The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has moved to clarify the status of ongoing construction works within its headquarters at Karura Forest.
In a statement on Thursday, February 26, KFS stated that the current construction involves housing facilities for National Youth Service (NYS) personnel who will collaborate with the agency in environmental restoration efforts.
The agency explained that the initiative is not limited to Karura but is part of a broader national rollout across multiple forest stations.
“Currently, there is development of barracks for National Youth Service (NYS) personnel who will be partnering with the Service to support the raising of tree seedlings.
“Setting up of barracks for NYS is happening not only in Karura forest, but in other forest stations around the country including Ngong Hills forest where the barracks are nearing completion,” the statement read.
According to KFS, the collaboration with NYS is intended to increase labour capacity for seedling production in line with Kenya’s long-term environmental targets.
“The partnership between KFS and NYS is meant to provide labour and boost tree seedling production to support realization of the national strategy of growing 15 billion trees by 2032 for realization of 30 percent tree cover,” the statement added.
KFS further clarified that the structures under construction are temporary in nature and located within an already designated administrative and residential zone at the headquarters.
“The barracks are being set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and they consist of prefabricated metal containers and the works are confined to an existing administrative and residential service zone,” the statement continued.
Responding directly to allegations of land grabbing, forest excision, or encroachment into conservation areas, KFS dismissed the claims, maintaining that no protected sections of Karura Forest have been affected.
“There has been no excision of Karura forest land, allocation to private developers or encroachment into protected indigenous forest or core conservation areas as alleged by a section of the civil society. In addition, no trees have been felled, only removal of old tree stumps,” the statement further read.
File image of NYS officers
KFS maintained that all activities are being carried out within the legal framework governing forest conservation in Kenya.
“The works being undertaken are in compliance with the Forest Conservation and Management Act (2016), and Article 69 of the Constitution, which mandate the Service to ensure sustainable forest management, conservation and restoration. The activities do not constitute any land-use change or forest conversion,” the statement noted.
President William Ruto has congratulated UDA candidates who clinched victory in Thursday’s by-elections.
He thanked voters in Isiolo South constituency, West Kabras, Muminji and Evurore wards for backing the ruling party.
In a post on X on Friday, the President described the wins as a sign that the party remains firmly on course in building what he described as a strong national political movement.
“Thank you Isiolo South, West Kabras, Muminji, and Evurore for standing firmly with the United Democratic Alliance in yesterday’s by-elections. We are firmly on course to building a solid national political party whose vision goes beyond generations as we move Kenya to the first-world,” Ruto said.
In his message, Ruto congratulated the four winners, expressing confidence that they would serve their constituents diligently.
“Congratulations Tubi Mohammed (Isiolo South Constituency), Elphas Kainanga Shalakha (West Kabras Ward), Duncan Muratia Nyaga (Evurore Ward) and Peterson Njeru (Muminji Ward) for your victory and the confidence the people have shown in you,” he wrote.
The by-elections, conducted on Thursday, saw UDA candidates sweep all four seats in contests marked by relatively low voter turnout.
In Isiolo South Constituency, Tubi secured a decisive victory with 7,352 votes, defeating his closest rival Bina Tubi of the Jubilee Party, who garnered 634 votes.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Isaac Abduba trailed with 44 votes. The results were announced after ballots from all 60 polling stations were tallied.
The parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of former MP Mohamed Tubi Bidu on November 12 last year while undergoing medical treatment in Nairobi.
Bidu, elected in the 2022 General Election on a Jubilee Party ticket, had been a prominent political figure in the region.
The Isiolo South race drew national attention due to the rare sibling rivalry between Mohammed Tubi and his sister Bina Mohammed, both children of the late MP.
Despite sharing family ties and political heritage, the two squared off in a closely watched contest that dominated local discourse throughout the campaign period.
Elsewhere, UDA’s Duncan Muratia won the Evurore Ward seat in Embu County with 7,853 votes, while Peterson Njeru clinched the Muminji ward seat with 3,207 votes.
In Kakamega county, Elphas Kainanga Shalakha secured victory in West Kabras Ward with 3,317 votes.
