Debunk Media

An independent East African newsroom. People. Politics. Pop-Culture. Home of @DebunkLIVE @DebunkWomen & @PublicSquareKE. Pitch to [email protected]

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

In Kenya, procuring an abortion for the monied simply means making yet another doctor's appointment. But for underprivileged women, an abortion can mean a death or prison sentence. Yet abortions are & will still be sought. Isn't it time to avert the deaths/criminalization?

Read: https://t.co/4KCJRYrj8v

@MOH_Kenya, @Kenyajudiciary, @aphrc, @ReproRightsAFR

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

In the battle for the soul of @TheODMparty, Siaya governor @orengo_james has emerged as an ideological godfather, @edwinsifuna & @HEBabuOwino his leading lights. Yet Orengo appears to be drinking from deeper ideological waters. Will Orengo manage to create ideological coherence?

Read 🔗 https://t.co/gs5mF0ZIld

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

What happens when a country neglects its soul - its artists? They, both the country & its soul, degenerate. The country tears itself apart, while the artists, carrying the weight of the country's consciousness, struggle to fight off demons. @kingwa is calling for an exorcism.

🔗 https://t.co/53JrUgVSYi

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

It is no secret that historically, Kenyans have had trust issues with @IEBCKenya. Seeing the high stakes that 2027 represents, the IEBC cannot therefore afford any faux pas in its communication. Any error/ambiguity/complexity/opacity invites grand suspicion, writes @lavaeli.

📎https://t.co/G6Qu6wxVea

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

“In both his presidencies, especially in his second term in office, US President Donald John Trump has sought to project himself as a strong, tough leader. To him, this means he’s effective and is getting things done for Americans. To me, the strong, tough character he has displayed so far is more in the mould of a dictator. In fact, Trump is reminiscent of Kenya’s second president, Daniel arap Moi, who qualified to be called a dictator.”

Read: https://t.co/QxFKL7ojJg

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

This week, our columnists all seemed to be thinking along the same lines as writer Jean-Baptiste Karr did in 1849 when he wrote: the more things change, the more they remain the same. (Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.) 

Whether it’s the Kenyan government or the united opposition, the IEBC vs. new voters, Donald J. Trump & Daniel arap Moi, it appears the script just keeps rewriting itself. Perhaps we all do need to keep doomscrolling and bear witness to the cyclic chaos of our time, like @jacqy_oh writes 🤷🏾‍♀️

In case you missed any of them, here are the week’s gems from @lavaeli, @jacqy_oh, @BobbyMkangi & Tom Maliti.

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

“I suspect that we’d clutch our pearls less about what we’ve been told is excessive screen time if we stopped thinking of our brains as fundamentally broken because we stayed up till 2a.m. watching reels, and accepted that there are nights when we just won’t get enough sleep and so we self-soothe by going on our phones. It’s all part of the human experience.”

Read: https://t.co/FOgUWEBt7Y

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

What does America’s President Donald John Trump and Kenya’s second president the late Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi have in common? “Almost everything,” argues Debunk Opinion columnist Tom Maliti. Is the dictator’s playbook eternal?

Read: https://t.co/huyvYefNQb

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

Attention all doomscrollers & brain-rot addicts!

Guilt tripping yourself about sleeping at 2 a.m.? @jacqy_oh says you shouldn’t! Social Media is a cultural artifact of our time. But be warned - she’s also gardening, singing in a choir, and about to start crocheting.

Read: https://t.co/FOgUWEBt7Y

#DebunkOpinion

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

Did Kenyan politicians learn anything from the 2023 protests led by Gen Z? Well, the president has promised to implement NADCO’s 120 recommendations, his former deputy is moving from one podcast to the other rehashing the same allegations while the opposition falters along.
Fed up?
Tom Maliti is right there with you.

Read: https://t.co/79JoPkFqlM

#DebunkOpinion

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

What is a society without its storytellers?
Stories cut through desensitisation. They reclaim empathy and compassion. They remind us that while the horrors persist, so do the joys.
From Hind Rajab in Gaza to families devastated by floods in Kenya, stories help us figure out who we are and why we are here. As @jacqy_oh writes, we need more independent media because the stories of our times should be told by as many people as possible, in as many ways as possible, for as many people as possible.

Read:https://t.co/w063hyOjg1

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

When @BobbyMkangi was writing the Constitution as part of the Committee of Experts, young Kenyans pulled up & painted pictures akin to @Ademba_47’s NIKO KADI. So now, with the new constitution in place, will the niko kadi wazalendo take full advantage of it & upstage wazees?

Read https://t.co/WK7ez5iWDC

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

Lately, @Ademba_47’s Niko Kadi clarion call, or is it a threat to incumbents, has been all the rage. To @lavaeli, who’s been observing elections for more than a jiffy, numbers show the youth can win ANY & ALL electoral seats in 2027, if they choose to. Swali ni, je, uko kadi?
Read more https://t.co/8YH2cCgq2C

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Dear Debunk Reader… (some personal news 😊)

For the past many months, our teams have worked tirelessly to build a new & improved website. The folks at @NewspaperWorld have named us ‘finalist’ in this year’s Digital Media Awards. 🎉🎉

From People, Politics, Pop Culture, Debunked, Women & Opinion + a new archive page that makes it easy to read all our gems from the past 5 years.

Enjoy the new look!
https://t.co/T7A3CA8hBf

P.S: We are in such good company alongside;
@OKAZ_online (Saudi Arabia), @ChannelNewsAsia (Singapore), @Independent_ie (Ireland), @dailysunsa (South Africa), @DeccanHerald (India), @Kauppalehti (Finland), @LANACION (Argentina), N1 (Serbia), @Netwerk24 (South Africa), @ELTIEMPO (Colombia), @aredacao (Brazil), @faznet (Germany), @Saudi_Gazette (Saudi Arabia), @sinardailymy (Malaysia), NTM (Sweden), @TheDailyJagran (India), @UOL (Brazil), @the_hindu (India) & SPH Media (Singapore).

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

For a fortnight or so, Kenyans have been subjected to ghastly public exchanges between President @WilliamSRuto and his former deputy @rigathi. It has been matusi galore unlike anything the country has witnessed before. @BobbyMkangi cautions & calls for a cessation of hostilities.
Read: https://t.co/c8WjgEvxEJ

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

What happens when you put @MarsGroupKenya @BobbyMkangi, @lavaeli, @Kingwa, @IsaacOtidiAmuke, Tom Maliti & @ChakaSichangi in one room?

Looks like they’d give you thoughts on Otto Von Bismarck & African stories, Iran & America & Kenya, Sifuna & Malema & Bobi Wine, Raila & Memory & ODM & Legacy, Kenya’s political elite & their local lenders, , & voting, Ruto & Rigathi & Mchongoano & more….

Missed any of it? We’ve got you. 👊🏾

[Debunk Media @debunkdotmedia]

Is voting in Kenyan elections an exercise in futility? Or Can something more meaningful be made out of the long queues on Election Day? @lavaeli argues that with interventions such as #NikoKadi & the Gen Z phenomenon of ‘greeting’ leaders, something might just give, hopefully.
Read: https://t.co/66Updpt9Bv