UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, leads tributes to Maj Kevin McCool saying his death is ‘tragic loss’
A British soldier has died while off duty in Kenya, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Maj Kevin McCool, 32, was reportedly on a motorcycle trip off base when he was attacked. The MoD said he died on 29 November but that it would not be releasing any more details. His next of kin have been informed.
Continue reading...The climate crisis, invasive species, overexploitation of resources and pollution could break down crucial ecosystems. We asked experts to lay out the risks and offer some solutions
The continued destruction of nature across the planet will result in major shocks to food supplies and safe water, the disappearance of unique species and the loss of landscapes central to human culture and leisure by the middle of this century, experts have warned.
By 2050, if humanity does not follow through on commitments to tackle the five main drivers of nature loss critical natural systems could break down just as the human population is projected to peak.
Continue reading...Kenyan parliamentary committee report finds Paul Mackenzie, held responsible for more than 400 deaths, was ‘influenced’ by Australians Dave and Cherry McKay, which they vehemently deny
A Christian doomsday cult responsible for the deaths of more than 400 people from starvation and beatings in Kenya was influenced by an Australian religious group, a parliamentary committee report in the east African nation has found.
The report into the Shakahola massacre, tabled in the Kenyan Senate on 19 October, found that the accused leader of the group, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, “was influenced by Dave Mackay and Sherry Mackay [Dave and Cherry McKay] from Australia who are founders of a cult movement known as the Voice in the Desert”.
Continue reading...Delegates in Nairobi for talks in what experts say could be most important multilateral treaty since Paris accord
• The godfather of microplastics on how to stop them
Government delegations will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, to hammer out details of what could be the first global treaty to tackle the plastic pollution crisis.
A key focus for the discussions on Monday will be whether targets to restrict plastic production should be decided unilaterally or whether states should choose their own targets; this is, say environmentalists, the “centre of gravity” for the treaty’s ambition.
Continue reading...Human rights groups demand Kenyan government halt forced evictions of Ogiek community from Mau forest
Human rights groups are calling for the Kenyan government to halt forced evictions of the Indigenous Ogiek community from their ancestral land in the Rift Valley.
“We are calling for an immediate cessation of ongoing demolitions and the evictions,” said Cyrus Maweu, deputy director of Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Continue reading...Predicted 116m tonnes of waste annually by 2060 is six times higher than in 2019, driven by demand in sub-Saharan Africa
Plastic waste is “spiralling out of control” across Africa, where it is growing faster than any other region, new analysis has shown.
At current levels, enough plastic waste to cover a football pitch is openly dumped or burned in sub-Saharan Africa every minute, according to the charity Tearfund.
Continue reading...Move announced by interior minister is part of ambitious Kenyan plan to plant 15bn trees by 2032
The Kenyan government has announced a surprise public holiday on 13 November for a nationwide tree planting day, part of its ambitious plan to plant 15bn trees by 2032
The interior minister, Kithure Kindiki, made the announcement via an official notice posted to social media.
Continue reading...Pre-qualification seen as significant step towards self-sufficiency in healthcare in continent where more than 70% of drugs are imported
A Kenyan pharmaceutical company, Universal Corporation Limited, has become the first manufacturer in Africa to receive World Health Organization (WHO) approval to produce a lifesaving malaria drug.
The antimalarial drug, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine (Spaq), is frequently used to prevent seasonal malaria in children during months of peak transmission periods such as rainy seasons. Previously, demand for drugs such as Spaq in Africa has been met through the importation of generic versions of the medicine from India and China.
Continue reading...NGOs report allegations of abuse and harassment at Kasigau Corridor conservation project in southern Kenya over 12 years
Male staff at a leading Kenyan carbon-offsetting project used by Netflix, Shell and other large companies have been accused of extensive sexual abuse and harassment over more than a decade, following an investigation by two NGOs.
The Kasigau Corridor conservation project in southern Kenya, operated by the California-based firm Wildlife Works, generates carbon credits by protecting dryland forests at risk of being destroyed in key elephant, lion and wildlife habitats west of Mombasa. The scheme was the first ever forest protection scheme approved by Verra, the world’s leading certifier of carbon offsets, and has also been accredited for its biodiversity and community benefits, probably generating millions of dollars in revenue in carbon-credit sales.
Continue reading...Country, estimated to be owed up to $1.5trn, is increasing penalties for late payments and cutting back on infrastructure projects
China has become the world’s biggest debt collector, as the money it is owed from developing countries has surged to between $1.1tn (£889bn) and $1.5tn, according to a new report. An estimated 80% of China’s overseas lending portfolio in the global south is now supporting countries in financial distress.
Since 2017, China has been the world’s biggest bilateral lender; its main development banks issued nearly $500bn between 2008 and 2021. While some of this predates the belt and road initiative (BRI), Beijing’s flagship development programme has mobilised much of the investment in developing countries.
