Author: Eva Nyambura

An inmate at a Vihiga county prison has tested positive for the coronavirus. The prisoner had earlier been held at Luanda Police Station before a conviction that led to his detention at Mbale Prison. The Vihiga County COVID-19 committee said that the inmate came into contact with four others who are already in isolation. The four are serving a jail term of between two to twelve months. “It has been confirmed an inmate is Covid -19 positive. The inmate was brought to the facility on May 28. They (prisoners) were tested on June 16 by prisons authorities,” the committee said…

Kenya has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in a day since the index case was confirmed in March. In the last 24 hours, out of a 2,518 sample size, 184 have tested positive for the virus. Addressing the press on Wednesday, Health CAS Rashid Aman said that the total number of infections has risen to 4,044. All the newly detected infections are Kenyans except one. 129 are males while 55 are females. Dr Aman also noted that 27 more patients have been discharged bringing the number of recoveries to 1,353. Sadly, 2 patients have lost their lives to…

Chinese Embassy in Kenya has denied claims that at least 200 Chinese nationals left the country on Tuesday night. In a tweet, the embassy said that the Daily Nation, which reported about the “Chinese Exodus”, imagined the allegations. “The Embassy firmly reiterates that the reports on DN about Chinese taking flights back are false.There is no passenger flight to China this week.The claims that 200 Chinese flew out last night via China SA flight is totally false and based on the reporter’s imagination,” the tweet reads. https://twitter.com/ChineseEmbKenya/status/1273162511043436545 According to the daily, the Chinese nationals’ lawyer Isaac Okinyo, they left because…

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and Laikipia Woman Representative Catherine Waruguru are among four Jubilee Party legislators who have been expelled from National Assembly committees. Others are Aldai MP Cornelly Serem and Bomet Woam Rep Joyce Korir. Waruguru last week met with ODM leader Raila Odinga in what was said to be a move to save her from the ouster. In his communication to speaker Justin Muturi, majority whip Emmanuel Wangwe noted that the four have been relieved of their duties. “This is to inform you that the Majority Party hereby discharges Catherine Waruguru from the membership of the departmental committee…

Ministry of Health (MOH) CS Mutahi Kagwe has redeployed officials who have resisted transfer to other departments. In a report by the Nation, the CS has ordered for the transfer of National Quality Control Laboratory (NQCL) Director, Dr Hezekiah Chepkwony, and Dr Pius Wanjala senior deputy director. The two have been accused of conflict of interest and corruption. According to the legal department, the two officials have declined to develop and implement a disciplinary policy/code of conduct, and conflict of interest respectively. The daily reports that as a result of the complaints, CS Kagwe moved Dr Chepkwony and Dr Wanjala…

A US Christian missionary has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing young girls in Kenya. Gregory Dow while appearing before a US federal court entered a guilty plea to four counts of engaging in illicit sexual behaviour with a minor in a foreign place between 2013 and 2017. Then, Dow, 61, was running Dow Family Children’s Home in Boito, Western Kenya, established in 2008. The orphanage was receiving funds from Lancaster County churches and nonprofits before the missionary fled Kenya in 2017. Two of the girls were at the time 11 years of age, another was 12 and the other 13.…

In the last 24 hours, Kenya has tested 3,255 samples, 133 of which have tested positive, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has said. Speaking during the daily COVID-19 briefing, the CS said that the number of positive cases have soared to 3,860. Of the 133 cases, 88 are males and 45 females. They are all of Kenyan origin. The youngest case was aged 13 with the oldest being 90. On a positive note, 40 more patients have been discharged. Recoveries are now at 1,326. Unfortunately, one more patient has died, bringing the toll to 105. The newly detected infections are spread…

