For all their swagger, intimidating appearance and reputation for extreme violence, the Africa Corps have not been noticeably effective in securing the regions they have been paid to secure Africa Corps’ predecessor, the infamous Wagner Group, from which it evolved in 2023, was under the personal control of its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin. He ran it as a marauding militia that remained at arms-length from the Kremlin but ultimately followed Putin’s orders from afar. Wagner Group primarily provided ‘security’ and military training and, in return, received benefits such as access to minerals. That was until Prigozhin fell foul of Putin. Soon…
Author: Special Correspondent
By Martin Minns In 2018, a scandal erupted when the French newspaper Le Monde revealed that servers in the China-built African Union (AU) Conference Centre and Office Complex (AUCC) in Addis Ababa were transferring data to servers in Shanghai. It was alleged that this had been occurring nightly since the AUCC’s inauguration in 2012. Although Le Monde cited multiple sources, China reacted quickly, denying the allegations and rejecting the evidence. This style of Chinese surveillance was characterised as a ‘Trojan Horse’ approach. The incident gave voice to a concern already quietly held by many officials in Africa about the potential…
Autopsy examinations on 33 bodies exhumed from a suspected mass grave in Kericho County have been delayed after the county mortuary cited a lack of resources and capacity to process such an unusually large number of remains at once. The bodies, believed to include 25 children and 8 adults, were uncovered at Makaburini Cemetery earlier this week following a tip-off that led homicide detectives and forensic teams to apply for and secure a court order to exhume the gravesite. The discovery intensified public concern and raised questions about how the remains were buried without clear identification. Authorities initially expected to…
By Muchira Gachenge The biennial International Exhibition of Extractive and Energy Resources, SIREXE, will be held in Côte d’Ivoire’s capital Abidjan later this year. The second edition of the energy event, dedicated to the mining, oil, and energy sectors, is set to take place between November 18-22, 2026. It follows the great success of the inaugural event held in 2024, which brought together players in the energy and extractive sectors with a keen focus on fostering investment, partnerships, and sustainable resource development across Africa. This year’s event returns to the Abidjan Exhibition Centre, with a renewed ambition: to establish itself…
Former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju was arrested by detectives after authorities concluded that his widely reported disappearance had been staged, bringing a dramatic twist to a case that had captured national attention. The incident began when Tuju was reported missing over the weekend, sparking fear among his family members, political allies, and members of the public. Reports indicated that Tuju had disappeared while traveling to a scheduled radio interview, leading to speculation that he had been abducted. Concern grew quickly as supporters and political leaders demanded answers regarding his safety. Among those who raised alarm was Kalonzo Musyoka, who expressed…
Kenyan Generation Z activists have issued a strong warning to politicians, urging them to stay away from the popular “Tuko Kadi” slogan, which has recently gone viral across the country as a symbol of youth civic engagement and voter registration. The slogan, which loosely translates to “We have the voter’s card,” gained nationwide attention after a successful youth-led campaign that mobilized hundreds of young people to register as voters. The movement quickly spread on social media platforms, attracting praise from citizens, activists, and political leaders alike. However, as the slogan gained popularity, some politicians and political figures began associating themselves…
Kenya’s top golfer Njoroge Kibugu is five-million shillings richer after the government issued a cheque in honor of his phenomenal performance at the Magical Kenya Open (MKO) golfing tournament in February. The five million bonanza is a fulfilment of the pledge made to the young golfer by President William Ruto during award presentation and closing ceremony of the MKO at Karen Country Golf Club on 22nd of February. While presenting the cheque on Tuesday at Talanta Plaza in Nairobi, the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports Salim Mvurya stated that the monetary reward was a solid demonstration…
Arbitration has long been heralded as the “gold standard” for commercial dispute resolution in Kenya. It promises a “private room” where disputes are resolved with speed, technical expertise and confidentiality. Yet, as the complexity of Kenyan commerce grows, the gap between this promise and operational reality of arbitration is becoming increasingly visible. Why Parties Opt Out of Court Kenyan courts often operate in the opposite way: public, procedural, inflexible and slow. Even relatively straightforward commercial or specialized cases can drag on for years due to backlogs, frequent adjournments, recusal applications and constitutional petitions. This is not necessarily a reflection of…
A long-running financial dispute involving former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju has escalated into a dramatic property battle that stretches from courtrooms in London to legal proceedings in Nairobi. The dispute revolves around a loan obtained nearly nine years ago by Tuju’s company, Dari Limited, which used several prime properties in the affluent Karen suburb as collateral. The case has now reached a critical point after courts declined to stop the auction of the properties, opening the way for lenders to recover billions of shillings in unpaid debt. The Sh1.2 billion loan was initially obtained to finance business operations and investments…
By Seth Shisabilu Shava For all their swagger, intimidating appearance and reputation for extreme violence, the Africa Corps have not been noticeably effective in securing the regions they have been paid to secure. Africa Corps’ predecessor, the infamous Wagner Group, from which it evolved in 2023, was under the personal control of its chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin. He ran it as a marauding militia that remained at arm’s length from the Kremlin but ultimately followed Putin’s orders from afar. Wagner Group primarily provided “security” and military training and, in return, received benefits such as access to minerals. That was until Prigozhin…
