A vocal CORD MP in a spat with renowned blogger, Robert Alai, has asserted that the outspoken blogger deserves to die, and not just die but be put down like a vicious dog he is because of his verbal diarrhoea.

Nominated MP Isaac Mwaura

The nominated MP, Isaac Mwaura, in a text message he sent to Alai, said that Robert Alai deserves to die because of what he termed as his malicious attacks and vendetta against him, amongst them, Alai’s assertion that Mwaura was the one behind the ODM chaotic nominations that culminated to the calling off of ODM elections in February this year.

Blogger Robert Alai

Mwaura spoke a day after renowned Human Rights activist, Dr David Matsanga and TNA insider, Moses Kuria, were allegedly caught red handed planning how to kill Robert Alai for being a critic of the Jubilee Government.

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23:56

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o has been named the new face of French cosmetics giant Lancome.

 

Oscar Winner Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o

The Kenyan star, who shot to fame in the film 12 Years a Slave, is Lancome's first black ambassador.
It is the 31-year-old's first major endorsement, and she joins Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, and Penelope Cruz as promoters of the brand.

Lancome advertisements featuring Lupita are due start appearing this summer. 

'Unique vision'

The actress said in a statement released by the French company: "I am truly honoured to join the Maison Lancôme, a brand with such a prestigious history that I have always loved. 

"I am particularly proud to represent its unique vision for women and the idea that beauty should not be dictated, but should instead be an expression of a woman's freedom to be herself." 

She received an Academy Award this year in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Patsey in the Steve McQueen-directed film.

She is the fourth Academy Award-winning Lancome ambassador.

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02:35

Officers overlook six pipe-bombs, guns, detonators, ammunition in Somali suspected terror plotter’s Toyota four-wheel-drive 

Kenyan Defence Forces inside Somalia in 'Operation Linda Nchi'

 Kenyan police failed to realize that a car that they impounded from a Somali man and stored outside their anti-terror unit offices for a week was packed full of explosives already attached to a Nokia detonator. 

The blue Toyota four-wheel-drive was only thoroughly checked when foreign counter-terror officers believed to be from the FBI saw the vehicle and recognized it was on an international alert list.

Six separate pipe bombs made up of a total of 130lb of plastic explosive were welded into the vehicle’s rear seats, enough to collapse a multi-storey building, according to Kenyan police.

An AK-47, 250 rounds of ammunition, detonators and grenades were also found when a full search was eventually carried out and completed on Tuesday. 

The vehicle was impounded in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on March 11, and the driver, a Somali, and his passenger, a Kenyan of Somali origin, were arrested and charged with illegally importing a vehicle. 

Fresh charges linked to international terrorism will now be drawn up, prosecutors in Mombasa said.
Security sources in the city said initial investigations suggested one of the men had called telephone numbers also contacted by suspected terrorists linked to Kenya’s Westgate attack in September, but this could not be confirmed. 

“This is a continuous investigation process and it is not correct to give details before everything is known,” Robert Kitur, Mombasa police chief told the media.
The amount of explosives were enough to cause “mass destruction”, but the potential target was not yet known, another senior official, Nelson Marwa, Mombasa county commissioner, said.
The vehicle was a collection of parts from different cars, he added. 

"It is a Toyota ... the chassis does not belong to that vehicle, the engine does not belong to that vehicle, the number plate does not belong to that vehicle," Mr Marwa said.
Islamic extremists in Somalia have vowed to continue attacks on Kenya, following the Westgate siege in September, when 67 civilians died after four gunmen took over the upscale mall in the capital, Nairobi. 

They were sent by al-Shabaab, Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked militia, which on Monday carried out a suicide bombing of a hotel in southern Somalia where African Union soldiers had gathered. Eight were killed. 

Separately, Uganda’s intelligence services have warned that al-Shabaab cells may be planning to hijack petrol transport lorries and use them as improvised truck bombs.

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02:18

Kenyan soldiers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) during their patrol in Kismayu, Somalia in this file picture. Somali government forces backed by African Union troops captured a sixth settlement in the latest advance in their renewed offensive against Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab fighters, a spokesman said Friday.

Somali government forces backed by African Union troops captured a sixth settlement in the latest advance in their renewed offensive against Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab fighters, a spokesman said Friday.

Shabaab gunmen are reported to have fled ahead of the assault on Thursday on the small town of Buloburte, in the southern Hiran region bordering Ethiopia, Ali Houmed said, spokesman of the African Union’s Amisom force.

