Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

Starbucks is cutting 1,100 jobs and simplifying its menu in the US as it tries to improve flagging business in its home market.  The first items to get the axe include the Royal English Breakfast Latte, White Hot Chocolate and several kinds of blended frappuccinos. But Starbucks said more offerings would be cut, as it aims to shrink its menu by nearly a third over the next year, hoping to reduce wait times and improve quality and consistency. The company has been wrestling with a sustained fall in sales since last year, which has been particularly pronounced in the US.…

Private security guards have a reason to be happy. This is after the High Court upheld the Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) legal notice setting the minimum wage for guards in Kenya at Sh30,000. A court dismissed a petition challenging the implementation of the minimum monthly wages for security guards, paving way for the pay rise. PSRA former Director General Fazul Mahammed had, in a legal notice in November 2023, directed all private security firms to pay their security guards a minimum wage of Sh30,000 before statutory deductions. However, John Kipkorir, suing on behalf of Private Security Industry Association (PSIA),…

The police officer who was shot and killed during a clash with criminal gangs in Haiti has been identified as Constable Samuel Kitwai, 26. Kitwai who was serving in the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) in Haiti died on Sunday February 23 after he was injured during a security operation. He had come from the General Service Unit. The US embassy in Nairobi sent condolences to the family of the officer who died while working to improve security for the Haitian people as part of the Multinational Security Support mission. “The United States is grateful for the courageous Kenyan police…

A soldier from Kenya Defence Forces was Monday morning killed after an explosion caused by an improvised Explosive Device in Elwak, Mandera County.  The attack was the second one in less then 24 hours following Sunday’s where a four wheel drive car was badly damaged in the same area. Officials said a joint patrol party involving KDF and Special Operations Group encountered a reinforced ambush leading to death of one KDF soldier at Qura-Qura 15 kilometers outside Elwak. The other team escaped as they engaged the gang behind the attack in a gunfight. Their vehicle was badly damaged in the…

Nairobi City County Monday launched a full-scale enforcement operation against Kenya Power in a dispute over unpaid land rates, which have accumulated to more than Sh4.8 billion. The county officials dumped garbage outside Stima Plaza after power supply was disconnected to most of their premises. County officials arrived at Stima Plaza, the KPLC’s headquarters, with garbage trucks, blocking all entry and exit points. Moments later, water supply was cut off, sewer lines were sealed, and parked vehicles were towed away to the county yard. Some were clamped, KPLC officials said. By mid-morning, the normally busy premises had turned chaotic, with…

A suspect died after he jumped from the fourth floor of a house where he was accused of stealing water taps in Juja, Kiambu County. A caretaker of an apartment in the area said he stumbled on the suspect while dismantling taps at the house at the weekend. He alerted other tenants and went there where he found a man removing water taps installed in the said house. The stranger, on seeing the caretaker started running away upstairs to the rooftop. Upon arrival at the rooftop, he jumped down from the rooftop of the four-storey building and landed on the…

Kenya suffered its first casualty after one police officer was on Sunday February 23 shot and killed in a clash with criminal gangs in Seguin in Pont-Sonde, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) in Haiti commander Godfrey Otunge said the victim was among a team that had embarked on a mission to crush a gang operating in the area when he was shot and seriously injured. He was airlifted to Level Two Aspen hospital where he succumbed to the injuries. His colleagues responded and killed dozens of the criminals, officials said. It marked the first casualty on the…

US President Donald Trump has appointed right-wing commentator Dan Bongino as deputy director of the FBI. Trump posted on social media that Bongino was “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country” and would serve under newly confirmed FBI director Kash Patel. Bongino, 50, is ex-NYPD and Secret Service and also worked as presidential protection for two presidents – George W Bush and Barack Obama. He hosts a self-titled podcast whose Facebook posts often attract more attention than those of Fox News and CNN combined. “Thank you Mr President, Attorney General Bondi, and Director Patel,” Bongino wrote on…

The Trump administration has placed most United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees back on administrative leave from midnight on Sunday and laid off hundreds more. In addition to some 4,200 staff who are being placed on leave, at least 1,600 employees are being fired. The move comes weeks after President Donald Trump’s initial attempt to eliminate thousands of USAID employees was held up by a legal challenge. A federal judge temporarily halted the administration’s plan to gut America’s foreign aid agency, but ruled on Friday that the pause would not be permanent. Founded in 1961, USAID employed around…

Key US departments within the Trump administration have told staff not to comply with a Saturday email from Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative asking what they accomplished in the past week. The FBI, state department and Pentagon were among agencies that instructed employees not to answer the message. Other department heads advised staff to comply, while some told workers to wait for further guidance before responding. Musk said failure to respond by Monday at midnight would be interpreted as the employee resigning. President Donald Trump has yet to comment on the email. The conflicting guidance caused confusion for hundreds of thousands…

Kenya welcomed the signing of a peace agreement by Sudanese political parties, civil society, and military groups in Nairobi, describing it as a critical step towards restoring peace, stability, and democratic governance in Sudan. Kenya also reaffirmed its commitment to Sudanese-led and Sudanese-owned solutions. Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi emphasized that inclusive dialogue remains the only sustainable path to conflict resolution and long-term peace. The statement also emphasised Kenya’s nonpartisan role in facilitating the talks, despite external pressure and allegations that the Summit intended to establish a parallel government. It was noted…

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua Sunday went bare-knuckle in attacking President William Ruto warning him against purging Chief Justice Martha Koome. There are plans to oust Koome and at least five other judges at the Supreme Court over among others incompetence. Speaking in Meru on Sunday, Gachagua alleged that Ruto is hatching a plot to oust CJ Koome for failing to play to his tune, a move he has vowed will not go unchecked. In a fiery tone, Gachagua dared Ruto to orchestrate Koome’s removal, warning that he would never be welcome in Meru. “She is being fought because she…

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies have agreed to form a parallel government, they said Sunday, despite warnings such a move could further fragment the war-ravaged country. “The charter has been signed,” Najm al-Din Drisa, spokesman of the United Civil Forces, one of the signatories said. The parties to the agreement, inked behind closed doors in Nairobi, said the charter establishes a “government of peace and unity” in rebel-controlled areas of the northeast African country. The move comes nearly two years into a devastating war with the regular army that has uprooted more than 12 million people and…

Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for him, as he continues to receive treatment in hospital for double pneumonia. The pontiff was unable to deliver the traditional Angelus prayer in person for the second Sunday running. But in a message written over the last few days, he said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalisation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and “carrying on with the necessary treatment”. The message comes after the Vatican revealed on Saturday that the 88-year-old’s condition continues to be “critical”. In his message, released on Sunday, the Pope thanked the doctors and health workers at the hospital,…

A police officer shot and killed his colleague in an argument outside a club in Ruaraka area, Nairobi. The deceased was identified as Raphael Wambua and was attached to the Central Bank of Kenya. He was from the General Service Unit. The assailant is attached to the VIP protection unit and was seconded to a Chief Executive Officer of a blue chip company in the country. The two are said to have argued as they left the club on Saturday night before the assailant reached to his pistol and fatally shot Wambua. The assailant officer was later rescued and arrested…