Kenya's former president Daniel Arap Moi dies

NAIROBI - Former Kenyan president Daniel arap Moi, who kept his country on a relatively stable footing during his tenure but was less successful at reining in poverty and corruption, has died, the office of the president said on Tuesday. He was 95.

There was no immediate information on the cause of Moi's death but he had been in and out of hospital with breathing problems in recent months.

"Our nation and our continent were immensely blessed by the dedication and service of the Late Mzee Moi, who spent almost his entire adult life serving Kenya and Africa," President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.

Moi came to power in 1978, upon the death of President Jomo Kenyatta, having been vice-president until then.

Diplomats said an attempted coup 4 years later transformed him into a tough autocrat from a cautious, insecure leader.

He succeeded in keeping Kenya relatively stable compared with many of its troubled neighbors at the time, working for regional peace.

But he floundered badly on the economy, which regressed under his watch, and he failed to tackle deepening poverty and rampant corruption.

After the 1982 coup attempt, the only one in Kenya, Moi rewrote the constitution to legalize de facto 1-party rule by his KANU, which remained in place until 1991, when he caved in to international pressure to reintroduce multi-party politics.

But his critics, including rights groups, say he will be remembered for allowing interrogation chambers to be set up in the basement of Nyayo House, a government building in central Nairobi that now houses the immigration department.

Thousands of activists, students and academics were held without charge in the underground cells, some of them partly filled with water.

Prisoners were subjected to harsh treatment amounting to torture, rights group say, and were sometimes denied food and water.

Kenyatta said he had ordered flags to be flown at half-mast until the day of Moi's state funeral.

"Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ran a good race, kept the faith, and now he is enjoying his reward in heaven," Kenyatta said.

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Gay men seen dying from AIDS due to Africa's homophobic laws

NAIROBI - Thousands of gay men in Africa are likely dying from HIV-related illnesses every year due to homophobic laws that stifle their chances of being tested and treated, said researchers behind a study published on Monday in The Lancet HIV journal.

A study of the data of 45,000 gay men in 28 African countries including Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria found only one in four living with HIV were taking medication.

Half had taken an HIV/AIDS test in the past 12 months and researchers said the low rates were due to anti-LGBT+ laws in many African countries, which promoted stigma and discrimination and neglected HIV/AIDS programs targeting gay men.

"We found countries that had more repressive anti-LGBT laws or harsher penalties for same sex relations had lower levels of HIV testing," said Kate Mitchell, one of the researchers at Imperial College London who was involved in the study.

"Some of the studies suggested that this was due to stigma. More research is required to see whether, if these laws were repealed, more gay men would be tested and treated."

According to the United Nations, about 470,000 people living with HIV in Africa still die every year because they cannot or do not get tested and gain access to treatment, accounting for more than 60 percent of all global HIV-related deaths.

While there are no official figures on the number of deaths of men who have sex with men (MSM), Mitchell said it would be fair to estimate that thousands of gay men who were unaware or unable to get medication were dying every year.

African countries have some of the world's most prohibitive laws governing homosexuality. Same-sex relationships are considered taboo and gay sex is a crime across most of continent, with punishments ranging from imprisonment to death.

A 2019 report by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association found 32 African countries out of a total of 54 nations criminalize same sex relations. South Africa is the only African nation to legalize gay marriage.

Gay rights groups say the laws promote homophobia across the continent and are used daily to persecute and discriminate against sexual minorities who face prejudice in getting jobs, renting housing or seeking medical care or education.

Hate crimes like blackmail, extortion, physical and sexual assault are common - but most are too fearful to go to the police due to their sexual orientation, say rights groups.

"Globally, men who have sex with men are about 28 times more likely to be living with HIV than men in the general population, an inequality that is particularly apparent in sub-Saharan Africa, where the human rights of MSM are often violated," said the study.

"These attitudes also create barriers to implementing effective HIV research, policy and health programs for MSM, through prohibition of activism and research, arbitrary arrests of health-care providers, and disruption of services provided by community-based and non-governmental organisations."

LGBT+ rights campaigners in Kenya, where gay sex is punishable by up to 14 years in jail, said they were not surprised by the results of the study.

"It is true the law makes if very difficult for MSM to seek medical treatment. Many people fear they will be outed or face some kind of abuse or be shamed by insensitive medical practitioners," said Andrew Maina, program coordinator at HIVOS.

"If these anti-gay laws are scrapped, there will be more openness, more advocacy and more awareness of the issue. Gay men living with HIV would be able to seek medical care knowing they will be treated with respect and dignity."

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Teacher from remote Kenya village is world's best, wins $1 mn

DUBAI - A maths and physics teacher from a secondary school in a remote village in Kenya's Rift Valley has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize for 2019, organizers have said.

