In a county where the weight of statistics often feels like a predetermined destiny, a local initiative is proving that a football and a field can be the ultimate defence against early pregnancies in Bungoma County.

The Wema Girls Cup, founded in October 2023, just concluded its sixth community tournament, drawing over 400 girls from across the region to compete in a high-stakes championship that ended in a thrilling 1-0 penalty shootout. But for the organizers and players, the real victory is measured in the absence of statistics, zero pregnancies and zero school dropouts among its participants.

The urgency of the Wema Girls Cup is underscored by sobering data. According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), Bungoma County has a teenage pregnancy rate of 19%, significantly higher than the national average of 15%.

Recent data from 2024 further highlights the crisis, with Bungoma consistently ranking among the top four counties nationally for reported cases. Ministry of Health records show a staggering cumulative total of over 106,000 pregnancies among girls aged 10–19 between 2016 and 2023. These numbers often translate into a cycle of poverty, with many girls forced to drop out of school or marry early.

A Shield Against Idleness

“We run tournaments every holiday to engage girls so they aren’t idle,” says Elizabeth Juma, the founder of Wema Girls Cup. Her motivation was born from a troubling observation in her own business, where she saw older men preying on underage girls. “By keeping them busy, they don’t have time for such practices.”

The program’s impact extends beyond the pitch. By partnering with schools like Busia Chapel, the tournament has facilitated sports scholarships for talented players, removing the financial burden of school fees that often makes girls vulnerable to exploitation.

Michelle Masika, the Captain of Murembe Starlets, is a living testament to the program’s success. “Through Wema tournaments, we are being sponsored at school, we don’t pay school fees,” she says. “It keeps us busy and away from ‘bad things.’ We don’t have time to just wander around and engage in un-meaningful practices.”

The Wema Girls Cup isn’t just about football. This year’s event included a conference where women leaders mentored the girls in life skills and reproductive health. Elizabeth Juma emphasizes that the program aims to build champions both on and off the field.

Despite its success, the initiative faces significant hurdles. Women’s sports in Bungoma still battle traditional norms that view football as a “boy’s game,” and there is a dire need for better facilities.

As the county continues to grapple with the “Triple Threat” of HIV, gender-based violence, and adolescent pregnancies, Juma is calling on the community and donors to join the journey.

“You can buy jerseys for a team, you can buy shoes, or you can sponsor education for a girl,” Juma urged. “Help us see that these girls do not fall under the statistic of early pregnancies in Bungoma.”

For the 400 girls who took to the field this season, the tournament wasn’t just about a trophy, it was about reclaiming their future, one goal at a time.

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Nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Sabina Chege has said that Bungoma County has a lot of houses made of mud.

Speaking during during an interview on Spice FM’s situation room show on Thursday, March 27, 2025, the former Murang’a County Woman Representative said she was shocked to also find a whole shopping centre made of mud in Bungoma.

Sabina Chege says she found this out when she toured the county when MPs attended the burial of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula’s mother Ann Nanyama early this year.

According to Sabina Chege, mud houses are unheard of in the Central Kenyan region where she comes from. She attributted this to the cash crops from the region, especially tea and coffee, which she says aided their parents to build themselves decent houses and educate their children.

“Early this year when we went for the burial of the mother of the speaker of the National Assembly, I was shocked to find that in Bungoma county, we have a lot of mud houses, actually a whole shopping Centre that is made of mud. In Central Kenya this is something that is unheard of…..Our parents worked so hard, the tea and cash crops in central Kenya have made the people improve their lifestyles. That is where people would get even a loan from the bank and build decent houses,” Sabina Chege said.

Sabina Chege further attributed the development disparities to some of the regions staying out of government for long.

Sabina Chege on Nyanza

For instance, the vocal lawmaker argued that she had also toured the Nyanza region and found that there was no clean water, with locals attributing the issue to being in the opposition for long.

She maintained that she would not wish for the Central Kenya region to be out of government due to the consequences, such as lack of development.

“I went to Nyanza and found that there is no clean water. Someone said it’s because they have never supported the government and have always been in opposition. This worries me for my own people of Mt. Kenya— do we want to go into opposition and miss out on the benefits of the government? It is high time we, as a mountain, stop taking things for granted,” Sabina Chege said.

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Bumula member of parliament Moses Mwambu Mabonga has called out his competitors seeking to unseat him to stop telling lies on his legacy.

The Deputy President William Ruto ally while speaking at an event held at Cardinal Otunga Technical Training Institute told his critics to head to court should day have a complain on how he has managed funds meant for his constituents.

The lawmaker was disbursing a 30 million cheque to university, middle level colleges and high school students in his constituency.

He said that people are using propaganda seeking to be elected instead of them getting their facts right.

“If someone is saying that the money in this constituency cannot be accounted for and he is seeking to be elected as a leader, he should be wise enough to seek the intervention of the court as a good leader and for a person to win or lose a case they should have witnesses and evidence, if they have the two then what is holding them to do so,” he said

He went further to campaign for the United Democratic Party (UDA) saying that the hustler nation can relate to the problems that the common people have and people should instead assume the other parties and focus on supporting the deputy president William Samoei Ruto.

Mwambu went ahead to ask the president to finish his term peacefully and pave the way for the next president that will be elected by the people instead of imposing his choice to the people.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta does not have the interests of the people at heart and that’s why he is much focused to meet his own interests by imposing his president of choice to the people so that it can benefit him. We really fought away the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and we won’t allow an imposed president too, “he said

He also asked the residents to refuse being manipulated and used by the politicians to engage in rowdiness during this campaign season.

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Masten Wanjala, the self-confessed serial child killer has been lynched by mob in his rural home in Mukhweya village, Bungoma County.

This comes just days after the suspected killer escaped from Jogoo Road Police Station in Nairobi on a day he was to be presented in court.

According to police reports, Wanjala was identified after he ironically joined a football match in the area and played with locals in Bungoma.

Some of those who identified him as a wanted man later trailed him to his home where they lynched him.

Area Assistant County Commissioner Cornelius Nyaribai confirmed the suspect was flushed from their house and lynched by a mob.

Wanjala, 25, escaped from Jogoo Road police station cells on Wednesday morning as remandees and others were being separated from the general population.

According to Bungoma head of DCI Joseph Ondoro, the locals had successfully identified the lynched man as Wanjala.

He has led police to crime scenes, reenacted them, made voice recordings and showed investigators his scrapbook detailing the murders. 

Police said they had so far linked him to as many as 14 murder murders in Nairobi, Machakos and Western Kenya. He had confessed to killing 12 children when he was arrested in July this year in Kajiado.

Videos capturing the incident showed him being removed by a mob from a house and being beaten with clubs and stones.

Following his escape from custody, senior police officers visited the station to understand what happened.

Police officers Phillip Mbithi, Boniface Kamakia Mutuma and Precious Mwinzi arraigned on Thursday said they had no lights the night Wanjala escaped.

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Judicial Service Commission (JSC) members led by the presiding judge in Machakos high court George Odunga, on Wednesday March 4, 2020, engaged members of the public at Bungoma law courts, to sensitize on the matter of protection against domestic violence rules.

Domestic violence may result from abuse ranging from physical, economic and emotional, verbal or psychological abuse.

Judge Odunga noted that the present legislation does not provide for the protection before the offence is committed but the act now provides for the people to come to court for protection orders so that it can’t be waited until the act of violence is completed.

With the issue of domestic violence being rampant in most parts in the country, the discussion comes in to create a better platform where the victims can seek justice easily.

Judge Odunga issued out outlines on how the cases shall be handled.

He stated that such issues are supposed to be handled at the residents magistrates court and so people are advised whenever they need  the services to report the matter to the police who will assist them to fill out a prescribed form 1 titled ‘information on domestic violence’.

The police will further be required to hand in the filled prescribed form to court within 24hours.

The victim can further apply for a protection order  which is a court order in domestic violence case whose purpose is to safeguard or protect the victim once a case has been reported.

The protection order may consist in a prohibition, restraint, residence, custody, compensation or restitution.

A party dissatisfied by a protection order may apply to court for its variation or discharge.

Judge Odunga also advocated for settling of domestic matters at home noting that family matters involves children and it would be so important for reconciliation to be encouraged and for them to live harmoniously.

‘Our intention is not to break families but to ensure that families live in peace. It’s only that sometimes we have to issue protection orders while we are still determining the matters otherwise the act provides that where appropriate alternative dispute resolution mechanism like mediation has to be respected,” he said.
 

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President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday hit the headlines when various media publications documented his 31 foreign trips in 21 months.

Uhuru left the country on October 21, heading to Japan after Mashujaa Day celebrations in Mombasa. He is currently in Saudi Arabia.

He will proceed to Botswana for the official swearing-in of President-elect Eric Mokgweetsi Masisi.

