The police had accused Wekesa of engaging in cultism in Tongaren, claiming to be Jesus Christ. The officers said he had been teaching radical ideologies to his followers while engaging in money laundering, accusations that have all been dropped.

The prosecution had also said they had reasons to believe there were criminal activities of indoctrination being carried out at Wekesa's church.

Last Friday, the court granted the prosecution four days to hold the suspect so they can complete their investigations. However, the investigators found nothing incriminating against him. 

Wekesa's lawyer George Wajackoya condemned the arrest of 'Yesu wa Tongaren' saying it was politically instigated by leaders from Bungoma County.

"It is very wrong to incriminate a religious leader based on the Shakahola incident. This man is very innocent and his arrest was purely political. A lot of Bungoma leaders, including the governor, were on the forefront pushing for his arrest," Wajackoya told the court.

Wajakoya further noted that every religious leader has a right to preach the word of God and is protected by the Constitution.

The principal magistrate ruled that Wekesa had no case to answer after the prosecution failed to adduce any evidence before the court to enable his prosecution.

"The suspect has not been found with any offence following investigations that were done by police and therefore is set him free," ruled Mr Orlando.

Wekesa thanked the court for setting him free saying; "It is God's doing".

"I had earlier on said my lawyers would be the sun and the moon but God came through and placed a rainbow on my side in the form of lawyer Simiyu Wamalwa who has stood with me since the beginning, and Prof Wajackoya who has come today to stand with me. I don't take it for granted," said Mr Wekesa

Wekesa noted that he is not like other men of God who thrive in wealth but instead leads a simple and truthful life, preaching the word of God.

"On Saturday, I went with some police officers to my home during their investigations, and I was glad, being a sabbath day, they got a chance to witness and count the offerings that were collected; Sh250, six tomatoes and four onions," said Wekesa.  Wekesa told the court that his only wealth is his beard and the hair on his head. By Omelo Juliet , The Standard

A teenager has been convicted of planning a far-right terror attack targeting police stations in Newcastle.

Luke Skelton, now 19, carried out hostile reconnaissance and wrote a manifesto and “final note” to spread his message after the attack.

He denied preparing acts of terrorism in the year to October 2021, but was convicted by a jury at Teesside Crown Court.

The former student, who is autistic, said he did not want to harm anyone and that he could not remember why he was looking at weapons and explosives online. 

But prosecutors said he held racist, sexist, Islamophobic and antisemitic views, “lionised” far-right terror attacks around the world and saw violence as a way to achieve his political objectives.

In his final note, Skelton wrote that he aimed to “accelerate the coming collapse and racial war” in Britain, when people would die “in the thousands”.

The note was drafted in January 2021, months after staff at his school had reported him to the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism scheme.

Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer QC told jurors that teachers at Gateshead College “became concerned” during the first term of his second year, when Skelton was 17.

A referral was made to Prevent in November 2020, but Skelton did not have his first meeting with an “intervention provider” until the following March. By Lizzie Dearden, The Independent

Uganda’s Dairy Development Authority (DDA) says Kenyan authorities are limiting the number of export permits for powdered milk from the country.

DDA executive director Samson Akankiza told The Monitor that Nairobi is only issuing about 20 percent of entry papers to exporters of its powdered milk.

“I don’t have figures off-head, but the reduction is about 20 percent. Other products are getting permits except milk powder; but the market is still open, and Uganda milk players are exporting products there,” he said.

In early March, Kenya imposed a ban on Ugandan powdered milk, saying it was to protect local producers. A few weeks later, it reopened the doors following bilateral discussions.

“The official position is that the ban was lifted, and now we are seeing a reduction in volumes of milk powder being exported there,” Mr Akankiza said.

His statements come after Benson Mwangi, the general manager at Brookside Uganda, a firm owned by the family of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, said Nairobi is denying the milk processor export permits and that those given are often delayed.

“Effective March 19, 2023, the Kenyan government through Kenya Dairy Board stopped issuing permits for our dairy products in the Kentrade system, affecting our factory output significantly,” he says in a letter dated April 5.

Brookside is one of Uganda’s leading milk producers and exporters alongside Pearl Dairies, Jesa Farm Dairy, Amos Dairies Uganda Limited, Paramount Dairies Limited, GBK Dairy Products Limited and Lakeside Dairy Limited.

The Kenyan-owned firm, together wit Pearl and Amos dairies are expected to sign export agreements with Algeria in June after Uganda widened its search for a market for its milk following the incessant trade wars with its East African neighbours.

Kenya has been the leading buyer of Uganda’s milk, with imports valued at $138.2 million in 2020, although trade relations between the two countries have faced several barriers, prompting Uganda to search for new markets for its milk as many of its dairy processors were hard it by the loss of the Kenyan market. - The Monitor