IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon addresses the Press after a meeting with Evangelical Alliance of Kenya in Nairobi on February 4, 2026. [Benard Orwongo, StandardPressure is piling on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) —to go beyond reassurances of ‘commitment’ to conduct free, fair and credible elections in August next year. From all these, the greatest lesson for us—but the IEBC, in particular—is on getting it right in electoral affairs management. This alone takes away from the body’s reputational soundness, marking the jumping-off point of fears the country is going to the elections with an integrity-deficient umpire. Ethekon should therefore take seriously Kenyans and the United Opposition’s concerns over the IEBC’s preparedness for the task in August next year.

The media are in a geopolitical and ideological wilderness. Whatever the reason for creating media houses, symbiosis develops between government and media, similar to the symbiosis between religions and state as presumed custodians of state interests. These are first the readers whom it claims to inform, educate, and entertain. With anyone holding a smartphone playing reporter, people refuse to ‘read’, demand ‘microwave’ news, and ignore journalistic rules that stress accuracy. When people refuse to read, the press is in trouble because it will have few to educate, inform, or entertain.

Matheus Cunha has reacted to a video of a Kenyan teacher doing his celebration. Source: UGCManchester United star reacts to viral Kenyan videoThe video, which has since gone viral, captured the teacher, Elly Mtesi, entering the class to his students singing Manchester United's anthem of 'Glory Glory Man United'. The video gained further traction after it was reshared by Fabrizio Romano with Cunha among the people who commented. Viral Kenyan teacher and Manchester United fan speaksSpeaking to TUKO.co.ke, Mtesi revealed that he was in shock after the video caught the attention of Cunhaand Fabrizio. Oliver, who was in charge of Manchester United's game against Tottenham, is a Newcastle United fan.

Chief of Defence Forces General Muhoozi Kainerugaba./FILEUganda’s military chief, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has announced plans to visit Kenya in the coming months, reaffirming the strong ties between the two East African neighbours. General Muhoozi said he is ready to make amends for past mistakes, even offering traditional compensation. In a statement on X, Muhoozi said that the visit will be to meet his “big brother,” President William Ruto, highlighting the personal rapport between the two leaders. The brotherly relationship between Uganda and Kenya can never be broken," he said. General Muhoozi is well known for remarks about Kenya that have occasionally sparked public reaction and controversy.

A blast rocked a biotechnology company in Shuozhou, in northern China's Shanxi Province, claiming the lives of eight people early Saturday morning, authorities confirmed on Sunday, reported Global Times. By 9:30 am (local time) on Sunday, officials had confirmed that eight people had died as a result of the explosion. In the hours after the explosion, rescue teams conducted a comprehensive search of the workshop and surrounding areas. The industrial accident has reignited concerns about safety standards at chemical and biotech facilities in China, where rapid industrial expansion sometimes outpaces regulatory oversight. Families of the victims are reportedly receiving support as authorities work to provide answers and aid during this difficult time.

Siaya Governor James Orengo during a rally in Busia on February 8, 2026 / HANDOUTSiaya Governor James Orengo on Sunday insisted that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) must remain politically independent and field its own presidential candidate in the 2027 General Election. Orengo dismissed any suggestion that ODM could be coerced into joining a government arrangement it does not support. ODM must have a presidential candidate,” Orengo said. “We are warning those in business with the ODM party that when they reach Busia, they should not be entertained,” he said. Speaking during the tour, Babu Owino cast doubt on the direction of ODM, declaring that he no longer recognises the party in its current form.

[AFP]For nearly a year, repeated misdiagnoses of the deadly kala-azar disease left 60-year-old Harada Hussein Abdirahman's health deteriorating, as an outbreak in Kenya's arid regions claimed a record number of lives. Cases of kala-azar, also known as visceral leishmaniasis, have spiked in Kenya, from 1,575 in 2024 to 3,577 in 2025, according to the health ministry. But there are "very few facilities in the country able to actively diagnose and treat," kala-azar, Dr Paul Kibati, tropical disease expert for health NGO Amref, told AFP. Northeastern Kenya, as well as neighbouring regions in Ethiopia and Somalia, have experienced a devastating drought in recent months. "Kala-azar affects mostly the poorest in our community," Kibati said, exacerbated by malnutrition and weak immunity.

