Author: Kelvin Funkeye

A Zimbabwe judge has overturned the appointment of the main opposition MDC party’s leader Nelson Chamisa rendering invalid all decisions he has made in the role, state media said on Wednesday. High Court judge Edith Mushore ruled against Chamisa’s appointment as one of the party’s vice presidents three years ago, upholding a legal challenge lodged by a rival party member. “All the decisions made under (the) Nelson Chamisa administration are null and void. He cannot preside…

MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) – A Kenyan court on Thursday sentenced a British man to four years in prison on charges of helping to plan attacks in Kenya and possessing bomb-making materials. Jermaine Grant was convicted of the offences in late April in a judgement that found him to be in possession of materials to cause explosions including hydrogen peroxide, AA batteries and electrical wire. He denied the charges and his lawyer said he would appeal…

Pope Francis has announced that henceforth, bishops would be accountable for sexual abuses or cover ups in their jurisdictions.   The pronouncement, which signaled a change in Catholic Church law makes reporting of sexual cases obligatory for clerics and allows anyone to complain directly to the Vatican if necessary.   The papal decree, which covers abuse of children and adults, also obliges every Catholic diocese in the world to set up simple and accessible reporting systems…

Today in New York, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, as one of his new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates for 2019-2020.   A statement by UN quoted Guterres as saying that the appointment was sequel to the UN Member States agreement to accomplish the SDGs by 2030. The Advocates are 17 influential public figures from around the world who are tasked by the Secretary-General to…

Comedy legend, Freddie Starr has been found dead at his home in Spain at the age of 76. Starr, who fled to Spain in July 2015 after a libel case loss against a woman who accused him of groping her when she was 15, was found around 3pm on Thursday on the floor of his flat in Costa Del Sol, but his cause of death has not yet been announced. Police sources have said there is…

Higher and Tertiary Education minister Amon Murwira has challenged educationists to embrace the Education 5.0 model aimed at producing students who are innovative to transform the economy towards the achievement of Agenda 2030. Traditionally, Zimbabwe’s education system had three missions of teaching, research and community outreach. The purpose of its design focused on producing a worker and not an industrialist. The new model embraces innovation and industrialisation, which could enable education institutions in the country…

It will cost the taxpayer Sh43.63 billion to finance operations of MPs, senators and parliamentary staff in the next financial year, according to estimates tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday afternoon by Majority Leader Aden Duale. The allocation will ensure Parliament sufficiently oversees use of public resources at the national executive that will control at least Sh1.9 trillion, as well as counties’ Sh310 billion in equitable share from the national government and the Judiciary’s…

The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, has said that most politicians, particularly state governors, do not trust security officials and would rather go to spiritualists and native doctors otherwise known as Babalawos for protection. Bichi said this when he spoke at the retreat for incoming governors organised by the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) that held in Abuja on Monday April 29th. “I joke with politicians that you people trust the…

In what can be considered as a clear example of local solutions, parents in Zimbabwe who cannot afford school fees have been encouraged to offer livestock such as goats or sheep as payment. The country’s education minister, Lazarus Dokora told the pro-government Sunday Mail newspaper that schools will have to show flexibility when it comes to demanding tuition fees from parents, and that they should accept not only livestock, but also services and skills. “If…