Kenya has suspended preparations for a U.S.-run Ebola quarantine facility, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale told a court on Tuesday, following a contempt ruling for failing to comply with an earlier stop-work order. The move comes as a relief to a section of Kenyans who had strongly opposed the plan. Deadly protests have taken place since the facility was announced in May for potential U.S. citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a major Ebola outbreak. The facility has been built at Laikipia Air Base, about 200 kilometres from the capital, Nairobi. It includes around…
Author: Samuel Njihia
Senior Counsel and Kenyan presidential aspirant Martha Karua was denied entry into Uganda on Monday after being turned away at Entebbe International Airport, where she had arrived as part of a legal team involved in high-profile opposition treason cases, before being sent back to Nairobi. The Uganda Law Society said Karua had travelled as part of a defence team representing opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is facing treason charges. She was also expected to join proceedings linked to Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, recently charged with a related offence and due for a bail hearing. Karma was stopped at the…
Justice Gatembu Kairu has been elected President of the Court of Appeal after securing 26 of the 41 votes cast on Monday in a tightly contested internal election held by appellate judges. He takes over from Justice Daniel Musinga, whose term ended on 24 May 2026. Justice Kairu beat Lady Justice Lydia Achode, Justice Patrick Kiage, and Lady Justice Agnes Murgor, who were also eying the position. In his new role, the judge will oversee the management of appeals, coordinate the work of appellate judges, and play a central role in ensuring the efficiency of the court system. Born in…
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has suspended the issuance of new matatu SACCO licences for two years, effective June 19, 2026. It has also halted the addition of new routes and extensions of existing ones for one year, except where a new road is commissioned. In the same directive, the Authority has frozen any changes to existing licensed routes, including pick-up and drop-off points, for a year, effectively locking the current public transport map in place. NTSA says the decision follows persistent non-compliance in the sector and growing safety concerns. It argues that frequent route changes have fuelled…
Zimbabwe’s parliament has voted through a constitutional amendment that could keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in office until 2030, pushing through a change that would extend presidential terms from five to seven years. The National Assembly passed the bill with 216 votes, comfortably above the two-thirds majority needed. It now goes to the Senate, where approval is expected given the influence of ZANU-PF. If it becomes law, the shift would carry Mnangagwa past 2028, when his current term ends, and reset the country’s political calendar. Support for the move has been building inside the ruling party for some time. At rallies,…
A major United States–Iran agreement being presented as a regional peace deal is being hailed in Washington as a breakthrough, but there is still uncertainty over what it will change in practice across the Middle East. US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday the agreement goes beyond the United States and Iran, and is intended to include Israel, Lebanon and Gulf countries. Speaking in an interview with US media, he described it as a “true regional peace deal”. “It is a regional peace deal. It’s going to include the Gulf, it’s going to include Israel, it’s going to include…
A senior police officer died on Monday evening after a nine-vehicle crash at Karai, Naivasha, along the busy Nairobi–Nakuru Highway, in a collision that caused major disruption and left several vehicles badly damaged. Nyandarua County’s County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO), John Rioba, lost his life in a chain-reaction crash that began when a Sinotruk truck heading toward Nakuru reportedly lost control. The truck is said to have hit a Toyota Land Cruiser, forcing it into oncoming traffic where it collided with several vehicles, including lorries, matatus, private cars, and Rioba’s Isuzu D-Max. The crash happened shortly before 5 pm. Traffic…
Car dealers in Mombasa are protesting recent changes to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) system and stricter enforcement of rules governing Dealer Registration (KD) number plates, saying the new measures have slowed down operations and disrupted the movement of imported vehicles. Through the Independent Car Dealers Association, they are now seeking an urgent meeting with the regulator, hoping to ease what they describe as growing friction between policy and practice on the ground. At the centre of the dispute is Section 24 of the Traffic Act, which restricts the use of dealer plates. The law bars KD plates…
Teachers who marked the 2025 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations could finally receive their pay this week after waiting about six months for compensation. The government has allocated Sh1.5 billion to clear the outstanding dues, ending months of complaints from teachers and their unions over the delay. Many argued that examiners should not have to wait that long to be paid for work completed during a national exercise. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the funds would be released this week after the government brought forward payments that had initially been planned for the 2026/27 financial year.…
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has set November 30, 2026, as the start date for the trial of former Philippine president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who faces charges of crimes against humanity linked to his deadly “war on drugs”. In a statement on 27 May 2026, Trial Chamber III confirmed the schedule following a status conference involving the prosecution, defence, and legal representatives of victims. The Chamber said it had considered “the necessary time for the disclosure of evidence and other materials” and would resolve outstanding issues before proceedings begin. The bench is composed of Presiding Judge Joanna Korner, Judge Keebong…
