According to officials, at least 34 individuals have perished in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu as a result of drinking poisonous bootleg wine.

The event happened in the Kallakuruchi district on Tuesday night when a number of locals became ill after drinking alcohol.

Officials fear there could be more deaths as at least 80 people are being treatment in hospitals for ailments like severe diarrhea.

An extensive investigation is currently underway, with two people already under arrest.

A top police official and ten personnel of the state’s prohibition enforcement wing, which oversees the smuggling of illegal alcohol into the state, have also been suspended by authorities for negligence.

Every year, dozens of Indians pass away from drinking illicit alcohol obtained from run-down distilleries.

To make their combination stronger, bootleggers frequently add methanol—a extremely deadly type of alcohol that is occasionally used as an anti-freeze—to it.

Methanol can be fatal, damage the liver, and cause blindness even in little doses.

According to The News Minute website, the accused in Kallakuruchi purportedly distributed the mixture in packets through a local seller.

The alcohol-consuming individuals were taken to the hospital after exhibiting symptoms such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and eye irritation.

The families of the deceased will receive 1 million rupees ($12,000; £9,425) in compensation, while the hospitalized individuals will receive 50,000 rupees each, according to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

However, opposition parties have criticized the administration for not doing enough to reduce the state’s supply of harmful alcohol.

In many regions of the country, a clash between police and groups of “occupy Parliament” protestors is scheduled for this Thursday.

For example, as early as six in the morning, a large police presence was observed in the Central Business District and surrounding Parliament Buildings in Nairobi.

The demonstrators, who are primarily from the younger generation, have promised to march against the Finance Bill 2024 across the nation.

Even though the police declared the marches illegal, they said they would go on with the protests on Thursday in a number of other places.

To prevent the protesters from interfering with commercial operations, police headquarters instructed regional police commanders to make meticulous arrangements and remove the demonstrators.

This implied that the demonstrations had been deemed unlawful.

Prior to the march on Thursday, more anti-riot police were called into action in Nairobi.

Adamson Bungei, the commander of Nairobi police, stated that there had been no notification of any protest, therefore he was unaware of any.

He declared that he had gathered his forces to deal with the predicament.

The Occupy Parliament protest organizers declared they were prepared for the nonviolent demonstration and that they had complied with all regulations.

Even though the government claimed to have withdrawn some of the planned tax increases, the demonstration will continue into its third day today.

The organisers of the ‘Occupy Parliament’ demonstration against the Finance Bill 2024 have released a detailed strategy and are mobilising their supporters via social media.

The Parliament Building may cause traffic disruptions on certain highways, according to police warning.

Police who were informed of the circumstances stated they were under orders to make sure the protest was “diffused” right away.

Using the hashtag “Reject Finance Bill,” several angry Kenyans have taken to social media to mobilize and garner enough support to guarantee their large-scale demonstration in front of Parliament.

The protest organizers have warned anyone who answers their call and shows up to be ready for anything. They are aware that police will be sent to disperse the crowd.

Water bottles and handkerchiefs are frequently stocked by protestors in case tear gas is directed towards them.

In connection with the disappearance of two Indians and their Kenyan taxi driver, fifteen policemen from the now-dissolved Special Services Unit (SSU) have been charged with murder by Director of Public Prosecution Renson Ingonga.

The trial for the case, which had started at Kahawa Law Court, will now proceed to Kiambu High Court, where the defendants would face new murder charges.

The 15 are accused of kidnapping and disappearance of two Indian citizens, Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and Mohammed Zaid Sami, and their cab driver Nicodemus Mwania Mwange, on various days between July 22 and July 23, 2022, in Nairobi County.

Peter Muthee Gachiku, James Kibosek Tanuki, Joseph Kamau Mbugua, David Chepchieng Kipsoi, Joseph Mwenda Mbaya, John Mwangi Kamau, Hillary Limo Kipchumba, Stephen Luseno Matunda, Simon Muhuga Gikonyo, Paul Njogu Muriithi, Boniface Otieno Mtulla, Elikana Njeru Mugendi, and Fredrick Thuku Kamau are among the officers picked from various units in the security and intelligence sector.

Also included are Michael Kiplangat Bett and John Wanjiku Macharia.

The first witness reported to the court in March of this year that the accused had been positioned at the crime scene.

Principal Magistrate Gedion Kiage of the Kahawa Law Courts was informed by Officer Kennedy Ndeto, a member of the investigative teams and employee of the Internal Affairs Unit, that the defendants had been followed from Mombasa Road to Aberdares Forest.

