Author: Eva Nyambura

Police are probing guards who were removed from industrialist Manu Chandaria’s Muthaiga residence last week and replaced by two found tied up in a room on Monday following a robbery incident. Sleuths are also seeking to understand why dogs from a security company were found dead prior to the incident. “We want to know why they were poisoned and what happened later on,” an officer privy to the details is quoted by the Star. Read: AP Officer, Two Others Arrested In Connection With Gang Raid At Manu Chandaria’s Residence They are also trying to piece together why two of the guards…

Somalia has cut diplomatic ties with Kenya in an announcement made in the dead of the night by her Minister of Information Osman Abukar Dubbe. Speaking via state owned SNTV, Mr Dubbe at around 1.40 am Mogadishu time, cited interference of her sovereignty and territorial integrity, as some of the reasons that led to the decision. The minister said Kenya has seven days to withdraw all its diplomats from the country. Somali diplomats will also be recalled within the stipulated timeline. “Somalia wants all its diplomats to go back to Mogadishu and Kenyan diplomats have 7 days to leave the…

Kenya has recorded 163 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the country’s total to 92,055, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has announced. The CS confirmed that this was from a sample size of 2,283 recording a positivity rate of 7.1 per cent. The cumulative tests stand at 973,805. The total number of fatalities has risen to 1,593 after another six patents succumbed to the disease. In a statement, the CS said 960 patients are currently admitted in various hospitals across the country. Another, 6,581 patients are on the home-based care programme. A total of 49 patients are in ICU, out of which…

Online video-sharing platform, YouTube is down. On starting the App, users are met with a message reading “There was a problem with server [503]”. Users also received, “there was an error. Please Try again later. That’s all we know” notifications. The outage also affected other Google services including; Gmail, Google Drive, Google Assistant, among others. The Google Search page was working just fine. The massive outage was experienced by users across the globe. Read: Google Launches Look To Speak App for Hearing and Motor Impaired Persons DownDetector,  which collates user-reported errors on websites, mobile networks and other platforms, was showing tens…

A DNA test has confirmed that the late Matungu MP Justus Murunga sired one of alleged lover’s children. Agnes Wangui, in November moved to court to stop the burial of the fallen legislator on grounds that their two children were not included in the burial plans. “I have known Murunga for seven years. Our first encounter was in 2013 when he was a supervisor at Embakasi ranching, while I was a businesswoman engaged in vendition of beverages and snacks within Sewerage area, Ruai,” she told the court. Read: MP Murunga’s Burial Turns Chaotic As Wife Blasts Alleged Lover In court documents,…

Radisson Blu hotel has shut down operations at its Upper Hill branch to mitigate economic effects of Covid-19 pandemic. According to Business Daily, the global hotel brand has also sent most of its workforce home for an unknown period of time. A hotel spokesperson said the decision was reached as hotel bookings have been low since the virus hit Kenya. “To mitigate some of the economic impact of the pandemic, coupled with the uncertainty of Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill’s reopening date, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the size of our workforce at the…

Police are pursuing a gang of 8 that raided industrialist Manu Chandaria’s Muthaiga home on Monday at around 1 am. Outside the residence was an armed Administration Police officer and three security guards. Police who responded to a distress call from the heavily guarded home found the three guards tied up with ropes. The Administration Police officer on duty is said to have lost his G3 rifle during the morning incident. Read: DCI Launches Hunt For Dickson Kimani Kamau, “Director” Wanted Over Fraudulent Deals The four have been taken in for questioning, Nairobi regional police boss Yakub Rashid has confirmed. He…

