Night runners have demanded funding saying Migori and Homa Bay county governments discriminate them. The self proclaimed President of the night runners, Jack Songo aka Moses Okinyi who claims to have been elected by colleagues. Attempts to pursue development initiatives have flopped since the counties have channeled the funds to other projects, said Kenya Night Runners Union Jack Songo. “Our nocturnal activities have massively boosted security in the areas. There is need for the government to recognise our union and allocate us some funds,” he said. The union has domesticated wild animals through witchcraft, Songo said. He said it has tamed 214 hyenas and hippos which members ride during their nightly activities. He added that crocodiles and snakes have also been domesticated. Songo spoke to the Star on phone on Thursday, from Gwasii area in Homa Bay, where he attended the burial of a member who died "in the line of duty" “Our colleague died while enjoying ...

Kenya: Audio recordings purportedly demonstrating six MPs had received bribes and setting up members of rival coalitions against each other reportedly helped embattled Ababu Namwamba retain chairmanship of a watchdog committee. Mr Namwamba, who is also the Budalang'i MP and ODM Secretary General, yesterday narrowly survived ouster from the helm of the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after a night of covert lobbying and cajoling. In the 26-member committee, 13 MPs voted to impeach Namwamba over claims of bribery and corruption within the committee. Nine MPs voted to save him, and two abstained. Two others, Silvance Osele (Kabondo Kasipul) and Stephen Manoti (Bobasi), were absent. The voting was by secret ballot. Those who abstained are Namwamba's deputy Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes, TNA) and Andrew Mwadime (Mwatate, ODM). Though the majority in yesterday's meeting voted to impeach Namwamba, they were unsuccessful, because the House rules say that mor...

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has expressed concern over the high level of non-compliance to traffic rules by road users in Nyanza. The authority, which is currently leading a crack-down on road offenders in the area, has already impounded over 50 public service vehicles and arrested their crews. NTSA officers conducted more swoops in Ahero, Maseno and Bondo yesterday to arrest those flouting traffic rules. Addressing the Press in Kisumu yesterday, NTSA Deputy Director Cosmas Ngeso cited the low level of awareness and defiance by some motorists as some of the reasons why violation of traffic regulations was rampant in the region.  He said some matatu and bus operators had since pulled their vehicles off the roads to avoid inspection. "It is sad that people are still using Probox vehicles for public transport even after this was banned. These laws are meant to protect road users, not punish anybody," said Mr Ngeso. According to Ngeso, some of the common ...

Eleven pupils of Shiraha Primary School in Kakamega are living in fear after being attacked by alleged ‘evil’ spirits for a second time this year. They were allegedly attacked while at school and the incident disrupted learning the whole day. It is reported that the pupils fell on the ground in what looked like an epileptic fit. They were allegedly calling out names of unknown people and pleading with them to spare them from being strangled. The school head teacher Gilbert Otaro confirmed the morning incident saying one Standard Seven pupil fainted while they were at the parade. “It started with this girl who fainted at the parade. Before we could attend to her, some pupils also started to behave in a weird manner,” said Otaro. He said those affected screamed loudly alerting the whole village as neighbours ran to the school to witness the strange incident. “People were attracted by their screams. I have never witnessed such incident in my entire life,” he said. Otaro said they called...

Kidnappings by militants retreating from Kurdish attack are latest assault on ancient minorities such as Yazidis, Chaldeans and Copts A relative of one of the Egyptian Coptic Christians captured by Isis with a banner calling for their release. It is believed the men were beheaded. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters Islamic State militants kidnapped 90 Christians in north-east Syria as the jihadis retreated in the face of a Kurdish counter-offensive, a monitoring group has said. The reported kidnappings are the latest blow to the ancient Christian presence in the region, heightening insecurity after a video was released by militants claiming allegiance to Isis that appeared to show the beheading of 21 Egyptian Copts in Libya. “This is another episode in the targeting to the Christians of the east,” Habib Afram, president of the Syriac League in Lebanon, which represents the Assyrian minority, told the Guardian. “We are witnessing the end of the Christian presence in the...

Benjamin Crump will act on behalf of parents of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an unarmed Mexican man shot dead by police in Washington Agapita Montes-Rivera with her daughter, Rose Elena Zambrano-Montes and attorney Benjamin Crump outside the funeral home where her son’s body was being kept in Pasco. Photograph: Nicholas K. Geranios/AP The high-profile civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice, will now act on behalf of the parents of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an unarmed Mexican national shot dead by police in Pasco, Washington, strengthening the calls for a federal investigation into the death. Crump told the Guardian that Zambrano-Montes’s mother, 60-year-old Agapita Montes-Rivera, who has travelled from Mexico following the shooting, fainted when she saw her son’s body for the first time on Monday afternoon. Footage of the moment Zambrano-Montes is shot dead in a volley of bullets by three police officers a...

A video purported to be by Somalia's al-Qaida-linked rebel group al-Shabab urged Muslims to attack shopping malls in the U.S., Canada, Britain and other Western countries. U.S. authorities said there was "no credible" evidence suggesting a U.S. mall attack was in the works. The threat by the al-Qaida affiliate came in the final minutes of a more than hourlong video released Saturday in which the extremists also warned Kenya of more attacks like the September 2013 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in which 67 people were killed. The masked narrator concluded by calling on Muslims to attack shopping malls, specifically naming the Mall of America in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, as well as the West Edmonton Mall in Canada and the Westfield mall in Stratford, England. The authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified by The Associated Press. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security provided local law enforcement agencies and private sec...

Cord leader Raila Odinga Monday lauded the High Court after it nullified 10 clauses of the Security Laws Amendment Act 2014. Raila said the court in so doing has asserted its jurisdiction to supervise and ensure all the other arms of the State observe the Constitution. High Court Judge Isaac Lenaola declared sections 12, 64, 66, 34, 16, 42, 20, 26, 48 and 95 unconstitutional. “Although the court has not agreed with us with on a few statements of facts particularly regarding how this law was passed, we still congratulate the court for standing up for the Constitution,” said Raila in a statement. “Cord believes this decision will go a long way in ensuring adherence to the constitution of Kenya and protecting civil liberties,” he added. Some ODM legislators were suspended from the National Assembly for their actions during the passage of the law.  “I thank all CORD legislators who opposed the passage of these laws, some of whom have had to pay with suspension from the House where...