By Gabriel Gervais Since the coup of October 2025, Madagascar has become a test case for the African Union. Immediate suspension from continental bodies, diplomatic pressure and the requirement of a credible electoral timetable show that zero tolerance for unconstitutional changes of government is being applied with consistency. In Addis Ababa, at the 39th summit, the Chairperson of the AU Commission reaffirmed that no leniency would be granted to military seizures of power. On 15 October 2025, Madagascar was formally suspended from all activities of the organisation. Any normalisation is contingent upon a return to constitutional order. Structured continental pressure…
Author: Special Correspondent
The Director of Public Prosecutions has recommended an 11-year structured sentence combining custodial and non-custodial terms for Enos Amanya alias Haleluya, a convict in the Shakahola massacre case, to facilitate his rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Appearing before Justice Diana Kavedza at the High Court in Mombasa on Thursday, the prosecution, led by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jami Yamina, proposed that the sentence account for the three years Amanya has spent in remand custody. This would reduce the effective term to eight years. Out of the eight years, the DPP recommended that Amanya serve between one and two and…
Officers serving in Kenya’s disciplined forces are set to benefit from higher salaries after the government confirmed a pay rise targeting personnel in the National Police Service, the Kenya Prisons Service, and the National Youth Service. The salary increment is part of a broader government plan to improve the welfare of officers working in the country’s security and paramilitary institutions. Officials say the move is intended to boost morale, improve service delivery, and recognise the role played by uniformed personnel in safeguarding the country and supporting national development. According to the State Department for Internal Security, the pay rise is…
By Linda Bach Much has happened in the struggle for women empowerment since the first International Women’s Day was marked on March 19, 1911. A lot, including the landmark fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing between September 4 and 15, 1995, which identified poverty as one of the major catalysts of inequalities between women and men in the world. Over the years, the International Women’s Day has evolved from a moment of protest against discrimination into an occasion to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about gender equality, call for positive change, and lobby for accelerated gender parity. Arguably,…
A tip about drug lord Nemesio Oseguera’s romantic liaisons led Mexican authorities to the cartel leader’s hideout in a small town of Jalisco state where he was killed, Mexican authorities said on Monday in the first account of the ambush that spawned violence across much of Mexico. At least 62 people died in the early Sunday raid on Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” and in ensuing violence – including 25 members of the National Guard military police and 34 suspected gang members – as cartel loyalists set cars ablaze in 85 roadblocks in more than a dozen states, authorities said.…
Kenya has 1.6 million retail investor accounts on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Fewer than 40,000 of those accounts were actively trading each month as of 2024, according to NSE data reported by Semafor. The gap between those two numbers tells you everything about why app-based platforms, aggregator services and robo-advisors have become so important to Kenya’s capital markets story. They’re the on-ramp. And now, for the first time, they need their own licence to operate. The Capital Markets (Licensing Requirements) (General) Regulations, 2025, gazetted on 11 December 2025, repeal the old 2002 licensing framework entirely. Among the most significant additions…
The High Court of Kenya sitting in Eldoret has declared Chepkoech Too the biological daughter of the late former nominated KANU MP Mark Kiptarbei arap Too, ending a decade-long legal battle over her paternity and her right to inherit from his multi-billion-shilling estate. In a judgment delivered by Presiding Judge Anuro Wananda, the court ruled that DNA evidence conclusively proved Chepkoech as a child of the deceased politician and businessman. The decision followed an application by Chepkoech seeking a DNA test after she was excluded from succession proceedings involving the estate, estimated at Sh7 billion. She accused her stepmother, Sophie…
Six American soldiers were killed in an Iranian strike against a military facility in Kuwait on Sunday, the US has confirmed. US Central Command originally said three soldiers died in the incident but officials confirmed on Monday that the death toll had doubled, after one person succumbed to their injuries and two more bodies were found in the rubble. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed a US bunker in Kuwait was hit after a missile was launched during Iran’s original retaliation evaded air defences. The six deaths are the only fatalities confirmed by the US military since it launched a new…
China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the attack on Iran and the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by the United States and Israel, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday, while experts warned that the joint military strikes will have far-reaching repercussions in the region and the world. Calling the attack a grave violation of Iran’s sovereignty and security, the spokesperson said it also tramples on the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and basic norms governing international relations. “We urge an immediate stop to the military operations, no further escalation of the tense situation,…
Dock workers have issued a strike notice over the alleged interference in union affairs by a senior officer at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), accusing the official of derailing the implementation of their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Dock Workers’ Union Secretary General (SG) Simon Sang said the union has credible information that a senior KPA officer who allegedly wields significant influence within the Judiciary, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), and the Public Service Commission (PSC) is being used by competitors to destabilise the union. “This malpractice is affecting the morale of our members, and we will not tolerate it…