“There was some fighting at the entrance to the town as the Shabaab tried to ambush and attack our forces, but they did not last long,” Houmed told AFP.

“Their forces disappeared as we advanced to secure the town,” he added.

Hiran deputy governor for security, Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, said: “The fanatical militants fled Buloburte town as Amisom and Somali National Army forces approached late in the afternoon.”

Fixed positions
“They have gone to the hills and bushes around Shabelle River that passes through the district,” he added.

Hardline Shabaab insurgents once controlled most of southern and central Somalia but withdrew from fixed positions in Mogadishu two years ago.

However, guerrilla units stage regular deadly attacks in the capital Mogadishu, and claimed responsibility for last year’s deadly attack in neighbouring Kenya, when commandos stormed the upmarket Westgate mall, shooting shoppers and hurling grenades.

Government and AU troops have also come under repeated hit-and-run attacks in rural areas surrounding the settlements they capture.

Amisom chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif boasted that the capture of Buloburte was “a major victory”, in a statement released late Thursday, calling the dusty settlement a “supply nerve centre” for the Shabaab.

After a series of sweeping victories in 2012, Amisom had remained largely static, hampered by limited troops and air power to advance again.

But the UN-mandated force launched a new offensive earlier this month against the Islamist fighters, after Ethiopian soldiers joined to push troop numbers to some 22,000.

The UN reports that thousands of civilians are fleeing expected fighting, warning that the offensive is expected to “directly affect scores of districts and regions” where some three million people live.

Reports say Al-Shabaab loyalists fleeing towns and villages are urging civilians to leave or be considered supporters of the approaching pro-government forces.

The Somali Government’s regional officials condemned Al-Shabaab tactics of inculcating fear in the civilians.

“We call upon the innocent civilians who were misled by the Islamists to return. It is safe for all peace-loving people to live here,” said the deputy governor.

“Humanitarian access due to the volatile security situation remains a major challenge,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

UN envoy to Somalia Nicholas Kay this week told the Security Council the offensive would be “the most significant and geographically extensive military advance” since Amisom started operations in 2007.

Targeted key areas 
But Kay also warned the security situation in the capital Mogadishu had “deteriorated” in the last three months.

Recent Shabaab attacks in the capital have targeted key areas of government or the security forces, in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities that they are winning the war against them.

“Times are tough, and in the short term, may get tougher,” Kay warned. (AFP)
Last month, a huge car bomb exploded at the gate of Somalia’s presidential palace in Mogadishu.

At least two senior officials and nine attackers are said to have died during the attack, which Al-Shabaab claimed to have carried out.

The heavily-guarded complex is home to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the prime minister, speaker of parliament and some ministers.

Credit: AFP and Abdulkadir Khalif

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23:43

The International Criminal Court at the Hague, Netherlands, has issued thinly veiled threats to topple the Jubilee government headed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto who are both facing charges before implausible court.

Convicted Congolese warlord Germain Katanga

The Hague based court issued its direct threat through the court prosecutor, maritime lawyer, Fatou Bensouda who said that the country leaders should learn from the conviction of Congolese warlord Germain Katanga. General Katanga has been facing charges of being an accessory in the ethnic cleansing of a diamond-rich village in Congo in 2003 where more than 200 people died. Congo is notorious for blood diamonds where diamond buyers pay rebels to cause public unrest and create a buffer zone. A small team on behalf of the diamond buyers mines the precious rock and then sell diamonds to the diamond buyers for pennies on the dollar. Germain Katanga's case drew to a close with the court reporting that the ICC judges had convicted him. Ironically, the western powers and multinationals that finance and sponsor these heinous acts to be perpetrated are never convicted.

ICC Prosecutor, Maritime Lawyer Fatou Bensouda

The two leaders who are accused of orchestrating the 2007 post election violence were overwhelmingly voted for by the Kenyan electorate winning by 50.07% of the votes cast and thereby attaining the 50% plus one threshold required to win the elections in the first round. Prior to this, the court had done all it could to bar the duo from running in the elections including media monitoring to gather evidence against them. However, finding rich media content relevant to the case has not been easy for the court.

Professor Makau Mutua

President Kenyatta and his running mate William Ruto were elected on a reform platform where they promised a digital government. Through this digital marketing, they promised to institute cloud infrastructure with a data center management system complete with a computer tech support team. This was to increase government transparency as well as help root out corruption and government bureaucracy and inaccessibility.