President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party has emerged victorious after winning all four seats contested in the Thursday, February 26, by-election.
In the Isiolo South parliamentary by-election, UDA’s Mohamed Tubi bagged the seat with 7,352 votes, defeating his sister Bina Mohammed, who was vying on a Jubilee party ticket.
Bina garnered 634 votes while National Economic Development Party’s Isack Abduba Fayo came in third place with 44 votes.
Isiolo South Returning Officer Abdi Sheikh declared Tubi as the MP-elect and awarded him the IEBC certificate.
“I hereby declare that Mr Tubi Mohammed has been duly elected as the Member of the National Assembly for Isiolo South Constituency in the election held on February 26, 2026,” Sheikh announced.
File image of a voter during the February 26 by-election.
UDA’s Duncan Muratia also won the Evurore ward by-election with 7,853 votes, beating the Democratic Party of Kenya’s Albert Muchira, who came in second with 1,940 votes.
In Muminji ward, Peterson Njau emerged as the winner with 3,207 votes, while DEB’s Boniface Ngari came in second with 2,232 votes.
Meanwhile, Elphas Shalakha of UDA won the West Kabras ward by-election with 3,317 votes, beating DCP’s Bramwel Khaemba, who garnered 2,640 votes.
In a statement, the UDA party congratulated all four participants for winning the Thursday by-elections.
The ruling party also thanked the residents of Isiolo South, West Kabras, Mumunji and Evurore for electing UDA leaders in the mini polls.
“Thank you, Isiolo South Constituency, West Kabras Ward, Muminji Ward, and Evurore Ward, for standing firmly with the United Democratic Alliance in today’s by-elections,” UDA stated.
This comes just months after UDA and ODM secured the majority of the seats in the November 27, 2025, by-elections.
During the by-election, Kiprono Chemitei of UDA won the Baringo County Senate seat with 55,246 votes.
In Kilifi County, Harrison Garama Kombe of ODM clinched the Magarini seat with 17,999 votes, while in Mandera County, Hassan Ahmed Maalim of UDA was declared the winner in Banissa Constituency with 10,431 votes.
The Mbeere North parliamentary seat went to Leo Wa Muthende of UDA, who garnered 15,802 votes.
In Kakamega County, David Ndakwa of UDA was confirmed as the Member of Parliament for Malava after obtaining 21,564 votes, while in Siaya County, Moses Okoth, of ODM, secured the Ugunja seat with 9,447 votes.
Homa Bay’s Kasipul Constituency elected Boyd Were Ongondo of ODM with 16,819 votes.
Hillary Clinton told a congressional panel she “had no idea” about Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, as she called for lawmakers to question President Donald Trump under oath about his past association with the late sex offender.
“I want to see the truth come out,” the ex-US secretary of state said after testifying behind closed doors for hours to a congressional committee investigating Epstein.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will testify on Friday.
The couple had resisted a subpoena from the panel, dismissing it as politically motivated, before agreeing to testify as potential contempt-of-Congress proceedings loomed against them.
The Clintons and Trump deny wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
After spending six hours on Thursday speaking to House Oversight Committee members, Clinton told reporters she was “disappointed” that the testimony was not made public, “so I wouldn’t have to be out here characterising it for you”.
She also commended Chairman James Comer for raising a series of significant questions about the nature of the investigation and for hearing her out about the areas she thinks need to be explored.
“I appreciated that. I want to see the truth come out, so that was a reassuring way to end a very long, repetitive deposition,” she said of Comer.
Clinton also said she criticised the Republican members of the committee for not asking any other person they deposed about Epstein or his convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested Harun Liluma, an interdicted employee of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), in connection with an intensifying investigation into fraud at the Social Health Authority (SHA).
The arrest, confirmed on February 27, 2026, marks a significant escalation in the government’s crackdown on medical insurance malpractice.
Liluma faces multiple counts, including conspiracy to defraud, abuse of office, computer fraud, and unauthorised access to computer systems.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) approved the charges, and Liluma was scheduled for arraignment at the Milimani Law Courts.
This arrest is part of a wider probe where 1,188 files containing evidence of fraudulent healthcare facilities and individuals were handed to the DCI.
