When Kenyan socialite Huddah Monroe eulogized the late comedian Benson Wanjau aka Mzee Ojwang Hatari by announcing on social media that she once played the role of Mzee Ojwang’s daughter in the popular TV comedy Vitimbi, many people may have taken it to be a major publicity stunt.

But on Friday night, Huddah was vindicated by none other Mzee Ojwang’s wife on set Mama Kayai (real name Mary Khavere).

Speaking on NTV’s show The Trend, Mama Kayai confirmed that indeed Huddah acted briefly on Vitimbi but quickly left the cast inspite of the great potentially that she visibly exhibited.

Another actor on the show who goes by the stage name Ole Matope said that Huddah was given a role of Mzee Ojwang’s daughter as the original actor for the role was out of the country at the time.

So those who doubted Huddah’s revelation now have the answer.

One half of the Longombas duo, Christian, who lives in the US, is in desperate need of financial assistance to help him offset a huge medical bill.

Christian is set to undergo a brain surgery to remove a tumour.

According to his brother Lovy, Christian suffered a seizure in May and tests confirmed “a very serious and life threatening diagnosis – Falx and parasagittal meningiomas: It grows from the dural fold, called the falx, which runs between the left and right sides of the brain.”

Lovy, who has set up a GoFundMe (Brain Surgery for Christian) pledge page wrote:

“Because of the danger of injuring the sinuses, removing a tumour in the falx or parasagittal region is extremely difficult. A grim prognosis added to Christian’s bewildered and devastated outlook. After receiving his diagnosis, Christian launched into perhaps his most challenging endeavour — starting his journey in the treatment of his brain tumour. It took two long weeks for Christian to start the surgery process.”

The family is also asking his fans and friends to keep him in prayers. Longombas brothers, Lovy and Christian, relocated to the US in 2006 at the height of their musical success.

Would you get down on your knees and pray after being intimate with your significant other?

Well, Future a Hip Hop artist and the immediate ex of the sensational RnB singer Ciara, has revealed that he and Ciara used to pray after every session of intimacy.

While promoting his latest album, Future went on live TV and confessed that every time they had sex they prayed immediately after.

The reason for his intimate revelation came after he heard that Ciara and his current boyfriend are practicing abstinence.

Future, who has a 1-year-old son with Ciara, went live on TV to express his displeasure.

“God told me something else. He ain’t tell me to wait, I guarantee you that,” Future said in the interview.

“We prayed afterwards though. After we did it, we prayed. That’s a true story.”

NEW ALBUM

The 31-year-old went on to say, “That’s what really got me… I was like, ‘Whoa, that sh-t’s blowing me away.’ That’s what sweeped me off my foot. Never had nobody pray after sex.”

The revelation comes shortly after Ciara’s current boyfriend said that he and the singer had decided to take sex off the table in their relationship.

Meanwhile, Future has been busy on a press tour to promote his new album, DS2. In his new docu-series Like I Never Left, he gets candid about the decision to call off his wedding to Ciara last year. (And no, he says it had nothing to do with cheating.)

“I can’t have all these different big media outlets cover my wedding and I’m not comfortable,” he said.

“I’m not comfortable about where I’m at in my career. I’m not comfortable about compromising about just being the person that I am, being the man that I am. I feel like my better judgment is to go back and record and make music.”

Endless news of hatred and terrorist attacks is concealing an important fact. That the world’s actually becoming a much more tolerant place, on a wide range of social issues.

You’re surprised? Most people believe that things are continually getting worse. But actually, the past was truly brutal.Where it was entirely acceptable to invade, rape and pillage another country, and minority ethnic groups and religions were persecuted everywhere.

Nowadays we’re far less violent than ever before. There are far more democracies and fewer dictatorships. Slavery, considered normal for thousands of years, is outlawed everywhere.

Women are achieving the same rights and opportunities as men. And sexual orientation is no longer a barrier to full social acceptance in more and more countries.

There are big variations around the world, of course, with English speaking, Scandinavian and Latin countries being the most tolerant.

And everywhere the pace of change is increasing, following a path from a morality based on authorities, towards one grounded in individual rights and democracy.

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

The only exception being societies where the welfare of the community’s rated more important than individual rights, such as in the Far East.

