In 2006,  just before Kenya promulgated a new constitution, Martin Masai founded The Anchor, a newspaper that covered the news in three counties; Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni.

The word counties was new to Kenya’s lingua franca and was–among many concepts such as senate, women representatives, devolution etc– sequela of this new constitution.

Before this new legal and governance framework, the governance structure was centralized with eight provinces operated under the control of the presidency.

As such, the media was centralized and focused majorly on the president and the happenings in the capital city Nairobi.

The 2010 Constitution effected autonomy in counties, necessitating independent control of budgets and development agendas.

Thus, by founding The Anchor, Martin Masai was adjusting the sails to the tides of the times, where these decentralized county governments have a fourth estate to hold them accountable. 

The Anchor began as a monthly newspaper and was circulated in the three counties, which cover an area of approximately 44,573 km² a significant portion of Kenya’s southeastern region.

Before the 2010 constitution, Kitui, Machakos, and Makueni were within the Eastern province. They also share a cultural and linguistic heritage in the Kamba language, as well as similar climate challenges characterised by a semi-arid climate with sparse and unreliable rainfall. 

For about four years, as The Anchor circulated its print publication it became a vital part of the politics in these counties. During this time, The Anchor published impactful stories, such as the scandalous and bizarre shooting of Father Nzuki by Father Makewa—a story which led to legal repercussions and ecclesiastical sanctions.

In 2011, operations for the physical paper were slowed down and transitted to online as the founder took on a new role of managing a Kamba-language radio station that reached the same communities.

Fast-forward to 2024: 15 years after its founding, The Anchor’s resolve to wield the pen against the swords of governance remains unshaken. The political climate in Kenya—and indeed the world—continues to demand a vigilant press that’s attuned to the realities of a highly globalized yet unequally developed landscape.

Since moving the website to a new domain in September 2024, The Anchor has had over 80,000 unique readers in October and on course to over 100,000 in November. This is in addition to over half a million readers in http/theanchormedia.blogspot.com. While these figures affirm our belief in the need for devolved media, we recognize that our target audience and most of whom would benefit from our stories remain disenfranchised by unequal digital infrastructure and access. Acknowledging this reality, we are committed to devising innovative ways to reach these audiences—efforts that will unfold as we adapt and persevere.

If misinformation and disinformation can infiltrate these enclaves, so can we.

Who We Are

Martin Masai- Founder, Editor and Publisher.

Steffany Ndei- Strategy Editor.

We publish stories from stringers on the ground. If you have any story that touches on Kitui, Machakos, and/or Makueni, please reach out to theanchormedia1@gmail.com.

Although we are currently unable to offer remuneration, you will retain full rights to your work and will always be credited with a byline. If you choose to republish your piece elsewhere, we request that you include proper attribution acknowledging its original publication on our platform. 

Our Approach to AI in Journalism

At The Anchor, we recognize the growing role of Artificial Intelligence in media and communication. While we are aware of the challenges and concerns associated with AI, we firmly believe in harnessing its potential for good. Due to being a small and understaffed team, some of our stories may be edited with the help of AI tools but are always fact-checked, reviewed, and refined by our editorial team to ensure accuracy, quality, and relevance.

This means that we do accept stories written with the help of AI but not entirely by AI. What we seek are human sourced, human investigated, factual, and verifiable stories that bring truth to the fray. If AI helps you write it better, by all means do so.

Funding

Currently, we are entirely self-funded and running operations from our pockets. We welcome investors, donors, advertisers, and funders who will respect our editorial policies and independence. Please send us an email if you would like to support us. theanchormedia1@gmail.com.