By James Okoth

The African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) has issued a damning preliminary statement on Tanzania’s October 29 General Elections, warning that the exercise “fell short of the standards set by the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.”

Led by former Botswana President Mokgweetsi E.K. Masisi and supported by former Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, the 72-member Mission observed polling in 17 regions across Tanzania and Zanzibar. Despite smooth logistical preparations, the Mission said the elections “lacked inclusivity, competitiveness and transparency.”

“While we acknowledge the efforts by Tanzanian authorities to organize the polls, the overall environment did not allow for a fair and credible process,” said President Masisi.

Opposition Boycott and Arrests Undermined Competitiveness

The AU team cited the boycott by CHADEMA, the disqualification of ACT-Wazalendo’s presidential candidate Luhaga Mpina and the arrest of key opposition figures as clear indicators that “the playing field was not level.”

“The detention of opposition leaders and restrictions on campaign activities created a climate of fear,” the Mission noted.
“Meaningful political competition requires respect for freedoms of association, assembly and expression.”

While acknowledging President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s early reforms, the Mission lamented what it called “a reversal of political openness” in the months leading to the vote.

Institutional Weakness and Constitutional Gaps

The AU observers faulted Tanzania’s constitutional design, calling it “a structural obstacle to electoral integrity.”
The Mission observed that the President’s power to appoint all members of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the constitutional bar on challenging presidential results in court “compromise the credibility of the process and deny citizens judicial recourse.”

“Electoral justice is the backbone of democracy,” the Mission stated.
“No election can inspire public confidence when outcomes are beyond legal scrutiny.”

It also decried the use of senior government officials as returning officers under the Prime Minister’s supervision, warning that the practice “blurs the line between state and party.”

Internet Shutdown, Violence and Restricted Access

The Mission described the election day as “initially peaceful but later marred by violence and panic.”
Reports of gunfire, curfews and sporadic clashes in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya, Kigoma and Dodoma disrupted both observation and voter turnout.

A six-day internet shutdown, the Mission said, “had a chilling effect on transparency and citizen trust.”

“The blackout curtailed access to information, hindered independent verification and created suspicion over results transmission,” the AU team said.

Observers were also barred from entering several polling and counting stations, while cases of ballot stuffing and multiple voting were documented.

“These incidents compromise the integrity of the process and call for accountability,” Masisi emphasized.

Women and Youth: Representation Without Power

While noting Tanzania’s legal framework for gender inclusion, the Mission stressed that “special seats have not translated into substantive empowerment.”

“True gender equality means equal opportunity to compete, not token representation,” the statement read.

It also noted that the youth remained largely excluded, citing financial constraints and procedural barriers to voter registration.

AU Calls for Urgent Reform and Restraint

The Mission urged Tanzanian authorities to “embark on far-reaching constitutional and electoral reforms” to restore public confidence and align the country with continental norms.

“The African Union stands ready to support Tanzania in building institutions that guarantee independence, transparency and accountability,” President Masisi said.

Expressing sympathy for those killed or injured in post-election violence, the Mission appealed for calm:

“Security agencies must act with restraint and ensure that every life lost is accounted for.”

The final comprehensive report will be published within two months and is expected to outline specific recommendations on electoral management, judicial reform and political inclusion.

By James Okoth

Germany, the land where Raila Amolo Odinga once honed his engineering knowledge and shaped his early worldview, has reconnected with him once again, this time in death.

The German machine, a symbol of precision and innovation, finally descended upon his birthplace, Kang’o ka Jaramogi in Bondo, to honor him in the most fitting way, through art, culture and shared history.

What unfolded was more than a tribute, it was a rekindling of a bond that began decades ago when Raila studied and found refuge in Germany. Now, in death, that connection has blossomed into a living legacy.

At his final resting place, Germans have etched a new chapter in the Odinga story, a blend of heritage, history and humanity. Through world class art, performance and design, they have turned the gravesite into a living symbol of international respect and remembrance.

Where silence once hung heavy over the hallowed grounds, music and artistry now speak a global language, one that celebrates not only the man but the movement he embodied.

A Global Tribute to a National Icon

The German delegation, made up of cultural scholars, artists and government representatives, left behind what locals have come to call “a museum without walls.”

The site now bears intricate installations symbolizing unity, peace and shared struggle, values that defined Raila’s political journey.

“It was like watching history meet harmony,” said Bondo resident Elphas Ouko. “The Germans showed us that a king is not only entertained in life but also honored in death.”

In recognition of his global influence, Raila was also posthumously awarded the Global Cultural Bridge Award by the German delegation, a distinction celebrating his lifelong dedication to democracy, dialogue and global understanding.

