The Anti-Corruption Court has convicted at least four of the 16 Accused persons in a procurement scandal at the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) that resulted in a loss of approximately Sh550 million in public funds. Chief Magistrate Hon. Felix Mutinda Kombo, sitting at Milimani, Nairobi, committed Fredrick Ogenga, Aero Dispenser Valves Ltd, Francis Omondi Obure, and Beryl Khasina, the 11th, 13th, 15th, and 16th accused persons respectively to a non-custodial sentence on January 24, 2025. Ogenga, a KPC Procurement Officer II (Overseas Procurement), was fined Sh750,000, Aero Dispenser Valves Ltd was fined Sh3 million, Omondi and Ms Beryl Khasina, Directors…
Author: Special Correspondent
By Alex Gakuru Artificial Intelligence (AI) has intensified the debate around bias and misrepresentation. The profound implications of technology on nearly every sector and aspect of life have raised concerns among the public and policymakers about the need for more local content online. Critics argue that the internet serves as a tool for powerful nations to erase non-English cultures, restructure global labour dynamics, and further impoverish the poor. Unless deliberate and effective measures are taken to transform the internet economy, Africans risk becoming modern-day slaves in digital plantations. Africa’s rich oral culture, heritage, and traditional knowledge—expressed through over 3,000 languages—contrast…
WAINAINA NDUNG’U Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has adopted an east to west infiltration of vote-rich Mt Kenya as his 2027 presidential bid recently got turbocharged by Mr Raila Odinga’s hint of an impending exit following his interest in becoming the next Chairperson of the African Union Commission It is instructive that when Mr Odinga signalled his interest in the AU seat, Mr Musyoka was quick to point out at Azimio la Umoja, the minority coalition, would soldier on without him Mr Musyoka has over the last six months been on a mission to lure the Mt Kenya East vote block…
By Fuad Abdirahman The abduction saga surrounding Cabinet Secretary Justin Muturi’s son, Leslie, has laid bare the privileges of the powerful. In his charged statement, which he recorded with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Tuesday, January 14, and which he sensationally circulated on social media, he said that he reached out to the top leaders of various security apparatus – from the CS and PS for Interior to the head of the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit – and spoke with most of them, and hours later when they had not come through for him, he drove to State House for…
Flashing the victim card and ramping up anger among his ethnic Kikuyu community, you are yet to see the last of impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, a newly published analytical book says. The book, Rigathi Gachagua and The Politics of Betrayal, says Gachagua has strategically singled out waxing up the anger in Mt Kenya to dim re-election chances of President William Ruto and also boost his ratings. From curated media appearances through interviews to heightened social media activities and impromptu village meetings, the book says Gachagua could hold sway against Ruto. It was published by the Nairobi Law Monthly –…
All African passport holders are now able to visit Ghana without needing a visa, outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo has said. He announced the plan last month but in his final state-of-the-nation address on Friday he said that the policy had come into effect at the beginning of the year. Visa-free travel within the continent has long been an aspiration for those promoting pan-African values and is seen as vital for economic cooperation. Ghana is now the fifth African country to offer this to travellers from the rest of the continent. Rwanda, Seychelles, The Gambia and Benin are the others. “I…
President William Ruto in October last year at the Kenya Institute of Special Education, asserted the State’s commitment that “every child should have the chance to fulfil their potential and rise to the highest level of accomplishment that their intellect, their talent, their knowledge and determination can allow. This is our duty as parents, as a society, as a Government and as a people.” This message resonated deeply with persons with disabilities, and parents/caregivers of children with disabilities. Next week, as Kenya marks 20 years of progress in disability inclusion, the moment marks a special opportunity to reflect on the…
The EU, the cornerstone of Western hegemony, will cease to exist in 10 years unless the bloc undertakes fundamental change to how it relates with the Global South. Slovak Republic, member of the EU and one of the key dissenters from the bloc’s imperial stance in geopolitics, has become one of the loudest critics of some of the EU’s major foreign policy. The other main known critic of the EU is Hungarian’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a member of the EU with a reputation for swimming against the tide. “Unless the EU changes its self-harming policy course, it won’t exist…
There is a stark urgency in the way freedom is spoken of in South Africa today. The word drips from political speeches and corporate mission statements like ripe nectar, suggesting a lush orchard of plenty just over the horizon. But as we stand on the dusty ground of our divided and untransformed society, we must ask: Where is this orchard? Where are its trees? And if the fruit of freedom truly exists, why can’t we taste it? In the decades since apartheid’s official end, we’ve learned that the struggle against visible chains was but the first chapter of a longer,…
South Korea’s National Assembly passed on Saturday a motion to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol amid growing calls for Yoon to step down over his martial law decree. In a plenary session, the bill was approved in a 204-85 vote with three abstentions, according to Yonhap News Agency. Although the majority of lawmakers from the ruling party boycotted the first impeachment vote on Dec 7, all 300 lawmakers voted on the second motion. The passage of the impeachment motion is a decision made in accordance with the promise to uphold the Constitution, which was solemnly sworn to as representatives of the…
