Page 2 - Kenya

Kenya's president won't sign finance bill that led protesters to storm Parl

Kenyan President William Ruto says he won't sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead. The government wanted to raise funds to pay off debt. Kenyans said the bill caused economic pain as millions struggle to get by. The chaos on Tuesday led Kenya's government to deploy the military, and Ruto called protesters' actions treasonous. It was the biggest assault on Kenya's government in decades. The president says the bill caused widespread dissatisfaction and he has listened to the people.

Kenyan police fire blanks to disperse protesters after parliament breach

Authorities fired blanks to disperse protesters in Nairobi suburb overnight Wednesday, hours after protestors stormed parliament in deadly demonstrations, burning parts of the building while legislators fled, as the country grapples with controversial tax increases. Police said they fired over 700 blanks in Githurai, a suburb east of the capital Nairobi. Videos of gunfire piercing the night air were shared online and reported by local media. The military was deployed overnight to support police during the security emergency and patrolled the central business district on Tuesday night as President William Ruto called the events treasonous and vowed to quash the unrest at whatever cost. Thousands of protesters stormed and burned a section of Kenya's parliament Tuesday to protest tax proposals. Police responded with gunfire and several protesters were killed. More than 100 people were injured in Tuesday's protests, according to civil society groups. It is still unclear how many people

Watch| Barack Obama's sister attacked with tear gas during protest in Kenya

The protest against the proposed Finance Bill turned violent when police opened fire on demonstrators attempting to storm Kenya's parliament

Bayer, Solynta partner to roll out hybrid potato seeds in Kenya, India

German agrochemicals giant Bayer on Monday said it has agreed to collaborate with Dutch potato breeding company Solynta for commercialisation and distribution of true potato seeds in Kenya and India. The partnership marks Bayer's entry into the global potato market and represents its first collaboration with Solynta, a specialist in developing hybrid potato varieties. According to Bayer, the initiative aims to introduce true potato seeds as an alternative to traditional seed tubers. These seeds require only 25 grams per hectare compared to 2,500 kg of seed tubers, offering significant logistical and disease-control advantages. Bayer will leverage its distribution networks in Kenya and India to commercialise Solynta's hybrid potato varieties, targeting smallholder farmers in remote areas, it said in a statement. "We expect these true potato seeds to have a positive impact on local communities and on food and nutritional security in Kenya and India," Bayer's Crop Science Division Hea

T20 World Cup: ICC warns against potential corrupt approach from Kenya

The spectre of corruption in cricket continues to challenge the game's administrators but one potential approach from a former Kenya international to a Uganda player in the ongoing T20 World Cup was dealt swiftly by the sleuths of ICC's anti-corruption unit. PTI has learned that the incident took place during the league stage matches in Guyana where a former Kenya pacer tried to contact a Ugandan team member multiple times from different numbers. Following ICC's strict anti-corruption protocol, the Ugandan player reported the approach to the ACU officials on site. The development prompted the officials to raise a red flag against the former Kenya player by informing all the associate teams about him. "It is not a surprise that this person targeted a player from the Ugandan national team. Associate nations, as compared to the big teams, are soft targets for corruption but in this case the player who was approached did the needful by informing the ICC at the earliest," a source told

Haiti's new PM Conille discharged after spending night in hospital

Haiti's newly selected Prime Minister Garry Conille was discharged from a hospital on Sunday after spending a night in treatment for an undisclosed condition. In a video published on YouTube, Conille said he is now feeling well and is ready to continue to help steer the country out of its current security crisis by forming a government that will also prioritize issues like health care. "The whole time I was at the hospital, I was thinking of something, Conille said in Sunday's video. People that need to go to the general hospital can't get there due to security problems. People who need health care can't afford it. Conille arrived in Haiti on June 1 after a transitional council selected him as the nation's new prime minister. He had been working outside the country as UNICEF's regional director for Latin America. Gang violence is still surging in parts of Haiti's capital and beyond as Conille takes over the helm of the troubled Caribbean country awaiting the UN backed deployment of

Haiti PM hospitalised days after being selected to lead nation: Official

Haiti's newly selected prime minister, Garry Conille, was hospitalised late Saturday in the capital of Port-au-Prince just days after arriving in the country, an official told The Associated Press. It wasn't immediately known why Conille was hospitalised. Louis Grald Gilles, a member of the transitional presidential council that recently chose Conille as leader of the troubled Caribbean country, said he was en route to the hospital and did not have further information. A spokesman for Conille did not immediately return a message for comment. AP journalists observed high-ranking officials entering the hospital, including Frantz Elb, director of Haiti's National Police. Also present was Bruno Maes, UNICEF's representative in Haiti. They both declined comment. A handful of curious onlookers gathered outside the hospital as authorities blocked the street with tinted-glass SUVs. Conille was chosen as prime minister May 28 after a convoluted selection process. He faces an arduous task

