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National Resistance Movement (NRM) leader Miguna Miguna's advocate John Khaminwa, on Sunday, January 5, spoke to Kenyans.co.ke on the fiery lawyer's anticipated return to Kenya from Canada on Tuesday night.

Speaking a day after Miguna's car was temporarily seized by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Khaminwa broke down what happened.

After his Mercedes Benz was carted away in Nairobi, Miguna tweeted his suspicion that the government was out to install surveillance devices in the vehicle before he arrived in the country.

Khaminwa, however, told this writer that the junior officers were acting on an unidentified complaint noting that he did not believe senior state officers were responsible. The vehicle was in the custody of Miguna's Personal Assistant Ferdinand Ogumah at the time of the seizure.

"I received a call that this Mercedes had been seized by the authorities... The police seemed to be acting on some information, there is a complainant.

"I urged the authorities not open up new areas of dispute and controversy at this time at all, because they will be highlighted and that's not good for anyone. We can address the issue of the car once Miguna has come back to the country," he stated.

Khaminwa clarified that the police were quite reasonable and soon complied with his request, releasing the vehicle to Ogumah after his intervention.

"I don't think the high officials of the state were involved with this seizure, they had absolutely nothing to do with it at all," Khaminwa stated.

On Miguna's upcoming return, Khaminwa opined: "It does not matter what our position is in society, whether you're a Cabinet Secretary, you should always obey court orders. That is the crux of the matter of Miguna Miguna. And Miguna has a case that he has been treated unfairly. If they (court orders) had been complied with Miguna would not be talking the way he's talking at all."

Khaminwa argued that Miguna wanted to be with his family and could not cause chaos, explaining that life abroad was not rosy.He disclosed that Miguna was bereaved having lost his Father-in-Law Benson Awange on 2nd January and wished to attend the funeral.

"Those who are in the country should not treat judges and magistrates as small boys and small girls at all. These are senior members of the society, learned in the law and experienced, and when they make orders we should obey orders unless they are set aside again," he reiterated.

Dickens Juma, the father of 11-year-old Tiffany Achieng' who was brutally murdered after being defiled on Sunday, December 30, recounts the events of the fateful day his family suffered the worst end of year tragedy they could ever have anticipated.

In an emotional interview with Kenyans.co.ke, the father of two narrated how his last morning with his daughter saw her excitedly dash off accompanied by her grandmother to a church wedding rehearsal in Paala area, Lwanda Village in Homa Bay County.

Achieng', he said was a jovial Class Four pupil at the Ogomi Academy and the firstborn in a family of two children. She would later come home for lunch the same day, but returned to the church as she was scheduled to be a flower girl in a wedding ceremony the following day, Sunday, December 29, 2019.

The church, he highlighted was at a distance from her home, however, she and two of her friends boarded a motorcycle, after the rehearsal and were dropped off at what he says was around 4 p.m. in the evening.

He was informed by one of her friends whom she alighted with, that she insisted on having her friends escort her home to collect a few items in order for her to go and spend the night with them. 

However, her friends declined arguing that it was getting a bit late and so she was then reported to have returned home and turned back to reunite with them.

A neighbour whom he identified as Abig who also recorded a statement with the police claimed that the girl had been seen at 5:30 p.m. along the road but was being followed by a 'tall man' who was from a distance that they were yet to identify.

Juma recounted that her daughter's body was discovered by the roadside at about 6:45 p.m. in the evening to the shock of the family that all along had not been worried about their daughter's whereabouts. 

At the Ndhiwa Sub-County Hospital, where her body was taken, it was established that she had been raped. Afterwards DCI detectives were discharged to begin investigations into the matter.

He informed Kenyans.co.ke that he had suggested an optography - the theoretical process of retrieving an image on the retina of the eye that stems from an ancient belief that the eye "recorded" the last image seen before death - be performed. This was informed by his speculation that the attacker could be known to the family.

''My wife is unable to speak , as she cannot process why someone would maim and kill her daughter in that cruel manner.''

The family is now pushing authorities to speed up the investigations in order to bring closure to the young family rrobbed of their firstborn daughter days to the new year. 

