What does it mean to fail forward in organising, and how do movements survive across generations?

In this episode, recorded at Mashujaa Heritage Archives in Kibichuku, Monica Kamandau sits down with veteran Kenyan organiser and scholar Njuki Githethwa. With nearly three decades in resistance and movement building, Dr. Njuki reflects on the evolution of Kenya’s struggles, from the Mau Mau movement to today’s Gen Z protests and the Kenya Left Alliance.

Key Ideas and Highlights

Failing forward as a movement practice

Movements must evolve, regroup, and shed their skin in order to survive. Failure is not an end point, but a foundation for renewal.

Mobilising versus organising

Life and death issues bring people to the streets, but ideology, identity, and belonging are what sustain movements over time.

Liberated zones as paths to revolution

Small, tangible victories and spaces of freedom inspire people and show what justice and liberation can look like in practice.

Licensing

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. The Beautiful Trouble toolbox inspires our podcast.

Resources & Show Links

Mashujaa Heritage Archives, Kibichuku

Fail Forward

Credits

Host: Monica Kamandau

Guest: Njuki Githethwa

Producer & Audio Producer: Rodgers George

Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum

Ep42: Civil Disobedience with Faith Kasina

When does breaking the law become the only way to survive?

In this episode, we sit down at the Kayole Social Justice Centre with organizer Faith Kasina and members of the Centre to explore civil disobedience in moments when the state fails its people. Faith walks us through protest organizing during COVID, the realities of living under Article 43 violations, and how communities confront gunism, police violence, and the politics of being branded as criminals while demanding dignity. This is a direct, honest conversation from those living the struggle daily.

Key Ideas and Highlights

• Civil disobedience emerges when government directives clash with lived reality, especially in informal settlements lacking food, water, housing, and healthcare.
• Gunism is rooted in economic deprivation and political manipulation; organizers share how political education and exposure are used to reclaim young people from being weaponized.
• Peaceful protesters are often branded as violent, yet protest remains a constitutional right. The community shares strategies for navigating this risk while staying grounded in justice.

Licensing

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. Our work is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Resources and Show Links

Kayole Community Justice Center

Article 43 of the Kenyan Constitution

Civil Disobedience Beautiful Trouble toolbox

Credits

Host: Monica Kamandau

Guest: Faith Kasina and Kayole Social Justice Centre members

Producer: Rodgers George

Music: Beautiful Trouble and Mwaduga Salum

What is the true story behind America’s gun culture beyond Hollywood’s dramatised scenes? In this Smoke Signal, we unpack the myths, realities, and politics behind gun violence in the United States through lived experience, global perception, and the unchecked power of the gun industry.

Growing up outside the U.S., many of us see America through movies: chaotic streets, armed civilians, danger at every corner. But how much of that imagery mirrors real life? In this conversation, we explore how easy access to guns, racialised oppression, economic precarity, and political mythology fuel a crisis that has become tragically normalised. From childhood gun training to mass shootings, from Walmart gun aisles to parents organizing for their children’s safety, this is a raw look at a nation shaped by firearms.

1. Hollywood vs. Reality: Movies exaggerate, but the core problem is real — guns are incredibly easy to access in the U.S., shaping both culture and violence.
2. Race, Power, and Mythology: America’s obsession with guns is tied to white settler identity, political polarisation, and billion-dollar lobby groups like the NRA.
3. Everyday Consequences: From children pretending to be armed for safety to families losing loved ones over a bag of food, gun violence reflects deeper economic and political failures.

Anyone can use this podcast for free with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and may be used for radio or any other media. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

• Home | Moms Demand Action
• Research on the U.S. gun lobby and NRA influence (https://bit.ly/4asCSFc)
• Articles on Walmart’s role in firearm sales (https://bit.ly/445b71C)

• Hosts: Phil Wilmot & Rodgers George

Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum

What happens when a movement falls in love with one tactic? In this episode, we visit Githurai Social Justice Centre to explore how Kenyan organisers can move beyond protest fatigue and rethink the power of people-centred strategies.

