Producing Title Deals and the Africa Investigative Journalism Conference
The Deep Dive 45th Edition
Hello there,
The last episode of our investigation series dubbed #TitleDeals; Investigating land cartels in Kenya went out last Friday- 24th November 2023. This series by Joy Kirigia and Sam Munia looked into land theft cartels preying on innocent landowners in Kenya. Our producers told this story from the eyes of land theft victims, journalists, private investigators, lawmakers, government officials and politicians.
In this edition of the deep dive newsletter, our producers share their experience producing this series.
Dive in and if you are yet to, check out #TitleDeals on this link.
Joy Kirigia on producing #TitleDeals
In our Investigative documentary Title deals it took months, digging into Kenya’s land disputes as a public watchdog to expose the rot in the land governance system.
To the Title Deals crew and the entire Africa Uncensored team, thanks for coming through during the production of the 5 part in-depth series. The investigative journey hasn’t been easy, it requires resilience. The road has been rough but I am so glad that we are finally done and I am super grateful. To our viewers, thanks for watching and for your feedback.
Sam Munia on co-producing #TitleDeals
Land is increasingly becoming a source of conflicts in Kenya with corruption being the greatest contributor to the problem. Our journey in the 5-part series has been to reveal the truth, to root out facts many people and institutions often want to keep hidden, expose the gaps, re-establish fairness to land owners, shine light in dark places and provide possible solutions.
During our production for #TitleDeals, Joy Kirigia and myself met several people who have lost their genuinely acquired land to cartels. We also witnessed the existence of fake documents such as title deals, allegedly sourced from the Ministry of lands being used in land deals as well as illegal evictions being done using questionable court orders. Its sad and very chaotic!
After the publication, we have continued to receive many land cases that victims of land grabbing, injustices want more cartels exposed. As a matter of public interest, it’s our aim as Africa Uncensored to bring to attention, the story that matters to the society and hold individuals and institutions accountable. As our mantra, we shall continue to investigate, expose and empower!
Africa Uncensored’s Thomas Mukhwana on the Africa Investigative Journalism Conference.
The 19th Edition of Africa Investigative Journalism Conference AIJC came to an end on November 22, 2023. As is the tradition, the best of Africa's muckrakers converged in Johannesburg, South Africa not only to share ideas in presentations but also to comprehend common challenges they face in a craft with shrinking resources. Focal points included technology such as Artificial Intelligence-AI, journalists safety, the key role data plays in investigations and the sustainability of investigative journalism.
Africa Uncensored CEO John-Allan Namu guided attendees through Africa Uncensored's revenue streams and the evolving methods of storytelling such as gamified content.
To linger more on innovative methods of storytelling, Africa Uncensored's Emmanuel Chenze had a highly attended session at the gala awards where he presented gamified content that we've been working on since 2021. The earliest gamefied content, ‘For Facts Sake’, is available here on YouTube.
Our corruption tracker, Wizileaks, can also be downloaded as a browser extension here. In his final remarks as convener of AIJC, Anton Harber described the past 19 years as a "fantastic journey". As we anticipate the 20th instalment next year, it's clearer than ever that AIJC stands as a mecca for any muckraker.
What’s your take on the #TitleDeals series? Tell us on the comments. If you love our content, become an Africa Uncensored patron and support our work. It will boost our resources and enhance our ability to dig up the truth and bring you more like this.
Support us on Patreon or channel your contribution via M-Pesa Pay Bill number 880100, account number 2511150152.
Cheers!