Kenyans In Scotland

𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭
Following an investigation by the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, Edwine Kiplangat, aged 29, of London Road in Reading, has pleaded guilty to murder at Reading Crown Court today, along with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The court heard that on 7 September 2025, at around 2.35pm, officers were called to an address on the A4 London Road in Reading, England following reports of a stabbing.
A 39-year-old woman, Linner Sang, sadly died at the scene. Police confirmed that Kiplangat and Linner were known to each other and had previously lived together at the same address.
Linner’s next of kin continue to be supported by specialist family liaison officers.
Kiplangat was arrested the following day and formally charged on 9 September 2025.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Stuart May of the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, said the victim had recently ended a relationship with Kiplangat and had gone to the address to collect personal belongings.
He added that evidence indicated Kiplangat had planned the attack, carried it out, and attempted to flee afterwards, showing no regard for the injuries inflicted.
He said the force remains committed to tackling violence against women and girls and bringing offenders to justice.
Kiplangat has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced at Reading Crown Court on 3 July 2026.
www.kenyansinscotlandumoja.org

Ghana parliament passes anti-LGBTQ+ bill
By Harry Sekulich and Thomas Naadi
30 May 2026, 01:51 BST
The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.
Identifying as le***an, gay, bisexual transgender or q***r can be punished by up to three years' imprisonment. The bill also introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.
Religious leaders have pressured President John Dramani Mahama, who still needs to ratify the legislation, to strengthen anti-gay laws since he came to power last year.
The ban has been sharply criticised by international organisations, including Human Rights Watch, which said it placed LGBTQ+ peoples' lives at risk while also "encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce one another".
Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era.
In an address to Parliament, the bill's sponsor Reverend John Ntim Fordjour said the bill protected Ghanaian family and cultural values.
He said the new bans would make existing laws "more robust, more encompassing, and more stringent in dealing with the practices of LGBTQI".
Anyone who identifies as an "ally", a general term for a supporter of LGBTQ+ people, could also face a prison sentence.
Exemptions were included for legal, media and healthcare professionals who report on LGBTQ+ issues or provide medical treatment or other services for gay people.
Human Rights Watch recommended the bill be abandoned, in a formal submission to the constitutional and legal affairs committee scrutinising the legislation in the capital Accra.
Ghana passed a similar bill in 2024 but it did not become law after former president Akufo-Addo failed to sign it amid legal challenges.
President Mahama has indicated he would support the bill's passage, saying shortly after he took office that "I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist – man and woman. And that marriage is between a man and a woman."
Several African countries have cracked down on LGBTQ+ rights in recent years.
Senegal's parliament approved similar legislation in March which prescribes a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalising the ''promotion'' of homosexuality.
Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023.
Courtesy of BBC

Ballot Opens For Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony.

https://kenyansinscotlandumoja.org/
The ceremony in July will be the first time the event has been held indoors
Anyone hoping to buy tickets for the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games can register their interest later.
The ceremony, which will take place at the OVO Hydro on 23 July, will be staged indoors for the first time in the event's history.
With demand expected to be high, people are required to register in advance for the chance to buy tickets, from 12:00, with registration closing at 23:59 on 26 May.
Successful applicants will be selected at random and notified on 1 June before being given the opportunity to purchase up to four tickets the following day.
Adult ticket prices range from £45 to £195, with concession prices also available.
The opening ceremony will begin 10 days of competition and will feature athletes from 74 nations and territories. A cast of 600 performers is expected to take part.

George Black, chair of Glasgow 2026, said the ceremony would mark the moment the city welcomes athletes from across the Commonwealth.
"Gathered in The Hydro, we will share a story of how this city has contributed to the world," he said.
"By entering the ticket draw, we want to give people the opportunity to watch the live action unfold as the Commonwealth comes together in one place to mark the start of the Games."
Louisa Mahon, chief marketing and ceremonies officer, said the event would be a "fast-paced, immersive live experience".

Courtesy of BBC Scotland.

https://kenyansinscotlandumoja.org/

Patients have tried to punch me because of my skin colour'.

