Watu wagombania chakula Kenya - Coronavirus

Watu wenye njaa waligombania chakula kilichokuwa kinatolewa kama msaa Nairobi.  Walipigwa na polisi baada ya fujo kuanza! Walitakiwa wa kae mbali ya mita moja kwa mtu mwingine lakinii wapi!  Hebu ona.!  Njaa kitu kibaya sana.

Add caption

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -  Thousands of people have surged for food aid in Kenya's capital in a brief stampede, leading police to fire tear gas and injure several people. Many were desperate for help as coronavirus-related restrictions make it more difficult to go out and make a living. The scene in Kenya's largest slum reflects the fears of millions across Africa as nearly 20 countries have imposed full lockdowns and others have shut down cities or imposed curfews. In the Nairobi chaos, men with sticks beat people back as they fought over food, some with face masks dangling off their chins. Some people fell and were trampled. Women shrieked.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of people surged for food aid in a brief stampede Friday in Kenya's capital, desperate for help as coronavirus restrictions keep them from making a living. Police fired tear gas and injured several people, witnesses said.

Residents of Nairobi's Kibera slum, spotting a food distribution, tried to force their way through a gate outside a district office for their chance at supplies to keep their families fed for another day.

The scene in Kenya’s largest slum reflected the fears of millions across Africa as nearly 20 countries have imposed full lockdowns and others have shut down cities or imposed curfews. A vast population of informal workers, with little or no savings, worries about the next meal as no one knows when the measures will end. Already, Rwanda and South Africa have extended their lockdowns by two weeks.

In the Nairobi chaos, men with sticks beat people back as they fought over packages of food, some with face masks dangling off their chins. Some people fell and were trampled. Dust rose. Women shrieked. Injured people were carried to safety and placed on the ground to recover, gasping for breath.

“The people who have been injured here are very many, even we cannot count,” said one resident, Evelyn Kemunto. “Both women and children have been injured. There was a woman with twins, she has been injured, and even now she is looking for her twins. … It is food we were coming for since we are dying of hunger.”

The crowd had heard that popular opposition leader Raila Odinga had donated the food, said witness Richard Agutu Kongo, a 43-year-old who operates a motorcycle taxi. But in fact the distribution was from another well-wisher who had given selected families cards to turn in and receive aid, he said.

“They didn’t care about government restrictions that we were to stay 1 meter apart,” he added.

Kongo’s family, including six children, was given a card. They received two packets of maize meal, cooking oil and cereals.

People in the crowd “could see those with cards getting food and this caused the stampede as they tried to force their way in,” Kongo said.

He described his business as a standstill as Kenyans are discouraged from going out.

“Before, I used to make (the equivalent of) $10 and now with the coronavirus restrictions I can barely make $5,” he said. “It’s becoming hard to ensure my family gets three meals a day. Yesterday they missed breakfast.”

With Friday’s donation, his family now has enough for three meals, he said: “We are thankful for the donation, but it will only last two days.”

He lamented that Kenya’s government appears to have no plan to feed him and millions more.

Mzee Ojwang Afariki Dunia!

The Late Benson Wanjau aka Mzee Ojwang

 Kutoka  BBC Swahili

Muigizaji maarufu wa kipindi cha runinga cha "Vitimbi" Benson Wanjau aka
"Mzee Ojwang" ameaga dunia.
Mzee Ojwang ameaga dunia muda mchache uliopita katika hospitali ya kitaifa ya Kenyatta mjini Nairobi Kenya.

Kwa habari zaidi BOFYA HAPA:

Nairobi, Kenya: Kenyan actor Benson Wanjau alias Mzee Ojwang died Sunday evening at the Kenyatta National Hospital where he had been admitted.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000168994/end-of-an-era-mzee-ojwang-passes-on

Nairobi, Kenya: Kenyan actor Benson Wanjau alias Mzee Ojwang died Sunday evening at the Kenyatta National Hospital where he had been admitted.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000168994/end-of-an-era-mzee-ojwang-passes-on

Nairobi, Kenya: Kenyan actor Benson Wanjau alias Mzee Ojwang died Sunday evening at the Kenyatta National Hospital where he had been admitted.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000168994/end-of-an-era-mzee-ojwang-passes-on

Al Shsabab Waua Abiria wa Basi wasio WaIslam Kenya

 Jamani, jamani! Tunaelekea wapi? Hizi chuki za kidini ziishe!  Siyo utamaduni ya Afrika Mashariki.

Mungu ailaze roho zao mahala pema mbinguni. Amen.

****************************************

Police: Al-Shabab militants kill 28 in Kenya bus

   NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Police officials say al-Shabab militants from Somalia have hijacked a bus in northern Kenya and killed 28 non-Muslims on board.

   The two police officers said Saturday that the bus traveling to the capital Nairobi was hijacked 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Mandera town. The officers say the gunmen singled out non-Muslims and shot them dead.

   The officers insisted on anonymity out of fear of reprisals because of an order from Kenya's police chief that officers not speak to the media.

