Research across 200 schools in 11 counties finds most teachers rely on whole‑class methods, with limited use of materials and ICT, while many Grade 3 pupils struggle with reading and maths basics.
Court documents show Sonja Louise Madzikanda initially demanded a KSh 3.2 billion lump sum, monthly maintenance and asset claims in her divorce case against the late Wicknell Chivayo.
YouTube's updated Shorts algorithm will prioritize original commentary and editing, signalling tougher limits for creators who simply repost podcast or livestream excerpts.
Kenya’s NTSA mandates a distinct ‘KM’ prefix and unique dimensions for motorcycle registration plates, separating them from ordinary vehicle plates under the 2016 Traffic Rules.
The National Transport and Safety Authority has warned motorists to avoid dangerous overtaking and maintain lane discipline following a multi‑vehicle collision in Salama that left 17 dead.
Christa Pike, a Tennessee death‑row inmate, was placed on a ventilator after two doses of pentobarbital failed to end her life, prompting emergency legal motions and a statewide execution halt.
A GEOGLAM report warns that prolonged drought and extreme heat have left large parts of East Africa, including Kenya's western maize belt, facing harvests up to 36% below average.
World Health Organisation figures reveal ischaemic heart disease caused about 9.5 million deaths in 2023, remaining the top global killer while disease patterns differ by income level.
The Omani pilot suspected of attacking a colleague on a Tel Aviv‑bound Flydubai flight was previously removed from Oman Air over extremist concerns, sources say.
Nairobi City Thunder secured a third consecutive National Basketball League title with a 74‑70 victory over Kenya Ports Authority in a dramatic Game Three at Kasarani Gymnasium.
This is potentially a major banking and labour story , especially because Equity itself has publicly confirmed an aggressive shift toward AI. Under the restructuring exercise, employees across the organisation are being encouraged to apply afresh for positions in the redesigned structure, with Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi understood to be the notable exception. Information shared with this publication indicates that the shake-up could ultimately affect a substantial number of employees, with estimates circulating internally putting potential workforce reductions in the region of 900 to 1,500 positions . This publication has not independently confirmed the final number of positions that will be eliminated, and Equity has not publicly announced a redundancy figure. The exercise would represent one of the most consequential workforce transformations in Kenya's banking industry in recent years and comes as Equity aggressively embeds artificial intelligence and automation into its operations. The technological transformation itself is no secret. Equity disclosed in August that 82 per cent of its employees had completed a business-focused generative AI course , while 55 per cent had completed two additional courses through Huawei ICT Academy. Staff had accumulated 119,980 hours of guided AI instruction , and hundreds had been admitted to advanced programmes in financial engineering and applied AI. Equity Bank The bank has also disclosed that 98.3 per cent of its transactions are now conducted outside traditional branches , while 89.7 per cent are processed through digital platforms. Equity attributed improvements in its cost-to-income ratio partly to productivity gains, shared services and customers migrating to digital channels. Equity Group Holdings Those figures demonstrate just how radically the economics of traditional branch banking are changing. Equity itself said earlier this year that it had “restructured its operating model” and invested heavily in digital and AI-enabled capabilities as part of building what it describes as a future-ready institution. Equity Group The unanswered question is what that future will mean for thousands of employees whose jobs were designed for an earlier era of banking. If the reported reapplication exercise proceeds across the organisation, employees could effectively find themselves competing for positions in a structure increasingly designed around automation, analytics, artificial intelligence and digital customer service. For Equity, the transformation promises greater efficiency and scalability. For its employees, however, the same transformation could become a defining test of whether workers can successfully transition into the new technology-heavy organisation. The bank has publicly emphasised upskilling , rather than redundancies, when discussing its AI transformation. CEO James Mwangi has described staff development as an important pillar of the strategy, and Equity's published results highlight extensive investment in AI education and advanced technical training. Equity Bank That makes the reported internal restructuring particularly significant. If between 900 and 1,500 positions ultimately disappear, Equity's technological transformation will no longer be merely a story about customers moving from banking halls to smartphones. It will also become a major Kenyan case study in how artificial intelligence is reshaping white-collar employment. Equity has nevertheless made its strategic direction unmistakable: the institution is moving rapidly towards an operating model built around digital platforms, artificial intelligence, automation and a technologically skilled workforce . The next question is how many of today's employees will have a place in that organisation when the restructuring is complete.
New research shows an antibiotic‑resistance gene enables Clostridioides difficile to produce more resilient spores that survive hospital cleaning and laundry temperatures.