ByMartin Lindsay
North East and Cumbria Investigations
12 May 2026.
https://eacscotland.org/
There has been a significant rise in reports of NHS staff being racially abused by patients, the BBC has found. Workers say they are being physically and verbally attacked because of their ethnicity more often than ever.
Nurse Tito Vicario says, in the two years he has worked at Sunderland Royal Hospital, he has been racially abused by patients multiple times.
"Whenever I feel like it's going to happen again I feel my heart racing," he says.
The abuse is often verbal but, in extreme cases, he says he has been physically attacked.
"There are times where some patients will try to punch you or slap you," he says.
"It affects you not just physically but mentally as well."
In one incident Vicario, who is originally from the Philippines, was on the receiving end of a highly offensive racial slur. The patient's mortified family immediately apologised but the damage had been done, Vicario says, and such experiences leave him feeling powerless, anxious and nervous.
On another occasion, he says he was racially abused by a female patient who refused to take medication from him.
"They try to say these things to release their anger and anxiety but we're not punching bags, we're still people," he says.
"You can't hit back, just smile.
"You just take it."

Image caption,
Tito Vicario says patients have tried to punch and kick him because of the colour of his skin
The BBC submitted Freedom of Information requests to all NHS hospital and mental health trusts in England to ask how many times staff had reported being racially abused by a patient.
From the 106 trusts which provided data, there were 8,235 such reports in 2024, a 17% increase on the 7,002 reports in 2023. Several trusts did not record reports of racism prior to 2023, meaning older comparison figures are not available, but campaigners claim the issue has been growing for several years.
Staff being encouraged to report incidents could have contributed to some of the rise, however the total figure, which includes physical and non-physical incidents, could be higher because not all trusts provided data.
The founder of the campaign group Equality 4 Black Nurses, Neomi Bennett, says a "really concerning" number of incidents go unreported.
"In our research around 67% chose not to report," she says, adding that some health workers "don't trust the system to protect them".
"Some of the nurses that have approached us have ended up going to work in retail or into sales or something which is less risky than nursing," she says.
Many foreign nurses had also returned to their home country "because they can't take it anymore".
Nurse Neomi Bennett setup Equality 4 Black Nurses to support those who are racially abused
Ishaan, who is originally from India, has answered 111 and 999 calls for the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) for the last two years. The BBC has agreed not to use his real name or his photograph because of fears they could attract more abuse.
Callers sometimes say they "want to speak to an English person, we don't want to speak to you", he says, or they tell him to "go back to where you came from, you have taken everything from us".
When the caller's "demands are not met they start becoming aggressive and racially abusive", and it can happen multiple times a day, he says.
In his first year working at NEAS, racial abuse occurred every few months, he says, but "this year it has increased drastically" and makes the call handlers' work harder and delays patient care.

Image caption,
The BBC has agreed not to use Ishaan's real name or photograph in case this attracts more abuse.
Ishaan says on occasions he has had to stop taking calls because he has become so "distressed, frustrated and angry" and the abuse has made him question his long-term future in England.
"It lowers my confidence, it takes a mental toll, it puts stress on me," he says.
"It makes me think, is it worth it to still be doing this job?"
The kindness of other callers keeps him going with "that little thank you we get in the end" making him want to stay.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the NHS had a "zero tolerance approach to racism" but there had been an "intolerable rise in racism against hardworking NHS staff" in recent years.
"Discrimination undermines everything our health service stands for," a spokesperson said.
A review was being conducted into antisemitism and other forms of racism and a support package to protect frontline staff from violence and aggression had been announced in 2025, the DHSC said.
The measures include encouraging staff to report incidents and making it mandatory for the reports to be collected at national level, where they would be analysed to better understand if certain staff groups are targeted more often than others, it said.
Courtesy Of The BBC North East
https://eacscotland.org/

East African Communities In Scotland We welcome all those who wish to be active participants in the effort to build harmony and mutual respect between people of different ethnic backgrounds. We do this by encouraging social contact and developing projects that can help to foster integration and bring cultural and economic benefits to b...