DISPATCHES Vol 67 No 4 | KENYA Election referee gets his marching orders 9th February 2026 Opposition leaders score a tactical victory by forcing out Electoral Chief Hussein Marjan on questions of technical competence The embattled Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission faces another credibility challenge after its long-time chief executive Hussein Marjan was forced to resign after opposition leaders said they had... READ FOR FREE
Vol 67 No 4 | KENYARUSSIA Cannon fodder on the front line 20th February 2026 A report by the All Eyes on Wagner (AEOW) investigative group, published on 11 February, lists 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries who joined the Russian army between...
Vol 67 No 4 | KENYA The battle for ODM’s soul 20th February 2026 The sacking of Edwin Sifuna as Secretary-General of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is a desperate attempt by party leader Oburu Odinga to contain divisions but risks breaking...
Vol 67 No 3 | KENYATANZANIAUGANDA Opposition solidarity goes regional 6th February 2026 Pro-democracy activists across the region are rallying together, but they are being met with brutal and coordinated repression by state authorities ‘Don’t try this again,’ was the message to dozens of pro-democracy activists from across East Africa as they were deported from Tanzania last year after attempting to attend...
Vol 67 No 3 | KENYA Golden tickets for sale in Ruto’s party 6th February 2026 The President envisages a two-three million margin of victory in next year’s elections as ambitious contenders flock to his party President William Ruto is bullish. He is aiming for re-election in August 2027 ‘by a margin of between two and three million so that we unite the country...
Vol 67 No 2 | KENYAWHO'S WHO NEWSMAKER: Oburu Odinga, awkward caretaker 23rd January 2026 The death of Raila Odinga last October left a void in Kenyan politics and at the heart of his Orange Democratic Movement. ODM was Raila’s fiefdom. It was...
Vol 67 No 1 | KENYAEAST AFRICAAFRICA IN 2026 Ruto – the unloved but unbeatable candidate 9th January 2026 The president will use 2026 to strengthen the broad-based coalition that is likely to carry him to re-election in August 2027 An early test will be internal elections in William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) – initially supposed to take place in mid-2024 but which will now happen on...
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 25 | KENYAUNITED STATES Ruto moves adeptly to shore up ties with Washington 8th December 2025 $1.7 billion of health assistance announced as replacement for USAID funding Kenya will get US$1.7 billion of United States funding in the first of a series of bilateral health spending pacts that will replace assistance from the United States... READ FOR FREE
Vol 66 No 24 | KENYA Ruto holds the parties together 5th December 2025 The president’s party and its allies won most of the seats on ‘Super Thursday’ – yet numbers show a coalition fraying at the edges President William Ruto and his semi-official allies in the late Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) enjoyed a bumper by-election day on 27 November, winning 16 of the...
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 23 | KENYASENEGALINTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND Loan talks drag on 10th November 2025 No agreements reached after latest IMF staff missions Kenya and Senegal both continue to experience slow progress towards agreeing new lending arrangements with the International Monetary Fund. READ FOR FREE