South Sudan govt, rebels sign 'commitment' for peace in talks in Kenya

The government of South Sudan and rebel opposition groups on Thursday signed a commitment declaration for peace during high-level mediation talks in Kenya, described as key step in efforts to end the conflict in South Sudan that has long crippled its economy. The content of the agreement was not made public during the signing ceremony, attended by diplomats and civil society groups. The rebel opposition groups were not part of the 2018 agreement that ended South Sudan's five-year civil war that left 400,000 people dead and millions displaced. Kenya's foreign office said the agreement was a first milestone in the ongoing talks in which warring sides pledged their commitment to end the violence and hostilities. At the start of the high-level mediation talks launched a week ago, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir thanked his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, for hosting the negotiations. The talks have been dubbed Tumaini, Swahili for hope, Initiative and are led by former Kenyan arm

At least 70 killed by flooding in Kenya; more rain expected during weekend

Flooding and heavy rains in Kenya have killed at least 70 people since mid-March, a government spokesperson said Friday, twice as many as were reported earlier this week. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. Kenya's government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Friday refuted claims that hundreds of people have died in the ongoing flooding and said the official tally now stands at 70. Five bodies were retrieved Friday from a river in Makueni county, east of the country, after a lorry they were traveling in was swept off a submerged bridge, local station Citizen TV reported. Another 11 were rescued. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said Friday at a news briefing that the government had set aside 4 billion Kenya shillings ($29 million) for emergency relief efforts, but did not provide further details. More than 130,000 people are currently affected with thousands of

70 people killed by flooding in Kenya; more rain expected through weekend

Flooding and heavy rains in Kenya have killed at least 70 people since mid-March, a government spokesperson said on Friday, twice as many as were reported earlier this week. The East African country has seen weeks of heavy rains and severe flooding in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, as well as in the country's western and central regions. Kenya's government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura on Friday refuted claims that hundreds of people have died in the ongoing flooding and said the official tally now stands at 70. Five bodies were retrieved on Friday from a river in Makueni county, east of the country, after a lorry they were travelling in was swept off a submerged bridge, local station Citizen TV reported. Another 11 were rescued. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said on Friday at a news briefing that the government had set aside 4 billion Kenya shillings (USD 29 million) for emergency relief efforts, but did not provide further details. More than 130,000 people are currently affected with

At least 13 people killed, nearly 15,000 displaced by flooding in Kenya

Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to the deaths of at least 13 people and displaced some 15,000, the United Nations said, as forecasters warned more rains can be expected until June. The U.N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing the Kenya Red Cross Society, said Thursday that nearly 20,000 people have been affected. That includes the estimated 15,000 displaced by heavy rains and flash floods across the country since the start of the wet season in mid-March. The East African country has seen thousands of people killed by flooding in previous rainy seasons, mostly in the lake regions and downstream of major rivers. The Kenya Red Cross Society told The Associated Press that five major roads were cut off by the floods, including Garissa Road in northern Kenya, where a bus carrying 51 passengers was swept away on Tuesday. All passengers were rescued. Kenya's disaster management agency issued a flood warning to residents of Lamu, Tana River and

Explosion near police station in Kenya kills 4 people, including 3 officers

An explosion at a small hotel located near a police station in northeastern Kenya killed four people, including three officers, and wounded several others on Monday, authorities said. The blast in the town of Mandera, which is on the border with Somalia, was caused by an improvised explosive device that had been planted at the hotel and was detonated as a crowd of people sat down to eat breakfast, police said. Mandera police chief Samwel Mutunga said that two of those wounded were in critical condition and would be flown to the capital, Nairobi. Investigators have blamed east Africa-based extremist group al-Shabab for the attack. The group, which hasn't claimed responsibility for the explosion, has staged major attacks in Kenya and neighboring Somalia. The latest attack followed another one on Sunday in coastal Kenya's Lamu County, where two police reservists were killed. The area has a forest, which has often been the site of security operations because it's a known hideout of ..

