Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

Former President Donald Trump was ordered Friday to pay nearly $400,000 (Ksh.62.2 million) in legal fees to The New York Times and three investigative reporters after he sued them unsuccessfully over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 story about his family’s wealth and tax practices. The newspaper and reporters Susanne Craig, David Barstow and Russell Buettner were dismissed from the lawsuit in May. Trump’s claim against his estranged niece, Mary Trump, that she breached a prior settlement agreement by giving tax records to the reporters is still pending. New York Judge Robert Reed said that given the “complexity of the issues” in…

President Biden says the US has delivered a “private message” to Iran about the Houthis in Yemen after the US carried out a second strike on the group. “We delivered it privately and we’re confident we’re well-prepared,” he said without giving further details. The US said its latest strike was a “follow-on action” targeting radar. Read: Protests Break Out In Yemen After U.S.-British Attacks Iran denies involvement in attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea. However Tehran is suspected of supplying the Houthis with weapons, and the US says Iranian intelligence is critical to enabling them to target ships. Joint…

The British government, through its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FDO), has advised its citizens to avoid visiting parts of Kenya. The UK advised its nationals to avoid areas within 60km of Kenya’s border with Somalia. In a travel advisory published on the government’s website on Saturday, Britons were asked to only visit the area if it was absolutely necessary. It further advised against non-essential trips to eastern Garissa County, as well as Mandera County excluding Mandera West sub-county. Britons were urged to only visit the Lamu and Manda islands when travelling to Lamu County, but avoid other areas within…

Microsoft is back on top. After trailing behind Apple for the majority of the past decade, Microsoft is the world’s most valuable publicly traded company as of market close on Friday. The tech giant’s stock closed at $338.47 a share on Friday, giving it a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion. Apple’s stock closed at $185.92 a share, for a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion. Market capitalization — or market cap — is the total value of all the shares of a publicly traded company. In other words, it’s the market value of the company. Microsoft’s rise to the top comes…

William Lai Ching-te from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won Taiwan’s presidential election. Lai, the current vice president, was in a three-way race with Hou Yu-ih from the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party. Hou conceded defeat on Saturday and congratulated Lai on his victory. He also apologised to KMT supporters for not being able to oust the DPP. Voters also elected lawmakers to Taiwan’s 113-seat legislature in elections closely watched by China and the United States. Taiwan’s election carries an outsized importance because of the territory’s disputed political status. While de facto independent…

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) wants the removal of a senior engineer at the Ministry of Roads over alleged forgery of academic certificates. The commission said Kenneth Kamumbu Mugo forged a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering purported to be issued by the University of Nairobi in 2006 to secure employment. EACC Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi revealed the scheme aying Mugo used the fake degree to secure employment as the Director of Roads and Transport at Kiambu County government, and later Superintendent Engineer of Roads in the Ministry of Roads and Transport. He said as a result, Mugo enrolled for a…

Most parts of the country will experience heavy in the next week.  The Kenya Meteorological Department issued an advisory on the imminent occurrence of intense rainfall across various regions of the country over the next seven days. According to the agency, the areas primarily affected will include Western, Lake Victoria Basin, Rift Valley, Central Highlands (including Nairobi), South Eastern, and the South Coast Region. Isolated storm conditions are expected in the Highlands East of Rift Valley, Nairobi county, South Rift Valley, and the Eastern Lowlands, the department said. North Eastern and North Western Kenya will predominantly encounter dry weather conditions…

Two US Navy sailors were reported missing while conducting operations Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to US Central Command. Search and rescue operations are ongoing to locate the sailors, Central Command said in a Friday statement. The brief statement gave no additional information about what the sailors had been doing when they went missing other than to say they were “forward-deployed” to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet area of operations and were “supporting a wide variety of missions.” “Out of respect for the families affected, we will not release further information at this time,” the statement said according…

Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Kalerwa Salasya was Friday arrested over an assault claim on a Member of County Assembly in Kakamega.  His two bodyguards were arrested and disarmed after they shot to the air in the drama at a funeral. Salasya was released on Sh50,000 cash bail pending his arraignment on Tuesday January 16. Police said he will face charges of assault and causing actual bodily harm contrary to section 251 of the penal code and creating disturbance in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace contrary to section 95 (1)(b) of the penal code. His…

Mumias East MP Peter Salasya was at the centre of yet another controversy after he physically assaulted a fellow politician. The legislator was on Friday invited to address mourners during which a disagreement ensued. “First and foremost, let me send my condolences to the family. I remember the family would always make me feel welcome every time I visited them. That’s the reason why I decided to come and console the family today. We pray that God will continue resting his soul in eternal peace. Thank you,” Salasya said. As Salasya wrapped up his speech, a colleague sought a chance…

Israel on Friday rejected as false and “grossly distorted” accusations brought by South Africa at the U.N.’s top court that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign against Palestinians. Arguing it was acting to defend itself and was fighting Hamas, not the Palestinian population, Israel called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to dismiss the case as groundless and reject South Africa’s request to order it to halt the offensive. “This is no genocide,” lawyer Malcolm Shaw said. South Africa told the court on Thursday that Israel’s aerial and ground offensive – which has laid waste…

Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities on Friday to hear their leaders condemn U.S. and British strikes on their country in response to attacks by Houthi militants on Red Sea shipping. The U.S. and Britain carried out dozens of air strikes on Houthi military targets overnight, widening a wave of regional conflict unleashed by Israel’s war in Gaza. “Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism,” said Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, referring to the United States. “The United States is the Devil.” After Gaza’s Hamas rulers attacked Israel on Oct. 7, triggering…

The prosecution Friday asked a Kiambu High Court for a continued detention of the five suspects in connection with the murder of Daniel Muthiani Benard alias Sniper for a further 14 days to allow the police to conclude their investigations. The prosecution wants Kenneth Mutua Matiri, Fredrick Muruiki Kiugi, Frankline Kimathi, Timothy Kinoti and Murangiri Kenneth Guantai be detained as police continue their investigation into the criminal offence of murder contrary to Section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code following the brutal murder Sniper, aged 33, on December 26, 2023. The prosecution, through Evelyn Onunga, argued…

A businesswoman accused of trafficking cocaine worth Sh80,120 four years ago has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport ,(JKIA) Senior Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku found Scola Imbiti Namunyu guilty of the offence of trafficking in narcotics drugs after the prosecution called a total of eight witnesses. The Magistrate said the prosecution was able to prove that Scola dispatched an envelope with cocaine for delivery to Malindi. Scola 50, was arraigned in court in 2019 . Her charge sheet indicated that on June 12 2019 at around 5pm, at Buscar booking offices along Nairobi-Mombasa highway within…

President William Ruto has named Professor Patrick Verkooijen Chancellor of the University of Nairobi (UoN). In a Gazette Notice dated January 12, the new Chancellor will serve for five years effective immediately. “In exercise of the powers conferred by section 38 (1) (a) of the Universities Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint — PATRICK V. VERKOOIJEN (PROF.) to be the Chancellor of the University of Nairobi, for a period of five (5) years, with effect from January 12, 2024,” read the notice. Prior to the appointment,…