A section of female entrepreneurs now has a reason to smile after gaining skills that will enable them to run their businesses.

The women, drawn from Kibra and other parts of Nairobi, underwent a 12-week training that equipped them with essential skills in marketing, finance, and project management, as well as guidance on sustainable business practices and environmental stewardship.

Speaking on Saturday 1st April 2023  after a pitching event that would pick the best ideas from the fifty-five women who graduated, Charity Chelibo, an entrepreneur in the fashion industry, noted that the intensive training was an eye-opener and called on other stakeholders to support women-led businesses in the country.

“I am willing to share the knowledge with other ambitious women in Kibra who also want to set up their businesses.” Said Chelibo.

SOMO Africa, a non-governmental organization supporting the program, insists aspiring entrepreneurs, especially from low-income areas like Kibra, do not have access to the necessary training and support services to make their businesses a success.

Kister Awor, a Programs manager at the organization, hinted that there is still a big gap to be closed in terms of women’s empowerment economically and financial inclusion.
“This training is targeting women-led small businesses who are in the green economy that is agriculture, agro-processing, and recycling businesses, as a way of advocating and being part of the solution as a far as climate change is concerned” Said Kister.

Successful pitches from applicants will be supported financially for two years. The support shall also entail helping them grow their businesses and seeking new markets within the country.

Abigael Nduku

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Police killings and enforced disappearances were highest in Nairobi county last year, this is according to a Missing Voices2022 Annual Report released Friday in Yala, Siaya county.

The human rights organization recorded that there were some 130 cases of police killings and 22 cases of enforced disappearances in 2022.

Fifty-three (53) of the killings and 11 of the enforced disappearance cases were recorded in Nairobi.

“Most cases (killings) were as a result of anti-crime operations that the police conducted in various parts of the county (Nairobi),” the report reads in part.

Lamu county was second in police killings, having recorded 15 cases – all the cases having been executed on January 17, 2022, during a multi-agency task force’s anti-terror operation in Boni Forest, says the report.

Missing Voices noted that all the victims of the Boni Forest incident were recorded in the mortuary as unknown people.

The five cases recorded in Kiambu in 2022 make the region second in the number of enforced disappearance cases.

Nakuru and Kajiado occupy the third position with two cases each; followed by Mombasa and Kilifi with one case each.

The report observes that young male people are the most affected by police killings and enforced disappearances.

The police station which was the most notorious in police killings in the country was Pangani Police Station, with 11 cases.

However, Missing Voices note that the 11 cases of Pangani in 2022 were a significant drop from the 32 cases in 2021.

“This could be explained by the transfer of 19 police officers from Pangani Police Station on November 25, 2021, following a sustained campaign by Missing Voices Coalition,” reads the report.

Nairobi’s Kayole Police Station was second in 2022 with five (five) cases, followed by Kahawa West and Nakuru West Sub County Police stations which had four cases each.

Missing Voices said that it could not pinpoint the exact police stations where the killing and enforced disappearance of some 35 people was done.

“19 (of the 35 cases) are linked to enforced disappearance cases where perpetrators identified themselves as police officers,” reads the report.

The report continued, “In contrast, 16 are linked to police killings where families could not identify the police stations that the officers involved came from.”

The report also revealed that the anti-terror operations of a multi-agency taskforce had been implicated in most killings in Lamu, Mandera, and Turkana counties.

The number of killings in those counties stood at 18.

The Missing Voices report found out that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations was implicated in eight (8) killings in 2022.

Ninety-one percent (91%) of the enforced disappearance cases had men as victims and women, nine percent (9%).

Out of the 130 cases of police killings, 124 ((5.3%) were men. Only 4.7% were women.

Of the 22 cases of enforced disappearances, nine are in the 19 to 35 age bracket.

Out of the 130 cases of police killings, 57 were in the 19 to 35 age bracket, while 57 of them had their ages recorded as unknown.