People are starting to believe that moral judgements should be based on universal ethical principles, such as racial or sexual equality. And that laws that violate these principles must be resisted.

It’s thinking like that that drove visionary leaders like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela to protest against the laws of their time.

The growth of tolerance is mostly being driven by increased education, and exposure to new ideas through newspapers, radio, TV, and especially the Internet.

A wider education makes people question traditional and religious authorities. The Internet’s showing them how other people lead their lives, and how their morality varies between cultural groups.

In the past, people rarely heard the details of war or violence against women. Now, police brutality gets captured on a smartphone and instantly distributed.

ACCESS TO INTERNET

Which is why repressive regimes carefully control education and restrict people’s access to the Internet.

Hate groups and militants still find eager followers, of course, especially among the disadvantaged. Arguing for a return to a “purer” traditional morality. But they will lose.

Because on every issue, younger people are far more open-minded than older people, and so levels of tolerance are continually rising.

Educated people are increasingly adopting ethical standards grounded in fairness, and increasingly individualistic social and sexual values. And there’s a rising mistrust of traditional principles and institutions, such as marriage.

And so as modern culture shifts away from orthodox attitudes towards homosexuality, premarital sex, contraception, cohabitation and divorce, religious standpoints on such matters are rapidly reducing deep and beautiful faiths to what increasingly looks to young people like a repressive obsession with sex.

But the sexual revolution will not be undone anytime soon. And so religions must re-focus their mission onto being messengers of love, dignity, harmony and grace. Or risk becoming marginalised in an increasingly individualistic world.

The national women football team was on Sunday morning hosted to breakfast by iconic South African personality Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

This was after the Kenyan team lost to their South Africa counterparts by a solitary in an Olympic Games qualifier in Johannesburg on Saturday evening.

“Mama Winnie hosted us for breakfast and really motivated the girls with strong words and advice about facing challenges in life, we are truly humbled,” the team’s coach David Ouma told Nairobi News.

AFRICAN STATESMAN

Madikizela-Mandela is former wife of the late South African President and African statesman Nelson Mandela.

The team requires a win by two clear goals in the return leg match in Nairobi in two weeks’ time to progress to last two rounds of the qualification campaign.

“We missed a number of good chances in the match and we are greatly motivated for the return match back home in Nairobi,” Ouma said.

The team is expected back in the country on Tuesday afternoon.

Bernard Mang’oli struck twice, his second goal coming deep in stoppage time, to earn AFC Leopards a priceless 2-1 win over Nairobi City Stars in a Kenyan Premier League match on Sunday at the Nyayo National Stadium.

It was sweet victory for Ingwe who had to rally from a goal down to grab all the three points.

Mang’oli’s first goal came from the penalty spot in the 64th minute after Willian Kijiwa felled Michael Khamati in the box.

City Stars had grabbed the lead in the 23rd minute when Robert Ndung’u completed his mazy run with an angled shot past Ingwe custodian Lucas Indeche.

However, City Stars’ technical bench and players were left furious by what they termed as poor officiating, claiming Khamati had dived for Leopards’ penalty.

“What should I say? Anybody who watched the match saw that Khamati dived. Why favour one team? My boys’ spirit was killed by that clumsy call. That is injustice,” City Stars coach Gabriel Njoroge protested after the match.

City Stars have for long been a bogey team for Leopards and on Sunday they again made life  difficult for Ingwe, especially in the first half.

RULED OFFSIDE

But even as desperation crept in among their fans, Leopards stuck to their game plan in pursuit of an equaliser.

They came close to drawing level five minutes to the break when Eric Masika nodded home from a free kick only for his effort to be ruled offside.

Earlier at the same venue, Mathare United crushed Thika United 2-0 to move to position nine on the log on 25 points, swapping places with their opponents who have an equal number of points but with an inferior goal difference.

Former Gor Mahia striker, Edwin Lavatsa, played a starring role, scoring one for Mathare and setting up the other.

Lavatsa, who has been out of action for long, made his return to local football with an impressive display against Gor Mahia 10 days ago.

On Sunday, he scored the match opener in the 22nd minute before winning a penalty, which was converted by veteran defender Noah Abich.

At the Kisumu County Stadium, hosts Western Stima failed to capitalise on home advantage as they were held to a barren draw by Nakuru All Stars.

