Kenya

Zaccheus Chesoni, 63, Kenya's chief justice, died of a heart attack yesterday in Nairobi Hospital, Kenya Television reported. Chesoni had reportedly been hospitalized for two weeks after falling ill with bacterial meningitis. Mr. Chesoni was chairman of Kenya's Electoral Commission when he was appointed chief justice by President Daniel T. arap Moi in December 1997 -- the second indigenous Kenyan to hold the highest judicial post in the East African nation since it gained independence from Britain in 1963.

Roland Park Country School graduate Jocelyn Young-Hyman, who is now a Peace Corps volunteer, has big plans for the money raised Thursday by her alma mater in its annual All-School Walk. Young-Hyman, a 2007graduate of the all-girls school on Roland Avenue, is assigned to work at Kichakamkwaju School For The Deaf, in Kenya. On April 1, she emailed Roland Park Country School Upper School Head Ereni Malfa, asking for help in raising money for art supplies and academic games. "My school is an extremely poor school with absolutely no resources or parents who can support their children," she wrote.

Kenya is calling Gina Pierleoni. The invitation is out for everyone to meet and greet the Bel Air artist Saturday night, July 23, and, by the way, to enjoy an evening of live entertainment, silent auctions and raffles. The goal is to raise money to help send Gina to Kenya in October for two weeks, where she'll do a workshop and service work with members of the Masai tribe. It is the second year for the venture, which is named Kenya Calling. The benefit is from 7 p.m. until 11 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church at 2515 Churchville Road in Bel Air. Admission is free.

This week's episode starts in the middle of last week's blowup between Kim and the rest of the girls. Kim makes up an excuse to the other housewives that she cannot attend the couples trip to Anguilla because of her pregnancy. After NeNe and Kandi call Kim out on her serial excuses, she storms out of the restaurant and Kroy comes to her rescue. Kim and Kroy are outside of the restaurant cussing and fussing at the camera men and the rest of the housewives realize that Kim's focus is now on her and her family and she no longer has any regard for her friends.

WHETHER AMERICANS can locate Kenya on the map or not, the East African nation is important to the United States. It has been one of the few stable countries on a troubled continent -- and is a staging area for military operations in the Middle East. On Friday, change will come to Kenya. Voters will elect a successor to President Daniel arap Moi, who has been in power for the past 25 years. It is likely that his party and its favored candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta, will be trounced. If that happens, the next president would be Mwai Kibaki, the 71-year-old former vice president who is the top challenger.

Herman Cain has made a lot of waves in the GOP race for the White House lately. He's gone from a virtual unknown with a record of losing elections to one of the top three or four candidates in the race, largely on the strength of his performance at the first GOP debate. (I do not share this view of Cain's performance, but many Republican voters apparently disagree with me.)  Even though Cain has impressed many, he often shows his ignorance on important issues, such as having no plan for Afghanistan, dabbling in birtherism, not understanding the "Right of Return" for Palestinians, and, now, claiming President Barack Obama was "raised in Kenya.

The walls of the hut were made of mud, topped by a triangular-shaped grass roof. There was no electricity or indoor plumbing. Water was retrieved from a river 20 minutes away. Nine months ago, these were the realities of Kikanae Punyua's life in Kenya, but much has changed since then. Punyua, 17, left behind his friends, family and country last summer for a chance to study in the United States. Becoming one of the top distance runners in the state was not something the Wilde Lake junior ever imagined.

THE LID IS off in Kenya. President Mwai Kibaki shocked the nation last week by suspending 23 top judges because of allegations of corruption and unethical conduct. Then, on same day, his government announced that a truth, justice and reconciliation commission will be formed to look into a wide range of human rights violations that have occurred in that East African country since its 1963 independence from Britain. "We want to diagnose the disease that has ailed Kenya for the last 40 years," Justice Minister Kiraitu Murungi declared.

Kenya's President Daniel arap Moi can now claim to be popularly elected. His three opponents and some foreign observers may claim vote fraud in the Dec. 29 election, but never mind. Even by official figures, nearly twice as many Kenyans voted to chuck Mr. Moi out as to retain him. He came in first, but with only 37 percent of the recorded vote, against three opponents. That is no mandate for a cult of personality.Mr. Moi held the election to appease the foreign lending and aid donor community, not to cave in to domestic opponents.

REAL DEMOCRACY has a better chance to transform Africa after weekend elections produced a political earthquake in Kenya. Sick and tired of four decades of growing poverty and corruption, voters turned against the ruling party and elected a new president, who campaigned on economic reform, technical modernization and universal primary education. At his inauguration yesterday, President Mwai Kibaki made it clear he will insist on new rules. "I will start my government with officials who I will expect to declare their wealth," he declared.

