Media personality Chris Makena Njeri has disputed claims that they changed their birth name to assume a ‘masculine’ name that currently appears on their social media profile.
The journalist’s social media profile on Instagram and Twitter now reads ‘Chris Muriithi’ and not ‘Makena Njeri’.
This spurred speculations on whether they changed their name officially however, in a lengthy statement on social media, Makena disputed the chatter saying;
“Another day above ground, another moment to fight for myself and my community. Another day to remind me and the world why I do the work I do. For the last couple of days, I have been plastered all over media outlets in Kenya with false accusations about a name change.
“What this has done is open up space once again for a queer person to be cyber-bullied, targeted, abused and harassed for their own existence.”
Further, Makena said the false reports laid grounds for cyberbullying and called for accountability.
“As a trained journalist I struggle to understand how false information is given a go-ahead by editorial (if this department even exists in such media outlets) and also how there is a complete lack of duty of care when it comes to reporting on issues around LGBTQ folk in this country. It proves to me that the work I continue to do is important to ensure media is educated on inclusive reporting for LGBTQ folk, the younger generation doesn’t have to go through this kind of hate and online attacks because of careless journalism. Do better!!”
“To companies like @meta @instagram @facebook, it’s time to make sure that we start having conversations that will ensure the queer community in Africa is not subjected to such online hate. I will continue to advocate for the rights of the queer community in Africa without fear or shame!”
Makena while speaking to local media noted that their real name is Chris Njeri Muriithi.
The name Makena was her character in a past popular local show Tahidi High.
“It is my name, Chris Njeri Muriithi. In fact, what is not my name is Makena, it was my acting name from Tahidi High that just stuck on for years,” they said.
