President William Ruto has slammed youthful Kenyans who have turned social media into the next front of government criticism as he wound up a two-day tour of his North Rift home turf.

Of concern to Ruto during the tour is the manipulation of his image and that of other leaders and placing them in coffins.

The President has been on a whirlwind development tour of Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu since Thursday, amidst sharp criticism by digitally savvy young Kenyans who have taken social media by storm with cartoons and silhouettes. 

During the final tour in Uasin Gishu today, Ruto and his close allies described the social criticism as a serious erosion of morals in Kenyan society.

He appeared to fight back against what he termed as harsh criticism by youth and blamed the trend on political leaders who he claimed were sponsoring young people for selfish political gains. 

Among youth criticising the Head of State online are those from Rift Valley counties that voted him to the last man.

The President used his development to ask them to stop the use of images placed in caskets to criticize him, but instead use digital creativity to earn income.

 “I want to ask those who are using digital spaces to criticise the government not to be used by selfish politicians to put images of leaders in graves and coffins,” the President said during the official opening of Nigeria Technical Training Institute in Kapseret. 

Ruto expressed fears that the youths placing images of leaders might soon turn out to be a security threat. 

 “I want to tell them that today, they will place images of leaders in coffins, and tomorrow they put their parents and then they follow it with their friends and eventually they resort to actual killings,” said Ruto in his home county. By By Stephen Rutto, The Standard

By BBC

Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, has announced that he has quit X, where he has been posting controversial messages.

The 50-year-old army general has become increasingly involved in the political arena, in breach of military protocols, reigniting debates about his ambitions to succeed his father, who has been in power since 1986.

He recently sparked anger with a tweet in which he threatened to behead the country’s leading opposition figure, Bobi Wine.

In his last post on Friday, Gen Kainerugaba said “time has now come to leave and concentrate” on his military duties but promised to “re-converge” with his one million followers in the future.

This is not the first time Gen Kainerugaba has deactivated his X account.

In 2022, he quit the micro-blogging platform only to return days later.

Critics have taken a swipe at the general over the statements he has made on social media, which touched on subjects considered taboo for a serving soldier.

In 2022, he made headlines for discussing an invasion of neighbouring Kenya, a comment that forced his father to step in and apologise.

Gen Kainerugaba’s recent post threatening to “cut off” the head of Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, drew widespread condemnation in the country.

Although the general apologised about the post which he described as a joke, Bobi Wine said he could not take such threats lightly.

The Ugandan government downplayed the post, with a spokesperson describing Gen Kainerugaba’s social media statements as “casual” remarks that should not be interpreted as reflecting official policy.

Gen Kainerugaba’s undiplomatic outburst on social media has also angered other countries with his previous posts about siding with Russia in the invasion of Ukraine, and saying that Uganda would be on the side of Tigray in the Ethiopian civil war.

Museveni has nevertheless defended his son as a “very good general” and the army said he enjoyed the constitutionally guaranteed individual right of expression.

In his farewell message to his X followers, the general said his decision to leave the platform was guided by his faith and a renewed focus on his military duties as a general in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces (UPDF).

“It is on the instructions and blessings of my Lord Jesus Christ that I leave this social media and dedicate myself to my assignment to bring peace and security to our region,” his statement stated.

“To all my dear followers, it has been a great whirlwind and rousing journey together on these streets for the last 10 years since 2014,” he added.

He urged his followers to continue supporting his father, whom he referred to as “the greatest general of the resistance”.

Gen Kainerugaba is seen as a possible successor to his long-serving father but Museveni has denied that he is grooming him for the presidency.

The general has been holding rallies, mobilising support around the country, which has drawn criticism in some quarters.

He joined the army in 1999 and has had a meteoric rise. His ascent to power has been dubbed the “Muhoozi Project” by local media.

“I know you all love me, and that you will continue to follow me like the wind long after here,” he said in his signing off statement from X.

As of 1 January 2025, the African nation of Zambia has expanded its’ visa-exempt list to include 53 more countries.

This brings the total number of countries that no longer require a visa to enter Zambia for tourism or trade to 167.

According to Tourism Update, the waiver is a continuation of the Zambian government’s efforts to make the nation a key player in the global economy, following a similar visa waiver for 43 countries in 2022.

“The visa waiver is a direct response to President Hichilema’s call for Zambia to diversify its economy and attract international visitors. By lowering barriers to entry, the Government is not only aiming to increase the number of tourists but also to create new opportunities for trade and investment.” the Zambian government said in a statement.

Which are the additional countries?

The 53 countries added to visa waiver list includes:

• Albania
• American Samoa
• Andorra
• Argentina
• Aruba
• Bhutan
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Bouvet Island
• Brunei Darussalam
• Cape Verde
• Christmas Island
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• Comoros
• Cook Islands
• Costa Rica
• Dominican Republic
• Faroe Islands
• French Polynesia
• French Southern Territories
• Greenland
• Guam
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Honduras
• Israel
• Iceland
• Laos
• Liberia
• Liechtenstein
• Macedonia
• Madagascar
• Micronesia
• Moldova
• Monaco
• Morocco
• Netherlands Antilles
• New Caledonia
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Palau
• Panama
• Papua New Guinea
• San Marino
• Sandwich Islands
• Sao Tome and Principe
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• Suriname
• Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• Vatican City State
• Virgin Islands
• Wallis and Futuna Islands    The South African