Kenya - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive

KENYA has scores of youth gangs known for their violence and links to the politically powerful. None is more infamous than the Mungiki movement, with a past membership estimated to be at least a million. Though banned, it’s constantly in the news as a tool or target of big political players. Bodil Folke Frederiksen, who has studied Mungiki as part of her field-based research on youth culture in Kenya, traces the origins, growth and persistence of the group. BODIL FOLKE FREDERIKSEN, Associate Professor Emerita, Roskilde University What gave rise to Mungiki? Mungiki emerged in the late 1980s in what was…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Family mourns Kenya’s marathon prodigy Kelvin Kiptum

NEWS

KELVIN Kiptum's devastated wife had been looking forward to watching him try to become a marathon legend as the first athlete in under 2 hours. Now she is wondering how to tell their two children that their father was killed in a car accident. Sobbing next to her in the village where they all lived, Kiptum's father is desolate that his only child has died, and with him the hopes for a better life for the family. Police said the athlete lost control of the vehicle he was driving and veered off the road into a ditch, travelling for about 60 metres…

Feb

2024

By HUMPHREY MALALO and THOMAS MUKOYA

Kenya gas truck explosion torches Nairobi cylinder depot, kills 3

NEWS

A gas truck exploded in Kenya's capital Nairobi, sending a huge fireball into the night sky and causing a blaze that killed at least three people and injured 300, authorities and first responders said. Residents in a nearby building screamed as a column of flame shot hundreds of feet into the air just before midnight, briefly forming a mushroom cloud, a video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed. The government said three people had died in the explosion at a gas refilling plant and 280 more were being treated at hospitals around Nairobi. The Kenyan Red Cross…

Feb

2024

By ANTHONY IDOWU AJAYI and CAROLINE W. KABIRU

Kenya’s healthcare workers abuse a third of teen mums from informal settlements – study

NEWS

ADOLESCENT pregnancy is a global public health concern: in 2022, about 13% of girls and young women gave birth before the age of 18. Compared with women in their early 20s, adolescents are more susceptible to maternal deaths. Pregnancy-related complications are among the leading causes of death among Africa’s adolescent girls. Babies born to adolescent mothers in low- to middle-income countries also face an increased risk of neonatal deaths, and pre-term and underweight birth. These risks make it vital that pregnant girls feel comfortable seeking healthcare. Adolescent pregnancy is an issue in Kenya, too, where 15% of adolescent girls become…

Jan

2024

By SARAH MILLER and DAVID KITENGE

Kenya’s bold new Shirika refugee plan is model for future

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

KENYA is once again at the forefront of refugee policy momentum. Over the last year, much anticipation has built over when and how Kenya’s new Refugee Act of 2022 might be implemented. The law has the potential to increase refugee access to the labour market, freedom of movement, and financial inclusion – all positive steps for Kenya’s refugee and host community populations. With more than 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya and amidst a region in turmoil, this is no small feat. Earlier this year, the Kenyan government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) unveiled a new plan to turn some of the world’s…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Diageo’s Kenyan unit calls Tusker beer sale report ‘market speculation

BUSINESS

East African Breweries (EABL), the Kenyan unit of Diageo Plc, dismissed a media report that its parent company wants to sell the Tusker beer brand as part of broader cuts. U.S. news outlet Axios reported last month that Diageo was looking to sell Tusker along with other beer brands including Ireland-based Smithwick's, Kilkenny and Harp Lager, saying they were a margin drag on the rest of the business. But in an interview with Reuters EABL CEO Jane Karuku denied the brand would be sold. "Those are market speculations," she said, declining to comment further. There was no immediate comment from Diageo on…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Life on an African island can be great when you’re part of the gig economy – just ask this woman photographer

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MONICA Marura spent several years managing her family’s cyber café in Mombasa, along the coast of Kenya. All the while she knew she wanted more out of life. In 2020, Marura met her husband, Robert Mwangi, a professional photographer. This meeting helped Marura discover a talent and passion for telling stories through the camera. Her life changed when the couple was given the chance to move to Lamu Island. Although her first thought was, “Wait, what part of Kenya is Lamu?” Not long after arriving, Mwangi heard about clients seeking a woman to photograph a Muslim bridal celebration. As per…

Jan

2024

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya receives $210 mln in loans from TDB, finance minister says

BUSINESS

THE Trade and Development Bank (TDB) has lent Kenya $210 million, Finance Minister Njuguna Ndung'u told Reuters on Friday, ahead of the maturation of a $2 billion Eurobond in June. Falling hard currency reserves, a steep weakening of the Kenyan shilling and revenue challenges have raised questions about the country's ability to make the Eurobond payment, although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that it does not expect Kenya to default. The loan facility by the TDB, an African development finance institution serving 25 member states, is part of its mandate to raise $1 billion for Kenya's liability management, Ndung'u…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Kenya cult leader charged with terrorism-related crimes in starvation deaths

NEWS

KENYAN cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 94 others were charged with terrorism-related crimes related to the deaths of 429 of his followers whose bodies have been exhumed from the Shakahola forest. The charges, announced during an appearance before a court in the southeastern city of Mombasa, are the first to be brought against Mackenzie, who was arrested last April after the bodies started to be discovered. Mackenzie and his co-defendants denied the charges during their appearance before the judge, Joe Omido. They are due back in court on February 8 for a bond hearing. Authorities say Mackenzie, the head of…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Should Kenya abolish all school exams? Expert sets out five reasons why they’re still useful

EDUCATION

THE role of examinations in Kenyan schools is under scrutiny. This is because there is a lot that is wrong with the country’s examinations, a situation that threatens to derail education gains made over the decades. For instance, for two consecutive years – last year and the year before – the periods during the country’s national examination period were marred by allegations of leaked tests. These allegations are linked to cartels which make money from parents and learners. BEATRICE M’MBOGA AKALA, Lecturer, University of the Witwatersrand There were also reports this year of high school students receiving contradicting results from…