Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

Bungoma County Assembly will remain closed for a further 14 days effective Wednesday, October 28, 2020, after six ward representatives and seven staff members tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In a statement, Speaker Emmanuel Situma said the Assembly was closed two weeks ago as a precautionary measure before mass testing was done on MCAs, staff and other service providers. Following the recently confirmed infections, the Speaker advised all MCAs and members of staff to self isolate in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines. “The wider County Assembly of Bungoma fraternity is equally urged to self-isolate in…

A Nairobi court has ordered former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu to present himself to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for a medical examination as claims of ill health continue to derail corruption case against him. The trial magistrate allowed the prosecution’s request to have three medical doctors appointed by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board (KMPDB) to examine Waititu and table a report in court. This is after reports that the former Kiambu County boss had tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and later admitted to a hospital facility in Huruma thereby causing the adjournment of his corruption…

Chadema women leader Halima Mdee has been arrested, the party has claimed just hours after polls opened. The Parliamentary candidate for Kawe constituency, who serves as chairperson for the opposition party’s women’s wing known by its Kiswahili acronym as Bawacha, was reportedly arrested when she questioned the legitimacy of some votes which had been cast by the time she visited Tarafani Polling Station. Mdee’s Secretary told the local media that the MP is held at Kawe Police Station. Mdee is seeking a third term in office. Her main competitor is preacher Josephat Gwajima who is vying for the seat on…

Freeman Mbowe, the chairman of Tanzania’s opposition party Chadema, now claims that his life is in danger as the country elects new leaders in today’s General Election. In a tweet on Wednesday morning, the Member of Parliament for Hai constituency said that around 2.30am and on the eve of election day in Tanzania, heavily armed gangsters raided the party officials hotel and kidnapped two of their security guards. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Mbowe claimed that the “kidnappers” are believed to be operators of Hai DC Ole Sabaya & protected by Hai Police OCD adding that he fears for his life.…

Microblogging site Twitter has condemned internet restrictions in Tanzania as the country elects leaders in today’s General Election. Many Tanzananias and lobby groups yesterday reported problems using Twitter and other social media platforms further accusing the John Pombe Magufuli-led government of suppression of freedom of speech. Some of the individuals who managed to use Twitter said they were using Virtual Private Network (VPN) which was a struggle too. Twitter issued a statement later on Tuesday evening confirming that access to its platform was indeed blocked. The US-based tech company termed the move as a violation of basic human rights. “Ahead…

The Ministry of Health has confirmed 836 new Covid-19 cases from 4,076 samples tested in the last 24 hours. Kenya’s caseload now stands at 50,833. In a statement on Tuesday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said 14 more patients have succumbed to the disease raising the death toll to 934. Kagwe said 403 more people have recovered from the disease, 250 from the Home-Based Care Program, while 153 have been discharged from various hospitals. Total recoveries now stand at 34,832. New Cases From the 836 new cases, 822 are Kenyans and 14 are foreigners; 618 are males and 218 females.…

Zanzibar Presidential Candidate Seif Sharif Hamad has been arrested. In a statement on Tuesday, Hamad’s ACTWazalendo party stated that the opposition politician was taken to Ziwani Police Headquarters in Zanzibar. “Seif Sharif Hamad was apprehended at the Mtoni Garagara polling station where he went to vote as advance voting commenced this morning, ” the statement reads. The official polling day is Wednesday, October 28, however, Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) allowed early voting for security and ZEC personnel, a move that the opposition is strongly against. Hamad’s arrest follows a night of violence that left three people dead and many injured.…

Tanzanian authorities have reportedly blocked Twitter ahead of the tomorrow’s General Election amid rigging claims. The government is said to have restricted access to Twitter both in Tanzania’s mainland and Zanzibar ahead of a hotly contested presidential election. https://twitter.com/iAlenOfficial/status/1320976265093042178?s=20 Activists in the country have confirmed the reports further castigating President John Pombe Magufuli for the internet restrictions said to have also affected other social media applications including Telegram. https://twitter.com/MariaSTsehai/status/1320938209895997445?s=20 Some of the individuals who have managed to use Twitter say they are using Virtual Private Network (VPN) which is a struggle too. This comes just days after the government suspended…

Mathira Member of Parliament Rigathi Gachagua has been arrested over alleged embezzlement of Ksh12.5 billion public funds. The MP was arrested on Monday by officers from the Serious Crime Unit and taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters on Kiambu Road in Nairobi County for grilling. The MP recently had his bank accounts frozen as detectives probed the source of the billions that passed through his accounts. Three of the accounts frozen by the Asset Recovery Agency holds Ksh202 million, Ksh165 million and Ksh35 million. Two others had Ksh1.1 million and Ksh700,000. He is alleged to have used…

Deputy President William Ruto was on Monday heckled as he poked holes in the recently unveiled Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report. In his speech at Bomas of Kenya, the DP expressed his reservations on some of the proposals fronted by the BBI taskforce led by Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji. The DP questioned the rationale behind the proposal to create the office of the Prime Minister yet he thinks it doesn’t address the “winner takes it all” issue. “I’ve confessed I’m a scientist but I’m a bit slow. Explain to me how having a President who will appoint the Prime Minister…

The hearing of corruption case against former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu failed to kick-off for the third time on Monday after the court was told the accused is hospitalised. Waititu’s lawyer John Swaka told the court that his client was admitted to hospital on October 24. The prosecution, however, accused the former Kiambu county boss of being disingenuous about his medical condition. Led by Joseph Riungu Gitonga, the prosecution poked holes in a medical report tabled in court by Waititu’s lawyers and asked the court to allow three independent doctors appointed by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPD)…

Parents of the late baby Samantha Pendo, who was killed in Kisumu, after the disputed 2017 Presidential Election, are among delegates attending the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report launch at Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi. The two, Lensa Achieng’ and Joseph Abanja, were given an opportunity to talk and narrated three years of pain following the loss of their six-month-old baby girl. Pendo was clobbered after clashes between police and demonstrators in Kisumu’s Nyalenda Slums after Uhuru Kenyatta was announced as the winner of the presidential election in 2017. She died in hospital three days later. An inquest into the death…

Commuters will from Tuesday, October 27, be stranded if the Matatu Operators Association makes good on a threat to strike over strict Covid-19 regulations in the sector. Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Chairman of the Matatu Operators in the Nairobi Central Business District, Jamal Ibrahim said the strike will affect transport countrywide. Citing strict passenger limit restrictions amid the pandemic, Jamal stated that the government had neglected the matatu industry. “On Tuesday, across the country, all matatus must go on strike. I would like to tell our leaders, Hon Raila Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, they have neglected our matatu…

Deputy President William Ruto has vowed to ensure that proposals contained in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report are shot down if they don’t address the needs of ordinary Kenyans. Speaking at Shianda Market in Kakamega County on Sunday after a Church Service at Our lady of Assumption Indangalasia Parish and St. Leo Catholic Church, Ruto reiterated that BBI should not be used by politicians for selfish gains. The second in command said the conversation around constitutional reforms should be people-centred and inclusive. He noted that the discussion must be heavy on ordinary Kenyans’ issues such as jobs generation and poverty…

West Pokot activist Dennis Kapchok Ruto, who is also popularly known as Mulumulwas, was not abducted but arrested by police over alleged hate speech, authorities have revealed. Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested Kapchok over the weekend in Kapenguria and brought him to Nairobi over claims of hate speech against West Pokot Senator Samuel Poghisio. Nairobi police boss Rashid Yakub confirmed to The Standard that Kapchok is in lawful custody and that detectives are investigating claims of cyber harassment under the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act over a post the activist made on his social media pages…