   Kenya has been hit by a series of gun and bomb attacks blamed on Somalia's al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militants since it sent troops into Somalia in October 2011. Authorities say there have been at least 135 attacks since then, including the Westgate Mall attack in which 67 people were killed.

RAIS Kikwete akutana na Bibi yake Rais Obama wa Marekani Jijini Nairobi

Rais Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete akiwa na Bibi yake Rais wa Marekani,Mh. Barack Obama,Mama Sarah Obama walipokutana Leo kwenye hoteli ya Villa Rosa Kempiski  jijini Nairobi, Kenya, wakati Rais Kikwete akijiandaa kurejea nchini. Mama Sarah Obama anatarajia kuzindua taasisi ya kusaidia elimu kijijini Kogelo nchini Kenya, alikozaliwa Baba yake na Rais Obama wa Marekani itakayofahamika kama (Sarah Obama foundation) ambapo atajenga shule kuanzia za awali mpaka sekondari. Rais Kikwete sasa hivi yuko mjini Kondoa kuendelea na ziara yake ya Mkoa wa Dodoma. PICHA NA IKULU

Bomb Explosions in Nairobi Today Kill 10 , Dozens Injured!

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Two bombs killed 10 people and wounded 70 others Friday, tossing bodies into the air at a market in Kenya's capital, while hundreds of British tourists were evacuated from the coastal resort of Mombasa after warnings of an impending attack by Islamic extremists.

   The U.S. ambassador has requested additional security and is reducing the number of people stationed at the embassy in Nairobi amid an increase in threats.

   No group claimed responsibility for the blasts, which went off minutes apart in the Gikomba market near downtown Nairobi.

   President Uhuru Kenyatta, appearing at a previously planned news conference shortly after the bombings, offered his condolences.

   But he dismissed the tourism warnings from the U.S. and Britain that led to the evacuations, saying that terrorism is a common problem and not unique to Kenya.

   As ambulances and security forces responded to the market bombing, witnesses described a chaotic scene.

   "I heard the first blast, then another one," said Gikomba market trader Judy Njeri, who described crouching and crawling on hands and knees after the explosions that wounded some of her colleagues.

   "I saw bodies being tossed in the air," she added. "The whole place was thrown into darkness and a lot of dust."

   Police Chief Benson Kibue announced the casualty figures.

   U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden condemned the bombing as "the latest in a series of cowardly attacks on innocent civilians in Kenya, from the capital to the coast."

   Security concerns are high in Kenya because of its proximity to Somalia and the al-Qaida-linked group, al-Shabab, which operates there. In September, four al-Shabab gunmen attacked the upscale Westgate Mall in Nairobi, killing at least 67 people.

   On Thursday and Friday, TUI Travel, which owns the British tourism companies Thomson and First Choice, evacuated customers and canceled all flights to the coastal city of Mombasa until October. The British government had urged its citizens to leave Mombasa and nearby beach towns.

   The U.S. and Britain were among several nations renewing warnings of possible terrorist attacks.

   Earlier this week, the U.S. warned for the first time that its embassy itself is taking new steps to increase security "due to recent threat information regarding the international community in Kenya."

   On Friday, Ambassador Robert Godec sent a letter to his staff, saying he has requested assistance from the Kenyan police and State Department. Godec said additional police are patrolling the embassy vicinity and that more assets will arrive from Washington next week.

   The embassy is also reducing its staffing numbers.

   "Unfortunately, the security situation in Kenya, especially in Nairobi and Mombasa, continues to worsen. Since the tragic events of Westgate in September 2013, the number of attacks, threats, and warnings is deeply concerning," Godec said, referring to the assault on the mall.

   More than 100 people have been killed in shootings, grenade attacks and small bombings in Kenya in the past 18 months, the U.S. Embassy said. Kenyan authorities, with the help of the FBI, recently discovered a huge car bomb that could have caused a lot of damage.

   Al-Qaida detonated a massive bomb by the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people.

   The U.S. Embassy's security posture has increased in recent days. Marines now patrol the embassy grounds in bulletproof vests and helmets. Emergency drills tell embassy staff: "Duck and cover, duck and cover."

   "We know from experience whether it's been in Yemen where embassies have been attacked or in Benghazi where our consulate and ambassador was attacked, anything that is a symbol of a foreign country is a potential target," said Scott Gration, a former U.S. ambassador here.

   As for the evacuations, many travel companies have insurance policies that don't allow tourists to be in high-risk locations, noted Gration, a retired U.S. Air Force major general who runs a technology and investment consultancy in Nairobi.

   Some of the tourists boarding a flight home at Mombasa airport expressed disappointment with the travel company's decision to evacuate them, saying they had felt safe in Mombasa.

   "We believe we're safe here where we are in Kenya," said Dave Moor of England. "Everyone has been really friendly, non-threatening. We've had no worries at all, you know, and we're just so upset that you wait all year for your holiday and you've got three days and they send you home without any real reason."

   Stefan Arraw of Peterborough, England, called it "a lot of overreaction."

