The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reversed its decision to hold the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) every four years, confirming that the continental tournament will return to a two-year cycle.The decision was reached unanimously by CAF’s Executive Committee on Thursday, 29 October, following discussions about the future of African football competitions.
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New tomato grafting technology offers hope to Kiambu farmers
Kiambu County, one of Kenya’s leading tomato-producing regions, is seeking to boost crop productivity and farmers’ earnings through modern agricultural technologies as growers continue to grapple with persistent pests, diseases and limited access to quality planting materials.Tomato farmers have been facing production losses caused by soil-borne diseases, pests and changing environmental conditions, challenges that have affected yields and the profitability of the crop.
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Mesach Semakula gets backing from V&A Sherry ahead of 50 Years of Greatness Concert
With just two weeks to his 50 Years of Greatness concert, Mesach Semakula received support from fellow musicians and members of Uganda’s entertainment industry at a press conference held at Papaz Spot in Makindye today Thursday, October 29.The gathering brought together artistes, socialites, sponsors including V&A Sherry, and journalists, as Semakula stepped up preparations for his November 13 concert at Kingdom Kampala.
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Luhyas, Luos in Nairobi unite, form major movement ahead of 2027
Members of the Luhya and Luo communities living in Nairobi and other major towns have formed a mega movement in a show of unity ahead of the 2027 elections.The grassroots leaders mainly from Nairobi have christened the movement ‘The Nairobi we want’ with its main agenda being unifying members of the two neighbouring communities to consolidate their vote as they are the largest bloc in the capital city.
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Fear Women!: Netizens Urge Stevo Simple Boy to Flee as New Suitor Shoots Her Shot After Brenda Split.
Many have weighed in that the new woman is trying to woo Stevo through social media just like Brenda, raising doubts on her sincerity.Recently, Stevo parted ways with Brenda after DNA results proved that he isn’t Dragon Junior’s biological father.Netizens are urging Kibra-bred rapper Stevo Simple Boy to flee as a new suitor shot her shot after Brenda split with promises of treating him like a king.
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DCI Arrests Suspect Accused of Posing as Traffic Cop to Rob Bank Customers
In a statement, the DCI said detectives from the Operation Action Team (OAT) and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) arrested the suspect, Muia Mutune, also known as Fredrick Mbuta, in Embakasi Village. The arrest followed investigations into a series of robberies targeting unsuspecting victims.
“A team of detectives drawn from the Operation Action Team (OAT) and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) have arrested a suspect linked to a string of robberies in which unsuspecting victims are ambushed after withdrawing cash from banks,” the statement read.
Officers had previously arrested Mutune in April over similar incidents, but he was released on bond in July that year. Detectives continued pursuing leads until intelligence led them to him in Embakasi Village.
Mutune remains in custody as detectives prepare him for arraignment. The DCI said officers were still searching for the other suspects who remain at large.
The arrest follows several reported robberies in Nairobi in which suspects allegedly posed as police officers and stole millions of shillings from people carrying cash.
On January 23, 2026, two men wearing what appeared to be traffic police uniforms stopped a Chinese national along Kyang’ombe on the old Mombasa Road. They demanded her driving license, then took her vehicle and escaped with the KSh2.14 million she had withdrawn from two banks along Mombasa Road.
In another incident on March 17, four men wearing blue police uniforms and reflector jackets intercepted a man near Gateway Mall after he withdrew KSh4.2 million from Equity Bank’s Utawala branch. Two of the suspects were reportedly armed.
The gang allegedly accused the man of trafficking narcotics, handcuffed him, and forced him into their vehicle. The suspects then blindfolded him, abandoned him in Karen, and stole the cash.
In a third incident, a woman carrying KSh1.4 million entrusted to her by her employer was travelling by motorcycle towards Sayan Business Park when four men in a grey Mazda CX-5 intercepted her at the Cabanas Interchange.
The suspects allegedly claimed to be police officers and forced the woman and the motorcycle rider into their vehicle. They reportedly assaulted and blindfolded the two, stole the cash and their mobile phones, and then abandoned them near a hospital in Utawala.
Detectives investigating the three incidents arrested three suspects and recovered a suspected getaway vehicle, a Mazda CX-5. Officers also recovered reflector jackets and a military-style jungle hat believed to have been used in the robberies.
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Ex-USIU-Africa Student Sentenced to Death for Sarah Akello Abduction and Murder
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) announced the sentence on Thursday, October 29. Justice Kimondo found the 37-year-old guilty of killing Akello in an incident that took place between June 30 and July 1, 2012, in Kiamako, Githunguri, Kiambu County.
