Fact-Checking Policy · Kenya Forex Firm

§ 01

missionCoveragePrioritiesPolicy

Mission & coverage priorities

Our mission is narrow and deliberate: protect Kenyan retail traders from false and misleading claims about the firms that handle their money. We check claims of fact. We do not pick winners, sell rankings or forecast markets.

In scope - what we check

01
Licensing claims
Every statement that a broker is 'licensed', 'regulated' or 'authorised' - checked directly against the CMA, CBK, FCA, CySEC, ASIC and FSCA registers.
02
Fund-safety claims
Segregation of client funds, negative balance protection and compensation-scheme membership, verified in regulator rules and broker legal documents.
03
Trading cost claims
Spreads, commissions, swap rates and inactivity fees captured from live accounts, not marketing pages.
04
Withdrawal & deposit performance
Processing times tested with real KES funding via M-Pesa and local bank transfer, logged with timestamps.
05
Bonus & promotion terms
Welcome bonuses, no-deposit offers and contests - the fine print read and restated in plain language.
06
Platform & execution claims
MT4, MT5 and cTrader availability, slippage behaviour and server uptime observed on funded accounts.
07
Broker marketing language
'Best in Kenya', 'risk-free', 'guaranteed profits' - promotional claims pulled from ads, landing pages and social media.
08
Education & market news
Statistics, regulatory actions and market figures quoted in our own guides and news posts.

Out of scope - what we decline

Price predictions
We verify claims of fact, never forecasts. No verdict is issued on where a currency pair will move.
Unverifiable anecdotes
A single anonymous complaint without documents or records cannot earn a verdict on its own.
Paid rankings
We do not sell 'top broker' positions, so there is nothing to verify about placements we never sold.
Private disputes
We are not a tribunal. Individual trade disputes are referred to the broker's complaints desk and, where relevant, the CMA.

Coverage tiers & effort weighting

Tier 1 - Kenya first55%

CMA licensing, CBK oversight questions, M-Pesa and KES funding rails, Nairobi-based support, and every broker marketing specifically to Kenyan residents.

Tier 2 - East Africa20%

Tanzania (CMSA), Uganda (CMA Uganda) and Rwanda cross-border broker claims affecting East African traders.

Tier 3 - Global registers25%

Offshore brokers serving Kenyans: FCA, CySEC, ASIC, FSCA, DFSA and island-jurisdiction licences, plus international warning lists.

§ 02

verificationFactCheckingPolicy

The six-step verification pipeline

Every verdict - in a review, a ranking table or a warning article - passes through the same pipeline. No shortcuts for friends, no expedited lane for advertisers.

01Claim intake
02Registry & records trawl
03Live-account testing
04Corroboration
05Editorial sign-off
06Publish & re-check calendar

Standing rule

If any step fails, the verdict is UNPROVEN - never a guess.

01Claim intake
Claims enter the ledger from reader reports, broker advertising, press releases and our own coverage. Each is logged with a claim ID (e.g. KFF-2026-0117), source links and the exact wording being tested.
Toolbox: claims ledger, screenshot with timestamp, Wayback archive.
02Registry & records trawl
Primary documents come first: the CMA licensed-dealers list, CBK registers, the FCA Register, CySEC, ASIC Connect and FSCA FSP search, court filings and company records. Every check is screenshotted and dated.
Rule: an absence from a register is itself evidence - and is recorded as such.
03Live-account testing
Where a claim concerns money, we test it with our own funds: open the account, deposit in KES via M-Pesa, capture spreads across sessions, and request a withdrawal to measure real processing time.
Artefacts: account statements, spread logs, deposit/withdrawal confirmations.
04Corroboration
No verdict rests on a single source. We require at least two independent sources and weight evidence on a hierarchy: regulator records above company statements above trader testimony above marketing copy.
Hierarchy: regulator > filings > tested data > documents > testimony > ads.
05Editorial sign-off
A second reviewer argues the opposite case before Chief Editor Patrick Mahinge signs the verdict. Where the verdict is negative, the subject receives a right-of-reply request before publication.
Safeguard: mandatory devil's-advocate review on every False or Misleading call.
06Publish & re-check calendar
Verdicts ship with an evidence pack and a re-verification date: licences re-checked every 90 days, costs and withdrawals re-tested every 6 months, full reviews renewed annually.
Cadence: 90-day licence sweeps · 6-month cost tests · 12-month full renewals.

