|
LISTEN TO THIS THE AFRICANA VOICE ARTICLE NOW
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Police in Kenya on Sunday, April 23, said they had exhumed more than 40 bodies near the coastal town of Malindi as they investigate Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, a controversial preacher with the Good News International Church, said to have told his followers to starve to death to see Jesus.
The bodies are being recovered in shallow graves placed in different places around Shakahola Forest.
112 people missing as Shakahola cult probe continues, Red Cross records reports on missing persons at their tracing desk in Malindi pic.twitter.com/2LQQIoRMra
— Africana Voice (Formerly Hotseatnews) (@AfricanaVoice) April 24, 2023
Kenya’s Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the incident is “the clearest abuse of the constitutionally enshrined human right to freedom of worship.” And declared the 800-acre forest a crime scene.
Kindiki has called for the regulation of religious institutions.
“While the State remains respectful of religious freedom, this horrendous blight on our conscience must lead not only to the most severe punishment of the perpetrator(s) of the atrocity on so many innocent souls, but tighter regulation (including self- regulation) of every church, mosque, temple or synagogue going forward,” Kindiki said in a tweet.
Children’s bodies were among those exhumed, and police said they expected to find even more bodies. The shallow graves are in Shakahola forest, where 15 Good News International Church members were rescued last week.
Cult leader Nthenge is in custody pending a court appearance. He was arrested on April 15.
In its latest news update, KBC reports that 73 bodies have been discovered, buried in shallow graves.
One of the graves is believed to contain the bodies of 5 members of the same family.
According to media reports, Nthenge has denied wrongdoing but has been refused bail. He insists that he shut down his church in 2019.
He allegedly told followers to starve themselves to “meet Jesus.”
The preacher reportedly named three villages, Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Judea, and baptized his followers in ponds before telling them to fast until they met Jesus.
This is a developing story.
Countries scramble to evacuate diplomats and citizens from Khartoum amid escalating fighting
Kenya is among the countries that is asking its citizens to leave Sudan as the situation deteriorates.
On April 21, Diaspora Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu posted an urgent message on her Twitter account:
“REGISTER FOR EVACUATION Kenyans in Sudan: if you want to evacuated, URGENTLY text or WhatsApp us:
- Your name
- Passport number
- Exact location Number
- details of people in your household
Emergency numbers provided:
- +249900194854
- +254114757002
‼️REGISTER FOR EVACUATION‼️
Kenyans in Sudan: if you want to evacuated, URGENTLY text/WhatsApp us:
Your name
Passport number
Exact location
Number & details of people in your household @Diaspora_KE @ForeignOfficeKE @citizentvkenya @ntvkenya @KBCChannel1 @K24Tv @KtnKenya pic.twitter.com/yoZb0yIMBm— Roseline K. Njogu ???????? (@roselinenjogu) April 21, 2023
Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, said Kenya has begun the evacuation of Kenyans caught in the war-torn nation.
April 23, several countries evacuated their diplomats and citizens from Sudan’s capital as fierce fighting continued to rage in Khartoum.
According to the BBC, the US and UK announced they had flown diplomats out of the country.
Italy, Belgium, Turkey, Japan, and the Netherlands also organized evacuations starting on Sunday.
A French convoy reportedly came under fire while trying to leave the embassy and had to turn back.
Sudan’s regular army and opponents – a paramilitary force called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – blamed each other for the attack.
On Friday, April 21, the RSF temporarily stopped fighting to mark Eid-ul-Fitr.
The UN, US, and other countries had pushed for a three-day truce to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The RSF said it had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire on humanitarian grounds. There was no immediate comment from the army.
Diplomatic pressure is still being stepped up to end the fighting in Sudan, which has left more than 300 people dead in the last week.
Raila wants IEBC devolved to counties
Raila Odinga, Kenya’s former prime minister and leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition, wants the country’s electoral agency devolved to counties to curb election rigging.
Speaking during a Thursday town hall meeting in Murang’a, Odinga said Azimio wants Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to be devolved and 47 electoral units established where the results will be final.
This is a paradigm shift from the current set-up, where results are collected from all 290 constituencies and tallied at the Bomas of Kenya, the national tallying center.
“Tunataka kukubaliana vile tutafanya mabadiliko kwa IEBC…tunataka IEBC moja ikuwe hapa Murang’a County…ile matokeo inatangazwa hapa Murang’a inakuwa final…ingine ikuwe Kiambu, Laikipia na kadhalika…iwe 47,” Odinga said.
Odinga claims President William Ruto stole his victory in the August 2022 election. He is pushing for new reforms in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to make it more transparent.
President Museveni of Uganda refuses to sign the controversial anti-LGBTQ bill
Uganda’s ruling party Tuesday agreed that the anti-gay bill, which was passed by parliament a month ago, be sent back to the house for reconsideration.
At a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, the party chairman, the MPs resolved “proposals for improvement” to the bill, according to a statement from the caucus chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
The bill prescribes life imprisonment for people identifying as LGBT and the death penalty for what is referred to as aggravated homosexuality, among other clauses. It is unclear what amendments the president would like to see in the proposed law.
Twitter strips off legacy verified tweeps of their blue check marks.
On Thursday, April 20, Twitter officially removed blue checkmarks from legacy verified profiles.
The move means that all celebrities and other notable figures and anyone else who initially held a blue Twitter check mark on their accounts will have to subscribe to Twitter Blue to get the verification mark.