Peter Tabichi, who organizers say gives away 80 percent of his monthly income to the poor, received the prize at a ceremony Saturday in Dubai hosted by Hollywood star Hugh Jackman.

"Every day in Africa we turn a new page and a new chapter... This prize does not recognize me but recognizes this great continent's young people. I am only here because of what my students have achieved," Tabichi said.

"This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything," he added after beating nine finalists from around the world to claim the award.

The Dubai-based Varkey Foundation, which organizes the event and handed out the prize for the fifth time, praised Tabichi's "dedication, hard work and passionate belief in his students' talent".

All this combined, it said in a statement, "has led his poorly-resource school in remote rural Kenya to emerge victorious after taking on the country's best schools in national science competitions".

Tabichi, 36, teaches at the Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Pwani village, in a remote, semi-arid part of Kenya's Rift Valley, where drought and famine are frequent.

Around 95 percent of the school's pupils "hail from poor families, almost a third are orphans or have only one parent, and many go without food at home," the statement added.

"Drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, young marriages and suicide are common."

To get to school, some students have to walk 7 kilometers (4 miles) along roads that become impassable during the rainy season.

The school, with a student-teacher ration of 58 to 1, has only one desktop computer for the pupils and poor internet, but despite that Tabichi "uses ICT in 80 percent of his lessons to engage students", the foundation said.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta congratulated Tabichi in a video message, saying "your story is the story of Africa, a young continent bursting with talent".

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Pope Francis denounces radicalization, 'barbarous attacks'

NAIROBI, Kenya - Pope Francis on Thursday denounced radicalization of young people and "barbarous attacks" carried out in the name of religion during the first leg of his three-nation Africa tour.

"His holy name must never be used to justify hatred and violence," Pope Francis said in the Kenyan capital as he met religious leaders of different faiths, citing "barbarous attacks" by Islamic extremists in Nairobi, Garissa and Mandera.

"All too often, young people are being radicalized in the name of religion to sow discord and fear, and to tear at the very fabric of our societies," the pope said nearly two weeks after a group of jihadists, many of them French, killed 130 people in a string of gun and suicide attacks in Paris.

"How important it is that we be seen as prophets of peace, peacemakers who invite others to live in peace, harmony and mutual respect," he said.

Kenya has suffered numerous deadly attacks since sending its army into neighboring Somalia in 2011 after a string of kidnappings it blamed on Al-Qaeda's east Africa branch, the Shebab.

At least 67 people died in an armed assault on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall in 2013 and 148 were killed in an attack on a university in Garissa in April.

In both attacks, the gunmen made efforts to separate Muslims from non-Muslims before executing the latter.

Although Kenya sees the Shebab threat as primarily external, experts say the country faces internal dangers with marginalized youth easy targets for radicalization and recruitment to extremist groups.

"Our world today is characterized by reckless wars mired in greed, malice, treachery, self-centeredness, blackmail and we are increasingly treated to the very theatre of the most absurd," said Abdulghafur El–Busaidy, chairman of the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims.

Anglican leader Eliud Wabukala said Africa was "at a spiritual crossroads" and warned against the threat of "the ideological colonialism of secularist lifestyles".

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Obama challenges Kenya on gay rights, corruption

NAIROBI, Kenya -- US President Barack Obama on Saturday called for gay rights in Africa during his landmark visit to Kenya, comparing homophobia to racial discrimination he had encountered in the United States.

In a joint press conference after talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Obama also pushed a tough message on Kenyan corruption, the civil war in South Sudan, controversial elections in Burundi and the fight against Somalia's Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab militants.

Obama arrived in Kenya on Friday, his first visit as president to his father's birthplace and the first to the East African nation by a serving US leader.

"I've been consistent all across Africa on this. When you start treating people differently, because they're different, that's the path whereby freedoms begin to erode. And bad things happen," he said after talks with the Kenyan leader, in response to a question on gay rights.

"As an African-America in the United States I am painfully aware of what happens when people are treated differently under the law. I am unequivocal on this," Obama told a joint news conference, openly disagreeing with Kenyatta.

He said that the notion "a law-abiding citizen... will be treated differently or abused because of who they love is wrong, full stop."

Homophobia is on the rise in Africa, and espousing evangelical Christian values is a major vote winner in many countries. Kenyatta replied by repeating the view that gay rights were "a non-issue."

"There are some things that we must admit we don't share. It's very difficult for us to impose on people that which they themselves do not accept. This is why I say for Kenyans today the issue of gay rights is really a non-issue," Kenyatta said.