§ 03

Rating scale

Verdicts, stamped - not spun

Five stamps, five meanings, no half-measures in between. Select a stamp to read its definition, the threshold we apply, and what happens after it is applied.

Verdicts are dated. A stamp describes the evidence as found on the day of publication - which is why every verdict carries a re-check date.

VERIFIED TRUE

Stamp definition

Verified True

The claim is supported by primary, independently confirmable evidence - regulator registers, filings or our own funded-account tests.

Threshold

Two or more independent primary sources agree; no credible counter-evidence found after a good-faith search.

Example from coverage

A broker's claim of Capital Markets Authority licensing matched the CMA's published list of licensed dealers on the day of publication.

What happens next

The evidence pack is linked from the article and the claim is re-checked on its scheduled sweep.

§ 04

correctionsPolicy

Corrections: fast, public, permanent

Being wrong is forgivable; staying wrong is not. Errors are corrected on a fixed clock, stamped on the article itself, and recorded in a changelog that is never edited down.

TIER 1

Clerical

TURNAROUND

within 24 hours

Typos, broken links, mislabelled screenshots and formatting errors. Fixed silently or with a one-line note; no verdict is affected.

TIER 2

Material correction

TURNAROUND

within 72 hours

A figure, licence status, date or tested result was wrong. The article is corrected, a CORRECTED stamp is added at the top, and the change is entered in the public changelog.

TIER 3

Verdict revision

TURNAROUND

within 5 business days

The verdict itself changes. The article carries a VERDICT UPDATED banner, a full re-review note explains what changed and why, subjects are notified, and a correction is posted on our social channels.

Public corrections changelog

Most recent first · entries never deleted

Date	Article	Change	Tier
2026-01-09	Best Forex Brokers in Kenya	Q1 CMA registry sweep: licence statuses and registration names updated across the table.	T2
2025-11-21	XM Forex Broker Review	M-Pesa withdrawal time corrected from '24 hours' to 'same trading day' after a funded re-test.	T2
2025-09-30	EasyMarkets Review	Minimum deposit figure corrected to US$25 after live-account confirmation.	T1
2025-08-14	How to Start Forex Trading in Kenya	Removed reference to a bonus programme discontinued by the broker.	T2
2025-06-02	FP Markets Review	Verdict on swap-free account availability updated from Unproven to Verified True after account-level testing.	T3

§ 05

ownershipFundingInfo

Who owns us, and how we are paid

Radical disclosure beats vague independence. Here is the entire commercial picture, in one place, in plain language.

Kenya Forex Firm is an independent publication founded in 2014 and wholly owned by its founder, Patrick Mahinge. We are not part of any broker, introducing-broker network, liquidity provider or financial-services group, and no outside party holds equity, board seats or veto power over editorial decisions.

Our revenue comes from affiliate commissions: when a reader opens a live account through a link on our site, a broker may pay us a standard referral fee. That fee is identical whether our verdict is glowing or critical, and the commercial team never sees review drafts, scores or verdicts before publication.

On sponsored content

Commercial terms are negotiated separately from editorial work, by separate people, after reviews are published. Advertisers who buy display space receive no influence, access to drafts, or advance notice of critical coverage.

The hard rules - non-negotiable

1No paid placements - ranking positions on any 'best brokers' list cannot be bought, at any price.
2No sponsored reviews or sponsored verdicts - sponsored educational content is labelled 'Sponsored' and carries no verdict.
3No gifts, rebates or personal trading perks accepted from any firm we cover.
4Reviewer assignments are never disclosed to brokers until after the verdict is signed.
5Every article touching a partner broker carries a disclosure line stating the commercial relationship.

Ownership: 100% Patrick Mahinge · founded 2014 · Nairobi, Kenya · no outside equity, no broker affiliations.

§ 06

diversityPolicy

Diversity of sources & staff

A fact-check is only as good as the breadth of the evidence behind it. We deliberately construct our sourcing, testing and staffing so that a single viewpoint - including our own - cannot dominate a verdict.

Source plurality

Every verdict combines at least two source types - regulator records, tested data, trader testimony or legal documents - so no single category can carry a call alone.

