Mactilda Mbenywe

Mactilda Mbenywe is a self-driven, motivated and passionate multimedia science journalist in Kenya, with a knack for environment, climate and conservation stories. She is a journalist with the Standard Group, a mainstream media house in Kenya with a mission of uncovering cross-border critical issues on both land and marine biodiversity through data-based multimedia storytelling. Apart from her passion, Mactilda has been a key pillar in reporting health and gender issues, especially issues touching on vulnerable groups. On the environment beat, she has reported in-depth stories on climate change and investigated impacts and sources of greenhouse gases. Her reporting on environment and climate change has helped communities living around Lake Victoria conserve marine resources, avoid environmental degradation and find sustainable ways of living. Mactilda has covered global conversations on environmental issues such as the COP26 event in Glasgow, Scotland, the UN Environment Programme Summit and the UN Environment Assembly, among others. As a science journalist, Mactilda has been at the forefront of covering the COVID-19 pandemic, linking viral disease to the environment, and attending high-level meetings organized by the World Health Organization and the African Center for Disease Control. She has been honored by the Nile Basin Initiative for balanced reporting on cooperation in the region. She has also been recognized by the Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health project for excellence in reporting environmental concerns, and she has won an Annual Journalism Excellence Award for her reporting on how climate change spurs mental crises. Mactilda is a member of the Association of Media Women in Kenya, Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture, and the Kenya Environment and Science Journalists Association networks. She holds honors in journalism studies from Maseno University and is currently a master’s student in environmental communication studies.