A presidential visit to Kenya had been delayed while Kenyatta faced charges of crimes against humanity for his role in post-election violence seven years ago. The International Criminal Court has since dropped the case, citing a lack of evidence and accusing Kenya of bribing or intimidating witnesses.

- 'Get tough on corruption' -

Kenyan Vice President William Ruto, whose ICC trial continues, is also vocally homophobic and recently described gays as "dirty". Obama nevertheless shook his hand on arrival at State House.

Obama also had firm words for Kenya on civil rights and corruption, describing endemic graft as "the single biggest impediment to Kenya growing even faster," and saying people were being "consistently sapped by corruption at a high level and at a low level."

Obama said there was a need for "visible prosecutions" to show citizens action was being taken.

"They don't have to be a forensic accountant to know what is going on," Obama said, giving the example of officials driving expensive cars or building houses far above what their salaries would allow.

The two leaders also pledged greater cooperation against Somalia's Shebab, who have also been at the top of the list of security concerns during the visit.

Nairobi has witnessed massive security operations involving at least 10,000 police officers, with parts of the usually traffic-clogged capital locked down until Obama's scheduled departure late Sunday for neighbouring Ethiopia.

Shebab fighters have staged a string of suicide attacks and bombings on Kenyan soil, including the April massacre at Garissa university, in which 148 people died, and the 2013 assault on the Westgate shopping mall in central Nairobi that killed 67.

"We have systematically reduced the territory that Al-Shebab controls. We have been able to decrease their effective control within Somalia and have weakened those networks operating here in East Africa. That doesn't mean the problem is solved," Obama said.

Earlier Obama laid a wreath at the memorial site of the former US embassy destroyed in an Al-Qaeda attack in 1998, standing in silence in memory of the 224 killed in the twin bombings in Nairobi and Tanzania.

He wrapped up the evening with a state dinner with Kenyatta, with the atmosphere lively and friendly.

- 'Africa on the move' -

Obama also called for an end to the 19-month-old civil war in South Sudan, urging the country's warring leaders to "put their country first." The conflict there is set to be high on the agenda for the next stage of his visit to Ethiopia, also the seat of the African Union.

This week's elections in the central African nation of Burundi, which delivered a controversial third term to President Pierre Nkurunziza, "weren't credible," Obama said.

Despite the areas of disagreement, the president said he was delighted to be back and praised Africa's entrepreneurship at a business summit earlier Saturday.

"It is wonderful to be back in Kenya," Obama said. "Obviously this is personal for me. My father came from these parts."

Barack Obama Sr was a pipe-smoking economist who the US leader has admitted he "never truly" knew. He walked out when Obama was just two and died in a car crash in Nairobi in 1982, aged 46. Obama still has extended family in western Kenya, who he dined with on Friday evening.

"I wanted to be here, because Africa is on the move, Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world," he said, drawing cheers and applause from delegates.

"People are being lifted out of poverty, incomes are up, the middle class is growing and young people like you are harnessing technology to change the way Africa is doing business."

He also vowed to return, sketching plans for philanthropic work once he leaves office.

"The next time I'm back, I may not be wearing a suit," he joked.

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Rare white rhino dies in Kenya, only six remain

NAIROBI - A rare northern white rhino has died in Kenya, a wildlife conservancy said on Saturday, leaving just six of the animals left alive and bringing the famed African species one step closer to extinction.

While there are thousands of southern white rhinos still roaming the plains of sub-Saharan Africa, decades of rampant poaching have drastically cut northern white rhino numbers.

Suni, a 34-year-old who was the first northern white rhino to be born in captivity, was found dead on Friday by rangers at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 250 km (155 miles) north of Nairobi.

The conservancy said Suni was not poached, but the cause of his death was unclear. It added that he was one of the last two breeding males in the world as no northern white rhinos are believed to have survived in the wild.

"Consequently the species now stands at the brink of complete extinction, a sorry testament to the greed of the human race," the conservancy said in a statement.

The Kenya Wildlife Service vets will conduct a post mortem in the coming days, the conservancy added. Suni's father, Suit, died in 2006 of natural causes, also aged 34.

Born in the Dvur Kralove Zoo in Czech Republic, Suni was in 2009 one of the four northern white rhinos brought from that zoo to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy to take part in a breeding programme to try to prevent the extinction of the species.

Wildlife experts had hoped the 90,000-acre private wildlife conservancy, framed on the equator and nestled between the snow capped Mount Kenya and the Aberdare mountain range, would offer a more favourable climate for breeding.

"We will continue to do what we can to work with the remaining three animals on Ol Pejeta in the hope that our efforts will one day result in the successful birth of a northern white rhino calf," the conservancy added.

Wildlife conservationists have struggled to reverse a decline in numbers of several African species, undermined by ferocious poaching by gangs which mostly ship the ivory to Asia.