The collaboration has transformed Kang’o ka Jaramogi into both a shrine and a showcase, a pilgrimage site where politics meets art and remembrance meets rebirth.

Roots Beyond Borders

Raila Odinga’s ties with Germany run deep. In his early years, the country became both refuge and classroom, a place that shaped his political and ideological identity.

That personal bond has now evolved into institutional cooperation. In Kisumu County, the relationship has taken a tangible form through a two year renewable partnership between Kenya and Germany aimed at promoting cultural exchange and education.

At the heart of this partnership is the newly launched German Space at the Kisumu National Library, a hub designed to serve as a center for language learning, cultural immersion and digital empowerment.

Empowerment in Raila’s Spirit

“This is how we honor Raila Odinga,” said Beatrice Odongo, Kisumu County Executive Committee Member for Sports, Gender and Culture.

“He went abroad to seek knowledge and empowerment for Kenyans. Now, we are bringing that empowerment home to the very people he lived and fought for.”

Odongo said the county plans to extend the initiative to subcounty libraries, creating hundreds of learning and employment opportunities for young people and women.

“It’s not just about language,” she added. “It’s about access. Raila believed in access, to education, to opportunity, to justice. This space continues that mission.”

Education Department Commits to Expansion

Eng. Bovince Ochieng, Chief Officer in the Department of Education, reaffirmed the county’s commitment to ensuring the library is fully utilized, especially during the long December holidays.

“We are urging parents to take advantage of this invaluable facility,” Ochieng said. “The Kisumu National Library now offers more than books, it offers a future.”

Ochieng, who is also eyeing the Kisumu Central MP seat in 2027, pledged to modernize the library with IT and AI facilities to align it with global digital standards.

“Our goal is to make this library a digital hub that matches global trends,” he said. “The youth who walk through these doors should be ready for the world Raila Odinga envisioned.”

A Partnership Rooted in Legacy

Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o praised the Kenya, Germany collaboration, describing it as “a timeless tribute to the spirit of solidarity that Raila Odinga embodied.”

“Raila was a bridge, between Kenya and the world, between yesterday and tomorrow,” Nyong’o said. “What the Germans have done in Kang’o ka Jaramogi and Kisumu reminds us that his story was never just local, it was global.”

He noted that the cultural collaboration would inspire a new generation to see Raila not just as a politician, but as a visionary whose global relationships continue to open doors for Kenyans.

“His gravesite will no longer be a place of sorrow,” Nyong’o added. “It will be a place of art, learning and inspiration, just as he would have wanted.”

A Living Memory

For many residents, the transformation at Kang’o ka Jaramogi is more than symbolic. It’s a reminder that Raila’s influence remains alive, resonating across borders and generations.

“The Germans brought music, light and respect,” said Mama Akoth, a villager who watched the cultural showcase unfold. “They reminded us that a true king never dies. His spirit simply travels.”

As the sun set over the serene hills of Bondo, the gravesite glowed, adorned with art, echoing with song and alive with memory.

The enigma rests, but his legacy walks, carried now by cultures, continents and countless hearts.

By James Okoth

5/11/2025.

When Lilian Wanjiru Kingori boarded a flight from China to Nairobi on October 11, 2022, she carried home more than luggage — she carried the weight of a name about to be stolen and turned into a criminal brand.

A bright Kenyan student studying in China and running a small import business, Lilian was known among her peers for her reliability in currency swaps. She helped fellow Kenyan students exchange Kenyan shillings and Chinese yuan — a simple, transparent arrangement that made her a trusted intermediary.

Until her own name was used to swindle a Chinese national, and the system meant to protect her failed spectacularly.

The Message That Changed Everything

Barely a month after returning home, on November 10, 2022, a stranger reached out on WeChat.

“He added me as a friend and I accepted,” Lilian recalls. “Then he sent screenshots showing he had sent me 16,500 yuan, claiming I hadn’t delivered USDT. I didn’t even know what USDT meant.”

The sender was a Chinese national and the transactions were real — money had indeed hit her WeChat and Alipay accounts. But the person who had initiated those transfers was not Lilian. It was a Kenyan man she knew only as Tyrel, whose M-Pesa account name we have withheld for legal reasons.

She explained the mix-up to the Chinese man, clarifying that she had remitted two of three batches totalling 16,500 yuan and was processing the last. But before she could resolve anything, both her WeChat and Alipay accounts were frozen.

“That was my lifeline,” Lilian says. “I used them to pay suppliers, talk to my teachers, even order stock. My entire livelihood froze in one day.”

From a Currency Swap to a Digital Crime Scene

Desperate, she sought help from friends fluent in Mandarin to recover her accounts. They managed to unlock her Alipay, but her WeChat remained permanently disabled.