   Kenyatta said the warnings strengthen the will of terrorists.

   Kenya sees a big drop in tourism activity - a major money-maker - whenever such alerts are issued. Kenyatta said the government would install 2,000 security cameras in Nairobi and Mombasa to help combat terrorism.

   Gration said Kenya's coast is a beautiful and mostly safe location.

   "My belief is that everywhere there are issues and we all need to be prudent in when we go and where we go," Gration said. "So I don't travel at night, avoid big crowds and lock my doors. Whether you are in Newark, New Jersey, or Nairobi, Kenya, we can all fall victim to crime or terrorism."

MChina Achoma Mahindi Mtaani Nairobi

Haya mmekaribisha waChina na sasa wanachukua kazi za walalahoi! Si angechoma mahindi kwao Uchina? Je, mwafrika akienda kuchoma mahindi huko China itakuwaje?

MChina akichoma mahindi mtaani Nairobi

Kwa habari zaidi BOFYA HAPA:

More Terror Attacks Possible in Kenya!

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The U.S. government is warning that a Kenyan terror group with links to the Somali group al-Shabab may seek to target the American private sector in Kenya.

   A recent report from the U.S. State Department's Overseas Security Advisory Council says the anti-West ideology shared by al-Shabab and the Kenyan terror group al-Hijra indicate that the groups "may seek to target the U.S. private sector in Kenya."

   The report was released in the aftermath of al-Shabab's attack on Nairobi's Westgate Mall, a gunfire and grenade assault that killed at least 67 people.

   The report calls for Americans to exercise extra vigilance in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, and the coastal city of Mombasa at clubs, hotels, resorts, shopping centers, restaurants and places of worship.
  

Mfanyakazi Mortuary Nairobi Aibia Maiti wa Westgate

Natoa pole kwa familia ya marehemu walioibiwa huko Nairobi.  Huyo mfanyakazi wa Mortuary ni mwanamke, tena kaibia maiti ya mpwa wa Rais wa Kenya. Atakiona cha mtema kuni! Hata bibi yangu alivyofariki hapa New York, USA,  wafanyakazi hospitalini waliibia maiti yake. Walichukua pete yake ya ndoa ya dhahabu.  

Umaskini mbaya, lakini jamani kuibia maiti? Hawagopi? Huko TZ kuna ndugu yangu alifariki katika ajali ya basi. Vibaka waliiba vitu vyake pamoja na kitambulisho.  Kibaka naye kafa siku hiyo hiyo! Tulijua kwa vile maiti ya kibaka ilikutwa na kitambulisha cha marehemu ndugu yangu/

*******************************************

Kenya mortuary worker 'charged with theft from Westgate bodies'

(AFP)  Nairobi — A worker at a Nairobi mortuary has been charged with stealing belongings from two bodies, including that of a relative of the president, brought in during the siege of the Westgate shopping mall, a report said Friday.

The Daily Nation newspaper said Rose Oyungu, 54, stole a gold watch and mobile telephone from the dead nephew of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as gold jewellery from the man's fiancée.
Both of the victims died on the first day of last month's attack on the upmarket mall by Al-Qaeda-linked gunmen, which in total left at least 67 people dead.

"It is unfortunate that an African can steal from the dead," prosecutor Wycliffe Sifuna was quoted as telling a bail hearing in court on Thursday.

Defence lawyers managed to secure bail for the accused, a widowed mother-of-six. The case is due to go to trial on November 25.

The accusations against the woman come as Kenyan security forces are also facing allegations that troops looted the mall during and after the four-day siege.

Kenyan media reported widely on the ransacking of the shopping centre, and security camera footage from the mall broadcast at the weekend showed soldiers carrying white plastic bags.

Shop owners -- including a top end jewellery store as well as others selling mobile telephones, watches, cameras, expensive suits and lingerie -- said their stores were completely looted.

On Tuesday the army chief said some goods were taken for safekeeping, and police responded to the media accusations by summoning two journalists for questioning -- although the summons was withdrawn following an outcry.
Copyright © 2013 AFP. All rights reserve

Remember the 1980 Bombing of the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi

Kenya mall attack echoes 1980 hotel bombing

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
Associated Press

   Flames and smoke, the whoop of sirens, the flicker of ambulance lights and uniformed men shouting in darkness. These are my childhood memories of the chaotic aftermath of a hotel bombing in Kenya's capital on New Year's Eve, 1980.

   The attack on the Norfolk Hotel, popular among foreign tourists, preceded the Sept. 21 assault on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi by a generation. Then as now, a city landmark was hit, Kenyan and foreign civilians died, leaders pledged to stop it happening again and talk turned to recovery. Much about the hotel bombing remains a mystery as investigators now seek to unravel the plot behind the mall attack, a horror replayed on closed circuit TV footage.

   The motive and method were different for the two attacks, but Kenya is confronting the same questions about security, freedom of movement and the nexus between local and international militancy that it did decades ago.