Your favourite fresh farm produce seller or mama mbogas as they are popularly known, will no longer chop vegetables for you. In new ministry of health COVID-19 guidelines, the mama mbogas have been directed to sell their produce whole to contain the spread of the virus. Traders and hawkers will also be required to ensure the recommended 1.5 metres social distance is maintained in their respective work places. Those in the Jua Kali sector will henceforth ensure distance between the artisans with no shared tools. In case tools are shared, they will have to be decontaminated. Barbershops and salons have…

Malik Obama, Barack Obama’s half brother is still going after him, years after his presidency was over. On Monday night, the former Siaya gubernatorial aspirant shared what looked like the always contentious Barack birth certificate. “What’s this?” he captioned the image of the document which has an Australian stamp. https://twitter.com/ObamaMalik/status/1272621685859127297 The tweet caught Auma Obama’s attention and as always she defended her younger brother. In a series of tweets, Auma who hosted the 44th POTUS in 2018 during the Sauti Kuu Foundation launch, said that Malik was a tad jealous of their sibling. Her advise to the elder Obama, “seek…

Kenyans are stills stranded in different parts of the world following the suspension of international travel by a majority of governments. The Uhuru Kenyatta-led government too, suspended international flights in March to contain the spread of the novel COVID-19. Travel restrictions were on June 6 extended by another 30 days as infections surge. The government has evacuated nationals from China and the UK but at their own expense. But the government has forgotten about the young Kenyans who have left in search of an education. Most of these learners are on scholarship meaning that they cannot afford a flight ticket…

We are almost halfway through the year 2020 which brought you locusts, Coronavirus and a lot of hardships for some. But life deals others a bad hand and others, not so much. Anyway, think about that vehicle you see on the roads and wish it was yours. You cannot afford it, can you? Others are driving the car that you dream only in your dreams. Take for example, Polycarp Igathe, Equity Bank’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) is cruising around the streets of Nairobi in a Bentley Bentayga, 2018 model. The SUV, Registration No KCR 471W, goes for approximately Sh27.2 million…

Coronavirus cases continue to surge as Kenya tests 118, 701 tests. In the last 24 hours, 133 more infections have been confirmed after testing a 3,365 sample size. The toll now jumps to 3,727, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe has announced. Speaking during the daily COVID-19 briefing in Ol Kalou, Nyandarua County, the CS also noted that some 33 patients have been discharged. Recovered cases have as a result shot to 1,286. COVID-19 related deaths are currently at 104 after another patient succumbed. CS Kagwe noted that all the 600 samples tested from Nyandarua tested negative for the virus. “According to…

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has ordered back to work employees in the domestic taxes department, effective immediately. In a memo, KRA Commissioner of Domestic Taxes Elizabeth Meyo said that the tax authority has managed to keep the coronavirus out of the workplace. She also stated, in the Resumption of duty by staff on leave memo, that only staff with pre-existing conditions will be allowed to continue staying away from their work stations. “Following the achievement of keeping Covid-19 out of the workplace, all DTB (Domestic Taxes Department) staff is required to resume duty and report to their places of work immediately,…

National carrier Kenya Airways passenger flights might resume, earliest September. According to the airline which has suffered losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, business could resume then but warns it will be a gradual process. In its latest annual report, KQ explains, “There is reasonable expectation that the flights could resume in the third quarter of the year with business expected to have started at very low capacity and a gradual ramp-up, influenced by gradual lifting of travel bans, uncertain passenger confidence and health safety measures.” Further, the airline says, plans to engage key stakeholders are in top gear “thereby…

Emurua-Dikir MP Johanna Ngeno on Saturday lost 24 Holstein Friesian cattle worth Sh2.5 million after feeding on an Ireland imported mineral product. According to Olekisiara farm manager Fredrick Mutai, the cows started dropping one after the other shortly after feeding on the animal product. “The cows began shivering, foaming in the mouth and running wild before dropping dead one after the other five minutes after minerals salt,” he said. The workers called a veterinary doctor but it was too late. “We immediately called a veterinary doctor who came and injected the animals in an efforts to save them, but there was…