Right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro has won the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, beating left-wing President Lula da Silva, but falling short of an outright majority. There will be a run-off between the two candidates on 25 October. Bolsonaro is the son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup after losing the 2022 election. Sunday’s vote was close, with President Lula polling slightly ahead during the campaign. With almost all of the votes counted, Bolsonaro has 47% to Lula’s 45% of the vote. Bolsonaro’s result exceeded expectations, meaning the second…
Author: Special Correspondent
A section of Luo elders on Saturday morning paid symbolic homage to East African Legislative Assembly Member Winnie Odinga by crowning her as the political heir to her late father, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The traditional ceremony has reignited speculation about the succession plan less than a year after the death of the former Prime Minister. The elders paid their respects at a memorial service for elders and veterans at Opoda Farm in Bondo, Siaya County. Rose Otumba, the Siaya Luo Council of Elders’ women’s representative, placed a traditional bonnet on Winnie’s head and wished her success as she…
Parliament is considering legislation that would bar the informal settlement of sexual offences and require such cases to be handled through the formal judicial system. The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2025, National Assembly Bill No. 50 of 2025, sponsored by Garissa Woman Representative Amina Udgoon Siyad Kuno, seeks to introduce Section 40A to the Sexual Offences Act. The proposed section states that offences under the Act “shall be prosecuted exclusively through the judicial system” and that any agreement, settlement or process purporting to settle such offences outside the formal judicial process would be void and have no legal effect. Udgoon…
The Social Health Authority (SHA) has extended the deadline for healthcare providers to complete the contracting process for the 2026–2029 cycle by 14 days, giving them until October 14, 2026, to finalise the process. In a notice issued on Thursday, October 1, SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi said the extension would give healthcare facilities additional time to complete contracting for the new cycle and maintain services to SHA beneficiaries. The extension covers the period from September 30 to October 14, 2026. However, providers must accept, sign and return an extension agreement through the SHA e-contracting platform within three days of receiving…
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has announced a nationwide candle-lighting ceremony on Friday, October 2, to honour former Prime Minister Raila Odinga ahead of the first anniversary of his death. The party has called on Kenyans at home and abroad to light candles simultaneously at 6pm in memory of Odinga, who died on October 15, 2025, while receiving medical treatment in India. The candle-lighting will mark the beginning of ODM’s month-long commemorative programme dubbed “Mwezi wa Baba”, which the party has dedicated to remembering Odinga’s political journey and public life. In Nairobi, a main gathering has been announced at Uhuru…
The Malindi Environment and Land Court has ordered parties to maintain the status quo on a disputed parcel of land set to host Aliko Dangote’s multi-billion oil refinery in Lamu ahead of the project’s scheduled groundbreaking on Wednesday. Justice Jane Onyango of the Environment and Land Court directed that the status quo of Land Reference No. 13061 in Hindi/Manda Magogoni area should prevail until an inter partes hearing scheduled for October 14, 2026. The order, which was issued on September 25, sought to prevent any clearing, excavation, fencing, demolition or other interference with the possession of the land in dispute.…
Recent robbery and sexual-assault cases investigated by Kenyan authorities are highlighting the risks people can face when meeting strangers they first encounter through dating applications and social-media platforms. In one recent case, a Nairobi woman reported being robbed by a man she had met through a dating application and dated for several months. According to her account, the two had travelled together before later visiting Nakuru, where they stayed in a rented apartment. The woman said she left her phone and cash in the apartment while the pair went out for breakfast. The man later allegedly left the restaurant, saying…
China’s leader Xi Jinping will visit the United States this week for talks with President Donald Trump, Beijing confirmed Monday, expressing hope they will strengthen “strategic stability” between the world’s two largest economies. Washington had already made clear that the leaders would meet in a bid to find common ground on trade disputes, artificial intelligence and broader strategic issues including Trump’s war in the Middle East. Xi will make a state visit to the United States from Wednesday to Friday, a government statement said. Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the two leaders would “have an in-depth exchange of views…
El Niño, meaning “little boy” in Spanish, is an innocuous name for a geographical phenomenon that can make half the world swelter while sending the other half scrambling for sandbags to control floods. The name has an interesting origin. Centuries ago, fishermen off the northern coast of Peru noticed that around Christmas, a southward warm current appeared near shore, briefly reversing the usual cold flow. It usually brought tropical fish rarely seen in those waters and occasional rainfall that briefly turned the desert green. The warm current was named El Niño after the Christ child. Don’t let the name fool…
Podcaster Waweru Njoroge interviewed Prime Cabinet Secretary and Minister of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, on a wide range of public interest topics, including the war against corruption, job creation and the need for democratic governance. Excerpts. Question: You entered Parliament in 1989. What is the one thing you have had to unlearn in relation to leadership?” Answer: One of the things that is completely different is the mode of communication. The scope and scale of that communication. Because when I entered politics, you literally had the dominance of one or two channels. The national broadcasting station, KBC. And…