The second threat from the court came indirectly via its mole the Dean of the University at Buffalo Law School Prof. Makau Mutua. Mutua, who is fairly unpopular in Kenya, issued the threat by referring to the current public unrest in Ukraine. The inference by the human rights lawyer and activist is seen as a direct gesture to call for civil unrest in Kenya to topple the government.

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22:59

Prior to the Sochi Winter Games in Russia, there was a global uproar mainly from the western world directed to Russia due to its draconian laws and views on homosexuality. Fast forward and shift from the massive Eurasian subcontinent to Africa and to Uganda specifically. President Yoweri Museveni was under intense pressure from western powers not to assent the anti-gay bill into law. However, he went ahead and signed the bill into law and face a global backlash with US president Barack  Obama terming it morally wrong and said that it “will be a step backward for all Ugandans.”

Ugandan Strongman Yoweri Museveni

Already, homosexuality is illegal in 83 countries in the world, Kenya included. That is, half the world. Could half the world be blind? Is being a homosexual an acquired trait or an inborne permanent condition and requires special recognition? Proponents will argue for that view while opponents will think otherwise.

As it has been pointed out and again, if homosexuality is a human right, so should sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies such as being a kleptomaniac, a murderer or a rapist and even stealing. Thieves or rapist should argue that they did not acquire their habits but rather were born so. With more than half the world adhering to one of the three Abrahamic religions namely Christianity, Islam and Judaism, the opponents pose that if God plainly and blatantly condemns homosexuality as the worst transgression against him, then how can we claim a right to an evil, sin and crime?

Countries around the Globe with Anti-homosexuality Laws (in black)

Prior to scramble and partioning of Africa, homosexuality was virtually unheard of. Few areas that experienced cases of such, were mainly areas within the coastal strips that were international trade routes. Hence, when a person claims to have been born gay, how came in our forefathers' generations and their forefathers there were no people born gay? Or has there been a genetic mutation leading to people being born gay then and not now?

In my own opinion, there are no simple answers to the topic. Both sides have valid points and just like the case of which religion is better than the other or which is the correct one, it is a debate that cannot and will not end. It is a back and forth rocking. One thing though, Africa has never put the western world under duress to accept a culture that is deeply entrenched on the continent, like circumcision. Thus, it is my feeling that they should not interfere with how Africa wants to go about its cultural practices.

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04:42

We can authoritatively confirm that CORD Leader and last general elections presidential run up Raila Amolo Odinga is weighing up his political options for 2017 elections. Raila, outspoken leader, was born in 1945, and whose father is former freedom fighter and Preseident Jomo Kenyatta's -President Uhuru's father- confidant and one time vice-president, later foe Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

Veteran Luo Nyanza political Kingpin Raila Odinga

Already a veteran politician, Raila will be 72 by the next elections and fears are that he may not be in a position to replicate the vibrant and dynamic energy the Kenyan populace is already accustomed to from the current youthful president and its deputy. And with the young elite politicians with CORD affiliate parties already gang up to spearhead  young Turks revolution, Raila Odinga is said to be considering retiring from active politics altogether while his star is still shining bright rather than lose and get kicked out of the political arena by the young Turks. Another factor that has really influenced his consideration is the path taken by his long time ally and key advisor, scholar Prof. Peter Anyang Nyong'o, father to Oscar Academy winner Lupita Nyong'o. Prof. Nyong'o has decided to take a back seat in politics and concentrate on his family affairs, having been in public service for decades, especially now that his daughter is a big Hollywood star and would probably be in dire need of her father's guidance.

As to what the enigmatic leader who is hated and loved in equal measure decides to do, is everyone's guess, given his unpredictable political decisions and turn-arounds; but he will most probably fade off from the political arena sooner than later.

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21:53

The ICC Bulding at the Hague Netherlands

The International Criminal Court at the Hague is set to ditch one of the cases at the court. At the moment, three Kenyans are facing charges at the court namely President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang.

The three cases have been hit by major technical hitches as well as witnesses withdrawal as the court tries to build cases against the three on flimsy grounds.The court, in cohort with some western powers, have been in the last 6 years trying to fabricate a case against the three, primarily targeting President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto so as to bar them from office and have leaders of their choice take their place.