Kenya’s Covid-19 caseload is now at 91,526 after 548 tested positive for the virus. This is from a sample size of 6,953 tested in the last 24 hours, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has announced. So far the country has conducted 967,317 COVID-19 tests. “From the cases 520 are Kenyans while 28 are foreigners. 354 are males and 194 females. The youngest is a five-year old child, while the oldest is 96,” CS Kagwe said. 1,017 patients have recovered from the virus, bringing the total to 72,596. Read: 14 Patients Succumb To COVID-19 As Fatalities Near 1600 982 patients are admitted in…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed Interior ministry, through chiefs and assistant chiefs, to ensure all students report back to school from January 4, 2021. Speaking during the 57th Jamhuri Celebrations, the head of state also ordered the Ministry of Education to publicise Education Policy on school re-entry to facilitate re-admission of those who may not be able to report back due to pregnancy. In November, Prof George Magoha-led ministry released a new calendar for the year 2021 following the disruption of learning in the country by the coronavirus pandemic. Read: All Schools To Reopen On January 4, 2021, CS Magoha Declares…

The family of deceased Machakos senator Boniface Mutinda Kabaka has clarified on the cause of death. Earlier reports indicated that the lawmaker succumbed to Covid-19. It has been said however, that the departed had contracted the virus some two weeks ago but had since tested negative. Read: Machakos Senator Boniface Mutinda Is Dead Senate speaker Ken Lusaka also noted that Kabaka had notified of his Coronavirus status and had gone into isolation. Speaking at the Lee Funeral Home on Friday, Kitui senator Enoch Wambua said the late lawmaker had died due to a stroke. Prior to his death, Kabaka had apparently…

Former Cooperative Development minister Joe Nyaga has succumbed to Covid-19, family has confirmed. The former Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) “Pentagon” member is said to have been receiving treatment at the Nairobi Hospital. Nyaga, 72, was a member of Kenya African National Union (KANU) and a minister in President Daniel Arap Moi’s government. He quit both the government and party in the run-up to the 2002 general election. In 2017, the deceased vied for the presidency as an independent candidate. After securing his certificate from the IEBC, Nyaga told reporters, “I am an experienced politician and I have never seen anything…

Machakos senator Boniface Mutinda Kabaka has died. The lawmaker was receiving treatment at the Nairobi Hospital since Friday after developing a severe headache. The deceased was in the company of a woman who has since been identified as secondary school teacher, Esther Muli Nthenya. Read: Secondary School Teacher Found With Machakos Senator Released He is said to have collapsed at the Dee3 Hotel in upmarket Kilimani on the said Friday. The hotel management apparently called for an ambulance which rushed him to the health facility. He was admitted at the facility’s Intensive Care Unit and thereafter operated on. On Tuesday, Muli…

Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) has for months now been probed for irregular tenders worth millions of shillings in the midst of a pandemic. But it was Thursday’s revelation that shocked even the Public Investment Committee (PIC) that has been investigating the matter. Appearing before the Parliamentary committee was James Njuguna, a director of La Miguela Holdings Limited who by sheer luck landed a Sh180 million Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) tender. Read: Director Of The One-month-old Firm Awarded Ksh1 Billion Tender By KEMSA Speaks Mr Njuguna told the committee chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, that he was only passing by…

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director-General Pavel Oimeke spent the night in Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) cells after allegedly receiving a Sh200,000 bribe. Mr Oimeke is said to have received the kickback in order to approve the opening of a fuel station in Oyugis. According to EACC head of communications Mr Philip Kagucia, the suspect was arrested by EACC sleuths on Thursday after receiving the money from an employee of the said petrol station. Read: Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi Summoned By EACC The petrol station is said to have been shut down after it was found in possession…

Members of Parliament (MPs) have been ordered to refund Sh3 billion in house allowances that they illegally awarded themselves two years ago. The case was filed by Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and activist Okiya Omtatah. The petitioners challenged the Sh250,000 house allowance that the 416 MPs awarded themselves. Read: MPs Plan To Make SRC Commissioners Part Time Workers With Ksh16,000 Monthly Salary On Thursday, a three judge bench directed the Clerk of the Senate and National Assembly to recover in full the aforementioned amount from the salaries and allowances of each legislator. Justices Weldon Korir, Pauline Nyamweya and John Mativo…