The ODPP said prosecutors called 17 witnesses to outline the abduction, the ransom demands made to Akello’s family, and her killing.
The court heard that Kimathi and his accomplices lured Akello into a trap, abducted her, and demanded money from her family in exchange for her release. Justice Kimondo concluded that the circumstances of the abduction and killing showed malice aforethought.
Akello was a final-year International Relations student at USIU-Africa. On the day she disappeared, she told a friend she planned to meet a man she had previously encountered at the university library.
The ODPP said evidence at trial showed that the abductors contacted Akello’s family and demanded Ksh100,000 for her release. Her mother, Hellen Atieno Aruwa, testified that a man called her from her daughter’s phone and demanded the ransom. She negotiated the amount down to Ksh70,000 and then reported the matter to Kasarani Police Station.
Akello’s boyfriend also told the court that he tried to call her. A man answered and demanded that the family send Ksh100,000 to Akello’s mobile-money account as ransom.
Investigators examined Akello’s notebook, which contained details of someone she planned to meet before she disappeared.
“The court further heard that the deceased had written in her notebook that she intended to meet a person identified as Daniel Muriithi, whose telephone contact she had also recorded. However, the court established that Mr. Kimathi did not know Muriithi and concluded that the identity had been used as part of a plan to lure the deceased,” the statement noted.
Investigators also recovered Akello’s bra, panties, and a blood-stained top from a house in Savannah where Kimathi’s girlfriend, Wairimu, lived.
A second accused person also faced trial but later absconded after the court released her on bail. The court then directed the proceedings to continue in her absence.
A postmortem examination found a laceration at the back of Akello’s head and bruises on her neck. Her tongue protruded from her mouth, and the examiner attributed her death to neck compression caused by manual strangulation.
In his judgment, Justice Kimondo found that Kimathi deliberately lured Akello into a trap before the abduction and ransom demands that preceded her killing.
“In his judgment, Justice Kimondo found that Mr. Kimathi had acted with malice aforethought, noting that the deceased had been deliberately lured into a trap for abduction and ransom before being murdered,” the statement concluded.
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Gachagua Reveals What Sifuna Told Him About His Impeachment
Speaking to KTN on Wednesday, Gachagua said Sifuna acted in the interests of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which then belonged to the opposition. Gachagua added that he would have made the same choice in Sifuna’s position.
The two men stood in opposing political camps during the impeachment. They now serve as co-principals in the United Opposition, which aims to unite behind one presidential candidate to challenge President William Ruto in 2027.
Gachagua said he raised Sifuna’s role in the impeachment when the senator visited his Wamunyoro home on October 20. He asked Sifuna how he reconciled his earlier decision with their current political partnership.
“The good young man explained to me, and I agreed with his reasoning. They were in ODM, our opponents with William Ruto. So when William Ruto reached out to ODM to give them a rope long enough to hang himself [politically], they just gave it to him,” he claimed.
Gachagua said ODM leaders saw a chance to ‘weaken’ Ruto politically by backing the removal of his deputy, who had helped mobilize Mount Kenya voters behind Ruto’s 2022 presidential campaign.
“He told me, ‘Riggy G, if you were in our shoes, you would have done the same. This guy was our opponent. He defeated us because he had the Mountain. By removing you, you lose the whole mountain, and he has lost it, by the way,’” Gachagua said.
Gachagua said Sifuna’s vote did not amount to betrayal because they had not been political allies at the time.
The former deputy president said Sifuna’s vote did not amount to betrayal because the two were not political allies at the time.
“Number two, in my community, a betrayal by an outsider is not betrayal. Sifuna and I were not in the same camp; he did not vote for me, so how does he betray me?” he posed.
“The betrayal is with the Kenya Kwanza team. These are people we were together with; we had an agreement on how to work, and we campaigned for them.”
Gachagua said his Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) would welcome former Kenya Kwanza allies who had fallen out with the ruling coalition and wanted to follow the electorate’s mood.
“Anybody who betrayed the community, you have reconciled with your soul; you have listened to the ground. The people are saying, ‘Go where the people are,’ and you want to come to DCP. There’s no vetting, there’s nothing,” he said.
He said defectors would only need to pay the party membership fee and formally announce their move.
“So, in matters of impeachment, we don’t have an issue with them (ODM),” he said.
Gachagua said the impeachment would remain a political liability for Ruto and his allies, especially in Mount Kenya. He said the president would have to explain why his former deputy had left office.