“We played well but to my disappointment we only managed a point. Credit to their goalkeeper for keeping them in the game,” Stima coach Henry Omino said after the match.

Residents of Kambungu village, Embu county were over the weekend treated to a rare burial ceremony, after mourners engaged in fanfare and merrymaking amid the sorrowful atmosphere.

The burial of popular model Linzie Mumbi, who would have turned 23 on the day she was interred, was marked with color and pomp, with mourners dressed in bright white and red attires, cutting a birthday cake and singing happy songs.

According to Linzie’s sister, Natasha Makena, 21, the deceased had three months ago, during the burial of her grandfather, expressed a wish that people celebrate her life rather than be plunged in sorrow.

She had also wished to be buried on her birthday, a wish that came to pass.

The mourners who included National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso, Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti, MPs Rose Mitaru and Muriuki Njagagua and Embu County Assembly Speaker Kariuki Mate, later released 23 white doves and brightly coloured balloons to mark her life.

None of the members of the immediate family wore black.

MULTI-TALENTED

However, beneath the veneer of the show of bliss, the family of Nakuru county Procurement Director Eliezer Ngarari and Dr Jane Ngarari is still struggling to come to terms with the death of the multi-talented beauty.

Ms Nagarari, who was with her daughter when she died, told the mourners that they had not yet received a death certificate since the cause of Linzie’s death was unknown.

She said that an inquest had been opened to establish the cause of death after a post morterm didn’t give a conclusive finding.

Linzie, a mechanical engineer, passed on in the UK where she was studying Aerospace Technology at the Coventry University and would have graduated on September 10 this year.

Her mother narrated how Linzie developed a bout of vomiting, ostensibly from a food bug and passed on the same day.

Mr Ngarari said they were still puzzled at the death and were anxious to know the truth.

BEAUTY DIVA

The couple recounted how they had stayed for long frustrating years after marriage without getting a child.

“We are worried since we are yet to know what she died of. We will wait for God’s blessings in other ways,” he said.

Linzie was a diva, who lived life to the fullest and had expressed a desire to return to Kenya and become a commercial pilot.

She was the face of many adverts as early as when she was eight, with her radiant face graced various billboards across the country at the turn of the millennium.

Most notable among them was that of the giant Ribena billboard at the Museum Hill roundabout in Nairobi and another by the railway bridge while entering Nakuru town from the capital.

Linzie was a runner up in the Face of Kenya UK beauty pageant held in Birmingham in 2013.

Kenya’s favourite band, Sauti Sol, once again failed to win the continent’s heart at the MTV Africa Music Awards in South Africa.

Sauti Sol, consisting of Polycarp Otieno, Savara Mudigi, Willis Austin Chimano and Bien-Aime Baraza, had been nominated for the award of the best group but lost out to Nigerian twins P-Square, who also won the Artistes of the decade Award.

This comes on the heels of Sauti Sol’s loss at the BET Awards last month where they had been nominated for the Best International Act.

Their nomination for MTV Europe Music Awards Worldwide Act failed to translate into a win after their African Act triumph last year.

Acknowledging Nigerian stranglehold on the continent’s music scene, Sauti Sol congratulated the winning duo using one of their lyrics in a photo on their instagram page,

“We are not sad that P-Square won. We are super humbled and honoured to be in same category with @peterpsquare and @rudeboypsquare congratulations to you brothers! E NO EASY OOOH #MTVMAMA2015 #BestGroup.”

Fans on social media attributed Sauti Sol’s loss to the “tyranny of numbers”.
Nigerian artistes won eight of the 17 awards.

Other winners included Nigerian stars Yemi Alade and Davido, Patoranking who took the Best Male and Best Female Awards respectively.

D’Banj, of the ‘Oliver Twist’ fame won the MAMA Evolution award, a new category honouring established artists who have taken African music to new heights.

“Dorobucci” by Mavins was declared the Song of the Year.

US President Barack Obama’s rally on Sunday is likely to attract a crowd of 300,000 in the unlikely event that it is open to all, according to police estimates.

Mr Obama will speak to Kenyans from the Safaricom Indoor Arena of the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, according to State House.

But the exact format of the US President’s meeting, like most aspects of his visit, is still a closely guarded secret.

