Latest news with #CitizenTV
Observer
5 days ago
- General
- Observer
6 killed as light plane crashes in Kenya
NAIROBI: Six people were killed, including two on the ground, when a small plane crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood in Kenya's capital Nairobi on Thursday afternoon, a local official said. The Cessna plane, run by AMREF Flying Doctors, came down as it was flying to Hargeisa, the capital of Somalia's breakaway territory of Somaliland, the charity said in a statement. The plane was carrying four passengers when it crashed into buildings in the Githurai suburb in northeastern Nairobi, Citizen TV reported. A police source said at least two people had been killed. One witness, who asked not to be named, said she heard a loud sound, then saw a fireball and debris scattered over the neighbourhood. Unverified videos shared on social media showed firefighters trying to douse burning debris inside what appeared to be a residential compound. Crashes involving light aircraft are relatively common in eastern Africa. In April last year, Kenya's military chief was among 10 people killed when their military helicopter crashed shortly after take-off. — Reuters
CNN
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Police fire teargas and water cannon at protesters in Kenya as thousands take to the streets
Kenyan police have fired teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters as thousands took to the streets to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-government demonstrations that left dozens dead. The government regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya, has ordered all television and radio stations in the country to stop broadcasting live coverage of protests of the youth-led march, which began Wednesday. The government agency falsely claimed that live coverage of the demonstrations violated Kenyan laws, while threatening regulatory action for non-compliance with the directive. Many of the stations did not immediately cease broadcasting, including CNN affiliate Citizen TV. Thousands of people demonstrated in the capital, Nairobi, the coastal city of Mombasa, and other towns to mark the protest anniversary. In Nairobi, roads leading to the Kenyan Parliament building and the president's office were barricaded ahead of the demonstrations. Last June, many were killed by security forces outside Parliament, drawing nationwide outrage. The demonstrations in 2024 forced the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill that raised taxes. However, many of Kenya's youth are still enraged over several cases of alleged police brutality, including the death of a teacher in police custody and the shooting of an unarmed street vendor. CNN witnessed police shooting live rounds in Nairobi to disperse peaceful protesters on Wednesday. Several of the demonstrators showed spent cartridges. Demonstrators were also repelled with teargas and water cannon trucks in the capital – reminiscent of last year's dramatic scenes. Citizen TV posted a video on X showing injured individuals being wheeled into a Nairobi hospital. In Mombasa, some protesters were arrested and hauled into police trucks, another video showed. One person is reported to have been killed during demonstrations in eastern Kenya's Machakos County on Wednesday morning, according to Citizen TV. CNN could not immediately verify the casualty but has asked the police service for comment.
CNN
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Police fire teargas and water cannon at protesters in Kenya as thousands take to the streets
Kenyan police have fired teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters as thousands took to the streets to mark the one-year anniversary of anti-government demonstrations that left dozens dead. The government regulator, the Communications Authority of Kenya, has ordered all television and radio stations in the country to stop broadcasting live coverage of protests of the youth-led march, which began Wednesday. The government agency falsely claimed that live coverage of the demonstrations violated Kenyan laws, while threatening regulatory action for non-compliance with the directive. Many of the stations did not immediately cease broadcasting, including CNN affiliate Citizen TV. Thousands of people demonstrated in the capital, Nairobi, the coastal city of Mombasa, and other towns to mark the protest anniversary. In Nairobi, roads leading to the Kenyan Parliament building and the president's office were barricaded ahead of the demonstrations. Last June, many were killed by security forces outside Parliament, drawing nationwide outrage. The demonstrations in 2024 forced the withdrawal of a controversial finance bill that raised taxes. However, many of Kenya's youth are still enraged over several cases of alleged police brutality, including the death of a teacher in police custody and the