Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

Ken Ngaruiya has been confirmed as Mediamax Network Limited’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) after serving in an acting capacity for one and a half years, a period when the company lost key talent. The appointment was announced on Friday by the company’s board of directors. “The Board of Directors of Mediamax Network Limited is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Kenneth Ngaruiya as the Group Chief Executive Officer of Mediamax Network Limited effective 22nd January 2021,” said the Board of Directors on Friday. Mediamax is the holding company for K24 and Kameme TV stations, Milele FM, Msenangu FM, Emoo…

Baringo Senator Gideon has finally been crowned as Kalenjin elder by Kapsisiywo Talai elders after the coronation aborted early this month. The KANU chairman, Kahawa Tungu understands, was handed the community’s instruments of power in a dawn ceremony conducted by the breakaway group of Talai elders led by former Councillor Christopher Koyogi at his Kabarak home. In the Friday ceremony that took about three hours, the son of the late President Daniel Arap Moi also got the mandate to seek the country’s top leadership position. This comes exactly three weeks after rowdy youths blocked Gideon from being declared the Kalenjin…

A one-month-old baby, who had been stolen in Homa Bay County, has been reunited with his family three weeks after the incident was reported. According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), baby Stanley Decimal was rescued with the help of officers from the Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau and their counterparts from the Child Protection Unit. During the operation, a woman identified as Bella Achieng’ Ogolla was arrested for the theft. Bella is alleged to have stolen the baby from his mother identified as Benta Achieng at a Salon in Rodi Kopany in Homa Bay. Read: Mama Lucy Hospital…

Travellers from neighbouring country Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo have been banned from entering the United Kingdom (UK) over fears of the new coronavirus variant reported in South Africa. But the ban, which took effect at 4am on Friday, January 22, 2021, will not apply to British and Irish nationals and those with residency rights returning to the country, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a tweet on Thursday night. “We are continuing to monitor COVID-19 rates and new strains of the virus across the globe, this alongside the suspension of travel corridors and pre-departure testing will help…

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has allowed prosecution of 15 police officers accused of assaulting Busia County residents last year while enforcing Covid-19 rules. In a statement on Thursday, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) Chairperson Anne Makori said the incident happened in Nambale town on March 30, 2020. The cops allegedly lobbed teargas canisters into a private home and seriously assaulted the owner identified as Benard Orenga, his wife, children and neighbours afterwards. “IPOA immediately launched investigations into the matter. On finalising of the investigations and upon independent review and concurrence with Ipoa’s recommendations, the Director of…

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has confirmed that one of its staffers was among six people found killed at Arabal sub-location in Baringo County on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. In a statement on Thursday, Wafula Chebukati, the Commission Chairman, said Brian Silale, who served as Tiaty Constituency Administrative Assistant, was abducted alongside five other people at Chemolingot shopping centre on Tuesday at about 3pm before he was found dead the following morning. “He was later murdered under unclear circumstances and the remains of his body together with other bodies were recovered on Wednesday 20th January 2021 at Arabal…

Police in Nairobi have arrested Tiaty Member of Parliament William Kamket over alleged links to Kapedo banditry attacks. The lawmaker, reports indicate, is currently detained at Kileleshwa Police Station. Kamtet’s arrest comes a day after he joined leaders from Baringo and West Pokot Counties to criticize ongoing security operation in the volatile Kapedo area. The MP who was flanked by Senate Majority leader Samuel Poghisio faulted the government for the “inhumane” operation further calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to de-escalate it. “We want to appeal to the President to de-escalate the operations. The situation is so bad and dire in…

Eric Kneedler has assumed office as US ambassador to Kenya in an interim capacity. Kneedler takes over from Kyle McCarter who resigned following the end of Donald Trump administration on Wednesday, January 20, 2021. “Vipi waKenya! I’m Eric Kneedler, starting tonight I’ll be Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, @USEmbassyKenya. Let’s continue to engage on matters #USKEPartnership and build on our over 55 years of friendship on security, health, education, trade and so much more!” the new ambassador tweeted shortly after the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the US. https://twitter.com/USAmbKenya/status/1351948747438219266?s=20 According to the US embassy in Kenya, Eric…

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has verified and uploaded a list of 1.3 million supporters of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). In a notice appearing in the local dailies on Thursday, January 21, the Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati asked Kenyans to confirm their details on its website: https://www.iebc.or.ke/election/?Building_Bridges_Initiative. Chebukati asked anyone, who has been captured as a supporter without their consent, to report to the Commission by writing to the Acting Commission Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) indicating their objections by Monday, January 25. “The duly signed objecting letter containing Name, ID number and contact telephone number should either be…

A Nigerian lawyer has asked the United Nations (UN) to launch investigations into detention of Ugandan politician Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine by authorities. The musician-turned-politician and his wife Barbara Itungo Kyagulanyi have been under house arrest since President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the January 14, General Election, with soldiers surrounding his home reportedly blocking the media, friends and officials of his National Unity Platform (NUP) party from visiting him. In a complainant filed on behalf of Wine, Femi Falana, who doubles up as a human rights activist, wants the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to…

Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has instructed teachers not to allow students to enter into schools with small-bottle sanitisers. Addressing members of the press on Wednesday at Our Lady of Fatima Girls Secondary School in Kariobangi North, the CS noted that some students have been using sanitisers to start fires in schools. He asked teachers to confiscate the sanitisers from the learners. “I want to tell teachers that they must not allow small-bottle sanitisers into schools. If any child has portable sanitiser, it should be taken and kept and given when the child is leaving school,” the CS said. “We…

Individuals who registered for Huduma Namba will soon start receiving the cards, the Ministry of Interior has announced. In a tweet on Tuesday night, the ministry said mass printing of the cards is underway and Kenyans will be notified through SMS on when and where to collect them. “Mass printing of Huduma Namba cards is underway. If you registered, you will soon receive an SMS notification prompting you when and where to collect yours, ” the ministry said. Yesterday, Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho inspected the mass production exercise. In November last year, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary…

Former Tanzanian presidential candidate Tundu Lissu has lauded a move by the US to impose sanctions on officials accused of undermining democracy during the October 2020, General Election. In a statement on Tuesday, US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced visa restrictions on Tanzanian officials “responsible for or complicit in undermining Tanzania’s October 28, 2020, general elections.” Pompeo said the actions of the unnamed officials subverted the electoral process, continuing the downward trajectory of the country’s democracy. “Election observers and civil society noted widespread irregularities as well as human rights abuses and violations before, during, and after the election. “Opposition…

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has issued a stern warning against leaders from the Northern Kenya following rising ethnic tension in the region. This is following the killing of GSU Deputy Operations Director, Emadau Temako, in Kapedo, Turkana County on Sunday. The attack by suspected bandits left two other officers injured. Speaking in Nairobi on Tuesday after a meeting with leaders from the North-Eastern region, the CS said investigations so far pointed to the possibility of some leaders being involved in recent killings reported in the region over the recent past. “We are in hot pursuit of some people…

Nyamira County Assembly Appointments Committee has rejected the appointment of former West Mugirango Member of Parliament James Gesami as Deputy Governor. In a report tabled before the House on Tuesday, the committee cited Gesami’s failure to present crucial documents during the Friday vetting process as the reason for rejecting his appointment by Governor Amos Nyaribo. The Appointments Committee comprised of Speaker Moffat Teya, Majority Leader Calen Atuya (Bokeira Ward), Alfayo Ngeresa (Mekene) and nominated MCAs Monica Mwamba and George Mosiori noted that the nominee presented an expired Certificate of good conduct. The report detailed that Gesami failed to present a…