   I was 13 years old at the time and watching "Superman II" with my family in a cinema in Nairobi, where my father was based as an Associated Press journalist. A boom interrupted the soundtrack. My father made a telephone call and within minutes we were driving to the hotel. No time to drop the family at home.

   My father's reporting captured the same kind of panic and confusion that shrouded the Westgate mall attack. Firefighters struggled with equipment. Some people speculated that a small plane had dropped a bomb on the historic hotel, which had a mock Tudor facade, an aviary and a verandah restaurant accessible from the street.

   Days after the blast, I wandered in the rubble. The twisted frame of a steel tennis racket and other burned belongings of guests lay there.

   Suspicion fell on Palestinian militant groups that allegedly targeted Kenya for supporting Israel in counterterrorism missions, including a 1976 hostage rescue in neighboring Uganda. The groups denied involvement. At least 15 people died at the hotel, according to Kenyan media.

The Norfolk Hotel In Nairobi before the 1980 bombing

   Al-Shabab, a Somalia-based al-Qaida-linked extremist group, said it attacked Westgate, where at least 67 died, to punish Kenya for fighting Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia. The mall is at least partially owned by Israelis.

   Kenya is a periodic target, vulnerable to infiltration, because of its role as a Western ally and regional hub. Thirteen died in a bomb attack on an Israeli-owned hotel on the Kenyan coast in 2002. Hundreds died in al-Qaida's 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

   In a Jan. 7, 1981 editorial titled "International Terrorism," The Standard newspaper of Kenya wondered whether the Norfolk assailants were "a loosely knit but well-funded gang of mercenaries which at any stage during their mischievous `safari' on Kenyan soil, may have colluded with `local' or `regional' contacts."

   Kenyan authorities said the bomber was a Moroccan militant traveling on a Maltese passport who on Dec. 23, 1980 checked into the Norfolk, then owned by the Blocks, a Jewish family. He left on a flight to Saudi Arabia hours before the blast.

   At midday on Dec. 31, 1980, the suspect "ran down the wide carpeted staircase from his room on the first floor of the western wing, walked out past the reception counter and was never seen again. At 8.30 p.m., with a blinding flash and a roar that split the night, the Norfolk exploded," Fairmont The Norfolk Hotel, as it is now called, says on its website.

   Ruth Rabb, a Block family member, was driving to the Norfolk that night to have dinner with friends. She said some people initially thought the explosion was caused by a gas leak. A dining room, a lounge, some guest rooms and other areas were destroyed, but much of the hotel was intact. Rebuilding began quickly.

   "It was hard work and determination," Rabb said.

   My parents dined at the Norfolk on the night before the blast. The family returned for tea a week later, when a hotel restaurant reopened.

   The Norfolk bombing and the strike at Westgate, in which attackers with guns and grenades slaughtered civilians, represent different eras. Extremist groups have evolved from largely top-down structures, sometimes with state support, to fragmented cells with shifting alliances.

   "There's definitely a more horizontal structure to these networks than the vertical structure that we saw in the past," said Colin Clarke, an associate political scientist at the U.S.-based RAND Corporation. He said attacks can be more lethal because of new technology and the ease with which militants can communicate.

   Like Westgate, the Norfolk's clients were mostly people of means, some of fame. Guests included Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt; in 1979, Jerry Brown, California's governor then and now, stayed there with singer Linda Ronstadt.

   Hilary Ng'weno, publisher of The Weekly Review, a Kenyan journal, wrote at the time of the explosion that it created "uncertainty" between Kenya and foreign visitors and aimed to undermine a political system with a continental reputation for stability.

   Ng'weno said: "Ironically, it is the very nature of a free society in Kenya which has made the bombing at the Norfolk possible."

   The hotel, now Saudi-owned, marked its 2004 centenary with a parade of vintage cars and horse-drawn carriages. The theme was the Norfolk's iconic role in the growth of Kenya's capital, which is again embarking on a path to recovery.

   ---

   Christopher Torchia is the Associated Press bureau chief for southern Africa, based in Johannesburg.

The Westgate Mall Massacre in Pictures

The horror of the Westgate Mall Massacre in Nairobi, Kenya. May the souls of those killed rest in eternal peace. Amen. WARNING - It is graphic.

http://totallycoolpix.com/2013/09/graphic-the-westgate-shopping-center-shootings-in-kenya/

Shooting victim being led to safety

Shooting victim being led to safety

Kenyan woman mourns the loss of her loved one

Names of the Injured

Nursery school Children at a Cooking competition were also shot & killed! The killers had no mercy!

More News on Deaths in Kenya Mall Shooting

Renowned Ghanaian poet killed in Kenya mall attack

Published September 22, 2013

ACCRA (AFP) – Renowned Ghanaian poet and statesman Kofi Awoonor was among the 59 people confirmed dead so far in an attack by Somali Islamist militants on a Nairobi shopping mall, Ghana's president said Sunday.

John Dramani Mahama said in a statement: "I am shocked to hear the death of Prof. Kofi Awoonor in Nairobi mall terrorist attack. Such a sad twist of fate..."