Continue reading...Rights groups repeat calls for apology while President William Ruto says ‘much remains to be done to achieve full reparations’
King Charles’s expression of “greatest sorrow and deepest regret” over colonial atrocities committed by British forces in Kenya has been criticised as a “miss” in the east African country.
Reactions to the king’s statement were mixed, with the president, William Ruto, diplomatically welcoming Charles’s “courage and readiness to shed light on uncomfortable truths that reside in the darker regions of our shared experience”, but calling Britain’s colonial suppression of Kenya’s freedom movement “monstrous in its cruelty”.
Continue reading...Visiting monarch speaks of sorrow and deepest regret for past ‘wrongdoings’ under British rule
King Charles has spoken of Britain’s “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed against Kenyans during their fight for independence, but stopped short of an apology despite human rights groups demanding one.
The monarch made the comments in a speech, delivered during a banquet in Kenya held in his honour, in which he referred to the “greatest sorrow” and “deepest regret” for the “wrongdoings” of the past.
Continue reading...King urged to offer apology while in Kenya for UK’s ‘brutal and inhuman treatment’ during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s
The Kenya Human Rights Commission has called on King Charles to offer an “unequivocal public apology” for colonial abuses, during his visit to the country this week.
“We call upon the king, on behalf of the British government, to issue an unconditional and unequivocal public apology (as opposed to the very cautious, self-preserving and protective statements of regrets) for the brutal and inhuman treatment inflicted on Kenyan citizens,” the KHRC said.
Continue reading...President William Ruto says change aims to boost trade and allow goods, services, people and ideas to move freely across continent
Visas to visit Kenya are to be scrapped for other African nationals from next year as part of a movement towards opening up trade and travel within the continent.
“By the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya,” Kenya’s president, William Ruto, said at a climate change conference in Congo-Brazzaville.
Costly and time-consuming visa requirements, as well as high air fares, have long created barriers to inter-African travel for African passport holders; 32 out of 54 African countries still require the nationals of half or more countries on the continent to obtain a visa.
Facebook parent company and two subcontractors face court hearing over unfair dismissal allegations
Settlement talks have collapsed between Facebook’s parent company, Meta, and Kenyan content moderators over a lawsuit alleging unfair dismissal, a tech rights group working with the plaintiffs has said.
The 184 moderators sued Meta and two subcontractors earlier this year after they allegedly lost their jobs with one of the subcontractors, Sama, for organising a union. They say they were then blacklisted from applying for the same roles at a second firm, Majorel, after Facebook changed contractors.
Continue reading...Monarch’s recognition will come as country prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence from Britain
King Charles will acknowledge the “painful aspects” of Britain’s past actions in Kenya during a state visit later this month.
The visit follows an invitation from the country’s president, William Ruto, whose country will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain on 12 December. The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship in recent years despite the violent colonial legacy of an uprising in the early 1950s, which led to a period known as “the emergency”, which ran from 1952 until 1960.
Continue reading...Order comes after UN approved mission to send Kenya-led police officers to help Haiti combat rampant gang violence
A Kenyan court temporarily blocked the government from deploying hundreds of police personnel in Haiti in a UN-approved mission aimed at helping the Caribbean nation tackle rampant gang violence.
The court order issued on Monday is valid until 24 October and followed a petition jointly filed by one of the opposition political parties and two Kenyans who say the decision to deploy the police officers outside the east African country is illegal.
Continue reading...Security council approves mission but UN faces concerns over outside force with its own record of abuses
The UN security council has voted to send a Kenyan-led multinational security force to Haiti to help its government combat violent gangs, which have driven the Caribbean country into anarchy.
A US resolution to approve the force, six years since the closure of a previous UN stabilisation mission, drew 13 votes in favour with Russia and China abstaining.
Continue reading...Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake, who ran for president in Kenya before moving to Brisbane, sentenced to 11 years
A refugee to Australia who had been a presidential candidate in Kenya said “the devil has gone now” after punching his son in the stomach and throwing the three-year-old against a bathroom wall.
Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake was sentenced on Friday to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Sinclair, who died on his bedroom floor at Kallangur, north of Brisbane, in June 2014.
Continue reading...UK law firm Leigh Day says money given to 77 workers for murders and rapes ‘sidesteps’ multinational’s responsibility over attack
Unilever is to make payments to 77 tea pickers who worked on one of its plantations in Kenya that was targeted during post-election violence in 2007.
The UK law firm Leigh Day, representing the workers, said the London-based consumer goods multinational had agreed to make voluntary, or ex-gratia, payments to former workers at its subsidiary Unilever Tea Kenya, who were attacked by armed assailants at its plantation in Kericho.
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