One school of thought is that it will be an invitations only session, possibly attended by Members of Parliament, civil society leaders and other worthies.

Should the doors be flung open, police privately estimate that hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic Kenyans will head to the stadium, creating a logistical and security problem on a scale rarely managed by local forces.

On Sunday, State House said President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Tuesday address the country ahead of his bilateral talks with President Obama.

He is expected to give Kenyans an idea of the discussions he will be holding with the US President.

At a press briefing on the visit yesterday, State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu, however, did not reveal any details on the meeting between the two leaders, only saying they will hold the talks at State House and thereafter address a joint press conference.

On Mr Obama’s address at Kasarani, Mr Esipisu said: “The US embassy has confirmed that this in fact remains the case, and a Sunday speech is penciled in. But there are no further details at this stage”.

He said US Ambassador Robert Godec and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed would address the subject later this week.

On Saturday, the two presidents will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) at the UN compound in Gigiri.

Kenya will be seeking to build on the strong relationship and partnership with the US.

Mr Esipisu said the relationship between the two countries was “forged from a deep and relentless quest for democracy, equality of opportunity, the freedom of association and an openness to the world”.

Read the full story here.

SOURCE: Daily Nation

President Uhuru Kenyatta made a surprise visit to the Westgate Mall in Westlands on Sunday after it was re-opened last week.

The President was accompanied by a lean security team and motorcade in a visit that caught his handlers  by surprise.

The shopping mall was in September 2013 the scene of one of the bloodiest terror attacks in Kenya after Al-Shabaab militants killed 170 people following a three day siege.

Scores of shoppers thronged the Westgate Shopping Mall on Saturday when it reopened. Police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet accompanied Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero to the reopening.

Most small-scale traders in Nairobi have no idea what to sell to make money from the much-anticipated visit by US President Barack Obama.

Although the American President is set to jet in on Friday, the traders are not sure about what would excite consumers, unlike their colleagues in Kisumu.

In Kisumu, the traders are reportedly making good business selling President Obama’s merchandise that includes, branded T-Shirts and caps. They have also been selling his portraits.

“I am aware that President Obama is coming. Radio stations, TVs and newspapers remind us every day, but I have not seen anyone interested in buying his merchandise,” said a trader, who sells clothes and other assorted goods at Munyu Road near Ramogi Studio in Nairobi.

The trader, who identified himself only as Mariga, said he learnt through the media that his colleagues in Kisumu have been doing brisk business.

For the owners or managements of city Five-Star hotels in Nairobi, improved business is guaranteed.

Most of them are fully booked as Kenya prepares to host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which President Obama will attend.

A spot check in Nairobi showed traders are yet to start painting the town red in preparation for the historic visit.

Like Mr Mariga, traders do not know what to do to make handsome profits during the tour by the President of the most powerful nation.

President Obama has roots in Kenya. His late father, Barack Hussein Obama (Snr), was a Kenyan, who married Ann Dunham, the US President’s mother in 1961, and they divorced three years later.

Mr Obama Snr was a student at the University of Hawaii in the US when he met Ms Dunham.

A Nairobi court is on Monday expected to rule on whether the media should be barred from covering proceedings in the trial of controversial Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

The MP, who is being tried on hate speech and incitement to violence charges, wants the media gagged on the grounds that he has been increasingly getting “negative” publicity.

He argues the publicity has partly contributed to a fresh investigation on a matter where he is likely to be prosecuted.

The issue regards recent remarks be made in his constituency against politicians opposed to National Youth Service (NYS) initiatives.

Mr Kuria reportedly told youths brandishing machetes to “slash” anyone opposing NYS programmes.

The incident was captured and aired on national TV and reported in the local daily newspapers.

Although the politician has since said he regretted saying those words, he has remained unapologetic over the claims.

Last week, he caused a stir when he walked out of a live TV interview, accusing the media of being biased.

He had objected to Citizen TV‘s Hussein Mohamed’s request to play the controversial “slashing” video clip, claiming it was a distortion of facts.

The legislator instead wanted the 45-minute clip aired entirely for “contextualisation” and not the edited bit.

“Kenyans will be shocked that the function where I am supposed to have issued the inciting statement was on June 26, 2015. The story came out 13 days later. It was calculated editing of what happened. It is sad that the media can come up with this,” he charged before storming out when the station started playing the clip.