A top KCPE girl's parent narrated a heartbreaking story of how her smart daughter who had defied the odds to struggle through primary school was in dire need of financial assistance to achieve her dreams.

Lydia Christopher Oyamo, 14, garnered 401 marks in the 2019 KCPE examinations at C.M.F Excellent Education Center, Nairobi and earned admission to the Kisumu Girls High School. 

For the past three years, her primary school principal, Denis Mugambi, paid her school fees after the father, Christopher Juma, who resides in Nairobi's Kayole estate with his family, became ill and bedridden. 

"I wish to recommend financial assistance as the family is needy. The parents are casual labourers getting low and unpredictable earnings. I have known the family since 2016 and due to the condition of the family, I offered some sponsorship which was depleted this year. I wish that you assist her," the principal signed in a notice to well-wishers.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, her father affirmed that he wass incapacitated and that only his wife was feeding the family from the inconsistent income of odd jobs. 

He went on to reveal that Oyamo, who was the third born, had three other siblings, Emma, Stella and Penninah. Emma and Stella, who were older had completed  Form Four but could not proceed with their studies.

"Emma is with us at home. Stella was lured by a local boy and they eloped to marry after she finished her high school education.

"Stella is a smart, hardworking girl and aspires to be a neurosurgeon. I do not wish to see her end up like her sisters. It will break my heart," Juma lamented.

The father, who once ran a utensils hawking business says it pains to helplessly watch as the the dreams of his children dim off.  

"As a breadwinner, I could not finance their education as I have not recovered and my savings have been depleted," Juma narrated.

This heartrending tale follows a Friday, December 27, incident where a 13-year-old girl from Kisumu City's Nyalenda slum allegedly penned a suicide note to her parents upon establishing that her parents were unable to afford Ksh 53,544 school fees for her Form One education.

The girl garnered 391 marks at Xarevian Primary School in Kisumu Central and was drafted to join Asumbi Girls High School in early January 2020.

Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino has offered to pay school fees for her, stating that he felt obligated to lend a helping hand. 

Citizen TV One Love show host Coco Sobo Moto, opened up on his struggles before landing the Citizen TV job.

Speaking exclusively to Kenyans.co.ke, the One Love presenter revealed that he had struggled before getting a job due to his regrettable stint with drug abuse.

“Many studios could not take a chance on me, because being an alcoholic, I was too much of a risk. I tried to explain to them that I was already clean, but they just wouldn't hear me out,” he revealed.

He further narrated that he walked from studio to studio, but his past transgressions made him a risky venture until he landed a job at the Citizen TV studios, having relapsed during one of his gigs at a top radio station.

He narrated that he decided to try out the last place available to him, which was at the Citizen TV studios.

“I did an internship at the Citizen TV studios, given that I barely had any experience having dropped out of college, for six months before I finally got a chance to host a show, and I started working there,” he narrated.

He revealed that he first started with a midnight show before he moved on to an early morning show, then finally landed the mid-morning show and moved on from there.

Since that time, Coco has gone ahead to host shows in both the Citizen TV studios and the Hot 96 radio stations where he has become a household name, especially among reggae fans.

He is currently the host of Citizen TV’s One Love show and Hot 96’s mid-morning show.

He is also working with First Lady Margaret Kenyatta's Pupils Rewards Scheme (PURES), which is a mentorship program aimed at motivating and instilling discipline in pupils.

Erratic, childish, spoilt is Sir Luwi Hausa the son of William and Victoria on Citizen TV's Maria show - one of the new shows on the station gaining popularity with each episode.

While his sense of fashion has never come into question, the choices in his love life raise eyebrows and are no doubt the source of gasps and multiple hand gestures of frustrations from the viewers in many Kenyan living rooms who are tuned in.

Embodying the character and adding his own personal flair is Brian Martins Ogana. This 32-year-old thespian and born-again Christian talks to Kenyans.co.ke explaining just what it takes to play such a flamboyant character but still maintain his relatable charm.

What made you say yes to playing Luwi on Maria?

I chose the role simply because of the plot and storyline, and I fell in love with the character because it would push me to the limit, because, in case you didn’t notice Louis (Luwi) Hausa plays along with so many emotions and switches between being sad, happy, dramatic, drunk and so on.

