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‘Do not give away Diego Garcia’ – Trump tells UK in fresh attack on Chagos deal

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Donald Trump has thrown the UK’s Chagos deal into doubt as he launched a stinging criticism of the plan that would see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a joint UK-US military base.

The US president urged Sir Keir Starmer not to “give away Diego Garcia” – the largest island on the archipelago and home to the base.

Trump said “this land should not be taken away from the UK” and if it did it would be “a blight on our Great Ally”, in a post on social media.

This comes despite Washington on Tuesday giving its official backing to London’s plan to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

In response to Trump, the UK Foreign Office said the Chagos Islands deal was “crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe”.

“The agreement we have reached is the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base,” it said in a statement.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously insisted the deal is necessary to protect the continued operation of the base, amid previous attempts from Mauritius to dispute the legality of British sovereignty over the islands.

Diego Garcia is the largest island in the archipelago, and is used as a joint military base by the UK and US armed forces.

Under the deal – which was announced last May – the UK will lease back Diego Garcia for a period of 99 years.

Trump’s latest comments come ahead of talks between the US and Mauritius planned for next week.

The US president’s position on the issue has seen rapid U-turns in recent months – from describing the planned transfer as an “act of great stupidity” to saying the deal was the “best” the prime minister could make.

UK ministers have previously said that the deal could not go ahead unless it had the support of the US.

The bill, aimed at enshrining the agreement into UK law, has been delayed and there is no date set for the next stage.

UK Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the bill would return to the House of Lords “as soon as parliamentary time allows”.

Posting on the Truth Social platform on Wednesday, Trump wrote: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease…”

The US president stressed that Diego Garcia was “strategically located in the Indian Ocean”.

“Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before,” he said.

“We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.”

And referring to ongoing US-Iran talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme, Trump said: “Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia and the airfield located in Fairfordin order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime.”

The Republican president has repeatedly threatened to use military action against Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests and its nuclear activities.

Nuclear fears and island dispute

The US and its European allies suspect that Iran is moving towards the development of a nuclear weapon, something that Tehran has always denied.

Asked by the BBC about Trump’s latest comments, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “The post should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration, it’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth.

“When you see it on Truth Social you know it’s directly from President Trump, that’s the beauty of this president in his transparency and relaying this administration’s policies.”

But on Tuesday, the US Department of State gave its official backing to the planned handover of the Chagos Islands.

In a statement, it said it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago”.

Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “It’s time Starmer finally saw sense, U-turned and scrapped this appalling deal altogether.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Trump’s endless flip-flopping on the Chagos Islands shows why Starmer’s approach is doomed to fail.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Keir Starmer risks alienating our most important ally by giving away the Chagos Islands, the worst deal in British history.”

Earlier this week, four Chagos islanders – who are opposing the handover deal – landed on the Chagos Islands’ remote atoll as part of a protest against the deal.

They refused to leave it, despite a threat of eviction by a British maritime patrol.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Misley Mandarin – one of the Chagossians who had travelled to the islands – said they would have to “drag me from my beach”.

He said “there’s no reason” for the deal “because Mauritius never owned Chagos Islands in the first place”.

“Keir Starmer, you could be a hero right now – don’t ratify that deal, cancel that deal and let Chagossians come back to their homeland as British,” he added.

The Chagos Islands – officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory – are located about 5,799 miles (9,332km) south-east of the UK and about 1,250 miles north-east of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean.

The islands have been under British control since 1814 and were bought by the government for £3m, which led to the establishment of the islands as an overseas territory in 1965.

But Mauritius has long argued that it was illegally forced to give the islands away as part of a deal to gain independence.

In the late 1960s, Britain invited the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia, forcibly removing thousands of people from their homes in the process.

Some of those Chagossians ended up in Mauritius and the Seychelles, but others settled in the UK, mostly in Crawley, West Sussex-PeopleDaily.digital

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National Assembly dismisses claims Sacco Bill is being rushed through Parliament

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The National Assembly has dismissed reports that the Sacco Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2025, is being rushed through Parliament, saying the proposed law is still undergoing public participation.

Through infographics shared on Facebook on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, Parliament said misleading information had been circulating online about the Bill, formally known as the Sacco Societies (Amendment) Bill, National Assembly Bill No. 32 of 2025.

Bill was published in June 2025

The National Assembly said the Bill was published on June 30, 2025, and had remained under consideration for more than 12 months.