At Saturday's Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association football championships at Towson University, a collection box will be set up for socks and football cleats that will be donated to children in Kenya. The collection is being coordinated by two brothers on the St. Paul's football team -- junior linebacker Keifer Rawlings and freshman quarterback Kurt Rawlings. The boys are asking for socks and cleats size 8 or smaller for the orphans in Kenya. Keifer was featured in a Baltimore Sun article earlier this year as part of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes mission trip to the African country . The Crusaders are playing in the B Conference championship game against John Carroll at noon.

After watching the scene between new real housewife Kenya Moore and Cynthia Bailey's assistant Carlton "Mr. Couture" Morton play out on the season premiere of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," we had to know more about the incident. In case you missed it, on Sunday's episode Kenya Moore was invited by Cynthia Bailey to a be a judge at a casting call for JET magazine's Beauty of the Week. At the casting Kenya practically tore the girls apart throwing out rude comments after ruder comment.

The men's and women's marathons in the Baltimore Running Festival on Saturday were the closest in the event's history. Stephen Muange of Kenya won his second consecutive Baltimore Marathon with a time of 2:13.08. Elfneshe Yado won by a nose to claim the women's championship in 2:38.46. chris.trevino@baltsun.com

Word had barely come down that the Supreme Court majority was upholding the Affordable Care Act when incensed conservatives began printing up "Impeach Jon Roberts" t-shirts and a hacker had altered the chief justice's title on his Wikipedia page to "Chief Traitor of the United States. " On a freshly minted "Impeach John Roberts" Facebook page, one tea party "patriot" wrote: "Welcome to fascism. Thanks to this horrible decision from the 4 liberal justices and John Roberts there is zero limit to what the government can force us to do. " Outside of the perpetually alarmed right-wing loony bin, however, Mr. Roberts was receiving praise for acting as the fair umpire he promised to be when he was first confirmed by the Senate.

Just one year in age separated 17-year-old Travis Wood from the oldest of the Kenyan boys he was standing before, but at 6 feet 2, 190 pounds, he appeared like a giant to them. So too did 5-10, 175-pound 16-year-old Keifer Rawlings. The two linebackers from the St. Paul's football team were in Kenya in early January as part of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes mission trip. Sharing their faith and the sport of football, Wood and Rawlings coached the Kenyan boys for five days, helping them progress from knowing hardly anything about the sport - many of them play soccer - to participating in a scrimmage wearing helmets and shoulder pads.

Shame on you. What an embarrassment The Sun's coverage of the Baltimore Marathon was. Accompanying the article describing "one of the most thrilling finishes in the event's 11 year history" you chose to offer photos of a bunch of runners-up approaching the finish line and photos of the racers interacting with the animals at the zoo. Buried on page 16 of the sports section were pictures of the two winners, Stephan Muange of Kenya and Olena...

The powerful movement for human rights and democracy sweeping Africa is touching Kenya. The beleaguered and unloved dictator, President Daniel arab Moi, who is not one of free Africa's founding leaders, ought to take the lead from those who are. Tanzania's Julius Nyerere retired. Zambia's Kenneth Kaunda permitted multi-party elections and gracefully abided by its result ousting him from power. Mr. Moi digs in his heels, lashes out at messengers and arrests patriotic Kenyans.The tensions are coming to a head.

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Although long under the thumb of their rulers, Kenyan voters rebelled against their president in election results released yesterday, handing him a stinging defeat in a referendum on revamping the constitution. President Mwai Kibaki had staked his reputation on the plebiscite held Monday, and the rejection of it by a margin of 57 percent to 43 percent was widely seen as a vote of no confidence in his three-year-old administration. "The people have triumphed," said Uhuru Kenyatta, an opposition leader who had campaigned against Kibaki's proposal.

Waves of refugees arrive daily to Kenya, some having walked weeks through unforgiving desert with virtually no possessions, and yet local relief workers report optimism among the millions threatened by the historic famine and drought spreading through the Horn of Africa. "Everyone looks hungry and wiped out," said Bruce White, a Catholic Relief Services adviser who returned earlier this month from Kenya. "But there is a sense of hope because there is help. I asked one man what he wanted here and he said 'peace.'" Jonathan Ernst, a Baltimore freelance photojournalist, reached the refugee camps in eastern Kenya last week and is reporting to Lutheran World Relief.

Kenya is calling Gina Pierleoni. The invitation is out for everyone to meet and greet the Bel Air artist Saturday night, July 23, and, by the way, to enjoy an evening of live entertainment, silent auctions and raffles. The goal is to raise money to help send Gina to Kenya in October for two weeks, where she'll do a workshop and service work with members of the Masai tribe. It is the second year for the venture, which is named Kenya Calling. The benefit is from 7 p.m. until 11 at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Church at 2515 Churchville Road in Bel Air. Admission is free.