Kenyan-first perspective

Claims are tested as a Kenyan trader would experience them: KES accounts, M-Pesa rails, Nairobi business hours and local advertising, not the broker's global brochure.

Language access

Key verdicts and warnings are summarised in both English and Kiswahili, and complaint submissions are accepted in either language.

Trader voices

When trader testimony informs a review, we actively seek accounts across experience levels, account sizes and genders - one loud forum thread is not evidence.

Staffing & contributors

The fact desk recruits and commissions contributors across Kenya's regions, and reviewer bylines rotate so no analyst owns a broker relationship.

Corrections from anyone

Correction requests receive identical treatment whether they come from a reader, a broker's legal team or a competitor - evidence decides, not seniority.

§ 07

unnamedSourcesPolicy

Anonymous sources: permitted, narrowly

Anonymous sourcing is permitted, narrowly, because forex misconduct often surfaces first with people who risk their jobs or safety by speaking.

01
An anonymous source is used only when the information is significant, cannot be obtained on the record, and the source faces a credible risk of professional or personal harm.
02
At least two senior editors - including the Chief Editor - must know the source's identity and approve the use of anonymity.
03
Anonymous testimony must be corroborated by documents, registers or tested data before it can influence a verdict; it never stands alone.
04
We describe, as specifically as safety allows, why the source is anonymous and how their information was corroborated.
05
If corroboration fails, the information is dropped - no matter how compelling the story.

The acid test

"If the source cannot be named, the evidence must speak twice as loudly."

- standing instruction of the Chief Editor to the research desk, applied to every anonymous submission since 2014.

Whistleblower channel: factcheck@kenyaforexfirm.com - ask for the Chief Editor by name.

§ 08

Complaints & due process

Right of reply & complaints ladder

Subjects of our fact-checks are treated as parties to the process, not targets. Before any False, Misleading or critical material verdict is published, the subject is contacted and given a genuine opportunity to respond.

STAGE 1
Notification
The subject receives the specific claims under review, the evidence summary and a deadline of five (5) business days to respond.
5 business days
STAGE 2
Response on record
Substantive responses are quoted fairly and in context; if a response materially changes the evidence, the verdict is re-worked before publication.
Verdict re-worked where warranted
STAGE 3
Complaints ladder
Published material may be challenged by writing to our fact desk. The complaint is acknowledged within 2 business days and answered within 10, first by the reviewing analyst, then by the Chief Editor, then by an external reviewer if the complainant is unsatisfied.
Acknowledged in 2 days · answered in 10

§ 09

masthead · accountability

The fact desk - who signs the stamps

Verdicts are personal. Named people read the evidence, argue the case, and sign their name under the outcome. Here is the masthead that carries the liability.

Patrick Mahinge

Founder & Chief Editor

Founded Kenya Forex Firm in 2014 and has traded retail forex for more than fifteen years. Signs every material verdict personally, owns the corrections policy and chairs the right-of-reply process. Approves the use of every anonymous source.

Verdict signature

P. Mahinge

SIGNATORY OF RECORD

Research Desk

Three analysts · Nairobi

Run the claims ledger, execute funded-account tests (deposits, spread capture, withdrawals), and maintain the 90-day licence-sweep calendar across the CMA, FCA, CySEC, ASIC and FSCA registers.

Compliance & Archive

Reviewer of record

Plays devil's advocate on every negative verdict, maintains the evidence archive with timestamped screenshots and hash-checked statements, and publishes the corrections changelog.

§ 10

NewsMediaOrganization · FactCheckingPolicy

Machine-readable by design

This page doubles as the canonical source for our schema.org markup. Each FactCheckingPolicy-related property resolves to a section anchor below, so crawlers, verifiers and readers land on the exact rule being cited.