The politician’s freedom is now threatened by a new request for the cancellation of the Sh2 million bond terms he was granted in a separate case of hate speech.

Nigeria-based Kenyan musician Victoria Kimani has criticized Kenyans as the least supportive when it comes to music and arts.

Kimani camped on Twitter for the better part of Sunday saying majority of Kenyan artistes had to be appreciated abroad before their compatriots followed suit.

“The least supportive …. Kenyans make it hard for an artist to be an artist , this includes fashion art music acting whatever,” tweeted Kimani.

“Then get angry when we are appreciated elsewhere , this is heartbreak. We are the least patriotic people on this continent as it pertains to the arts.”

LUPITA

The Prokoto hit maker cited Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o who shone in America after failing to impress Kenyans when she featured in local productions.

“Lupita had to travel and be uplifted by others for you be proud #Kenyans. Life without art is hell….how can the Kenyan youth not have an interest in the arts ? Who robbed us of our self-expression?” posed Kimani, the first artist to be signed on Nigeria’s Chocolate City record label under their East African Arm.

The rant was informed by a research, a screenshot of which she shared on her account, showing that Kenyan youth had the least interest in music in the region.

The research (the pollster was not indicated) shows only 55 per cent of Kenyan youth care about music a stark contrast to Uganda’s 70 per cent, Tanzania (94 per cent), Nigeria (72per cent) and Mozambique (85 per cent).

“So..if Only 55% of Kenyan youth care about music, if a Kenyan Music Artist does not Travel, they are doomed to failure,” said Kimani.

She got support from Antoneosoul who retweeted her messaging commenting: “I have considered quitting music but somehow I have to keep pushing. Maybe one day… One day!!!”

Kimani replied: “You can’t quit….not an option”

Tedd Josiah also weighed in: “Africa will always respect Kenyan music when Kenyan’s (sic) learn to love their own sound.”

Australian surf champion Mick Fanning’s shocked mother feared she had lost another son after he was attacked by a huge shark in South Africa, with the sport’s top names also left shaken Monday by the terrifying close call.

The 34-year-old was competing in the final heat of a world tour event at Jeffreys Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province on Sunday when a looming black fin appeared behind him.

In a churn of water and spray, Fanning, a triple world champion, was knocked off his board as he battled to fend off the animal in images being shown live.

“It came up and got stuck in my leg rope,” he said in a television interview after miraculously escaping unscathed.

KICKING AND SCREAMING

“I was kicking and screaming. I just saw a fin. I didn’t see teeth. I was waiting for the teeth to come at me as I was swimming. I punched it in the back.”

His terrified mother was watching the drama unfold on television in Australia, and feared the worst.

“I was so scared. I just thought when that wave came through that he’d gone,” mum Elizabeth Osborne told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, adding that she went over to the TV “almost as though I could pull him out … to save him”.

Fanning lost his brother in a car crash almost 17 years ago and his mother said it brought back the memories.

“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen happen to any of my family because it was just there in front of me,” she said of the shark attack while fighting back tears.

“When Sean was killed in the car accident, I didn’t see it. I saw this just in front of me. It was just terrible.”

Fanning was pulled from the water by a nearby rescue jet-ski that rushed to his aid.

The World Surf League (WSL), which organised the J-Bay Open, said two sharks were spotted in the water near Fanning and his rival – and close friend – Julian Wilson, also from Australia.

COURAGEOUS ACTIONS

Despite the danger posed by the shark, Wilson furiously paddled towards Fanning to help and was hailed in Australia Monday for his courageous actions.

His mother Nola, also watching on television, told reporters: “I don’t know if he’s crazy or a hero.”

The WSL cancelled the competition after discussions with both surfers.

“Mick’s composure and quick acting in the face of a terrifying situation was nothing short of heroic and the rapid response of our Water Safety personnel was commendable,” it said in a statement.

Eleven-time world champion Kelly Slater was on the beach when the attack happened.

“I’m lost for words to be honest. We almost just watched our friend get eaten by a shark and I’m just blown away that there’s no damage at all,” he said.

While attacks occur periodically across the world, Australian seven-time world champion Layne Beachley said she had never even seen a shark during her decades in the water, highlighting the rarity of such events.