How do you relate with your character? 

Once am on set I wear Luwi's shoes and try to imagine how best can Luwi play the role, it takes a lot of homework for one to execute a certain character

How alike and different are you to your character (Luwi)?

We are so much different. Brian as a person is a cool, shy, God-fearing person and takes time to asses a situation. On the other hand, Luwi is dramatic, egocentric and a spoilt brat ( but we share a trait, both of us have a keen eye when it comes to dressing and style).

What's the most challenging part about playing Luwi?

The most challenging part about playing the character Luwi is changing from one emotion to the other.

How do you prepare for crying scenes?

The tears are real!

Well for the crying scenes I summon all the painful experiences I have endured in life, and then the person who is my co-star on the scene also contributes to the crying, because theirs is just something when you go down the memory lane and think of the painful experiences and look into someone’s eyes, one tends to break down.

What should we expect from Luwi as the series progresses?

For now, what I can say, is you haven’t seen anything yet, there is more to come.

Who’s the funniest person in the cast in real life?

Ben the chef, Koros the driver and Lorna the head of servants. 

Worst unexpected/ weird fan interaction, you've experienced?

A lady fan wanted to kiss me. Also, a fan wanted me to cry on command. I played cool, because again you wouldn’t want to sound rude, but affirm on your statement.

Are you dating?

Yes, I'm dating. But, she's not in the public domain.

What’s your perfect Sunday afternoon look like?

After church, I go home and prepare myself a nice meal, since I love cooking then later I relax with a nice read on either Ancient Greek methodologies or any historical book.

Tell us about your studying engineering before switching to Journalism and then Communications?

I used to love computers when I was young and my dad wanted me to do civil engineering as a career. By the time I was joining campus I had a change of heart and end ended up changing to computer engineering. But that wasn’t what made me feel alive.

A friend reminded me of my high school passion that was journalism and drama, and so I changed and did journalism, worked for a local station for almost 7 years, called it quits and went for an international media station.

It’s from here that I felt alive I needed something new and that’s when I changed to communication, which I now practice as a communications officer /strategist.

How long have you been acting? What are some of the roles you've played?

I have been in the industry for quite a while now. What most people don’t know is that I have been acting all along, I just took a break and Maria is my comeback. I have featured in shows such as Changing Times, Wash and Set, Guy Centre just to mention a few.

I have played a mobster, a geek, a TV host with other roles that I can’t remember and now Maria as a spoilt mama's boy, but focused (it’s only through a heartbreak that I slipped).

What do you do when you are not acting?

I love cooking, swimming, reading, and work on my sartorial suit business.

Who do you look up to (as an actor/director/etc.)?

My all-time local actor is Dennis Musyoka and Raymond Ofula internationally it has to be Denzel Washington, Will Smith especially the crying scenes and Leonardo DiCaprio.

For directors, I will go for Spike Lee and Steven Spielberg.

Worst Audition...

Back in 2007, I was trying to figure out acting, so I tried to audition for a young male role. In the middle of my auditions, the producer picks his phone and says to the person on the other end "I'm doing the last round of auditions, and this person who is auditioning can't even get the role, "pengine ajaribu kama mascot" (maybe he should try out for the mascot role).

I swear I wanted the world to swallow me. But I kept pushing on and here we are. What most people don’t get is the fact that we have been told no so many times but we kept on pushing and working on our craft. Right now we are good pals and I always remind him of that day.

How would rate the Film/Arts industry progression?

As an artist, I would say we are still far from it, but we have come a long way. I can’t really compare now and 10 years ago.  If you are keen you will notice, the patterns have changed in terms of quality in cinematography, a new breed of thespians coming up and amazing content being developed.

All in all the industry is gradually shaping up, and I believe in a few years to come we will have something to smile about. So, as an artist instead of complaining of how the industry is, I play the little part I have in shaping the industry.

Brian Ogana plays the role of Luwi Hausa in Maria, a show that airs on Citizen TV from Monday to Friday at 7:30 p.m.

There are so many gifts random people get each other for their birthdays, but for one radio presenter attached to KBC, none was befitting his wife like a Ksh18 million mansion in Kilimani, Nairobi.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Bonnie Musambi, a news anchor, radio host and journalist attached to KBC, revealed that he also bought his wife a Ksh2.5 million Nissan X-trail.