Property → anchor map

missionCoveragePrioritiesPolicySection 01 - what we check, what we don't, and Kenya-first tiers
verificationFactCheckingPolicySection 02 - the six-step pipeline from intake to re-check
correctionsPolicySection 04 - tiers, turnaround windows and public changelog
ownershipFundingInfoSection 05 - independence, affiliate model and hard rules
diversityPolicySection 06 - source plurality and staffing commitments
unnamedSourcesPolicySection 07 - when anonymity is permitted and how it is controlled
mastheadSection 09 - the people accountable for verdicts
publishingPrinciplesThis document as a whole

Markup is regenerated from this page at every policy review and validated against the latest schema.org vocabulary before release.

application/ld+json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": ["Organization", "NewsMediaOrganization"],
  "@id": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/#org",
  "name": "Kenya Forex Firm",
  "url": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com",
  "foundingDate": "2014",
  "description": "Independent forex broker reviews and trader education for Kenyan traders.",
  "founder": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Patrick Mahinge",
    "jobTitle": "Founder & Chief Editor"
  },
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "addressLocality": "Nairobi",
    "addressCountry": "KE"
  },
  "publishingPrinciples": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/",
  "missionCoveragePrioritiesPolicy": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#coverage",
  "verificationFactCheckingPolicy": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#methodology",
  "correctionsPolicy": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#corrections",
  "ownershipFundingInfo": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#ownership",
  "diversityPolicy": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#diversity",
  "unnamedSourcesPolicy": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#anonymous",
  "masthead": "https://kenyaforexfirm.com/fact-check/#desk"
}

§ 11

Straight answers

Questions traders actually ask

The six questions our fact desk receives most often, answered the way we would answer them under oath.

No - and the structure makes it difficult. Commission terms are identical regardless of our verdict, they are negotiated after reviews publish, and by a different team. Reviewers do not know which brokers pay commissions until after sign-off, and removing a partner from our lists is a routine, documented outcome of negative verdicts.

On a fixed cadence: licensing status every 90 days against the relevant register, funding and trading-cost claims every 6 months on a live account, and a full review renewal every 12 months. If a regulator issues a warning about a covered broker, an out-of-cycle re-check happens within one business day.

No. A verdict can only change through the corrections process in Section 04: new evidence, reviewed by the same pipeline that produced the original verdict, logged in the public changelog. Payment - offered or requested - is itself grounds to publish the attempt.

Yes. Claims like guaranteed returns, 'insider' signals or unlicensed fund management are some of the most harmful content aimed at Kenyan traders, and they are checked with the same pipeline. Verdicts on such claims are published in our blog's warning series.

The research desk maintains funded live accounts. We deposit in Kenya Shillings through M-Pesa and local bank transfer, hold positions across sessions to log spreads and execution, then withdraw to measure the full payout cycle. Statements and confirmations are archived as the evidence pack.

The 90-day sweep catches most changes, but a formal revocation triggers an immediate out-of-cycle review. The article receives a VERDICT UPDATED banner under Tier 3 of the corrections policy, the changelog records the change, and readers who subscribed to the article's updates are notified.

§ 12

Your turn - hold us and them accountable

Report a claim for checking

Saw a broker, signal group or 'mentor' making a claim that smells off? Or found an error in our own coverage? File it below - every submission is logged, triaged within two business days, and answered under the windows in Section 04.

Service standards

Acknowledgement
Every report acknowledged within 2 business days.
Triage verdict
In scope or declined - with reasons - within 5 business days.
Published outcome
Completed checks publish as articles with evidence packs linked.
Your identity
Never published. Sources get Section 07 protection on request.

Prefer email?

factcheck@kenyaforexfirm.com

Mission & coverage priorities

In scope - what we check

Licensing claims

Fund-safety claims

Trading cost claims

Withdrawal & deposit performance

Bonus & promotion terms

Platform & execution claims

Broker marketing language

Education & market news

Out of scope - what we decline

Price predictions

Unverifiable anecdotes

Paid rankings

Private disputes

Coverage tiers & effort weighting

The six-step verification pipeline

01Claim intake

02Registry & records trawl

03Live-account testing

04Corroboration

05Editorial sign-off

06Publish & re-check calendar

Verdicts, stamped - not spun

Verified True

Corrections: fast, public, permanent

Clerical

Material correction

Verdict revision

Public corrections changelog

Who owns us, and how we are paid

The hard rules - non-negotiable

Diversity of sources & staff

Source plurality

Kenyan-first perspective

Language access

Trader voices

Staffing & contributors

Corrections from anyone

Anonymous sources: permitted, narrowly

Right of reply & complaints ladder

Notification

Response on record

Complaints ladder

The fact desk - who signs the stamps

Patrick Mahinge

Research Desk

Compliance & Archive

Machine-readable by design

Property → anchor map

Questions traders actually ask

Report a claim for checking