Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The wife of detained Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has denounced as “cruel and inhumane” a ban on prisoners receiving visitors on Christmas Day.  Besigye, 68, has been charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad, which he denies. His trial has been delayed until next month. Prison authorities say that as part of measures to prevent “potential security lapses”, inmates would not be allowed visitors for seven days, starting on Christmas Eve. Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima, the head of the UN’s organisation to tackle HIV and Aids, said she planned to camp…

Syria’s new rebel-led authorities say 14 interior ministry personnel have been killed and 10 injured in an “ambush” by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the west of the country. They say the fighting took place near the Mediterranean port of Tartous on Tuesday. Reports say the security forces were ambushed as they tried to arrest a former officer in connection to his role at the notorious Saydnaya prison, close to the capital Damascus. Just over two weeks ago, Assad’s presidency fell to rebel forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) faction. The UK-based Syrian Observatory…

Dozens of people have died after a passenger plane crashed with 67 people on board in Kazakhstan, local officials say. The country’s emergency ministry said there were 25 survivors. The plane, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, caught fire as it went down near the city of Aktau. The cause of the crash is not know. Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia. Reports say it was diverted because of fog. Video verified by Reuters news agency shows the plane heading towards the ground at high speed, with its landing gear down. Seconds after…

Hashim Dagane Muhumed, alias Hashim Mohamed Khalif, a suspect accused of the gruesome murder of four women allegedly abducted from Eastleigh, was arraigned December 24, 2024, before the High Court in Milimani. The prosecution team made an application before Lady Justice Lady Justice Diana Rachel Kavedza to defer the plea pending a mental assessment of the suspect. In her ruling, justice Kavedza allowed the prosecution application and directed that the suspect be subjected to a psychiatric assessment and the report be tabled in court before January 21, 2024, when he is expected to take a plea. Hashim Dagane Muhumed Alias…

A court released 14 suspects arrested in the alleged supply of counterfeit cement and disposing of counterfeit cement in the course of trade contrary to Section 32(g) as read with Section 35(i) of the Anti-Counterfeit Act No. 13 of 2008. The 14 suspects include Patrick Munyasia Mbusya, Josephine Mwalimu Kanyiva, Joseph Kennedy Omanyala, Philip Ndegwa Owino, Jacob Iyadi Wambulwa, Kennedy Wambua Kilonzo, Edwin Kiprotich Bett, Muema Kimuu Mwanzia, George Kiarie Kinyanjui, James Charles Mureithi, Christopher Kyalo Kilonzo, Mason Wekesa Muringamu, Felix Mawesa Katomo, and Simon Kaira Njoroge. They were arraigned before Magistrate Dolphina Alego under a miscellaneous application seeking to…

Inspector General National Police Service, Douglas Kanja spent Monday December 23 in Lamu conducting security assessment of the area in light of the festive season.  The area is among those badly affected by terror related incidents which have displaced many. Kanja was first briefed at the Kenya Navy Manda Bay by military officers led by Commander Kenya Navy Base Manda Air Bay-Brigadier L P Wafula and Brig J K Maiyo on the current situation of Operation Amani Boni. Multi agency operations are ongoing in the area to address the menace. Kanja commended the multi-agency security teams that have made both…

Narc-Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua has accused President William Ruto of being behind a series of abductions witnessed in Kenya over the past six months.  Karua sensationally claimed during an interview with Citizen TV that Ruto is running a covert “killer gang” made up of foreigners and select Kenyans drawn from the military and outside the police force. There was no immediate comment from State House over the claims. Karua did not mince words, pointing the finger squarely at President Ruto, claiming that only the Head of State could lead such an operation. “I believe that William Ruto is behind…

A Nasa spacecraft is attempting to make history with the closest ever approach to the Sun. The Parker Solar Probe is plunging into our star’s outer atmosphere, enduring brutal temperatures and extreme radiation. It’s out of communication for several days during this burning hot fly-by and scientists will be waiting for a signal, expected on 27 December, to see if it has survived. The hope is the probe could help us to better understand how the Sun works. Dr Nicola Fox, head of science at Nasa, told BBC News: “For centuries, people have studied the Sun, but you don’t experience…

Residents in an Australian region engulfed by bushfires were given two hours to return home to collect their belongings before Christmas on Tuesday, as emergency crews try to contain the blaze.  Communities around the Grampians, in Victoria, have been evacuated amid warnings from authorities that conditions there in the days ahead could be the worst since Australia’s most severe fire season on record, the so-called “Black Summer” of 2019-20. The bushfires have already burnt over 41,000 hectares (101,000 acres) of land in the past week, however there have been no deaths or loss of property. Intense heat forecast for Boxing…

A suspect has been arrested in New York over the death of a woman who was set on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the incident on Sunday as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being”. She said the woman was on a stationary F train to Brooklyn when she was approached by a man who used a lighter to ignite her clothing. The victim died at the scene, she said, adding that the suspect had been taken into custody after he was detained on another…

Ten members of a family have died after a private plane crashed into the city of Gramado in southern Brazil.  Brazilian businessman Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, who was piloting the plane, was killed in the crash alongside his wife, three daughters and other family members, a statement from his company said. The small plane reportedly hit the chimney of a building, as well as a house and a shop as it fell. Local authorities say 17 people on the ground were injured in the accident, including two in a serious condition. Mr Galeazzi, 61, was taking his family on a trip…

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging “exorbitant prices” to American shipping and naval vessels. “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair,” he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday. “This complete rip-off of our country will immediately stop,” he said, referring to when he takes office next month. His remarks prompted a quick rebuke from Panama’s president, who said “every square metre” of the canal and surrounding area belong to his country. President José Raúl Mulino…

Two men who were constructing and decorating a wall died after it collapsed on them in Runda, Nairobi.  Two others were injured and rushed to hospital in critical condition, police said. Witnesses and police said the group had been hired by a private citizen to paint and decorate a perimeter wall on his residence. As they went on with the mission, it started to rain forcing the masons to seek shelter at a nearby kiosk. It was as it rained when the wall collapsed trapping the group in the iron sheets made kiosk. They were rescued and rushed to a…

The US military says it has carried out a series of air strikes on the Yemeni capital Sanaa targeting a missile storage site and command facilities operated by Iran-backed Houthi militants. US Central Command added it also hit multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea. It comes hours after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel which injured more than a dozen people in a Tel Aviv park. The Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group that controls north-western Yemen, began attacking Israel and international shipping shortly after the start of the Gaza war in October…

Manchester City’s crisis intensified as they slipped to another damaging defeat at Aston Villa.  Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers goals meant Phil Foden’s late reply for the visitors was little consolation. Defending champions City have dropped to sixth in the Premier League, nine points behind leaders Liverpool having played two games more, while Villa have moved above them into fifth. It is now nine defeats in 12 games in all competitions for City, who are winless in their last eight away matches, as their season continues to spiral downwards. Pep Guardiola made six changes from the Manchester derby defeat last…