shooting of an unarmed street vendor. CNN witnessed police shooting live rounds in Nairobi to disperse peaceful protesters on Wednesday. Several of the demonstrators showed spent cartridges. Demonstrators were also repelled with teargas and water cannon trucks in the capital – reminiscent of last year's dramatic scenes. Citizen TV posted a video on X showing injured individuals being wheeled into a Nairobi hospital. In Mombasa, some protesters were arrested and hauled into police trucks, another video showed. One person is reported to have been killed during demonstrations in eastern Kenya's Machakos County on Wednesday morning, according to Citizen TV. CNN could not immediately verify the casualty but has asked the police service for comment.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Posts falsely claim Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was abducted for a second time
'Boniface Abducted Again. Leaked video proves intent to dehumanize. Rose Njeri's connection to Russian psy-ops raises serious flags. This isn't protest—it's cyber war. #AsanteSamia, are you watching this unfold (sic)?' reads an X post published on June 4, 2025. The clip appears to be a 'breaking news' bulletin from Kenyan media outlet Citizen TV, featuring anchor Yvonne Okwara. The chyron reads: 'Boniface Mwangi abducted.' 'Folks, my ears are ringing, the noise is at its peak yet again in this country,' Okwara says at the beginning of the clip. She is not seen again from the eight-second mark, but a voice that sounds like Okwara's takes over, illustrated by old clips and images of Mwangi, and a blurry video used to depict assault. There is also a noticeable difference in the audio. 'Boniface Mwangi has been abducted once again. This time from his familial home in Lukenya. His last known location, as indicated by a cell phone ping, was near the Namanga border raising serious concerns that he may be taken back to Tanzania,' the voice says, adding that 'this development comes just days after Boniface held a press conference detailing the torture and arrest he faced in Tanzania.' The video alleges that Mwangi revealed that he was threatened with death if he 'shared his story publicly' and that 'a video has now surfaced on social media allegedly showing Boniface's torture'. The voice further claims that the video, which has not been 'independently verified', would not be aired due to its 'graphic nature' and that 'Mwangi's fate is currently unknown'. The clip ends by saying that 'circumstances of his apparent re-abduction suggest a pattern of deliberate silencing rather than random violence' and that 'authorities have not issued any statements on his whereabouts or the veracity of the video'. On the same day the video was shared online, digital cards with similar messaging were published on X using the same hashtags and bearing the branding of local media outlets, including K24 and Citizen. One such purported digital card attributes the following quote to Law Society of Kenya leader Faith Odhiambo: 'If it is that Boniface Mwangi has been abducted again and the last ping on his phone is said to be Namanga, this is not an arrest - it is a crime. LSK will not stand by.' A K24-branded graphic allegedly quotes opposition leader and lawyer Martha Karua saying: 'The circulation of videos allegedly showing Boniface Mwangi being sexually violated is a vile breach of his dignity and human rights. His second abduction, this time on Kenyan soil, is an affront to our sovereignty.' Finally, a Citizen digital card, attributed to human rights activist Hussein Khalid, reads: 'Boniface Mwangi has been abducted from his Lukenya house by Swahili-speaking men in plain clothes who refused to identify themselves. They sped off towards Namanga. His family is very traumatised.' Odhiambo, Karua and Khalid have consistently been at the forefront of advocating for human rights and justice for activists who have faced legal challenges. Mwangi was one of several activists recently detained and deported from Tanzania. He, along with other activists and politicians from Kenya and Uganda, had travelled to show solidarity with Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges. In what escalated into a diplomatic row between Kenya and Tanzania, Mwangi, who was released and returned to Kenya on May 22, 2025, accused Tanzanian authorities of torture and sexual assault during his incommunicado detention (archived here and here). The Kenyan activist has had several brushes with the law in the past (archived here and here). However, claims that Mwangi has been abducted again in Kenya after his Tanzania ordeal are false. AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on keyframes from the X video and found that the introduction was taken from a real Yvonne's Take segment published by Citizen TV on July 13, 2023 (archived here). In the original segment, Okwara starts with the introduction used in the X video: 'Folks, my ears are ringing, the noise is at its peak yet again in this country.' She then proceeds to say: 'And the noise is everywhere. People are out on the streets protesting.' Unlike the clip shared on X, she remains onscreen throughout the original video and does not mention Mwangi or an abduction. While Okwara is dressed in the same attire in both videos, the chyron font and text look different in the original video. 