Laibon retweeted
🇸🇩Fascinating investigation from @nadaabouelamaim on the use of Starlink by RSF in Sudan, which proved essential to fly their drones. Transiting through Chad, the terminals also allow them to rent internet services to civilians in zones under RSF control.
africaintelligence.com/easte…
Laibon retweeted
Ethiopia joins Africa’s five largest economies after a major statistical overhaul lifted its measured GDP to $210.7Bn for the 2025/26 fiscal year, placing it among the continent’s leading economic powers alongside South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria & Algeria.
africa.businessinsider.com/l…
Laibon retweeted
1/ I'll explain exactly how this happened because I'm the person at Forbes who calculates these numbers.
This is going to take some unraveling, but here's a spoiler: The president's answer here is nonsense.
Laibon retweeted
Jaindi Kisero
I have come across a letter from the National Treasury directing the state department of roads to immediately cancel all project-related commitments; including contracts procurement processes; consulting arrangements; and any other obligations on the multi billion Japanese funded Likoni Bridge project.
This development is a statement of the increasing political influence of Chinese contractors and the strong links with incumbent elites.
It is a big anti climax. First, the project has been running since 2019. Secondly- designs were done and consultants are already in place. The first tranche of the loan was disbursed. Advance payments flowed to consultants. A procurement competition was run to its conclusion. A winner emerged. And then — nothing. For nearly two years.
I am inclined to agree with a cynical opinion of an insider who has been following the shenanigans around the Likoni Bridge project for a long time who says ‘when they are unable to get a good cut or backhander on a project, they turn to the Chinese”.
For sometime now and to set the stage for cancellation of the deal with the Japanese; a new narrative was floated within government circles: that the project is too expensive and the financing model should be rethought. That Kenya could instead mobilise domestic resources—pension funds and institutional investors—through an infrastructure fund model. That a securitisation structure, possibly involving a Chinese contractor, could deliver the same project more cheaply.
Each argument is very controversial. Pension fund money carries market return expectations — a far higher cost of capital than 0.1 percent interest, the 12-year grace period, a 30-year repayment window, and an outright grant element worth Sh 6 billion which the Japanese had committed.
Yes, a securitisation transaction with a Chinese contractor may be an option. But it embeds financing costs inside the construction price, making it opaque and almost always more expensive in aggregate. Do we really want to hand back the Sh 6 billion grant element on the Japanese loan?
Then there is the diplomatic cost, which is being ignored. Whem the Jpanase foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Toshimitsu Mogei visited Kewnya in May,the Likoni brifdge wasa top agenda item. Japan helped author the Mombasa master plan. Japan is funding the ongoing rehabilitation of Mombasa Port. Japan designed the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone as the flagship of Kenya's entire SEZ programme — the first domino in a sequence intended to include Naivasha and Kisumu.
Cancel this credit, pivot to a Chinese deal, and we must look Tokyo in the eye and explain ourselves. We must be prepared for the consequences at the port, at Dongo Kundu, and in every future ODA conversation with an ally cultivated over decades — all to spare someone the inconvenience of a transparent procurement outcome they did not control.
Grand corruption does not always arrive with a smoking gun. Sometimes it arrives as a memo recommending delay. Sometimes it wears the language of fiscal prudence and alternative financing mechanisms. Sometimes it sits in a procurement committee and does absolutely nothing.
Laibon retweeted
On 21 September 2026, while in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD), I was abducted by four men as I was on my way to print a petition and a statement ahead of a demonstration we had planned. The demonstration was intended to culminate in the delivery of a petition at Harambee House, calling for action against enforced disappearances.
As I was walking, four men approached me. One of them called me by my name before they forcibly bundled me into their vehicle. Once inside, they confiscated my phone, blindfolded me and handcuffed me. The vehicle drove for several hours before I was taken into a room.
Inside the room, while still blindfolded and handcuffed, I was tied against a wall, beaten and severely whipped. For the next four days, I remained blindfolded, handcuffed and tied against the wall. Throughout this period, I was subjected to repeated torture and cruel treatment.
After every session of torture, my captors would threaten that if they returned and found me still alive, they would kill me. They repeatedly questioned me about why I was criticising and opposing William Ruto, asked me who was funding my activities, and why I was challenging his regime.