Ndeto informed the court at the witness dock that the monitoring logs of the car the accused people allegedly used indicated that they arrived at Aberdares National Park at 6:34 p.m. via the Treetops gate.

The defunct SSU offices were located in the Old Nairobi area, and the investigative team tracked them there all the way to Aberdares.”We established that the vehicles travelled up to the Aberdares forest,” he stated.

Ndeto added that they were able to obtain the accused individuals’ phone data records, which located them in several areas of interest, such as the SSU Offices in the Old Nairobi neighborhood and along the Nairobi-Nyeri route, particularly from Muiga in Nyeri to Aberdares Nation Park.

Prior to the scheduled arrival of a Kenyan police team in the Caribbean country, a group of Haitian police commanders wrapped up their visit to Nairobi on Wednesday.

The team said they were happy with Kenya’s preparations to lead a multi-national security team to Haiti as they departed Nairobi late on June 19.

This happened during a meeting between President William Ruto and the Engineer Edgard Leblanc Fils-led Haiti Transitional Presidential Council.

Ruto and his group, which included Monica Juma, his national security advisor, and Noor Gabow, the deputy inspector general of administration police, who will lead the police squad headed for Haiti.

According to Ruto, Kenya firmly supports the multilateralism that is a shared global value and is upheld by the United Nations charter.

“We will safeguard shared principles of humanity that enable us to advance peace, security and stability. We shall establish communication channels as part of the ongoing engagement in restoring peace to Haiti,” he said.

During their three days in Nairobi, the Haitian team undertaken a few of meetings.

The group met with Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and his staff on Tuesday and requested assistance in bringing their nation under control.

“We are counting on your support,” said the Haitian Police official Joachim Prohete during his meeting. 

The IG had talks with the Haitian police delegation about the forthcoming Multilateral Security Support Mission to Haiti, which will be led by the Kenyan police.

The Haitian Police were reassured by IG Koome that “NPS remains committed to collaboration in the mission, for the good of the people of Haiti, especially women and children”.

He stated, “We are prepared and dedicated to come over and assist whenever needed.”

The commanders of the team that will be sent to Haiti were also in meetings with the Haitian Police team.

In addition, they were to be sent to a barrack where Haitian police would get training.

The Kenyan squad is scheduled to depart for Haiti by the end of June 2024, according to officials.

Ruto declared that Kenya will keep its word to bring peace back to the Caribbean country.

Along with other teams in Haiti, over a thousand police officers will combat gangs that are terrorizing the populace.

In addition to Kenya, the following countries will dispatch officers to Haiti: Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, Mauritius, Grenada, Grenada, Chile, and Paraguay.

The Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), Anti Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), General Service Unit (GSU), and Border Patrol Unit (BPU) are the Kenyan units represented on the teams.

Officials claim that this is a combat-trained team capable of competently managing the situation on the ground.

They have received training in a number of subjects, including language.

According to Ruto, the police peacekeeping force is anticipated in Haiti to assist in containing the escalating gang violence.

During the swearing-in of South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday, ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua shared a podium.

At the event, the DP conveyed the congratulations of the Head of State while standing in for President William Ruto.

Last week, after an agreement to establish a coalition government between the African National Congress (ANC), its longtime rival Democratic Alliance (DA), and other parties, parliamentarians in South Africa reelected Ramaphosa to further serve as president.

This will be President Ramaphosa’s second term in office.

Together with Kiambu Senator Karungo Thangwa and his Kajiado counterpart Seki Lenku, the DP boarded a Kenya Airways flight to South Africa.

A week after the DP broke ranks with former President Uhuru Kenyatta, citing Raila’s present friendship with President Ruto as the reason, they met at Ramaphosa’s inauguration.

In an attempt to explain why he has been the focus of a political witch hunt within Kenya’s Kwanza government, Gachagua claimed he was being persecuted because he opted to collaborate with Uhuru.

He claimed that Uhuru’s main transgression was endorsing Raila prior to the 2022 election, but Ruto has made reconciliation with the ODM leader, thus he has no grounds for grudges against the former president.

Many of President William Ruto’s supporters have harshly criticized him for being willing to work with Uhuru to unite Mount Kenya, arguing that he is playing the ethnic card to gain political power.

Nevertheless, Gachagua has refuted the tribal narrative, claiming that the unity of the Mount Kenya region is not predicated on excluding a specific area.

According to him, the bid aims to guarantee the Mt Kenya region’s significant negotiating leverage in the country’s political discourse.

Remarkably, Raila has supported Gachagua’s call for one man, one vote, and one shilling.

The charges against activist Nuru Okanga for allegedly disseminating false information and engaging in cyber harassment will be announced today.