'Yvonne's Take: Protests and Proverbs,' it reads. We also analysed the X clip's audio through InVID-WeVerify's audio detection tool, and the results suggested strong evidence of voice cloning from the eight-second mark, which coincides with the exact moment Okwara is no longer visible on the screen. AFP Fact Check did not find any evidence of the graphics being published by the media outlets to which they were attributed. There is also no news of Mwangi being abducted again or of videos of his assault in Tanzania being leaked. Instead, Odhiambo, K24 and Khalid independently flagged the claims as 'fake news'. 'Our attention has been drawn to a series of false statements and deepfakes allegedly concerning the abduction of Boniface Mwangi. We urge members of the public to disregard this fake online campaign and disregard all attempts of misdirection and misinformation,' Odhiambo stated in a post on her X account. Similarly, Khalid wrote: 'Please be weary (sic) of fake news circulating linked to me. I can confirm that @bonifacemwangi is safe and has not been abducted by anyone. I urge those circulating fake news to desist. It's only raising unnecessary tension and will lead to public mistrust.' Meanwhile, K24 shared the graphic as a 'fake news alert'. Despite the online claims of his re-abduction, Mwangi has remained active on social media since his return to Kenya, making no mention of another abduction. On June 12, 2025, amidst protests demanding justice for Albert Ajwang, a Kenyan who recently died in police custody, he posted a video of himself addressing 'propaganda' about an arrest warrant (archived here). The caption on the post in English and Swahili reads: 'I heard there's an arrest warrant, that I beat up a police officer while they are the ones who beat me. Tell the government I'm sleeping home today and they are welcome.' 'The goons who were in town were sent by Ruto's government to cause chaos. June 25, 2025, is a holiday. National Remembrance Day to honour our heroes. Let's meet in the streets,' he added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) In the video he says partly in Swahili: 'There is propaganda about a warrant of arrest. Okay, we're waiting. I haven't left Kenya; my number remains the same. The government knows where I live. They know my office and I'm here.'
eNCA
21-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Kenya admits role in kidnapping of Uganda opposition leader
Kenya has admitted it assisted in the kidnapping of a Ugandan opposition leader on its soil last year as he appeared in court for the latest hearing of his treason trial on Wednesday. Kizza Besigye, 68, was abducted by armed men in the heart of the Kenyan capital Nairobi in November and re-emerged a few days later at a military court in Uganda. Besigye is a former doctor to President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for nearly 40 years, but turned against him and ran for the presidency on multiple occasions. Kenya's government had previously denied any involvement in his abduction. But in a TV interview late Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Musalia Mudavadi admitted: "Kenya cooperated with the Ugandan authorities." "(Uganda) is a friendly nation. He (Kizza Besigye) was not seeking asylum. He had not come to say that he was seeking asylum. Had he said that, maybe the treatment would have been different," Mudavadi told Citizen TV. "We have to partner with our East African states and sometimes we have to manage those relations very carefully for the broader national interest," he added. Rights groups say Besigye's abduction and trial for treason, which carries a potential death penalty, are linked to the upcoming election in January, when Museveni, 80, will once again seek re-election. Besigye's case was moved to a civilian court after he went on hunger strike earlier this year. After a brief hearing on Wednesday, his case was adjourned to May 29. One of his lawyers, Erias Lukwago, called it "very disappointing". "There is a tendency by court to keep adjourning this case and denying them opportunity to get bail," he told AFP. Activists say the kidnapping and trial are part of a wider erosion of democracy across east Africa. Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu is also on trial for treason in his country ahead of elections in October. Several foreign activists who attempted to attend his trial this week were detained and deported.
