Brenda Wambui

Hi! I’m Brenda Wambui, a social scientist and policy entrepreneur.

I rewrite how power operates within technology, civic power and responsible markets. I co-created Tujipange.com to help Kenyans set the national agenda, and founded Ushiriki Labs, Africa’s first Social Systems Design Lab, to build the systems that make this possible. Earlier, I created and hosted Otherwise?, a pioneering socio-political issues podcast, and co-founded Brainstorm Africa, a trailblazing socio-political journal, with audiences in 91+ and 148 countries respectively.

More About Me

Selected Media

Selected Publications

From the Feminist Charter to Beyoncé and Radical Optimism: Reflections of Younger African Feminists

Ultimately, my dream is to live in a world where we talk about the feminist
movement as an undeniable success in past tense, and the African Feminist
Charter is cited as one of the tools that helped us arrive at a place where African
women, and women across the world, are free from patriarchal oppression. In
the near future, my dream is for material improvements in the lives of the girls and young women in generations after mine, such that they are able to take for
granted the space that we and our foremothers fought for and build upon the
body of African feminist knowledge. In all this, I wish us long, joyful and
fulfilling lives as we do this life-changing work, because we are worthy and we
deserve it.

“Cracking the Glass Ceiling” in the book “Pioneers, Rebels, and a Few Villains: 150 Years of Journalism in Eastern Africa”

The ground beneath our feet will, however, continue to shift. As Catherine Gicheru
notes, “The traditional newspaper business model that is based on advertising
and circulation being the main source of revenue that drives the business is not
going to be sustainable for long.” To maintain their readership, media outlets will
need to rethink their models holistically, and this will include how they represent
women, both as subjects in the media and as creators of the news.

Biting the Hand That Feeds Us: A Feminist Analysis of Food Rights and Food Politics in Kenya

If poverty in Kenya had a face, it would be a woman’s. According to the Kenya’s Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), although the overall poverty incidence declined from 56% in 2000 to about 47% in 2005/06, the poverty headcount was higher among women in both rural and urban areas (50% and 46% respectively). Women and children are more vulnerable to both absolute and food poverty (both of which occur mainly in female-headed households) because tradition gives them less decision-making power over assets than men, while at the same time limiting their opportunities to engage in remunerated activities and acquire their own assets.

Otherwise? Podcast

Essays on Brainstorm

  • Democracy and Development

    The simplest definition of democracy is one given by Abraham Lincoln, a former president of the USA: democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people. It is all about the people. It sounds better than…

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  • Extrajudicial Killings

    On 7th July 2018, the Social Justice Centres Working Group, which consists groups from Mathare, Dandora, Kayole, Mukuru, Kibra, Kamukunji and Githurai, held the Saba Saba March for Our Lives. The demand? An end to extrajudicial killings, investigations into the…

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  • Are Kenyans Over-represented?

    Before we passed the 2010 constitution, we voted for the president, and members of parliament for our respective constituencies. After 2010, a Kenyan voter now has to elect the president and their deputy (on one ticket), the governor and the senator…

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  • The Problem With Lifestyle Audits

    Uhuru Kenyatta recently announced that all government officials and their families would undergo a lifestyle audit as part of his war on corruption, starting in July 2018. This would include him and his deputy, William Ruto. Those found guilty of…

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