The activist who was taken into custody in Kayole on June 11, 2024, was held last week after the police requested further time to finish their investigation.

In addition to other offenses, police stated that they were looking into Okanga for cyber harassment in violation of Section 27 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.

The Investigating Officer stated that the initial investigation uncovered fake accounts purportedly run by the suspect, which propagated disinformation about the Republic of Kenya and its leaders and encouraged public unrest.

“Police are investigating continued dissemination of detrimental comments posted online by a number of social media platforms including TikTok and YouTube, alongside some websites linked to the suspect, which are considered a threat and may contribute to disturbances affecting peace, order, and public safety. Police had identified the suspect as a serial offender in relation to this investigation,” the court was told.

Okanga was taken into custody on Thursday of last week.

Tuesday was his scheduled court appearance, but there were no proceedings since it was Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti’s last day of mourning.

Hard times are ahead in some sectors of Kenya, even though some citizens may have found solace in the significant tax plans that President William Ruto’s administration unveiled on Tuesday.

The National Assembly Finance Committee has decided to move forward with tax increase proposals in a few crucial areas, which will ultimately affect ordinary citizens.

The road maintenance charge rise from Sh18 to Sh25 is at the top of the list.

The fee was increased per the advice of Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen, who stated that doing so will enable the collection of Sh115 billion, as opposed to the present Sh84 billion.

During his appearance before the Finance Committee to provide feedback on the Finance Bill 2024, Murkomen cited the growing difficulties in maintaining roads as grounds for the proposal.

“Delayed maintenance is adversely impacting road conditions, a pattern that is projected to accelerate unless resolved. In 2016 when the fuel levy charge was last adjusted, the length of paved roads nationally was 16,600 kilometres. In 2024, the length of paved roads has increased to 25,411 kilometres.” Murkomen said.

Kuria Kimani, chair of the National Assembly Finance Committee, stated that the money raised from the charge will go toward road upkeep and repairs.

The Finance Committee’s decision to keep the proposal to raise the Import Declaration Fee (IDF) from 2.5 to 3.5 percent will be detrimental to Kenyans who import goods.

Due to the increased importation of many commodities, even necessities like food and clothing, Kenyan citizens will ultimately bear the brunt of the price increase in order to access these goods.

The IDF was reduced from three percent in the 2022–2023 financial year to 2.5 percent in the 2023–2024 financial year.

The committee explained the hike as an attempt to recoup Sh10 billion that was lost when the IDF was lowered from 3% to 2.5%.

“The proposed increase of aIDF to 3.5 per cent would therefore help to restore the performance of this tax head in line with projected budget estimates for 2025/25 Financial Year,” Kimani stated.

Also, the environmental charge tax on imported completed goods was kept by the Kimani-led committee. Imported goods like pads and sanitary towels will be impacted by this.

Additionally, the committee proposed the implementation of excise tariffs, which inflicted a blow to importers of eggs, onions, and potatoes.

Given that the market price of onions is currently at an all-time high, the excise duty will push the product out of the grasp of the average person.

The Road Development Levy (RDL), which is now set at 2.5 percent, has also been suggested for increase by the committee.

The committee stated that the funds raised would be used to create an electric light rail system.

To enhance revenue, the committee has also suggested raising the excise tax on betting.

Regarding the importation of the export and investment promotion levy on leather goods, ceramic sinks, washbasins, imported shoes, and denatured ethyl alcohol, a similar proposal has been made.

Francis Gitau Mungai, the newly appointed board chair of Family Banks, passed away three weeks after taking over for Wilfred Kiboro, who was retiring.

The Family Bank board of directors and management announced Gitau’s passing in a statement. Gitau was receiving treatment in the United States.

Francis Gitau Mungai, an architect, joined the Family Bank Limited board in 2016 and had been vice chairman for the previous two years prior to his most recent appointment as chairman.

He served as the chair of the board’s credit and human resources committees.

He was a director of Pesa Pap Digital, a Family Bank Ltd. subsidiary, and a member of the Nominations and Governance Committee.

Arch. Mungai had been an advocate of the Board since 1996, having served as an architect as well as a client before joining the Board.

He was a great asset to the Bank’s expansion, and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him will deeply miss him.

With more than thirty years of experience in both architecture and contract management, he was a seasoned professional.

In addition to holding executive positions in well-known companies like Urban Innovation Group (UIG) in Los Angeles and Triad Architects in Nairobi, he was a founding partner of Aaki Consultants, Architects, and Urban Designers.

He graduated with first-class honors from the University of Nairobi’s Bachelor of Architecture program and the University of California, Los Angeles’ Master of Architecture program.