Building TruthKenya

The Midnight Revelation

It happened during a late-night coding session. Another headline about misappropriated funds, another stalled project with no explanation. The frustration was familiar, but this time something clicked: What if we could visualize the gap between what's promised and what's delivered?

That night, TruthKenya.com was born—not just as a project tracker, but as a transparency engine for Kenya's future.

The Problem We're Solving

Kenya doesn't lack government data—it lacks accessible and actionable data. When money disappears into the bureaucratic void, citizens struggle to connect those numbers to real-world impacts.

For example, when KES 1 billion vanishes in a corruption scandal, what does that really mean? With TruthKenya, that abstract figure transforms into:

• 10 hospitals that weren't built

• 500km of roads that weren't paved

• 200 schools that went without resources

Suddenly, corruption isn't just a headline—it's a measurable loss of opportunity.

How We're Building It

TruthKenya combines five powerful components:

1. The Interactive Dashboard

The heart of our platform is the dashboard where users can:

• Filter government projects by county, year, or sector

• Track national debt, unemployment, and inflation trends

• See real-time visualization of budget allocations

// Budget impact analysis utility functions
// These transform abstract budget figures into tangible impacts

// Calculate what could have been built with misappropriated funds
const calculateInfrastructureImpact = (misappropriatedAmount) => {
  return {
    hospitals: Math.floor(misappropriatedAmount / 100_000_000),
    roadKilometers: Math.floor(misappropriatedAmount / 2_000_000),
    schoolResources: Math.floor(misappropriatedAmount / 5_000_000),
    waterProjects: Math.floor(misappropriatedAmount / 15_000_000)
  };
};

// Generate user-friendly impact message
const generateImpactMessage = (county, amount) => {
  const impact = calculateInfrastructureImpact(amount);
  
  return `In ${county}, the KES ${amount.toLocaleString()} that was not properly 
  utilized could have funded any of the following:
  • ${impact.hospitals} local hospitals
  • ${impact.roadKilometers} kilometers of paved roads
  • Resources for ${impact.schoolResources} schools
  • ${impact.waterProjects} community water projects`;
};

2. Leader Accountability Engine

Every public official gets a searchable profile showing:

• Project execution rates

• Audit scores

• Citizen approval ratings

• Ongoing impeachment petitions

The breakthrough insight? When leaders know they're being watched, behavior changes.

3. Citizen Reporting System

The most powerful data comes from citizens themselves:

• Report stalled projects with geo-tagged evidence

• Submit fraud evidence securely

• Verify other citizens' reports to build consensus

4. AI-Powered Civic Education (UwaziBot)

Democracy requires informed citizens. Our AI chatbot answers questions like:

• "What is the 2024 health budget for Makueni County?"

• "How does the national debt affect my daily life?"

• "What powers does my local MCA have?"

5. Social Action Tools

Data without action is just information. TruthKenya transforms insights into impact through:

• Shareable campaign links for strikes and petitions

• County performance leaderboards

• Automated alerts when projects fall behind schedule

Current Development Status

TruthKenya is under active development with:

• ✅ Basic dashboard UI completed

• ✅ Project directory structure implemented

• 🔄 Initial data connectors to government APIs

• 🔄 Leader profiles in progress

• 🔄 Reporting system in beta testing

• 📅 AI chatbot planned for Phase 2

The Tech Behind the Truth

We're building with a modern stack to ensure speed, reliability, and scale:

• Frontend: React, Next.js, D3.js, Material-UI

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js

• Database: PostgreSQL (structured data), MongoDB (citizen reports)

• APIs: OpenAI, Kenyan National Treasury, KNBS

• Hosting: Vercel (frontend), AWS EC2 (backend)

The Surprising Challenge

The biggest hurdle hasn't been technical—it's been psychological. How do you build a platform about government accountability that citizens actually trust?

Our testing revealed an unexpected insight: transparency tools often fail because they focus on exposing problems without enabling solutions. TruthKenya bridges this gap by connecting every data point to an action citizens can take.

The Vision: 2027 and Beyond

We're building TruthKenya with Kenya's 2027 elections in mind. By then, we aim to provide:

• Comprehensive profiles of all elected officials

• Five-year performance trends for every county

• A verified database of completed vs. abandoned projects

• AI-powered predictions for project completion

Because informed voting isn't just a civic duty—it's how we build the Kenya we deserve.

Join the Transparency Movement

TruthKenya is open-source because accountability shouldn't be proprietary. Whether you code, report, or simply use the platform, you're helping build a more transparent Kenya.

Check out our GitHub repo to:

• Contribute code

• Report bugs

• Suggest features

• Test the beta version

Because in the end, the truth isn't just about what we know—it's about what we do with that knowledge.

Want to know more about how we're securing citizen reports or building the impeachment petition system? Let me know in the comments!