Publications

The Rise of Fake News Ahead of the 2027 Kenyan Elections

The upcoming 2027 Kenyan elections face a severe threat from a professionalized, highly lucrative disinformation industry that manipulates public discourse through unregulated digital platforms like TikTok and WhatsApp. This digital shift is compounded by a profound crisis of trust in traditional media, where 62% of surveyed journalists report that financial hardships and low wages hinder their ability to maintain ethical standards and resist political capture. To safeguard democratic stability, the article recommends establishing an independent media sustainability fund, decentralizing media literacy, and enhancing global tech platform accountability.

Corruption Through a Gender Lens

Feminist Institutional Analysis of Kenya

This paper utilizes feminist institutional theory to analyze corruption in Kenya, framing it as a systematic institutional design rather than isolated individual moral failures. It demonstrates how formal rules and informal norms disproportionately expose women to coercive, non-monetary forms of corruption, specifically sextortion, with everyday public service sectors like healthcare and education. Ultimately, the author argues that traditional anti-corruption frameworks must expand past narrow financial definitions to capture these power-based gendered abuses.

Women in Kenya's Armed Forces

From Gender Pioneering to the Persisting Glass Ceiling

The study explores how women’s integration into Kenya’s armed forces has progressed significantly but still faces deep-rooted cultural and institutional barriers. Legal frameworks like the 2010 Constitution and the 2017 Ministry of Defence Gender Policy promote equality and aim for at least 30% female representation. A major turning point came with the 1999 disbandment of the Women Service Corps, shifting women from separate auxiliary roles into full military integration. Institutions such as the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) have strengthened gender inclusion through training and leadership programs, contributing to improved representation (rising from 7.6% in 2013 to 11.3% in 2019) and higher participation in peacekeeping missions (about 19%). Prominent female officers demonstrate the impact of these reforms. However, persistent challenges (including patriarchal norms, gender stereotypes, limited access to senior roles, and issues like sexual harassment) continue to hinder full equality. The study recommends stronger political commitment, better enforcement of gender policies, expanded training and mentorship, targeted recruitment and retention strategies, and cultural transformation within the military. Overall, Kenya offers a strong model for gender integration in African militaries, but sustained effort and context-sensitive approaches are needed to achieve meaningful, lasting inclusion.

Russia's Military Foreign Policy in Kenya

A Case Study

The research article examines the March 16, 2026, bilateral agreement between Kenya and Russia that formally prohibits the recruitment of Kenyan nationals into Russian military operations. While official diplomatic discourse between Musalia Mudavadi and Sergey Lavrov emphasizes economic cooperation and a polycentric world order, the article argues that this framing masks a more predatory reality where recruitment networks exploit Kenya’s 67% youth unemployment rate. By luring individuals with fraudulent civilian job offers in hospitality and construction, these networks funnel vulnerable Kenyans into military service to supplement Russia's manpower needs; a strategy linked to the evolution of the ‘Africa Corps’ and a desire to minimize the domestic political costs of mobilization in Russia. Ultimately, the piece concludes that this exploitation poses significant sovereignty and security risks for Kenya, complicating its diplomatic balancing act between Western partnerships and strategic non-alignment while potentially fueling domestic unrest ahead of the 2027 elections.

Kenya’s Role in Regional Peacekeeping

Assessing Kenya's strategic position in regional peace and stability

Kenya’s role in regional peacekeeping is becoming increasingly critical as conflicts grow more complex. The key question now is not Kenya’s participation, but how it can exercise leadership that is both strategic and principled. Kenya’s regional clout seems to be waning in recent years, as several neighboring countries increasingly contest its traditional leadership role and question its interventions. Efforts to reclaim its traditional leadership role particularly in places like Sudan and the DRC have been met with push-back from those governments.

Why Kenya's Hustler Narrative Lacks the 'Social' in Market Economy

The Missing Social Pillar in Kenya’s Market Economy Vision

Kenya’s hustler economy celebrates individual grit without institutional support, unlike Germanys Social Market Economy which balances free markets with social welfare. Germany’s post war economic success stemmed from learning through failure and designing structural protections, not from glorifying struggle. Kenya requires architectural redesign, not motivational rhetoric, to transform hustle into sustainable prosperity.

Kenya’s Increase in Femicide

A Political Examination of Ruto’s 42 Members Task Force to address Gender Based Violence

Kenya has recorded its highest number of femicide cases since 2017, with over 600 murders of women between 2016 and 2024, exposing deep systemic and structural gender inequalities. President William Ruto’s establishment of a 42-member task force on Gender-Based Violence marks the first formal state acknowledgment of femicide as a national crisis, yet critics label it a performative response lacking structural power and accountability. The persistence of patriarchal governance, weak enforcement of gender laws, and political inertia have normalized violence against women as part of Kenya’s broader culture of im-punity.

Supporting the Adoption of Biofermentation Process Technologies in Kenya

Towards the Creation of a Sovereign Industry

A worldwide transition to a more sustainable world that addresses the problems associated with a changing climate, reduced biodiversity, increased pollution, and natural resources scarcity is a must. This global imperative for a greener, sustainable, and circular economy necessitates innovative approaches to production and consumption patterns, using new, clean, and green technologies. It re-quires innovative companies to introduce these advanced technologies into the economy to craft sustainable economic development models aligned with the climate and sustainable development goals.

Kenya mourns Raila Odinga

What does his death mean for political developments in Kenya?

„If you die, there is nothing to fear. Why? Because you either go to heaven or hell. If you go to heaven there is nothing to worry about. Even if you go to hell, there is nothing to worry about: you will find many of your friends there.“ (Raila Odinga on 10 November 2023 in his speech at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation's ‘Transforming a Nation’ conference in Nairobi, Kenya)

Female Representation and Participation in Political Leadership Positions

This report provides an overview of female participation and representation in leadership positions within the government in Kenya. In this context, we refer as participation to the active engagement of individuals in political and civic processes, regardless of whether they hold formal leadership positions and representation to the presence of individuals (here, women) in decision-making positions or roles within governance structures.