Awoonor, 78, was killed while shopping with his son in the Westgate Mall, Ghana's Deputy Information Minister Felix Kwakye Ofosu said.

His son was injured and has been discharged from the hospital, Ofosu said.

Awoonor was Ghana's representative to the United Nations under the presidency of Jerry Rawlings from 1990 to 1994, and was also president of the Council of State, an advisory body to the president, under former president John Atta Mills. He stepped down from that role earlier this year.

He was a renowned writer, most notably for his poetry inspired by the oral tradition of the Ewe people, to which he belonged.

Much of his best work was published in Ghana's immediate post-independence period, part of which he spent in exile outside of the country after the first president Kwame Nkrumah, whom Awoonor was close to, was overthrown in a coup.

His books included "Rediscovery and Other Poems," published in 1964.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/22/renowned-ghanaian-poet-killed-in-kenya-mall-attack-president/#ixzz2fkiTKECH

 

 

Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor, TV anchor Ruhila Adatia die in attack

Updated Sunday, September 22nd 2013

By STEVENS MUENDO

On Sunday, top celebrities, media personalities and hundreds of fans across Africa joined family members in mourning the deaths of celebrated Kiss TV presenter Ruhila Adatia and Ghanaian poet and diplomat, Kofi Awoonor, who were caught up in the Westgate Mall attack on Saturday.

The Ghanaian government confirmed Awoonor’s death early Sunday morning.

Awoonor was in Nairobi to speak at the Storymoja Hay Festival, a four-day celebration of writing, thinking and storytelling — when the attack — for which Somali militant group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility — occurred.

Condolence messages to Ruhila’s family poured in from her former Radio Africa colleagues including Caroline Mutoko, Churchill, Kalekye Mumo and Shaffie Weru.

The local media personalities expressed their grief following Ruhila’s shocking death from gunshot wounds.

“Such a sad day for Kenya and for Radio Africa. Rest in peace Ruhila Adatia. Words alone cannot begin to explain the shock I’m in,” celebrated radio presenter, actress and musician Kalekye Mumo mourned, minutes after the Kiss E-News presenter succumbed to her wounds after she was rushed to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Parklands, Nairobi.

“My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. Rest in peace Ruhila Adatia,” a shocked Churchill commented.

The beauty had cut a niche for herself in the local media thanks to her popular Kiss TV E-News segment as well as her East FM drive show.

At the time of going to press, 64 people had been confirmed dead and 175 hospitalised with injuries following the terror attack, the first of its kind to happen in Kenya.

Heavily armed attackers captured the busy uptown mall mid Saturday morning and put the mall under siege with heavy gunfire and grenade blasts occasioning what was to become one of the deadliest attacks ever to be experienced in Kenya.

Ms Ruhila Adatia (centre), an East FM presenter, in a photograph she posted on Instagram moments before the gun attack at Westgate Shopping Mall Saturday.

In Summary

• East FM radio presenter Aleem Manji, who was also with Ms Kaur, was reported injured.
• She posted a total of eight photos on Instagram, with her fans, with her colleagues and some of those who won prizes with bags of rice in their hands.
• A fun-loving person, Ruhila is described on the East FM website as a “TV presenter by day and superhero in the evenings as I get you home in the traffic mess.”

By NATION TEAMMore by this Author

A few hours after she arrived at the Westgate shopping mall Saturday morning, Radio Africa Group presenter Ruhila Adatia-Sood posted several photographs on her Instagram account and linked that to Twitter.

She was clad in a loose black top and black trousers with a blue and orange necklace completing the look.

Ruhila was in the parking lot of the upscale mall for Sungold Sunrice Superchef, a cooking competition sponsored by the rice brand, which she was hosting.

She posted a total of eight photos on Instagram, with her fans, with her colleagues and some of those who won prizes with bags of rice in their hands.

That was her last activity on social media.

About three hours after news of an attack on Westgate mall began spreading on social media, the first Twitter posts about her emerged.

Of the many who lost their lives in the attack yesterday, Ruhila may be the most familiar.

Kenyans are most likely to recognise her bubbly voice reading entertainment news on Kiss TV, Kiss 100 and XFM. Perhaps as a sign of her popularity, there was a page in her memory on Facebook last evening.

On her Twitter page, Ruhila Adatia-Sood described herself as a “food lover, thrill seeker and a bungee jump away from sanity.” “Always looking for my next meal,” she also says on her profile on the East FM website.

A fun-loving person, Ruhila is described on the East FM website as a “TV presenter by day and superhero in the evenings as I get you home in the traffic mess.”

She adds, with a twist of that familiar fun-loving person that she, “believes there’s not enough reality television. Farhan Akhtar (an Indian filmmaker, writer, singer TV host and actor) is my hubby, DiCaprio is my iceberg.”

A graduate of Rhodes University in Grahamstown in South Africa, she used to co-host The Rush on Metro East FM with Gupz Saund.

Ruhila married Ketan Sood in January 2012 in what The Star on January 9 said was a three-day Swahili-themed wedding. She was pregnant with their first child.