Along with Liluma, the DPP has recommended charges against several hospital directors, including those from Danaba Care Hospital, Kamishawa Medical Centre, and Kaafi Nursing Home, for operating unlicensed facilities and obtaining money by false pretences.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale recently announced the suspension of 40 health facilities allegedly involved in inflating claims and falsifying digital records.
Pope Leo XIV will begin a 10-day visit to four African countries on 13 April, marking his first pastoral trip to the continent, the Vatican has announced.
He will travel to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
In Cameroon, the Pope will visit the capital Yaoundé, the economic hub Douala, and the Anglophone city of Bamenda in the restive Northwest region, where an armed conflict has been raging for nearly 10 years.
This is the first time that a pope will visit Algeria, whose population is mostly Muslim.
In December, he expressed his desire to visit the continent, citing Algeria, the birthplace of St Augustine of Hippo, as a potential destination. The pontiff belongs to the Augustinian religious order and had previously called for interfaith dialogue in the North African country.
While it will be the Pope’s first pastoral visit to Africa since assuming the leadership of the Catholic Church, he is no stranger to the continent.
As Cardinal Robert Prevost, he visited several countries including Kenya and Tanzania.
His decision to travel to the continent highlights Africa’s growing importance to the church – it is home to about 20% of the world’s Catholics.
In January, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa and President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar hinted at the Pope’s plans to visit Africa in April.
“When the Pope visits a country, especially countries in crisis like ours, it is also to give hope to the people, especially people who are suffering,” the cardinal said in an interview with Vatican News after meeting the pontiff.
The Pope’s visit to Africa follows his first foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon late last year, where he called for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East.
The last papal trip to Africa took place in February 2023, when Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, visited the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
The official programme of the Pope’s activities during his tour is yet to be released.
However, Vatican News reports that the tour from April 13 to 23, will include stops in Algiers and Annaba in Algeria; Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala in Cameroon; Luanda, Muxima and Saurimo in Angola; and Malabo, Mongomo and Bata in Equatorial Guinea, the continent’s only Spanish‑speaking nation.
The FBI has fired roughly 10 members, all of whom participated in a probe into Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents after his first term.
Their termination on Wednesday, confirmed by the BBC’s US partner CBS, was announced shortly after FBI director Kash Patel told Reuters that federal agents subpoenaed his phone records when he was a private citizen during the documents investigation.
Susie Wiles, now White House chief of staff, also had her phone records subpoenaed when she was a private citizen as part of the investigation.
Patel did not offer any evidence of wrongdoing by the FBI employees who were fired.
After Trump left the White House in 2021, Special Counsel Jack Smith led two federal investigations into now-President Trump. One case was focused on whether Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results.
The other involved classified documents Trump brought back to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and his alleged efforts to obstruct the US Department of Justice from later retrieving them.
The FBI staffers who were terminated on Wednesday all participated in the classified documents case.
An advocacy group representing current and former FBI employees condemned the firings.
“These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau’s ability to meet its recruitment goals – ultimately putting the nation at greater risk,” the FBI Agents Association said in a statement.
Trump and two of his associates were indicted in 2023, following Smith’s investigation into the classified documents.
In 2024, a federal judge in Florida dropped the case against Trump, however, having found that Smith was unlawfully appointed.
This year, a federal appeals court in Georgia dropped the case against the last two defendants at the request of Trump’s justice department.
Since Trump returned to the White House in January, the justice department and FBI have fired employees who participated in the federal investigations against him.
The justice department also attempted to pursue charges against former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired during his first term in 2017, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump.
More than 1,700 Africans are fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Wednesday, adding that Moscow was using deception to trick them into fighting.
Speaking alongside his counterpart from Ghana, Sybiha said that discussions were taking place with governments across Africa to prevent their citizens from being drawn into such schemes. Ghana will chair the African Union regional bloc next year.
“We clearly see that Russia is trying to drag African citizens into a deadly war,” Sybiha told a news conference. “According to our data, there are currently over 1,780 citizens from the African continent fighting in the Russian army.”
The African fighters came from 36 different countries spread across the continent, he added.
Russian authorities have denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in the armed forces.