It rejected suggestions that lawmakers were fast-tracking the proposed amendments without allowing enough time for scrutiny.

According to Parliament, the lengthy period between the publication of the Bill and its current consideration shows that it is not being rushed.

Bill currently before the National Assembly committee

The Sacco Societies Amendment Bill is currently before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Trade, Industry and Cooperatives.

The committee is conducting public participation and receiving views from members of the public and other stakeholders.

The submissions are expected to help the committee assess the proposed amendments before presenting its recommendations to the National Assembly.

What happens after public participation?

After the public participation process is concluded, the committee will prepare a report containing its findings and recommendations.

Parliament said the views submitted by members of the public and stakeholders could inform further amendments to the Bill.

The proposed legislation will then proceed to the National Assembly for consideration by MPs.

This means the Bill has not yet completed the legislative process and could still be amended based on the submissions received during public participation.

Bill will be forwarded to Senate

The National Assembly also clarified that the Bill will not proceed directly for presidential assent after being passed by MPs.

Because the proposed legislation concerns county governments, it will be forwarded to the Senate for consideration in accordance with the Constitution.

The Senate will be required to consider the Bill before it can complete the parliamentary process and be presented for presidential assent.

Parliament urged members of the public to rely on verified information about the Sacco Societies Amendment Bill instead of unconfirmed reports circulating online-PeopleDaily.Digital.

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Digital house-hunting platform bets on technology to reshape Nairobi’s rental market

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NAIROBI, Kenya, July 14 – A growing shift towards digital property searches is changing how Kenyans find rental homes, with real estate technology platform Reemio positioning itself as a solution to longstanding challenges.

This included fraudulent listings, costly house searches and limited market transparency.

As younger, tech-savvy consumers turn to online platforms to make purchasing decisions, the company says digitizing the rental process could improve efficiency for both tenants and landlords while lowering transaction costs.

“Our niche is to solve the problem of house hunting and also bring trust into that process. We use technology to connect renters and landlords,” said Kimani.

Kimani said the platform seeks to address inefficiencies that have traditionally made house hunting expensive and time-consuming.

Instead of physically visiting multiple properties, users can browse verified listings, take virtual tours, compare amenities and access information on additional costs such as water charges, electricity bills and service fees before scheduling physical viewings.

Beyond improving convenience for tenants, Reemio argues that technology can help landlords reduce marketing costs, shorten vacancy periods and reach a wider pool of prospective tenants, including Kenyans living abroad.

The company says its platform also generates market data that can help property owners and developers better understand evolving consumer preferences, although its long-term impact will depend on wider adoption of digital property platforms and continued investment in trustworthy online real estate marketplaces-Capitalfm.co.ke.

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ORPP edges two parties closer to joining Kenya’s political arena

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The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) has issued a notice for the provisional registration of two proposed political parties, opening a seven-day window for members of the public to lodge objections.

In a notice published by the Registrar of Political Parties and Chief Executive Officer J.C. Lorionokou, the ORPP announced that the Social Democratic Party of Kenya (SDP) and the People’s Alternative Voice (PAV) are in the process of being provisionally registered under Section 5(2)(a) of the Political Parties Act.

The ORPP, a State office established under Section 33 of the Political Parties Act and Article 260 of the Constitution, said its mandate includes registering and regulating political parties as well as administering the Political Parties Fund.

According to the notice, the Social Democratic Party of Kenya (SDP) has adopted pink, white and sky blue as its official party colours, with the slogan “Change – Mageuzi.” The party’s symbol is the acronym SDP enclosed inside a circle.

The party’s listed founder members are Nyangong’ Duncan Nyumbah, Omwandasi Jared Dishon and Kinyua Mary Wacuka.

The founders of PAV are listed as Odenyo John Fitzgerald Elly, Nyando Rachel Mmboga and Ali Hussein Kiplangat.

The Registrar said particulars of the two proposed political parties have been published on the ORPP website to facilitate public scrutiny as required by law.

Any person wishing to oppose the provisional registration of either party has seven days from the date of publication of the notice to submit objections either in writing or in person to the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties at Lion Place, Fourth Floor, Waiyaki Way at Karuna Close, Nairobi.

The provisional registration marks the first step in the legal process of establishing a political party in Kenya.

Kenya has 91 fully registered political parties. The ORPP’s updated register indicates that, as of January 2026, there were 91 parties that had met the legal requirements for full registration under the Political Parties Act-STAR.

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