Kenyan sultry singer Dela Maranga, who has been off the music scene for a while now, has surprised her fans with news of her ‘secret’ wedding to her fiancé Brian Ngala popularly known as Dr Reign.

Dela made the announcement of her new marital status on Instagram.

The Nimecatch Mafeelings hitmaker shared several photos of the private ceremony with captions confirming the union.

“Mama, Papa, I Love this man he’s my star and I want to be with him. Spend the rest of my life as his wife. We did it baby Dr Reign. We Eloped. #Dr and Mrs Reign” read one of the captions.

COUPLE’S COLLABO

“Keep life simple. Love is all we need. Promise Dr Reign #The Reigns” another caption read.

Dr Reign is a pediatric doctor who works at Nairobi Hospital and records music part time.

The newly-wed couple, who already have a love song titled Good Bad Boy, have been dating for slightly over a year.

Dela and Dr Reign started dating after three years of frequently bumping into each other while attending events and shows. They established contact, became friends and later started dating.

ENGAGEMENT

“We used to meet in events and festivals have a brief chat and we don’t talk for months, meet again chat and bond. This happened for a long time before we got together, maybe three years” Dela revealed in a past interview sometime this year.

A few months together, a smitten Dr Reign would later engage Dela sometime July last year in a private affair attended by close friends.

For the longest time Dela was rumoured to have been dating rapper Timmy Tdat after the latter split with his then girlfriend Kush Tracey, who has since gotten saved.

However, Dela maintains that other than being close buddies, she has never been in a relationship with Timmy.

Three men who were convicted of killing 148 people in a terrorist attack inside Garissa University have been handed tough sentences.

One of the convicts Rashid Charles Mberesero has been sentenced to life imprisonment while Mohammed Abikar and Hassan Edin Hassan have been sentenced to 41 years in jail.

The three have been sentenced on three offences which are conspiracy to commit  a terrorism act, committing a terrorism act and being a member of a terrorist group.

Mohamed and Hassan are to serve 15 years each for the offence of conspiracy to commit a terrorism act.

They are to serve 25 years in jail for the offence of committing a terrorism act. These two sentences will be served concurrently.

For the third offence of being a member of a terrorist group, they are to serve for 20 years, which will be served after finishing the sentences for the first two offences.

But since they have been in custody for 4-and-a-half years, Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi has ruled that they will now serve a total of 41 years in jail.

Rashid, a Tanzanian, was handed a life sentence for conspiring to commit a terrorism act.

The Magistrate put in abeyance the sentence for the two other offences considering that he would be spending his lifetime in prison.

Kiss 100 presenter Kamene Goro has started an online beef with Huddah Monroe after taking a swing at the socialite over her extravagant lifestyle.

In a video shared by vlogger Xtian Dela, Kamene raises the million dollar question over socialite’s source of income with which she sustains her lavish lifestyle.

In an unprovoked bare-knuckled assault, Kamene went as far as poking fun at Huddah for her ‘poor’ English.

“A girl with standard three English, has an apartment in Kileleshwa… what are you selling apart from k*****? What do you think she is, a lawyer?” Kamene poses in the video to the amusement of her audience, which includes her breakfast show co-host Andrew Kibe.

‘PEASANT’

But as you would expect, Huddah wasn’t gonna take the jibe laying down. She quickly hit back with a stinging post, in which she referred to Kamene as a peasant.

“Only a b**** unsure of her position tries to prove herself. What is understood, doesn’t need to be explained. I am never oblivious to the reality of anything in life. Playing cool doesn’t mean playing a fool. It just means I am in control of the situation. Remember a queen never comes off her throne to address a peasant,” Huddah wrote in her reply in Instagram.

The online spat between the two celebrities left Kenyans on Twitter divided over the little matter, although many appeared to be sympathetic to Huddah.

“Kamene Goro should never be compared to ladies who don’t have dignity,” Thomas Khaemba said.

“Who is Kamene Goro or Kumeme Guro??? Whatever your name is. Please keep off Huddah Monroe. You aint even 10% of her beauty,” Husband Material wrote.

HUDDAH’S INCOME

“Kamene Goro should be going after the likes of akina Vera Sidika. Going after Huddah is a suicide mission cause tuko nyuma yake kama mfuko ya jeans,” commented Gifted Baby.