However, reports of African men being lured into Russia with promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s front line have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said that many of the Africans fighting for Russia were victims of deception, lured on the dark web with the promise of ordinary jobs.
“They have no security background. They have no military background. They have not been trained,” Ablakwa said. “They were just lured and deceived, and then put on the frontlines.”
Ablakwa expressed solidarity with Ukraine and called for a ceasefire to end the war, which marked its fourth anniversary on Tuesday. He said that he would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to release two Ghanaian prisoners of war, who were captured fighting for Russia.
Ghana would promote schemes to raise public awareness about trafficking networks deceptively recruiting for Russian forces during its presidency of the African Union, Ablakwa said.
Defending champions India kept their T20 World Cup semi-final hopes alive and eliminated opponents Zimbabwe with a 72-run victory in Chennai.
Having previously gone unbeaten in the group stage, Zimbabwe leaked more than 250 runs for the second consecutive match in the Super 8s as India piled on 256-4.
It is the second highest total in T20 World Cup history behind Sri Lanka’s 260-6 against Kenya in the inaugural event in 2007.
Opener Abhishek Sharma top-scored with 55 off 30 balls, including four fours and four sixes, all-rounder Hardik Pandya completed a 23-ball half-century with a six off the final delivery of the innings, and Tilak Varma flashed an unbeaten 44 from 16.
Chasing 257, Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett showcased his talent, registering his third unbeaten half-century of the tournament with 97 from 59 balls.
The 22-year-old, whose fifty came off 34 balls, struck eight fours and six sixes but lacked support, with Sikandar Raza’s 31 (21) the next highest score.
Now level on two points with West Indies, India know victory over the two-time champions in Kolkata on Sunday will secure their spot in the last four.
South Africa, who beat West Indies by nine wickets to maintain their 100% record at this tournament, join England in qualifying for the semi-finals with a game to spare.
India bounce back from South Africa mauling
India had enjoyed a relatively comfortable passage through the initial group stage, winning all four of their matches and twice passing 190 with the bat, but had their wings clipped by South Africa in their Super 8 opener.
Chasing 187, they were bowled out for 111 – a result which left them in near must-win territory as they headed to Chennai.
Zimbabwe captain Raza, whose side were in a similar position, said at the toss it would “come down to a battle of nerves”. India showed none as they bludgeoned their highest total at a T20 World Cup and passed 250 in a men’s T20 international for the fifth time.
Sharma, who came into the match under pressure having registered three ducks in his past four innings, set the tone with a 26-ball half-century.
Initially content to play second fiddle to Sanju Samson, who struck the second ball of the match for six and made a quickfire 24 from 15 deliveries, he led India to 80-1 at the end of the powerplay, striking three fours and three sixes.
His second-wicket partnership with Ishan Kishan (38) was worth 72 runs and although Kishan could not capitalise on Tashinga Musekiwa dropping him on 26, Suryakumar Yadav punished Zimbabwe’s sloppy fielding. Dropped on eight by Blessing Muzarabani, the India skipper thrashed 33 from 13 deliveries.
It was Zimbabwe’s fifth drop from 15 attempts in the Super 8s. In the group stage, during which they were unbeaten, they had a catching efficiency of 95.2% and dropped just one.
Though Suryakumar was striking above 250, his departure flicked a switch for India, with Hardik and Varma piling on 84 runs in the final 5.1 overs, including seven sixes. Hardik accelerated from 12 from eight balls to 50 not out from 23, while Varma found the boundary seven times in 16 deliveries.
On a bruising day, Zimbabwe’s four pace bowlers leaked 3-197 from 14 overs.
The top Democrat on the congressional committee investigating Jeffrey Epstein has accused the US Justice Department of withholding files containing allegations of sexual abuse of a minor made against President Donald Trump.
Robert Garcia, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, said he had personally viewed documents containing the allegation that had not been made public.
In response, the Justice Department said, “NOTHING has been deleted”, adding that documents were withheld only if they were “duplicates, privileged, or part of an ongoing federal investigation.”
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein case and has recently said he has been “totally exonerated”.
