Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

Washington DC is suing the federal government over its takeover of the police force, after US Attorney General Pam Bondi named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as the district’s “emergency police commissioner”. The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, wrote on X that the US government had illegally declared a takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and was “abusing its temporary, limited authority under the law”. The lawsuit asks a judge to void Bondi’s order and stop the DEA head from “assuming any position of command within MPD”. President Donald Trump on Monday declared he would use…

At least 194 people died in heavy monsoon floods and landslides in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Most of the deaths, 180, were recorded by disaster authorities in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan. At least 30 homes were destroyed and a rescue helicopter crashed during operations, killing its five crew. Nine more people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while five died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, it said. Government forecasters said heavy rainfall was expected until 21 August in the northwest of the country, where several areas have been declared disaster zones. In Buner, one survivor told AFP…

The US health agency is reviving a task force on childhood vaccine safety after pressure from anti-vaccine activists to re-establish the panel. In a statement, Health and Human Services (HHS) said it was reinstating the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines – which was disbanded in 1998 – “to improve the safety, quality, and oversight of vaccines administered to American children”. The task force will provide recommendations on childhood vaccines “that result in fewer and less serious adverse reactions than those vaccines currently on the market”, the agency said. It is the latest move from Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy…

Kericho Governor Erick Mutai was Friday impeached for the second time. The embattled Governor was ousted after putting up a spirited defense throughout the day before the County Assembly. All 33 Members of County Assembly (MCAs) voted to send him home for the second time, after the impeachment motion was moved by Sigowet Ward MCA Kiprotich Rogony. The Governor was accused of, amongst other things, misappropriation of public and donor funds and abuse of office. He had obtained a court order to stop the process. Rogony, with the backing of a majority of his counterparts, accused the Governor of allowing…

Rapper Sean Kingston was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison in a million-dollar fraud scheme. The “Beautiful Girls” singer was convicted earlier this year, along with his mother, in a wire fraud scheme where they stole luxury items including watches, a 232-inch LED TV, a bulletproof Cadillac Escalade and furniture, exceeding $1m (£738,000). Prosecutors said Kingston – whose legal name is Kisean Anderson – and his mother used the rapper’s celebrity status to get victims to give them products and when payment was due would send them fake wire receipts. The singer apologised to the court…

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted Friday in what prosecutors called a years long scheme to hide a romantic relationship with her bodyguard, who is accused of being paid as if he was working even when they met alone in apartments and traveled to vineyards for wine tasting. Cantrell faces charges of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction, less than five months before she leaves office due to term limits. The first female mayor in New Orleans’ 300-year history was elected twice but now becomes the city’s first mayor to be charged while in office. “Public corruption has crippled us for…

Detectives from the Operations Support Unit (OSU) arrested one David Onyango Ochanda, a man long on the police radar for orchestrating a sophisticated gold scam that fleeced an American investor of USD 225,968.64 (Sh25 million). The elaborate scheme dates back to April 3, 2024, when the unsuspecting investor jetted into the country to finalise a deal involving the purchase of 3,370 kilograms of gold. Upon arrival, he was ushered into an office on Chalbi Drive in Lavington, Nairobi, where he signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement. The investor even witnessed a smelting process at the seller’s agent’s office, an act…

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Senior Counsel Bar have come out strongly against a proposal to amend the Advocates Act to allow the President unilateral powers to confer the prestigious rank of Senior Counsel. LSK President Faith Odhiambo, in a statement issued after a joint presser with the Senior Counsel Bar on Friday, said the proposed change risks “undermining decades of hard-won standards by shifting authority to confer this prestigious rank to political officeholders.” She said at present, the conferment of the rank of Senior Counsel – the highest honour within Kenya’s legal profession – is a…

Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Human Capital Development, and Special Programmes, Geoffrey Ruku has called on football fans to adhere strictly to security and access protocols during the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) to protect Kenya’s standing as a potential host for future international tournaments. Speaking during a government special programmes outreach event in Kajiado Central, Kajiado County, CS Ruku cautioned fans against attempting to force entry into stadia, especially the Kasarani Stadium, warning that such unruly behavior could spark dangerous stampedes and tarnish Kenya’s global image. He appealed to supporters of the national team, Harambee Stars, to show their…

Russian media outlets were in high spirits on Friday as Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin headed to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for an Alaskan summit widely presented as a win for Moscow, its economy and global standing. Articles and commentary were splashed across Russian state news sites on Friday reveling in the global attention that Putin’s historic trip to the U.S. was garnering, with positive takes on what the high-stakes talks — centered on ending the war in Ukraine — could mean for Russia, which has been isolated and economically punished by the West since invading Ukraine in 2022. “Russia-U.S.…

An Australian man was found dead in his apartment in Parklands area, Nairobi. His girlfriend told police she was sleeping in their bedroom while the deceased Moris Bradley Mark spent his time on the couch in the living room on Wednesday before he was found unresponsive. An ambulance was called to the house on Thursday August 14 where officials confirmed he had died. Assorted medicines were found in his bag. Police said they are waiting for a postmortem report on the body to establish the cause of the death. The body was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy. Meanwhile,…

Security officials thwarted an attempt to burn down the Kericho County Assembly on Friday ahead of a planned impeachment session of governor Dr Erick Mutai. Police said the security team manning the assembly on Friday August 15 recovered five liters of plastic petrol bomb that had been thrown onto the rooftop of the assembly. The assembly is near the local police station. A tyre that had been lit was then thrown into the compound but was stuck on the razor wire forming part of the perimeter wall around the premises. The petrol bomb had landed in the compound but failed…

A man who had traveled from Samburu to Nairobi with a suitcase containing ten kilos of elephant tusks valued at about Sh1 million was arrested as he waited to be picked up. The man was on Thursday, August 14, confronted by police who were acting on a tip-off and arrested with the suitcase containing the three pieces of tusks. The incident happened at the Globe Cinema Roundabout, police said. He told police he was waiting to be picked up for a meeting with a potential buyer when he was confronted. He was taken into custody pending arraignment. Police said the…

A 49-year-old man died after he was assaulted in a fight in Nyandiwa village, Nyamarambe, Kisii County. Police said the body of Stephen Osman Oroko, 49 was found lying on the footpath leading to his home on Wednesday, August 13, long after he had been assaulted in the confrontation at a local shopping centre. Police said efforts to arrest the suspect are ongoing. It is not clear what had prompted the fight. Police said they are talking to possible witnesses in the murder probe as part of efforts to solve it. The body was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy…

After months on the run, two gold scammers who have been slipping through the police dragnet were finally been brought to book in Nairobi’s Kilimani area. Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) arrested Benson Gembe Odero and Emmaculate Adhiambo Othuno, the masterminds behind a multi-million-shilling gold scam targeting foreign investors. The case traces back to September 2024, when two investors from Dubai lodged a complaint. Lured by the promise of a lucrative deal to purchase 35 kilograms of gold, the investors flew to Kenya after days of negotiations. On arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), they were…