During my captivity, I was denied food and water for four days. My foot was burned using electricity, and what felt like a pair of pliers was used to pull out my big toenail. I was also shaved and struck on the back of my neck, an injury that continues to cause me pain to this day. Eventually, after four days of captivity and torture, I was abandoned in a forest at night.
To this day, I remain dependent on crutches and am unable to walk independently. The condition of my leg continues to deteriorate, and my recovery remains uncertain. The physical injuries and pain I sustained during the ordeal continue to affect my daily life.
This is what I endured at the hands of individuals sent by William Ruto to abduct and torture me.
Laibon retweeted
I speak about the price we pay for corruption ad nauseum.
And my feeling is that a few people get it.
Most people primarily think about corruption in terms of money being siphoned out of government or citizens' pockets.
But there is another angle to this. An important angle.
I want to use an example of what is happening in Migori County.
@OAyacko is Governor.
Let's start with a phone number. 0720-307518
That phone number connects a web of shadowy "firms" that have "won" 13 contracts worth KSH 32.8 million from the county government in 2025-2026.
The issue is not winning. It is how they do it.
First, let's name the companies that present themselves as different companies.
They are:
(1) Mobichem Pharmacy;
(2) Boma Medicare; and
(3) Bispharm Enterprises.
But they are really one and the same. They share the same phone number.
Consider this fact pattern:
(1) Together they won, in 2025-2026, 13 county contracts worth KES 32.8 million between 2025 and 2026, from Migori.
By contract type: 13 goods. Most were for medical supplies and drugs; the largest single contract was KES 3.0 million.
(2) Two or more of them were listed as bidders on the same tender 15 times (one of them won 13; an outside firm won 2).
(3) On 4 of these tenders they were the only bidders listed.
(4) On 9 of them they were two of no more than three bidders listed.
Example: “Supply and Delivery of Assorted Human Medicine” (Migori County Government, 13 Feb 2025) — bidders included Bispharm Enterprises, Boma Medicare and Mobichem Pharmacy among 3 listed; won by Boma Medicare.
(5) On 4 occasions two or more of the firms won contracts from the same county on the same day.
How lucky are they?
— e.g. 11 Mar 2025 in Migori: Bispharm Enterprises and Mobichem Pharmacy (KES 4.7 million together).
Fellow Kenyans,
Have you ever seen this level of greed and corruption?
I want you to imagine yourself being an honest bidder in any of these tenders.
What are your chances of success, when two of these gangsters are winning 13 out of 15 attempts?
How is that even possible?
Two "firms" that are really one criminal syndicate - win 86% of the time.
On 4 occasions, two or more of them, win contracts from @MigoriCountyGov ON THE SAME DAY.
Take a look at the attached summary.
On February 13, three bidders participate in a tender to supply human medicine. Three belong to this syndicate. One of them wins.
On the same day, three bidders participate in another bid, to supply more medicine. Two belong to this syndicate. One of them wins.
Next day, February 14, 2025.
Three companies participate in a tender. Two of them are in this syndicate. One of them wins.
Same day, another tender. There are three bidders. Three of them are in this syndicate. One of them wins.
A week later, there is another tender. There are three bidders. Two of them belong to this syndicate. One of them wins.
On March 8, 2025, there is yet another tender. Three bidders participate. Two of them are from this syndicate. One of them wins.
Do you understand what this level of corruption and greed does to honest businesses?
When this type of corruption and greed dominates government, the loss is not just the money lost through inflated prices, which happens because there is no real competition. Honest businesses suffer because they thy lose out on economic opportunities.
These honest businesses cannot continue hiring young people, because they are not getting contracts.
This is how we end up with a country of 500 billionaires and 50 million beggars.
And it is the reason why we must change this country. Why we must throw every one of these bums in office out.
100% of them. Starting with @WilliamsRuto - then @Senate_KE and @NAssemblyKE - and all the way down to Governors such as @OAyacko and the county assemblies such as @MigoriAssembly
Only then can we hope that a newly constituted @EACCKenya and @ODPP_KE can grow teeth to start biting the heck out of these thieves.
Kenyans are tired of begging thieves to end corruption.
More to come.
Laibon retweeted
Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist, allegedly received payments for political posts on social media without disclosure, according to a former campaign aide to President Trump and three others familiar with the arrangements. wapo.st/4BPQbL5
Laibon retweeted
Being struck on the neck by the abductors seemed to have intentions beyond torture. I have never experienced such excruciating pain.
