The national men’s volleyball team, Wafalme, must strive for a strong performance at the Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship, which starts tomorrow in Tunis, Tunisia. A lot is at stake at the 16-team championship. The winners will earn a direct ticket to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, while the top three will qualify for the 2027 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Cup in Poland.
Kenyans are hoping Wafalme will emulate their women counterparts, Malkia Strikers, who finished second at the just-concluded Women’s African Nations Volleyball Championship in Nairobi.
Malkia Strikers may have missed out on qualification for the 2028 Olympics after losing 3-0 to Egypt, but they had already secured a place at the 2027 FIVB Women’s World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States and Canada.
The Strikers have competed at the Olympics four times and will be making their sixth appearance at the World Cup. They have also featured at the Women’s World Championship eight times.
Wafalme, by contrast, are still chasing their maiden appearance at all three global events, as well as their first podium finish at the continental championship.
Their best performance came in 1995 in Tunis, where they finished sixth in a six-team tournament. They also finished ninth in the last two editions, in Kigali in 2021 and Cairo in 2023.
The team, under coach Gideon Tarus, can improve on that record if the players combine hard work, discipline and self-belief.
However, Kenya must rethink how Wafalme are prepared for major international competitions. The Kenya Volleyball Federation, government and National Olympic Committee of Kenya must provide adequate training, competitive build-up matches and proper welfare.
It is unacceptable that the team entered this championship without adequate build-up matches and with allowances not fully paid.
Kenya cannot expect world-class performances while failing to provide world-class preparation and basic welfare. Wafalme deserve better support if they are to end their long wait for continental and global success.
Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji resurfaced on Sunday evening, accusing police of laying siege to his home over Saturday’s violence at Deputy President Kithure Kindiki’s meeting in Embu.
The uniformed and police officers in civilian clothes had been at his home in Mutunduri as early as 6am, allegedly waiting to apprehend him.
“Sending such a big number of police to my home is unnecessary. There is a better way to use the police. A simple summon to any police station is enough. This is pure misuse of taxpayers’ money,” Mr Mukunji wrote on his Facebook page.
The MP said he was away from home attending a Sunday service in Mwea Ward, Mbeere South Constituency, when the officers arrived.
“Police came home but I had already left for church. I’m now in church, let them come and arrest me,” he said.
Heavily armed officers, some in plainclothes, had surrounded the MP’s rural home in Mutunduri a day after hostile youths attempted to disrupt Prof Kindiki’s meeting at Nembure Stadium in Embu County.
The officers camped at the MP’s gate for hours seeking to establish the lawmaker’s whereabouts following the violence that erupted during Saturday’s meeting.
The presence of the officers caused panic at the homestead as they remained there for several hours.
However, Eastern Regional Police Commander Stephen Chebet denied claims that police were looking for Mr Mukunji.
Asked why officers were deployed around the MP’s home, Mr Chebet said they were conducting patrols to maintain peace in the area.
“The officers were patrolling Mutunduri and the MP’s home area is not restricted,” he said.
Mr Chebet, however, said police would question the MP if investigations established that he was linked to the violence.
“If it is established that the MP is responsible for the violence, then we shall visit him,” he said.
The police boss confirmed that several suspects had been arrested in connection with the chaos at Nembure.
“I can confirm that we are holding some suspects and we are compiling the list,” he said.
The reported police presence at Mr Mukunji’s home came a day after violence disrupted Prof Kindiki’s meeting at Nembure, where one person was killed and several vehicles were torched.
The Deputy President strongly condemned the violence, saying the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) regretted the loss of life and damage caused by youths who attempted to disrupt the party meeting.
“I condemn violence and demand that law enforcement agencies take punitive measures against all those responsible for perpetuating political violence,” Prof Kindiki said.
He stressed that UDA stood for issue-based politics and a contest over which party had a better development record and policy agenda for Kenya, rather than forcing political support through “lies, violence and useless slogans.”
“Our party leadership in Embu has been tasked with verifying the exact nature of the loss and damage, and to coordinate responses to stand in solidarity with all those adversely affected in one way or another,” he said.
The violence has since escalated political tensions in Embu, with Mr Mukunji denying involvement in the disruption while accusing the government of targeting him.
Meanwhile, Prof Kindiki has asked the Kenyan electorate to accord President William Ruto a fair assessment based on his development record and not the vengeful narrative waged by his opponents in next year's General Election.
The DP, while outlining the Kenya Kwanza Administration's performance scorecard in the last four years, said President Ruto had exceeded the expectations of his critics in the designing and implementation of transformative development projects and programmes, aimed at growing grassroots economy and empowering millions of Kenyans to rise from poverty.
He also hit out at the critics of the Government, accusing them of inciting anger and hatred against the President, instead of offering alternative policies.
“When you ask them to table alternative policies and development programmes, they tell you ‘Kasongo must go’. When you ask them what plans they have to help millions of young people across the country looking for jobs, they say ‘soprano’ and other useless things. How can such people be trusted with the leadership of our country? How can such clueless people be an alternative for President Ruto who has a solid plan that envisages Kenya beyond 2030? Let us be fair to President Ruto,” he said.
