Vegetal therapy still trusted antivenom in Kenya
Poor and often stashed far away from medical facilities, pastoralist communities in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions have over generations depended on vegetal remedies for envenomation. With decentralisation of medical services seven years ago, regional governments in the devolved units are stocking antivenom to deal with the menace that has...
The Democratic Republic of the Congo: A change of perspective on Africa’s problem child
Every time I take an Uber, the first topic of small talk is what my roots are. The reactions that I am half German and half Congolese differ greatly between Europe and Africa. Typically, when I mention the DRC in Berlin, I get the following response: a compassionate look and...
‘Let’s endure the pain,’ CJ Maraga says as he advises Kenya president to dissolve parliament
Kenya’s Chief Justice David Maraga has kicked up a political storm after he asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the country’s parliament for failing to enact laws to end discrimination of women in appointive and elective positions. Justice Maraga, who seen as a paragon of the rule of law since...
Two-thirds gender rule: Is Parliament the proverbial punching bag?
Article 27(8) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 provides that the state shall take steps to ensure that not more than two-thirds of members of all elective and appointive positions are not of the same gender. Ten years after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, there is yet...
Africa in race to secure 220m coronavirus vaccine doses
While the race to find safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines continues, African countries are signing up to a ground-breaking initiative, which aims to secure at least 220 million doses of the vaccine for the continent, once licensed and approved. All 54 countries on the continent have expressed interest in Covax,...
Al Shabaab kills 55 as it expands its terror scope beyond East Africa
After more than two decades of waging terrorist attacks in Kenya, Al Qaeda-affiliated Somali cell Al Shabaab is apparently widening its scope following the killing of over 55 people in Democratic Republic of Congo precious mineral-rich eastern region of Ituri. According to Reuters, the group said to have Ugandan roots,...
Kung’u Karumba fought for Kenya’s independence, but family lives in abject poverty
After years of silence, freedom fighter and businessman, the late Kung’u Karumba’s family has opened up with an appeal to the government to “remember” them. When we sought them out, neighbours talked about the plight of the family of the independence hero who was detained in Kapenguria together with Kenya’s...
Sugarcane farming no longer sweet
FEATURE Hundreds of farmers in Migori County who have been growing sugarcane since 1979 as a cash crop are having second thoughts. From being ‘green gold’ to a lazy man’s crop, sugarcane has now acquired the tag of a poor man’s crop, thanks to abysmal returns from a cash crop...
‘Politics as usual’ isn’t working, covid-19 has laid bare the dark side of Kenya
Covid-19 is exposing the frailty of ultra-corrupt Kenya through poverty and disease. Although corruption can be found in all countries, its effects are particularly devastating in low- and middle-income countries. Health and poverty are interconnected; they are Siamese twins. When a country is unable to develop superior health infrastructure and...
Small scale tea farmers to build $27 million hydro power plant
Plans are underway to build a $26.7 million (Ksh2.8 billion) power generation plant on Chemosit River in Kericho County to supply hydropower to four tea processing factories in Zone Eight of the larger Kericho tea complex.Kericho, approximately 300 kilometres west of the capital Nairobi is located in the expansive Rift...
