Captured Italy Mafia Boss ‘Seriously Ill’, Says Doctor

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January 19, 2023

Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro is “seriously ill”, a doctor at the health clinic where the fugitive was captured this week said Wednesday.

Messina Denaro, 60, a convicted killer, was caught during a visit to the clinic on Monday following 30 years on the run, after being forced to seek treatment for cancer.

“He is seriously ill. The disease has accelerated in recent months,” Vittorio Gebbia, head of the oncology department at the Maddalena clinic in Palermo, told the Repubblica daily.

Police continue to search for clues as to how Messina Denaro managed to elude capture for three decades.

On Wednesday they discovered a bunker-like hideout within another home, not far from an apartment in the small town of Campobello di Mazara where he had most recently been living.

Authorities were searching the hideout, which appeared to be separated by a wall from the rest of the residence, according to Repubblica.

– Chemo cycle –

Messina Denaro underwent surgery for colon cancer in 2020 and 2022 under a false name, according to leaked medical records published in Italian media.

He was detained Monday after detectives discovered through wiretapped conversations with family members that he was ill and searched Italy for possible suspects of the right gender and age with the same type of cancer.

The law enforcement officers checked with Gebbia whether Messina Denaro needed urgent treatment.

“The police asked me if it mattered if the chemotherapy cycle he was set to receive was delayed by a few days, and I signed off on it because such a small delay will have no effect,” Gebbia said.

Messina Denaro was moved shortly after his arrest in Palermo to a high-security prison in L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region, where he was being held in solitary confinement.

He was expected to be taken for chemotherapy treatment at the San Salvatore hospital in L’Aquila, which has a special unit reserved for this type of prisoner, according to the Corriere della Sera daily.

US First Lady Jill Biden To Visit Kenya In February

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John Mutiso

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January 19, 2023

According to Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Dr. Alfred Mutua, Kenya will host US First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in February.

Mutua made the announcement on Wednesday on Citizen TV’s JKLive show.

Mutua made the announcement in response to a question from show host Jeff Koinange, who asked if Kenya plans to host any high-profile dignitaries in the coming months.

“Next month, we will get high-profile leaders coming to our country. The spouse of the US president will be here in this country,” said Mutua though he did not reveal the purpose of the visit.

“We will get other leaders coming to our country in the next few months.”

The CS said at the moment Kenya is an attractive destination for foreign dignitaries owing to its democratic stance.

He praised Kenya saying it provides an environment that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms.

“Kenya’s place is high right now. I was invited to the G7 as Kenya’s foreign minister with other ministers because of Kenya’s place in the world and the role we are playing in the peace process because of the democracy that we have,” Mutua said.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kipsang Sworn In Senate’s Special Sitting

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John Mutiso

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January 19, 2023

William Kisang has been sworn in as Elegeyo Marakwet’s second senator.

During a special sitting on Thursday, Speaker Amason Kingi presided over the brief ceremony.

Kisang succeeds Kipchumba Murkomen, who resigned after being appointed Cabinet Secretary for Roads, Transport, and Public Works.

Kisang garnered 41,378 votes in the hotly contested by-election on January 5th, beating his closest rival Tim Kipchumba, who received 38,151 votes.

Man Convicted After BBC Probe Into People Trafficking

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John Mutiso

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January 19, 2023

A man at the centre of a BBC Africa Eye investigation has been found guilty of trafficking disabled people in Kenya, and ordered to pay a fine of 30,000,000 Kenyan shillings ($242,000; £196,000) or face 30 years in prison.

Last June, a BBC undercover investigation exposed a human trafficking network smuggling disabled children from Tanzania to Kenya.

Many were taken from their parents with the promise of a better life. Instead, the children were forced to beg on the streets – often for years – while their captors took all of the profits.

Some of the victims alleged they were beaten if they did not make enough money.

James Zengo Nestory was arrested and has now been convicted by a court in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

“I have also noted that you are disabled. Prison might not be a good environment for you,” said magistrate Agnes Wahito.

“This is your first offence so I have given you the minimum sentence to pay 30,000,000 [shillings]. If you don’t have [that] you will be jailed for 30 years in prison.

Dr Jacinta Wasike Appointed Acting CEO of Pharmacy and Poisons Board

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John Mutiso

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January 19, 2023

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board has appointed Dr. Jacinta Wasike as the Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Wasike takes over from the long-serving CEO Dr. Fred Siyoi, whose 10-year term ends following his retirement.

Dr. Jacinta Wasike’s appointment makes history as she becomes the first woman to hold the organization’s top post. She has 20 years of experience in the industry.

Prior to her new position, she served as director of corporate services at the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.

The Pharmacy and Poisons Board is the Drug Regulatory Authority established under the Pharmacy and Poisons Act, Chapter 244 of the Laws of Kenya.

The Board regulates the practice of pharmacy and the manufacture and trade in drugs and poisons.

CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge Sees Economy Expanding 6.2% This Year

By

John Mutiso

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January 19, 2023

Kenya’s economic growth is expected to increase this year, central bank Governor Patrick Njoroge said, while noting the need for the government to ensure debt sustainability.

East Africa’s largest economy may grow by as much as 6.2%, compared with an estimated 5.6% in 2022, Njoroge said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday.

“We’re getting a respectable growth this year,” Njoroge said.

Kenya, which is the world’s biggest exporter of black tea and a popular wildlife tourist destination, will benefit from having a diversified economy and limited exposure to global economic undercurrents, according to Njoroge. “We are very local or regional in terms of trading partners,” he said.

Njoroge’s comments come as the Horn of Africa region battles the most severe drought in four decades that has curbed production of key Kenyan farm exports including tea, flowers, fruit and vegetable — its biggest generator of foreign exchange after remittances by Kenyans living abroad.