In an interview published in The Star in September 2012, the last-born in a family of four girls is described by her sisters as a go-getter.

Said Farah Adatia Gomes: “Ruhila loved reading, listening to music and watching TV though she never really got to watch what she wanted as most of the time we used to bully her into watching and listening to what we wanted. She was charming and outgoing, always a leader.”

East FM, a radio station whose target audience is Kenyan Asians, was holding a children’s event at the roof top parking of Westgate Mall when gunmen struck Saturday.

Information posted on the firm’s Facebook page a few hours before the fatal shooting shows that the occasion was the second round of the SunGold SunRice Junior Super Chef Competition, the first of which was held at the same time and place last Saturday.

The children competiting were to prepare a starter or main dish accompanied by a desert.

“We are super excited!! Do join us on Saturday from 11am onwards at Westgate roof top for the 2nd round of Sungold Sunrice SuperChef Junior! See you there and do share this post!,” Kamal Kaur, an East FM presenter, wrote.

Ms Kaur attended the event which she tells the Sunday Nation was “packed with kids”.

And after the competition began, Ms Kaur said they heard popping noises.

“We heard what sounded like firecrackers,” she said, narrating how the group then ran to the edge of the parking lot and looked over to see people streaming out of the mall.

She then ran to find her son and they tried to get the children out through the Java service entry.

“One man shot at my son, but he managed to duck. He was wearing blue jeans, a black T-shirt, sunglasses and an Arabic headscarf (kaffiya) wrapped around his head. He was holding a big automatic weapon, and I could see a pistol sticking out of his pocket.”

East FM radio presenter Aleem Manji, who was also with Ms Kaur, was reported injured. 

 

The Late Ruhila Adatia-Sood

 

 

Ghanaian Author Killed in Kenya Mall Shooting

The late Prof. Kofi Awoonor

From Ghana Business News

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

A senior Ghanaian citizen and former Professor at the University of Ghana has been killed in the Kenya mall attack Saturday September 21, 2013.

Ghana government officials have confirmed that Prof. Kofi Awoonor, 78, is among the 39 persons killed by the gunmen.

A press statement from the Ministry of Information says “Government regrets to announce the death of former Chairman of the Council of State, Prof. Kofi Awoonor in Nairobi, Kenya this morning.

Prof. Awoonor died from injuries sustained during an attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi this morning which Somali militant group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for.

Ghana's High Commission in Kenya has confirmed Prof Awoonor's untimely passing and indicated that his son who also sustained injuries in the attack, survived and is currently responding to treatment.”

About 100 people were injured.

The Somali terrorist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the killings.

Magaidi Waua Watu Zaidi ya 20 Kwenye Mall Nairobi Kenya

Eti hao magaidi walisema waIslamu wote watoke, tunataka kuua waKristo! Jamani!  Hizi chuki za kidini zimezidi Afrika Mashariki!

***********************************************

A body lay outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi on Saturday . Picha kutoka New York Times

Mwanamke aliyejerhuiwa leo huko Westgate Mall, Nairobi. Picha kitoka New York Times

Customers run following a shootout between unidentified armed men and the police at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi September 21, 2013. (Reuters / Thomas Mukoya)

From the Associated Press

   NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Gunmen threw grenades and opened fire Saturday killing at least 10 people in an attack targeting non-Muslims at an upscale mall in Kenya's capital that was hosting a children's day event, witnesses said.

   A local hospital was overwhelmed with the number of wounded being brought in hours after the attack, so they had to divert them to a second facility.

   Elijah Kamau, who was at the mall at the time of the midday attack, said that the gunmen made a declaration that non-Muslims would be targeted.

   "The gunmen told Muslims to stand up and leave. They were safe, and non-Muslims would be targeted," he said.

   Manish Turohit, 18, said he saw gunmen with AK-47s and vests with hand grenades on them inside the mall before he escaped to hide in a parking garage for two hours.

   "They just came in and threw a grenade. We were running and they opened fire. They were shouting and firing," he said after being marched out of the mall in line with about 15 people who held their hands in the air.

   Rob Vandijk, who works at the Dutch embassy, said he was eating at a restaurant inside the mall when attackers lobbed hand grenades inside the building. He said gunfire then burst out and people screamed as they dropped to the ground.

   It appears the attack began at the outdoor seating area of Artcaffe at the front of the mall, witnesses said.

   Patrick Kuria, an employee at Artcaffe, said:  "We started by hearing gunshots downstairs and outside. Later we heard them come inside. We took cover. Then we saw two gunmen wearing black turbans. I saw them shoot."

   Some people were shot at the entrance to the mall after volleys of gunfire moved outside and a standoff with police began. Ambulances continued to stream in and out of the mall area, ferrying the wounded who were gradually emerging from hiding inside the mall.

   Many of those running from the mall clutched small children. Others were crying. Mall guards used shopping carts to wheel out wounded children.

   Associated Press journalists at the mall said they saw at least 10 dead bodies and dozens wounded hours after the attack began. Officials did not yet give an official death toll.