The Justice Department has also previously said that some of the files contain “untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump”.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, that “by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein’s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein’s victims than anyone before him.”
Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, appears to have been friends with Trump for a number of years. They later fell out, which happened in the early 2000s, according to Trump, two years before Epstein was first arrested.
Jeffrey Epstein. PHOTO/@Polymarket/X
The Justice Department has released millions of files that show what the federal investigations into Epstein uncovered. The staged releases were prompted by an act signed off by the president, who had earlier resisted the release of the material.
Some files were redacted, and officials have acknowledged that other files were not released at all. The legislation allowed the justice department to withhold certain files to secure active investigations or prosecutions and to protect the identities of victims.
Garcia said the files he had seen “make it clear” that a woman “made additional, specific allegations” against Trump that “are not reflected” in the records made public by the department.
He said he had written to US Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding that they be published.
In its response, Bondi’s justice department accused Democrats on the committee of “misleading the public while manufacturing outrage from their radical anti-Trump base”.
In a separate statement posted on X, the department also said it would review whether any files had been improperly withheld.
As a member of Congress, Garcia is legally permitted to view the unredacted versions of the released Epstein files at the department, as the House Oversight Committee conducts its own investigation into Epstein.
“This is the largest government cover-up in modern history. We are demanding answers,” the Democrats on the committee said in a statement on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Garcia’s letter to Bondi came after US media reports suggested three FBI witness interviews with an alleged Epstein victim were missing from the publicly released files.
NPR first reported that indexes and serial numbers in the files suggested the FBI had conducted four interviews with the woman in 2019 as part of its investigation into Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed in 2022 for sex trafficking.
But three of the interview summaries and related notes, totalling more than 50 pages, are not available on the Justice Department’s website, according to reports by NPR and others, including the New York Times.
The woman told federal agents that Epstein raped her as a minor in the early 1980s, according to one of the heavily redacted documents.
According to other entries in the files, a woman – who Garcia said was confirmed in the unredacted documents to be the same accuser – alleged she was sexually abused by Trump at some point between 1983 and 1985, when she would have been aged 13 to 15.
That allegation is also contained elsewhere in the Epstein files, in a list compiled by the FBI of allegations made against Trump by callers to its National Threat Operation Center tip line.
Many tips in that document appear to have been dismissed by investigators as not credible, and no supporting evidence is provided. However, FBI agents marked this allegation for follow-up, sending it on to a field office in Washington “to conduct an interview”.
Contacted by the BBC on Wednesday, the justice department referred to a statement it made after the January release of Epstein files, saying: “Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.
“To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponised against President Trump already.”
No results are found when searches are made of the Justice Department’s publicly available Epstein files for FBI documents summarising the three further interviews with the woman.
Another search for a photograph and two other documents listed in the index also shows no results.
There is no information in the available documents suggesting agents were able to corroborate the woman’s accusations, nor that agents made any assessment of their credibility.
In his letter to Bondi, Garcia said the released Epstein files “show that the FBI took these allegations seriously”. He accuses the Trump administration of a “cover-up” by withholding the other interviews relating to the witness.
Jeffrey Epstein. PHOTO/@nojumper/X
A woman with matching biographical details was among several alleged Epstein victims who filed a civil lawsuit against his estate in 2019.
She stated that Epstein trafficked her to New York in the 1980s, where she was raped by men linked to him, but the lawsuit does not identify the men.
The woman voluntarily dismissed her claim against Epstein’s estate in 2021, according to a letter filed by her lawyer at the time. The lawyer declined to comment when contacted by the BBC on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
Epstein’s association with Trump appears to have started around the late 1980s, and the pair were pictured together at various events in the following decade.
In a 2002 New York Magazine interview, Trump said Epstein was a “terrific guy” and that “it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
Trump appears in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department, though an appearance does not imply any wrongdoing.
A number of the files that have been released by the Justice Department, and by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, show Epstein discussing Trump in emails that were sent years after their association ended.
In one email dating to 2011, which was released by Democrats, Epstein wrote to Maxwell: “I want you to realise that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump… [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”
At the time, the White House said the victim referred to was the late Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who died by suicide earlier this year. It said Giuffre “repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions”.
