Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

John Mutinda, the man who died after driving into the Indian ocean at Likoni crossing channel, had vowed to take his life, a close relative has revealed. In an interview with Nation, the relative claimed that Mutinda had threatened to kill himself over marital woes with his wife that left him depressed. The relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation by the family, concurred with recent revelations by Mutinda’s mother, Musangi Mutinda, that the deceased suffered abuse under at the hands of his wife Ruth Mueni. Mutinda, according to the relative, repeatedly said he would commit…

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has suspended Modern Coast Bus Express Limited operating licence following a fatal crash at Kiongwani accident along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway that claimed seven lives in the wee hours of Thursday morning. In a statement, George Njao, NTSA Director-General, stated the authority has initiated investigations into recent accidents involving Modern Coast buses. This, he said, include assessing its safety standards and operations. During the suspension period, Njao said, the company’s access to  NTSA portal has been deactivated to limit any activities on their 88 vehicles. The NTSA boss added that the authority has been…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has extended term of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Taskforce. This is following a meeting with former Prime Minister Raila Odinga that took place on Wednesday evening at State House, Nairobi. In a statement, Kanze Dena, the State House Spokesperson, stated that team will now steer the next phase of the process which will largely involve expanding, guiding public participation and structuring recommendations by Kenyans into implementable action plans. “The President and the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga thanked the team for putting together a report that captures the aspirations of Kenyans and requested the Taskforce to continue…

Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has dismissed speculations over talks with Deputy President William Ruto in his 2022 Presidential ambitions. This is following remarks made by former Machakos Senator Johnston Muthama on Wednesday that he would steer coalition talks between the DP and the Wiper party boss. The declaration by Muthama at a local vernacular radio station, Musyi FM, that the Kamba community had served notice to ODM leader Raila Odinga over stand on 2022 politics, ignited a heated debate on succession politics. In a tweet, Kalonzo, however, has dismissed the claims terming them as malicious. He stated the speculations…

Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has been freed from police custody after posting Ksh15 million bail as ordered by the court. Sonko, who on Monday pleaded not guilty to 19 counts of graft charges, was on Wednesday admitted to Ksh15 million cash bail or Ksh30 million bond or a surety of a similar amount by Anti-corruption court Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti. He is expected to return to court on January 15, 2020. While delivering his ruling, Justice Ogoti barred Sonko from accessing his City Hall office. Read: Magistrate Questions Motive Behind Bringing Sonko To Court In Ambulance “If need be…

A suspect in the gruesome murder of Joyce Syombua and her two children has turned state witness. Peter Mwangi Maina, who had been detained for 14 days, was freed by a Nyeri court on Wednesday after the prosecution told the presiding magistrate that he was not directly involved in the murder of the three. “The DPP has discovered the suspect was not directly linked with the crime but is assisting police with investigations. He is now a key prosecution witness,” State Counsel Martha Ndung’u explained. Reports indicate that Maina was turned state witness after detectives found out that he was…

Former Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama has declared interest to support Deputy President William Ruto’s 2022 Presidential ambitions. In an interview with a local vernacular station, Musyi FM, Muthama stated that he would steer coalition talks between the DP and Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka. Muthama, who campaigned for Raila Odinga in the 2013 and 2017 elections, said the chapter with the  National Super Alliance (NASA) leader is closed and that there was no chance of the Kamba community supporting him if he ran against Ruto. He, however, pointed out that other NASA principals, Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula still have…

Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko on Wednesday turned heads after he was brought to Milimani Law Courts in an ambulance. The governor, who was admitted at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on Monday night after falling ill at Kamiti Maximum Prison, was appearing in court for his bail ruling. After admitting the governor to bail, Anti-corruption court Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti pressed the defence team to explain why Sonko was brought to court in an ambulance. This is after lawyer Cecil Miller requested to have Sonko taken back to hospital alluding that he needed urgent medical care. “The letter from Kenyatta…

Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has been admitted to bail after spending five nights in police custody following his arrest over graft. Milimani Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti granted Sonko Ksh15 million cash bail or Ksh30 million bond or surety of a similar amount. Sonko, who was further barred from accessing his office, is required to deposit his passport in the court. “If need be he can be escorted to his office by the investigating officer or any other authorised officer to enable him pick his belongings, ” said Justice Ogoti while quoting High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi’s ruling that governors accused…

Joseph Irungu, alias Jowie, the man charged with the murder of businesswoman Monica Kimani, is distressed over his recent transfer to Manyani Prison in Voi, his family has said. Jowie’s father, Julius Irungu, intimated to a local media on Tuesday that the son, who was secretly transferred from Kamiti Maximum Prison on Friday over alleged possession of contrabands, is in bad shape. Julius pointed out that he visited his son at the prison on Monday and was shocked to learn that he has not been eating for days since his transfer over the fear that his food was contaminated. “I…

Two robbery with violence suspects including a Sudan national were on Monday night arrested in Kikuyu, Kiambu County, by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). According to the DCI, the Sudanese identified as Gout John Nyang, 23, and 22-year-old Philemon Omboko Mwanza, were part of a three-member gang that had just robbed of a man Ksh3000, ATM and mobile phone at gunpoint. Upon learning that they were being trailed by the police the suspects, boarding a matatu applying the Kikuyu-Nairobi road, opened fire as they attempted to escape. The two were arrested as the third gangster escaped. Police…

A section of the Kitale Lodwar Road has been cut off at Ortum in West Pokot County by the ongoing heavy rains. In a notice on Tuesday, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) cautioned motorists against using the section. “Motorists are advised to use the existing diversion as we desilt and backfill the cut off section, ” said KeNHA. In photos that have surfaced online, the section was completely cut off with raging waters. Read: How KeNHA Inflated Cost Of Mombasa-Nairobi Expressway By 67 PC, Forcing US To Delay Funding Charles Njogu, the authority’s corporate communication officer further urged motorists…

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja was on Tuesday forced to respond to claims by activist Boniface Mwangi that he recently condemned Mike Sonko’s humiliating arrest in Voi for personal interests. Mwangi, a fierce critic of the ruling Jubilee government, claimed that the senator was keen not to criticize Sonko for fear that he’d run out of his outdoor advertising business in the country’s capital. Sakaja early this week, while responding to Sonko’s arrest, took issue with how police handled the governor insisting that he ought to have been handled with dignity due to the position he holds in the society. He…

Nairobi governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko was on Monday night rushed to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) after falling ill. Reports indicate that Sonko was rushed to the hospital after being examined by medics at Kamiti Maximum prison where he was taken for a medical check-up following a court directive by Milimani Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti. The court had ruled that he be taken to Industrial Area Remand Prison pending his bail hearing on Wednesday after he pleaded not guilty to 19 counts of graft charges. He is accused of misappropriating Ksh357 million from the county coffers. Sonko’s communication team has since…

Nairobi governor Mike Sonko will spend two more days in police custody pending his bail application ruling on Wednesday. Milimani Law Courts Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti ordered that he be remanded at Industrial Area Prison. On Sonko’s status of health claims, Justice Ogoti directed that he be attended to in the presence of the prisons’ authority. Sonko’s defence team had told the court that the governor suffered chest complication following his arrest in Voi on Friday. Lawyer Cecil Miller said that police assaulted his client adding that there was a possibility that he suffered a rib fracture. The advocate said…