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The National Assembly Minority Leader has said why he was not at Raila Odinga's first anniversary in Bondo. Junet Mohamed said he looked at the list of invited guests, saw Rigathi Gachagua's name, and decided not to attend. By the story's account, he put it in blunt terms: he could not sit together with someone like that, and Raila's spirit could not be in such a place. The reason is unusually direct. Junet did not cite a scheduling clash or illness. He pointed to who else would be in the room, and framed his absence as a matter of principle tied to Raila's memory. Gachagua's presence on the list is also reported in the story. It says Gachagua revealed that Raila's widow, Mama Ida Odinga, had invited him to the anniversary. The story does not say whether he attended, or how Mama Ida's family or ODM responded to Junet's remarks. What the story cannot tell readers is why President William Ruto stayed away. Ruto continued with his North Rift Development...

Social media personality Maverick Aoko has deleted her posts about Siaya Senator and ODM leader Dr Oburu Oginga and issued a written retraction, after her claims that he had died drew swift rebuttals from his family and party. According to the story, the reaction was immediate. Oburu's son, Jaoko Oburu, and ODM Communications Director Philip Etale dismissed the reports as false and misleading and said the party leader was alive, recovering from a brief illness and resting under medical advice. The story says Aoko then faced mounting criticism and warnings of possible legal action from Oburu's secretariat before taking the posts down. In her statement, she apologised to Oburu, his immediate family, friends and supporters for the distress caused. She accepted responsibility for sharing information without adequate verification and acknowledged that her claims had caused unnecessary anxiety, confusion and emotional pain. The episode is a short lesson in how quickly an unverified c...

 Almost every major name in Kenyan politics now says some part of Raila Odinga belongs to them. According to analyst Geoffrey Mboya, politicians are associating themselves with different aspects of his legacy: the struggle for democracy, devolution, political cooperation and the support he commanded in Nyanza. What the story shows is that each leader has picked a different piece. President William Ruto reminds residents of the region of their past cooperation, recalling that they were together in the ODM Pentagon team in 2007 and later formed a power-sharing government with the late Mwai Kibaki. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who served as ODM secretary-general for eight years, presents himself as Raila's political student through the Linda Mwananchi rallies and says he will defend democracy, freedom and the rule of law, the values he says Raila left behind. Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka points to a relationship of more than 15 years, saying he stood by Raila through political and le...

President William Ruto's second tour of Trans Nzoia came with a long list of figures attached. The story says he used the commitments to counter criticism of his administration and to argue that the county had not been left out of the national development agenda. The largest single health item is Sh1 billion for a new hospital, which he said he would launch on Friday. He framed it as national government stepping in where the county administration had failed at Wamalwa Kijana Referral Hospital. On roads, he announced Sh18 billion for tarmacking more than 270 kilometres, plus Sh7 billion for expanding and recarpeting the Maili Tisa-Kitale road. Other pledges covered trade, housing and power. He announced Sh190 million for the ongoing Kiminini modern market and Sh1.5 billion for 15 modern markets across the county, Sh17 billion for affordable housing and hostels meant to accommodate more than 10,000 students, and Sh10 billion for a rural electrification programme targeting more than 1...

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission did not argue that the judges had a financial stake or a personal link to the case. Its complaint was about words. Through its lawyer, Peter Wanyama, the SRC told the court that Chief Justice Martha Koome had previously described the commission as an enemy of the Judiciary, and that this remark raised concerns about bias. The commission's case rested on perception. It maintained that the remarks had created a perception of conflict and questioned whether it could get justice before Koome and Justice Mohammed Warsame. That is a recognised ground for asking a judge to step aside: the point is not only whether a judge is biased, but whether a fair-minded observer might think so. The bench saw it differently. In a brief ruling, the two judges declined to recuse themselves. Koome said they have no conflict of interest and no bias, and that they will not be looking at the parties but at hearing and interpreting the constitution. The dispute at sta...

Wycliffe Macharia, who reportedly worked at a barbershop in Kutus, Kirinyaga County, went missing and was later found dead, his body dumped near Kerugoya Stadium. His family is now asking what happened to him. According to information shared by blogger Cyprian Nyakundi, the investigation into his death has allegedly faced interference, with claims that efforts to establish the circumstances were silenced. The same report alleges that a postmortem examination the family sought was stopped. The story is explicit about the limits of these claims: the circumstances behind the alleged interference and the claims about the postmortem have not been independently established. It names no official, police officer or institution accused of interfering, and it carries no response from the police, the family or the hospital. Unnamed sources cited in the reports also claim that Macharia was killed after a disagreement and that his property was taken. The story says the family reportedly questions w...