Top lawyers among them Siaya Senator James Orengo, former minister Martha Karua, Wachira Maina, George Kegoro and election experts convene to discuss the controversial Supreme Court judgement of 2013 presidential elections. Through Kenyans for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ) and the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) a policy dialogue to mark the second anniversary of the Supreme Court judgment following the 2013 presidential election petition will be held at the Hilton Hotel, Tuesday in Nairobi from 9a.m. to 1p.m. A statement sent to the newsrooms from Africog said, the meeting will be looking at proposals going forward as Kenyans prepare for the 2017 General Elections when Jubilee’s first term comes to an end. Two years since the Supreme Court’s decision confirming the IEBC’s declaration of the Jubilee Coalition as having won the 2013 elections, the concerns raised by KPTJ in its election petition have never been fully addressed. Notably, there is still no consensus as ...

Two Kenyans are reported to have been among the 7 people killed in the Monday explosion in Garowe town of Somalia. Mr Ahmed Abdullahi Samatar alias Layli, the commander of Nugal police force in Puntland, a semi-autonomous state in Northeastern Somalia, reported an explosion at Garowe town, 1000 km northeast of Mogadishu. The commander stated that 7 persons, including 4 foreign nationals working with the United Nations and 2 Somalis died and the suspected bomber. He added that 7 more persons, including 2 foreign nationals and 5 Somalis, sustained wounds, two of the dead foreign staff are said to be from Kenya Local media reports that the UN staff were working with the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) in Puntland. He said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber. An Al-Shabaab spokesman for operations Sheikh Abdulaziz Abu Mus’ab claimed responsibility for the attack at Garowe, using various information outlets including al-Andalus, a broadcaster run by the j...

Moving toward a better South Africa is not only the responsibility of black people, writes Eric Miyeni, in response to the NMF's position paper. As I was deliberating on whether or not to respond to the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) position paper on “Race and Identity in 2015 South Africa” and teetering more towards not writing a thing, I came across a Kiffness posting on Facebook called Coming to terms with my white privilege. Dave, the author, was appealing for empathy from “them”, white South Africans, for the pain and or suffering that is felt by “us”, black South Africans – to couch his words in the “us and them” language of exclusion that South Africa still suffers from today. After a description of what he considers the privileges that he has “inherited from being white”, he wrote: “The least I can do is respect that there is a lot of pain in the people who have been oppressed and it is important to not only understand that pain, but to feel it.” I read that posti...

A major security operation is underway in Samburu North to recover illegal firearms and stolen livestock following the lapse of a 48 hour ultimatum issued by the inspector general of police Joseph Boinett . Security teams have been deployed to the volatile Suguta valley where attackers are believed to be hiding (File) Security teams have been deployed to the volatile Suguta valley where attackers linked to a series of raids are believed to be hiding. Contingents of security officers advanced to the volatile region amid tension following the recent raid by armed bandits in Samburu north where more than 1500 herd of livestock were stolen. The exercise began in Suguta valley after the lapse the ultimatum issued by Boinett for those in possession of illegal fire arms to surrender them and the return of stolen animals. Samburu county commissioner Joshua Kanatha said the security teams will comb the entire area including Suguta valley where at least 40 officers were killed and th...

In announcing his bid for the presidency, the Florida senator sought to draw a line between him and his Republican opponents on foreign policy – but is it enough to simply serve up scathing critiques of Obama’s failures? For months, Marco Rubio has positioned himself as the defense hawk rising from the Republican rubble – a John McCain for the millennial set.  Florida senator Marco Rubio: anything less than the ‘Rubio doctrine’ would be ‘chaos’. Photograph: Michele Eve Sandberg/Corbis The junior senator from Florida has taken his position on the powerful Foreign Relations Committee to remind the world that he would re-open the prison at Guantánamo Bay, defend the NSA’s dragnet surveillance and “stand up” against North Korea. Rubio has adopted the “Obama-Clinton foreign policy” line used by Jeb Bush and Ted Cruz and raised them an Ayatollah. Anything less than the “Rubio doctrine”, he says, would be “chaos”. The highly public ramp-up of his borderless credentials has buil...

Statehouse says it is reading in the same script with National Police Service Commission (NPSC) over a new recruitment exercise for 10,000 police officers. In a statement to newsroom state house Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said the decision by NPSC Chairman Johnston Kavuludi to announce a new recruitment exercise was reached in consultation with President Uhuru Kenyatta. ”National Police Service Commission Chairman Johnston Kavuludi yesterday made a statement in which he announced that a new recruitment exercise for 10,000 police officers will be conducted on Monday 20th April, 2015. I do confirm that the decision was reached in consultation with His Excellency the President,” said Manoah. Manoah urged those who had been recruited in 2014 not to report to the National Police Service training institutions on Sunday as earlier indicated. ”Consequently, those who had been recruited in 2014 must not report to the National Police Service training institutions tomorrow Sunday 12th ...