Charismatic & Dynamic Duo of President Uhuru and Deputy Ruto

But now it seems all their effforts have been in futility as the ICC is finally set to cave in and announce that it has neither grounds or enough evidence to prosecute the charges leveled against President Uhuru Kenyatta. That of his co-accused and his Deputy President William Ruto is also set to cramble within the course of the year and thrown out.

ICC-charged Radio Presenter Joshua arap Sang

Mr. Sang's case may continue to judgement but with the evidence presented, it is said he will walk free too. For the three, and particularly the popular duo of President Uhuru and his Deputy William Ruto, they will feel this is justice served. And so will many Kenyans who feel that the wrong people were charged while the real culprits hid in the shadows, protected by some western powers through NGOs.

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05:56

Eliud Owalo, who quit as CORD Campaign Manager and Aide to Raila

In the wake of the aborted ODM party elections, woes seem to pile up on the CORD leader as his PA and Election Manager Eliud Owalo quit the coalition. This is on the back of his coalition co-principle and his 4th March running mate being snubbed by his party MPs, Senators and Governors when he convened a WIPER meeting in Nakuru. Only three people attended other than Mr. Musyoka, all the others choosing to avoid him.

Cracks within the party seem to be widening as coast region politicians Mishi Juma and Aisha Karisa vowed to quit the coalition. Johnstone Muthama, Senator Machakos has also made similar remarks. The Ababu Namwamba faction in the party is said to be Jubilee leaning too.

Eliud Owalo cited persistent unwarranted attacks from Jakoyo Midiwo as his reason to withdraw his services from CORD and its leadership with immediately. He accused Jakoyo and his ilk of harassing him in pursuant to of their desire to have unlimited and unfettered political support around Raila.

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03:35

Former TPF contestant K-Denk from Southern Sudan has taken up arms and joined up with rebels who want to overthrow the Juba government of Salva Kiir. It is not yet known what prompted the youthful talented artist to drop the mic and pick up the arms or his exact location in the sporadic nation.

Artist-turned-rebel K-Denk

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02:19

Economic hitman are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other foreign aid organizantions into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources.

Usually, they influence their targets through bribery, this is option one. If this fails, they use threats, blackmail and coercion and if this fails, they opt for the third and penultimate choice, send the jackals and initiate regime change that can result in the overthrow of the government or coup de etat, or as it was in 2011, uprising like the Arab Spring that swept across North Africa and Middle East, taking down governments along with it. And currently, what is happening in Ukraine.

In Kenya, the economic hitman has been around for a long term, compromising the economy and draining the national coffers leaving the economy to its knews. However, with the incorruptible president coming to power in 2003, the tide began to change and the hitman had less power each dawning day. In 2007, he tried instituting a puppet government in order to consolidate his power base, but failed flat! The only leeway for him to ensure he carries out his mission in subsequent elections was to ensure that the people had only one choice to choose from in the ballot, his puppet. Therefore, in the next five years, the economic hit man would burn the midnight oil, doing all he could to ensure that the opponents of his puppets would stand no chance. This included, in the words of Moreno Ocampo, immediate former ICC Prosecutor, fixing people deemed a  threat to the election of their puppet by charging them with committing atrocities and crimes against humanity.

When this seemed elusive, threatening the Kenyan populace with thinly veiled remarks such as 'choices have consequences' became the main agenda. But this proved to be futile kicks of a dying horse as their puppet was overrun by the popular choice. The economic hitman could not even sneak his puppet through a constitutional coup de etat through an election appeal. 

But he is back, ready to send the jackals. The jackals are usually local and foreign mercenaries. The local mercenaries are used to cause disharmony and instability within the government. They are paid to make noise and water down a government's popularity. While the government is busy putting its house in order, the foreign mercenaries, usually clandestine special ops units constituted by agents from intelligence agencies such as CIA, strike and overthrow the government. Two rogue mercenaries with ties to CIA are already in Nairobi, having relocated from their base in a notorious Latin America base and are living in a middle class estate, engaging in charity work with local NGOs in nearby slums in order to keep their cover. From Asia to Africa to Latin America, the economic hitman has struck again and again. Close home, he has strike twice in Zaire, now Congo DR in a span of 15 years.

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01:27

A Jubilee government insider has at last revealed their moles in their bitter rivals camp, CORD. Whether the revelation was intentional or erroneous, is yet to be determined.

