Kenyan man accused of rape by his wife in UK

A Kenyan man in UK has been reported to the police for marriage rape by the wife. He was stopped while he was about to bound a Kenya Airways flight to Kenya.

The wife has now left the husband and living away with their 2 children. The wife came to the UK to join the husband a few years ago and they have been living peacefully with children until recently.

The most strange thing about this case is that the rape alleged committed in September this year and it only last week that the incident was reported in an attempt to block the man from going to Kenya. The husband’s passport has been held by police until the case is over.

The consequences of the conviction for sexual related offences is that the convicted person’s name might be put on sex offender’s register for life.

Source- misterseed

Pimps, Cottages in Child Sex Deals in Malindi

The limousine sped down the crowded street in a breath-taking speed, missing a motorcyclist by a whisker.

The driver, a bulky young man, rolled down his tinted car window and wagged a finger at the bewildered motorcyclist.

It turned left into the Malindi-Lamu Road before branching off a murram street cutting through a row of fortified cottages that give Malindi its glamour.

The driver hooted once and the gates to one of the makuti-thatched cottages swung open.

The driver, who we later learnt is a seasoned pimp, had just delivered two teenage girls to one of his clients.

Residents, who know him, said he is a key figure in Malindi’s intricate but flourishing child prostitution ring in which girls as young as 13 years are lured into sex slavery and ponography filming orgies.

We followed and later witnessed him delivering another young girl to an elderly tourist at a local beach.

Barely an hour after the introduction, the pair went intimate, kissing and cuckolding on the sandy sea front.

In an undercover operation in the tourism-famed seaside town, The Underworld last week came face to face with the sex merchants of Malindi who have ruined the future of many young girls.

They lure them with money and promises of good life but later abandon them – penniless, abused and even sick.

Some have been tricked into travelling abroad for lucrative jobs only to end up in brothels. Others have even died in the hands of their abusers.

With the festive season beckoning, Malindi is abuzz as tourists flock in droves.

Among them are genuine tourists coming with their families. But there are those on sex tourism while others are on pornography documentary assignments.

As tourists fly into Malindi, Kenyan women, young and old, are also taking positions across the town in spirited bid to share the tourism cash.

Just like Mombasa, Malindi, hosts thousands of child sex workers, making it a haven for elderly rich men looking for young partners.

Brothels, some passing as ordinary residential houses dot the town, now jokingly referred as Kenya’s sex tourism capital.

Robert Masha, a shopkeeper, showed us one of the brothels supplying young girls to the tourists.

Located on a filthy backstreet, the single story house had been occupied by a middle-aged woman whom we learnt had moved out the previous day.

Neighbours said she had been living with four young girls whom she claimed were her sisters.

“We only discovered it was a brothel the other day. She left in a hurry after we confronted her,” said a neighbour who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Investigations revealed that the brothel owners work with a group of pimps who supply the girls to tourists.

“You will never see the tourists. They wait in their cottages while young men search for the girls. Running brothels have become a big business in Malindi,” said Joshua Fondo, a civil society activist.

Most of the young sex workers come from as far Kisii, Migori, Muranga and Vihiga. There are victims of poverty, broken families or just peer pressure.

Some of the girls attach themselves to brothels while others jointly rent small rooms from where they run their trade.

Betty Jumwa, an elder at Gogoda village within Malindi town location told The Underworld of how she recently rescued five girls who were being held in a brothel.

“I stormed the brothel and arrested the woman who had been forcing young girls, including her daughters, to have sex with old men,” said Jumwa.

She added: “The women charged Sh300 per girl for locals, and it’s apparent the pimps later sold the girls to tourists at a higher fee. The woman is now in prison.”

Jumwa said two of the rescued girls aged 13 and 14 later tested HIV positive.

Some of the girls interviewed said they find themselves trapped in a web of sex trade after being lured by agents who promise those jobs in salons and hotels.

They endure dehumanising sexual activities, including sodomy, group sex, drugging and assaults.

Further investigations revealed that some parents encouraged child prostitution by entrusting their children with tourists little known to them with the hope of monetary rewards.

Some ‘philanthropist’ tourists take up needy girls and promise to pay their school fees only to turn against them.

“We have a case where a tourist eloped with a young girl he has been sponsoring in a local school. He asked the parents to allow her accompany him to the beach. She never returned and we hear she is now working as a prostitute in Germany,” said Florence Motanga Chizwe of Kawia Ufike women group that rehabilitates victims of sexual abuse.