Last year, 59 rhinos were poached in Kenya, a country famous for its sprawling Maasai Mara game park and abundant wildlife.

Rhino horn sold on the streets of major Asian cities was last year more valuable than gold or platinum, with traders asking for about $65,000 per kg of rhino horn. (Reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

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Kenya widens mall attack probe, alert for UK 'White Widow'

NAIROBI - Interpol issued a wanted persons alert at Kenya's request on Thursday for a British woman who has been cited by British police as a possible suspect in the attack on a Nairobi shopping mall that killed at least 72 people.

The alert was issued as Kenyan police broadened the investigation into the weekend raid claimed by the al Qaeda-aligned Somali al Shabaab group, the worst such assault since the U.S. Embassy was bombed in the capital by al Qaeda in 1998.

Kenya said that it requested the so-called "red alert" notice for Samantha Lewthwaite, 29, on Wednesday. Interpol has joined agencies from Britain, the United States, Israel and others in the Kenyan investigation of the wrecked mall.

Lewthwaite, the widow of one of the suicide bombers who attacked London's transport system in 2005, is believed to have evaded arrest two years ago in the port city of Mombasa, where she is wanted in a plot to bomb hotels and restaurants.

Interpol's "red alert" cites that 2011 plot.

"The 'red alert' has nothing to do with Westgate. Her role in this attack is yet to be confirmed, but she is wanted on charges of possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony," Ndegwa Muhoro, director of Kenya's Criminal Investigation Department, told Reuters early on Thursday.

Muhoro said she is wanted in a case related to another Briton, Jermaine Grant, whom police suspected of having ties to al Shabaab.

Police say Grant was arrested in a December 2011 raid which Lewthwaite escaped. He is on trial in Mombasa, charged with possession of explosives recovered from their apartment, and conspiracy to commit a felony, which he denies.

"We have no facts linking her to Westgate for now. If in the course of investigations these come up, we shall take action. We issued the alert after discovering evidence this month linking her to Grant and she would be charged with him," Muhoro said.

Police in Mombasa, a tourist hub, said they were also tracking four suspected militants after the siege of the swanky Westgate mall, which militants stormed on Saturday armed with assault rifles and grenades.

The mall attack has demonstrated the reach of al Shabaab beyond Somalia, where Kenyan troops have joined other African forces to drive the group out of major urban areas, although it still controls swathes of the countryside.

Al Shabaab stormed the mall to demand Kenya pull its troops out, which President Uhuru Kenyatta has ruled out.

Many details of the four-day siege are unclear, including the identity of the attackers, who officials said numbered about a dozen. Suspicion of Lewthwaite, dubbed the "White Widow" in the British press, was triggered by witness accounts that one of raiders was a white woman.

FORENSIC WORK

But Kenya's government and Western officials have cautioned that they cannot confirm she was involved, or even that there were any women participants in the raid.

The government said five attackers were killed, along with at least 61 civilians and six security personnel.

Eleven suspects have been arrested, but it is not clear if any took part in the attack.

Although the Red Cross lists 71 missing people, the government said it does not expect a big rise in the death toll.

Part of the Westgate mall collapsed in the siege, burying some bodies and hindering investigations, although forensic experts have started work while soldiers search for explosives. Officials said some blasts on Thursday were controlled ones.

"The army are still in there with the forensic teams," said one senior police officer near the mall.

Mombasa police said they were tracking a network of suspects linked to al Shabaab in the coastal region, home to many of Kenya's Muslims, who make up about 10 percent of the nation's 40 million people. Most Kenyans are Christians.

"We have four suspects within Mombasa who we are closely watching. They came back to the country after training in Somalia," country police commander Robert Kitur told Reuters.

Another counterterrorism officer, who asked not to be identified, also said four suspects were being tracked.

DENTED IMAGE

The mall attack has dented Kenya's image as a relatively safe tourist destination, damaging a vital source of revenues. But rating agency Moody's said that, although the attack was "credit negative," it would not effect foreign direct investment or a planned Kenyan Eurobond later this year.

In 1998, al Qaeda bombed the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 200 people. Since then, Kenya has faced other smaller attacks, many claimed by al Shabaab, particularly along the border region next to Somalia.

On Thursday, al Shabaab claimed responsibility for killing two police officers in an assault on an administrative post in Mandera county next to Somalia. The border has been closed.

Experts say the insecure border has allowed Kenyan sympathisers of al Shabaab to cross into Somalia for training.

"They are coming back because our armed forces destroyed their training ground there," said Kitur.

The coastal region also has been the target of attacks by a separatist movement, the Mombasa Republican Council, although that group has long denied it has connections with al Shabaab.

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