Prime News Agency

BY NJOKI KARANJA  Nairobi, February 24, 2026. The East African Community (EAC) must urgently dismantle persistent trade barriers and fast-track regional integration to unlock an estimated USD 2.9 billion in unrealized annual trade potential, Cabinet Secretary for EAC, ASALs and Regional Development Beatrice Askul Moe has said. Speaking during the East African Business and Investment Summit and Expo 2026 in Nairobi, Hon. Askul Moe—who also serves as Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers—challenged Partner States to confront long-standing bottlenecks that continue to suppress intra-regional trade, currently standing at 15 percent of total trade within the bloc. “The basic question remains—why have we not achieved this level of intra-regional trade over the last 20 years of implementing the Customs Union?” she posed, calling for what she termed an “honest conversation” on barriers that are within the power of member states to remove. The summit, convened by the East ...

BY NJOKI KARANJA  Nairobi. Kenya and the Egypt have moved to operationalise their Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, with Cairo pledging USD 7 million for high-impact development projects and both countries advancing the implementation of 12 bilateral agreements signed last year. Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi on Monday hosted Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Nairobi, signalling renewed momentum in relations between the two nations. Mudavadi described Egypt as a longstanding and trusted partner since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1964, noting that cooperation has spanned political, economic, social, defence and security sectors. Strategic Partnership Gains Traction The talks reviewed progress made since President William Ruto paid a State Visit to Cairo in January 2025, where he and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a Strategic and Comprehens...

BY NJOKI KARANJA  Nairobi, February 11, 2026. Kenya has set an ambitious goal to locally manufacture 60 percent of its vaccine needs by 2040, health officials announced during the second day of the 16th Kenya Association of Public Health (KASH) Conference. Speaking at a press briefing at Safari Park Hotel, Kenneth Mwige, Director General of the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the country’s heavy reliance on imported vaccines and underscored the urgency of building domestic manufacturing capacity. “We had a wonderful time this morning discussing the future of vaccines and Kenya’s and Africa’s preparedness to manufacture our own vaccines to the extent of 60 percent of imports by the year 2040,” Mwige said. He described vaccine self-sufficiency as a matter of national survival, recalling the inequities witnessed during the pandemic. “We all learned a very serious lesson in 2019, 2020, and 2021 when the COVID-19 epidemic hit the wo...

BY NJOKI KARANJA  February 11, 2026. The Sudan Founding Alliance (Ta’sis) has accused the Sudanese army of carrying out a drone strike targeting buildings belonging to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Kadugli, South Kordofan. In a press statement issued Wednesday, February 11, 2026, the alliance alleged that what it described as “militias of the criminal army” launched a strategic drone attack on WFP facilities in the city, resulting in the destruction of the buildings. The alliance further claimed that the incident forms part of what it termed ongoing violations committed during the conflict, accusing the army—linked in its statement to the Muslim Brotherhood movement—of continuing to target civilian and humanitarian infrastructure. No independent verification of the incident was immediately available, and there was no immediate response from the Sudanese Armed Forces or the World Food Programme at the time of publication. Kadugli, the capital of South ...

 BY NJOKI KARANJA  South Kordofan, Sudan. Newly leaked security documents have cast doubt on claims by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) that a convoy struck in South Kordofan was carrying humanitarian aid, instead alleging it was transporting weapons and advanced ammunition to frontline troops. An official intelligence document attributed to Sudan’s General Intelligence Service indicates that the convoy targeted in the Al-Rahad area was a covert military shipment disguised as humanitarian relief. The document, published by the British website UKNIP, states that while the convoy was publicly presented as delivering aid supplies, its cargo consisted entirely of weapons, ammunition and field equipment intended for SAF units operating across South Kordofan. According to the intelligence report, the humanitarian classification was used to facilitate safe passage through conflict zones experiencing intense military activity. The document further claims that the Rapid Supp...

BY NJOKI KARANJA, Nairobi, Kenya – February 9, 2026. World Vision Kenya has launched its 2026–2030 National Strategy alongside a new Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Business Plan, setting out an ambitious roadmap to improve the well-being of 13.3 million vulnerable children across 33 counties over the next five years. The strategy was unveiled during a high-level stakeholder forum in Nairobi and underscores the organisation’s long-term commitment to resilience building, inclusive development, strengthened child protection systems and expanded access to essential services, including safe water, sanitation, hygiene and health. At the heart of the plan is a deliberate focus on children living in extreme poverty, children with disabilities, and those affected by climate shocks, violence and social exclusion. Implementation will be delivered through 43 Area Programmes nationwide, in close collaboration with county governments and local partners. “This strategy i...