Kenya

Sophie IkenyeCopyright: Sophie Ikenye

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has said the rate of vaccination in the country had suffered as a result of vaccine nationalism, a claim that rich countries are buying up vaccine supplies.

He told the BBC that despite Kenyan researchers being involved in developing the AstraZeneca vaccine, the lack of production facilities in the country had undermined Kenya's response to the pandemic.

"What we are now realising is that it’s not enough just to partner in terms of the research... we also want to be part of the production so that we can ensure that going forward we are never again going to be victims of the kind of vaccine nationalism that we’ve seen,” he told the BBC's Sophie Ikenye.

A large number of poorer countries, many of them in Africa relying on the global vaccine-sharing scheme Covax, have not had enough doses to vaccinate their population, according to the World Health Organization.

Less than 2% of Africa's population has been fully vaccinated.

Mr Kenyatta has been attending a three-day global education summit which he co-hosted with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya's health minister has suspended all public gatherings over rising Covid-19 cases.

Mutahi Kagwe said all public meetings planned for the next 30 days should be held virtually or cancelled.

The country has in recent days recorded increased number of coronavirus cases.

Mr Kagwe urged Kenyans - including those who have been vaccinated - not to let their guard down.

Employers have been directed to allow for remote working except for those providing essential services.

The nationwide night curfew of 22:00 to 04:00 local time will now be strictly enforced by the police.

Worship places have been directed to strictly enforce the guidelines of a third of capacity with social distancing to prevent further spread of the virus.

The minister said hospitals in the capital Nairobi are "stretched out".

He advised Kenyans against self-medicating adding that several deaths had been recorded because of that.

Kenya has recorded more than 200,000 coronavirus cases with more than 1,000 reported on Wednesday alone.

The immigration authorities in South Sudan have been ordered to implement a visa waiver for all Kenyans arriving in the country with immediate effect.

The waiver is in reciprocation to Kenya's gesture to waive visa's for South Sudanese citizens visiting the country.

This was after a bilateral agreement between the two neighbouring countries.

Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary, Macharia Kamau, had said the waiver for those with a valid South Sudan passport “takes effect immediately” pending the signing of a labour agreement that would offer rules for foreign workers.

South Sudan's immigration Director-General Atem Marol Biar on his side ordered that the reciprocation be implemented immediately.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya has signed a deal with the UK that will allow its unemployed nurses and other medics to work in the UK.

Britain's Health Minister Sajid Javid and Kenya’s Labour Minister Simon Chelugi signed the agreement on the third day of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s visit to London.

The scheme is open to Kenyan health workers who are qualified but unemployed, ensuring the process is managed for Kenya’s benefit, according to a statement from the British government.

This arrangement was requested by Kenya and should allow health professionals and managers to benefit from a special way through the UK's immigration system, before returning to work in Kenya’s health sector.

The exact details should be confirmed before the end of October.

The medics' union in Kenya has in recent years raised concerns about the high rate of unemployment among doctors and nurses in the country.

The deal with the UK could appeal to many healthcare workers here as they have time and again decried poor working conditions, poor pay and even having to work for months without pay.

But there will be fears that it could encourage a brain drain.

Currently there are almost 900 Kenyans working in the UK's National Health Service in various capacities, according to the British authorities.

The two countries have also launched the Kenya-UK Health Alliance which will boost research and collaboration between the UK and Kenyan universities and teaching hospitals.

The first partnership will help improve cancer treatment in the country.

BBCCopyright: BBC

At a global education summit in London hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, governments, businesses and philanthropists are being asked to invest in the future of children by raising more than $5bn (£3.5bn).

This comes at a time when charities have criticised the British government's decision to make significant aid cuts around the world.

A boost to education is especially urgent given the impact of the coronavirus.

The pandemic has caused the greatest disruption to education in a generation.

In wealthier countries with broadband and computers available, some virtual learning has continued.

But for many young students in rural Nigeria or Zambia for example, school closures have been far more harmful - especially for girls who are less likely to ever return to the classroom.

Even before the pandemic more than a 130 million girls across the world were out of school.

At this summit in London billions of dollars will be raised to help transform education in dozens of countries.

World leaders will be asked to commit a fifth of their national budgets to education.

Read more:

• Global fundraiser for 88 million more children in school

BBCCopyright: BBC

Thousands of girls in rural Kenya who have dropped out of school are getting a second chance at education through "catch-up" centres.

These are basic literacy classrooms where out-of-school girls aged between 10 and 19 years can enrol and graduate after six to nine months.

The centres are the brainchild of several non-government organisations and have been implemented in five out of Kenya’s 47 counties and total 26 countrywide. They target mostly girls especially in regions where cases of teenage pregnancy and child marriage are persistent, according to the programme's project officer, Karanja Mburu.

The literacy lessons run for half a day and allow students, the majority of whom are mothers, to come to school with their babies.

“Being a mother would not allow me to think about going back to school. The creche and the childminders [at the centre] are what have allowed me to study,” one 17-year-old said.

