Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The High Court rejected an application by former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu to be released on bond pending hearing and determination of his appeal. Justice Lucy Njuguna said the applicant had not convinced the court that his appeal had high chances of success. He appeared in court while in a face mask and looking frail on Monday. He has been sick. She disagreed with Waititu that he ought to be released on bond owing to his ill health. “The applicants have not met the conditions for bail. The applications are hereby dismissed,” Justice Njuguna ruled. Waititu has been in jail…

The body of a 35-year-old man was found in a river after he had been murdered in a village in Meru County. Police said the body of Amos Birundu was found along Kanyoro River on March 1 long after his murder. The body was found with visible bruises on the legs with his trousers halfway removed and moved to Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary pending postmortem. The motive of the murder is yet to be known. In Oyugis, Homabay County, the body of a 91-year-old woman was found in his bed after murder. Police said the body of Salome…

A key suspect in the murder of British national Campbell Scott was Sunday March 2 arrested in Mombasa town. The suspect was brought to Nairobi ahead of a planned arraignment for a miscellaneous application to detain him. He is said to have been hiding in Mombasa since the murder of Scott on February 18. Scott was killed in Nairobi and his body transported to Makueni for disposal. Police said his at least two accomplices are hiding either in Nairobi or Mombasa. Homicide detectives said they have a breakthrough in the murder. They did not disclose the motive of the murder.…

A 24-year-old woman was found dead in her house after she had been electrocuted by a water heater in Mathare slums, Nairobi. Police said the body of Sarah Mbiki Mutinfa was found next to the water heater on Sunday March 2 night long after the electrocution. It is suspected she had tried to boil water using the gadget when she was electrocuted. The woman was alone in the house and when her parents tried to reach her she could not respond to the calls. This prompted her father to visit the house where he found it locked from inside. He…

A football fan was stoned and killed during a clash between opposing fans at the Jamhuri Grounds, Nairobi. Five other fans were rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after the Sunday evening clash, police said. Two teams were participating in Bingwa Festival sponsored by Betika Kenya when the fans disagreed. This prompted the opposing fans to start pelting stones and storm the pitch, forcing the game to be stopped as the players sought refuge. Police and witnesses said the clash was prompted by what some fans called poor refereeing. The groups clashed using stones, seats and other objects, leaving…

The Academy Awards are taking place in Los Angeles, with Anora, Conclave, Wicked and Emilia Pérez among the early winners. Here is the full list of nominees, which is being updated with the winners as they are announced. Best picture * Anora * The Brutalist * A Complete Unknown * Conclave * Dune: Part Two * Emilia Pérez * I’m Still Here * Nickel Boys * The Substance * Wicked Best actress * Cynthia Erivo – Wicked * Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez * Mikey Madison – Anora * Demi Moore – The Substance * Fernanda Torres – I’m…

For the third week in a row, Pope Francis has been unable to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer in person, with the Vatican publishing his written comments instead. Vatican officials said the text, sent from his hospital room in Rome, had been written “in the past few days”. In it, the Pope thanked people for their prayers and thanked his medical team for their care. “I feel in my heart the ‘blessing’ that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord,” he wrote. “At the same time,…

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a four-point plan to work with Ukraine to end the war and defend the country from Russia. The UK, France and other countries will step up their efforts in a “coalition of the willing” and seek to involve the US in their support for Ukraine, he said. “We are at a crossroads in history today,” Starmer said after a summit of 18 leaders – mostly from Europe and including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said Ukraine felt “strong support” and the summit showed “European unity at an extremely high level not seen for a…

US President Donald Trump has revealed the names of five cryptocurrencies that he says he’d like to be included in a new strategic reserve to make the US “the Crypto Capital of the World”. The market prices of the five coins he named – Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano – all swiftly jumped after the announcement. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he aggressively courted the crypto community. The previous US president, Joe Biden, had overseen a crackdown on crypto due to concerns about fraud and money laundering. It is unclear how the new stockpile will work. More information is expected…

President William Ruto Sunday assured Kenyans that the government’s universal healthcare programme, the Social Health Authority, will overcome its teething challenges. Ruto said this government will actualise Universal Health Coverage, noting that previous administrations have made unsuccessful attempts at its rollout. He, however, noted that some of the issues affecting its implementation may take a bit of time to be fully resolved because of the magnitude of the programme. “It is the biggest programme we have in the country. It may take time for things to align, but believe you me: It is going to work,” he said. He made…

A private spacecraft has landed on the Moon, becoming only the second commercial vehicle to reach the lunar surface. Blue Ghost left Earth on January 15, after being launched by US firm Firefly Aerospace with the intention of exploring the Sea of Crises, a huge crater visible from Earth. The project is the latest collaboration by US space agency Nasa and private companies. Intuitive Machines, another firm, is hoping to land its Athena spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole in the next few days. Intuitive was the first private company to achieve a lunar landing. Its spacecraft Odysseus reached the…

Pro-Ukraine protests have taken place across the US after Donald Trump and JD Vance’s angry exchange with Volodymr Zelensky at the White House. Hundreds of people gathered in New York, Los Angeles and Boston to express their support for Ukraine after the furious row in the Oval Office. Protesters holding pro-Ukraine signs also lined a road in Waitsfield, Vermont, where Vice-President Vance and his family were visiting for a ski holiday. US media reported the family moved to an undisclosed location from their planned ski resort because of the demonstrations. A protest in Waitsfield against the Trump-Vance administration had been…

The government of Haiti said police had launched a large-scale operation in a shantytown controlled by powerful gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, who is widely known as Barbecue. The authorities say several gang members were killed in the Lower Delmas area of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Local reports say military drones carrying explosives are being used in the operation. Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé praised the assault. He said it was the work of a special task force created two days ago to tackle insecurity. On March 1, Haitian National Police (PNH) conducted a thorough operation in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of…

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have faulted a charter signed to establish a parallel government in Sudan by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The two are Kenya’s key Middle Eastern trading partners. Their stance is a blow to Kenya, which has stayed firm amid criticism over the move. In separate press statements issued over the weekend, both nations distanced themselves from the formation of a parallel government and strongly condemned the initiative. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in their statement, called for a rejection of any ”illegitimate steps” taken outside the Republic of Sudan to establish a parallel government.…

Russia said Saturday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s trip to the United States had been a “failure” after US President Donald Trump berated him in a stunning televised confrontation. Zelensky planned to sign a minerals deal with the United States during the visit, but it ended in disaster when Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful” and admonished him in front of US and international media. Kyiv had hoped the agreement would pave the way for security guarantees from Washington as it fights the full-scale offensive Russia launched in 2022. “The visit of the…