To her shock, the same Chinese complainant sent her a friend request on Alipay.

“He said my accounts were blocked because of unfinished business with someone called ‘Korkoren,’ who turned out to be Tyrel,” she says. “He said since Korkoren used my details to receive his money, my accounts had to be blocked.”

When she confronted Tyrel, he denied the claims, saying it was the Chinese man who owed him.

“I told both of them to solve their issues because I wasn’t involved in their trade. I didn’t even know what cryptocurrency or USDT was.”

The DCI’s Slow Dance

Alarmed, Lilian reported the case at Eastleigh North Police Station on October 29, 2022, and was referred to the DCI Headquarters on Kiambu Road. The case was recorded under OB No. DCI/C/GEN/COMP/6/11/2022.

She cooperated fully, submitting her phone, bank statements and correspondence. Her phone was later sent to the DCI Cyber Forensic Lab for extraction in June 2023, but the report only surfaced nearly 18 months later, after sustained pressure.

“We had to push the officers through their bosses. They had my data all along, but nothing was moving,” she says.

The suspect was reportedly questioned and even refunded part of the stolen money. Yet, to date, Lilian has never been formally cleared. Her digital footprint remains flagged.

“I can’t travel. I can’t trade. Every visa check raises red flags. My name is tainted, as if I’m the criminal,” she says softly.

A Pattern of Silence and Betrayal

Lilian’s story is not isolated.

In early 2025, another Kenyan, whose name we are concealing for safety reasons, shared a strikingly similar experience. We shall refer to him as “Naph.”

Naph, a senior researcher at a global institution, told The Western Insight that he was contacted in November 2024 by a Chinese national named Tyre (WeChat ID: Tyrell05). Tyre asked him to help remit payments to a Kenyan academic writer on his behalf.

“He asked for my Alipay Account Code, and I accepted,” Naph explains. “I would receive yuan and send the equivalent in shillings via M-Pesa to a number he provided, 0719***759.”

That number matches the same M-Pesa line tied to the same suspect — the man also implicated in Lilian’s case.

Over several months, Naph processed what he thought were legitimate transactions. Then, on February 8, 2025, his Alipay account was flagged and disabled.

“At first, I thought it was just security verification,” he says. “But after a month, I called Alipay, and they told me my account was under investigation for multiple fraud cases.”

Upon reviewing the flagged dates and transactions, Naph realized they perfectly matched the transfers he had made on behalf of Tyre.

The total amount in question? KSh 199,664.80.

“It’s humiliating,” he says. “I’m a senior scholar and now my account is tainted globally. My money is locked. I can’t support my family. I’m begging the DCI to help track this man and clear my name.”

Our newsroom has seen and verified supporting documents, including WeChat conversations, Alipay receipts and official correspondence, confirming the credibility of Naph’s account.

Justice in Reverse

The two cases expose a troubling trend — investigative inertia and possible internal collusion that shield fraudsters while innocent victims suffer prolonged reputational and financial ruin.

Experts point to a breakdown in coordination between the DCI’s Cybercrime Unit, Interpol and IPOA, which has so far remained silent despite formal complaints.

“If the DCI cannot protect innocent citizens whose only crime is trust, then the rot runs deep,” notes a Nairobi-based digital fraud analyst.

The Cybercrime Law and Its Teeth

Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018, and its 2024 amendment, sharply increase penalties for digital fraud, identity theft and impersonation.

●Computer Fraud (Section 26): Fine of up to KSh 20 million or 10 years in prison.

●Identity Theft and Impersonation: Fine of up to KSh 20 million or 10 years in prison.

●Publishing False Data: Fine of up to KSh 300,000 or 3 years in prison.

●Aiding or Abetting a Cybercrime: Fine of up to KSh 7 million or 4 years in prison.

Given the cross-border nature of this case, prosecutors could also seek aggravated penalties — including account freezes and forfeiture of illicit gains.

“The new law is clear and unforgiving,” says a legal analyst. “If the DCI applies it fully, this case could be a landmark in curbing cross-border digital fraud.”

Kenya’s Rising Cybercrime Curve

Kenya’s annual police and digital security reports show a steady, worrying rise in cyber-offences.

▪In 2019, Kenya recorded 6 million cyber-attacks, with 1,203 cases examined by the DCI’s Digital Forensic Lab.

▪Reported incidents rose from 339 million in 2021 to 700 million in 2022, according to KNBS.

▪In 2023, Kenya lost US $83 million (KSh 10.7 billion) to cybercrime, with 1.1 billion threats detected between April and June 2024.

▪The Communications Authority reported a 41.9 % drop in incidents in early 2024, followed by a 201.7 % surge in early 2025 — signalling evolving, AI-driven threats.