According to Prof Kindiki, opponents of the Ruto administration had given the Government 6 months to collapse under the weight of public debt and economic pressure, but innovative policies and interventions had managed to save the economy from a total shutdown.
The government has allocated Sh1.65 billion for the maintenance of the deteriorating Thika Superhighway, highlighting the growing cost of maintaining the Sh27 billion infrastructure project that was once hailed as a masterpiece.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure told Parliament that the maintenance allocation for the financial year 2025/26 was Sh1,400,632,612.41, while Sh1,649,541,319 has been allocated for the current financial year.
Kenyan farmers and the fertiliser supply chain could get a reprieve after Somali pirates released a cargo vessel carrying fertiliser bound for Mombasa, ending a four month ordeal that has highlighted rising piracy risks along the Horn of Africa shipping route.
Turkish-managed general cargo vessel Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged MV Sward was released off Garacad on the Puntland coast after being held by pirates since April 26.
A city lawyer has won a claim against a dry cleaner after a three-piece Italian suit he entrusted to the company for dry-cleaning was returned with dark patches and loose threads.
The Small Claims Court awarded lawyer Emmanuel Mumia Sh114,616.36, being the proved value of the damaged suit, after finding that he had established a loss arising from the condition of the garments after cleaning.
For players who use composite baseball or softball bats, the break-in period can feel like part of the equipment itself. A new composite bat may need repeated contact before the barrel reaches the feel and responsiveness a player expects. That is where rolling enters the conversation.Rolling uses controlled pressure to flex a composite barrel and accelerate part of the natural break-in process.
The uneasy truce between President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Oburu Oginga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is facing a fresh test as the two parties begin confronting the most difficult question in their broad-based government arrangement — who gets to contest where in 2027.
Is a Cabinet Secretary in a critical docket losing the confidence of close allies and key State operatives? Questions are quietly emerging within government over the CS’s grip on his docket, with aides pointing to alleged missteps.
Those familiar with the internal dynamics say his Principal Secretary has come under fire, at times appearing to absorb criticism intended for the CS. The growing frustration has sparked questions about whether the CS can discharge his mandate. Some allies now privately question his continued stay in office.
A Member of Parliament has been avoiding meeting his colleagues for several weeks now. Fellow parliamentarians say the MP has been skipping coming to the House over an explosive remark he made outside the House a few weeks back.
According to the House rules, MPs cannot discuss the conduct of their colleague unless a substantive motion is introduced and in the presence of the subject-member.
Well aware of this provision, the MP has been finding excuses not to attend sessions and has even at one time travelled outside the country at the time the legislators were “baying for his blood”. It’s just a matter of time to see if the MP will account for his loose mouth.
Just who are the “vultures” in the country’s major political parties? The question has triggered a debate after an MP raised concerns over “vultures” circling a series of events lined up in coming months. The legislator, considered close to the party’s top leadership, is said to be unhappy with unnamed officials whom she accuses of conflicts of interest and using proxies to do business with the party.
Her concerns reportedly centre on contracts and supplies that, she argues, should benefit young people and vulnerable groups. She has questioned why officials would profit from “solemn” activities.
Did some party officials nearly come to blows over a vacant parliamentary commission post? The contest for the position appears to have generated considerable heat.
The scramble has also allegedly opened a window for some aides to cash in, with claims that individuals linked to senior officials have been approaching unsuspecting applicants and collecting money while promising to influence the outcome.
Whether the aides are acting on their own initiative or with the knowledge of their political masters remains unclear. As competing interests collide, one question lingers: who will ultimately secure the coveted vacant commission seat?
A political party is quietly grappling with an unusual leadership dilemma after one of its senior officials was barred from accessing office despite remaining a fully registered member.
The development has sparked murmurs within and outside the party, with officials and members questioning the move and whether it is part of a wider power struggle.
The emerging consensus among some party insiders is that unnamed “powerful forces” could be working behind the scenes to weaken the official and disrupt the party’s operations ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The episode has reportedly deepened suspicions of a campaign to sideline certain leaders, raising questions over who is pulling the strings and what interests are at play.
Is the recruitment of a senior officer of a critical agency causing division within the top leadership of the agency? Our sources within the agency have whispered to us that there is growing tension and fights between the leadership of the agency that has put to abeyance the much-anticipated shortlist.
And now, word has it that the staff of the agency have resolved not to provide the much-needed input on a burning tendering dispute so as to put to shame the agency.
For years, political fortunes across the country could be shaped around elders sitting under a tree, where community leaders negotiated consensus and rallied voters behind preferred candidates.
From the coast, Mt Kenya, Rift Valley, Nyanza and Northern Kenya where negotiated democracy reigned supreme, elders’ word was almost final.
In a government often dominated by career politicians, Prof Jane Kere Imbunya stands out as a scholar, reformer and administrator whose rise from a rural village classroom to the apex of public service is a testament to merit, grit and academic excellence.The Principal Secretary for the State Department for Public Service and Human Capital Development, Prof Imbunya is the woman President William Ruto has entrusted with the critical task of transforming Kenya’s public service into an efficient, ethical and people-centered institution.
