The High Court in Kibera has denied bail to eight minors charged with murdering 16 fellow students in a dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy, ruling that their release at this stage would expose them, witnesses and the wider public to significant risk. Justice Diana Kavedza delivered the ruling on Monday, September 21, 2026, finding that releasing the eight, referred to throughout the proceedings only as “subject minors” to protect their identities as required under child-protection safeguards, would expose them to an appreciable risk of harm. “The court finds that the immediate release of the eight would expose them to…
Author: Davin Muthoni
Kilifi County has given families of Shakahola massacre victims 21 days to come forward and claim their relatives’ remains, ahead of a planned mass interment of unclaimed bodies expected to be completed by December. Kilifi County Executive Committee Member for Health Services Peter Mwarogo briefed senators on Monday, September 21, during a joint sitting of the Senate Committees on County Public Investments and Special Funds and on Health, held as part of the Senate Mashinani tour at Malindi Sub-County Hospital. He said 443 bodies and body parts recovered from the Shakahola mass graves are currently being preserved in a container…
President William Ruto has taken Kenya’s investment, technology and financing agenda to New York as he attends the 81st United Nations General Assembly, where he is expected to seek partnerships and promote greater use of African capital to fund development across the continent. The President, who left Nairobi on Saturday evening, is undertaking a five-day visit focused on energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, health, technology and artificial intelligence. He is also expected to engage Heads of State and Government, multilateral institutions and global companies as Kenya seeks to attract investment, expand productive capacity and open new markets. One of the major…
Celebrations over Mombasa County Assembly Clerk Salim Juma’s reported PhD graduation have been thrown into doubt after the University of Nairobi said his name does not appear on the list of graduands for its September 18 ceremony. The controversy emerged after Mombasa County Assembly Speaker Aharub Khatri congratulated Juma on Friday, describing the reported achievement as a milestone in his academic and professional journey. Khatri praised his commitment to scholarship and public service, describing the achievement as the result of “late nights, relentless discipline and an unshakable belief that leadership is at its best when anchored in knowledge”. The Assembly…
The High Court has dismissed a preliminary objection by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), allowing a constitutional petition challenging the Society’s targeted boycott of selected judges and judicial officers to proceed on its merits on its merits. Justice David Mburu dismissed the objection after finding that LSK’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms could not adequately address the constitutional questions raised in the petition. He directed that the petition and a Notice of Motion dated July 24, 2026, proceed to determination. The petition was filed by lawyer Dr Adrian Kamotho Njenga, who is challenging a series of LSK resolutions and communications…
The High Court has quashed the Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) ongoing recruitment process for a substantive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, dealing a fresh setback to a search that has already dragged on for well over a year and ordering the Commission to start the entire process over from scratch. Justice Francis Nyungu Kyambia, sitting in Kiambu, delivered the judgment on September 17, 2026, finding that TSC’s May 2025 recruitment advertisement breached both the Constitution and the Commission’s own Human Resource Policies and Procedures Manual. The court found that the vacancy notice, published on May 6, 2025, gave prospective applicants…
Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General seat, Prof Olara Otunnu, has intensified his diplomatic campaign for the top UN job, engaging key countries whose support will be important in the selection of Antonio Guterres’ successor. Otunnu, a diplomat, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on September 14, in one of his latest efforts to reach out to members of the UN Security Council. He was accompanied by former Ugandan prime minister Ruhakana Rugunda, who has been tasked with coordinating Kampala’s international campaign for Otunnu’s candidature. The Moscow meeting came as Uganda sought to build support among the five…
Chief Justice Martha Koome has been named the inaugural international recipient of South Korea’s Sejong Legal Culture Award, honouring her contribution to the rule of law, access to justice and the protection of vulnerable members of society. Justice Koome received the award on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at a ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, jointly presented by the Supreme Court of Korea and the World Bank. The Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations was named alongside her as the inaugural national recipient, recognised for seven decades of providing legal aid and protecting vulnerable people within South Korea.…
The High Court has declined to stop a graduation ceremony at United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) after Deputy Inspector-General of Police Gilbert Masengeli sought orders either halting the event entirely or compelling the university to include him among this year’s graduands. Justice Patricia Mande dismissed Masengeli’s application on Wednesday, September 16, ruling that stopping the ceremony, scheduled for September 26, 2026, would unfairly affect other students who were not party to the case. “Being that the first relief sought adversely affects other students not party to the suit, the prayer for conservatory orders stopping the graduation scheduled for the 26th…
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has disowned a Bachelor’s degree certificate presented by Kimilili MP Didmus Wekesa Barasa, saying he was never a student at the university and that no graduation ceremony took place there in May 2008, the date shown on the certificate. The university’s position was set out in a letter dated September 14, 2026, addressed to the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) and signed by JKUAT Registrar of Academic Affairs Dr Aggrey Wanyama. The letter was issued in response to a request from COFEK to verify Barasa’s academic credentials. “His name doesn’t appear on…
