"Kenya opposition leader won the 2022 presidential election" - Former President says

By Mosses Kinyanjui, NAIROBI Kenya 

The former Kenya President,  Uhuru Kenyatta has, for the first time, cast doubt on the legitimacy of President William Ruto's 2022 General Election victory, claiming he knows the late Raila Odinga won.

According to the former Head of State, he is certain that the former opposition chief, Odinga won the 2022 polls, hinting at a scheme to bungle the outcome that secured President Ruto's win.

"Tulifanya kila kitu kumsaidia Baba awe Rais wa Jamhuri yetu ya Kenya. Na kura akapata, na mimi mpaka wa leo najua ya kwamba yeye ndiye alishinda hiyo kura. Tunajua vile mambo ilienda, na hatutaki iende hivyo tena," he said during a Jubilee Party National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Nairobi. (We did everything to help him become President of Kenya, and to date I know he won that election. Those who want to know the truth know the truth.)

Mr Kenyatta argued that the late Odinga, under the Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition Party, won a majority of elective seats in the National Assembly and the Senate, questioning how they still lost the presidency.

"How can you say you won yet we have most Members of Parliament, Senators, and Governors? How could you say we lost? We know how things went down," he said.

He censured his critics, warning them against dragging him into their political blame game, calling for decorum and restraint as political parties contest for the 2027 General Election.

"I am shocked to hear people saying that we did not help Baba, saying that Uhuru Kenyatta did not win. I was not the one at the ballot; I was just Raila's handyman," he noted.

"Using dirty politics will not take us anywhere; let nobody try to divide us. What does it help you? Share your manifesto."

Mr Kenyatta maintained that his belief in good governance has informed his support for Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Fred Matiang'i for the presidency in the 2027 polls.

"He is respectful, he is not corrupt, he loves Kenyans, he is a hard worker," he noted.

In the 2022 Kenyan presidential election, William Ruto received 7,176,141 votes (50.49%), while Raila Odinga received 6,942,930 votes (48.85%), according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Trump threatens to 'annihilate' Iran, attacks ICC in UN speech

UNITED NATIONS, New York United States 

United States President, Donald Trump, said Tuesday he has to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or "annihilate" the country, in a bombastic speech to the United Nations that appeared tailored to war-weary American voters.

The 80-year-old president's threat came amid repeated boasts that under him the United States is successfully confronting its adversaries and reshaping the world order to its own advantage.

"While others have spoken of peace, I have made peace. While others have ignored threats, I have confronted them," Trump told the room full of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Despite claiming credit as a peacemaker, Trump delivered a jarring warning as he sought to justify the nearly seven-month war against Iran, which he said was launched to stop Tehran acquiring nuclear weapons.

"I have a big decision to make -- will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country?" Trump said.

"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival?"

Trump reiterated that he believed Iran would "make a deal right after" the US midterm elections in November -- in which his Republican party faces losing control of Congress, at least partly due to high fuel prices caused by the unpopular war.

First UK charges brought over 1994 Rwanda genocide

WESTMINSTER, England 

A Rwandan man, who has been living in north London, has become the first person charged in the UK with offences relating to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.

Dr Vincent Brown, formerly Dr Vincent Bajinya, 65, has been charged with one offence of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity.

Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Brown "is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others".

Brown is expected appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Ferguson said the decision to charge Brown was made "after reviewing a file of evidence submitted by the War Crimes Team at the Metropolitan Police".

"We concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met," he added.

The War Crimes Team began their investigation in September 2019 after a formal request from the Rwandan government to investigate people allegedly involved in a genocide in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994.

Over the course of 100 days in 1994, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus people were killed in Rwanda by Hutu extremists.

They were targeting members of the minority Tutsi community, as well as their political opponents, irrespective of their ethnic origin.

The mainly Tutsi forces who took power following the genocide were alleged to have killed thousands of Hutu people in Rwanda in retaliation.

The Metropolitan Police said the charges against Brown follow "a complex and extensive seven-year investigation".

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: "This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.

"The War Crimes Teams remains committed to ensuring those suspected of involvement in genocide and other atrocity crimes are held accountable through due legal process.

"A number of other investigations remain ongoing into other individuals in the UK for similar offences related to the genocide in Rwanda."

Iran must stop arming Houthis in Yemen, G7 says ahead of UN General Assembly

NEW YORK, United States 

Iran must "end its arming of and support" for the Houthis in Yemen, the foreign ministers of G7 nations have said in a joint statement.

The G7 also condemned "in the strongest terms" Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, adding that the recent escalation in fighting against Saudi-backed forces in Yemen represented a threat to regional and global energy security.

Thousands of refugees have fled Yemen in recent days after the Iran-backed group seized territory along the country's Red Sea coastline, including near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical shipping route for global trade.

The statement comes ahead of the annual UN General Assembly in New York, where senior Iranian officials are due to speak.

"We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith," said the foreign ministers of the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

It went on: "Their reprehensible actions constitute a dangerous pattern of escalation that risks further exacerbating the conflict, undermining international trade and creating global economic instability."

"Looking forward, we will continue to support the legitimate Government of Yemen and reaffirm our strong commitment to the unity, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Yemen," the ministers said.

Their statement was issued following a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 22/9/2026

 

Amnesty accuses M23 rebels of killings and abuses at Congo mines

LONDON, England 

Amnesty International is accusing Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo of serious abuses against miners, including killings, torture and forced labour, allegations it says could amount to war crimes.

