (government name: Brian Ouko Robert) chronicles the challenges faced by young people in Nairobi, Kenya.
The cover up
A Kenyan investigative journalist reflects on the capture of a genocidaire in Paris after 26 years on the run and its significance to the families of the victims left in his wake.
Binyavanga’s writing was enough
A close friend remembers the Kenyan writer and commentator Binyavanga Wainaina (January 18, 1971 - May 21, 2019).
Kenya’s prison industrial complex
The fundamental flaws in President Uhuru Kenyatta's plan to make jails profitable.
The undeclared war in Somalia
The United States’ military operations in Somalia are not well known because they'e carried out secretly or via proxies. COVID-19 hasn't slowed them down.
Food is power
The World Food Program says COVID-19 will bring about a famine of biblical proportions, so it is a good time to revisit why food has never just been about the simple act of eating. Food is history. Food is identity.
The contested narratives of a dead man’s legacy
Kenyans are split about the legacy of president Daniel Arap Moi, who served from 1978 to 2002 and died on 4 February 2020: Vile and reprehensible vs a benign Baba, history suggests the latter.
The need for a people-driven response to the coronavirus pandemic
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, African governments should stop seeing non-governmental actors as a threat to their own legitimacy.