“I’ve been surfing for more than 40 years, I have never seen a shark or been intimidated by a shark — intimidated by dolphins and whales, but not sharks,” she said in Sydney.

“When we go into this environment we understand that this could potentially happen. But we have never seen this (in a pro event), this is unprecedented.”

FIRST TIME

Craig Lambinon, spokesman for the National Sea Rescue Institute in South Africa, told ENCA television news that he believed “it is probably the first time that an incident like this at a surfing competition has been caught on camera”.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, himself a keen surfer, said seeing a shark so close to a surfing contest was terrifying.

“I think all of us, we go out into the waves and we love to see dolphin fins, but if there’s any doubt about what kind of a fin it is, it’s pretty scary,” he said.

Members of a self-help group at the Holy Family Basilica catholic church expressed shock during an Annual General Meeting (AGM) Sunday when they learnt that more than Sh10 million had been lost through fraud.

In a report from independent auditors, the members were told that they lost Sh10, 575, 533 between 2012 and 2014.

The saving grace, however, is that the fraud has not affected the operations of the group as adequate indemnity funds were available.

The mastermind of the fraud who was an employee of the group was suspended from duty alongside all the other staff in August 2014.

NEW MANAGEMENT

The rot at the self-help group, which was discovered after a new management committee took over office, prompted an audit which unveiled the loss of the money.

There was uproar when the members heard of the figure of the stolen money and called upon the incoming management to speed up the process of bringing the the culprits to justice.

They directed their lawyer Rosemary Kimwatu, who was present, not to relent in pursuing the former employees and the bank which proceeded to pay them despite the self-group having notified it that they were no longer employees.

In her address, the director of Caritas, a body of the Catholic Church mandated to oversee activities of all self-help groups in the church, Sister Mary Mbachu decried the unholy activities at the Basilica self-help group saying a repeat should never be allowed in any other branch.

She called on those who were elected to serve in the management committee to be transparent and serve members with humility.

POOR LEADERSHIP

She said it was unfortunate that Basilica members had suffered the loss which resulted from weak internal audit processes and poor leadership.

During the meeting, it was agreed that defaulters be pursued through the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) and their names circulated to members.

During the meeting, seven members namely Lillian Bosire, Joyce Mugure, Sebastian Mwangi, Patrick Mugo, Teresa Lumela, Felista Gathamba and Peter Njoroge were elected to join the management committee.

The seven would team up with five from the previous committee whose term had not elapsed.

During the meeting, members were told they would be paid 80 cents per share for 2011-2014 and Sh1 per share for 2014-2015.

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o recently opened her world to reveal her hidden talent in hair braiding and even went on to do her friends’ hair for a media interview.

Ms Nyong’o, who is perhaps the most popular and highly rated African actress, sensationally revealed how a bad hair braiding experience while studying in the United States prompted her to learn the art and by extension help out her close friends.

During a candid interview with the Vogue at the New York City’s Ludlow Blunt salon, the Oscar winner braided her six friend’s hair in different style’s while explaining what the art has taught her.

STYLE HER HAIR

While attending Amherst’s Hampshire College after finding herself “morbidly disappointed” with braiding salons, she vowed to learn how to style her own hair.

“I went home for the summer and an aunt of mine who has a hair salon…I went and asked her to teach me. I learnt how to do cornrow, box braid and twist and now I really enjoy braiding hair for my friends,” Lupita told Vogue.

Ms Nyong’o added that she had intended to make the art a side hustle while studying both at Hampshire College and Yale School of Drama but she was unable to charge her friends.

The skill, she said, kept her awake during long classes and helped her forge lasting, intimate relationships with the “genuine,” “honest,” “creative” friends who continue to “challenge me and require me to grow as a human being.”

UP, CLOSE AND PERSONAL

“For me braiding hair is an intimate thing as you are getting up, close and personal and I like to do it for people that I know and love and trust,” she added.

During the interview, the actress was braiding six of her friends’ hair, one of them being Jennifer Odera, a graduate student and childhood friend, Tashal Brown, an educator and Nyong’o’s roommate from Hampshire College.

