Providing risk reduction services to female sex workers leads to sustained changes in behaviour, even after the level of that service is substantially reduced, according to follow-up data from a Kenyan trial published in the August 15th edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

The scale of corruption carried out in Kenya by family and associates of its former president, Daniel Arap Moi, has been revealed in a secret report which alleges that more than £1 billion of government money was stolen during his 24-year rule. Mr Moi’s regime, which came to an end in 2002, has long been regarded as one of Africa’s most corrupt, but the extent of the graft has never been exposed in so much detail.

The seizure of prime land in Kenya by white settlers taken during the colonial era and the land grabbing which occurred post independence by powerful black elites are responsible for abject poverty amongst indigenous and nomadic communities in Kenya today. The story of the poverty caused by land dispossession, abuse of local workers by ranch owners, harassment, intimidation and other human rights violations are told in a new documentary called 'Stolen Heritage: Land, Poverty and the Legacy of British Colonial Rule in Kenya', released by Imani Development Ltd.

The intricately detailed report, commissioned by President Kibaki after his 2002 election victory but later suppressed, forensically investigates corrupt transactions and holdings by several powerful members of the Kenyan elite. The figures in the report sum to billions of US Dollars - comparable in magnitude to the looting of infamous kleptocrats such as Mobutu (Zaire), Marcos (Philippines), Abacha (Nigeria), Suharto (Indonesia) and Fujimori (Peru). The leaked material is extremely politically sensitive. Ex-President Moi has become a key player in political life in Kenya, and is now an essential pillar in President Kibaki's campaign for re-election in December 2007.

Trends in bribe paying and rent seeking in Kenya have changed over the last six years despite the still significantly low willingness of Kenyans to report corruption cases. This is the resounding conclusion of the Kenya Bribery Index 2007, launched recently by Transparency International. Although some sectors have seen reform and a decline in bribe-paying, the Kenyan public still bears a huge cost. “This survey shows that while bribery is reducing in some sectors, the mwananchi still bears the largest brunt of corruption. In the legal arena, bribery is being channelled through the bar.

Kenyan Muslims marched on police headquarters in Nairobi on Thursday in protest against what they called the illegal detention and torture of fellow Muslims in an anti-terrorist drive urged on by the United States. The protest involving a few dozen Kenyans followed months of simmering tensions between the east African nation's Muslim community and authorities they accuse of persecuting and arresting them on U.S. government orders.

Kenya’s president Mwai Kibaki got a boost when influential former leader Daniel Moi publicly endorsed him as the best choice for president in the upcoming election slated for December. In a move seen as sidelining fireband politician Raila Odinga, the leader of the popular Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), the former president insisted Kibaki should be handed a second term.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has applauded Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki for rejecting a media bill that could have required reporters to reveal their sources in court. "We applaud President Kibaki's decision, which acknowledges that protection of confidential sources is a cornerstone of press freedom

The National Civil Society Congress is a representative and legitimate voluntary Civil Society membership umbrella body, which reflects the diversity, growth, evolution and sophistication of the Kenyan Civil Society. The National Civil Society Congress anchors its coming into being and existence more on a broad based popular legitimacy than on legality and legalese. Among its core objectives is to provide and function as the platform for all Civil Society (CS) sectors to interact, share information and harmonize their interventions and proactive approaches on key national issues.

Fresh killings in the Mt Elgon District of Kenya – where a long-standing dispute over land ownership has sparked violent clashes between two communities – have left more people displaced and heightened tensions in the area, aid workers said. Seven more people were killed on 5 August and another three on 7 August in the Kopsiro area of the district, said William Kebeney, a church minister aiding the displaced.

Kenya's parliament will soon debate a constitutional amendment bill to improve female representation in the legislature by creating 50 special seats for women. At present, only some eight percent of parliamentary posts in the East African country are occupied by women. The bill is scheduled for discussion Aug. 14, to be adopted or rejected in its entirety the same day. Over 2,000 women from across Kenya will be present at parliament to lobby legislators to vote for the bill.

Maternal HIV and malaria infection during pregnancy reduces tetanus antibody levels in newborns and mothers thereby exposing them to an increased risk of tetanus, according to the findings of a study published in the August 15th edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. According to the paper and an accompanying editorial, the control of these diseases in child-bearing women have an important role to play in the elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus which causes 213,000 deaths annually.

ICTVillage is inviting individuals and organizations to apply for registration as digital village enterprises in the digital village network as owners/managers of digital facilities (centres, schools, kiosks) located in each constituency and location in Kenya in collaboration with key stakeholders.

At the click of a button, youngsters who often grapple with the question of sex issues will now get first-hand information regarding the topic, thanks to a new innovative computer-based sexuality and HIV Aids education programme dubbed the 'World Starts With Me'. The new programme is an initiative of the Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA) whose epicentre focuses on sexuality issues such as puberty, pregnancy, reproductive health and HIV Aids.

Ongoing clashes that have displaced more than 100,000 people in Mt Elgon District near the Kenya-Uganda border have disrupted farming and trading activities, sources said. "Those who had planted potatoes on their farms need to pay police escorts to go to their farms and to go to the market to sell the produce," Sokwony Laikong, a teacher in the affected areas, said.

Kenya’s firebrand Minister of Health, who has been known for contradicting government policies, has clashed with police for detaining a women’s rights activist. Charity Ngilu forced her way to a police station and freed Anne Njogu from cell, despite police resistance. Ms Njogu, who leads the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness, was re-arrested at her home. She and three others were arrested for protesting against parliamentarians’ move to allocate a US $20 million bonus for themselves before the dissolution of parliament takes place.

Kenyan lawmakers yesterday disapproved a motion that sought to repeal the death penalty, fearing the abolition could be a catalyst to more capital offences in the country. The motion is tabled at a time when Kenyan security is trying to contain insecurity posed by armed bandits and secret cult societies. A cult group calling itself Mungiki, whose followers have been bent on beheading people for not obeying their orders, has been the biggest threat to Kenyan security.

Traditional circumcision protects low-risk rural Kenyan men against HIV infection, according to the findings of a prospective observational study published in the August 1st edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. There is currently a surge of interest worldwide in the possible protection provided by male circumcision against female-to-male HIV transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Providing women with affordable, accessible, and safe health services is a key obligation of the government of Kenya. However, as a new report produced by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the Federation of Women Lawyers—Kenya vividly illustrates, Kenya’s health care sector suffers from systemic and widespread problems that deny women high quality family planning and maternal health care.

Mwai Kibaki has once again demonstrated his complete lack of commitment to fight corruption and, even more, that he is a beneficiary of it. The Anglo Leasing and the corruption scandals of Moi, and Kenyatta before him, will remain unresolved so long as Mwai Kibaki is the President. His continued dalliance with Daniel arap Moi is proof enough of his going back on his word to Kenyans that ‘Corruption will cease to be a way of life in Kenya’.