A 2024 national ICT crime study found that 84.8 % of respondents had experienced some form of cybercrime in the past two years, mainly identity theft and impersonation.

These figures paint a grim picture — a growing digital battlefield where fraudsters move faster than enforcement agencies.

Lilian’s Plea for Redemption

For Lilian, the toll is both emotional and existential.

“I’ve lost my business, my freedom, my peace,” she says. “Every day I wake up wondering if I’ll ever clear my name. I did everything right — reported, cooperated, proved my innocence — but I’m still treated like a suspect.”

Her words echo a broader cry — a plea for accountability from institutions that have traded their duty for silence.

Unless the DCI and IPOA act decisively, more innocent Kenyans risk becoming collateral damage in a system that punishes victims and protects fraudsters.

By Reporter

The rush to make quick money and desire to control tender awards by some County Executive Committee Members (CEC) and senior government officers of Kisumu County could be leading to rampant battles and transfers of chief officers at the institution.

Equally, some CECs have resorted to taking advantage of Governor Anyang Nyong’o to institute changes in the management for their own selfish and personal gains.

Sources revealed that the rampant transfers could be a plot by some CECs and officers to manipulate the usage of the budget allocations.

Security and safety concerns have also been expressed after “goons” allegedly stormed the county government offices to harass one of the employees of a claim that he had threatened to harm his director.

Sources revealed to Western Insight that the rampant changes have been occasioned by some CEC’s feeling uncomfortable by some chief officers who they claim do not want to play the ball.

Interestingly, recently some  two CECs prevailed over the governor with claim that they had identified two competent directors in the said affected departments who could be promoted to act as the accounting officer and wanted the chief officers transferred.

“The government gave in after pestering by the CECs and the chief officers were transferred to a different office without any portfolio waiting redesignation. People want to make money but do not want to follow the law and this is the cause of the wars,” said our sources who did not want to be named.

Sources revealed that the battle is so fierce that some chief officers , CECs and some junior employees have recorded statements with the Ethic and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

County Secretary Hesbon Hongo was unavailable for comment.

Recently, on 3^rd November 2025, a senior tourism officer Philip Aloo Mwangi recorded statement with the police and obtained OB No51/03/11/2025 alleging of an attempted assault.

In a compliant letter by Aloo to chief officer, Trade, Tourism, Cooperatives, Investment and Marketing claimed that on the said date a group of eight well-built young men entered the office and proceeded to his workstation.

“The group confronted me and alleged that I had plans to threaten or harm the Director. I reported the presence and the threat to my direct supervisor and requested assistance. I am reporting this incident for formal investigation and for appropriate security action.

In the supervisor’s office, the group stated that they had been sent to find out who Philip was and alleged I had plans to threaten or harm the director,” he wrote in the complaint letter copied to County Secretary, CECM, Director Tourism, Director HRM and Director -Head of Enforcement.

Aloo in an interview said he has never had any problem with his director and they have had cordial working relationship.

“The matter is being resolved internally, and I do not want to comment further,” he said.

The Director Inviolete Adhiambo when contacted said she would respond later to our queries.

“Kindly, can I respond later. I am busy at the moment, and I am about to meet my minister. Thank you, later,” she said and hanged up the phone.

By Correspondent

A succession dilemma is unfolding at Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) as the government weighs whether to replace long-serving Managing Director Philip Mainga or extend his tenure beyond his current contract.

Mainga, who took over the helm in 2018, is expected to exit in February 2026 when his contract expires. However, the decision on his future is proving contentious, with competing interests pulling in different directions.

The sticking point is Mainga’s age—he will be 59 at the time his term ends, leaving him with just one year before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60. This technicality has left the State “between a rock and a hard place” on whether to renew his tenure or open the position to new leadership.

Sources within the Transport Ministry say Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and several State House insiders have expressed confidence in Mainga’s leadership, crediting him with stabilizing the corporation and pushing forward key infrastructure projects, including the Nairobi Railway City and the revitalization of commuter services. He is credited for reviving Kisumu Port, Nakuru – Kisumu Railway Line, Nairobi- Nanyuki Railway Line

However, not everyone agrees. A faction within the KRC Board of Directors is said to be pushing for “total adherence to the law,” arguing that the agency must transition to new leadership to comply with governance and succession rules.

At the same time, the National Treasury is reportedly keen on effecting wider changes within the parastatal, a move that could see a new Managing Director appointed as part of broader reforms in the transport sector.

The debate underscores the growing scrutiny over leadership renewal in key State corporations — a process often shaped by both merit and political considerations.

For now, the question remains: will the State extend Mainga’s reign to complete ongoing projects, or usher in new leadership at Kenya Railways ahead of 2026?