Girls can be reintegrated back into formal education, take apprenticeships or do some certified courses once they graduate. They can also write business proposals "and we provide starter kits for them”, says Mr Mburu.

A 19-year-old apprentice tailor says it has been an empowering experience: “It is because of this education I can now make phone calls and read text messages."

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The UK and Kenya have signed a new defence agreement to help reduce the threat posed by the Somali jihadist group al-Shabab.

Following a meeting between defence ministers in London, the UK announced it was stepping up its counter-terrorism and military support.

This is to include efforts to prevent extremism in coastal areas which are vital for Kenya’s tourism industry.

Kenya has been a target for al-Shabab since October 2011, when it sent its army into neighbouring Somalia to fight the jihadist group.

Thousands of British troops train each year in Kenya in preparation for deployment to arid conflict zones.

Meanwhile, a court in Kenya is due to rule whether the British army could face legal action over a large fire in a conservation area where British troops had been training earlier this year.

A lion has been captured in a town just south of Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

Residents of Ongata Rongai had spotted the big cat hiding in a narrow alley.

It had strayed in from nearby Nairobi National Park.

The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) was called in and the animal was "darted and immobilised" so it could be moved.

The lion has been taken to a "veterinary facility for observation and collaring before being released back to the park", KWS says.

In a tweet, it thanked the public for their co-operation and urged people to call wildlife officials should other lions were found in urban areas.

Nairobi National Park is a major tourist attraction and is home to lions, leopards, buffaloes and rhinos among other wild animals.

It is not the first time lions have wandered into residential areas causing alarm.

BBCCopyright: BBC

More than 800 members of Kenya's Shona community have been granted national identity cards, after existing as stateless people for generations.

The official documents will allow them to access basic services, including healthcare, education and financial services, using their own names for the first time.

Expressing delight at the ceremony in the capital Nairobi, Zephaniah Noel Muungani said:

Quote Message: I feel like a new-born baby, jumping up and down. I'm being made a Kenyan today."

I feel like a new-born baby, jumping up and down. I'm being made a Kenyan today."

BBCCopyright: BBC

He explained how an ID card would transform his life:

Quote Message: “I am 57. I have lived my whole life without being able to open a bank account. I'm now happy that I won't save my money in the bedroom under the mattress. I won't put my money anywhere which is risky. I'm going to put it in a safe place and that is the bank."

“I am 57. I have lived my whole life without being able to open a bank account. I'm now happy that I won't save my money in the bedroom under the mattress. I won't put my money anywhere which is risky. I'm going to put it in a safe place and that is the bank."

The Shona community arrived in Kenya in the 1960s as Christian missionaries from Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe.

Those who failed to register as citizens within two years of Kenyan independence in 1963 lost the opportunity to do - and so many Shona people have existed here as stateless ever since.

Despite today’s progress human rights campaigners say there are thousands of other people living in Kenya from other minority groups still waiting for their chance to become citizens.

A headteacher at a primary school in western Kenya decided to teach his colleagues a lesson when they arrived late for the first day of term - by locking them out of the school.

The teachers said they had to sneak in through a fence while pupils at Sichekhe primary school watched and laughed.

"I'm also a parent and had to prepare my children [for school] before reporting to work," one of the teachers told NTV news.

Headmaster George Bwire insisted it was unprofessional for teachers to report late to work as they had lesson preparations to do.

But the teachers said there were better ways to discuss such matters instead of humiliating them.

Here is the news story aired by NTV:

AFPCopyright: AFP

Kenya has begun using drones to identify mosquito breeding sites in the country and kill them at the larval stage.

Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe said the drones will help in accessing hard-to-reach areas especially in counties where malaria is prevalent.

The drones will be spraying a non-toxic, bio-degradable control substance to kill mosquito larvae.

This will ensure the mosquitoes do not breed as the fight against malaria continues.

The technology was introduced to the Kenyan government by the Malaria Council - a public-private-community partnership fighting malaria in Kenya - the health minister said.

Malaria is one of the top three causes of death in Kenya among children below five years old.

Tanzania and Malawi are some of the African countries also using this technology to fight malaria.

A 15-year-old albino student has told the BBC about her struggles to find a place at a secondary school in Kenya.

Despite her top grades, five schools rejected Winnie Jelimo.

One school openly said they wouldn't give her a place because of her albinism.

"I felt very bad because they were admitting others but didn't admit me to school," she told the BBC's Focus on Africa.

She says it was a shock to her as she had not come up against such open discrimination before.

"Albinos can also learn and be like others… Albinism is just a colour, everything else is the same," the teenager said.

She said she was happy to report that she had now been offered a place at Kapkenda Girls High School in the western town of Chepkorio.

She has also been given a four-year scholarship to finish her secondary education - thanks to the Albinism Society of Kenya in collaboration with Kenya’s Education Fund.

“It is wonderful, they felt very angry when they heard about Winnie’s case,” her father Samuel Rotich said.

Listen to BBC presenter Bola Mosuro's interview with father and daughter: