Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The Mombasa High Court heard harrowing testimonies from three witnesses in the murder trial of controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie and 29 of his co-accused, charged over the deaths of hundreds of followers in the Shakahola forest, Kilifi County. Testifying before Lady Justice Diana Kadveza, the witnesses under the witness protection agency, among them minors rescued from the forest, gave graphic accounts of starvation, beatings, and religious indoctrination that, they said, claimed the lives of many. One witness testified that followers would gather under ‘Mitola trees’, specific trees in the forest, where Mackenzie, commonly referred to as “Mtumishi”, conducted teachings. According…

The High Court on Thursday dismissed a constitutional petition challenging the mandatory retirement age for employees in both the public and private sectors. The court declared the age limits lawful, reasonable, and non-discriminatory. In the petition, Charles Chege Gitau contested the regulations that require employees to retire at 60 years — or 65 for persons with disabilities — arguing they contravene constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and fair labour practices. He claimed the policy perpetuates stereotypes about older workers’ productivity, fails to guarantee employment for youth, and is inconsistent with retirement exemptions for judges, MPs, and university researchers. Justice Lawrence…

The Kibera High Court on Thursday denied bond to three suspects charged with the murder of Member of Parliament for Kasipul Constituency Charles Ong’ondo Were. In a ruling delivered on August 14, 2025, Lady Justice Diana Kavedza denied William Imoli, alias Imo, Edwin Odour Odhiambo, alias Machuani and Ebel Ochieng, alias Dave Calo, bond after the prosecution established compelling reasons for denial of bail. “The prosecution asserts that key witnesses are close relatives and acquaintances of the accused. These witnesses have reportedly expressed fear for their safety and are currently under witness protection, which itself suggests a serious perceived threat,”…

A 44-year-old woman was killed after she stepped on an explosive device at the Kenya-Somalia border, Mandera Town. Fatuma Madnur Mohamed died Wednesday August 14, evening after stepping on a suspected explosive remnant of war, police said. Her right leg was dismembered in the explosion. Police said her stomach was badly damaged, leading to her death, while her daughter, aged 11, sustained serious injuries. The girl sustained injuries on both legs and was rushed to hospital in serious condition. The explosive device is suspected to have been thrown from the nearby Bulahawa region in Somalia where gangs are fighting regional…

The United States government expressed concern over the deterioration in Kenya’s human rights situation in 2024. It cited claims of unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, and restrictions on media freedoms. In its latest Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. Department of State said the Kenyan government committed numerous abuses during youth-led ‘Gen Z’ protests in June and July 2024 against proposed tax increases. “Kenya experienced a deterioration in the human rights situation during the year.” “In response to nationwide protests in June and July, authorities reportedly committed numerous abuses, including unlawful killings, physical violence, and arbitrary arrests and detentions,”…

The High Court threw out a petition by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) seeking to shield advocates from arrest, prosecution, or harassment while discharging their professional duties. The petition was filed in 2019 and accused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Inspector-General of Police, and other state agencies of intimidating lawyers, compelling disclosure of confidential client information, and detaining them beyond the constitutional 24-hour limit. LSK sought orders requiring police to release advocates on free bond and to exhaust disciplinary procedures under the Advocates Act before preferring criminal charges. Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the petition was “fatally…

South Korea’s top court ruled Thursday that the globally popular South Korean children’s song “Baby Shark” was not plagiarized, rejecting a copyright claim filed by a US-based composer. With its catchy lyrics, the “Baby Shark Dance” video is the most viewed on YouTube, with more than 16 billion views, roughly double those of the runner-up, “Despacito”, and third-place “Wheels on the Bus”. In 2019, New York composer Johnny Only, whose legal name is Jonathan Wright, filed a lawsuit in Seoul, alleging that the 2015 hit “Baby Shark” by South Korean education startup SmartStudy copied a song he had released in…

Presidents William Ruto and Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe co-chaired a virtual Joint Extraordinary Summit of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Wednesday to advance peace efforts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The summit endorsed the appointment of former Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi to join the five-member Panel of Facilitators mandated to steer inclusive dialogue in Eastern DRC. The other members of the panel are former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Catherine Samba-Panza (Central African Republic) and Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia). The leaders endorsed the merger of the Nairobi…

Detectives are investigating murder after two bodies of women were found floating on a river in Embu County. The bodies had decomposed when they were discovered on Kapingazi River in Matakari area on Wednesday August 13, police said. The bodies had decomposed and one had its right foot missing, witnesses and police said. The motive of the murder is yet to be known, police said, adding there were indications the bodies had stayed on the water for more than four days. There is also a likelihood that the bodies were ferried to the scene after being murdered elsewhere. The bodies…

Mystery surrounds the fatal shooting of a 28-year-old man in Arbajahan village, Griftu, Wajir County. Police said Noor Osman Ismael was driving his salon car when he was stopped by an unknown number of gunmen and killed at close range. The gunmen are believed to be from a local clan. They even allowed the victim to call his relatives to inform them he was with the gunmen. Police said they established the gunmen took Osman into a thicket where they shot him at close range in the forehead and abandoned his body there. He had two gunshot wounds, police said.…

At least one suspect was shot and killed in a confrontation between police and suspected thieves at the Del Monte farm in Murang’a County. The mob also set on blaze a security van that was being used for patrols on the farm, police said. A team of police officers accompanying private security guards manning the expansive farm said they on August 12 encountered a mob of about 150 who were targeting pineapples therein. The group attacked the security team with stones, slashers and machetes, police said. This prompted one police officer in the team to try to jump out the…

First Lady Melania Trump threatened to sue Hunter Biden for more than $1bn after he claimed she was introduced to her husband by sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lawyers acting on behalf of the first lady, who married US President Donald Trump in 2005, described the claim as “false, disparaging, defamatory and inflammatory”. Biden, son of former US President Joe Biden, made the comments during an interview earlier this month, in which he strongly criticised the president’s former ties to Epstein. Donald Trump was a friend of Epstein, but has said the pair fell out in the early 2000s because the…

At least four people died after heavy rains and flash flooding in Tennessee on Tuesday, officials said. A family of two adults and one child died when a tree fell on their car on Wednesday morning as a result of the storms in East Ridge, near Chattanooga, the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security said. Local officials also found the body of man that they say matches the description of a person last seen by first responders being swept away by floodwaters. Flash flood warnings were still in effect on Wednesday for many parts of Tennessee, including…

The summit between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will be held at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, a White House official said Wednesday. The two leaders will meet on Friday to discuss an end to the more than three-year war in Ukraine, in what will be their first standalone summit since a 2018 meeting in Helsinki. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson — located near Alaska state capital Anchorage — is made up of the Elmendorf Air Force base and the Army’s Fort Richardson, which were combined in 2010. The base is the headquarters for entities including Alaska…

At least 22 migrants died after two boats overturned in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, with more still missing and some 60 survivors, humanitarian agencies said. The disaster was the latest in the dangerous central Mediterranean, where most migrants seeking to reach Europe cross in leaky or overcrowded boats, especially in the warm weather of the summer months. The number of people confirmed dead was currently at 22, a spokesman for Italy’s Red Cross, which manages Lampedusa’s migrant reception centre said. Fifty-six men and four women survived the disaster, the Red Cross said. It said it was still unclear how many…