Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The United States donated disaster preparedness equipment worth over Sh130 million ($1million) to the Kenya Defense Forces.  This was a boost for the KDF efforts to respond to many disasters which are on the rise. This is among others aimed at supporting KDF’s first responder and search-and-rescue capabilities. The four HAZMAT trucks and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear equipment were donated through the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Department of Defense’s U.S. Africa Command. “This equipment handover demonstrates commitment to the partnership between the United States and the KDF,” said U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman. “The United States is proud to…

The High Court Friday ordered the release of Mombasa County Finance CEC Evans Oanda from custody after the county undertook to settle Sh68 million it owes a car dealer. Oanda was arrested Thursday following a warrant that had been issued by Milimani Judge Jairus Ngaah in contempt of court proceedings. He spent the night at the Industrial Area Prison in Nairobi ahead of the court session. The judge suspended the warrant against Oanda and any other accounting officer of the Mombasa County after it undertook to settle the debt. The court set conditions that the county settles the Sh68 million…

Police intercepted a bus with 14 refugees that was headed for Nairobi. The group had originated in Lodwar, Turkana County when they were intercepted in Limuru, Kiambu County on Tuesday morning. Police said they had been tipped off the group was on the move to Nairobi and their mission was not clear. A team stopped the bus at Kamandura area along the Nakuru-Nairobi highway with the refugees from Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea. They were all placed in custody pending arraignment. The group told police they had been allowed to move to Nairobi to look for jobs. The UN…

A national education lobby wants all bursaries to be harmonized and consolidated into a single funding kitty.  This would make it easier for the public to track the allocation and utilization of education funds, leading to greater accountability and trust in the education system, group officials say. The chairman of Wadau Wa Elimu Ben Orwasa, said the current fragmented bursary allocations system heavily complicates the matter more for the applicants. “Distributing bursaries from various sources such as the Ministry of Education (MoE), Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of County Assemblies (MCAs), and Governors can be burdensome and inefficient,” he said…

Police are investigating the death of a 25-year-old man who is believed to have drowned at the Indian Ocean as he celebrated his birthday. His body was discovered on Wednesday by fishermen in the Waa area, Diani. A fisherman said while on his daily routine of fishing expeditions in the said area, he saw a body floating on the water. Police responded to the scene and with the help of some fishermen, they managed to retrieve the body, which was identified as that of Derrick Kitheka Wambua aged 25 years and a businessman in Laikipia, who had come to Diani…

Detectives are investigating an incident where a military serviceman based at Gilgil was attacked and killed by unknown men in Endebess, Kwanza, Trans Nzoia County. Police said Corporal James Ojuku Mudongi was traveling with his fiancée when the unknown assailants accosted him. The attackers stabbed him several times leaving him with deadly wounds. According to police, Mudongi and the woman had on Tuesday August 20 at around 8:30 pm, boarded a Probox which had four men at the Oronei area along Kitale-Endebess road. While at Maili Nane area, the vehicle turned off the main road and headed towards TTI road…

The body of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been recovered from the wreck of a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily early on Monday, but searches are continuing for his missing daughter. Six bodies have now been brought to shore after the sinking of the luxury yacht Bayesian, which foundered during a freak storm off the fishing village of Porticello, east of Palermo. The one person who is still missing is Mr Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 people survived the sinking, including a one-year-old child and Mr Lynch’s wife…

A transgender woman from Australia has won a discrimination case against a women-only social media app, after she was denied access on the basis of being male. The Federal Court found that although Roxanne Tickle had not been directly discriminated against, she was a victim of indirect discrimination – which refers to when a decision disadvantages a person with a particular attribute – and ordered the app to pay her A$10,000 ($6,700; £5,100) plus costs. It’s a landmark ruling when it comes to gender identity, and at the very heart of the case was the ever more contentious question: what…

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris often speaks of her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, as someone who encouraged her and helped inspire her trajectory. Harris’ younger sister, Maya Harris, one of the vice president’s closest confidants, again mentioned their mother on this historic night.At one point she seemed to be getting emotional at wondering what Gopalan would say at seeing her eldest daughter accept the Democratic party’s nomination for president. “I could just see her smiling saying how proud she is of Kamala,” she said. “And then, without missing a beat, she’d say, ‘That’s enough. You have work to do.'” Harris served…

Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, wrapping up an electric four-day convention that showcased a unified party singularly determined to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump. Democrats were exuberant about their improving political fortunes one month after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race. While the race between Harris and Trump is neck and neck, the momentum has been on the side of Harris. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, introduced himself to the country on the penultimate night of the convention. Here are five key takeaways from the convention. Vibes and ‘joy’ over policy Replacing…

The controversial internet influencer Andrew Tate has been placed under house arrest by a Romanian judge, as prosecutors investigate new and serious allegations, including sex with a minor and trafficking underage persons. He and his brother Tristan appeared in court on Thursday afternoon. Tristan Tate was placed under special judicial control. Prosecutors had asked the judge to remand the brothers in custody for 30 days while they continued a new investigation involving a total of 35 alleged victims, including a woman who was 15 at the time. In a statement, Romania’s agency against organised crime, DIICOT, said six people had…

The second-largest diamond ever found – a rough 2,492-carat stone – has been unearthed in Botswana at a mine owned by Canadian firm Lucara Diamond.  It is the biggest find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905 and cut into nine separate stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels. The diamond was found at Karowe mine, about 500km (300 miles) north of Botswana’s capital, Gaborone. Botswana’s government said it was the largest diamond ever discovered in the southern African state. The previous biggest discovery in Botswana was a 1,758-carat stone found at the…

Donald Trump isn’t in Chicago but his presence hangs over everything and he is clearly following events here. A couple of aides told me, a little implausibly, that the former president is not tuning into the Democratic National Convention because he has no interest in watching a Democratic Party “infomercial”. But one senior campaign official confirms, anonymously, that Trump is watching and is irritated by the attacks against him. In the view of one ally who speaks to the former president every week, Trump wins in November if he sticks to talking about the economy, the border and crime. At…

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs on Thursday left for Tokyo, Japan to attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) 9th Ministerial Meeting. The 9th TICAD Ministerial Meeting is organised, in conjunction with the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank (WB), and the African Union Commission (AUC) During the meeting, Mudavadi will speak on promoting trade, and investment, and underscore Kenya’s interests. He will also seek to showcase opportunities available for investment in Kenya by the Japanese private sector. “He will use the opportunity to call for…

The intelligence agencies of Kenya and Ethiopia say the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), referred to by Ethiopian authorities as “Shene,” has established direct connections with the al Shabaab militants based in Somalia.  This is a serious move between the two groups which could continue to destabilize the region at large. OLA operates in Ethiopia while al Shabaab has a base in Somalia. Kenya and Ethiopia security chiefs on Thursday August 22 accused these groups of collaborating to “undermine security in the region.” According to the Addis Standard, these allegations were made during a visit to Addis Ababa by a Kenyan…