Laibon retweeted
Activist Muteti Details Abduction, Torture
For five days, Muteti Mulinge says he was subjected to torture, threats and unimaginable pain.
Now free, he is still battling injuries that have left him unable to walk properly, with the possibility of losing a leg hanging over him.
#NTVWeekendEdition
Laibon retweeted
Since Sifuna entered the scene, Kenyan politics seems to have taken on a different shape — quick unsheathing, the glint of something sharp — a stage for a long-intended final act, threatening to topple the political status quo.
Like literary heroes, Sifuna is a man going on a journey, and he reminds one of the most interesting classic stories of impossible quests.
Read more: zurl.co/bplKc
Laibon retweeted
Idi Amin Mama has turned Tanzania into a cemetery. Samia Suluhu MUST not be allowed to walk away with these crimes against humanity. Africans MUST Unite against these criminals in state offices.
#SamiaMustGo #PASNet
Laibon retweeted
Ezekiel 34:4 — from verse 4: “You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick …”
Leviticus 19:16 — “Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life.”
Jeremiah 23:2 — “I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done”
Laibon retweeted
.@SuluhuSamia’s regime has convicted opposition leader Tundu Lissu of incitement for “making a speech” and sentenced him to four years in prison – after holding him in inhumane conditions for 18 months.
This sham trial is the latest example of Tanzania’s escalating criminalization of dissent, alongside the arbitrary detention of Maasai land defenders and the disappearances of government critics.
@WorldBankGroup @USEmbassyTZ are among the regime’s largest donors & continue funding it while remaining silent about its abuses.
@Mittaloak @Oleshangay @DenisMoses14 @MariaSTsehai @WBGTanzania @IAMartin_ @MaasaiMisa2022 @FredMousse
Laibon retweeted
Why is Rwanda so eager to take immigrants deported from Europe? Apart from the money, it is trying to gain immunity from criticism for its invasion of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (using its own troops and its M23 proxy rebels). trib.al/6Z1kCZw
Laibon retweeted
From Jail with Rasta Love; Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu Escapes Treason, Gets Incitement Slap
On Friday, Tanzania’s High Court cleared veteran CHADEMA opposition leader Tundu Lissu of treason, a charge that could have sent him to the gallows. It then convicted him of incitement and sentenced him to four years in prison.
The judges ruled that prosecutors had failed to prove he meant to intimidate the government. They did find, however, that his “No Reforms, No Election” slogan incited disruption of the 2025 election. Lissu accused the bench of inventing the offence, and his lawyers plan to appeal and seek bail. The verdict landed days after the death of his elder brother, Alute Mughwai Lissu.
Lissu entered detention in April 2025 with a tidy cut. He now sports dreadlocks, which he calls the mark of freedom fighters, and he tells doubters to listen to Bob Marley. At 58, he has a strong claim to the unofficial title of oldest political prisoner to grow revolutionary locks on remand. He also looks noticeably beefier, which suggests he hasn’t skipped his press-ups.
His time inside has set other unofficial records, notably for the number of regional lawyers and activists who were deported or detained after coming to support him. In May 2025, Martha Karua, Kenya’s former justice minister, arrived in Dar es Salaam with lawyers Gloria Kimani of the Law Society of Kenya and Lynn Ngugi. The East African Law Society had invited them to observe his trial. Immigration officers held the three at Julius Nyerere International Airport for about six hours, confiscated their luggage and put them on a flight back to Nairobi without giving a reason.
Two visitors fared far worse. Security forces seized Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan lawyer Agather Atuhaire, held them incommunicado for days, then dumped them at the Horohoro and Mutukula borders. Mwangi alleges that officers stripped him, hung him upside down and sexually assaulted him, and he reached Mombasa in a wheelchair. Atuhaire’s colleagues reported signs of torture. Tanzania denies the claims.
Few politicians anywhere can match Lissu’s survival record. Gunmen shot him 16 times in a 2017 assassination attempt, and he lived.
He nearly became a lion, too. On a game park visit, an official pointed out an unruly lion to President Samia. According to South Africa’s Daily Maverick, she asked whether the troublesome beast had a name and suggested calling it Tundu Lissu. She probably meant it as a dig, but many young Tanzanians took it as a compliment, because they already credit him with a lion’s heart. The lion kept its freedom. Its namesake did not.
Lissu now faces four years behind bars, an appeal to fight and a fresh head of locks, and he remains the most stubborn man in Tanzanian politics.
