The father of murdered Rongo University student Sharon Otieno has told the High Court he has forgiven former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and would not oppose a non-custodial sentence for him, while taking a markedly different position on Obado’s two co-convicts. Douglas Zachariah Otieno addressed Justice Cecilia Githua directly on Wednesday, September 16, during sentencing proceedings for Obado, Michael Juma Oyamo and Caspal Ojwang Obiero, all convicted of Sharon’s murder on July 23. He told the court he had remained silent about his daughter’s death for nine years but chose to speak given the significance of the day and the…
Author: Davin Muthoni
Kenya has won the right to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, making it the first African country ever to stage global track and field’s flagship event. The World Athletics Council announced the decision on Tuesday, September 15, during its 242nd meeting in Budapest, Hungary, selecting Nairobi ahead of rival bids from London, Rome and Munich. Munich was awarded the following edition instead, meaning the championships will return to Germany in 2031, two years after Kenya’s turn as host. The event will follow the 2027 championships in Beijing, scheduled for September 10 to 19 that year. World Athletics President Sebastian…
Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli has moved to the High Court seeking orders compelling the United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) to process his doctoral dissertation and include him in the institution’s September graduation list. Masengeli, who is pursuing a PhD in International Relations, says the university has delayed releasing the results of his dissertation examination despite his assertion that he has completed the requirements communicated to him. He wants the court to declare that he has satisfactorily completed the requirements for conferment of the doctorate and should be included among the graduands for the September 26 ceremony. The…
Kenyan diplomat Martin Kimani has been appointed the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, giving him a senior role in the UN’s political and peacebuilding work across the continent and marking another major milestone in a diplomatic career spanning more than two decades. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment on Monday, September 14, confirming that Kimani would serve within the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO). “Kimani brings to the position 25 years of experience in international relations, peace and security, and multilateral diplomacy across government, regional organisations and the private sector,” Guterres said. Kimani…
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has appointed two new members to the board of the National Cybersecurity Agency (NCA), bringing expertise in artificial intelligence, data-centre infrastructure and cybersecurity research to the newly established body’s governing team. According to Gazette Notice No. 14420, Murkomen appointed Lorna Ogolla Omondi and Dr Jerop Joy Kibor to the NCA board for a three-year term, effective September 11, 2026. The appointments were made under the State Corporations (National Cybersecurity Agency) Order, 2026, the legal instrument that provides the institutional framework for the agency. The Ministry of Interior and National Administration had earlier described the agency’s…
Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku has demanded that Tata Chemicals Magadi Limited pay Sh13 billion in unpaid land rates before the company is allowed to resume operations at Lake Magadi, deepening a standoff that has already seen President William Ruto order the soda ash producer to leave the country. Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s Sunday Live on September 13, Lenku described the company’s decades-long presence in Magadi as a case of historical land injustice, accusing it of being the only company in the country that does not remit land rates to its host county. “We have many concerns…
Five people died on Sunday night after a head-on collision between an Easy Coach bus and a saloon car at Kikopey along the Gilgil-Nakuru highway in Nakuru County, among at least 16 people killed in road accidents reported across the country that same day. Gilgil Sub-County Police Commander Winstone Mwakio confirmed that the crash occurred at around 11pm on September 13, involving a Mercedes-Benz PSV bus travelling from Gilgil towards Nakuru and a Toyota IST saloon car carrying six occupants and heading in the opposite direction towards Nairobi. Police said the bus driver failed to keep to his lane and…
For months now, Kenyans have been hearing the phrase everywhere: on the news, in government briefings, in conversations about the coming short rains. El Nino. It is a word many associate vaguely with floods, but few could explain properly. What actually is it? Why does it keep coming back? And with meteorologists now warning that the version heading Kenya’s way this time could be one of the strongest on record, what should ordinary people actually expect? What El Nino actually is El Nino is not a Kenyan weather event at all, at least not in origin. It begins thousands of…
The High Court has suspended the hearing of a case challenging President William Ruto’s 2022 appointment of 51 Principal Secretaries over alleged failure to meet the constitutional two-thirds gender rule, pending a decision on which court has the authority to determine such disputes. Justice Lawrence Mugambi said he would not proceed with the case, filed by Katiba Institute, until the question of jurisdiction is settled, noting that the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) could well be the appropriate forum to hear it instead. He pointed to a pending appeal filed by Nakuru-based surgeon Dr Magare Gikenyi before the Court…
Two officers attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have been arrested in Kipkelion, Kericho County, after allegedly demanding half a million shillings from a complainant in exchange for terminating a murder case against him. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) identified the two as Corporal Wesley Korir and Corporal Christopher Maina, both attached to the DCI’s Kipkelion Sub-County offices. According to the anti-graft agency, the pair allegedly solicited Sh500,000 from the complainant with a promise that the murder case facing him would be dropped. EACC detectives mounted an operation following preliminary investigations into the allegations, arresting the two…
