Maurice Otieno stepped down as Executive Director of Baraza Media Lab this week. Eric Kinaga takes over the role.
Otieno announced the move on LinkedIn, quoting a Swahili proverb: “Chenye mwanzo kina mwisho,” meaning that which has a beginning has an end. He joined Baraza’s founding team in 2019 and held the Executive Director title from April 2020.
Otieno’s Record At Baraza
His farewell post states Baraza raised $20 million in philanthropic funding and grew reach from 1,500 to 12,000 people over six years. His LinkedIn experience section states the lab raised $15 million over five years across more than 300 donors, with funding performance running 400 percent above target each year, and places the same growth in reach within two and a half years. Khusoko has not independently verified either figure and notes the discrepancy rather than choosing between them. Both accounts agree staff grew from 3 to 40.
Otieno states the lab now engages 7,000 people each month and runs on a $4 million annual budget. He credits his tenure with Baraza’s first fiduciary board, more than 40 organisational policies, and a monitoring, evaluation and learning framework for programme decisions. Staff turnover fell 20 percent during his time in the role, he states.
Under Otieno, Baraza built the Data Storytelling Fellowship, She Leads Media and the FumbuaKE collective, and launched a Media Innovation Incubator. The Africa Media Festival, which he founded, drew more than 200 organisations from 31 countries in 2026. Baraza co-founded the Africa Media Awards with the East African Editors’ Forum and Journalists for Human Rights. Otieno represented the organisation at the 79th and 80th UN General Assembly sessions and signed partnerships with county governments in Kenya.
The pandemic reached Kenya twelve weeks after Baraza opened. Otieno states the team responded by diversifying funding sources and adding partnerships.
“But these milestones were never about one person,” Otieno wrote, thanking staff who stayed, left or joined during his tenure. He credited Baraza’s board, funders and early partners.
Kinaga’s Background
Kinaga has worked for close to a decade on public debt, fiscal governance and accountability systems in Kenya and East Africa. His past work includes assignments with USAID Kenya and East Africa and the Institute for Social Accountability.
Before that, Kinaga spent nearly three years at Transparency International Kenya. He coordinated the Shule Yangu Alliance, a campaign for land rights covering more than 30,000 public schools, then moved into public accountability roles covering county and national budget analysis.
Kinaga writes Letters to a Kinder Nation, a biweekly newsletter on governance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration from Moi University, a diploma in project management from the Kenya Institute of Management, and a master’s degree in development studies from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
“I’m interested in building public systems that are not only effective and accountable, but also worth believing in,” Kinaga said.
What Comes Next
Otieno described his exit as stepping aside, not leaving the sector. “I’ll be cheering from the side,” he wrote. He plans time with family before starting new work.
Kinaga takes over an organisation with staff, funding and programmes that have expanded since 2019. Baraza has not stated whether his tenure will change the lab’s programming or funding strategy.