Fire set off by a gas explosion in Kenya kills 3 people, injures 280 others

A truck loaded with liquid petroleum gas cylinders exploded in a depot in the Kenyan capital and set off a late-night inferno that rapidly spread and burned homes and warehouses, killing at least three people and injuring 280, officials said Friday. The death toll was expected to rise. At least 24 people were critically injured, the Kenya Red Cross said, after a huge fireball erupted from the gas depot. Some gas cylinders were thrown hundreds of metres (feet), sparking separate fires in the neighbourhood. The truck was parked inside a gas cylinder storage and filling site that had multiple applications to operate there rejected last year because it was too close to residential areas, Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority said, raising questions over whether it was operating illegally. The government knew this liquid petroleum gas plant was existing in a residential area but they did nothing, local resident Charles Mainge said. They should make sure this doesn't happen .

India, Kenya ink 5 pacts, govt announces $250 mn LoC for Kenyan agri sector

India on Tuesday announced a USD 250 million line of credit to Kenya for modernisation of its agricultural sector as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto agreed to shore up bilateral ties in areas of defence, trade, energy, digital public infrastructure and healthcare. Following the Modi-Ruto talks, the two sides signed five pacts providing for cooperation in a range of areas including sports, education and digital solution, and unveiled a joint vision document to scale up maritime engagement in the Indian Ocean region. The Kenyan side offered, in line with Kenyan laws, to provide land to Indian companies and institutions for cultivation of crops, including millets. In order to enhance bilateral economic engagement as well as to finance projects under development partnership, the two leaders also discussed the need to use local currencies for trade. In his media statement, Modi said India has been a "reliable and committed" development partner for .

India to provide $250 mn LoC to Kenya for modernisation of its agri sector

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced India's decision to provide USD 250 million to Kenya for modernisation of its agriculture sector following his wide-ranging talks with visiting Kenyan President William Samoei Ruto. Ruto arrived here on Monday on a three-day visit with an aim to expand overall ties between the two countries. In its foreign policy, India has always given high priority to Africa and has expanded its overall ties with the continent on a mission mode in the last nearly one decade, Modi said in his media statement after the talks. "I am confident that President Ruto's visit to India will not only strengthen bilateral ties but will give a new momentum to our engagement with Africa," he added. The prime minister said India will provide USD 250 million as Line of Credit to Kenya for modernisation of its agriculture sector. Referring to the Indo-Pacific, Modi said closer cooperation between India and Kenya in the region will advance common efforts. India

Kenyan President William Ruto pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat

President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi welcomed William Ruto at Rashtrapati Bhavan. William Ruto was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan

Want to thank PM Modi for helping Africa become G20 member: Kenya President

He said that India and Kenya have a fantastic bilateral relationship and added that he is looking forward to visiting India

Power returns to Kenya after 14 hrs, longest in recent memory; airport shut

Electricity was being restored in most parts of Kenya on Saturday, 14 hours after the longest outage in recent memory, the majority government-owned power distributor said. There was still no clear explanation for the outage that hit on Friday night, shutting down the country's main international airport, affecting major hospitals and even the president's office compound. I am really sorry for what has happened, Transport Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement close to midnight. There is no excuse worth reporting and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness. Kenya Power later on Saturday said it had restored service in most areas. The outage came just weeks before Kenya's government hosts the first Africa Climate Summit, where energy will be key on the agenda. Kenya gets almost all its energy from renewable sources, but infrastructure and alleged mismanagement remain an issue in the country of more than 50 million people. Kenya Power had announced in a brief ..

Meta, Kenya moderators agree to out of court settlement in $1.6 bn lawsuit

Meta, Facebook's parent company, and 184 of its content moderators who were based in Kenya agreed on Wednesday on a mediation attempt to settle out of court. Last year, the moderators from several African countries filed a lawsuit against the social media giant and its outsourcing firm, Sama, seeking USD 1.6 billion in compensation, alleging poor working conditions, including insufficient mental health support and low pay. The Employment and Labour Relations court said they have 21 days to reach a settlement and that former Kenyan chief justice, Willy Mutunga, and labour commissioner, Hellen Apiyo would co-mediate the dispute. The moderators were employed via Sama, a San Francisco subcontractor that describes itself as an ethical AI company, to work in its hub in the capital, Nairobi. Their job entailed screening user content in 12 African languages and removing any uploads deemed to breach Facebook's community standards and terms of service. Some of the moderators previously to

Eye hospital chain Dr. Agarwal's raises $80 million from TPG, Temasek

The top shareholder of publicly listed Dr. Agarwal's Eye Hospitals plans to operate 300 hospitals by the end of 2025. It currently has over 150 hospitals, including in African countries like Nigeria