One student has died while 139 others are nursing injuries at different hospitals after a stampede in the University of Nairobi, Kikuyu Campus. The stampede was caused by the explosion of underground electricity cables The stampede was caused by the explosion of underground electricity cables. The incident, which took place at 5.15am this morning, saw students, both male and female, who were being housed at the nearby Kimberly Hostel scampering out of the hostel after they mistook the explosion for a terrorist attack. Of those injured, 101 are being treated at the Kenyatta National Hospital, 37 are being attended to at PCEA Kikuyu Hospital while two others were taken to Karen Hospital where one of them, a third year student, succumbed to his injuries. Police now say that the situation at the campus has since calmed down. Reports from witnesses indicate that some students jumped from top floors in an attempt to escape the “attack”. The country has been on high alert sinc...

By PSCU  President Uhuru Kenyatta has Thursday written to each of the families of the victims of the Garissa University College terrorist attack. The President wrote to express words of comfort and sympathy to the families. “I write to you with great pain and sadness hoping to share a few words of comfort and sympathy over the untimely death of your daughter, by the hands of terrorists. Miriam (one of the victims) was a young, productive person of great promise. She had every right to live and realise her dream in life, and you had every right to expect much from the sacrifice, love and support invested in her growth and development,” said the President “I write to you in humility to express my regret at the loss of your dearly beloved child. We share your pain. Accept my condolences and that of the entire country. I promise that as a Nation, we shall never forget them, nor forgive those who took her life,” the President said. The President assured the bereaved...

Ase engaki entambe kegima abarai ao ao nigo babeire bagokwanera obomo bw'omogusii, inee eri n' ring'ana gose riraikerane gose nigo ere omogano bw'ogasusu na oganchogu?

Unless home is under a rock without an internet connection, it’s likely you’ve heard of Periscope. The new live-streaming app, launched at the end of March by Twitter as a competitor to killer of Meerkat, has caused a flurry of excitement. It’s not that live-streaming is new – Ustream and Justin.tv (RIP) have been around for years – but the availability of the medium on portable devices seems a game changer. I’ve been playing around with the app and have sussed out its user base. So, here are 10 other scopers you’re likely to encounter. 1. The journalist Journalists and news outlets have been quick to jump on Periscope in a way they didn’t do with Meerkat, despite the interest the latter app caused among tech-heads in the run-up to SXSW. Perhaps this is to do with Periscope’s ostensibly easier-to-use interface (UI), but is probably more to do with Twitter’s adeptness at sending out press releases. So far, The Verge, The Guardian, Sky News and the BBC have already broadcast...

Messages of condolences continue to be sent to the family of Professor George Eshiwani, the former Vice-Chancellor of Kenyatta University who died on Saturday afternoon at the Aga Khan Hospital Kisumu. Eshiwani is said to have been rushed to hospital by his wife from their Kakamega home after the Professor complained of not feeling well. He however collapsed while at the hospital with efforts by medical staff to resuscitate him not bearing any fruits. The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli was the first to break the news of the demise of the academician on his Facebook account. The Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga also sent a message of condolence to the family of the late professor eulogizing him as a good friend and accomplished academician. Raila added that his immense contribution to the growth of Kenyatta University will be remembered by many, especially those who went through the institution. Mount Kenya University founder...

Al-Shabaab promises more attacks as student Cynthia Cheroitich leaves college unharmed after being persuaded it was safe to leave her hiding place Cynthia Cheroitich, 19, a survivor of the attack on Garissa University College who was found on Saturday, two days after the attack. Photograph: Andrew Njuguna/AP A survivor of Thursday’s attack on a Kenyan university by the Somali-based Islamic extremists al-Shabaab has been found safe and well after hiding for two days in a cupboard. The attack at the Garissa University College left 148 people dead, with the death toll expected to rise. But student Cynthia Cheroitich, 19, escaped the massacre after finding refuge as gunmen strapped with explosives stalked classrooms and corridors. She told the Associated Press that as the attack by four heavily armed members of al-Shabaab began, she climbed into a clothing storage cupboard and covered herself in garments. She remained hidden there while other classmates came out from similar ...

The University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University and the United States International University - Kenya had all issued security memos days before the attack on Garissa University claimed by Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabaab. The memos informed students and staff of new security measures while cautioning people within their campuses to be extra vigilant. Memo pinned on the Kenyatta University notice board warning about potential attack (Twitter) In a note dated 25 March, the University of Nairobi warned "intelligence reports indicate that the al-Shabaab terror group is planning retaliatory attacks on (...) a major university". The universities had informed students and staff of new security measures while cautioning people within their campuses to be extra vigilant. According to the university in the capital, "the information [was] already being processed by the relevant government agencies with an objective of putting necessary measures in place to fai...

Militants claim to be holding Christian hostages after dawn raid on hostels in which they opened fire on students and security guards, killing at least 15 people Masked gunmen from Somalia’s al-Shabaab movement claim to be holding an unknown number of Kenyan Christians hostage after a dawn raid on a university compound that left at least 15 people dead. The attackers stormed into the university shortly after 5am in the town of Garissa, about 90 miles from the volatile border with Somalia. Kenya’s national disaster operations centre said 280 of the university’s 815 students were accounted for but did not say how many it believed to be still inside. The gunmen were in one of four residential buildings, the interior ministry said. InteriorCNG Ministry          ✔   @InteriorKE Follow #GarissaAttack Update: Of the four hostels, 3 have been evacuated. The attackers have been cornered in one hostel & the operations continue. 3:05...