The said moles are claimed to be the ones responsible for disrupting the ODM elections in Kasarani and the group is said to be made up of well educated young elite politicians in ODM, a party whose patron is Raila Odinga who ran for presidency in 2007 and lost to his bitter rival and perennial nemesis retired President Mwai Kibaki. ODM is one of the main partners in the CORD Coalition, the other being Kalonzo Musyoka's Wiper Party, formerly ODM-K.

It is claimed that a host of leaders elected on CORD ticket in the 4th March election are leaning towards Jubilee. The list includes Nairobi Governor, Dr. Evans Kidero, who being the governor of the capital city is considered to be the most powerful of all governors. Interestingly, Dr. Kidero was conspicuously absent from the ODM elections at Kasarani, feigning unavailability due to a tight schedule.Bitter Jubilee critic and CORD's Ukambani political luminary, Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, is also said to be warming up to Jubilee and is set to ditch CORD soon. His CORD compatriot and fellow Machakos politician and governor, Dr. Alfred Mutua is said to be a Jubilee sympathiser and politically works very closely with Jubilee than he does CORD or Wiper. Mombasa Governor, another of the strong governors, Ali Hassan Joho is also said to be Jubilee-allied.

The revelation of the by the Jubilee insider was done through social media outlet Facebook, where he posted the names of the said moles, who are believed to be leaders of a wider group within CORD that is allied to Jubilee government. The said Facebook posting of the insider is below:

"In a Jubilee dominated Bunge, there are only two CORD chairmen of committees. One is Adan Keynan. The other is Tawfiq Ababu Namwamba. Vijana wetu. Kazi safi."

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02:52

Mexican-born Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o has scoopped the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie 12 Years A Slave in the 86th annual Academy Awards. Lupita Nyong'o hit the Oscar red carpet in a custom Prada goddess look of ice-blue silk georgette gown with a deep V-neck top and low cut sides. The colour was immediately described by multiple broadcasting houses as 'Nairobi Blue' after the  Lupita herself said, " It's a blue that reminds me of Nairobi, and so I wanted to have a little bit of home. #Nairobiblue instantly started trending on twitter worldwide in recognition of the charismatic and media-loved actress.

Lupita Nyong'o on the Red Carpet in the now famous 'Nairobi Blue' custom Prada dress

Lupita stars in the movie 12 Years A Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, as Patsey, her first film acting role. Her most memorable scene was the one in which she receives a lashing for wanting to wash with soap. To scoop the award, Lupita, who was born in Mexico and brought up in Kenya, had to floor a field of reputed actresses including Jeniffer Lawrence for American Hustle, Julia Roberts for August:Osage County, June Squibb for Nebraska and Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine.

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20:51

A youthful Obama visiting his paternal relatives in Kenya.

Barrack Obama is a name synonymous with the politics world. The reason being he is the 44th and the current president of the United States of America. Already in the public domain, Obama is known to have heritage roots in Africa, Kenya in particular, Indonesia, Ireland and the USA. Per his official bio, Obama was born on 4th August 1961 in Honolulu Hawaii to Barrack Obama Sr, a Kenyan Luo from Nyangoma, Nyanza Province; who was studying in the USA as a beneficiary of JFK airlifts, a scholarship program for bright African kids locally organized by Trade Unionist the late Tom Mboya; and Stanley Ann Dunham, a white lady of Irish ancestry from Wichita, Kansas. His biological were to later separate with his father returning to Kenya and his mother re-marrying an Indonesian man Lolo Soetoro and relocating to Indonesia. His father, despite being an acclaimed economist, brilliant scholar and academic, literally drank himself to death.

Obama Sr. , President Obama's father

Some claims have been made that Obama was not born in the USA, with Kenya the most touted place of his birth. However, at the time of his birth, Kenya was still a British colony and segregated, as such, his relationship with a white woman would have faced a lot of unnecessary scrutiny. For this reason, it is highly unlikely that Obama Sr would have opted to bring his wife to Kenya.

Though a number of discrepancies in the Obama's story do exist,like his enrollment in university as an international student, after a thorough research I could only conclude one thing, Barrack Obama is an American, born in an American Protectorate, by then, born to a mother of Irish-English roots.

As to his father, though the relationship and marriage, and later divorce, between Ann Dunham and Barrack Obama is not in dispute, whispers are rife amongst mates and close friends to Obama Sr as to the nature of his relationship with Ann Dunham.

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04:49