The Institution of Engineers of Kenya has instructed residents of Blocks M, N and P at Karibu Homes in Athi River to vacate pending repair and strengthening works after engineers identified widening structural cracks.
Kenya’s health cabinet secretary says a new memorandum with Turkey will boost specialist training, build Uwezo hospitals and child‑women centres in six counties.
BY KT Team Kisumu taxpayers are staring at a staggering KSh7.203 billion liability arising from a failed tuck-shop project after the High Court found the Kisumu City Board and County Government liable for frustrating a contract with Spacebuster Limited in proceedings where the defendants ultimately called no evidence and did not cross-examine the company's witness. The dispute traces back to a contract signed on December 2, 2020 , under which Spacebuster was to design, install and manage at least 6,000 tuck shops at designated locations in Kisumu for a period of 10 years. Under the commercial arrangement recorded by the High Court, each tuck shop was expected to generate KSh10,000 in monthly rent. The Kisumu City Board was to receive KSh500 from each unit while Spacebuster retained KSh9,500. SheriaHub Those numbers would eventually become extraordinarily expensive for the county. Justice M.S. Shariff awarded Spacebuster KSh363.33 million in direct expenditure and losses and another KSh6.84 billion in projected income , bringing the principal award to KSh7.20333 billion , before interest and legal costs. Kenya Law Kisumu Walked Away From the Trial Perhaps the most striking aspect of the case is how Kisumu City and the County Government handled their defence. Court records show that the defendants had filed a defence and counterclaim, themselves seeking KSh360 million for breach of contract and KSh10 billion for alleged loss of business. But when Spacebuster's case eventually came up for hearing, the defendants sought an adjournment because their intended witness, then Acting City Manager Michael Abala Wanga , was said to be outside the court's jurisdiction. The court declined the adjournment. The defendants subsequently sought Justice Shariff's recusal. That effort also failed. According to the court record, their advocates then opted not to participate in the proceedings , meaning Spacebuster's witness was not cross-examined and the defendants ultimately presented no evidence supporting their defence and counterclaim. SheriaHub Justice Shariff was particularly critical of that decision. In a December 2024 ruling, the judge said the defendants had effectively squandered their opportunity to present their defence and prosecute their counterclaim after choosing not to participate. SheriaHub The consequences were enormous. Spacebuster's evidence — including its financial calculations and serious accusations surrounding the collapse of the project — went into the evidential record without being challenged through cross-examination. The KSh10 Million Bribery Claim At the centre of the case was an explosive accusation against Wanga. Spacebuster managing director Babior Newton Ong'ende testified that after the company sought approval to install tuck shops in designated areas, he was directed to meet Wanga. According to his testimony, Wanga demanded KSh10 million before allowing Spacebuster to install tuck shops in a designated area , and the payment was allegedly expected each time approval was required for another designated site. That was Spacebuster's evidence, and because Kisumu's lawyers declined to cross-examine the witness or present contrary evidence at trial, the accusation was not rebutted in those proceedings. Kenya Law Justice Shariff ultimately made a strong finding, stating that the contract had been frustrated after Spacebuster declined to make the payment described by its witness. The judgment sharply criticised Wanga's conduct and concluded that his actions exposed the defendants — and ultimately taxpayers — to liability. Kenya Law Wanga, however, now disputes the bribery accusation. In a petition reported on October 2, 2026, he described it as malicious, defamatory and unsupported, while challenging how the case was handled and saying the city had lodged an appeal and intended to seek a stay of execution. thefocuspaper.co.ke That distinction matters: the bribery claim was accepted by the trial court in a civil case where the evidence went unchallenged; it should not be presented as a criminal conviction for bribery. How a Tuck-Shop Contract Became a KSh7.2 Billion Bill Spacebuster told the court it had already invested heavily in implementing the project. The company said it purchased 465 containers at KSh520,000 each . It also claimed storage expenses of KSh41.83 million, transportation costs of KSh7.84 million, fabrication expenses of KSh32.64 million, site planning and design costs, ground-clearance expenses, cabro works, logistics and losses resulting from vandalism and destruction. The court accepted direct expenditure and losses totalling KSh363.33 million . Kenya Law But that was only a fraction of the eventual judgment. The real financial bombshell came from the contract's compensation provisions. Clause 11.2 provided for compensation where material default or breach by the contracting authority caused losses to the service provider. Crucially, where an act or omission by the contracting authority precipitated termination, the provision contemplated payment of income the service provider would have earned during the remaining contract period. Kenya Law Spacebuster calculated its lost income using 6,000 tuck shops × KSh9,500 per month × 120 months . The result was KSh6.84 billion . Justice Shariff accepted that calculation. Added to the KSh363.33 million in direct expenditure and losses, the bill reached KSh7,203,330,000 , excluding interest and costs. Kenya Law County Says Containers Were in the Wrong Places There is another side to the dispute. The county's public explanation when the project was stopped was that some containers had been installed in problematic locations, including drainage areas and walkways. Contemporary accounts also raised questions about whether some locations were gazetted or otherwise properly approved. kenyainsights.com Wanga has maintained that the project was suspended because of what he describes as problems and misrepresentations surrounding the contract. His October 2026 petition also argues that Spacebuster had not demonstrated compliance with certain financial-capacity and approval requirements. thefocuspaper.co.ke The problem for Kisumu is that these arguments did not become competing trial evidence capable of being tested against Spacebuster's case because of the defendants' decision not to participate after losing their adjournment and recusal applications. That procedural decision now sits at the heart of a multibillion-shilling dispute. Kisumu Moves to Fight the Judgment The battle is not necessarily over. Wanga says the city has lodged an appeal and intends to seek a stay of execution . He has also petitioned Chief Justice Martha Koome and the Judicial Service Commission over the handling of the proceedings, according to reporting published on October 2. Those complaints are Wanga's claims and have not been established as findings against the judge. thefocuspaper.co.ke The appeal process could therefore determine whether the KSh7.203 billion judgment ultimately survives in its present form and whether Spacebuster can enforce the entire award. For Kisumu residents, however, the case raises a much larger public-interest question: how did a project involving 6,000 small tuck shops expose public institutions to a judgment exceeding KSh7 billion? The court record provides part of the answer. A contract carrying substantial compensation obligations was signed. The project collapsed months later. Spacebuster sued. Kisumu filed a defence and an enormous counterclaim but, when the critical trial arrived, its lawyers did not cross-examine Spacebuster's witness and the defendants presented no evidence of their own. The result was a judgment of KSh7.20333 billion plus interest and costs — a liability that Kisumu is now trying to overturn.
BY KT Team The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested two more senior Nyamira County Assembly officials as investigations into a KSh367 million office block tender widen, with investigators saying procurement irregularities resulted in the loss of more than KSh30 million in public funds . The latest suspects are David Nyarango Ombego , the Assembly’s Deputy Clerk and Director of Legislative, Legal Procedure and Committee Services, and Joyce Onyiego , Director of Monitoring and Evaluation. According to EACC, the two officials were arrested within Kisii County in a coordinated operation and taken to the Commission’s South Nyanza Regional Office in Kisii for processing ahead of their expected arraignment. The arrests relate to investigations into the award and implementation of a KSh367 million contract for construction of an office block for the Nyamira County Assembly . EACC says irregularities surrounding the tender resulted in an estimated KSh30,187,396 loss to the public , claims that will now form part of the criminal proceedings against the officials. Ombego and Onyiego are expected to face several charges, including abuse of office, wilful failure to comply with laws governing the management of public funds and negligence of official duty . The latest arrests bring additional senior officials into a case that has already resulted in the prosecution of three others. Those previously arrested and charged are Duke Simeon Onyari , Clerk of the Nyamira County Assembly; Eng. Josephat Matini Oruru , Chief Officer for Roads and Public Works; and Simon Ondari Ogecha , an Infrastructure Officer. The investigation places the multimillion-shilling Assembly construction project under renewed scrutiny as EACC pursues officials it believes bear responsibility for the questioned expenditure. The Commission has not, in the information provided, detailed precisely how the KSh30.18 million loss was calculated or the individual role it says each of the two newly arrested officials played in causing the loss. Those particulars are expected to become clearer once the suspects are formally charged and the prosecution presents its case in court. The arrests and anticipated charges do not amount to convictions. Ombego, Onyiego and the other officials facing prosecution remain entitled to the presumption of innocence unless and until the charges against them are proved in court.
The Tourism Fund urged continuous training and highlighted over 9,000 beneficiaries as it seeks to boost competitiveness and resilience in Kenya’s tourism industry.
President Lee Jae‑Myung warned of “further action” if Ukraine does not apologise for revealing the transfer of two North Korean POWs to Seoul.
President Donald Trump’s nominee Henry T. Wooster, a former Special Forces officer and career diplomat, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to replace Meg Whitman in Nairobi.
Captain Smit Machchhar told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi he opened the cockpit door of a Flydubai plane under attack, helping passengers regain control before a safe landing in Saudi Arabia.
