Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The first president of independent Namibia, Sam Nujoma, died at the age of 95 in the capital Windhoek, the country’s current leader announced. Nujoma led the long fight for independence from South Africa in 1990 after helping found Namibia’s liberation movement known as the South West Peoples’ Organisation (Swapo) in the 1960s. After independence, Nujoma became president in 1990 and led the country until 2005. Nujoma had been hospitalised over the past three weeks with an illness from which he “could not recover”, Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba said in a statement announcing the death with “utmost sorrow and sadness”. He…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed Colleen Shogan, the Archivist of the United States, and announced plans to shake up the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in his latest moves to upend institutions in Washington. The national archivist is responsible for overseeing government records and heads the National Archives, an agency Trump has repeatedly criticized since it alerted the Justice Department to Trump’s handling of classified documents in early 2022. The Kennedy Center, which receives federal funding, is one of the nation’s leading arts facilities and has long enjoyed bipartisan support and national…

A major clean-up exercise began this morning across various estates in Nairobi, led by Governor Johnson Sakaja at the Westlands Market. The initiative, part of the Green Nairobi agenda, aims to enhance cleanliness and hygiene in the city while encouraging community participation. Speaking at the launch on February 8, Sakaja emphasized the importance of collective responsibility in maintaining a clean environment. He also announced plans to install dustbins across the Central Business District (CBD) and estates to complement the clean-up efforts. “Very soon, we will begin installing bins in the CBD and other areas. This initiative goes hand in hand…

President William Ruto Saturday urged all parties in the conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to cease hostilities and embrace dialogue.  He said the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) must stand together in calling for dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the conflict. He said all parties should give priority to dialogue, cooperation and, above all, the protection of civilians. “Today, we join together to reiterate our calls to the parties to this tragic conflict to immediately cease hostilities and take positive actions to allow meaningful dialogue aimed at the restoration of stability,”…

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula has dismissed the High Court’s ruling on his dual role as Speaker and Party Leader of Ford Kenya, terming the decision as mere “ordinary comments” in law that are non-binding and have no practical effect. Through his legal advisor, Benson Milimo, Wetang’ula clarified that the court did not order him to relinquish either office. “I want to assure the nation and the Ford Kenya fraternity that there is absolutely no cause for alarm. What the court did was make comments—what the law terms as ‘obiter dictum’—which are non-binding and have no consequential effect,” Milimo said…

President Donald Trump’s administration agreed on Friday not to publicly name FBI employees involved in investigations into the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as the president said some would be fired. The agreement, which a federal judge approved, came after two groups of FBI agents sued the Justice Department to block its officials from releasing the names of employees, amid fears for their safety. Under terms of the agreement, the department will be prevented from releasing the names until at least late March while lawsuits move forward. The department also agreed it will give the plaintiffs two…

The ongoing construction of the Sh2 billion passenger underpass at Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi is almost complete.  It will feature shops and stalls to enhance passenger safety, Roads Principal Secretary Joseph Mbugua told Members of Parliament. The Greenpark Terminus Pedestrian Underpass Network along the Uhuru Highway-Haile Selassie intersection roundabout in Nairobi is being built at a cost of Sh2 billion. The project received the green light after the government set aside funds under the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) for the construction. Once completed, the underpass will see pedestrians connect between Nairobi CBD and Green Park Terminus and will…

The U.S. has warned of possible sanctions against Rwandan and Congolese officials ahead of a summit meant to address the escalating conflict in eastern Congo, according to a diplomatic note seen by Reuters on Friday. Kinshasa and Kigali have been blaming each other for renewed turmoil in eastern Congo, where Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have seized the regional capital Goma and are advancing on more territory. A diplomatic note sent on Friday by Washington to Kenya, which chairs the East African Community and has mediated in the crisis, said stability in the region will require the Rwandan military “to withdraw its…

Elon Musk has said he will rehire an employee of his newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) who resigned after being linked to a racist social media account. “He will be brought back,” Musk posted on X, the social media platform he owns. “To err is human, to forgive divine.” Media reports tied Marko Elez, 25, who previously worked for Musk’s SpaceX company, to a now-deleted social media account that posted the incendiary comments. Vice-President JD Vance had said earlier in the day that the young employee should be given a second chance. The account connected to Mr Elez…

Canada’s outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told a group of business leaders he believes President Donald Trump might be serious about annexing his country. Trudeau suggested Trump has floated the idea of taking over Canada and making it the “51st state” because he wants to access the country’s critical minerals. “Mr Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing,” the prime minister said. His comments were made behind closed doors at a Canada-US Economic Summit in Toronto, but were captured in part by a microphone…

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing financial aid to South Africa, after threatening to do so earlier this week. Trump said he was bringing in the order because of South Africa’s new land law, which he says is violating people’s rights, and also because of its international court case accusing Israel of genocide. It escalates a dispute between the two countries nearly a week after Trump threatened to cut funding without citing evidence, that “South Africa is confiscating land” and “certain classes of people” were being treated “very badly”. Trump’s close adviser Elon Musk, who was born…

A judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from placing 2,200 workers at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave, hours before it was due to happen. Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order, in response to a lawsuit filed by two unions representing the workers. The order will remain in place for a week, until 14 February at midnight. Under Trump’s plan, nearly all of the 10,000 employees at USAID – which is America’s overseas aid agency – would be put on paid administrative leave, except 611 workers. Some 500 staff had already been…

US President Donald Trump has said he is revoking Joe Biden’s security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings, after his predecessor did the same to him four years ago. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “JOE, YOU’RE FIRED,” the Republican added in a reference to his catchphrase on the reality TV show, The Apprentice. Trump has already revoked the security clearance of more than four dozen former intelligence officials whom he accused of meddling in the 2020 election in Biden’s favour.…

Kenya has joined other East African Community and Southern African Development Community member States in calling for cessation and ceasefire in the conflict prone eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya wants all stakeholders be brought to the negotiating table as part of facilitating return to normalcy in DRC. Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said the only way out is to shun endless combat and give dialogue a chance. “Peace is not like instant coffee. You can not brew it. We have a golden moment as EAC and SADC to help the people of DRC,” he said during a ministerial…

Reforms at the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) Customs and Border Control are beginning to yield notable results, after Customs taxes reached a historic monthly performance of Sh82.554 billion in January 2025.  This is a milestone in the history of Customs, said commissioner Dr Lilian Nyawinda. She said customs kicked off the second half of the 2024/2025 financial year on an upward trajectory, after surpassing its January target of Sh74.439 billion by collecting a surplus of Sh8.116 billion, reflecting a performance rate of 110.9%. “This performance represents a 27.0% growth compared to the 4.8% growth recorded in the first half of…