“Lakini women are their own worst enemies… Kamene Goro once said she has slept with 27 men but is here dissing Huddah Monroe about her coins… can yall accept healthy competition,” Hakuna Matata said.

“The difference between Kameme Goro and Huddah Monroe is like day and night,” Charlie Oddie wrote.

In 2017 interview with K24 TV, Huddah explained that she makes her money from real estate adding that she sells lots of houses to expatriates.

Journalist Jacque Maribe on Wednesday returned the favour and visited her bosom friend Dennis Itumbi who has been arrested in connection to a letter on the alleged assassination of Deputy President William Ruto.

The two were pictured at Muthaiga Police Station where Itumbi spent the afternoon after his arrest near City Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

MURDER

Others on the picture are Nairobi politician Josiah Murigu and Itumbi’s brother David Itumbi.

In Maribe visiting Itumbi, it was a case of reversed roles. Itumbi has played a central role in her court case where she is accused of murder alongside her fiancé Joseph Irungu alias Joe Jowie.

RELEASED

The two are accused of killing businesswoman Monica Kimani in 2018.

Last year, Itumbi was a key figure in the days of Maribe’s arrest until she was released on bail.

Lives of millions of social media users worldwide were put on pause on Wednesday after some popular apps suffered a global outage.

According to DownDetector, Instagram, Facebook, and WhataApp have been having issues for the better part of Wednesday.

“WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are having issues since 9:58 AM EDT,” said the site.

Most reported problems were sending and receiving messages on WhatsApp, connectivity, uploading and downloading pictures and videos and also logging into the social media pages.

Twitter has since acknowledged and apologised for the outage with an assurance to their users that they are working to fix the problem.

We’re currently having some issues with DM delivery and notifications. We’re working on a fix and will follow up as soon as we have an update for you. Apologies for the inconvenience.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) July 3, 2019

In March, Facebook and all its products were disrupted for more than 14 hours leaving users across the world affected.

We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

— Facebook (@facebook) March 13, 2019

“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps,” Facebook said in a statement, posted on Twitter.

Reactions to the latest outage were mixed:

What the hell is happening to social medias? Twitter is also not working you can't dm people atm #twitterdown pic.twitter.com/TRt8O80WKv

— Bianconeri (@BIANCONERl) July 3, 2019

Instagram down.
Facebook partially down.
WhatsApp partially down.

Twitter peeps right now! #Instagramdowm #whatsappdown pic.twitter.com/tMw3SwqiAU

— |Mawuse Vuvor | | (@mawusevuvor) July 3, 2019

Its This Same Happening To You Too? Kya hai Yeh Sab!!#WhatsappDown pic.twitter.com/c9zLUKt226

— Mohit (@0yemohit) July 3, 2019

everyone coming to twitter while #instagramdown #WhatsAppDown #facebookdown pic.twitter.com/90PgyEEJVE

— M. K. Hathi (@MustafaHathi2) July 3, 2019

everyone moves to twitter when instagram, facebook, and whatsapp get down, including me! #whatsappdown pic.twitter.com/8GGnTtsThK

— vidia (@vidianas12) July 3, 2019

It might not be the best possible moment to be a recipient of the Head of State Commendation (HSC).

What with the trouble that three well-known personalities who were awarded the HSC, Civilian Division, in 2017, have latelt ran into.

The HSC award is given by the Head of State in recognition of outstanding or distinguished services rendered to the nation in various capacities and responsibilities.

But for one Robert Alai, Dennis Itumbi and his bosom friend, Jacque Maribe, their enviable status as HSC receipts have not been trouble-free.

Here is the low-down on the three HSC ‘trouble makers’:

1. Jacque Maribe – The television journalist has spent the better part of the past seven months battling murder charges in relation to the death of businesswoman Monica Irungu. She spent a while behind bars before being released on bond and has since elected to take a low profile.

2. Robert Alai – The controversial blogger was released on Tuesday after spending two weeks in custody. He is battling charges of treachery for publishing photos of dead bodies of police officers who were killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Wajir County last month.

Alai has denied the charges and in his latest messages via social media he seems to plead his innocence and claim he is being intimidated for being perceived to be close to Deputy President William Ruto.

