THE DEEP DIVE 13TH EDITION:

We're taking on polarised politics, the Pandora Papers and misinformation:

The past week has been a big one for journalism! Two journalists, Maria Ressa from the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov from Russia won the Nobel Peace prize for their commitment to freedom of expression in their countries; an endorsement of the role of journalists in entrenching fundamental freedoms in any society. The global impact of the Pandora Papers is only now starting to be felt, with laws being floated in the US to better manage the role of enablers in secrecy jurisdictions to reactions from across Africa to 53 separate stories about Africa's elite. The leak, which brought together the biggest journalistic collaboration in history, is in itself an endorsement of the power of investigative journalism in holding power to account. We at Africa Uncensored are proud to have been part of this collaboration. In case you haven't watched our documentary, you can catch it here.

Following on from the Pandora Papers, there have been lots of questions coming our way about the offshore economy. That's why in this edition of The Deep Dive, we've got an extended interview with Professor of Fiscal Law and policy, Attiya Waris. She covers everything from how these jurisdictions operate to why you should be concerned about their use by your country's elite. Also in this edition, we've got a brilliant reflective piece about the state of Kenya's politics as viewed by journalist, Christine Mungai. This Thursday, our twitter spaces conversation, #jointhenewsroom returns, and we're talking about political polarisation. What drives it? How can we stay united in a poisoned political space? Come and join in the conversation!

One more thing…

On October 10th, the World mental health day was marked across the globe. In Kenya,
mental health concerns in the police service continue to grow, with more and more cases of killings, suicide and self-harm by police officers being reported. As part of our Investigate 101 training and mentorship program, mentee Calvin Magawe delved into the difficult subject of mental health in Kenya's police service. His story will be published this week on our YouTube page, so look out for it.

Dive in!

A TALK ABOUT SECRECY JURISDICTIONS

Attiya Waris, a Professor of Fiscal Law and policy at the University of Nairobi talks to Africa Uncensored's John-Allan Namu through the history, uses and concerns about secrecy jurisdictions, in the wake of the Pandora Papers leak.

What’s keeping us from getting political together?

In our continuing election series #Disclosure, Baraza Media lab curator, writer and journalist par excellence Christine Mungai threads the connection between a disengagement from collective political discourse and development! This reflective piece will get you reflecting on why you might not be interested in the political any more. Read it here here!

Is The State of Insecurity In Nigeria a Breeding Ground For Misinformation?

Banditry and separatist insurgency has increasingly been one of the causes of insecurity in different states in Nigeria. This range from abductions of school children to attacks on police bases to shootings by unknown armed men. 

How misinformation finds its way into discussions surrounding these attacks is not surprising. Piga Firimbi has looked into such videos and images pulled out of context, with the intention to mislead and create tension within Nigeria’s social media spaces. 

One of such videos, for instance, claimed to show bandits in Zamfara state set ablaze by Nigerian soldiers. However, that was not the case. This video first surfaced on the internet during a tanker explosion in Morogoro, Tanzania, back in 2019. 

Another image claimed Fulani bandits set a child on fire during the #June12Protest in Nigeria. This protest, organized by activists and civic groups, was aimed at raising concerns about governance in Nigeria and the rise in insecurity in the country. 

Results however show this happened during an armed conflict in Cameroon early this year. 

As some of these gruesome videos and images may fit perfectly in the different contexts they are used, there is more need to look deeper and verify their authenticity. 

Kenya Airways: Fall of the Pride

In this edition, we revisit a documentary that Africa Uncensored did a year ago titled Kenya Airways: Fall of the Pride. As the name suggests, this series was based on the turn in the fortunes of Kenya Airways, chronicling the impact that Project Mawingu, and other questionable decisions had on the Pride of Africa's difficulties: Here's the playlist of the documentary!

FEEDBACK

Kennedy Mose: Why are we suffering knowingly? We need to liberate our country otherwise our children will be squatters in our own country at this rate.

Stephen Muga: This is a nice piece. Good job!

Alan Maturi: As usual Africa Uncensored exceeds expectations in Journalism. Kudos!

Mark Gachucha: A documentary many have been waiting for. Very eye opening.

A1 Fugezzi: Corruption will finish every Pride Kenya has. All our neighbours are making big moves as we cheer looters and leave the corrupt for the corrupt courts in the name of democracy.

Editorial Director: John-Allan Namu

Assignment Editor: Sam Munia

Social Media Manager: Cecilia Ashioya

Contributors: Nyakerario Omari and Kevin Mbugua

Before you go…

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