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How Two Kenyan School Dropouts Made Prosthetic Arms For People With Disabilities

Published

2 years ago

May 2, 2024

Two young Kenyan inventors have invented bio-robotic prosthetic arms from waste materials to help improve the lives of the physically challenged people in 2021.

Both David Gathu and Moses Kiuna were at the age of 29 when they designed a bio-robotic prosthetic arm in helping the people that have lost their limbs.

Recounting their ordeal before venturing into the invention, the duo said they were forced to drop out of college because of the expensive school fees but did not let the challenges steal their vision.

Gathu and Kiuna accomplished their dream to help their communities in a workshop in Kiambu county in Kikuyu, Kenya, north of the capital Nairobi.

According to Face to Face Africa, the workshop was basically a shed made out of worn-out rusted iron sheets standing next to a chicken coop.

The floor was covered with gravel, making the ground outside the shop and the interior all but indistinguishable, as brown broken glass with tape all around fits the window frame.

Brain signal bio-robotic arm
Another significant thing about the invention was being the world’s first bio-robotic arm operated by brain signals. The invention, which is controlled by brain signals, has been billed as a game-changer in the lives of disabled people in Kenya.

Gathu and Kinyua’s invention was unique and different from most prosthetic technology which is powered by a person’s muscles.

The arm works by converting brain signals into an electric current by a “NeuroNode” biopotential headset receiver. NeuroNode biopotential was originally invented to help people suffering from paralysis and speech loss.

Also, the inventors narrated that the idea to develop an electronic prosthetic came to them during the pandemic as part of their contribution towards assisting Kenya to battle the pandemic. It was initially created to help COVID-19 sanitisation efforts.

“When the virus hit our country, we decided to create a machine that could help us decontaminate surfaces. It can also be used in schools, restaurants, hospitals,” Shoppe Black quotes Kinyua as saying.

Using waste products

According to a report by Anadolu Agency, the Kenyan inventors solved two problems with their innovations, first, by using waste products to make the environment clean and safe, and helping a community of people living with disabilities.

“People throw away a lot of things that are harmful to the environment just because they don’t work. If they don’t work, it might be just one component that’s faulty but all the other components still work and can be recycled,” Gathu said.

“We’ve recycled everything that you see here. They throw it away, we pick it up and use it. This has saved us from spending a lot of money because we’re not backed up financially by anyone to come up with our innovations.”

They picked up “junk” that people threw away – things like plastic, rubber, wiring, old computer motherboards, LED lights, USB devices, switches, optical drives, heat sinks, fans, and power supply units – components that they say could be quite expensive to purchase from a shop.

Helping the community

Speaking about the physically challenged people, he said, “The main reason we came up with this is to help people in our community who have lost their limbs. We don’t want these people to feel like they can’t do anything, we want them to be dependent on themselves.”

The arm can do many more tasks. They say they are still perfecting their device, but lack of funds has been a challenge.

David Mathenge from the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), a charity NGO, says: “Such inventions are the future of the science of artificial limbs. This is the science we need to ease the challenges people with disabilities face.”

Headline

Insecurity: US Congressman Riley Moore Reveals Trump’s Mission In Nigeria

Published

1 hour ago

December 29, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has dismissed insinuations that President Donald Trump is attempting to bring war to Nigeria.

Moore made the remark in a post on his verified X handle on Monday.

His comments followed a US military airstrike on a terrorist enclave in north-west Nigeria on Christmas Day, reportedly carried out on the directive of President Trump.

“President Trump is not trying to bring war to Nigeria, he’s bringing peace and security to Nigeria and to the thousands of Christians who face horrific violence and death.

“The strikes against ISIS on Christmas, in coordination with the Nigerian government, have given hope to the Christians in Nigeria,” he said.

Recall that the lawmaker had previously stated that President Trump is focused on ending the killing of Christians in Nigeria.

It will be recalled that Moore led a US delegation on a fact-finding mission into alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria some weeks ago.

During his brief stay in the country, Moore travelled to Benue State, where he interfaced with religious and traditional leaders, as well as internally displaced persons.

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Russia Calls up 135,000 Military Personnel

Published

8 hours ago

December 29, 2025

Editor

Russia has enlisted 135,000 conscripts for military service in 2026, following the conclusion of the autumn army draft by the Defense Ministry.

A statement on Monday said most personnel have been assigned to training units and military formations where they will “get a military specialty and learn to operate modern military hardware.”

The conscripts can choose to serve in any of the various military branches and armed services after an assessment of their health condition and the results of psychological examinations.

READ ALSO:Russian Strike On Odesa Region Kills Eight, Injures 27

The ministry disclosed that 680 recruits have joined scientific and research-production units, while 240 from the country’s national teams in Olympic disciplines joined sports companies.

However, military personnel who have served the established term of military service have been discharged and sent to their places of residence.

The latest enlistment confirms Russia is shoring up its troops deployed to the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine ahead of the new year.

A fortnight ago, European leaders reaffirmed their pledge to form a multinational force–under the aegis of the Coalition of the Willing–to assist Ukraine in securing land, skies, and seas.

The pledge is one of the six commitments the EU and heads of state developed for Ukraine’s security and economic recovery support measures.

In an interview with TASS on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned Europe’s insistence on sending military forces to Ukraine.

“We have said many times that our Armed Forces would view them as a legitimate target,” he said, warning that anyone who attacks Russia would face “a devastating blow.”

Headline

How Our Airstrikes Stopped Christmas Attacks In Nigeria — US Lawmaker

Published

2 days ago

December 27, 2025

Editor

Riley Moore, a member of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia’s 2nd District, has linked the absence of Christmas attacks in Nigeria this year to US military airstrikes carried out against Islamist militants on Christmas Day.

In a post on his official X account on Saturday, Moore contrasted the situation with the past two Christmas seasons, during which he claimed Christians were killed in attacks across parts of Nigeria.

The lawmaker noted that this year’s response targeted extremist groups instead of marking another period of violence.

He added that US forces acted decisively against militants in coordination with the Nigerian government.

“For the past two Christmases, Christians have been murdered in Nigeria. This year, thanks to @POTUS, Radical Islamic Terrorists were on the receiving end of 12 Tomahawk missiles as a present.

“The successful strikes on ISIS, in coordination with the Nigerian government, are just the first step to secure the country and end the slaughter of our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Moore wrote.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that American forces had conducted deadly strikes against Islamic State terrorists in north-western Nigeria.

Trump, who spoke via his Truth Social platform, warned that more attacks would follow if the militants continued killing Christians, adding that the Department of War executed numerous “perfect strikes.”