Chizwe said some beach operators were also involved in sexual abuse against young girls.

“My group is taking care of three young girls impregnated by beach boys. They use the money they get from the tourists to lure the girls out of school,” she said.

But the abuse is not confined to girls, young boys have been sodomized and forced to take drugs. Ronny Mwalamu, a child right activist said although tourism was to blame for the rising child sex prostitution, the buck stops with the parents, some of whom she says willingly sold their children to strangers.

Just last week, a 56-year-old German tourist was accused of having sex with the 13-year-old minor at a hotel in Mombasa.

He, however, defended himself, saying she had taken the girl to his hotel room to give her school fees. Observers said this was a common trick used by wayward tourists.

Most culprits escape the law because they prefer secluded and fortified cottages.

Attempts to access one of the cottages hit a dead end when a shark-faced guard stopped us about 10 metres from the gate.

“No entry here. This is private property,” he said above the din of barking dogs.

Source: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/columnists/InsidePage.php?id=2000047500&cid=658&

Drugs Disappear From JKIA

A drug consignment with a street value of Sh100 million has mysteriously vanished from the Kenya Airways storeroom. The shipment of Ephedrine Hydrochloride weighing 100 kg was imported by a Kenyan pharmaceutical company from Bangkok on November 18 and reported missing on November 21 when the owners came to collect it under armed guard.

The pharmaceutical company went to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to collect the consignment only to discover that the high-security store was empty. Police are investigating how the Ephedrine could have been stolen from the Kenya Airways vaults.

Airport CID boss Joseph Ngisa confirmed that they are investigating the theft of the drugs that are used in manufacture of prescription medicines. Ephedrine Hydrochloride is commonly used in cough medicine and nasal decongestants as it is a “bronchodilator” that helps breathing.

However, there is a large black market for Ephedrine because it is also a powerful stimulant, similar to amphetamines, that improves concentration and wakefulness. It is also used by some professional athletes and weightlifters to shed excess weight.

Dual cariageway to be built on Southern bypass

Kenyan cousins aim to improve life for villagers who helped them get to MSU

Julius Kuya (left) and Dominic Nangea are from Kenya and are freshmen at Michigan State University. With help from Nangea's uncle and the people of the village of Enoosaen, the cousins are attending MSU with the hopes they will return home and make life better there. / Greg Deruiter/Lansing State Journal

On a morning when Dominic Nangea was 7 years old and walking to school alone through a tangle of forest, he found his path blocked by the thick spotted trunk of a python.

The head and tail of the snake were hidden in the underbrush. That Nangea was looking at the midsection of a creature that could swallow a goat horns to hooves was not immediately clear. He stepped forward for a closer look.

“I had to run back, and, I tell you, I did not go to school for a month because of that,” Nangea said. But he would not admit to his parents — cattle herders who could neither read nor write — that fear of a snake was keeping him away from school.

“If you say that at home, you’d be told, ‘OK, fine. Go and herd cows if you think that is good,’ ” Nangea said.

Letter from Kenya: the servant problem

Outside the expat garden walls ... residents in the usual conditions of Nairobi's Mukuru-kwa-Njenga slum. Photograph: Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images

One of the perks of living in a developing country on an international salary is that you have staff at home. What would be unaffordable back home is within reach. It takes time to get used to the invasion of privacy, but you end up living a comfortable, if public, life. Few things go beyond the notice of the full-time, live-in nannies and housekeepers. The trade-off is worth it. Houses are spotless, gardens are large and tended, children are happy. The Rolls Royce standard, my dad said.

Hiring people informally is not without its responsibilities. While the concept of a living wage has yet to reach Kenya, expatriates from Europe cannot say we haven’t heard of it. What does it mean in the Kenyan context? How far are you prepared to take it? How many lives can you become responsible for? Most people with jobs are depended on by a brood of children, adoptees, siblings, parents and grandchildren.

What is living in a city where poverty is absolute? Is residing in a tin-roofed shack with no running water and electricity living? Is being forced to defecate in a plastic bag living? Is spending over 50% of your income on food living? Most of the hired help flocks from filthy slums to work in our posh houses.

