The Senate has recommended the suspension of the Sh80 billion cooperation agreement between the national government and Nairobi City County, citing governance gaps and concerns that the arrangement could amount to an unconstitutional transfer of county functions. In a report tabled before the House, the Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations said the agreement, signed in February 2026 at State House, appeared to transfer county functions to the national government without following the safeguards required under the Constitution. The committee said the 17-clause agreement was presented as a cooperation arrangement but contained elements that resembled a transfer of functions…
Author: Davin Muthoni
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has rejected calls to politically divide the Mount Kenya region, setting up a public disagreement within President William Ruto’s administration over how to manage shifting political loyalties ahead of the 2027 General Election. Prof Kindiki said the region must remain united, days after Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku pushed for greater political and economic focus for Mount Kenya East. Speaking during a thanksgiving service for the Embu Anglican Diocese at St Mark’s Teachers College in Kigari, Embu County, the Deputy President said he would oppose any attempts to split communities that have shared historical and…
President William Ruto is facing mounting pressure to reconsider the composition of his Cabinet following the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)’s heavy defeat in the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, with political observers suggesting the result could reshape his strategy ahead of the 2027 General Election. The by-election outcome has intensified debate over whether the President should reduce the number of Cabinet Secretaries from the Mount Kenya region and strengthen alliances in Western Kenya and the Luo Nyanza region, where leaders have signalled support in exchange for greater government representation and development projects. UDA candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah garnered 5,450 votes, losing…
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has announced a nationwide boycott of court proceedings before judges who have obtained court orders preventing the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) or the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) from investigating misconduct and corruption complaints against them. The boycott will begin on Wednesday with a nationwide withdrawal from court proceedings before expanding into an indefinite refusal by advocates to appear before the affected judges and judicial officers. The move is expected to disrupt proceedings at the Supreme Court and other courts, with six Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Martha Koome, among those protected by…
Seven American aid workers who were involved in the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been placed under a 21-day quarantine at a bio-isolation facility in Kenya following new United States travel restrictions. The workers, who are employed by Christian humanitarian organisation Samaritan’s Purse, arrived at the facility after Washington introduced a policy requiring US citizens returning from countries affected by Ebola outbreaks to spend three weeks in a third country before entering the United States. Samaritan’s Purse president and chief executive officer Franklin Graham confirmed that the seven workers were being monitored at the facility but…
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna suffered a fresh political blow on Thursday after a contentious late-night Parliamentary Group meeting on Wednesday led to his removal as Senate Deputy Minority Whip, amid growing divisions within the opposition. The meeting, held at Senate Minority Whip Ledama Ole Kina’s office, came hours after a section of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) senators met President William Ruto at State House, Nairobi, with the developments fuelling claims that the removal process had been set in motion earlier in the day. Sifuna was replaced by Migori Senator Eddy Oketch after 21 Azimio-aligned senators convened to discuss changes within…
Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Douglas Kamau Waweru has handed the party a major political victory in the Mt Kenya region after being declared the winner of the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election. Kamau defeated his rivals by a wide margin in the by-election held on Thursday to fill the vacancy left by former MP David Kiaraho, who died in March. The contest was widely viewed as a test of political influence between DCP and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA). Official results announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Friday show Waweru garnered 35,440 votes,…
Justice Gatembu Kairu was on Thursday sworn in as the President of the Court of Appeal, taking over the leadership of Kenya’s second-highest court after being elected by fellow Court of Appeal judges. Chief Justice Martha Koome, who presided over the swearing-in ceremony, described the occasion as a significant constitutional milestone and congratulated Justice Gatembu on his election, saying it reflected the confidence his colleagues have in his integrity, leadership, professional competence and sound judgement. She expressed confidence that he would provide visionary leadership while building on the institutional gains made by the Court of Appeal over the years. In…
Kenyans applying for Certificates of Good Conduct will from Monday receive the document within a day following the rollout of a new biometric identification system by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). The agency announced that it will officially launch the Multi-Biometric Identification System (MBIS)- ABIS Version 5 (MBIS-ABIS V5) on July 20, 2026, replacing the Automated Palm and Fingerprint Identification System that has been used for years. The upgrade is expected to reduce the processing time for Police Clearance Certificates from the current 14 days to just one day. Describing the new platform as a major technological advancement, the…
A pistol licensed to Court of Appeal Judge Aggrey Muchelule has been linked to a series of violent crimes, including the recent armed robbery at Chaii Wali Cafe in Nairobi’s Westlands area, after detectives recovered the weapon from a suspected robber killed in a police operation. Investigators established that the Beretta 92-series pistol, licensed to the judge in 2018, was recovered on Monday during a shoot-out in Joska, Machakos County. The suspect was believed to be among four men captured on CCTV robbing customers of phones, cash, and other valuables at the Westlands restaurant. According to police, officers from the…