3. Dennis Itumbi – He is the latest of the trio to be arrested with indications suggesting he has fallen out with a section of the establishment after a spell hanging out with the powers that be.

Flying Squad officers nabbed him on Wednesday at City Hall in Nairobi amid reports he has links to the mystery letter about the planned asssaination of Deputy President William Ruto.

Itumbi serves as the State House Digital Director in the communications department and is presently reported to have switched his operation to the DP’s office.

It appears Diamond Platnumz’s mother, Sandra Kasim, and her lover Rally Jones have settled their differences, if the latest online pictures of the couple are anything to go by.

In the photos, which have been circulating online, the two are captured having an intimate moment in the kitchen.

Both are clad in black and yellow jerseys and black and white aprons.

LOVE-STRUCK

The photos depict a love-struck couple who appear to be unable to keep their hands off each other.

In some of the photos, Jones is seen peeling off a pawpaw then feeding it to Bi Sandra.

CHEATING CLAIMS

The two made headlines last month after Sandra blasted Jones for allegedly cheating on her and impregnating a much younger woman.

The woman in question, who has only been identified as Sharifa, is reported to have given birth recently.

Sandra however claimed that she was the rightful wife of Jones since they got married last year.

Wine lovers in Nairobi have something to look forward to with Nairobi Wine Festival set to take place from July 5-7.

The three-day event, which will culminate at the Trademark Hotel, will have wine enthusiasts sampling more than 40 different wines from wineries all over the world.

Wine tastings will be coupled with delicious gourmet bites, live cooking stations and for the VIP guests, international wine master classes with the top sommeliers in Nairobi.

WINE WEEK

Running concurrently with the wine festival is the Nairobi Wine Week that started on June 28 and will run through to July 7.

This year, more than 60 restaurants are participating, including Brew Bistro Roof Top, Art Café, Carnivore, Cin Cin, Flame Tree, Kengele’s Karen among others.

This is the second edition of the Nairobi Wine Week and Festival taking place last year end of April to May 6.

WINE CULTURE

The aim of the event is to celebrate wine culture in Kenya with the festival allowing guests to taste more than 50 different wines from around the world provided by local vendors.

Last year’s festival took place at J’s Kitchen and Bar in Westlands.

Bob Collymore’s widow Wambui Kamiru has asked Kenyans to wear bright colours during Thursday’s memorial service of the former Safaricom chief executive.

Wambui made the request through a text message that was read on air during the Jeff Koinange’s JK Live show on Citizen TV on Wednesday night.

The show had hosted friends of the last Collymore who were with him during his last days

According to Wambui, Kenyans should not wear black as is the norm in memorial service.

She wants Collymore’s life to be celebrated, not mourned, and wants the Church to be colourful.

Collymore’s memorial service will be held on Thursday at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi from 11am.

Collymore died on Monday at his home in Nairobi after a long battle with blood cancer.

His body was cremated on Tuesday at the Kariakor crematorium in the presence of his family, close friends and a few staff from Safaricom where he had been chief executive for 10 years.

The New York Times has advertised a vacancy for the Nairobi Bureau Chief position, but it is the job description that has sparked a storm on social media.

The job ad published on LinkedIn on Wednesday has so far seen more than 30 applicants apply for the position.

“Our Nairobi bureau chief has a tremendous opportunity to dive into news and enterprise across a wide range of countries, from the deserts of Sudan and the pirate seas of the Horn of Africa, down through the forests of Congo and the shores of Tanzania,” part of the ad reads.

It describes the region as a “strategically important territory with many vital story lines, including terrorism, the scramble for resources, the global contest with China and the constant push-and-pull of democracy versus authoritarianism”.

COVER CONFLICT

The ideal candidate should enjoy jumping on news, be willing to cover conflict, and also be drawn to investigative stories.

Many social media users were vexed by NYT’s obsession for a journalist to ‘cover conflict’ and ‘unexpected stories of hope’ in the region.

Here is what people on social media thought about the NYT ad.