Agriculture, Kenya’s economic mainstay, contracted for a fourth consecutive quarter in the three months through September.

Measured Borrowing

Newly-elected Kenyan President William Ruto pledged to boost the economy and create new jobs, while easing the nation’s debt burden.

The nation, which the International Monetary Fund categorized as being at a high risk of debt distress, had public liabilities of 8.9 trillion shillings ($72 billion) as of November, according to central bank data.

Kenya’s “borrowing will need to be measured” to tackle debt vulnerabilities and ensure sustainability, Njoroge said. The nation plans to tap the markets to plug its budget deficit.

“We will be borrowing some more to ensure we can sustain whatever prepayments going forward,” he said. “As markets open, we’ll need to top up our external borrowing.”

Ruto plans to nearly triple annual tax collections to 5 trillion shillings in five years, a push that could help Kenya to narrow its fiscal deficit to 4.3% of gross domestic product in the year beginning July 1, from a projected 5.8% in the current period.

The president also vowed to cut expenditure worth 300 billion in the year through June.

Njoroge is a Yale-educated economist who is serving his second and final four-year term as governor of the Central Bank of Kenya. His tenure ends in June.

Boyfriend Detained As Police Identify Beheaded Teenager

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Cyrus Kimanga

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January 19, 2023

A decapitated body was discovered on the borders of Mikinduri town, Meru County, on Sunday, January 15, this year.

The body was identified three days later as Beatrice Gatwiri, 18, who had left her grandmother’s home in Amatu village on December 24 to live with her lover.

Ms. Gatwiri sat her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) at St Massimo Secondary School last year, according to her grandma, and then fled her family. She would subsequently hear that the girl was living near their house with her long-term lover.

However, police are still piecing together the mystery of the teen’s missing head, the identity of her attacker, and the motivation for the horrible deed days after the gruesome discovery.

Mr. Joel Chepkwony, the Tigania Central Police Commander, stated that they are detaining her boyfriend while investigations and the search for her missing head continue.

OpenAI Used Kenyan Workers On Less Than $2 Per Hour To Make ChatGPT Less Toxic

By

John Mutiso

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January 19, 2023

OpenAI, a private artificial intelligence research laboratory, responsible for the language model that has been fine-tuned for the task of chatting with humans ChatGPT allegedly used Kenyan workers earning less than $2 per hour to make the software less toxic.

In an exclusive investigative piece done by Time Magazine showed OpenAI which in 2021 was valued at $1 billion sent tens of thousands of snippets of text to an outsourcing firm in Kenya, beginning in November 2021.

According to Time Magazine, “OpenAI’s outsourcing partner in Kenya was Sama, a San Francisco-based firm that employs workers in Kenya, Uganda and India to label data for Silicon Valley clients like Google, Meta and Microsoft. Sama markets itself as an “ethical AI” company and claims to have helped lift more than 50,000 people out of poverty.”

OpenAI is now reportedly in talks with investors to raise funds at a $29 billion valuation, including a potential $10 billion investment by Microsoft.

New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern To Step Down

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Dan Ojumah

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January 19, 2023

https _d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net_production_990d3598-8acc-44c8-bb4f-112b453dc3ae — Jacinda Ardern delivers a briefing on Covid-19 on Sunday afternoon.

Jacinda Ardern has announced she will quit as New Zealand prime minister next month, saying she no longer has “enough in the tank” to lead.

Ms Ardern choked up as she detailed how six “challenging” years in the job had taken a toll.

She will step down as Labour Party leader no later than 7 February. There will be a vote in the coming days to determine her replacement.

New Zealand will hold a general election on 14 October.

Ms Ardern, 42, said she had taken time to consider her future over the summer break.

“I had hoped that I would find what I needed to carry on over that period but, unfortunately, I haven’t, and I would be doing a disservice to New Zealand to continue,” she told reporters.

Ms Ardern became the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37.

And a year later she became the second elected world leader to ever give birth while in office.

She steered New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing recession, the Christchurch mosque shootings, and the White Island volcanic eruption.

“It’s one thing to lead your country through peace time, it’s another to lead them through crisis,” she said.

“These events… have been taxing because of the weight, the sheer weight and continual nature of them. There’s never really been a moment where it’s ever felt like we were just governing.”

Ms Ardern led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory in 2020, but her domestic popularity has declined to new lows in recent months, according to opinion polls.

Statue Of Twitter’s Logo Auctioned For Ksh. 12 Million

By

Dan Ojumah

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January 19, 2023

An auction for hundreds of items at Twitter’s San Francisco HQ has just ended.

A statue of the platform’s famous bird logo has claimed the most expensive item sold, coming in at $100,000 (£81,000).

Viewers online noted that some of the used items were no bargain, as they were selling for more than retail.

The sale comes as owner Elon Musk cuts costs at Twitter following his $44bn purchase of the company last year.

Since taking over in late October, Mr Musk has laid off around half of the company’s 7,500 staff.

He has also ended many of Twitter’s perks, such as free meals.

Heritage Global Partners, the auction’s administrator, did not publish the auction’s final results, but the BBC has collected several prices just before closing.

A 190cm (6ft) planter in the shape of an @ symbol finished near $15,000 (£12,160).

Mr Musk tweeted in November that the company had seen a “massive drop in revenue” following the departure of several advertisers.

He also warned the firm could go bankrupt.

Twitter has allegedly failed to pay rent at offices around the globe, including their San Francisco HQ, where their landlord is suing for non-payment.

Nick Dove, a representative of Heritage Global Partners, the company administering the auction, told Fortune magazine the sale had nothing to do with recouping costs for the $44bn purchase, however.

“If anyone genuinely thinks that the revenue from selling a couple computers and chairs will pay for the mountain there, then they’re a moron,” he said.