https://www.scmp.com/rss/524059/feed William Ruto: A seasoned politician, he has served as Kenya’s President since September 2022, having previously been the first elected Deputy President from 2013 to 2022. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Kenya has revived construction on its multibillion-dollar Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) extension that stalled more than six years ago, replacing heavy sovereign debt with innovative financing after renegotiating its loans with China. According to Kenyan officials, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and its subsidiary, China Road and Bridge Corporation, will build the railway’s two remaining sections at an estimated cost of US$5.4 billion. Kenyan President William Ruto earlier this... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348406/china-and-kenya-partner-finish-most-consequential-rail-project?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348406/china-and-kenya-partner-finish-most-consequential-rail-project?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Mar 2026 04:00:11 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Kenya secured trade and infrastructure financing deals during Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng’s visit this week, but analysts cautioned that deepening ties were complicated by rising debt and Nairobi’s balancing act between global powers. The “early harvest” Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries grants Kenyan products – including tea, coffee and avocados – duty-free and quota-free access to the Chinese market starting in May. After talks with Han on Tuesday, Kenyan President... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348071/kenya-secures-trade-deal-china-rising-debt-us-competition-complicate-deeper-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3348071/kenya-secures-trade-deal-china-rising-debt-us-competition-complicate-deeper-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 07:00:07 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Chinese deals in Kenya often move from signing to construction in less than a year, according to the head of the African country’s investment agency, with most of the agreements signed during Kenyan President William Ruto’s visit to Beijing in 2025 well under way. John Mwendwa, CEO of the Kenya Investment Authority (InvestKenya), noted that in contrast, projects funded by the West typically took longer due to stricter environmental, social and governance standards and complex regulatory... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343302/why-chinas-fast-turnaround-gives-its-projects-edge-kenya-over-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3343302/why-chinas-fast-turnaround-gives-its-projects-edge-kenya-over-west?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Feb 2026 04:00:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse IShowSpeed, a 21-year-old African-American influencer, has raced a cheetah, leapt with Maasai warriors and drawn huge crowds in a month-long tour of Africa that has also busted cliches about the continent. The YouTube and Twitch star’s tour, which started on December 29, has taken him to 20 countries, showing his tens of millions of followers a different side of Africa as he visited a diamond mine in Botswana, discovered Ethiopia’s rich cuisine and attended the Africa Cup of Nations football... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3341650/youtube-star-ishowspeeds-africa-tour-offers-different-narrative-tv-stereotypes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3341650/youtube-star-ishowspeeds-africa-tour-offers-different-narrative-tv-stereotypes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage China’s big money is returning to African infrastructure as its state-owned firms evolve from mere builders into long-term financiers and operators. This is so they have enough “skin in the game”, according to one analyst, as Beijing seeks lasting influence over key transport routes and critical mineral supply chains in Africa. Across the continent, these companies are increasingly financing, building and operating key infrastructure under public-private partnerships (PPP). This financing model... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335506/skin-game-china-pivots-operating-african-railways-ports-funding-shift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3335506/skin-game-china-pivots-operating-african-railways-ports-funding-shift?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Dec 2025 04:00:14 +0000 Reuters Reuters Four people were killed in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on Thursday after security forces fired shots and teargas to disperse huge crowds at a stadium where the body of deceased opposition leader Raila Odinga was lying in state, local media reported. Odinga, a major figure for decades in Kenyan politics who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment. With thousands of his supporters... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3329308/4-dead-after-kenyan-forces-fire-shots-disperse-crowd-mourning-late-politician-odinga?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3329308/4-dead-after-kenyan-forces-fire-shots-disperse-crowd-mourning-late-politician-odinga?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Oct 2025 21:11:47 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Raila Odinga, a former prime minister of Kenya and perennial presidential candidate whose populist campaigns rattled authorities and gave him an outsize influence on political life in his East African country, died on Wednesday of a heart attack while travelling in India. He was 80. His death was confirmed by the Devamatha Hospital in India’s Kerala State, where he was taken after he collapsed during a morning walk. A statement from the hospital said Odinga suffered a cardiac arrest and didn’t... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3329120/raila-odinga-ex-kenyan-pm-and-democracy-fighter-dies-80-after-heart-attack-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3329120/raila-odinga-ex-kenyan-pm-and-democracy-fighter-dies-80-after-heart-attack-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:42:22 +0000 Jevans Nyabiage Jevans Nyabiage Kenya has become the latest country in a high-stakes geopolitical struggle between the US and China after Washington threatened to revoke Nairobi’s Major Non-Nato Ally status. The tension escalated following a state visit to Beijing in April, when President William Ruto secured landmark infrastructure and trade deals and publicly praised China’s role in what he called a “new world order”. This provoked a backlash from the United States, which has launched a review of the ally status. The status,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321166/kenya-faces-us-threat-praising-chinas-role-new-world-order?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321166/kenya-faces-us-threat-praising-chinas-role-new-world-order?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 06:40:13 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Police in Kenya clashed with demonstrators on Monday during anti-government protests as the authorities blocked major roads leading into the capital, Nairobi, and most businesses closed. Protesters lit bonfires and hurled stones at police in roadblocks, and police fired and hurled tear gas canisters, injuring one demonstrator. Kenyans had planned demonstrations on July 7 to protest police brutality, poor governance, and to demand President William Ruto’s resignation over alleged corruption and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3317272/nairobi-locked-down-kenyan-police-clash-anti-government-protesters-injuring-1?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/africa/article/3317272/nairobi-locked-down-kenyan-police-clash-anti-government-protesters-injuring-1?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 12:33:20 +0000