Audio By Vocalize Health workers in protective gear. [AFP] The Health Ministry confirmed the eighth Ebola case on Sunday: a patient attendant who had attended to the first Ebola patient, who died two days after being admitted to hospital. The rising cases are not good news and show that the country is potentially staring at a serious health threat. However, the government continues to make commendable steps in the fight against the disease. Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni has surpassed the global standards for contact tracing with a success rate of 99 per cent for all those who interacted…
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Audio By Vocalize A GSU officer at a property belonging to former President Moi’s family near Eldoret State Lodge on October 18, 2026. [Peter Ochieng, Standard] The invasion of former President Daniel Arap Moi’s family’s prime property in Eldoret by the General Service Unit (GSU) officers shows not just a lack of respect for a former Head of State, but also for the right to own property and the rule of law. The officers raided the property that lies adjacent to the Eldoret State Lodge and ordered out workers, reportedly on orders from the State House. If the State is…
Audio By Vocalize The shameful scenes at Migwena Cultural Grounds during the first anniversary of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga exposed the hollowness of politicians invoking his name while betraying the values he spent a lifetime defending. What should have been a solemn occasion to honour a towering statesman descended into political chest-thumping, factional rivalry and disorder, with stones reportedly hurled towards the VIP dais. This was not merely a failure of protocol. It was an affront to Raila’s memory, family, mourners and a nation grappling with his absence. Those who turned a memorial into a political battleground must be…
Audio By Vocalize Cut fuel taxes to ease the rising cost of living for Kenyans. [Courtesy] The latest increase in pump prices is likely to have an immediate impact on the cost of living. From manufactured goods and food items to transport, costs are set to go up, pushing essentials further out of reach for many Kenyans. In recent months, the government has tried to alleviate a steep rise in the cost of fuel by tapping into the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) Fund to subsidise pump prices. In addition, since April this year, the government has also taken a haircut…
Audio By Vocalize Raila may be gone, but safeguarding his ideals is the responsibility of the living. A year ago, Kenya lost Raila Amollo Odinga, a man whose name stirred hope in some hearts and fierce opposition in others, yet commanded a nation’s attention. The voice that thundered through political rallies fell silent, leaving Baba’s followers with memories, unanswered questions and an uncertain future. Raila was more than a politician. He was a fighter for democratic space, multiparty politics, electoral reforms, social justice and devolution. A nationalist and Pan-Africanist, his influence transcended Kenya’s borders. Loved and hated in almost equal…
Audio By Vocalize Martin Macharia and Peter Kimemia in Russia. [Courtesy] The US government report alleging that Kenyan officials are deeply involved in the recruitment of citizens to serve in the Russian military is not necessarily earth-shattering. The US report alleges collusion among Kenyan officials, their Russian counterparts, and recruitment agencies in the enlistment of Kenyans to fight for Russia. While appearing before Parliament last week, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi dismissed, as he has done before, allegations that the government was involved in the recruitment of Kenyans. However, for a long time, Kenyans have suspected that their government, or…
Audio By Vocalize Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen before the National Assembly’s Internal Security and National Administration Committee on October 7, 2026. [MINA] When security forces turned their guns on pastoralists’ livestock in Waso Ward, Samburu East, between September 19 and 21, 2026, they did not just destroy property; they executed an economic sentence on innocent families. Whether the death toll stands at the official police record of 237 animals or the 764 reported by Samburu County Governor Lati Lelelit and local leaders, one fact remains uncontested: This was not a tragic misfire or an accidental crossfire. It was an unprovoked,…
Audio By Vocalize Health workers practise safe PPE removal during Ebola-response training in Ongata Rongai, Kajiado County, on July 10, 2026. [AFP] At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as infections skyrocketed and the daily death toll rose, reports emerged that some Kenyans were lining their pockets with money meant to fight the virus. Back then, the country received billions of shillings in donor aid and grants to tackle the pandemic, but, in their characteristic way, Kenyan tenderpreneurs saw a perfect get-rich-quick opportunity. It is no secret that millions of shillings ended up in individuals’ pockets, some of whom plundered the…
Audio By Vocalize Members of UASU, KUSU and KUDHEIHA in a solidarity song at Egerton University, when the three unions began a nationwide strike. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard] The lecturers’ strike has entered its seventh day today. While negotiations continue, it is hard to predict exactly when the strike will end. The Universities Academic Staff Union (UASU) called the current strike following the government’s failure to table counter-proposals for the 2025–2029 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). But rather than tackle this issue head-on, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, during the commemoration of Teachers’ Day last Monday, sought to convince the lecturers…
Audio By Vocalize Health CS Aden Duale speaks at the Afya House regarding Kenya’s preparedness and emergency response measures against Ebola Virus Disease. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] News that Kenya has registered its first case of Ebola, and that the patient died on Saturday last week, has sent an immediate shockwave of anxiety across the country. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed this on Tuesday during a press conference in Nairobi, putting a face to the grave health threat we have long observed from a safe distance. But as the nation grapples with this sobering reality, uncomfortable questions must be asked…
Audio By Vocalize Members of Amhara region militias ride on their truck as they head to face the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), in Sanja, Amhara region near a border with Tigray, Ethiopia. [Reuters] Ethiopia is standing on the precipice of a devastating catastrophe again. Less than four years after the 2022 Pretoria Agreement ended a brutal civil war that claimed an estimated 600,000 lives, full-scale combat has returned to the Horn of Africa. Heavy fighting has broken out again in Tigray, expanding rapidly into neighbouring Afar and Amhara. Federal drone and artillery strikes have been met with a massive…
Audio By Vocalize Members of Amhara region militias ride on their truck as they head to face the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), in Sanja, Amhara region near a border with Tigray, Ethiopia. [Reuters] Ethiopia is standing on the precipice of a devastating catastrophe again. Less than four years after the 2022 Pretoria Agreement ended a brutal civil war that claimed an estimated 600,000 lives, full-scale combat has returned to the Horn of Africa. Heavy fighting has broken out again in Tigray, expanding rapidly into neighbouring Afar and Amhara. Federal drone and artillery strikes have been met with a massive…
Audio By Vocalize Frederic Gateretse-Ngoga, a senior adviser at the African Union (AU).[Courtesy, Wikipedia] Early this month, President William Ruto made unfortunate remarks that nearly triggered a wave of xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals working in Kenya. The President, while addressing small-scale traders at State House, directed the immigrants to pack and leave for allegedly giving their Kenyan counterparts undue competition and aggravating unemployment locally. That triggered mass panic among foreigners and sporadic attacks of mostly Burundian nationals by Kenyans. In a matter of days, hundreds of Burudians flocked their embassy in Nairobi seeking papers that would help them flee…
Audio By Vocalize Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka addresses residents in Bondo town, Siaya County. [Dennis Kavisu, Standard] The recent sensationalist stunt in Kirinyaga County, where female undergarments printed with Senator James Kamau Murango’s name were maliciously distributed as political propaganda, highlights a disturbing trend in our increasingly polarised national politics. Although Mr Murango moved swiftly and denied involvement in the distribution of the undergarments following public outrage, the incident underscores the shocking depth to which political discourse in this country has plummeted. Hardly had the dust settled on this mockery when Vihiga Woman Representative, Beatrice Adagala, aimed a vulgar Luhya…