Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

The death of the once-powerful National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition is now imminent. This is following a formal exit declaration by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party. ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said on Thursday that the party had resolved to pull out of the coalition during a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at Villa Rosa Kempinski hotel in Nairobi. The SG said the exit frees ODM to engage in coalition talks with other like-minded parties. “We intend to embark on a programme to build new partnerships and extend the ongoing talks with our potential partners to the grassroots,”…

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) now says that a colossal amount of money was recovered from the chambers of two judges arrested last week at Milimani Law Courts. High Court Judges Aggrey Muchelule and Said Chitembwe were arrested on Monday last week and grilled for hours at DCI Headquarters on Kiambu Road over alleged graft dealings. In an affidavit filed in court Chief Inspector Felix Banzi said DCI sleuths recovered $50,000 (Ksh5.4 million) from an unidentified woman in Justice Muchelule’s chambers and a further $7,000 (760,200) from Chitembwe, totaling to Ksh6.2 million. Interestingly, an inventory filed in court last…

Eldas, Kiagu and Nguu/Masumba ward by-elections have been slated for October 14, 2021, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has said Eldas, Kiagu and Nguu wards are located in Wajir, Meru and Makueni counties respectively. The electoral body announced the by-elections in a gazette notice dated July 27, 2021. Wafula Chebukati, the IEBC Chairman, asked each political party intending to participate in the by-elections to submit the names of the persons contesting in a party primary and the date of the party primary on or before Wednesday, August 4, 2021. “A public officer who intends to contest in the by-elections…

A police officer stationed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) died at his home in Kirinyaga County on Tuesday in yet another case of suspected suicide in the National Police Service (NPS). According to Mwea-West sub-county police commander Stephen Okal, the deceased, Donfan Wanyaga, hung himself in his house in Kagio using a sisal rope. His family said he had threatened to take his own life on Monday by taking ‘rat poison’. On the day the officer was found dead, the wife had reached out to neighbors about the threats. “His wife called us saying her husband wanted to…

As political realignments begin to take shape ahead of the 2022 General Election, the Wiper party has gone for one of ODM leader Raila Odinga’s top strategists to boost its in-house team. Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Monday, July 26, 2021, revealed that National Super Alliance (NASA) Chief Executive Officer Norman Magaya had joined the party, a day the outfit announced exit from the coalition said to be on its deathbed. Magaya is a known Raila ally who worked closely with the former Prime Minister in the hotly contested 2017 General Election. The vocal NASA boss went under after…

The family of Wycliffe Omwenga, who was found dead in his Riruta house in Nairobi last week, will wait longer to know his cause of death after experts declared autopsy results inconclusive. The autopsy examination was conducted today at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital mortuary by government pathologist Charles Muturi. The pathologist told the family to wait for a toxicology report which will have finer details of Wycliffe’s cause of death. “The pathologist says the results are inconclusive and we have to wait for the other tests,” said a family spokesman. Wycliffe was the younger brother of Kevin Omwenga, who was…

Police have arrested the main suspect in the brutal murder of Christine Ambani,  a university student whose lifeless body was found sprawled on a bed in a guest room in Githurai, Kiambu County, two weeks ago. Ambani, who was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Kiriri Women’s University of Science & Technology, was found murdered on July 13, 2021, with deep neck wounds. According to the police, the 23-year-old varsity student’s boyfriend identified as Kalio Makokha is the main suspect in the murder. Makokha, who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Specialist Needs Education, was…

Police are pursuing robbers who raided an Equity bank branch in Matuu town, Machakos County, on Tuesday morning. Eyewitnesses said three thugs stormed the bank and disarmed two police officers guarding the facility before proceeding to hold customers hostage. They made away with an unknown amount of money during the 9am incident. The raid is said to have lasted for about 15 minutes with the robbers engaging police in a gun battle. Police suspect that one of the miscreants escaped with gunshot wounds. Read: Two Police Officers, Cashier Arrested Over Robbery At Prime Bank The shootout attracted the attention of…

Tanzania’s main opposition party Chadema has revealed that its Chairman Freeman Mbowe, who was arrested last week, is sick and needs urgent medical attention. Mbowe was taken into custody on the night of Tuesday, July 21, hours before presiding over a forum calling for constitutional reforms in the East African country. In a statement sent out to newsrooms on Monday, Chadema said Mbowe’s family had confirmed that the politician had fallen sick at Oysterbay, in Dar es Salaam, where he is being held by police. According to the party, despite the party boss pleading with the police to take him…

Chief Justice Martha Koome has opposed a case filed in court by Katiba Institute challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta’s failure to appoint six judges as recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). President Kenyatta had in June appointed 34 judges from a list of 41 submitted by JSC and left out the six that included George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule, Joel Ngugi, Weldon Korir, Judith Cheruiyot and Evans Makori. Katiba Institute moved to court seeking to compel the President to approve the nomination of the six remaining judges without further delay. But in an unexpected move and what appears to be a…

All media houses have been barred from covering proceedings in the case in which Senate Speaker has been sued for neglecting his unborn child. In gag orders obtained by the lawyers representing the complainant, Irene Naswa Mutaki, Nairobi Resident Magistrate F. Terer barred all media houses, both print and electronic from covering the case. “That a gag order is hereby issued to any print or electronic mass media in Kenya from açcessing, publishing, airing, narrating or commenting the case in any newspaper, journal, weekly magazine and TV or radio show,” the gag order obtained by lawyer Danstan Omari reads. The…

Former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has given the clearest indication that he won’t support any other candidate for the presidency in the General Election scheduled for August 9, 2022. The Wiper party leader now says he is ready to face Deputy President William Ruto who is touted as a front runner in the race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta. Kalonzo has twice supported ODM leader Raila Odinga’s presidential ambitions in 2013 and 2017,  under the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy (Cord) and National Super Alliance (NASA) outfits respectively. He now believes that it’s his time to take a stab at…

Police have arrested two main suspects behind the double murders of a Mombasa-based Dutch tycoon Herman Rouwenhourst and his guard Evans Bokoro. The businessman, 55, was found dead at his matrimonial bed at Rocco apartments in Shanzu after an attack by armed assailants on June 4, 2021. He had multiple injuries on the head with his hands and legs tied and his mouth gagged. The guard, 23, succumbed to similar injuries after the raid. The suspects, Timothy Omondi Ngoe alias Rashid aged 22, and Mary Nekesa Ambani, 33, were arrested by homicide detectives after a thorough probe into the duo’s killing.…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has secured a temporary relief at the Court of Appeal in the battle to overturn a ruling by the High Court that declared the creation of the position of chief administrative secretary (CAS) unconstitutional. In the latest orders, the Appellate Court temporarily suspended the implementation of the High Court verdict that had threatened President Kenyatta’s administration with the declaration that some Cabinet Secretaries were also in office illegally. High Court Judge Anthony Mrima had in April this year ruled that CSs who are still in office but were not vetted in 2017, are in office illegally. The…

Dickson Njanja Mararo, the main suspect in the shooting of two police officers and a civilian at Quiver Lounge in Kasarani, Nairobi, will remain in custody for 15 more days after a Nairobi court denied him bail. Milimani magistrate Esther Kimilu on Friday ordered that the suspect be detained at Industrial Remand Prison until August 5, 2021, to enable the state to put key witnesses under witness protection. “Even though the accused person is entitled to bail. The accused will be remanded in custody or 15 days to enable the prosecution to put their witnesses under protection,” ruled Kimilu. While…