How Fichua Works
A secure bridge between whistleblowers and journalists. Here is how your evidence reaches the people who can act on it.
For Whistleblowers
Visit the Submission Page
Navigate to the secure submission form. No account or login is required — your anonymity starts here.
Get Your Codename
Generate a random anonymous codename (e.g., "veitro-b2k"). This is your only identifier — the platform never stores it in plaintext. Keep it safe.
Choose a Category
Select the category that best describes your evidence: Corruption, Environmental, Human Rights, Financial Crime, Labor Violations, Public Safety, or Other.
Upload Evidence
Upload documents, photos, videos, or audio files. Supports PDF, Word, Excel, images, video, audio, and ZIP archives — up to 10 files, 500 MB each. All file metadata (EXIF data, GPS coordinates, author info, timestamps) is automatically stripped to protect your identity.
Write Your Explanation
Provide context for your evidence: what happened, when, where, and who was involved. Minimum 50 characters. Avoid including personal details about yourself.
Review for Personal Information
Before submission, the system scans your explanation for personally identifiable information — names, phone numbers, national ID numbers, M-Pesa transaction IDs, and more. If anything is found, you can go back and edit, let the system auto-redact it, or proceed as-is.
Submit Securely
Your explanation is encrypted and your codename is hashed. Journalists will only see a redacted preview during the initial review period. Your full evidence is released only after a journalist commits to investigating.
For Journalists
Register & Get Verified
Sign up with your name, publication, email, and M-Pesa phone number. Upload your press credentials. Once verified by our team, you gain access to the submission feed.
Browse Available Stories
View submissions during their 72-hour bid window. You'll see the category, a PII-redacted description, and a file inventory — enough to assess whether the evidence is worth pursuing.
Place a Bid
If a story interests you, place a bid for exclusive coverage rights. The highest bid when the window closes wins.
Get Full Access
If you win the bid, you receive exclusive access to the full encrypted description and all evidence files. If no journalist bids, all verified journalists get access.
Communicate Securely
After access is granted, you can send encrypted messages to the whistleblower through the platform. The whistleblower replies using their codename. Neither party learns the other's real identity.
Built for Security
Every layer of Fichua is designed to protect whistleblower identity.
Zero-Knowledge Architecture
Codenames are hashed before storage. The platform itself cannot identify whistleblowers — even if compromised.
Automatic Metadata Stripping
MAT2 removes EXIF data, GPS coordinates, author info, and timestamps from all uploaded files before storage.
End-to-End Encryption
Descriptions and messages are encrypted with AES-256-GCM. Files are encrypted at rest.
PII Detection & Redaction
AI-powered scanning catches personal information before submission, giving you the chance to remove it.