Those who live with us, in the staff quarters in the garden, keep their families up-country, or in the same slums. Jobs in expat homes are sought after, providing free accommodation, a better income than many, and often school fees and other perks. Paying double and triple what many (wealthy) Kenyans might offer, you might begin to feel pretty good. Yet the difficult questions don’t go away. Should people be content with the material basics? A tin roof, dark evenings, shared latrines,  “clinics” full of counterfeit drugs and the “free” education that has 60 tattered kids per ramshackle classroom.

With time you can’t ignore the brutal truths. Your long-serving, lovely ayah (nanny) couldn’t afford decent schools. Her husband died of a preventable disease. Her children grew up without her and have no expectations. Her nephew’s polio meant he missed out on school. Had you understood earlier, would you have done something?  For the first couple of years here, I didn’t even know what questions to ask. Now I feel ashamed, but how could I have known? This level of inequality is another world.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/29/kenya-expatriates-poverty

Kibaki & Uhuru: "It wasn't me"

Sudan Expels Kenyan Ambassador Over Bashir Warrant

Sudan has expelled Kenya’s ambassador after Kenya’s High Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The Kenyan court ruled Monday that the country’s government must arrest Mr. Bashir “should he ever set foot in Kenya.” Mr. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.

Human rights groups had criticized Kenya for failing to arrest Mr. Bashir when he attended a ceremony in Nairobi for Kenya’s new constitution in August 2010.

A Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman said Monday the government in Khartoum has ordered the Kenyan ambassador to leave the country within 72 hours. He said Sudan has also summoned its own ambassador from Nairobi.

Sudan’s foreign ministry had earlier said the court ruling was linked to Kenya’s domestic politics and would not affect bilateral relations.

Woman’s Burial Blocked Over Dowry Delay

Family members of a deceased woman were, at the weekend, engaged in a tussle with her husband’s family at her funeral in Embu. They barred her husband’s family from burying her until dowry was paid in full. The family of the late Jackline Wanja stopped her burial at Njukiri village in Embu West district. They arrived at the funeral at 1pm and found that burial was already in progress.

Immediately after their arrival they threatened their in-laws that dire consequences would ensue if the burial went on before her husband paid dowry in full.

According to Embu traditions a woman is not supposed to be buried in her husband’s or father- in-law’s land if dowry has not been fully paid. As the two families conflicted, mourners were forced to flee the home. The situation was only saved by an armed administration police officer who arbitrated between the two families.

It was not established whether dowry was later paid or not. Sources at the funeral said the family of the deceased, who allegedly collapsed and died a week ago, had avoided the burial arrangements. They had vowed not to allow her husband’s family to bury her remains unless he cleared payment of dowry. But the man’s family had not acceded to their demands by the time of her burial. This is when her family decided to act tough by preventing their in-laws from burying her.

Source: NAIROBI STAR

Kenyans in the US to set up YouTube Show

A group of Kenyans living in the US have taken to a popular video sharing website to do a show targeting their countrymen in the Diaspora. The 10 Minute Fix does a weekly dose of shows, which are garnering thousands of views on YouTube. Though the show has no commercial sponsor, its backers in the Californian city of San Francisco believe it is worth their time and will eventually pay off. NTV’s Larry Madowo spoke to them last month.

Furious Embu Wife Strips Student Naked

A college student in Embu district was stripped naked and beaten up by a wife of a lecturer at the institution for allegedly having a sexual relationship with her husband. Reliable eye witnesses said the irate lecturer’s wife found the female student at Manyatta market where she had gone for some personal business.

The lecturer’s wife allegedly pounced on her with kicks and punches demanding to know why she was trying to break her marriage. The witnesses said the lecturer’s wife blamed the student of having sexual affairs with her husband vowing that she will never permit it to continue.

The woman had allegedly been looking for the student for a long time. She said that she was gratified that she had got hold of her finally. “This is my time to teach you a lesson for snatching other women’s husbands. Why cant’ you look for your own instead of breaking people’s marriages,” the woman was reported to have scolded the student.

The witnesses said the woman beat up the student and at the same time tore her garments leaving her naked.The beating was so severe that the student fled for her dear life while nude. The woman in hot pursuit tried to catch her but the student was faster than her and managed to flee. The witnesses said the student did not report the matter to the police and just remained quiet nursing her injuries.

Source: NAIROBI STAR

Death and Funeral Announcement-Joseph Walter Makokha

The Late Joseph Makokha-1983-2011

We regret to announce the death of Joseph Walter Makokha (1983-2011) after a short illness at Baylor medical center in Irving on Friday the 25^th at 6pm.