In November 2022, Musk pledged to do away with the legacy blue-check mark system shortly after buying Twitter for a record $44 billion. The global business mogul
disparaged the company’s previous verification policy as “corrupt and nonsensical.”
“Far too many corrupt legacy Blue’ verification’ checkmarks exist, so no choice but to remove legacy Blue in coming months,” Musk tweeted last year.
Blue check will be the great leveler,” he added.
Some of the most-followed celebrities who lost their legacy verification status include Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez, Bill Gates, Justin Timberlake, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, and Beyoncé.
Larry Madowo, the Kenyan celebrated CNN journalist with over 2 million followers, said he would still not pay for a blue checkmark.
“My “legacy verified” checkmark is gone.
Still not paying. This was fun,” Madowo tweeted.
However, on Sunday, April 23, a quick spot check by the Africana Voice showed that Madowo and several other celebrities with over a million followers had regained their checkmark, but with a “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number” message.
Madowo disputed that he had not subscribed to Twitter Blue.
“I woke up to a blue checkmark again. I haven’t paid for Twitter Blue. Reports say Elon Musk has given it back to “legacy verified” accounts with over 1 million followers. What’s going on?” he said.
“I didn’t pay for Twitter Blue. This label is a lie. Elon Musk appears to have given free verification to everyone with over 1 million followers, including the dead like @chadwickboseman @Pele @kobebryant @Bourdain,” he added.
Muslims in Kenya divided over Eid-ul-Fitr.
Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) Chairman Hassan Ole Naado Thursday said the government’s decision to gazette Friday, April 21, as Idd-ul-Fitr was confusing
Muslims.
He added that the decision is a big gamble for the government as it is not assured that the crescent moon will appear on the same day to mark the end of the holy month of fasting. He also reckons that Chief Kadhi should only pronounce the end of Ramadan.
“I urge our Muslim brothers and sisters to stick to our religious norm of sighting of the moon and not declaration by the government. This is confusing, and some people, more so those in the rural areas, may just follow and break their fast on Friday even if the moon is not sighted,” he said.
He said that the government should have consulted Muslims before making the decision.
“The safest way to have done it was to draft the holiday after the 30th day. This is a big mistake and misleading,” he added.
Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) also faulted the interior CS for declaring the holiday without consulting Muslim scholars and Chief Kadhi.
“Consulting the Chief Kadhi before announcing the date of Eid is important for several reasons. Firstly, it ensures the Muslim community celebrates Eid in unity and harmony. This is especially important in Kenya, where there are many different Muslim communities with varying traditions and interpretations of Islamic law,” the lobby group said in a statement.
However, the chief Kadhi on Thursday evening, in a press conference, confirmed that the holiday would be on Friday, April 21.
“Tungependa kuwatangazia waIslamu ya kwamba kesho Ijumaa ni tarehe mosi ya mwezi wa Shawwal,” said Deputy Chief Kadhi Sukyan Omar.
He said the Crescent of Shawwal was spotted in Imanyale and Elwak villages in Mandera County.
DP Gachagua says he’s ready for the ICC
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua Wednesday told the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition that he is ready for the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“If you want to forward my name to ICC, you can do so. These Azimio people don’t understand me … If my boss is in trouble, I am equally in trouble. We are like Siamese twins. I have to watch his back,” Gachagua said in Mombasa.
In the previous week, Azimio leader Raila Odinga formally sought the intervention of the ICC through his lawyer Paul Mwangi over the “killing and maiming” of his supporters by police during anti-government protests.
Last week, the Inspector General of Police, Japheth Koome, told police officers not to be intimidated by Azimio’s letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“I want to tell members of the National Police Service, do not be intimidated by the letter. Serve our country, the Kenyan people, and foreign visitors without fear,” he said.
In the letter to the ICC, Azimio claims that the police IG formed a special squad of rogue police officers to unleash terror on its supporters during demonstrations.
“The squads are reported to be dressed in plain clothes, to operate outside the normal command structure, and to take direction directly from select commanders appointed for that purpose by Japheth Koome,” Azimio said.
The UK announces the end of Ambassador Marriott’s tenure in Kenya
The United Kingdom High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott’s tenure will end in July after serving four years. Mariott made this announcement on her Twitter account on Wednesday last week.
Desmond Patrick Neil Wigan will replace Marriott. Wigan has been serving as the UK ambassador to Israel since 2019.
Eight Nigerian schoolgirls escape from kidnappers
Eight Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by gunmen in northern Kaduna state two weeks ago escaped from their captors last week on Tuesday, the BBC reported.
An armed gang seized the students on their way home from a government secondary school in Awon in Kachia.
Kaduna state security commissioner Samuel Aruwan says the students escaped through a thick forest near the border with Niger state.
KUPPET to sue the government for Mukumu School’s mysterious deaths
KUPPET Wednesday, April 19, threatened to sue the ministries of education and that of health over the death of a teacher who was a boarding mistress at Mukumu Girls’ School.
Three students and the teacher died over suspected food poisoning. KUPPET Secretary-General says he will sue the government
“We are the representative of the people and can sue on behalf and have the legitimate mandate to do that…in the circumstances, our member has died because of their negligence,” Akelo Misori, KUPPET boss, said.
“We are suing the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education on behalf of the families who may not have the voice to do the same. We must sue and demand for damages…they must pay, and I know every court in this land will listen to us,” he added.
LEAVE A COMMENT
You must be logged in to post a comment.