2026

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Building Trust, Accountability, and Human Rights in East Africa’s Data Ecosystem

By Esther Njagi, Open Institute and Sharlene Muthuri, Amnesty International Kenya  Amnesty International Kenya (AIK) and Open Institute (OI) have collaborated since 2020 to advance data governance, data protection, and privacy rights across Kenya and the wider region. Our joint work bridges the gap between data for development and data for human rights, demonstrating that…

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Navigating the Future of Data Governance in East Africa

Next week, policymakers, technologists, regulators, journalists, civil society leaders, and innovators will gather in Nairobi for the East Africa Data Governance Conference 2026. Over two days, participants from across the region will engage in one central question: How can East Africa advance innovation and digital transformation while safeguarding rights, trust, and accountability? This year’s theme, “Navigating Duality in…

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Beyond the Brown Envelope: Rebuilding Trust in Kenya’s Media

The brown envelope is quietly reorganising Kenya’s journalism, deciding what stories get told and which ones stay silent. Our recent reflection paper, Between Truth and the Brown Envelope: Rebuilding Kenya’s Narrative Infrastructure by our Executive Director, Al Kags and the Association of Freelance Journalists (AFJ) president Winnie Kamau, unearths cold truths. It says out loud…

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Amekwi evangelising AI at Maono Space in Malindi
AI Ethics Requires Participation: From Delhi to Kilifi

By Christine Ajulu In New Delhi, I joined a global conversation on designing rights-respecting AI systems. The discussion focused on privacy across the AI lifecycle — from data collection and model training to deployment and downstream use. We explored safeguards, accountability, and regulatory evolution. As the conversation deepened, a foundational truth became clear: ethical AI…

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Journalism, Narrative Infrastructure, and Citizenship in Kilifi County: What We Learned from a Year of Working with Grassroots Journalists

Grassroots journalists in Kenya face an uphill battle. In counties like Kilifi, reporters navigate underfunded newsrooms, precarious contracts, limited access to public data, and political pressures that shape which stories reach the public. Investigative journalism, which shines a light on accountability, innovation, and community agency, is often impossible under these conditions. The narratives that dominate…

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