He was husband to Janne Makokha, father to Luke Makokha. Friends and family are meeting at 6pm at his home at 4507 W Pioneer dr apt 913, Irving TX. The gate code 1313#.

A fundraiser will be held on Dec 10^th at 3144 Spyglass Dr Grand Prairie TX 75052 to help in transporting the remains of Joseph back to Kenya where we will be laid to rest.

For information please contact:

Patrick Kaburu Aka Mwas:     972-697-7049

Naomi Kaburu:                       469-733-5478

Gladys                                     214-524-8355

Che Guevara                           325-480-6387

The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, and blessed be the Name of the Lord.

May the Lord God rest hir soul in eternal peace and may He continue to bless those left behind.

AMEN

Bank of America
Account name: Patrick Kaburu
Account #: 488034325302
Routing #: 111000025

James Atebe, a Kenyan Native and Mayor of Mission, Canada Loses Re-Election Bid

James Atebe, the current mayor of Mission, British Columbia, Canada, and the first Kenyan native to be elected mayor in Canada, has been defeated in a re-election bid. In elections held last week, Atebe received 2,456 votes, with the winner receiving 3,728 votes.

Atebe is a native of North Mugirango, Kenya. He immigrated to Canada in 1979 and served as mayor of Mission for two terms (2005-2008 and 2008-2011). Prior to that, he served as a member of the city council for 6 years.

He studied at the University of Calgary, where he was a roommate of Steve Harper, the current Canadian Prime Minister.

Source-Mwakilishi

Kenyans in Diaspora may miss out 2012 poll

Thousands of Kenyans living abroad may be locked out of the 2012 general elections due to the slow implementation of provisions dealing with dual citizenship, a leading Kenyan US based lawyer has said.

Immigration lawyer, Regina Njogu of Washington, DC who has been working closely with the Task Force on Citizenship and Related Provisions now fears if the Task Force does not fast track dual citizenship acquisition, at least 1.5 million Kenyans will not vote. 

Those to be affected are Kenyans who lost their citizenship after they acquired the citizenship of other countries.
Under the new Constitution, such Kenyans can only regain their Kenyan citizenship by applying. 

Immigration lawyer Regina Njogu of Washington, DC [PHOTO: CHRIS WAMALWA/STANDARD]

Section 14(5) of the constitution and Part III article 10 in the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act of 2011 require that Kenyans who lost their citizenship must apply to regain it and become dual citizens. 

The Task Force on Citizenship and Related provisions, which falls under the Ministry of Immigration is mandated with setting the procedures and fees for the application process. 

"The Task Force is moving at a slow pace and it is not known whether the application process will be set early enough to allow all those Kenyans that want to regain their Kenyan citizenship apply in time to register to vote," she said.

Njogu said that continued delay would cause logistical problems since the adjudicating body -The Cabinet Secretary- charged with the responsibility of processing applications will be swamped with applications that they will have to go through within a short period.
"Given that those applying to regain citizenship are based abroad and the applications will be adjudicated in Kenya, that will obviously contribute to delays in receiving and sending back approvals," she said. 

Most of those Kenyans that will be affected are based in the US, Canada and Western Europe, regions where large populations of Kenyans have emigrated to and settled, even acquiring citizenships of their host countries.
This revelation comes at a time when the electoral commission (IELB) team led by its chairman Ahmed Hassan is set visit the US.

The team will be in the US between December 4 and 14 this year to educate Kenyans on elections law and process.
The next step will be voter registration of those eligible to vote across the Diaspora. 

At the time of voter registration, those that will not have applied to regain their lost Kenyan citizenship or those whose applications will not have been approved will not be able to register as voters. 

Voter registration is expected to begin in the Diaspora in the next few months. †
Kenyans living in the US interviewed by The Standard said they feared missing out on the elections.

"If anybody including the government of Kenya tries to disenfranchise me, I’ll sue them in the High Court, the UN and even the ICC. We have fought for these rights so hard for long for anybody to joke around with them," said Khalid Rajab of Darby, Pennsylvania.

With an estimated population of 3.1 millions most of who are eligible voters, the Diaspora has become a new ground for vote hunting by presidential candidates.