January 2022 saw the highest number of police killings with 28 deaths from 11 incidents.

Killings also hit another record high in July 2022 with 21 deaths by police from 12 incidents.

The third highest month was February with 13 deaths arising from nine incidents.

No enforced disappearance was recorded in April, July, November, and December 2022, reads the report.

June 2022 had the highest number of six enforced disappearance cases – four of whom would later be found murdered, Missing Voices records.

The four were Moses Nyachae, Frank Obegi, Fred Obare, and Elijah Omeka. They were arrested at Kasarani Police Station and later found dead.

The Missing Voices statistics of 130 cases of police killings and 22 3nforced disappearances.

The launch of the Missing Voices report was launched in Yala, Siaya county, a stone’s throw from River Yala which had become a dumping ground for people who were killed in cold blood.

The event was graced by Haki Afrika CEO Hussein Mohammed, Amnesty International’s Irungu Houghton, Siaya County Commissioner Jim Njoka and Siaya County Police Commander Michael Muchiri, and several other human rights activists.

“When you lose one person to circumstances that point to foul play like you have said then that is one person too many. From the officers that I command we continue to have a discussion that we must be accountable and act within the law,” Muchiri said.

Josiah Odanga

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• Josiah Odanga

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  'Holy Water', Covid-19 Cure Controversy

A video with a claim that steaming vagina with cloves and lemon will help in cleansing the vagina and will get rid of vaginal odour has been making the rounds on TikTok. 

According to the video, one needs to boil cloves and diced lemons for 15 minutes, sieve it out then sit above the steam for 45 minutes.

The clove tree, an evergreen also known as Syzygium aromaticum, produces cloves as flower buds. 

Many cultures have used cloves as a folk remedy, particularly to treat dental issues or illnesses of the mouth. 

Lemons, also known as Citrus limon in science, are rich in vitamin C and have long been used to treat and prevent scurvy, a condition brought on by a severe vitamin C deficiency.

They originated from Southeast Asia. 

The vagina is an elastic, muscular canal with a lubricating and sensory lining that is soft and flexible.

The vagina is a tube that connects the vulva, cervix, and uterus

During sexual activity, the vagina receives the penis and also acts as a conduit for menstrual flow from the uterus. The newborn passes through the vagina during childbirth (birth canal). 

Vaginal steaming

Vaginal steaming also known as V-steaming or yoni steaming involves squatting or sitting over a pot of hot steaming water that is infused with herbs.

Does vaginal steaming cleanse the vagina and eliminate odours? We checked.

How the vagina works

We interviewed  Dr. Kevin Kigani,  a professional gynecologist at Life Park medical center in Nairobi county, 

Kigani said that a vagina cleans itself and the insertion of foreign things in an attempt to clean it can lead to infections.

He said: “ A  vagina working on a PH that ranges between 3.8 to 5.0 (which is moderately acidic) is able to clean itself and introduction of strange things in the name of cleaning it, can alter the normal PH which might lead to increase in bacteria levels  that can cause vaginal infections.”

Kigani further states that, “the vagina is surrounded by harmless bacteria from lactobacillus group which produces lactic acid that help in keeping the vagina clean, steaming the vagina with cloves and lemon will disrupt the vaginal natural being and reduce the body’s natural barrier against infections. “

All vaginas have a mild scent

“The vagina is not supposed to smell like oranges, no matter what some influencers tell us”, says Dr.Kigani. On the other hand, he adds that apart from getting vaginal infections, V-Steaming can lead to burning since the skin around the female genitalia is super sensitive and tender.”

”All vaginas- including healthy ones have a mild odour. The scent of the vagina can change in response to sex, menstruation, and pregnancy. However, a strong vaginal odour with a discharge may be a sign of a health problem like vaginitis and can be treated with a course of antibiotics.

 There is no evidence that steaming the vagina with cloves and lemon will make the vagina odourless and clean.

Nelly Mulama

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