UN Women’s new report projects an extra 11.7 million women and girls could face food insecurity by the end of 2026 as the Middle East conflict drives up living costs.
Irish cricketer Paul Stirling, a mainstay of the national side since 2008, has an older brother Richard who played for Ireland’s Under‑19 team but never reached senior level.
A senior magistrate denied bail to Lumakanda OCS Wycliffe Kwendo, citing substantial risk of witness interference in the defilement case.
A Kenyan student studying in the United Kingdom was drugged, robbed and left unconscious on a Green Line Royal bus, losing property valued at KSh 2,008,725, police say.
A KIPPRA report finds that limited access to low‑carbon machinery, weak policy implementation and scarce green finance keep Kenya’s eco‑friendly export ambitions largely unrealised.
A constitutional petition filed in Kiambu High Court challenges the continued tenure of KURA Director-General Eng. Silas Murira Kinoti, alleging his term expired on June 18, 2026.
The University of Rochester suspended most new Curricular Practical Training authorisations, while Cornell introduced stricter eligibility rules for international student internships.
Manchester City has lodged an appeal against an independent commission’s guilty verdict on Premier League financial rule breaches, citing errors and presenting new evidence.
A businessman in Solihull was beaten with hammers and his heavily pregnant wife threatened with death while thieves forced a crypto transfer, police say.
President William Ruto inspected the new Likoni Ferry terminal on Oct. 1, outlining upgrades aimed at improving movement for the half‑million daily passengers and thousands of vehicles.
George Russell said increased downforce from Mercedes' latest aerodynamic package was offset by severe tyre degradation during the opening practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix held at Sepang.
Kenya's Registrar of Political Parties has set aside the name Linda Mwananchi Movement for a three‑month period, moving the group linked to Senator Edwin Sifuna closer to formal registration.
Relatives of late Zimbabwean entrepreneur Wicknell Chivayo have delayed setting a burial date until his sisters, currently abroad, can return home.
Kenya’s Communications Authority has ordered mobile operators to bypass opt‑in and opt‑out rules for government‑approved emergency SMS during El Niño preparedness and a warning‑system simulation.
Johnson Muthama, a founding UDA chairman and PSC commissioner, met Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Oct. 1, prompting political speculation ahead of the 2027 election.
Gareth Delany has become a key all‑rounder for Ireland’s men’s side while his sister Laura Katherine Delany captains the Irish women’s national team.
President William Ruto has appealed to ODM and UDA leaders in Mombasa to stay united while the race for the 2027 gubernatorial seat heats up. He cautioned them against internal quarrels, arguing that division would only weaken their position. The coastal county is shaping up as a battleground between the two parties heading into the next election.
Quavo’s 14‑track album “QRÖMELIFE,” released Friday, reflects his new role as a father, features high‑profile collaborators and marks a revived partnership with Offset amid a wave of AI‑generated “Hotel Lobby” videos.
Three‑time Grammy winner Victoria Monét returns Friday with the 22‑track album ‘Frequency of Love’, featuring collaborations with Bruno Mars, SZA and others.
Amnesty International has called on the AU’s Peace and Security Council to hold an emergency meeting after fresh clashes spread across Tigray, Afar and Amhara, threatening civilians.
Health authorities report six new Ebola infections in Alimbongo and Kayna, prompting intensified surveillance and contact‑tracing efforts in the rebel‑held zones.
The Sudanese Armed Forces announced on Friday they have taken full control of Al‑Mazroub, a strategic town in North Kordofan, after intense fighting with the Rapid Support Forces.
G7 leaders have agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil through the IEA over the next four months to counter supply shortages and rising fuel prices.
Airlines across East Africa plan to use Free Route Airspace and User Preferred Routes, which could save thousands of flight hours, millions of dollars in fuel and reduce carbon emissions.
President William Ruto dismissed Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s claim that he looks older, stressing that Kenyan voters will decide based on proven performance, not appearance.
A coordinated walk‑out by university lecturers has suspended classes and examinations across Kenya’s public universities, sparking calls for government mediation.
Kenya’s High Court has struck down Judicial Service Commission removal proceedings targeting the Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and other Supreme Court judges, citing procedural defects and unconstitutional notices.
A drone handed to Vihiga County under the EU‑FAO Digital Land Governance Programme will boost mapping, data‑driven planning and agricultural services for all 47 counties.
A Nairobi court has ordered the detention of 14 individuals for five days as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations examines seized mobile devices linked to alleged money‑laundering offences.
Ekuru Aukot has formally asked Kenya’s Inspector General of Police to release the complete agreement and shareholder information for the proposed Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu.