Here is what you need to know to keep up to speed with today’s happenings.

Ruto’s tour of North Eastern

President William Ruto is on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, set to begin a week-long tour of the North Eastern region.

The Head of State will kick off his tour in Mandera, just a day after five chiefs went missing after they were ambushed and kidnapped by suspected terrorists in Elwak, Mandera County.

Mandera South police commander Julius Njeru confirmed the incident and said the administrators were travelling from Wargadud to Elwak town for duty.

Ruto’s visit also comes just days after the High Court of Kenya in Garissa annulled the 2019 census results for Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa counties, citing major discrepancies in the population figures.

The 2019 census indicated that the Somali population in Kenya had risen to 2.7 million, making it the sixth-largest ethnic community in the country.

In the case, Abdullahi Bashir Sheik and 24 others accused the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and four other entities of overseeing a flawed counting process.

They argued that the November 2019 census failed to accurately represent the actual population of the region.

Gachagua’s radio interview

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, have an interview with Western Kenya vernacular radio stations.

Gachagua’s interview that targets the Mulembe Nation audience comes just a week after President William Ruto spent five days in Western Kenya, launching development projects and engaging with residents in a bid to win over a region that overwhelmingly backed Raila Odinga in 2022.

Gachagua will be live on Vuuka FM, Sulwe FM, and Mulembe FM between 7:30 am and 8:30 am.

The interview also comes on a day President Ruto is set to begin a week-long tour of the North Eastern region, as he continues to consolidate support outside his traditional strongholds from the 2022 elections.

Graft cases in court

About two graft cases will be up in court for mention.

A case involving Kennedy Nicholas Otieno Marienga in a suit for recovery of irregular payment amounting to Ksh7.1 million will be up for mention at Milimani Anti-Corruption Court.

Another case involving Arnold Kimiya Mamadi and 11 others will also be brought forward for mention. They are charged with conspiracy to commit an offence of corruption, abuse of office, willful failure to comply with the law relating to procurement, fraudulent acquisition of public property, and uttering a false document.

The allegations relate to irregularities by the senior officers of the Vihiga County Government in the procurement of the construction of a blood transfusion center at the Vihiga County Level Four Hospital by Sava Construction Limited. The case will be mentioned at the Anti-Corruption Court in Kakamega.