Editorial standards

Public-interest scope

REKODI covers serious misconduct connected to Kenya that affects the public: corruption and bribery, misuse of public money, abuse of office, police violence and unlawful conduct, serious human-rights violations and retaliation against people who report misconduct.

Excluded submissions

• Ordinary private or family disputes
• Rumours without any supporting material
• Material about people's private lives with no public-interest link
• Content intended to harass, intimidate or incite
• Material obtained by seriously endangering another person

Allegation, material, corroboration and finding

• Allegation: a claim made by someone. It is not treated as fact.
• Submitted material: documents, images, audio or other items received. Their authenticity is not assumed.
• Corroborated information: facts supported by more than one independent source or check.
• Editorial finding: a conclusion REKODI reaches after review, stated with its basis and limits.

Verification and corroboration

Material will be checked for authenticity, context, date and origin where possible. Important facts should be supported independently. What could not be verified will be said plainly.

Threshold for publicly naming a person

A person will be named only where the public interest is clear, the material is substantially corroborated, they have been offered a right of reply, and two authorised human reviewers approve. Junior staff and bystanders will generally not be named.

Presumption of innocence

A REKODI record is not a court finding. Everyone named is presumed innocent unless a competent court decides otherwise, and records will say so.

Meaningful right of reply

Anyone named will be told the substance of what is to be published and given a fair chance to respond before publication.

Redaction and harm minimisation

Faces, names, locations, metadata and other details that could expose sources, victims or bystanders will be removed unless their publication is essential and safe.

Children, victims and vulnerable people

Children will not be identified. Victims of violence will not be identified without informed consent, and consent can be withdrawn. Extra care applies to people in custody, detention or at risk of reprisal.

Graphic and traumatic content

Graphic material will be published only where necessary to understand a matter, behind clear warnings, and never for shock value. Reviewers will have the right to step away from distressing material.

Conflicts of interest

Anyone with a personal, financial or political link to a matter must declare it and step aside from decisions about it.

Funding and editorial independence

Funders will have no say over what is recorded or published. Funding sources will be disclosed publicly. No funding is currently confirmed.

Corrections, appeals and removal requests

Errors will be corrected openly. Requests for correction or removal will be reviewed on evidence, with an appeal route. See the Corrections page.

Evidence retention and deletion

Material will be kept only as long as it serves the public-interest purpose or a legal obligation. Retention periods will be set and published before reporting opens. Sources will be able to ask for their material to be withdrawn where this does not cause harm to others.

Government, police or legal requests

Requests for material or source information will be reviewed with legal advice and challenged where appropriate. REKODI will aim to collect as little identifying information as possible so there is little to hand over. Requests will be reported in aggregate where lawful.

AI use and limitations

Automated tools may help with transcription, translation or organising material. They will not decide what is true, who is named or what is published, and their outputs will be checked by people. Synthetic or manipulated media is a known risk and will be checked for.

Publication approval

Once the editorial operation launches, every publication naming a person or institution will require approval by at least two authorised human reviewers. Nothing is published automatically.

Change history

Every change to these standards will be dated and listed in the revision history below.