He, however, added that he had not yet done the best for his wife of seven years compared to what she had done for him.

"I bought her a house in Kilimani. The house is Ksh18 million but it is a mortgage. I bought the house last week but one.

"Her birthday was on July 10, this year but I did not give her a gift, I decided to gift her last weekend. What I did was sell a Toyota Passo I had bought last year and then add some money to purchase the Nissan X-trail I got her," stated Musambi.

He further disclosed that the real reason he loved his wife so much was that she got to know him at his lowest but stuck with him all through.

When he met Betty, Bonnie stated that he was recovering from a terrible heartbreak and had at sometime sworn that he would never get married.

"We have been married for the last seven years and the main reason as to why I love her is that she came to my life when I had been heartbroken. I had given up on marriage.

"Initially I was dating a girl only to realise that she was somebody else's wife. She was a foreigner. She came to my life at that time and she collected and encouraged me," he disclosed.

"For me, I have not done anything yet, I will still do more for her," he declared.

The couple has been blessed with two children since tying the knot.

Below are photos of the gifts.

Actors in the popular Machachari show on Citizen TV that is slated to wrap up on Friday, October 4, have opened up about the station's decision to end it.

Three of the show's notable personalities Kamau Mbaya aka Baha, Malik Lemuel Mbelle aka Govi and Brian ole Ndwala popularly known as MaDVD revealed that it was high time the show ended.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, MaDVD praised Royal Media Services for offering mentorship to the actors who, he says, gained so much from their roles on the 13-year show.

"It has been a good 13 years and you can see everyone, like Baha, has a good grasp of the industry. Now they are producers. It has also enabled them to get other jobs like Sofia and the likes.

"The move is good because as much as they would like to entertain their audiences, it also provides room for growth," he stated.

He also praised the show for letting some of the actors, like himself, unlock their hidden talents that never actually relied on acting alone.

"On that programme, the cast and crew learned a lot because some of them branched out to pursue different roles in the film industry. I became a director after pursuing my dream on the show first," he continued.

Govi, on his part, revealed that he was saddened by the ending of the show but disputed claims that the characters' age-factor influenced its cancellation.

"I left the show in January so people should stop spreading lies that the show was cancelled because the characters had outgrown their roles. 

"The truth is that the show is no more and I feel bad although all that has a beginning must come to an end," added Govi.

Baha, however, admitted that he was a little hurt with the ending but celebrated the long run it had.

"To be honest inauma (it hurts). but we shouldn't be sad because it is over…but celebrate it happened," expressed Baha.

Citizen TV's Production Manager Stanley Ngige, on Monday, September 30, told this writer that Machachari was getting offscreen after pressure mounted over the age of its characters in a show supposed to ideally mimic the lives of teens. In its place, the broadcaster has settled for Johari.

He further intimated that the show was trailing in ratings averaging between 3.8 million and 4.8 million in weekly viewership.

Controversial TV pastor Godfrey Migwi has landed a job at BBC News Swahili.

The Kayole based preacher will work at the International station as a Religion and Politics analyst in Africa.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the pastor who was previously a presenter at Mediamax-owned Kameme FM, expressed his excitement at joining the station.

“Yes its a big move. I couldn’t believe it when they first contacted me. I, however, believe it’s my boldness and innate ability to speak the truth no matter what that landed me the job.

He maintained that he would always speak for the voiceless, without any fear whatsoever.

“Also for the record, I’m not a Tanga Tanga activist in Central Kenya. I’m just a watchman of the people. Just that I don’t sleep at my desk while on duty,” he posted on his Facebook page.

His open support for Deputy President William Ruto landed him in trouble at Mediamax severally.

Before his exit at the station in June, Migwi landed in trouble after he was filmed in his home backyard questioning President Uhuru Kenyatta's development record in Central Kenya.

Sources had it that his harsh criticism towards the president did not go down well with his bosses, making him quit his show.

The pastor was a co-host with man Nyari and Kamlesh in the Wednesday day night show Kwenjera Uma Wa Mandiko (analysing the truth of the word)'.