Ms Nyong’o’s Yale classmates Miriam Hyman and Hallie Cooper-Novack were also braided during the interview along with Stacey Sargeant, an actress whom she met while at the university and Nontsikelelo Mutiti, a professor and artist who is currently hosting an art show revolving around the culture of braiding at New York City’s Recess gallery.

At the end of the interview the friends congregate playfully for a final shot with neatly braided hair by the Oscar winner herself, an art she says will remain a hobby.

The Italian government has confirmed that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wore a bulletproof vest to State House, Nairobi due to security concerns.

However, an Italian government official told CNN that PM Renzi wore a bulletproof vest inside State House because of a ‘tight schedule’, not because of security.

“Apparently, he didn’t have time to take it off,” said the official, who did not wish to be named.

Kenyans were last week left wondering whether the PM took President Uhuru Kenyatta’s message that “security starts with you” seriously after he showed up at President Kenyatta’s residence wearing protective body armour.

Pictures and videos doing rounds on social media showed what looks like corner-shaped outfit underneath the PM’s slim fit Italiain suit.

PM Renzi was shaking hands with State House staff as President Kenyatta looks on.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi (right) at the University of Nairobi. PHOTO | COURTESY

The PM later showed up at the University of Nairobi for a public lecture where he is also seen with the same outfit.

President Kenyatta’s spokesman Manoah Esipisu told CNN: “We don’t have a formal comment on the matter.”

Kenya has from time to time suffered terrorist attacks staged by Somalia-based Al Shabaab militants.

Though the focus is on President Barack Obama ahead of his Kenyan visit, he is known to enjoy travelling the world with his wife Michelle Obama.

Here are a eight things that you should know about Michelle Obama.

1. She was Barack’s superior when they met

Michelle and Barack met at Sidley and Austin, a corporate law firm in Chicago, when she was 25 and finishing up her first year as an associate.

That year she was assigned a 27-year-old associate to mentor: her future husband. While she initially declined invitations to go out on a date, saying it would be inappropriate, she eventually caved.

The rest is history.

2. She left corporate law to work in the public sector

After working at Sidley and Austin, she went on to establish Public Allies Chicago in 1993, an AmeriCorps national service program that provided training to young people pursuing careers in the public sector, before eventually working for the University of Chicago’s University Medical Center.

3. She took her infant child to a job interview

When Sasha, now 14, was four-months-old, Michelle was invited an interview for an executive position at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Problem was, she couldn’t find a babysitter.

So, she packed the newborn up, stuck her in a stroller and took her along to the interview, where Sasha slept through the whole thing.

It’s a good thing the University of Chicago was as progressive as she hoped they would be. She got the job.

4. She’s one of only three First Ladies with a graduate degree

Michelle showed how bright she was at an early age, successfully skipping second grade before entering a gifted program in sixth grade.

She graduated from a magnet high school as salutatorian before going on to Princeton University and then Harvard Law.

She is one of only three first ladies to have a graduate degree (Hillary Clinton also has a degree, while Laura Bush has a Masters).

5. She writes her own speeches

The First Lady herself wrote the stump speeches she delivered on the campaign trail and her 2012 Democratic Convention speech. Not only that, but her speeches were good.

6. She is tied for tallest First Lady

At 5’11”, she is tied with Eleanor Roosevelt for tallest First Lady.

7. She is the ‘hottest’ First Lady

Michelle Obama is the only first lady to be ranked on Maxim‘s “Hot 100″ List. In 2009, she came in at No. 93.

And she is notably one of the few women in the spread who isn’t basically nude. Instead, she appears in one of her signature, sleeveless dresses.

8. Her favorite food is French fries

You might not expect it given her penchant for working out and asking everyone to stay in shape, but the First Lady’s favorite snack is French fries.

Angry members of the public on Monday burnt a suspected motorbike thief in Bamburi, Mombasa County.

The suspect was cornered by the public and the set him ablaze right in the middle of the road.

Police arrived at the scene moments after the public had set the man ablaze but refrained from rescuing him because the crowd threatened to set the police car ablaze if they attempted to save the suspect.

Bodaboda operators have recently resorted to burning suspected motorbike thieves. Early this month,  a suspected motorbike thief was burnt to death in Kasarani, Nairobi.

In the incident, the operators said they resorted to mob justice because the suspects are usually bailed out and they pose a security risk as the trial proceeds in court