Santuri was founded in 2013 to help reshape the East African music ecosystem and address the inequities that limit access, create risk, and exclude many — especially women and non-male identifying practitioners. Building safe, inclusive, and accountable creative spaces has always been central to our work.

In 2021, a survey of over 300 music practitioners highlighted widespread challenges: lack of safe creative environments, and regular experiences of harassment, bullying, and exclusion. These findings informed the design of the Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA), which remains grounded in equity, safety, and clear community standards.

We recognise that safeguarding is an ongoing responsibility. As Santuri has grown, we have strengthened our internal systems to make sure we are meeting this responsibility with professionalism and care.

---

Safeguarding Work Undertaken in 2025

To improve our structures and ensure accountability across the organisation, Santuri undertook a comprehensive safeguarding and organisational culture review throughout 2025. This work focused on:

1. Strengthening People & Culture

• Engaging a consultant to guide and support the development of safeguarding and wellbeing functions across all programmes. This has included integrating trauma-informed and mental-health–aware practices into facilitator training and curriculum design in Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA).

2. Clearer Reporting and Accountability Systems

• Expanding community-wide safeguarding surveys.
  
  
• Conducting individual staff interviews on culture, safety, and communication.
  
  
• Developing a structured reporting and follow-up system to ensure concerns are addressed consistently and transparently.
  
  

3. Policy and Governance Updates

• Reviewing and updating the Human Resource Manual, Standard Operating Procedures, and Personal Relationships Policy with staff input.
  
  
• Aligning all processes with Kenya’s current safeguarding, mental wellness, and workplace legislation.
  
  

4. Team Capacity Building

• Delivering a series of  full-day workshops on communication, boundaries, conflict resolution, and values alignment.
  
  
• Introducing practical tools for leadership and conflict reconciliation
  
  

This work is ongoing and will continue into 2026 as policies are finalised and operationalised.

---

Current Safeguarding Case

Earlier this year, we introduced a safeguarding reporting tool to help us understand how well we are supporting our community. Within the last month, we received a report through this channel.

We are currently following a structured process involving:

• engagement with the reporter,
  
  
• assessment by external safeguarding professionals, and
  
  
• information gathering from the individual named in the report.
  
  

We know that information about this case is circulating informally. We understand the desire for clarity, but we must protect the integrity and fairness of the process. Based on legal and professional safeguarding advice, we cannot comment on an active investigation. However, we can confirm that the process is underway, and that it follows established safeguarding standards.

The reporting tool remains open for anyone in our community who wishes to share information, anonymously or otherwise:

https://forms.gle/w6sFjE4yg3v2tx9W8

---

Our Ongoing Commitment

The focus on safeguarding within Santuri has been as a response to Santuri’s growing influence within the sector, and to concerns raised within the community about safety both around the Santuri ecosystem and in wider nightlife and music circles.

We recognise that safeguarding requires continuous attention and improvement, we are committed to addressing current challenges and building a more robust culture of care. Next steps include:

• completing the current investigation with fairness, care, and professionalism;
  
  
• implementing the strengthened reporting and accountability systems developed this year; and
  
  
• ensuring our programmes reflect the needs and wellbeing of the communities we serve.
  
  

As the investigation progresses, we will share outcomes with the reporter and, where appropriate, with the wider Santuri community. We remain committed to creating safer, more transparent, and more accountable creative spaces.

David, on behalf of the Santuri leadership team 

We’ve had a few nice words said about us. You can read some of them here.
 



https://www.createdefinerelease.com/insight/reflections-on-kilele

https://www.ardaudiothek.de/episode/pop-rewind-der-nachtmix-podcast/so-klingt-nairobis-elektronischer-underground/br/13149797/

https://sanaakwasana.wordpress.com/2024/02/29/kilele-summit-santuri-east-africa-continues-to-write-a-global-narrative/

https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/david-tinning-new-kilele-music-summit-and-10-years-santuri

https://djmag.com/news/new-music-tech-summit-kilele-scheduled-nairobi-2024

https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/santuri-east-africa-announces-launch-kilele-summit

https://leguesswho.com/news/santuri-embassy-announcement

https://www.compsmag.com/news/nairobi-set-to-host-groundbreaking-music-tech-summit-in-2024/

https://www.bitwig.com/stories/bitwig-day-is-coming-to-kenyas-kilele-summit-291/

https://www.musiceducation.global/c/news/kenyan-music-centre-wins-2023-imc-music-rights-award

https://medium.com/@igniteculture/sema-by-santuri-the-dj-academy-making-waves-in-east-africa-0cc396aaaa69

https://ra.co/news/79648

‘I’m not winning unless all of us are winning’: the Kenyan DJ programme promoting community and inclusivity

It’s late one Saturday night and the Mall, one of the oldest shopping centres in Nairobi’s Westlands district, is deceptively quiet, a stark contrast to the busy streets outside. But walk down one flight of stairs and the dimly lit basement is teeming with life as bodies pulsate to the heady rhythms of jungle, dancehall, UK funky, and South African gqom and amapiano. The Mist – the kind of underground club where you can catch anything from grime to glitch, and the resident DJ takes to spinning Pharoah Sanders at 4am – is hosting nu.wav, an event organised by recent graduates of Santuri Electronic Music Academy’s DJing 101 programme. Course mates and clubbers surround the decks, dancing and cheering loudly as each person finishes their set.

Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA) is the educational arm of Santuri East Africa, a Nairobi-based platform that supports east African music producers, DJs, sound engineers and other music industry professionals. SEMA runs courses in both music production and DJing, and the focus is placed on creating community and culture as much as it is on technical skills.

Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/10/kenya-dj-programme-promoting-community-inclusivity-santuri-electronic-music-academy

Modern-Day Fan Forums: The Renaissance in Online Music Communities

Next-gen ventures such as the metaverse, interactive livestreaming and chat apps want to re-centre the music industry around fans—a move that could make artists and businesses more financially self-sufficient. 

Santuri, based in Nairobi, is a social enterprise that seeks to advance East African music. Currents.fm helps the organisation promote its electronic music academy programme, allowing students to showcase their DJ sets, live performances and productions to listeners worldwide. Artists can also receive money directly through an integrated tips feature.

"We've been able to increase our reach in terms of a wider audience and gain more supporters, who in turn support the artists," said Santuri team member Felix Mwitah. "It's also an avenue to channel public-facing products that students enrolled in our music academy create."

Full article: https://ra.co/features/4200

Santuri Alumni Open Up About Their Experiences With The Organization's SEMA Programme

If you're a Nairobi music enthusiast, then you know more than most that the scene is diverse and bursting with talent. Artists across genres both up-and-coming and established capture the essence of what younger Kenyan generations are all about: hustling hard and enjoying life. Though it's an exciting time for the scene, the industry in Kenya is not without its shortcomings. There are major discrepancies between the music industry, government entities in charge of distributing profits, and artists.. Moreover, clear-cut pathways necessary to succeed in this industry are presumably nonexistent.

Enter Santuri East Africa — a non profit arts organisation that supports East African music producers, DJs, sound engineers among other music industry professionals primarily in the electronica genre. Santuri works towards bridging the gap between artists and the industry by empowering artists to further their careers and build connections with other industry folks. They created the Santuri Electronic Music Academy (SEMA), with support from the Goethe-Institut, a programme that teaches up-and-coming artists several skills to help further their career.

Full article: https://tangazamagazine.com/features/2022/3/24/santuri-alumni-open-up-about-their-experiences-with-sema

Santuri Academy: A game changer for East Africa’s electro scene

East Africa is an important breeding ground for diverse electronic genres such as gengetone and the localised form of Chicago drill, with many talented musicians consistently finding new ways to connect their language, culture and experiences with sounds originating outside of Africa.

However, an apparent lack of music education and resources to harness their skills means that a vast amount of musical talent in the region often goes uncultivated and underdeveloped. This makes the work of organisations such as the Nairobi-based Santuri Electronic Music Academy(link is external) (SEMA), a non-profit organisation committed to educating musicians in the East African region, crucially important.

Santuri’s journey started in 2004 before its co-founders David Tinning and Gregg Tendwa took the big leap of establishing a formal institute for music education.

Full article: https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/santuri-academy-game-changer-east-africas-electro-scene

Partners in Progressive Education: Catalyst Teams up With Santuri East Africa

Catalyst Education Lead, Jamie Thomas, was recently invited by trailblazing music production organisation, Santuri East Africa, to deliver a masterclass on our project-based learning model.

At Catalyst, we put artistry front and centre, focusing on the real-world application of creative skills through project-based learning. It’s an educational model that is sure to make a profound impact on the creative industries in the years to come, and it doesn’t end at the boundaries of our Funkhaus campus. Part of our long-term mission is connecting with other progressive institutions around the world, so that we can break ground together in the forging of a new educational paradigm.

Full article: https://catalyst-berlin.com/stories/santuri-east-africa

Sounds In Context: New Instruments from East Africa

Around a year ago we reported on a movement from East Africa that explored a new sense of excitement in the region, working at the intersection between traditional musical approaches and electronic music culture. A year on and things have continued to develop at pace. New festivals, parties and events have sprung up in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda focussing on a desire to represent and promote an ‘Afro-futuristic’ or ‘World Music 2.0’ attitude – and new styles, interesting collaborations and fresh approaches to live performances have flourished.

Collectives like Santuri East Africa have been at the forefront of this development, and have begun to further the conversation by looking at technology as a platform for traditional culture and heritage. One of the strands for this has been to encourage the development of an East African sample library, including new digital instruments based on and inspired by traditional instruments from the wide and varied cultures of the region. Four such instruments have been developed into unique Ableton Live Racks by Johannesburg's Emile Hoogenhout (a.k.a Behr) and can be downloaded for free.

Full article: https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/sounds-in-context-santuri-safari/

SANTURI EAST AFRICA: BRIDGING COMMUNITIES THROUGH SOUND

FOUNDED IN 2014, SANTURI EAST AFRICA IS A NON-PROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION BASED IN NAIROBI, KENYA...

Over the years, Santuri has surpassed some huge milestones, thanks to various successful projects. One such success story was the launch of Femme Electronic, an African platform for female producers and DJs which they worked on in tandem with DJ Rachael.

One of the problems that Santuri has been trying to combat however, is getting the necessary high-quality equipment to those who need it. “For East African artists to get their hands on hardware the import duties are really prohibitive,” explains Santuri co-founder David Tinning about the challenges local musicians face. “In some instances an East African artist will have to spend 50% more than their European counterparts.”

Full article: https://www.adam-audio.com/en/news/adam-users/santuri-east-africa/


 

Email: team@santuri.org
Tel: +254 (0) 768 226 199
Find Us Here:

Santuri East Africa
Basement, The Mall,
Chiromo Road / Ring Road Westlands,
Nairobi, Kenya