“He has to tell the people of the mountain, ‘We gave you our son to be your deputy for five years; you have come back without him. Where is he?’ He will be asked.”
“William Ruto has many questions to answer to the mountain. The Western and Nyanza people have no questions to answer because we were not in the same camp anyway. Even if they impeached us, it’s a simple matter given what is at stake,” he added.
Gachagua said the opposition must set aside personal grievances and differences to defeat the incumbent in 2027, even if that means working with people who backed his removal.
“That is why I must embrace everybody, including those who removed me from office, because I need everybody. We need each other, and we have a job to do. Even that impeachment, I have no issue with it; it’s a blessing in disguise. I’m happier than I was.”
Gachagua said the impeachment had put him in a strategic position to help shape the opposition’s political realignment as it seeks to form the next government.
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Babu Owino Reveals Ruto’s Cabinet Job Offer During Gen Z Protests
Owino said the offer came as Ruto faced mounting pressure over the anti-government demonstrations, which led the president to dissolve his cabinet in July 2024.
“Babu was approached during the Gen Z protests; Babu was supposed to be given the minister for Education. I was offered that position by President Ruto himself, and I didn’t take it then. What about now?” he said in an interview on Thee Alfa House YouTube channel.
Owino said his opposition to the broad-based government shaped his decision. He maintained that he rejected the arrangement even when the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga supported it.
“I did so because of my ideologies, what I believe in. And I’ve never believed in the broad-based government, even when Baba (Raila Odinga) was alive,” he said.
“When Baba joined the broad-based government, it is only Babu Owino in ODM that did not join the broad-based government.”
Owino also addressed concerns about leaders linked to the Linda Mwananchi movement having their own parties. The MP argued that leading a political party does not necessarily make someone more open to political persuasion. He said a leader’s principles ultimately determine their loyalties.
Owino defended his decision to establish his own party, saying it would encourage young people to seek elective office at county and national levels, including seats in county assemblies, Parliament, and the Senate, as well as governorships.
He cited past election coalitions, including the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), Jubilee, the National Super Alliance (NASA), and Azimio la Umoja, to argue that parties can unite to contest the presidency.
“There are over 100 parties in this country; it cannot just be news that Babu has a party,” he said.
Owino also pointed to the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and former Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza. He argued that party structures can give politicians a platform to build support and defend themselves.
Owino, who leads The Mwananchi Party (TMP), said ideology, not the prospect of securing government positions, would guide his political decisions.
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Jalang’o Sends Message to Critics Predicting His Political Downfall
Jalang’o said he did not expect to return to broadcasting. He said God guided his political journey and expressed confidence in his Senate bid.
The MP spoke as he drove to Jacaranda Grounds to inspect the venue for an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) rally scheduled for the weekend. He questioned why some people wanted him to fail and return to the media industry.
Some people have advised Jalang’o to keep veteran radio presenter Alex Mwakideu’s number in case he needs help finding another media job after a failed political bid.
“Number one, I have never lost Alex’s number,” he said, laughing off the suggestion that he would need Mwakideu’s help to return to broadcasting.
“And those people saying I will return to radio – what did I do wrong? I have never wronged anyone.”
Jalang’o built his public profile through comedy, acting, and radio before venturing into politics. He said divine intervention had brought him this far and that he would accept whatever path God chose for him.
“I am where I am because of God. If the Almighty wants me to go back to radio, so be it,” he said.
He acknowledged that broadcasting can pay well for talented presenters but said he did not see himself returning to the profession.
“Radio is one of the most paying jobs. Once you build your talent, radio will pay you very well. But I do not see myself going back to radio,” he said.
“God has blessed my bid.”
Jalang’o confirmed he will not defend his Lang’ata parliamentary seat in 2027 and will instead contest the Nairobi Senate position, which Edwin Sifuna currently holds. His decision has opened the Lang’ata race, with several aspirants seeking to succeed him.
Dr Davji Atellah, secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), has announced his bid for the Lang’ata seat on an ODM ticket. Abass Khalif, a South C ward representative in the Nairobi County Assembly, has also said he will seek the seat on the party ticket.
Other political figures are also eyeing the Nairobi Senate seat as Sifuna pursues higher office. Winnie Odinga, the East African Legislative Assembly MP and daughter of the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, announced her bid on October 15, 2026, during the first anniversary commemoration of her father in Bondo, Siaya County.
Nominated Senator Crystal Asige announced her intention to contest the seat on October 18, 2026.