My father, Ronnie Sim, who has died aged 81, worked for many years in Africa, helping people from various language groups to translate the Bible into their own tongue.Much of his time was spent in Ethiopia, where his biggest project was to facilitate the Bible’s translation into the Hadiyya language. But he also had lengthy spells in Kenya, where he helped to create an infrastructure to support Bible translators to do their work more efficiently. There are still a large number of languages that do not have their own translation of the Bible. Continue reading...

With more and more people moving to big cities such as Nairobi and Abidjan, daily commutes are becoming tougherAfrica is a rapidly urbanising continent. Since 1990, the proportion of people who live in towns and cities has risen from 28% to 44%, according to the World Bank. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts the continent’s urban population will double to 1.4 billion by 2050.In many cases, public transport has failed to keep up with this growth, with hours-long traffic jams a common feature of many metropolises. While some cities have light railways, such as Addis Ababa and Lagos, and others have public bus networks, many commuters rely on private minibus taxis. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In the year they announced record profits, Britain’s arms maker has revoked licence to fly for planes taking supplies of food to starving people in South Sudan, Somalia and DRCBritain’s biggest weapons manufacturer, BAE Systems, has quietly scrapped support for a fleet of aircraft providing “life-saving” humanitarian aid to some of the world’s poorest countries.The decision further reduces the distribution of vital aid to countries facing serious humanitarian crises, including South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Continue reading...

Runner claimed she had taken housemaid’s medicationControversial Chicago record will stand despite banThe women’s marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepngetich, has been banned for three years after the Athletics Integrity Unit rejected her claim that her failed drugs test came from taking her housemaid’s medication after feeling hot and having a rapid resting heartbeat.The Kenyan stunned the world when she ran 2hr 9min 56sec at the Chicago marathon in 2024, a time that shattered the previous best by almost two minutes. However her performance was immediately questioned by many in the athletics world who felt it was too good to be true. Continue reading...

Human-wildlife conflict has now overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities – and is deadly for people too. Some villages are finding new ways to live alongside themPhotographs by Edwin NdekeAt nearly 3.5-metres tall and weighing as much as a bus, you could be forgiven for assuming that Goshi – one of an estimated 30 “super-tusker” elephants left in Africa – would be easy to find. The radio tracker picking up his signal beeps encouragingly, indicating the giant bull is within 200 metres. But the dry season has turned the mass of arid acacia scrubland grey, and everything seems to resemble an elephant.Even when they are invisible, the huge herbivores shape the landscape here. There are 17,000 elephants across the Tsavo region, Kenya’s largest protected area, which is divided in two. Each year, elephants wander huge distances between feeding grounds, following the seasonal rains as they have done for thousands of years. Continue reading...

Kenyan politician who contested the presidency five times and whose term as prime minister ushered in a period of calm and inclusivityRaila Odinga, who has died aged 80, was the prime minister of Kenya from 2008 until 2013 and a longtime leading member of his country’s opposition.A man who was both divisive and revered, he came from an aristocratic political lineage. His father, Oginga Odinga, had been a leading figure in the movement for independence from Britain in 1963 and served as vice-president to the country’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, who begat his own lineage. It was Kenyatta’s son, Uhuru, who defeated Raila Odinga in the 2017 presidential elections. Continue reading...

Kenyan security forces fired into the air and deployed teargas on Thursday to disperse thousands of mourners who had gathered at the Kasarani stadium to view the body of deceased opposition leader Raila Odinga. Odinga, a towering figure in Kenyan politics for decades, once a political prisoner, and five-time presidential candidate, died on Wednesday at age 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment. Chaos erupted when a crowd breached a gate at the Nairobi sports arena, prompting soldiers to fire warning shotsFour dead as Kenyan security forces fire on crowds mourning Raila Odinga Continue reading...

Thousands gather in Nairobi to pay respects to veteran opposition leader, prompting chaotic scenes at stadiumFour people have been killed in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, after security forces fired shots and teargas to disperse huge crowds at a stadium where the body of the opposition leader Raila Odinga was lying in state.Odinga, a major figure in Kenyan politics for decades who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment. Continue reading...

Esther Njoki says family has seen ‘big change’ under Labour, after long fight for justice over aunt’s 2012 death in KenyaThe niece of Agnes Wanjiru, who was killed in Kenya, said she hopes the former British soldier charged with her aunt’s murder will be extradited while the Labour government is still in power.On her first trip outside Kenya, Esther Njoki travelled to London, where she was invited to parliament to meet the defence secretary, John Healey, whom she urged not to delay the potentially years-long extradition process. Continue reading...

Odinga, who ran five times for presidency and had profound influence on Kenyan politics, has died in IndiaThe veteran Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who ran five times for the presidency and had a profound influence on the country’s politics, has died aged 80 in India.Odinga was in the southern city of Kochi for treatment. The Press Trust of India news agency reported that he had a cardiac arrest during a morning walk. Continue reading...

