Kenya's High Court is letting bus companies and government officials keep talking things out after transport operators sued over a ban that stopped them from using gas stations as passenger pickup spots in downtown Nairobi. Justice Chacha told both sides to chill while they hash out a deal, and thirteen major transport companies like ENA Coach and Mololine can keep doing their thing at petrol stations as long as they don't block fuel customers.
The operators said the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority and Nairobi County dropped the ban without asking anyone first, and stopping their routes would screw over thousands of commuters. Both sides agreed that passengers can still get picked up at current locations if the entry and exit...
Tanzania's president came out swinging about how her cops handled election protests, and she basically said they had to get rough because people were trying to storm police stations and grab weapons. Samia Suluhu Hassan told a crowd that protestors were going after government buildings and businesses, and security forces had to match that energy. She clapped back at the EU after they voted to cut aid over reports that more than 1,000 people died during the chaos, calling them wannabe colonial masters.
Hassan doubled down on her massive 97 percent election win, saying the main opposition party, Chadema, bailed before voting happened, so their supporters ended up checking the box for her party instead. Opposition groups weren't blocked...
Kalonzo Musyoka shut down rumors that Wiper handed every single Nairobi seat over to Rigathi Gachagua's Democracy of Citizens Party for the next election cycle. The Wiper boss said people are spreading fake drama to mess with their coalition plans and make it look like he's beefing with Gachagua. He told everyone to chill because working together doesn't mean his party is giving up territory.
Gachagua had been talking big about winning the governor spot, senator slot, and grabbing 16 out of 17 parliamentary seats through their partnership. Right now, ODM controls most of the important positions in the capital, with people like Edwin Sifuna and Esther Passaris holding senate and women's rep seats, while UDA's Johnson Sakaja runs the county.
Kura engineers walked a 13-kilometer stretch of Outering Road with Eastlands residents after locals petitioned about busted streetlights and trashed guardrails, making the highway sketchy. Justus Onyinkwa from Kura admitted that vandals keep ripping out underground power cables faster than crews can fix them, and the agency wants to switch everything to solar panels to stop the cable theft. The road cost 11 billion shillings when it opened back in 2015, but people say it hasn't lived up to the hype.
City Capital handles maintenance under contract, and they blame accidents for wrecking the guardrails while saying lighting isn't their problem. Residents gave Kura three weeks to sort things out, or they'd take it higher up the chain. The...
Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi are heading to Washington because Trump is getting Rwanda and DRC to finally sign a peace deal for Eastern Congo. The agreement wraps up work that the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community have been grinding on for years. Kagame and Tshisekedi are meeting at the US Peace Institute to ink the deal, and Ruto has been central to making this happen since he co-chairs the EAC.
Mudavadi already touched down in DC as the advance crew, and Ruto lands the next day for the signing ceremony. While they're over there, both are sitting down with American officials to lock in trade partnerships, health frameworks, and investment deals. Kenya wants to pitch infrastructure projects and farming...
Most of Kenya is staying dry and sunny this week, but the Central Highlands, Western Kenya, Rift Valley, and South-eastern Lowlands are catching some rain. Kenya Met says daytime temps will push past 30°C along the coast, in the northeast, northwest, and chunks of the southeast lowlands and western areas. Nights could drop below 10°C around the Central Highlands, parts of the Rift Valley, western regions, and spots near Kilimanjaro.
Last week saw rainfall amounts keep dropping across the country. Kavingo Station in Kitui County logged the highest seven-day total at 45.9mm. Mandera hit a scorching 37.2°C, while Nyahururu froze at 4.6°C on the low end.
Kenya Kwanza coalition senators just booted Boni Khalwale from his Senate Majority Whip spot, and Bungoma Senator David Wafula Wakoli is stepping in to replace him. Speaker Amason Kingi made it official after the majority party held a meeting and voted Khalwale out under their standing orders. The Kakamega Senator got the axe after he backed a candidate who wasn't running on the UDA ticket during the Malava by-election.
Khalwale was out there campaigning with opposition figures like Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya for Seth Panyako, who ended up losing to UDA's David Ndakwa. Senator Samson Cherargei had been calling for Khalwale's removal over the whole mess. Khalwale kept it pretty chill about getting removed, just saying it's...
A British kid studying at the University of Bristol has been missing for over a week after heading out to hike some mountains in Romania. George Smyth is 18 years old, from Shropshire, and rescue teams have been searching the Bucegi Mountains daily since he vanished. He apparently tried walking from Poiana Brașov toward the famous Dracula castle spot in Bran, and he made it to Tiganesti before calling emergency services for help.
His rugby club back in Newport is freaking out because he played for their youth teams and coached younger players. Mountain rescue shared his photo after the family asked for public help tracking him down. The university said they're staying close to his family while authorities keep searching.
Kenya Railways is throwing an extra Madaraka Express train on the tracks to handle holiday crowds between Nairobi and Mombasa. The service runs through early January, and it stops at Voi before hitting the coast. Travelers can snag tickets online through the railway website, by dialing a shortcode, or at any SGR station.
The railway company said they're adding capacity because demand spikes during the festive season when everyone wants to bounce between the capital and the beach. They're telling people to book early because seats fill up fast, and passengers need to show up at least half an hour before departure with a valid ID.
The expanded service comes after strong ridership numbers from previous holiday periods, and it connects...
