Benjamin Charagu

Husband, Father, Son, Friend, Colleague, Open Data Champion, Operations Director @open_institute

[Benjamin Charagu @bcharagu]

I look forward to engaging and reviewing the progress. I think strategically, the commitments will guide and strengthen stakeholder collaborations. @Open_Institute

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

The brown envelope is quietly reorganising Kenya's journalism, deciding what stories get told and which ones disappear. The cost isn't just to the profession,  it's to every community whose story never gets told, an injustice that never gets scrutinised, and leaving citizens navigating a distorted public reality.

But what if we talked about it  openly, honestly, and with a commitment to finding a way forward?

That will be our session at the Annual Pan-African Media Summit. The session 'Ethical Leadership: A Discourse on the Brown Envelope and Finding Solutions',  grounded in a reflection paper by the Open Institute and Association of Freelance Journalists  goes beyond diagnosing the problem. It asks the harder question: what does it actually take to lead with integrity in a media environment where the conditions make ethics feel like a luxury?

This is a conversation for journalists, editors, media leaders, and anyone who believes the press is worth fighting for.

Tomorrow, come with your questions. Come with your stories. Come with your ideas.

Read the reflection paper here: https://t.co/GPcUHMBmhD
Watch the episode on brown envelope: https://t.co/lpX2mUbHhe

@WinnieKamau254 @DavidOmwoyo @MediaCouncilK

#MediaEthics #Journalism #MediaFreedom #PanAfricanMedia #FreelanceJournalists #AfricaMedia

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

How many names do we have for the ‘brown envelope’ culture?

‘Za kabej’. ‘Mshiko’. ‘Facilitation. ‘Kakitu’. ‘Za macho’. ‘Niko na njaa’. ‘Jua ni kali’. Za uji.’
Different phrases, same reality.

The normalisation of these “small tokens” continues to shape newsrooms, influence narratives, and weaken public trust in the media.

Join the discussion and be part of finding solutions toward a more accountable and trusted media landscape.

@WinnieKamau254 @bcharagu @MediaCouncilK

#MediaEthics #Journalism #MediaFreedom #PanAfricanMediaSummit #FreelanceJournalists #AfricaMedia

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

“Without independent storytelling, citizens lose their voice, public trust erodes, and politics is reduced to mere performance.” @WinnieKamau254

@bcharagu @MediaCouncilK

#MediaEthics #Journalism #MediaFreedom #PanAfricanMediaSummit #FreelanceJournalists #AfricaMedia

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

The “brown envelope” culture has gradually watered down journalism by shifting the focus from impactful storytelling to financial survival. Important community stories, such as the effects of mining on local communities, often struggle to make it into mainstream media.

@WinnieKamau254 @bcharagu @AfroMediaSummit @MediaCouncilK

#MediaEthics #Journalism #MediaFreedom #PanAfricanMediaSummit #FreelanceJournalists #AfricaMedia

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

“Journalists often work with immense dedication and commitment, going above and beyond despite earning far less than the value they bring to society.” @bcharagu

@WinnieKamau254 @MediaCouncilK @AfroMediaSummit

#MediaEthics #Journalism #MediaFreedom #PanAfricanMediaSummit #FreelanceJournalists #AfricaMedia

[Amb. Philip, Thigo, MBS @pthigo]

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗗𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲

𝘌𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆, 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆.

𝘞𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗱, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱.

𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 — 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀, 𝗰𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.

𝘞𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜, 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥.

@FSAKenya @ForeignOfficeKE @SingoeiAKorir @MusaliaMudavadi

[Benjamin Charagu @bcharagu]

I look forward to engaging and reviewing the progress. I think strategically, the commitments will guide and strengthen stakeholder collaborations. @Open_Institute

[ogpkenya @ogpkenya]

This meeting comes at a strategic mid-point for Kenya’s 5th National Action Plan (NAP V), therefore, kicking off the NAP V mid-term review process that will assess the progress on the NAP’s nine commitments.