A runway show in Gikomba, east Africa’s largest secondhand clothing market, has attempted to highlight the impact of mass clothing imports – and offer a solutionAntony Njoroge paces back and forth, camera in hand, as people bombard him with questions. “What do we do with this? Where should I put it? The light’s better over here! Tony, one second please.” The film-maker and his co-producer Sally Ngoiri are putting the final touches to an event that they never imagined would actually come to life when they first thought up the idea back in May: the first fashion show to be staged in Gikomba, Nairobi, east Africa’s largest secondhand clothing market.Show and documentary producers Antony Njoroge, left, and Sally Ngoiri Continue reading...

The late Kenyan novelist and activist believed erasing language was the most lasting weapon of oppression. Here, Aminatta Forna recalls the man and introduces his essay on decolonisationBy Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o with introduction by Aminatta Forna. Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith and Aminatta Forna Continue reading...

Financial support given directly to the women in Kilifi county has cut both infant mortality and deaths among under fives, while boosting village businessesTwo months ago, Claris Pendo’s days always followed the same routine. She would rise early, sharpen her tools, walk several kilometres to the forest, cut down a tree, drag it back to her village in Kenya’s Kilifi county, chop it into smaller pieces, dig a pit, cover the wood with soil and branches, and set it alight. Then she would go home and prepare a simple meal of ugali (Kenya’s maize staple).She would keep returning to the pit until the wood had carbonised – a process that can take days – then pack the charcoal into sacks and wait for people on motorbikes to come and collect it. Then she would start all over again. Continue reading...

Pair had crossed border to support presidential campaign of reggae singer Bobi WineTwo Kenyan activists have been abducted in Uganda after attending a presidential campaign event for Bobi Wine, the reggae musician turned politician.Heavily armed security operatives detained Bob Njagi, the chair of Free Kenya, and Nicholas Oyoo, the movement’s secretary general, at a petrol station near Kampala on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

After 13 years, warrant has been issued for UK suspect, but Robert James Purkiss would need to be extradited to face chargesBritish soldier accused of murdering Agnes Wanjiru namedIn the spring of 2012, David Cameron was prime minister and British troops were still fighting in Afghanistan under the stewardship of the then defence secretary, Philip Hammond.Before deploying, soldiers from the UK would be flown 3,000 miles south-west of Helmand province, to Kenya, for hot weather training. They would train at Batuk, the British army base that still operates today, close to Nanyuki, a poor market town in the east of the country. Continue reading...

Arrest warrant issued for Robert James Purkiss, with Kenyan government seeking his extradition to face chargesAnalysis: Arrest warrant is milestone in Agnes Wanjiru case but lengthy UK process awaitsThe British soldier accused of murdering the Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru in 2012 has been named as Robert James Purkiss.Purkiss, 38, was named in court documents at the high court in Nairobi this week, where a court issued a warrant for his arrest. Continue reading...

Research which began with conversations round a campfire and went on to examine 7m gene variants shows how people survive with little water and a meat-rich dietA collaboration between African and American researchers and a community living in one of the most hostile landscapes of northern Kenya has uncovered key genetic adaptations that explain how pastoralist people have been able to thrive in the region.Underlying the population’s abilities to live in Turkana, a place defined by extreme heat, water scarcity and limited vegetation, has been hundreds of years of natural selection, according to a study published in Science. Continue reading...

Relatives remember a dependable, kind and funny woman and remain traumatised by her deathPerhaps the Kenyan market town of Nanyuki’s greatest claim to fame was that it straddles the equator. But now it has become synonymous with something darker. It was here where Agnes Wanjiru was born and lived and where she was brutally killed.Her family searched for her for months before her body was found stuffed into a septic tank at the same hotel where she had last been seen alive. Continue reading...

High court judge issues arrest warrant, saying a suspect has been charged in relation to 2012 death of 21-year-oldProfile: who was Agnes Wanjiru?A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a British national on suspicion of the murder of the Kenyan woman Agnes Wanjiru, who was found dead in the grounds of a hotel near an army base in 2012.The high court judge Alexander Muteti issued the arrest warrant earlier on Tuesday in Kenya, with the prosecution telling the court a suspect had been charged with murder, and his extradition to Kenya was being sought. Continue reading...

Highly educated Kenyans working for essay mills ghostwrite academic work that students pass off as their ownThere is a secret industry that generates billions of dollars a year. Its workers are bright, industrious and completely anonymous. Their job is writing essays to order for students – in the UK and elsewhere – to help them get good degrees.These are “shadow scholars”, highly educated Kenyans who earn a living by working for essay mills. They are contracted to ghostwrite essays, PhD dissertations and other academic papers for students across the world, who pay a fee then pass off the work as their own. Continue reading...