 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000047435&cid=4&ttl=Kenyans

Kenyan woman sues US firm for civil rights abuse, discrimination

ATLANTA, Ga_A Kenyan woman is suing a US-based nursing firm for alleged civil rights violations by not allowing black nurses to care for white patients.
Mrs Christine Muchene, a nursing staffing agent, is among four women suing Accord Services, an Atlanta Company that hires nurses and nurse aides to work in private homes.

In the lawsuit, Muchene says the company employs a policy of discrimination in the hiring and placement of its home healthcare employees for the purpose of accommodating the illegal preferences of its clients.
The lawsuit further alleges that Accord "routinely declines to place nurses and nurse aides they describe as ‘too black’, ‘too foreign’ or ‘too old.’"
The four women jointly say the company administrators routinely ask about the race and age of applicants, giving preference to whites.
"We want the world to know that this unfortunate trend is alive here in this day and age," said Muchene.
The lawsuit, which is enjoying considerable media attention in the State of Georgia, alleges that those hired by the company were "subjected to offensive racial comments.
Muchene says whenever she enquired about vacant positions, administrators would openly say: "We can’t send a black person to that house," and "You know this client would not accept a black girl."
But Freddy Allen, an administrator at Accord, denies the allegations in the lawsuit and says his company would defend itself in court.
"I read the allegation and it’s completely false," Allen told journalists in Atlanta. "The allegations are coming from a few disgruntled employees who either resigned or we let go," he added. Allen told The Standard On Saturday that the company had multiple black nurses who have worked for the company for long.
Although the lawsuit calls for damages, Muchene says she is not keen on money. "My goal is to let them know they cannot treat people like this. You can’t discriminate against people, not today," she says.

 The Standard

East Africans loose millions in Japan car racket

Kenyans and other East Africans have lost millions to cartels in Japan purporting to be able to supply them with their dream cars at affordable prices. Courtesy of the Nation

By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiringi@ke.nationmedia.com, posted November 26, 2011

NAIROBI, Kenya_Kenyans and other East Africans have lost millions to cartels in Japan purporting to be able to supply them with their dream cars at affordable prices. At least 30 Kenyans have lost millions of shillings in the scandal involving bogus companies in Japan.
 Many more people from neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania have fallen victim to the scams, Saturday Nation investigations have revealed.
The conmen employ brilliant tricks to relieve those yearning to drive sleek, second-hand cars of their money.
Investigations by the Saturday Nation established that besides the 30 Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Ugandans and a Malawian have fallen victim to the fraudsters in less than two months.
Of these, 22 Kenyans, some of them senior civil servants and businessmen, lost Sh13 million in August and September alone after they were tricked by a company called Global Motors Incorporation, which promised to send them selected vehicles on payment of the necessary charges and shipment fees.
The company’s bosses promised to compile orders from Kenyan buyers and after receiving all the payments, they would send the vehicles on a ship that would set sail from Japan on September 30.
From the end of August to the promised date of departure, the fraudsters pressured the victims to make their payments before September 30, saying their vehicles would not be dispatched until all the required cash was wired.
A victim, Mr John Karume, said the “exporter” made a very convincing case that he was a genuine dealer who could send him a car he had identified on the company’s website.

An honest person
He duly sent Sh1.25 million on September 28, just two days before the deadline, expecting delivery of an immaculate Toyota Prado.
“I didn’t know I was sending the money to a man who wanted to reap where he had not sown,” Mr Karume, a businessman, said sadly.　
“But I am determined to fight to salvage even a part of my money,” he declared.
Mr Karume said he had no reason to think he was being conned as he has imported more than 10 vehicles in his lifetime in the same manner without any problems.
“I found the website of this company to be more appealing than any others I has seen before,” he said.
After identifying a vehicle of his liking, Mr Karume said he got in touch with a company official who identified himself as Mr Atsushi Watanabe, the managing director.
He said he sounded like an honest person who even offered a big discount of Sh162,000.
“After a short exchange of emails and telephone conversations, Mr Watanabe agreed to reduce the amount from Sh1.4 million to Sh1.25 million.
“I had no reason to think twice when the deal looked so good,” Mr Karume said.
He said Mr Watanabe persistently reminded him that the deadline for him to pay up so the car could be put on the next ship to Kenya was fast approaching.

Eager not to miss the ship’s September 30 departure date, Mr Karume made an electronic funds transfer on September 28.

He said after receiving the money, Mr Watanabe confirmed the departure of the ship and promised to keep his part of the bargain.