#OGPKenya #OpenGovernance

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

Meet Our Keynote Speaker: Immaculate Kassait, SC, MBS

As Kenya’s Data Commissioner, Ms. Immaculate Kassait, SC, MBS, is at the forefront of shaping data governance and privacy regulations in Kenya. At #EADataGov2026, she will share key insights on how East Africa can build digital governance ecosystems that foster innovation while safeguarding rights, strengthening public trust, and promoting accountability through responsive policies.

Registration for virtual sessions is ongoing:
https://t.co/LJAaUYNtcN

@alkags , @irunguhoughton , @ODPC_KE , @AmnestyKenya, @StrathU, @bajeti_hub, @TISAKenya ,@KCBInKenya , @SafaricomPLC ,@PDPO_uganda, @ASSEKnews , @UnescoEast

#DataGov26 #EADGC2026 #DataGovernance #DigitalInnovation #Accountability

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

At the #StatisticsConference2025, we’re spotlighting the power of Citizen-Generated Data in shaping Kenya’s official statistics.
Proud of our ongoing work with @KNBStats & partners to strengthen #opendata systems and ensure community voices count.

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

Happy #AfricanStatisticsDay2025!
We’re thrilled to join the @KNBStats Statistics Conference to talk about how citizen-generated data can strengthen official statistics — and share some of the tools we’ve built to support this work.

@UNFPAKen @ONS @SDGsKenyaForum @KEPSA_KENYA @StatsSweden

#DataForGood #InclusiveData #CGD

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

AI Mtaani is live today at @maono_space! 🤖🚀
Too many people outside our cities are being left behind in the AI wave. We’re changing that.
Our goal:
• 1,000 teachers
• 10,000 students
• 10,000 young business owners
AI should be for everyone. This is our first step. Join us!
#AIMtaani #AIForAfrica #DigitalInclusion

[National Bureau of Statistics - South Sudan @NBS_Statistics]

NBS, UNECA & EAC kick off the 2nd NSDS II National Workshop in Juba (Nov 10–14, 2025) to renew South Sudan’s roadmap for developing quality statistics for national & regional priorities. 📈 #NSDS #DataForDevelopment

[Coalition for Sustainable Development @SDGsKenyaForum]

Kenya still faces significant data gaps in financing, coordination, quality, and inclusivity.

But today’s national dialogue reminds us: we have the tools, talent, and partnerships to close them.

A data-driven Kenya is possible.

#NSC2025| #DataForDevelopment

[KNBStats @KNBStats]

Challenges in producing #statistics at the County level; Using #AI & #BigData to forecast #demographictrends; Private sector #innovations & #digitaltransformation. Be part of the conversation on Tuesday 18th November. #2025StatisticsConference @Planning_Ke @KenyaGovernors @uonbi

[KNBStats @KNBStats]

@KNBStats and partners will celebrate the #AfricanStatisticsDay2025 through dialogue, knowledge sharing, innovation & technology #DataForAfrica #StatsInnovation @Planning_Ke @KenyaGovernors @CBKKenya @KIPPRA @SDGsKenyaForum @Open_Institute https://t.co/AIxuCPupLy

[KNBStats @KNBStats]

https://t.co/aUhchmF9Ms

[Kilifi County Government #003 @KilifiCountyGov]

…citizen participation in governance, ensuring every resident can see where and how resources are being used.

We acknowledge the presence of Madam Anita Mashaka, Director, Delivery Unit, and Mr. Jonathan Mativo, County Spokesperson, who joined the team during this key session.

[Kilifi County Government #003 @KilifiCountyGov]

Transparency. Accountability. Progress.

All county departments have nominated officers to take part in the creation of the Kilifi County Project Dashboard — a groundbreaking digital platform that will soon be launched in partnership with Open Institute and Maono Space.

[Benjamin Charagu @bcharagu]

It was also great meeting long-time friends. @tonnyx proudly communicated the good work that @srckenya is doing in strengthening collaborations that promote fair renumeration and sustainable growth in public service institutions. We look forward to strong partnerships ahead.

[Open Institute @Open_Institute]

Day 1 at the #DevolutionConference2025 focused on Good Governance - reflecting on how far counties have embedded transparency, accountability & participatory decision making, and how to strengthen processes for better local service delivery.