Although just a few hundred kilometres from Nairobi, the county of Turkana, where newly-confirmed oil reserves are set to go on stream in the next few years, feels more like a million miles away from the gleaming skyscrapers and concentrations of power and money found in Kenya’s capital. Turkana’s socioeconomic indicators do indeed set it apart. Only 39 per cent of the youth aged 15-18 in Turkana attend school, compared to the national average of 70.9 per cent. Can oil, coupled with an unprecedented process of political devolution enshrined in a new constitution, reverse Turkana’s fortunes?

An explosion ripped through a building full of small shops in downtown Nairobi on Monday, wounding at least 16 people, the police commissioner said. He could not immediately confirm what caused the blast. The force of the explosion ripped apart the one-story building's aluminum roof, but a high-rise building with a glass exterior right next to the blast did not appear to sustain major damage.

Most of those displaced by post-election violence mainly in Kenya’s Rift Valley Province five years ago have been resettled, but those whose relatives were killed or who lost their property are seeking justice and further compensation. With few perpetrators of the violence having been bought to book, 'the compensation they need is not only in monetary terms, but also in accessing justice for lost lives', said Collins Omondi, an official with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).

Kenyan police arbitrarily arrested, detained, and beat refugees following the discovery of explosives and an attack on a police vehicle in the Dadaab refugee camps in mid-May 2012. Senior officials visiting the camps on 23 May should ensure a full and speedy investigation leading to the identification and disciplinary measures against any officer responsible for abuse and the compensation of victims.

Primary school has been free since 2003, with the help of 19 billion dollars of donations from the UK, Canada, and the World Bank, with the World Food Programme, UNICEF and Kenyan NGOs providing advice, training and support. In terms of enrolment numbers, it has been a great success. Enrolment rates in Kenya are up to 97 per cent. Less great is that there are now up to 70 children in each classroom and the free primary school fund has been plagued with government corruption, says this Panos feature.

The Talking Box is an initiative for girls in Nairobi’s Kibera slum that invites students to write down concerns that they are afraid to discuss with their teachers or parents. According to this article from Global Press Institute, educators say it’s reducing school dropouts and improving academic performances.

Small farmers are central to a push to deploy genetically modified (GM) technology within Kenya. In recent years, donors such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have invested millions of dollars. But serious concerns about viability, corporate dependency and health effects linger - even while leading research firms and NGOs do their best to smooth them over.

Mass unemployment is forcing thousands of Kenyans into the hands of private employment bureaus who export them to the Middle East where they often become trapped in abusive and exploitative work.

Kenya's National Cohesion And Integration Commission (NCIC) has claimed that ‘the five largest communities’ have a disproportionate share of total workforce in public universities and constituent colleges in Kenya. But how does this make a contribution to national cohesion and integration?

Members of the clergy and some human rights activists in Kenya have raised their objections to recommendations that homosexuality be de-criminalised in the East African country. The recommendations are proposed in a report on safeguarding sexual and reproductive health rights. The report is as a result of a public inquiry that had been set up by the commission to examine the extent and nature of violations of the two rights.

Rights groups in Kenya have warned of a potential miscarriage of justice after the government moved to have the cases of four people charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) transferred to a region tribunal which has no experience in handling such crimes. Two of the suspects, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former higher education minister William Ruto, are likely candidates in a forthcoming presidential election.

Beading is a practice in the Samburu indigenous community of Kenya which involves the sexual engagement and exploitation of girls as young as nine years old by male relatives. Download the newsletter by Kenyan organisation Samburu Women for Education and Development Programme (SWEEDO) to find out more.

Kenya Palestinian Solidarity Committee supports the freedom struggle and the consequent establishment of a democratic secular state in the entire land of pre-l948 Palestine where Muslims, Christians and Jews choose to live together in political equality, justice and prosperity for all.
They provide solidarity and link with local and international solidarity committees to create awareness of the struggles in the cultural, social, economic and political spheres in occupied Palestine through acitivities like information sharing, education campaigns, film festivals and public fora. They produce regular enewsletters on Palestine from Kenya and is an example of the solidarity coming from African countries. Visit or

A grenade attack in a Nairobi church has killed one person and injured at least 15 others, police in the Kenyan capital say. Moses Ombati, the deputy police chief for Nairobi, confirmed the number of killed and injured. Charles Owino, deputy spokesman for the Kenyan police, said the grenade was thrown into the God's House of Miracle Church in the capital's Ngara neighbourhood.

Four senior judges in Kenya have been declared unfit for office in a landmark ruling by a new committee investigating the impartiality of the judiciary. The vetting panel was set up as part of the deal to end post-election violence in 2008 when it was agreed to reform political and judicial institutions. Five other judges were cleared. The four told they are unfit to continue have seven days to appeal.

The very first plank of the Kenyan people’s agenda should be a departure from elite pacting: the noxious, personality-driven “succession” political maneuvering.

Teachers have threatened another national strike to press for better housing allowances. They are also demanding increases in commuter, medical, hardship and other allowances. The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) said its members were unhappy with the government’s failure to involve them in budget preparation through which they would have made their proposals.

Kenya’s battle to end food shortages may be won with the introduction of drought-tolerant maize in the next five years, scientists have said. This will make it the third country in the continent after Egypt, South Africa and Burkina Faso to use genetically modified (GM) crops for increased farm yields.

Residents of Nairobi’s numerous slums live in constant fear of demolition of their homes. Yet there is no government plan to solve the problem of housing. The residents need to organise and demand their rights.

Kofi Annan, Chair of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), has announced the appointment of a renowned African business leader from Kenya, Ms Jane Karuku, as the new president of the organization. Ms Karuku was selected after an exhaustive international search process. She joins AGRA from Telkom Kenya a subsidiary of France Telecom-Orange where she has been Deputy Chief Executive. She takes over from Dr Namanga Ngongi who is retiring after five years as the first president of AGRA.