“I had heard the last of Mr Watanabe,” Mr Karume said. “His mobile phone was off and his website had been pulled down,” he said.

“Then I realised I had been duped,” said a shocked Mr Karume

Mr Karume’s story is similar to at least 10 other victims of the scandal that the Saturday Nation spoke to.

Mrs Betty Chege, a businesswoman, says she is going through a traumatising experience.

She still remains hopeful that one day she will trace Mr Watanabe and get her car or recover her money.

She is, however, getting impatient as efforts to recover the money or the car are taking too long to bear fruit.

Heart-wrenching story

“I hate to think that the money could be lost,” she said

Hers is an even more heart-wrenching story as she was eagerly anticipating the best ever Christmas present from her husband — a Toyota Wish worth Sh675,000.

“The best Christmas gift ever from my husband is turning out to be a nightmare,” she said.

She expected to receive the car early enough for use during the festive season.

Mrs Chege sent the money to Mr Watanabe on August 30, a month before the expected departure of the ship to Kenya.

When the victims learnt that the company’ telephone numbers and web contacts they had been using no longer existed, they quickly arranged meetings to try and find ways of tracking down the fraudsters.

Their first step was to report the matter to the Kenyan Foreign Affairs ministry, where they were promised the issue could be raised with the embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

They also reported the matter to the local office of Interpol.

On Thursday, local Interpol boss Mary Kaol said that vehicle importation cartels in the business of defrauding innocent people were mushrooming.

“Many people are falling victim,” she said.

“In fact, we are planning to involve the media in educating people on the tricks the conmen are using to steal from the public,” Ms Kaol said.

No longer in existence

The victims also sent a representative to Japan who confirmed that the company they were dealing with was, indeed, no longer in existence.

An attempt to get access to the company’s bank accounts failed after they were informed that this would amount to disclosing clients’ confidential information.

But they learnt that the company they were dealing with indeed had an account with the bank.

Senior project officer of the Japan External Trade Organisation Robert Kimani confirmed they were keenly following the case.

Mr Kimani advised vehicle importers to deal with companies that were members of the Japan Used Motor Vehicles Exporters Association.

“It is easy to find a company claiming to be based in Japan while its bank account is in China,” he warned.

The Japan External Trade Organisation was created to promote genuine trade and business with Japan.


Source: Nation

A Kenyan from Arlington,TX dies in road accident

Kevin Shiramba

An Arlington motorist died Sunday morning from injuries he suffered when his  car slammed into a tree on a Euless street after he apparently lost control of  the vehicle, Euless police said Sunday.

Authorities identified the victim as Kevin Shiramba, 24. He died at Texas  Health Harris Methodist H-E-B in Bedford shortly after the accident.

Euless police responded to the accident in the 1000 block of East Ash Lane in  Euless shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday. Investigators determined that a black Nissan  Sentra was eastbound on East Ash when the driver lost control of the car and hit  a tree in the center median.

Shiramba was the only person in the car at the time, Euless police said  Sunday.

Authorities say it appears that excessive speed, failing to wear a seat belt  and possibly alcohol contributed to the accident.

Kenya’s Mungiki gang: Huge, secretive and terrifying

A suspected member of the Mungiki criminal gang threatens a man at a food aid center in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, in January 2008, amid ethnic conflict that followed a disputed election. (Karel Prinsloo, Associated Press / January 10, 2008)

Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya—

Its name means “multitude,” and it may be the biggest and most dangerous gang in the world, a thuggish army terrorizing Kenya with extortion rackets and gruesome punishments.

Much about the organization called Mungiki is cloaked in myth and speculation, not least the estimate of sworn members — some say 100,000, others say millions. Those claiming to be defectors, however, say the gang relies on strict discipline and tolerates no dissent.

“If a member disobeys, they would cut that member’s head off and put the head in public view at the place where they had a problem with the member,” an alleged former member said in a statement to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court.

Kenya courts Silicon Valley as it aims to become Africa’s high-tech centre

A cybercafe in Nairobi. Kenya is aggressively marketing its potential as a global technology centre. File

San Francisco has been the leading tourist city in the US for the past few years in a row. But the Kenyan visitors to the Bay Area in early October were not interested in the breathtaking Golden Gate Bridge or Lombard Street, the world’s most crooked. They had their sights on Silicon Valley, the undisputed capital of America’s high-tech industry and home to such greats as Google, Facebook, HP and more recently Twitter.

It turns out that San Francisco’s tourism appeal and technology credentials are in fact closely related. What makes Silicon Valley so great? I asked Dan Kaplan, Product Marketing Manager at Twilio, one of the new startups dotting the valley. ‘The first thing is that it is a place that rich people want to live. People who make their money want to stay,” he told me, paraphrasing Y Combinator founder Paul Graham. “Secondly is that it has two top-notch world-class technical institutions, Stanford and Berkeley, which produce  talented engineers every year who are hungry to build new tech companies.”

Twilio describes itself as a platform for building telephony applications in the cloud. It is currently available for developers in the US and Canada only but the Kenya ICT Board still met with two top executives. In a forum also attended by Information Minister Samuel Poghisio, the executives wondered what carrots Kenya would dangle to attract them.

Islamist group warns of terrorist attacks in Kenya

Gedo (Sunatimes) Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama’a Islamist group in Gedo region of Somalia have today warned Kenyan government to be on high alert of a possible terror attacks in Kenya.

Spokesman of the moderate ASWJ in Gedo region, Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Issack al-Qaaddi who spoke to Bar-kulan said that al-Shabaab are planning to attack Kenya, in retaliation for the military offensive Kenya has launched against them in Somalia.

Recently Shabaab militias have terrorized Kenyan border towns where bomb explosions left six people dead, inculding two children and injured scores.

In Kenya, new life at an old hospital

Lillian Wanjiru, 30, with daughter Rosemary. She begged not to have an expensive C-section.

NAIROBI, KENYA—Lillian Wanjiru is in labour, about to give birth to her third child, and she is worrying about contracting HIV or some other infection in the maternity ward.

She is lying on a rusted metal cot covered with a cream vinyl mat. It’s been given a quick wipe with disinfectant and water after the previous birth.

Quarter-sized drops of other women’s blood dot the floor of the labour ward, where nearly 30 women, many teenagers, are giving birth. Pieces of placenta lie on a bloodied mat a few beds over.

Meticulously, Wanjiru — round and petite with kind, saucer-shaped brown eyes — pulls a multicoloured wrap under her waist, down past her knees, trying to protect her naked body from the worn vinyl. She closes her eyes and scrunches her face, wincing through a contraction.

There are no painkillers. No family members are allowed, to wipe sweat from foreheads or rub sore lower backs. Some women whimper, soft moans. Others holler, rambling as if they are speaking in tongues, eyes rolling back in their head.

Is the deity of Christ biblical?

Question: "Is the deity of Christ biblical?"

Answer: In addition to Jesus’ specific claims about Himself, His disciples also acknowledged the deity of Christ. They claimed that Jesus had the right to forgive sins—something only God can do—as it is God who is offended by sin (Acts 5:31; Colossians 3:13; Psalm 130:4; Jeremiah 31:34). In close connection with this last claim, Jesus is also said to be the one who will “judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1). Thomas cried out to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Paul calls Jesus “great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13) and points out that prior to His incarnation Jesus existed in the “form of God” (Philippians 2:5-8). God the Father says regarding Jesus: “Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever” (Hebrews 1:8). John states that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word [Jesus] was God” (John 1:1). Examples of Scriptures that teach the deity of Christ are many (see Revelation 1:17, 2:8, 22:13; 1 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Peter 2:6-8; Psalm 18:2, 95:1; 1 Peter 5:4; Hebrews 13:20), but even one of these is enough to show that Christ was considered to be God by His followers.

Rare anger as Kibaki moves out to protect his Othaya turf

President Kibaki on Saturday tore into an assistant minister and a former MP at a campaign rally for a civic by-election in his Othaya constituency.

The President travelled to Othaya to campaign for the PNU candidate in the Karima ward while he sent a team led by Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi to campaign for the party in another ward in Mathira constituency.

The President attacked Public Works assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri and former Mathira MP Nderitu Gachagua, who have been campaigning for candidates of the Grand National Union in the two by-elections which take place on Monday.

“Some of the people who have been visiting this area with an undisclosed agenda were former MPs, and they lost. If they lost their seat, then what is it that they can tell you and yet they failed?” he asked.

He said some people had bought the constituents motorcycles and were dishing out money, but he urged the voters to take their gifts and deny them votes as they had no leadership to offer.

