Featured stories about Kenya
Stories about Kenya
8 August 2019
Kenyan MP and her baby ordered out of parliament: ‘What was I supposed to do? Miss my duties?’
"I had an emergency, so what was I supposed to do? Miss parliament and my duties — just because I have a baby?"
23 July 2019
Is Mandarin Chinese the language of East Africa’s future?
As China strengthens its already robust trade and infrastructural ties with Africa, Chinese-government funded Confucius Institutes to teach Chinese Mandarin are on the rise.
16 March 2019
Hundreds gather in Nigeria to mourn professor Pius Adesanmi: ‘A juggernaut of African thought’
"A thousand years from now, I am hoping that fragments of my writing survive: not all accepted to live as slaves of the most irresponsible rulers of their era."
12 March 2019
Nigerians grieve the death of Pius Adesanmi, postcolonial scholar and public intellectual
"A towering intellectual with a mind that cut through issues like a scalpel who still remained curious about the issues of a younger would-be thinker ..."
13 February 2019
Four southern African nations petition to lift the international ivory trade ban
The proposal to lift the ivory trade ban has released a clash between elephant conservationists and those who favor the practice, citing economic reasons.
31 December 2018
Censored in 2018: Protest videos, court verdicts, real news — and Peppa Pig
From blocked websites to revoked media licenses to account shutdowns, censorship comes in many forms. Here are a few we saw in 2018.
30 August 2018
Can a controversial in-vitro fertilization process save the northern white rhino?
"A practical concern for any future Northern white rhinos successfully bred through IVF is...where they would live. Much of the sub-species’ former range has lost rhinos in its entirety..."
20 March 2018
“Africa and the Poetry of News”: Global Voices Hosts a Twitter Chat for World Poetry Day
To honor World Poetry Day on March 21, 2018, Global Voices sub-Saharan Africa team will host a Twitter chat on "Africa and the Poetry of News." Join us! #GVSSA #Poetrynews
23 February 2018
One Country, Two Leaders and Four Censored TV Channels: Kenya's Political Crisis Takes a Toll on Human Rights
The illusion of an independent Kenyan media that is free from state interference has evaporated.
20 February 2018
At Zanzibar’s Sauti za Busara Festival, Music Professionals Ask: Can One Song Really Change the World?
"This is an issue with the rights of all musicians to speak out. This tells me how powerful music is. If it wasn’t this strong, it wouldn’t be so feared."
6 February 2018
Kenyan TV Networks Censored for Airing Symbolic ‘Swearing In’ of Opposition Leader Raila Odinga
When Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga was symbolically—if not legally—sworn in as the "people's president" on January 30, three major broadcasting networks were unplugged by the Government of Kenya.
12 January 2018
Africans ‘School’ US President on Good Governance After ‘Shithole’ Comment Sparks Global Outrage
"Yes, Africa [has] problems. We don't dispute it. But name calling & outright disrespect by the very nation that has stripped off its resources for years is totally crossing it."
8 January 2018
The Untimely Death of an Exiled Ethiopian Journalist
"His reward for having conscience in a country that criminalises it was torture & death in exile."
14 December 2017
Concerns over United States President Trump's Latest Controversial Foreign Policies Loom Large in Africa
"This is not a very diplomatic strategy. Then again, it is coming from a man whose vision and politics are limited by his lack of awareness about the outside world."
3 November 2017
Data and Democracy: What Role Did Cambridge Analytica Play in Kenya's Elections?
The data analysis company that helped Donald Trump's campaign claim victory in the US is working with Kenya's ruling party.
18 August 2017
A Kenyan artist designs revolutionary ‘kanga’ celebrating queer love around the world
"We need to open up a space to talk more about sex, and then artists like me want to open that up even more, to talk about queerness."
9 August 2017
Jokes, Hashtags and Fake News: The Story of Social Media in Kenya's Closely Contested Election
This year’s campaign has made history as the most affected by the spread of fake news, a recent study showed.
4 August 2017
Even the Best Dancer Leaves the Dance Floor: African Strongmen and Political Transition
"The fear of challenging leaders who cling to power is, for some Africans, rooted in anxiety about alternatives—alternatives which remain unknown because they are never allowed to emerge and develop."
1 August 2017
Some in Kenya Point to a Recent Hailstorm as a Sign of Climate Change
While some tweets on the Nyahururu hailstorm were of excitement, there are those who did not see the joke, especially when it came to the implications of the incident.
28 July 2017
As Kenyans Go to the Polls on August 8, Here Are the Things to Watch
After avoiding a repeat of 2007 with peaceful elections in 2013, "the odds this year appear once again stacked against the smooth running of the polls."