If you are rearing to apply for this .@nytimes Nairobi Bureau chief job you should know what kind of stories New York Times is looking for! The darkness of Africa pic.twitter.com/aSN9rJakXU

— George Njoroge (@georgenjoroge_) July 4, 2019

Hard to distinguish this @nytimes ad for a Nairobi Bureau Chief from a call to join a 19th Century expedition with Livingstone & Stanley – H/T @kopalo pic.twitter.com/Sw78Crtxux

— Travis Adkins (@TravisLAdkins) July 3, 2019

The ⁦@nytimes⁩’ job ad for Nairobi bureau chief says a lot about the kinds of stories they want from Eastern Africa… pic.twitter.com/esEeOMI18l

— Ken Opalo (@kopalo) July 3, 2019

When someone sent me this New York Times advert, I had to read it twice just to confirm that the kind of journalist they are looking for is one who would just focus on the negative news in this region. pic.twitter.com/WpI8G2F00J

— Oliver Mathenge (@OliverMathenge) July 3, 2019

Requirements to work as @nytimes journalist in Africa. You have the ability to focus on the negative and “occasional good news”.

Aptly describing most Foreign correspondents in Africa. https://t.co/O9LqsEKiPr

— Kayode Ogundamisi (@ogundamisi) July 3, 2019

Unexpected stories of hope.
That is how much @nytimes despise Africa. https://t.co/tuZgckP6KN

— Peter Nile (@PeterNile9) July 4, 2019

Thought it was from Breitbat News. @nytimes could easily settle for a white supremacist with/without any other requisite skills. @kot https://t.co/2aj0hMtZOh

— Tomno Dominic (@dtomno) July 4, 2019

As an East African/Tanzanian subscriber I’m not pleased. @nytimes this, like last week’s article with a gratuitous photo of Oscar and Valeria Martinez’ dead bodies frustrates me so much. I will just repost this https://t.co/6HzsBov0Jo https://t.co/qynYD5wVli

— Aida Sykes (@AidaMSykes) July 4, 2019

Harambee Stars coach Sebastian Migne and lead striker Micheal Olunga put up a no-show as the team returned home from Egypt on Thursday morning.

Stars jetted back at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport minutes after 4am following a poor show at the ongoing 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Upon arrival, captain Victor Wanyama appeared to snubs calls from journalists for an interview.

Coach Migne, who takes home Sh1.5 million a month, is reported to have returned to his native France.

Striker Olunga connected back to Japan where he plies his trade at second-tier side Kashiwa Reysol.

Also missing in action was midfielder Ismael Gonzalez, who barely featured at the tournament. The naturalised Kenyan headed back to Spain where he is based.

Kenya lost to Senegal and Algeria but recovered to beat Tanzania in her Group ‘C’ assignments in the competition.

Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa has termed the results as ‘disappointing’.

In Migne and Olunga’s absence, coupled with Wanyama’s snub, goalkeeper Patrick Matasi and defender Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma took the responsibility of addressing the nation.

“It has been a learning process. The competition was tough. That’s a whole new level of competition and each mistake we made was promptly punished,” said Matasi who guarded the posts in all the three matches.

“I think we performed well as the team and we will get better and stronger,” added Ouma.

Stars next competitive game is against Burundi in the 2020 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers in 20 days time.

President Uhuru Kenyatta paid a visit to former Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore at his Nairobi home to bid him farewell a week before he died, it has emerged.

The president’s visit was prompted by doctors’ prediction that Collymore would not live long enough in his long battle with cancer.

Details of President Kenyatta’s visit emerged during Jeff Koinange’s JK Live show in which friends were invited to pay tribute to Collymore.

Collymore had hosted his ‘boys club’ for dinner last Tuesday to share the news of his impending death.

The ‘boys club’ is made up of businessman Ally Khan Satchu, Radio Africa Group CEO Patrick Quarcoo, politician Peter Kenneth, Citizen TV News Anchor Jeff Koinange, Scangroup CEO Bharat Thakrar, British High Commissioner Nic Hailey, Kenya Commercial Bank CEO Joshua Oigara and MD standard chartered bank Lagos Lamin Manjang.

According to Jeff Koinange, President Kenyatta visited Collymore at his home last week Monday and spent close to one hour with his family.

CONDOLE WITH WIDOW

The president returned to Collymore’s home a week later after he learnt of his death to condole the widow and family.

During Wednesday’s JK Live show, the ‘Boys club’ shared how Collymore broke the news to them during their usual Tuesday dinner date.

“Guys I only have a couple of weeks to live, maybe three or four. This thing is not working I have ran out of option” Peter Kenneth said quoting Collymore.

Seeing the shock and sadness on his friends faces, Collymore went on to ask them not to grieve.

“Please don’t grieve, I am the one dying not you guys,” added Kenneth quoting Collymore.

According to his ‘boys’, Collymore did not want to seek further medical treatment despite friends urging him to look for doctors across the world.

“We tried to see what we can do… Like (offer) other alternatives and one was in Australia, one was in Germany. We sent Bob some text messages, saying could we give you a doctor’s contact?”

“And when he didn’t respond and we met on Saturday I told him I knew you have made up your mind, he was ready to go,”

“He didn’t want to go out of Kenya then something happens there, he preferred to be with his family in the house for any eventuality, he was very focused and clear about that,” said Kenneth.

Collymore died on Monday morning at his home after a long battle with cancer.

Kariobangi Sharks have received a timely boost ahead of Sunday’s highly-anticipated pre-season friendly match against Everton following the sudden availability of goalkeeper John Oyemba.

The English Premier League club is expected in Nairobi on Friday, a day before facing the SportPesa Premier League club in a historic match at the 60,000 seater Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Twenty-six-year-old Oyemba is Sharks first-choice goalkeeper who was expected to miss this contest against Marco Silva’s side as he is part of the national football team which took part at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

DEPENDABLE

But things have since changed after Harambee Stars’ elimination from the tournament on Tuesday. Oyemba arrived in the country on Thursday morning and is expected to link up with his club mates in training at the Utalii grounds later in the day.

“It is the best news for us, to have him back. He is our first choice goalkeeper and a dependable player too. That is why he is with the national team,” explained Sharks midfielder Sven Yidah.

Everton will be without a number of stars including Spanish striker Sandro Ramirez who has completed a move back to Real Valladolid in his native country.

ADVANCE TEAM

But coach Marco Silva could hand opportunities to several starlets including U23 team captain Morgan Feeney and his teammates Lewis Gibson, Ryan Astley and Antonee Robinson.

Everton’s advance team from England is already in the country and has been involved in a number of Corporate Social Responsibility activities in Kariobangi.

Former club players Steven Piennar and Leon Osman will also be part of the tour.

The Blues who finished 8th in the Premier League last season, returned to pre-season training at the Finch Farm base, in Liverpool on Monday.

Journalist Jacque Maribe was in court on Thursday to show solidarity with her beleaguered friend Dennis Itumbi.

Itumbi was arraigned Thursday and to be charged over the fake letter that claimed there was a plot to assassinate the Deputy President William Ruto.

Mr Itumbi was arrested Wednesday while having lunch in Nairobi and will be charged with publishing alarming information.

But some sources at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said it is likely that detectives will ask to detain Mr Itumbi for two weeks in order to complete the probe.

He is accused of posting in a WhatsApp group by the name Tanga Tanga Movement the letter alleging a plot to assassinate Mr Ruto.

Police are investigating the offence of making a false document without authority.

Itumbi is being represented by lawyer Katwa Kigen.

FALSE LETTER

Preliminary investigations on the letter, which purported that four Cabinet secretaries had met to plan about assassinating the DP, found that not only was it false, but was also written by people close to the DP.

Mr Itumbi, an ally of Dr Ruto, works at the DP’s office, however, he is the State House digital director under the communications department.

In Maribe attending Itumbi’s court case, it was a case of reversed roles. Itumbi has been a common figure in Maribe’s case where she is accused of murder alongside her fiancé Joseph Irungu alias Joe Jowie. The two are accused of killing businesswoman Monica Kimani in 2018.

Last year, Itumbi was a key figure in the days of Maribe’s arrest until she was released on bail.

Former Safaricom chief executive late Bob Collymore’s elaborate and low cost send off has caught many Kenyans by surprise.

Mr Collymore died on Monday morning in his house and was cremated the following day in a private ceremony attended by family and close friends.

The simple, quick and private funeral has stirred a debate on social media on whether Kenyans should review the usual fanfare that characterise many burial ceremonies.

Families often burden themselves to raise exorbitant amounts of money to facilitate funerals.

Mubea Murithi asked; “Cremation of an adult – Ksh. 9,000 That’s the amount Bob Collymore’s funeral cost. But that uncle you never liked and touched you inappropriately as a kid dies unaitishwa 20,000 sababu matanga budget ni 400,000. Because, culture. Culture is peer pressure from dead people and Africans are its biggest victims.”

His comment attracted a lot of reactions from Kenyans online.

Serah Mugweru said; “My wish is to be cremated too. I don’t want my grave staring at my husband’s new wife. On a serious note, burial ceremonies are a circus and absurd.”

Jepchirchir Carol wrote; “I always think cremation is the easiest way… No long speeches and eating gluttonously.”

Em Em Kely commented; “Others need 2weeks of feasting, disco matanga and 4 harambees, to raise 3m for burial.”

Cate wa Muchoki stated; “We africans believe, the bigger the matanga… the important the person, we equate a big send off to someones status.”

Astiaya Fernandes replied; “Burial ceremonies have been commercialised. Hio industry ni kubwa… A typical African will have fits of anger at the mention of cremation.”

Ahmed Mohammed said; “Bob Collymore cremated at Kariokor. The crematorium charges a flat rate of Sh10,000 for a member and Sh22,500 for a non-Hindu.”

Salat Abagira replied; “Na maskini anangangana kuchangisha 300k for burial!”

Joseph Ownaga asked; “What is the total cost of Bob Collymore funeral? I believe ksh30, 000 while we paupers budget one million. Who is mad?

King George said; “The funeral of Bob Collymore Costed ksh 37,500/= that is ksh 22,500/= for cremation & 15,000/= for hearse. Yet in Western region & Nyanza region it would Cost “bra bra bra?!” lesson learned, please let those Bulls that are always slaughtered be good people.”

Mc Omari Nash wrote; “BOB COLLYMORE’S FUNERAL IS A GREAT LESSON TO THE LUO COMMUNITY! With a monthly salary of 10 million, Bob in his will did not see the need for an expensive funeral; so only few relatives and friends were invited to the event that took less than two hours.”

Martin Kamweti commented, “Cremation of an adult – Ksh. 9,000 That’s the amount Bob Collymore’s funeral cost. Culture is peer pressure from dead people and Africans are its biggest victims.”

Safaricom has apologised to its subscribers one of their admins started tweeting and calling out people in a series of baffling tweets on Wednesday night.

The company on Thursday morning sent an apology and blamed a system glitch and also deleted the sent messages.

“Good morning. We apologise for the series of tweets that went out from our official accounts last night. We had a system glitch that has since been rectified. Thank you,” the company said.

But the apology came in a little too late after Kenyans on social media, who noticed the so called glitch, had already taken screen shots of the messages.

A majority of the users were not too convinced that goof was a glitch.

It all started when a tweep by the name @nasirkenya tweeted “Not surprising. Corruption endorsing corruption. Then tagged the telco company, Ole Itumbi and Safaricom Chief Customer Officer Sylvia Mulinge.”

The Safaricom Care admin then replied, “Total scam like Itumbi himself. They are totally spoiling for the DP if 2022 is on question.”

The glitch was so bad that @Safaricom_Care and its parent company started tweeting each other.

Last week, Safaricom experienced another ‘glitch’ which  saw some of its users subscribing to the telco’s platinum data plan for free.

Customers had access to Safaricom’s platinum offers which promises customers superior service and an integrated plan. This offer had often proved elusive for the ordinary mwananchi due to its costs.

This system malfunction benefited those with the least amount of Bonga points. Safaricom later took down the platinum offers.

Members of a WhatsApp group by the name ‘Tangatanga Movement’ will be summoned by investigators  to probe possible links to links to State House digital director Dennis Itumbi.

Itumbi was arraigned in court on Thursday to be charged over a fake letter that claimed there was a plot to assassinate the Deputy President William Ruto.

Itumbi is said to have first posted the fake letter in the WhatsApp group in order to be pushed to go viral on social media.

In an affidavit presented to court by investigator Yvonne Anyango, police said they arrested one Samuel on Tuesday and several items were recovered from him including two mobile phones.

In one of the phones, police discovered the ‘Tangatanga Movement’ WhatsApp group that was created on July 8, 2018 and composed of 256 members.

Ms Anyango urged the court to hold Itumbi into custody for another 14 days to allow police to summon members of the WhatsApp group to record statements.

‘CLOSE ASSOCIATES’

“That due to the facts of recording the above mentioned statements from the members of the WhatsApp group, the fact that the members of the group are a close associates of the respondent increases the chances of interference,” she said.

She added: “That pursuant to the perusal of the said WhatsApp group the purported letter allegedly emanating from “Cabinet Secretary” was recovered having being posted by the respondent in the said WhatsApp group on June 20, 2019.”

Flying Squad officers arrested Dennis Itumbi on Wednesday at City Hall, Nairobi.

Detectives at the weekend said investigations into the alleged “assassination plot” had narrowed down to two aides suspected to have generated and circulated the fake letter

Safaricom interim Chief Executive Officer, Michael Joseph, broke down severally while reading a tribute to Bob Collymore during the latter’s memorial service on Thursday at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi.

Joseph, while struggling to read Collymore’s tribute poem, also revealed that they had agreed whoever survived the other, would read the poem ‘My Funeral’ at each other’s funeral.

GRIEF-STRICKEN

“Am genuinely sad and heartbroken to be the one reading this poem today,” he said.

He went on to read the poem but broke down a couple of times in between the poem.

It was too much for the grief-stricken Joseph who at one point paused briefly before continuing with the poem.

BRAVEST MAN

“Bob was the bravest man I have ever met, with enormous sense of humour, he never wanted anyone to worry about him,” Joseph said while eulogizing Collymore.

Joseph was among the speakers during Collymore’s memorial service attended by Collymore’s family, friends and a host of political leaders in the country.

Among the VIP guests in attendance at the ongoing service is President Uhuru Kenyatta, his deputy William Ruto, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.

It appears the fallout within Uganda’s national football team camp at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt will worsen before it gets better.

On Wednesday, a Member of Parliament appeared to exchange not so rosy words with a senior player of the team on Twitter, even as a strike by the 23-man squad representing the country at the continental showpiece entered day two.

Aruu MP Odonga Otoo fired the first salvo by blaming five players, including Godfrey Walusimbi and Allan Kateregga, who once played in the Kenya Premier League, of masterminding the strike.

PATRIOTISM

“Here in Cairo, (The strike in Cranes camp is about five players mobilizing others to demand (for) more than what was agreed. This is (a) typical Ugandan behaviour,” the lawmaker wrote on Twitter.

“Wadada, Walusimbi, Kateregga and Jamil, please save your image and that of Uganda. Patriotism is not just for soldiers,” he further wrote.

But Jamil Mohammed, who turns out for top Sudan club Al Hilal hit back, calling for ‘respect’. Mohammed also claimed the reported Sh600,000 which the team is demanding is ‘peanuts’ to him.

‘PEANUTS’

“With due respect to your position, I think you had to get the right information from the captain,” said Jamal.

“I earn more than this monthly peanuts and it is not tax-payers money like what you earn from parliament. Respect my name and get informed well.”

Uganda players refused to train on Tuesday ahead of Friday’s round of 16 clash against Senegal but the country’s Football Association says the players are not owed a penny.

A farmer whose bull strayed into a private farm to mate with a heifer was Thursday fined Sh4,000 by a Timau court, or face six months’ imprisonment for the offence.

Mr Zachary Muriungi admitted that his bull broke a rope where it was tethered and strayed into Mastermind Farm in Ngushishi, Timau area to pursue a heifer grazing there.

He pleaded with Meru Senior Principal Magistrate Thomas Muraguri for leniency saying the act was beyond his control.

“My bull had been tethered firmly and could not have broken the rope had it not been for the heifer. It broke the rope to pursue the heifer and thus entered the farm,” he told the court.

GRAZING WITHOUT PERMISSION

Mr Muriungi, together with another farmer, Ms Frida Gakii pleaded guilty to the charges that on July 1, 2019, they were found grazing their cattle inside the farm without the permission of the farm manager.

Ms Gakii said her five cows strayed into the farm as she took care of her children who had just come from school.

The prosecution, through State Counsel James Kinyua, said the two had no previous records and could be admitted to lenient fines and sentences.

Mr Muraguri was conducting the case inside Timau Police station where the Meru court usually holds mobile court sessions.