In Japan, Uhuru witnessed the enthronement of the new emperor, which was the climax of a long and detailed succession process that started on May 1.

He later left for Sochi, Russia, where he attended the inaugural Russia-Africa Summit.

The President’s trips come amid call for austerity measures as the country grapples with the debt burden.

It is this burden that has forced Bungoma woman Christine Wamalwa to send a special plea to the head of state.

Mrs Wamalwa urges the president to sit down and look into Kenya’s overwhelming debt burden, cancer menace, unemployment among other issues affecting Kenya.

She says Uhuru’s foreign trips won’t benefit the country in any way, urging the president to set up cancer centres to help battle the cancer menace in the country.

However, State House has defended President Kenyatta’s foreign trips, saying they will benefit the nation.

Nzioka Waita, the Chief of staff in the office of the President, took to Twitter on Wednesday to say it is Uhuru’s job to position Kenya on the world stage.

What do you think about president Kenyatta’s foreign trips?

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A Nakuru County Assembly Member’s move to empower youths in Wycliffe Wangamati-led Bungoma County is giving a section of politicians from the region a run for their money.

Mr.Peter Palang’a , the Olkaria ward MCA has put his focus on Bokoli ward and the entire Webuye West constituency, a move that has started worrying some politicians interested in the regions ahead of 2022 general polls.

Pundits have it that Palang’a, the current Nakuru county assembly minority Leader is likely to face Mr.Dan Wanyama, the current Webuye West MP in 2022 but if the worst comes at the nomination stage, he is strategizing to unseat Bokoli ward MCA Jack Kawa.

An insight report by a local publisher, newsflash.co.ke has dug deep into Mr Panga’s development record, among it being his love for sports, thus organizing youth football tournaments.

“Mine is to give back to the society, despite being an MCA in Nakuru, I believe that as I age, I need to help my people, am not interested in local politics because am still the servant of Olkaria voters who trusted me with their votes, I will still serve them given another chance,” he was quoted by the local publisher.

Palang’a has organized three successful tournaments in Bokoli Ward involving almost all disciplines.

Political pundits hover that both Wanyama and Kawa who are renowned sport men’s have failed to organize such events which are youth friendly since they were voted for the first time in 2013.

The pundits suggest that the two are worried because if Palang’a contests for either of the seats it will be an up hill task for them.

He was born and raised in Sasa village, Bokoli Ward before moving to Naivasha where he played for the now defunct  Oserian Fastac.He later joined politics in 2007 on an ODM party where he has won thrice in a row.

But the Webuye West MP has dismissed Palang’a as an outsider who cannot mount a serious campaign in Webuye West.

“Palang’a is an elected leader in Nakuru, let him concentrate his politics there, if it is about the issue of empowering my people in his small way, he is welcome, I was reelected based on my development record,” he was quoted.

Bokoli MCA Jack Kawa in his comments stated he is ready for a fruitful competition but asked Palang’a to go slow on Bungoma politics because he will end up a disappointed man.

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Residents within Bungoma County and its environs will no longer have to make long trips to Eldoret and Nairobi for high end surgeries.

This is after Life care Hospital Bungoma started providing such services at the facility to save families from the burden of traveling long distances to major cities for the same treatment.

Among those services the hospital is providing include joint replacement, spine surgeries and other high end surgeries for which people were travelling to eldoret and Nairobi for operations but can now be done at facility.

In an exclusive interview with this writer, the hospital management said they were moved by the many calls from residents to have such services to save the many families from the long travels to cities just to treat their loved ones.

“ This is the first of its kind in this area. We want residents of the entire Western Region to access quality health care without care without having to travel for long distances”, said Ashok Mehta one of the managers who spoke to this writer.

The hospital which is 700 meters away from the Bungoma town has also made it easy for Patients with spine injuries have for long had it rough to access proper and effective treatment especially factoring the expenses and agony of time spent while seeking such treatments far away from their homes.

Mehta said the facility will also focus on providing quality pediatrician health care.

As we speak, Lifecare is one of few private hospitals in the expansive Western Region with a resident paedretricain.

Currently, the hospital admits a good number of children and the management projects the admission could rise up as it plans to expand the facility.

“ In line with the government working provide quality health care for the local Kenyan, we are also committed towards ensuring our young kids have accessed good care starting to the point of conception to birth”, remarked Mehta.

The hospital also offers orthopedics, nuero-surgeries and health awareness programs.

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