THE CURRENT DISCOURSE

 Ghana's parliament has passed a tough new bill that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+. It also imposes a maximum five-year jail term for forming or funding LGBTQ+ groups. Lawmakers heckled down attempts to replace prison sentences with community service and counselling. It is the latest sign of growing opposition to LGBTQ+ rights in the conservative West African nation. The bill, which had the backing of Ghana's two major political parties, will come into effect only if President Nana Akufo-Addo signs it into law. He previously said that he would do so if the majority of Ghanaians want him to. Gay sex is already against the law in Ghana - it carries a three-year prison sentence. Last month Amnesty International warned that the bill "poses significant threats to the fundamental rights and freedoms" of LGBTQ+ people. Activists fear there will now be witch-hunts against members of the LGBTQ+ community and those

  Inset: Raila Odinga, ODM Leader and Key Contender AU Chairperson position 2024 Raila Odinga, the leader of Azimio, has reiterated that he will not silence the opposition in his quest to become the fifth chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission. Ensuring that he would be only a two-hour flight from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he would be stationed if his campaign succeeds, Raila offered the guarantee on Wednesday. "I'll be available and will respond to calls whenever they come in. "I'm eager to collaborate with all of you," he declared. President Ruto, who has since endorsed Raila's candidacy, was involved in a recent liaison that raised questions about possible concessions among the opposition. The opposition would remain "unbwogable," the former prime minister stressed in his speech to attendees of the Homa Bay Investment Conference. Leader of the Wiper Party Kalonzo Musyoka had earlier given assurances that if Raila wins the AU p

                                       Kenya will resume printing national ID cards, the government announced after the country’s high court lifted an injunction against the new Maisha Namba digital ID system. This decision arrived on 23rd February 2024 allows Kenyan authorities to address a backlog of 600,000 applications for new or replacement IDs. Immigration Principal Secretary Julius Bitok thanked Kenyans for their patience with the process and said his agency is committed to expediting the digital ID issuance process. High Court Judge John Chigiti ruled that Maisha Card printing could resume, but also ordered the complaint by Katiba Institute to be heard by the court’s constitutional human rights division. The State Department of Immigration & Citizen Services had requested the injunction be lifted because the Katiba Institute failed to disclose that a similar complaint had been filed in a different venue, raising the risk of contradictory rulings.  The complaint with the con

                                        Nairobi City Council Toilet at Langata Cemetry The entrance to Nairobi’s Lang’ata Cemetery is a hive of activity. Mourners dressed in black arrive in droves to say goodbye to their loved ones. The unguarded entrance, a rickety gate in faded white and blue, welcomes you to Nairobi’s largest cemetery, covering some 120 acres. Looking around the entrance, one wonders if it is more of a ceremonial gate. The huge cemetery can be accessed from any point as it is not entirely fenced. Only the part along Langata Road has a shrub and chain link fence. The rest of the cemetery is left open with a few concrete pillars standing, probably used to build the fence. There is a sombre mood in every footstep, every breath, but the aura of abandonment that is synonymous with death is palpable in the cemetery. The Nation visited the cemetery after receiving complaints from mourners about the poor state of toilet facilities within the cemetery. Visitors arriving at t

                                                Three mysterious men who visited Kiptum's home on February 11th, 2024 arrested. Three out of four suspects who visited the late World Record holder Kelvin Kiptum's home days before his death have been arrested. Police on Wednesday, February 14, apprehended the trio in Elgeyo Marakwet and temporarily detained them at Kaptagat Police Station until 11 am.  The Sub-county Commander Keiyo South Abdullahi Dahir, confirming the arrests, detailed that the trio were transferred to the County Criminal Investigations Officer, Elgeyo Marakwet for further questioning. Detectives also launched a manhunt for the remaining suspect whose whereabouts are still unknown.  According to the commander, the three were called in for questioning, to shed light on their conversation with Kiptum's father.  A vehicle which the suspects used to access the father's house was also seized, with detectives yet to state whether it would be processed for fin

  A lady believed to be a girlfriend to the deceased marathoner Kelvin Kiptum has taken to social media to mourn him. The grieving lady revealed that Kiptum had sent her a gift before his death. Little did she know that he was saying goodbye. “I wish ningejua hii ingekuwa gift ya kuniambia goodbye. Rest in peace Kevo,” she wrote. Kiptum was married with two kids and it is not clear whether his wife, Asentah Cheruto, was aware that he had another woman on the side. The late marathoner died on Sunday night after he was involved in a tragic road accident. See a photo of his girlfriend. Below is a picture of Kiptum’s wife Asentah Cheruto.

Residents of Naivasha are shaken by the weekend murder of a woman whose throat was slit with a knife. The identity of the killer was not known but a phone possibly belonging to him, or the victim was found. The knife believed used in the murder was found. The body was found on Sunday in a dingy lodging in the town center as cases of murdered women keep rising. Increasing cases of femicide have caused an uproar in Kenya and other African countries. Kenya has set up a task force to investigate and reduce the killings. Naivasha OCPD Stephen Kirui said the woman and a man checked into the lodging along Kariuki Chotara Road hours before the body was recovered. He said workers in the morning found the room unlocked and found the body on the bed, its sheets soaked in blood. “From initial investigations, the victim was not sexually abused but the killer used a sharp knife to slit her throat before fleeing,” he said. Kirui said investigating officers were going through the mobile phone found at

  MUAMMAR GADDAFI: A Legacy of fraternity and equality.                                             The Late Col. Muammar Gaddafi, ruler of Libya  from 1969-2011 Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (7 June 1942 – 20 October 2011) was a Libyan revolutionary, politician, and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his killing in 2011 by rebel forces. He first served as Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then as the Brotherly Leader of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. Initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, Gaddafi later ruled according to his own Third International Theory. Globally, this African icon, The Late Col. Muammar Gaddafi was labeled a tyrant who hated his people, and before his demise in 2011, he was a man under siege, hunted by NATO forces as he was accused of tyranny and gross abuse of human rights.  A highly divisive figure, Gaddafi dominated Libya