Denis Nzioka

Denis Nzioka is an award-winning activist, author, and journalist working at the intersection of sexual and gender minority rights, HIV and TB advocacy, and sex workers’ rights justice in Kenya and across Africa. For over two decades, Denis has been at the forefront of advancing visibility, health equity, and social justice, combining community organising with media innovation and policy advocacy. He has dedicated his life to amplify, and tell differently, the voices, experiences and stories of marginalised communities, in all their diversities and expressions, in Kenya, and in Africa.

He has played a foundational role in the establishment of numerous organisations focused on queer rights, sexual health, and bodily autonomy, while supporting regional networks that promote diversity, self-expression, and inclusive access to services. He is the founder of the Denis Nzioka News Agency & Service, Kenya’s first media agency dedicated to key and marginalised as well as allied communities, which transformed public opinion through grassroots reporting, advocacy materials, and digital platforms.

Denis has authored and edited several publications, including Rafiki Zetu (2019), an anthology of Kenyan allies speaking out for LGBTIQ+ rights, and co-edited My Way, Your Way or the Rights Way. His writings have been featured in numerous global platforms, and is a regular presence in local and international media.

His contributions have earned him widespread recognition, including The Guardian’s listing as one of the 2014 Top 10 Global Tweeters on Sexuality and Development, the 2016 Sauti Award for ethical journalism, and was the 2018 Feather Awards Africa Honouree. In 2020, he received the Munir Mazrui Lifetime Achievement Award by the Defenders Coalition of Kenya and was named the 2022 African Activist by the East African AHEA Awards.

Based in Nairobi, he is currently writing his third book.