   "We are treating this as a terrorist attack," said police chief Benson Kibue, adding that there are likely no more than 10 attackers involved. Gunfire continued to be exchanged outside the mall, as a group of people remained in hiding inside the building.

   Police did not say what group was responsible for the attack.

   Somali's rebel group al-Shabab vowed in late 2011 to carry out a large-scale attack in Nairobi in retaliation for Kenya's sending of troops into Somalia to fight the Islamic insurgents.

   The Westgate Mall is situated in Nairobi's affluent Westlands area and is frequented by expatriates and rich Kenyans.

Kwa habari zaidi  na Video BOFYA HAPA: 

Jengo la Wanaowasili Uwanja wa Ndege Nairobi Umeungua Moto!

Duh! Aibu Kubwa sana kwa Kenya na Afrika Kwa Ujumla.   Kumetokea moto ambayo imetekea jengo lote la wanaowasili huko Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Embakasi Airport). Yaani hawakuwa na Zimamoto ya Kutosha ya Kuzima Moto Uwanja wa Ndege! Sasa jengo lote la wanaowasili umekuwa majivu matupu! Je, Ndege ingeanguka huko?  Uwanja wa Ndege wa Nairobi ndo kubwa kuliko zote barani Afrika! Halafu tunataka kuvutia watalii!

*****************************************

International Arrival Lounge Before the Fire - Unknown Tourist Photo

We can't believe our eyes!

Stranded Tourists

 Kutoka Yahoo News:

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- A massive fire destroyed the arrivals hall at Kenya's main international airport early Wednesday, forcing the closure of East Africa's largest airport and the rerouting of all inbound flights.
No injuries were reported, said Michael Kamau, the cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure.
Dark black smoke that shot skyward was visible across much of Nairobi as emergency teams battled the blaze. Passengers reported a slow response by the under-resourced fire brigade, and the blaze raged for four hours before being contained.

The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy bombings in Nairobi and neighboring Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but there were no immediate signs of terrorism. Kenya's anti-terror police boss, Boniface Mwaniki, told The Associated Press that he was waiting for the fire to be put out so that he could inspect the scene before making a judgment.

"It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia on Wednesday morning.

The fire gutted the international arrivals hall, where passengers pass through immigration and retrieve their luggage. The Kenya Airports Authority closed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport until further notice.
Kamau said the fire began at 5 a.m. in the immigration section of the arrivals hall. Inbound flights were diverted to the coastal city of Mombasa.

As in many countries in East Africa, public sector services like police and fire units are hobbled by small budgets and outdated or no equipment. Many of the responding units to Wednesday's fire were from private security firms.

A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that the airport wasn't shut sooner so that emergency vehicles could respond.

"When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked outside the international arrivals. It spread very fast," said Collbeck, who had been scheduled to fly back to London on an early morning KLM flight. "There were a couple of explosions which I think were a couple of gas canisters."

"I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster," he added.

There may not have been fire engines available to respond. The country's largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, reported last month that Nairobi County doesn't have a single working fire engine, and that three fire engines were auctioned off in 2009 because the county hadn't paid a $1,000 repair bill. 

"It is a disgrace of biblical proportions that the entire Nairobi County does not have a public fire engine in working condition," the paper wrote in an editorial last month. "When (government leaders) were debating their budgets, they did not deem it fit to set aside money either to buy new ones or repair the old ones. But they did set aside money to build mansions for governors, (buy) big vehicles for county executives and other needs without a direct benefit to Kenyans."

The paper said the collapse of the fire department means responses to disasters is in the hands of private companies and the military.

The Nairobi airport is the busiest airport in East Africa, and its closure is likely to affect flights throughout the region.

Fisher, a trade specialist who lives in Nairobi, described the scene as chaotic.

"There was no one stopping any traffic going to the road to the airport," he said. "A number of fire trucks and ambulances were trying to negotiate their way through the lane. ... They were trying to weave their way through a solid two lanes of cars."

Tanzia - Mzee Ally Sykes

The Late Mzee Ally Kleist Sykes

Mzee Ally Sykes amefariki hospitalini Nairobi.   Poleni wanafamilia wa Sykes. Baba yake marehemu Kleist Sykes alikuwa moja wa waanzilishi wa TANU.

May his soul rest in eternal peace. Amen.

*********************************************************************

FAMILIA YA SYKES INASIKITIKA KUTANGAZA KIFO CHA  MZEE WAO ALLY KLEIST SYKES  (PICHANI) KILICHOTOKEA LEO MEI 19, 2013  KATIKA HOSPITALI YA AGA KHAN JIJINI NAIROBI, KENYA,  ALIKOKUWA AMELAZWA.

MSIBA UKO NYUMBANI KWA MAREHEMU MBEZI BEACH JIJINI DAR ES SALAAM. MWILI WA MAREHEMU UNATARAJIWA KUWASILI JIJINI USIKU HUU.

