Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo and his wife, Lucy Muteke, died on Wednesday evening, September 30, when a private helicopter they were travelling in crashed in rural Marondera, Zimbabwe, killing all six people on board. Police said the aircraft went down in the Marondera Rural area at around 5pm local time, with emergency services dispatched to the scene. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said the bodies were badly burned, requiring formal identification before authorities could confirm the names of all those killed. Family spokesperson Herbert Chivayo later confirmed to ZBC News that Chivayo and Muteke were among the dead, saying those closest…
Author: Davin Muthoni
Six African leaders and senior government delegations gathered in Lamu on Wednesday, September 30, as President William Ruto, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni broke ground on the $16 billion Dangote East Africa Refinery. Security was tight as guests arrived at Mokowe Jetty and proceeded to the Kililana port site, where the ceremony was held. Ruto, Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed scooped soil with shovels to mark the start of construction. They were joined by Benin’s President Romuald Wadagni, Togo’s President Jean-Lucien Savi de Tove and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. In his address, Ruto…
Two men have been arrested after detectives raided a homestead in Muthua, Kabete, where they allegedly found a counterfeit juice production operation. Alex Mwaruta and James Munala Inyangala were arrested after detectives from Kabete Police Station acted on a tip-off from a member of the public. The two were allegedly found in the middle of processing the suspected counterfeit juice when officers arrived. A search of the homestead led to the recovery of about 1,400 filled bottles containing suspected counterfeit juice in 200ml and 300ml sizes. Detectives also seized 56 cartons of empty bottles, five packets of bottle tops, two…
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has appointed new chief executives to three major institutions in the energy sector, with the changes taking effect immediately. CPA Tom Odhiambo Imbo has been appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO), taking charge of the State-owned electricity transmission company. Stephen Kipsang Busieney will head the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, while Engineer Edward Mwirigi Kinyua has been appointed Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said the appointments followed recruitment…
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has suspended the newly reviewed pay and benefits structures for several categories of county government officials, citing concerns that implementing them under current fiscal conditions could threaten the affordability and sustainability of county wage bills. The suspension, which took effect immediately, affects remuneration structures recently issued for state officers in county executives, members of County Public Service Boards, County Secretaries and County Attorneys. It halts a salary and benefits review that had been scheduled to take effect in July this year. SRC Chairperson Sammy Chepkwony set out the decision in a letter dated September…
Education stakeholders are pushing for clearer rules on how tertiary education is financed in Kenya, including timely disbursement of funds and the scrapping of interest charged on student loans, as Parliament collects public views on a Bill that would overhaul the sector’s funding model. The Muslim Education Council wants interest charges removed from the Tertiary Education Placement and Funding Bill, 2026, currently before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Education, arguing that doing so would speed up loan repayments. The council wants Clause 45(d), which provides for interest on loans, and Clause 49(i), which deals with repayment timelines, deleted from…
Professor Philip Okoth Raburu, Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of Planning, Research and Extension at the University of Eldoret, has died. Raburu died at 4.30am on Monday at Eldoret Hospital after a period of illness, according to his family. He was an Associate Professor of Aquatic Resources and Environmental Management. Willis Owino-Ong’or, who identified himself as Raburu’s first cousin, confirmed his death in a statement on Monday. “It’s a sad morning for me. I have lost my first cousin, son of my aunt, my brother in Christ and friend, Prof Philip Raburu, this morning at 4.30am in Eldoret Hospital. He fought…
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Board Chairperson Ndiritu Muriithi has been elected leader of the Kenya Reform Party (KRP), taking over the small party ahead of the 2027 General Election with a pledge built around industrialisation. Muriithi was declared the new KRP leader on Monday, September 28, during the party’s National Delegates Conference, held at a Nairobi venue historically associated with the country’s second liberation movement. His nomination for the post went unopposed, and the party’s National Elections Board declared him duly elected on that basis. “Hon Ndiritu Muriithi is the only nominated person for this position. Where only one candidate…
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has dismissed claims of a scheme to smuggle voters across the Kenya-Uganda border ahead of the 2027 General Election, saying no one has presented any credible evidence to support the allegations. In a statement issued on Sunday, September 27, 2026, IEBC chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon described the reports as untrue and warned that unverified claims could mislead the public and weaken confidence in preparations for the election. “The stories on electoral malpractice or illegality relating to the registration of voters, illegal transfers of voters and alleged registration of foreigners as voters in Kenya…
People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua is mourning the death of her father, retired teacher Jackson Karua, who died at his home in Kirinyaga County on Sunday evening, September 27, 2026. Karua said on Sunday night that she had spent much of the day with him and learnt of his death only as she travelled back to Nairobi. “It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved father, Mwalimu Jackson Karua,” she said in a statement. She described how she and her siblings had visited him earlier in the day. “Earlier today, I went to…