Njoki Gachanja is a community organizer, political and social justice activist, and community lawyer. She coordinates the Githurai Social Justice Centre, where she works with youth, artists, and local networks to build people power from the ground up. Njoki walks us through why mandamano became so central, what its limits are, and what it will take to build fresh, effective, and unified tactics for today’s Kenya.

1. Anger fuels action, but anger is not a strategy. Effective organizing requires clarity, love, unity and the courage to imagine alternatives, not only resistance.
2. Kenya’s most powerful organizing spaces are not always the streets. Churches, football pitches, TikTok, markets, and clubs already gather thousands and can be transformed into political education spaces.
3. We win when our currency is truth. In the digital age, political clarity, fact checking, and fidelity to the people are essential for resisting misinformation and building sustainable movements.

Anyone can use this podcast for free, with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media. Our podcast is inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

• Githurai Social Justice Center (Facebook, X)
• Beautiful Trouble toolbox

Host:Monica Kamandau Guest: Njoki Gachanja Production: Rodgers George Music: Beautiful Trouble and Mwaduga Salum

How do millennials and Gen Z work together in social movements when their values, experiences, and approaches often clash? In this episode of Troublemakers (TM) Smoke Signals, we explore intergenerational dynamics in activism, examining the tensions and opportunities that arise when younger and older generations collaborate or collide.

Key Ideas and Highlights:

Different Values, Shared Goals: Millennials often emphasise respect for hierarchy and experience, while Gen Z demands accountability and direct action. Understanding these differences is key to effective collaboration.

Mutual Learning Across Ages: True solidarity happens when generations engage in genuine relationships, mentoring, and shared learning. Eldership is earned through curiosity, presence, and openness, not simply age.

Shared Struggle Against Systems: Economic pressures, systemic inequities, and structural power imbalances affect both generations. Recognising common challenges fosters solidarity beyond generational divides.

Licensing: Anyone can use this episode for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). We operate under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and draw inspiration from the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Credits:

Hosted by Phil and Rodgers George | Produced by Rodgers George | Music by Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum | Edited by Monica Kamandau

Host: Phil Wilmot | Guest: Mette Olwig | Producer: Rodgers George | Editor: Monica Kamandau.

How do we unlearn the colonial logic of “good development”?

In this episode, Ugandan filmmaker and theatremaker Patience Nitumwesiga reflects on Paulo Freire’s and Augusto Boal’s ideas, exploring how art, story, and imagination can awaken critical consciousness and challenge imposed notions of progress.

Key Ideas

Unlearning the “banking model” — Knowledge already lives within communities; true learning begins through shared reflection.

The burden and gift of awareness — Once awakened, we cannot return to ignorance; awareness demands creative resistance.

Decolonising “development” — African ways of life are not backward but expressions of freedom and identity.

Licensing

This episode is free to use with attribution to Trouble Makers (the podcast), under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, inspired by the Beautiful Trouble toolbox.

Resources & Show Links

🎬 Movie link: https://www.thewomanwhopokedtheleopard.com

Credits

Host: Phil Wilmot | Guest: Patience Nitumwesiga | Producer: Rodgers George | Editor: Phil Wilmot | Studio: Troublemakers MS TCDC | Music: Beautiful Trouble & Mwaduga Salum

What does it mean to seek justice in a system that thrives on injustice? In this powerful reading, Sungu Oyoo, a Kenyan writer, activist, and pan-Africanist affiliated with Kongamano La Mapinduzi and Mwamko, revisits the words of Sam Mugumya, author of We Refuse to Be Victims.

Key Ideas and Highlights

Injustice as Everyday Life Sungu’s reading reminds us how injustice is normalised, becoming the air the marginalised breathe.

The Political Resonance Through Mugumya’s words, we hear echoes of many others silenced across the continent. A call to remember, resist, and refuse to bow.

Licensing Anyone can use this recording for free, with attribution to Troublemakers (the podcast). It is held under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License and can be used for radio or any other media.

Resources & Show Links

We Refuse to Be Victims by Sam Mugumya: https://bit.ly/4mZyHDD Credits Reading: Sungu Oyoo Producer: Rodgers George Poet: Sam Mugumya Recording: Trouble Makers