MAZISHI YAMEPANGWA KUFANYIKA KESHO MEI 20, 2013 KATIKA MAKABURI YA KISUTU BAADA YA MWILI WA MAREHEMU KUSWALIWA KATIKA MSIKITI WA KIPATA WAKATI WA SWALAT ALAASIR.

HABARI ZIWAFIKIE NDUGU, JAMAA NA MARAFIKI POPOTE PALE WALIPO.

Inna-na lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. Hakika sisi sote ni waja wa Mwenyezi Mungu, na kwake tutarejea.

Surely we belong to Allah, and to Him shall we return.

Bomu Imelipuka Nairobi!

 Duh! Kwa mara nyingine bomu imelipuka mjini Nairobi, Kenya. Habari zinasema kuwa watu wawili wamekufa na wanane wamejuruhiwa leo asubuhi.  Bomu ililipuka eneo ambao wanakaa waKenya wengi wenye asili ya Somalia.

**********************************************

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The Kenyan Red Cross says two people have been killed and eight wounded after a blast in downtown Nairobi.

   Friday evening's blast was the second in three days. A blast Wednesday near a military base wounded eight people.

   Both explosions went off in a Somali neighborhood of Nairobi known as Little Mogadishu. Kenya has seen a series of small-scale explosions over the last year, many from grenades.  Kenyan media reported that a member of parliament was wounded in Friday's attack.

   Kenyan troops moved into Somalia in late 2011, prompting al-Shabab militants in Somalia to vow revenge attacks inside Kenya. Al-Shabab sympathizers are suspected in many of the blast attacks, though authorities have not clearly linked all the attacks to al-Shabab or its sympathizers.

Mabomu Yalipuka Kwenye Kituo cha Mabasi Nairobi

Jamani, magaidi wamelipua mabomu kwenye kituo cha mabasi cha Machakos mjini Nairobi.  Huko Tanzania watu wawe macho!  Poleni waKenya!

******************************************************************************
Blast at Bus Station in Kenyan Capital Kills Three


NAIROBI (Reuters) - An explosion at a bus station in downtown Nairobi killed at least three people and wounded 40 on Saturday evening, with eight still in critical condition, the Kenya Red Cross said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Kenyan capital was hit by grenade attacks in October after Kenya sent troops into neighboring Somalia to fight al Shabaab, the militant group linked to al Qaeda. Police quickly blamed the Somali rebels.

After the attack a fire blazed in a small crater at the Machakos bus station and police cordoned off the area where the corpse of a man dressed in a blue jacket and white trousers lay on his back. Bystanders helped carry the wounded to ambulances.

"We have lost three: two male adults and one female," Francis Okonya, principal deputy police commissioner, said outside the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Police sources at the bus station near Nairobi's central business district said a grenade was thrown into a crowd, but witnesses told Reuters they heard up to four blasts.

There was no official confirmation of multiple explosions.

In October, grenades were used in an attack on a bar and another bus station, both near the scene of Saturday's attack, killing one person and wounding more than 20.

A Kenyan man arrested shortly afterwards pleaded guilty to that bus station attack and to being an al Shabaab member. He was sentenced to life in prison.

While Nairobi had been spared deadly attacks since then, suspected al Shabaab sympathizers have launched a string of deadly strikes in the north of the country near the Somali border and at the world's largest refugee camp in Dadaab, home to more than 400,000 Somali refugees.

The Muslim Youth Centre, a Kenyan movement that pledges allegiance to al Shabaab and al Qaeda, said on its Twitter account: "Blasts in Nairobi...more to follow...."

A United Nations report published last year said Kenyans were the largest and most organized non-Somali grouping within al Shabaab.

The investigators focused most of their attention on the activities of MYC, which has its roots in Nairobi's Majengo, a poor area just east of the central business district and near the bus station attacked on Saturday.

MYC has said many of its Kenyan fighters are now in the al Shabaab controlled-port city of Kismayu in southern Somalia.

Others are still in Kenya, though many have laid low since the October attacks, which prompted a heightened police presence in parts of the capital such as Majengo and Kayole, where the man behind the previous bus station attack was arrested.


(Reporting by Noor Khamis, Humphrey Malalo, David Clarke and William Maclean; Editing by Ben Harding)

 http://news.yahoo.com/blast-bus-station-kenyan-capital-kills-three-235630723.html

Polisi Kenya Watoa Onyo Kuhusu Nairobi na Mombasa!

SECURITY UPDATE - PLACES YOU SHOULD AVOID IN NAIROBI

ALERT:

Police have issued a statement giving areas, we should avoid in Nairobi and Mombasa.

In Nairobi

Avoid Corner House, Burger Dome, Ambassadeur Hotel, Akamba Bus, Marble Arch Hotel, River Road, Bus Station and Betty’s Pub.

In Mombasa:

Be on the lookout the Mtongwe ferry and Nakumatt Nyali.

If you must be in these places, be on high alert for suspicious activity or characters.


Report anything un-toward by calling 999 or 112.
The calls go directly to Vigilance House.

Listen to the radio (esp. 98.4 Capital FM Radio Jambo) for more updates as they come.

Stay Safe!