He urged voters to elect the PNU candidate, Mr Zachary Kiragu, a retired primary school teacher, who he praised as development conscious, saying he had done a lot to improve education standards in the area.

The GNU candidate in Karima ward is Mr George Maina Gichuki.

Big names floored in ODM elections

“There is a deliberate effort by politicians both within and outside the party to sabotage the elections. These are the same people who sit in offices and come up with lists and expect party members to rubber-stamp their decisions,” said Ms Shebesh (left). “We are highly disappointed with the party and the manner in which it has conducted these elections.” Photo/NATION

A series of upsets and surprises marked the second phase of the ODM elections as newcomers locked veterans out of the party leadership at constituency level.

In what appeared to be a sign of things to come in next year’s general elections, bigwigs in the party had a rough time fending off newcomers, most of whom are positioning themselves for county and parliamentary positions.

Among the big names who fell by the wayside were Cabinet minister Fred Gumo (MP, Westlands) who lost to city councillor Elias Onyango.

Also defeated on Saturday were nominated MP Rachel Shebesh and former Makadara legislator Reuben Ndolo whose political fortunes continued to dwindle after he was knocked out by Nairobi mayor George Aladwa in Makadara.

In Western province Shinyalu MP Justus Kizito failed to make it past party grassroots level.

Kenya Shilling, World’s Best in Month, Heads for 5th Weekly Gain

Kenya’s shilling, the world’s best-performing currency against the dollar this month, advanced and headed for a fifth week of gains as businesses sought the local currency to pay for end-of-month bills.

The currency of East Africa’s biggest economy appreciated as much as 0.3 percent to 90.10 per dollar before trading less than 0.1 percent higher at 90.33 in Nairobi, taking its increase this week to 1 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency has added 9.8 percent this month, making it the best performer among more than 170 currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

Kenya’s monetary policy committee increased the key lending rate by 5.5 percentage points to a record 16.5 percent on Nov. 1 as it battles to contain inflation spurred by the worst regional drought in 60 years and higher fuel prices. Inflation accelerated to 18.9 percent in October from 17.3 percent in the previous month.

There is “low dollar demand as businesses seek the local unit to settle their monthly obligations,” Raphael Agung, a trader at Nairobi-based Commercial Bank of Africa Ltd., said by phone today.

The central bank will maintain its “tight” monetary policy stance until inflationary pressures ease, Ndung’u said in a statement handed to lawmakers today in Nairobi and obtained by Bloomberg.

“The government measures to stabilize the exchange rateare already yielding expected results,” Ndung’u said. “The exchange rate has strengthened considerably and volatility has been solved.”

Tanzanian, Ugandan Currencies

Nairobi’s most expensive neighbourhoods

Most of us dream of living big. The means of getting there may not always be discernible, but the destination is usually crystal clear.

If a massive house set on lush gardens tickles your fancy, then Nairobi has a host of neighbourhoods that are guaranteed to satisfy your housing needs.

This won’t come on the cheap though; you’ll need to dig deep into your pocket to get the really good stuff. If money is no problem, then here are some of the areas you might want to live in.

Seven bathrooms

Photos-Marriage Dynamics conference in Texas

The ongoing marriage dynamics conference in Texas has brought many couples together. It has been an opportunity to learn from one another, share those things that work well for some and most important praying for one another. Just like a car needs refueling, it is a time of rejuvenation. How we all need that.

ODM grassroot election chaos

RAILA OWNS DEMOLITION LAND- MP

PRIME Minister Raila Odinga and his brother Finance assistant minister Oburu Oginga were mentioned as having a substantial interest in a company that claims part of the Kiang’ombe land.

Embakasi MP and Water assistant minister Ferdinand Waititu yesterday told the parliamentary probe into the ongoing demolitions yesterday that this is why the residents did not receive any help from the government.

Waititu said Alex Julius Lando and Walter Okuku were also listed as owning shares in the company, Newspoint Ltd, jointly with Raila and his brother.

During the afternoon session of the committee chaired by Mutava Musyimi at County Hall, Waititu said he had discovered that Kaddu party leader Cyrus Jirongo held a claim to Kiang’ombe land where residents were evicted two weeks before the Syokimau demolitions. Waititu said he was undertaking further searches at the Registry of Companies and would table a longer list on Friday morning. He mentioned former State House Comptroller Lawi Kiplagat as having interests in the area.