What you need to know:
‘‘Don’t trust people who promise you can quickly and easily make money in the crypto markets”
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), on Monday, December 19, sought to detain Laban Cliff Onserio for five days to allow the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) to investigate a case where he was arrested with an explosive inside his car.
According to a report seen by Kenyans.co.ke, Onserio, the Standard Media Group Chief of Staff, was apprehended on Sunday, December 18, while reportedly threatening the public with a grenade.
The incident allegedly occurred in basement two of a popular church in Nairobi CBD.
Detectives accused the former NTV anchor of failing to declare to the security guards that he was in possession of the flash-bang training system grenade.
He also reportedly failed to provide a certificate to show that he legally owned the grenade, according to the prosecutor who arraigned him at the Kahawa Courts.
The report further added that the journalist could not provide satisfactory reasons why he was in possession of the flash-bang grenade.
"The respondent was arrested by a multi-agency team who responded at the scene after receiving information about a terror threat.
"He had not made a declaration to the security guards that he was in possession of the Flashbang training system grenade," the report detailed.
DCI further accused Onserio of illegally accruing the grenade in 2021, from a British national currently working with an airline company in Kenya.
He was suspected of being in possession of more flash-bang grenades, prompting the investigating team to require more time to obtain a search warrant.
It was also speculated that the journalist had associates, and the detectives and security agencies within and outside the country launched a manhunt for the said persons.
"The explosive device recovered has been forwarded to the Bomb disposal and hazardous unit to be forensically examined and reports are yet to be obtained and analysed," the report detailed.
In addition, his cell phones were forwarded to the ICT laboratory for forensic examination, and analysis to determine whether there were any links to terrorism.
‘‘Don’t trust people who promise you can quickly and easily make money in the crypto markets”
Not so long ago, OneCoin and its criminal mastermind Ruja Ignatova, also known as ‘Cryptoqueen,’ became the only woman on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s list of 10 most wanted fugitives.
However, like the morning mist, she disappeared into the airy thinness of time. This was in 2017.
The 40 or so year old Bulgarian is wanted by the FBI for her role in OneCoin, the cryptocurrency scam she founded. The FBI alleges that Ignatova defrauded people who took part in OneCoin of $4b. The scheme had all the makings of a Ponzi.
It promised investors that they could “make lots of money” with “zero risk,” using network marketing and commissions to reel people in.
As with any such scheme, everyone who introduced a new buyer to the platform received a commission.
Here in Uganda, police at the beginning of this year arrested the director of a supposed crypto company that is suspected to have defrauded Ugandans of more than Sh3 billion. CID spokesperson Charles Twine said the suspect reportedly defrauded more than 1,000 Ugandans through online digital transactions between 2018 and 2020 before vanishing.
However, scams are not the norm when it comes to investing in cryptocurrencies. It is easy to protect one’s investment from a crypto con by noticing certain red flags.
Only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency. No legitimate business is going to demand you send cryptocurrency in advance – not to buy something, and not to protect your money. That’s always a scam.
Then, don’t trust people who promise you can quickly and easily make money in the crypto markets. As with any investment, a digital asset is acquired with the goal of generating income or appreciation. Appreciation simply means an increase in the value of an asset over time. So it is not a get-rich-quick fix to your financial needs. By Mr Martin Orena, Daily Monitor
Siaya's Orange Democratic Movement politicians challenged compatriots opposed to the party leader, Raila Odinga, to quit and form their own party, stating that there was no vacuum in the region’s political leadership.
Governor James Orengo, flanked by Ugunja MP, Opiyo Wandayi, declared that the petty attacks on the ODM leadership must halt, and those seeking favour from the government must do so with respect.
Orengo and Wandayi were speaking at Pap Boro village in Usonga during the funeral of the late Rosa Athieno Amoth on Saturday, November 17. The deceased was the mother of the acting director general of Health, Patrick Amoth.
"We want to assure you that any such rebellion will be crushed convincingly. If you feel you have the capacity to challenge ODM, please go ahead and form your own party," Wandayi declared on Saturday, December 17.
Orengo equally reiterated that Odinga was not only Nyanza's political kingpin but also of the Western region.
“We shall not accept a few people to undermine Raila Odinga, leaders from both the national and county governments must respect him," he remarked.
Wandayi, the leader of the minority in the National Assembly, also urged the government to confirm Amoth as the director general of health, alluding that he deserved the confirmation, owing to the experience he has accrued over the years.
Raila's wife, Mama Ida Odinga, also called out a section of Azimio La Umoja politicians, lamenting that they were hypocritical about their loyalty and support for his husband.
Ida accused some of them of using the former Premier to fuel their political ambitions only to dump Raila after Ruto won the race.
A section of ODM legislators in Luo-Nyanza have been pushing for Raila Odinga’s retirement from active politics.
Led by former chairman of Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) Odoyo Owidi, the politicians openly asked Raila to retire from politics after he lost to President William Ruto in the 2022 presidential election.
On October 2, some of the 'rebel' politicians joined President Ruto at a prayer service in Homa Bay Africa Inland Church, where they pledged to work with Ruto and develop the region.
Ruto has been making inroads in the region, trying to court residents, with ICT CS, Eliud Owalo, as his main emissary. Owalo, Ruto's point man during campaigns in the Nyanza region, stated that the election was over, and the community needed to move on and chart their destiny.
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