Denis Nzioka
 |
Denis Nzioka | |
|---|---|
| Born | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Occupation(s) | activist, author and journalist |
| Known for | Activism, Author, Journalism |
Denis Nzioka is a Kenyan activist-author with a particular focus on marginalized communities in Kenya and Africa. He has been instrumental in the formation of several organizations focused on sexual diversity and sex workers' rights while supporting regional organizing around sexual diversity, bodily autonomy, and choice-expression.[1]
Life and work
[edit]Nzioka was born in Nairobi, Kenya and studied at the University of Nairobi. He graduated with a Bachelor degree in Journalism and Media Studies.
He founded the Denis Nzioka News Agency and Service in 2010[2] as a media agency and service for marginalized communities in Kenya. The Agency works to transform public opinion and social attitudes through grassroots reporting and community commentary. The Agency provides advocacy and resource materials.
Nzioka was a 2013 Kenyan Presidential aspirant.[3] He pioneered Identity Kenya, as well as a news app on the Google Play Store. He co-edited GKT's book My Way, Your Way or the Rights Way and published in 2019 an anthology book of Kenyan allies speaking out for LGBTIQ rights titled Rafiki Zetu. In 2020, he launched an online archive,[4] dubbed KumbuKumbu, an open, online, and free repository for records documenting the history and culture of the same-sex expressions and identities in Kenya from mid-1800 to the present.
He is writing his third book.
Awards
[edit]Nzioka was named one of the World's Top 10 Tweeters on Sexuality and Development.[5] He received the 2016 Sauti Award for "balanced reporting of sex work issues," and to celebrate their 10th anniversary, the South Africa Feathers Awards named him as its 2018 Africa honouree. He received the Munir Mazrui Lifetime Achievement Award from the Defenders Coalition and the Best EA Activist Award in the Tanzania Activist Awards.
Publications
[edit]- My Way, Your Way, or the Rights Way. Nairobi: Storymoja, 2011.
- Rafiki Zeru: Kenyan LGBTIQ Stories, as told, by Allies. Nairobi, 2019.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ DeBernardo, Francis (2012-10-02). "Catholic Brother Cited as Founder of Kenya's LGBT Community". New Ways Ministry. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- ^ "Welcoming two new members to the HIV Justice Network team". HIV Justice Network. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
- ^ "Kenyan Gay To Contest For President". 256news.com. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
- ^ "Kenyan gay man wants to change minds with new collection of LGBTI stories". archive.globalgayz.com. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Top 10 tweeters on sexuality and development". The Guardian. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
External links
[edit]- Nzioka, Denis (2022). "The fight for bodily agency, human rights and lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ persons should be celebrated every day". Journal of the International AIDS Society. 25 (5): e25911. doi:10.1002/jia2.25911. PMC 9108587. PMID 35570833.