President William Ruto addresses residents in Pipeline Estate, Nairobi on February 8, 2026./PCSPresident William Ruto has urged Kenyans to elect leaders based on their development record rather than ethnic, religious, or personal considerations. Si ni kazi?” Ruto posed. President William Ruto addresses residents in Pipeline Estate, Nairobi on February 8, 2026./PCSHe said leaders should be judged solely on what they have delivered to wananchi, adding that he would present his administration’s development record for public scrutiny. “Mimi nitakuja hapa na kazi yangu, ya affordable housing, ya markets, ya barabara na ya kusafisha city, na nyinyi mtaamua,” he told the crowd. The Embakasi event drew thousands of residents and local leaders, including Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino / HANDOUTEmbakasi East MP Babu Owino has cast doubt on the direction of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), declaring that he no longer recognises the party in its current form. “We don’t know the current ODM because it is business,” the legislator said. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, Embakasi East MP, and a section of Orange Democratic Movement leaders began the Linda Mwananchi Tours. Beyond citizen engagement, the tour also serves a strategic positioning purpose for Sifuna, Owino, and allied legislators in the broader political landscape. The faction has maintained a critical stance toward the current broad-based government alignment pursued by other ODM figures, reflecting divergent political strategies within the party.

Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka has defended the United Opposition’s slogan of 'Ruto Must Go' as a rallying call for change. Kalonzo says that contrary to attacks by President William Ruto that his opponents have no agenda outside the Ruto Must Go, the team is well organised with an agenda that can only be achieved with Ruto’s exit. “The current regime attacks us daily because they sense what we already know: change is coming, and it is inevitable. The President accused opposition leaders of recycling the same one-term rhetoric without offering clear alternatives on the economy, jobs and the cost of living. Ruto said his administration remains focused on delivering its development agenda and urged Kenyans to judge leaders by tangible programmes rather than slogans.

Businesswoman and former Nominated Senator Millicent Omanga has officially broken ranks with the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and declared her alignment with the United Opposition. Omanga, who has been a long-time UDA loyalist and a vocal supporter of President William Ruto in the 2022 elections, however, stopped short of announcing the political party she will contest under. She further confirmed that she will once again seek the Nairobi County Woman Representative seat in 2027, a position she narrowly lost in the last general election. Earlier, on February 6, Omanga had publicly confirmed her intention to run for the Nairobi Woman Representative seat, saying the decision followed consultations with her supporters. Omanga joins a crowded race to succeed incumbent Esther Passaris, who has declared she will not defend her seat in 2027.

President William Ruto has dismissed attempts to revive the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition, insisting that the opposition alliance poses no threat to his re-election bid in 2027. Ruto downplayed renewed efforts to reorganise Azimio, arguing that the coalition lacks political weight without its former key affiliate, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). We will beat Azimio so early in the morning in 2022,” he said. The Azimio coalition was formed ahead of the 2022 elections as a broad alliance to challenge then-Deputy President William Ruto and the Kenya Kwanza coalition. Newly appointed Azimio Secretary General Caroli Omondi criticised alleged instructions to the Government Printer to withhold publication of the coalition’s leadership changes.

We can now reduce taxes and that is how we will transform our nation,” Ruto said. According to the President, the foundation of the current economic recovery was laid by prioritising economic stability at the start of his administration. That was the biggest problem we had, the stability of our economy,” Ruto said. “We are taking proposals to Parliament when they resume next week because we are in the process of reducing the tax burden on Kenyans,” Ruto said. “Those earning up to Sh50,000 we reduce the tax by 5 per cent,” Ruto said.

Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika at Kisima Farm, Njoro, in Nakuru County. The governor accused Cheruiyot of ethnic mobilisation in Nakuru, a cosmopolitan county with a majority Kikuyu and Kalenjin population. A close aide of Senator Cheruiyot told the Star that during the meeting, residents expressed disgruntlement with Kihika’s leadership, accusing her of marginalisation. Gachagua, the DCP leader, has announced a two-day tour of Nakuru county on February 27-28, despite what he has alleged to be threats by Kihika’s husband, Sam Mburu, not to step in the county. Sources in DCP indicate that Gachagua is expected to back former NHIF chief executive Geoffrey Mwangi as the party’s preferred candidate for the Nakuru governor seat.

In the UK, men are twice as likely to report using cocaine as women. They also made up nearly 80 per cent of the deaths involving the drug in 2024 (a figure which has increased consecutively each year for the past 13, attributed to the rise in cocaine’s purity, making it easier to overdose). In both men’s experiences, inside and outside of work, it’s men who do cocaine the most. Studies have shown that men are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviours, but surely there must be more to why blokes love coke so much?