The rights group says M23 controls dozens of artisanal mines in North and South Kivu, where workers extract gold and coltan, minerals essential to the global electronics industry.

Amnesty says it interviewed 26 people and documented the alleged killing of 18 miners at the Rubaya coltan mine and Lomera gold mine.

It also says gold and coltan from M23-controlled areas are being smuggled into neighbouring Rwanda.

M23 and Rwandan authorities did not respond to Amnesty’s requests for comment, while Rwanda has previously denied accusations that it profits from Congo’s minerals or supports the rebels.

The report adds to concerns over the human cost of a conflict that has devastated communities across eastern Congo.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS

 

Congo begins Ebola vaccinations for health workers in the epicenter of the outbreak

BUNIA, DR Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday began vaccinating healthcare staff against Ebola in Bunia, the epicenter of the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease in history as they are “particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response,” the provincial governor said.

Health workers and other front-line workers in the Ebola response are being prioritized to receive the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type of virus. 

Clinical trials are ongoing to find a licensed vaccine for the current outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which has no licensed vaccine or treatment.

The rollout is targeting the Bunia and Mongbwalu zones in Ituri province, health authorities said Saturday. Both areas are among the hardest-hit by the virus.

“Our collective duty is to protect life. Launching this vaccination drive for front-line staff in Ituri is not an arbitrary choice, as these workers are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response,” the military governor of Ituri, Maj. Gen. Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said Saturday.

The campaign in Ituri and North Kivu is expected to cover 20,000 front-line workers over a period of six to nine months.

As of Saturday, the country had recorded 7,541 confirmed cases, including 3,639 deaths, according to government figures, while 1,823 people have recovered. The outbreak is concentrated in Ituri province and is known to be the deadliest of all past 17 Ebola outbreaks in the country.

The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements. 

The World Health Organization has said it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Uganda suspends military cooperation with Turkey amid political tensions

KAMPALA, Uganda 

Uganda's army said Saturday it had suspended military cooperation with Turkey, after demands for Ankara to hand over a prominent political blogger and fierce critic of President Yoweri Museveni.

Army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Museveni's son and widely seen as his father's likely successor, has repeatedly clashed with Turkish authorities over efforts to extradite Fred Lumbuye.

The political commentator faces 15 criminal charges, including incitement to violence, spreading false information and computer misuse.

On Friday, thousands of Ugandans affiliated with the Patriotic League of Uganda, a civic and political pressure group associated with Muhoozi, protested outside the Turkish embassy in the capital Kampala.

"The Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) has with immediate effect suspended all and any Defence and Military cooperation with the Republic of Turkiye," army spokesman Chris Magezi said in a statement.

"The measure will remain in force until outstanding issues of mutual defence and military cooperation between the two countries are resolved," Magezi added, without providing further details.

Kainerugaba reposted the statement on X.

The two countries have maintained close defence ties for nearly a decade, covering military training, arms and surveillance equipment, technology transfers and cooperation on counter-terrorism and security.

The directive follows threats to cancel a $3 billion railways contract with Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi, and to expel Turkish nationals from Uganda.

Journalists denied White House access after Trump banned some media outlets

By Our Correspondent, WASHINGTON United States 

Politico, CNN and MS NOW journalists have been denied access to the White House after US President Donald Trump announced he was banning the outlets.

Reporters raise their hands to ask questions as President Donald J. Trump makes an announcement on health care in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18, 2026.  

An MS NOW reporter and a photographer tried entering the White House grounds on Saturday morning, but their badges would not scan and an officer confiscated them, the outlet reported.

Both CNN and Politico also said Saturday morning that their reporters were denied access and had their badges seized.

Trump said on Friday he was barring all three major US media outlets from the White House, accusing them of writing "fiction or lies" about his administration.

Press freedom advocates called the move unconstitutional.

"The officer asked me to hand over my badge. He said that it was disabled," MS NOW reporter Akayla Gardner said. "I asked why I was not able to get inside. He said it was above him."

Gardner added that while her and her colleague's badges were disabled, an MS NOW producer was still able to scan her badge to get in, though she was not given an explanation as to why the producer's badge still worked.

CNN reporter Betsy Klein said a Secret Service agent told her her badge had been deactivated.

Later on Saturday morning, Politico said its reporter Cheyenne Haslett was denied entry and Secret Service revoked her pass.

All three outlets have spoken out against the decision, accusing Trump of violating their constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of the press.

An MS NOW spokesperson said in a statement that the White House "belongs to the American people and the decisions made inside are funded by our tax dollars".

MS NOW said it "intends to take any and all steps necessary to defend our First Amendment rights and the essential role of independent journalism in our democracy".

Politico Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Greenberger said in an internal email, shared in the outlet's Playbook newsletter, that the company stands by its reporters and will "vigorously defend" their First Amendment rights.

And CNN said, "We have a right under the US Constitution to do our reporting without hindrance or interference from the government and this ban is an illegal assault on this fundamental right."

In his announcement, Trump did not mention specific stories or reporting from the three outlets that prompted the move, but later said "it's really just cumulative stories over the last few years".

Trump added that there "may be others to join them", but has not given a directive banning additional news outlets. When later asked by a reporter what he meant by others to come, Trump responded: "Others to come in terms of fake news? Well, you know, the New York Times is fake news, the Washington Post is fake news."

Several groups dedicated to the freedom of the press have called out Trump's White House ban as illegal and unconstitutional.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 19/9/2026