CIVIC LENS MEDIA

  DCP aspirant turns grassroots engagement in Kanyoni into a practical conversation about youth, football and community development By CivicLens Gazette NANYUKI WARD — On a football pitch, a ball rarely belongs to one person. It moves from foot to foot, player to player, sometimes across an entire team before finding the back of the net. The game demands cooperation, discipline, patience and an understanding that individual talent means little without a team around it. For many young people growing up in Kenya's towns and rural communities, football is also much more than a game. It is where friendships are built. It is where young people spend their weekends. It is where talent first becomes visible. And for some, it offers a rare opportunity to imagine a future beyond the immediate challenges facing their families and communities. It was this intersection between youth, sport and community life that came into focus during a recent grassroots engagement in Kanyoni, Nanyuki...

 CIVICLENS GAZETTE SATURDAY, 29 AUGUST 2026 Norway mourns an 89-year-old king who ruled for more than three decades, while Uganda’s Tooro Kingdom loses a 34-year-old monarch who first wore the crown at just three years old. By CivicLens Gazette News Desk There are moments when history seems to move quietly. And then there are moments when two very different parts of the world wake up to the same news: a king is dead. Within roughly 24 hours, Norway and Uganda were plunged into mourning following the deaths of two monarchs separated by geography, age, political systems and royal tradition. Norway’s King Harald V, one of Europe’s longest-serving monarchs, died in Oslo on Friday, August 28, aged 89. Less than a day earlier, Uganda’s King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, the Omukama of Tooro, had died in the United States at the age of 34. Two kings. Two very different kingdoms. Two very different royal journeys. But both deaths have left behind grieving families, mourning subjects ...

 CIVICLENS GAZETTE Thursday, 27 August 2026 NAIROBI — For more than a year, the story of Nairobi's chapati machine has lived somewhere between a government promise, political jokes and a question many Kenyans kept asking: When will the machine actually arrive? That question now has an answer. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has unveiled a chapati-making machine installed at the Toi Primary Kitchen , bringing chapati into the menu of the county's Dishi na County school-feeding programme. The machine, according to the Nairobi County Government and multiple reports published on Thursday, can produce up to 2,000 chapatis per hour . The chapatis are expected to be supplied to participating public schools according to a coordinated timetable, giving pupils designated days when chapati will be served. It is a development that closes one chapter of a story that began publicly in March 2025 , when Governor Sakaja asked President William Ruto to help Nairobi acquire a high-capaci...

  CIVICLENS GAZETTE | WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST 2026 LAIKIPIA EAST — KICHINJIO For traders and workers operating around slaughter houses in Kichinjio, Laikipia East, the ability to earn a living is closely connected to a much less discussed question: Can they do their daily work while adequately protected from the conditions of the job? That question came into focus this week when Douglas Mwangi, popularly known as Daghy , engaged residents of Kichinjio and donated gumboots and dustcoats to traders working in and around slaughter houses. The intervention addressed a practical challenge facing people whose livelihoods depend on continuing to report to work despite difficult working conditions. For the traders, the protective equipment is more than an ordinary donation. Gumboots and dustcoats can provide a basic layer of protection for people working in environments where cleanliness, dust, wet surfaces and other occupational conditions are part of their daily routine. The issue the...

 CIVICLENS GAZETTE SPORTS Tuesday, 25 August 2026 By CivicLens Sports Desk Manchester United have strengthened their midfield department with the signing of Brighton & Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba, completing a major transfer move aimed at rebuilding the club’s engine room for the future. The Cameroon international midfielder, aged 22, joins Old Trafford after emerging as one of the Premier League’s most promising defensive midfielders during his time at Brighton. The deal, reported to be worth up to £70 million, represents a significant investment by Manchester United as the club continues its mission to create a younger, more competitive squad. Baleba has signed a long-term contract running until 2031, with Manchester United securing a player they believe can become a key figure in their midfield for years to come. Who Is Carlos Baleba? Born in Cameroon, Baleba developed his football career in Europe after joining French club Lille before moving to Brighton in 2023. At Brig...

CIVICLENS GAZETTE Tuesday, 25 August 2026 By CivicLens Gazette Investigations Desk LAIKIPIA COUNTY — In Laikipia, the next big business may not be another shop, restaurant, salon or betting outlet. It may be hidden in a problem that residents have complained about for years. It may be the farmer who produces food but struggles to find a reliable market. The dairy farmer who needs somewhere to cool milk before it spoils. The family that wants water for farming. The trader who needs dependable transport. The hotel that needs local suppliers. The young person searching for work. Or the small business owner who has customers but does not know how to take the business online. These are not merely social problems. They are economic signals. An analysis of official county and national data suggests that Laikipia has a significant opportunity to build businesses around the gaps between production, storage, processing, transport, technology, water, energy and consumers. The Kenya Natio...

 CIVICLENS GAZETTE 24 Monday August 2026 By CivicLens Gazette Every generation gets a moment when its decisions shape the future. For Laikipia, that moment is approaching. The 2027 General Election will not only be about choosing leaders for political positions. It will be about deciding the direction of a county with enormous potential but equally enormous challenges. For many years, residents have listened to promises about development, jobs, better services and economic transformation. But as the county moves closer to another political season, an important question deserves attention: What kind of leadership can truly unlock the potential that Laikipia carries? Because Laikipia is not a county lacking opportunities. It is a county blessed with resources, strategic location, fertile land, tourism attractions, a growing population and a young generation searching for opportunities. The challenge has never only been about what Laikipia has. The bigger question has always been: How...

  CIVICLENS GAZETTE | Thursday, 20 August 2026 Joseph Maina Njogu puts residents at the centre of his Nanyuki Ward agenda, promising a politics built around solutions, functioning services and accountability In Nanyuki Ward, politics is increasingly moving away from podiums and closer to the people. Today, Joseph Maina Njogu, popularly known as Mdoido , met residents as part of his ongoing grassroots engagement, taking his political conversation directly to the people and listening to the issues they say have affected their daily lives. Rather than presenting leadership as something that begins and ends with elections, Mdoido used the engagement to explain what he describes as his three biggest priorities for Nanyuki Ward: ending the recurring flooding problem, ensuring street lights are functional and strengthening accountability in the management of local affairs. The message was simple but politically significant. For Mdoido, the future of Nanyuki Ward cannot be discussed ...

  CIVICLENS GAZETTE | Wednesday, 19 August 2026 Nanyuki Ward aspirant Joseph Maina Njogu joins a growing field of DCP candidates at Rigathi Gachagua’s Wamunyoro residence as the party begins shaping its 2027 political machinery The road to Kenya’s 2027 General Election is steadily moving from political declarations to the more difficult stage of organisation, mobilisation and candidate preparation. At the centre of that developing political conversation is the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, Nanyuki Ward MCA aspirant Joseph Maina Njogu, popularly known as Mdoido , was among political aspirants who gathered at Gachagua’s Wamunyoro residence in Nyeri County for a meeting with the DCP party leader. The meeting brought together candidates seeking various elective positions across the country under the DCP banner ahead of the 2027 General Election. Gachagua himself confirmed the gathering, sayin...