Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

Migori County Governor Okoth Obado has been granted Ksh8.75 million cash bail or Ksh20 million bond in Ksh73.4 million graft case. In his ruling on Monday, Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi ordered that Obado be barred from accessing Migori County office until the case is concluded just like his counterparts Mike Sonko (Nairobi), Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) and Moses Kasaine Lenolkulal (Samburu) facing similar charges. The magistrate, however, directed that the governor be escorted to pick his belongings from the county offices. The magistrate also granted Obado’s children, who are also facing graft charges, bail as follows: Achola Okoth (Ksh2.5million), Scarlet Susan…

Former Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi has revealed that the sour working relationship with Governor Mike Sonko affected her children. Speaking during an interview with former Citizen TV anchor Jacque Maribe on her show dubbed “The Hot Seat” on Sunday, Elachi stated that her children are terrified of the county boss. She disclosed that at some point when the governor announced that he wanted to move to the governor’s house which is close to where they live, the children demanded that they move out. Elachi narrated that one of her kids aged 12 years, was not comfortable with the…

Exiled Kenyan lawyer Miguna Miguna has shared photos he claims are of his passport which was seized by the government before he was forcefully deported to Canada in 2018. In a tweet on Sunday, the firebrand lawyer shared photos of his perforated passport which he said was retrieved from the High Court Registrar in Nairobi by his lawyer. Miguna noted that it took his legal team more than two years to retrieve the passport. “After more than two and a half years of constant demands and presser, my lawyers eventually retrieved the perforated Kenyan passport from the High Court Registrar…

The Kenya National Union of Nurses Secretary General Seth Panyako has asked Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and Principal Secretary Susan Mochache to step down over alleged embezzlement of Covid-19 funds in the Ministry of Health. Accusing the two and other top government officials at the ministry of heath of wanton graft, Panyako asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to sack them if they fail to resign. “Kagwe and Mochache should resign before Monday and if they don’t, President Uhuru should sack them before they do more damage at the ministry,” he added. Speaking in Kakamega on Sunday, the vocal unionist also…

ODM leader Raila Odinga’s call for reduced political activities in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic has elicited mixed reactions with a section of Kenyans accusing him of preaching water and drinking wine. Speaking on Saturday night during the “Kenya NI Yetu” concert, the former Prime Minister urged elected leaders to desist from raising political temperature across the country amid the pandemic. In his remarks, Odinga expressed optimism that the nation will very soon emerge victorious in the fight against the virus that has killed 572 people with at least 33,794 others infected since its outbreak in the country. “They…

Primary School heads have come out to express their concerns over a move by the Nairobi County Government to withdraw security services to their learning institutions. A letter from regional director of Education Jared Obiero dated August 28 notified the school heads that City Hall will no longer provide security to their schools effective next month. Obiero indicated that he had been directed by the county chief officer for Education Gender and Social Services Ruth Owuor to inform school heads to engage school boards and make alternative security arrangements until a lasting solution concerning provision of the services across the…

Tanzania’s Council of Imams, Dar es Salaam branch, has come out strongly to protest the endorsement of Ismani Member of Parliament William Lukuvi and bishop Josphat Gwajima for elective positions in the country over their hard-line views on the Muslim religion in the country. In a statement, Mohamed Abdul, the council’s Secretary-General, stated that Lukuvi who is seeking another term in office in the October General Elections is not fit to hold a public office. The Imam said the council’s stand is based on inciting remarks the MP made in 2014 about Zanzibar. According to the cleric,  the MP said…

Senate county watchdog committee has asked Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai to arrest Murang’a Governor Mwangi wa Iria and present him before it over failure to honour summons. The County Public Accounts and Investments Committee chaired by Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri also fined the governor Ksh500,000 for disobeying its summons. The county boss failed to appear before the committee for the third time to respond to audit queries. “In view that the governor came under summons last year, and this year he has failed to honour summons, I order that this committee summons under police escort Governor Mwangi wa…

Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa was a no-show in a Mombasa Court on Friday as police arraigned her six co-accused over alleged misappropriation of funds in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) kitty. The MP’s lawyer, Danstan Omari, told the court that his client, who is accused of misappropriating  Ksh19 million CDF funds, could not appear in court as she is sick. Omari said Ms Jumwa is “receiving treatment in a county which is far away from Mombasa”. Mombasa Law Courts Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti ordered that the MP appears physically in court on Monday, August 31. “I hope she…

Two people have been arrested in Busia town for allegedly running a fake Covid-19 testing centre. The two, 33-year-old Edward Okuku Alando and Yahya Ismael Sian, 32, were arrested on Thursday by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Police recovered fake Covid-19 certificates from the suspects. Also recovered was a computer and a scanner believed to have been used in running the fake Covid-19 testing centre. The police have retained the items as exhibits. The detectives have launched a manhunt for a third suspect identified as Mark Ouma, believed to be the mastermind behind the syndicate. Read: Lang’ata…

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has suspended Clouds TV and Clouds Radio for seven days over alleged violation of election coverage. In a statement to newsrooms on Thursday, the authority said that the two sister stations announced outcomes of the nomination process in some constituencies without the approval of the National Electoral Commission (NEC). The authority stated that the reports were aired on Wednesday, August 26, during the stations’ “360” and “Power Breakfast” morning programmes. NEC had complained that the stations aired results that showed that certain Members of Parliament aspirants had sailed through unopposed after other contestants failed…

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has ordered for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa and six others over alleged misappropriation of over Ksh19 million from the Constituency Development Fund kitty. According to Haji, this is following the conclusion of investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) into allegations that several businesses controlled by Jumwa through her proxies fraudulently received funds amounting to Ksh57 million from the National Government Constituency Development Fund and in turn transmitted the cash to her. The DPP stated that he was, however, able to establish misappropriation…

Kenyan journalist Yassin Juma has recovered from Covid-19 after spending days at an Ethiopian isolation facility. The former NTV journalist tested positive for Covid-19 while in police custody. Juma was reportedly discharged on Wednesday after completing the mandatory 14-day isolation. Kenyan embassy officials in Adis Ababa, while paying Juma a visit to check on his welfare, at Woreda 7 Health Centre, were informed by the local health workers that in line with Ethiopia’s guidelines all asymptomatic patients are “deemed cured” after the mandatory 14 days of isolation. Juma was moved to a government isolation facility last week after the Kenyan…

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga on Thursday met with a young fisherman who helped him escape to Uganda in 1991 as he fled the country to Norway over fears that President Daniel Arap Moi’s brutal Kanu regime was plotting to assassinate him. Robert Njura, then 19-years-old and a Form Three student at Makunda Secondary school in Budalangi, steered Odinga in a rickety boat across to safety in the neighbouring country, Uganda. In photos shared on his social media accounts, the former Prime Minister heaped praises on Njura for the courageous act. “Very humbling to meet Robert Njura…

The Standard Media Group has laid off a number of staffers in a restructuring move aimed at cutting costs, Kahawa Tungu has learnt. The media house associated with the late President Daniel Arap Moi’s family owns KTN Home, Standard Newspaper, KTN News, KTN Burudani, the Nairobian paper, Radio Maisha, Spice FM as well as several digital platforms. The Group reportedly outsourced a Dutch firm to help them in the restructuring exercise aimed at achieving “convergence” so as to realign the company to better deal with current business realities. The redundancies effected in the past few weeks reportedly affected staffers in…