A dream doesn't become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination and hard work.

Saturday 31 August 2013

Police mint millions as Kenyans die on roads



Locals and the police at the scene of a bus accident in Narok where 41 people died and 33 others were injured August 29, 2013. RED CROSS
Locals and the police at the scene of a bus accident in
Narok where 41 people died and 33 others were injured
 August 29, 2013. RED CROSS
  • The syndicate involves leaders of various matatu Saccos who collect the money from their members and pass it on to the policemen.
  • Officers also offer not to prosecute errant drivers if the offenders agree to split the cash bail which is usually in the range of Sh10,000. Drivers and owners play ball to avoid hefty court fines.
  • The horrifying road carnage that has claimed countless lives and threatens thousands more every day is the outcome of this juggernaut that has also roped in some people in the Judiciary and the motor vehicle inspection unit working in cahoots with matatu crews and PSV owners.A senior traffic policeman in Nairobi was depositing an average of Sh300,000 every day in his bank account at the height of a crackdown on public service vehicles conducted in June, the Sunday Nation can reveal.

Twenty years and HIV positive

Saturday, August 31, 2013 

Nothing good can come out of ostracisation.

That is what I have learned since I found out that I was HIV-positive. I write this in tears, reflecting on how my life has changed. My doctor was kind enough to hold my hand. He advised me that you just cannot trust anyone with your status, until I got sick and had to tell someone at home.

I loved my brother and thought he was the best but I was wrong. As soon as he found out, so did Mum and my big sister.

Kenyans in UK call for action on killer roads

By SHAMLAL PURI in London, Friday, August 30th 2013

Kenyans living in the UK want urgent government action to stop carnage on the country’s roads.Scores of Kenyans are responding to an international petition launched by Leeds-based Kenyan Joyce Nganga demanding the authorities in Nairobi to work towards building better PSV’s to save lives.
“All PSVs should have standard roll cages installed and regulated by an independent body of engineers,” she said.

The secrets of former top crime buster

Powers-that-be believed I would decline the new positionâ

€™By Kipchumba Some, August 31st 2013.
 
Soon after coming to power in 2002, the Narc regime embarked on a massive purge of top officials in the security and public sectors who worked under former President Moi. Dr Francis K Sang who at the time held the critical post of the Director of Criminal Investigation Department was demoted a month into the coming to power of Narc.
He was moved to what was deemed to be a junior position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The mandarins of the new regime hoped that he would decline the less prestigious post and resign from the civil service. But he stayed put.

Uhuru orders probe into land given to the powerful

August 31st 2013

The government will investigate how influential people allocated themselves large chunks of land at the Coast.Reacting to claims by Lamu residents that land in the area and other parts of Coast region was illegally allocated to influential people in the previous government, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu to investigate the allegations. Mrs Ngilu’s docket includes land and housing.
The President also put on notice Lands officials who were involved in the land-grabbing scheme that their days are numbered.
“Those Lands officials that use their powers to ask for “something small” to serve Kenyans should desist or else they will go home,” said Kenyatta.

‘Billions lost’ in Central Bank of Kenya stock theft

Central Bank of Kenya Governor, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u 
 Nairobi,Kenya: Six people, among them blacklisted trader Fred Mweni, face possible criminal charges for allegedly creating and selling an undisclosed amount of fake Treasury bonds. Recently concluded investigations by the Capital Markets regulator allege the group used the Central Bank’s central depository system to create  fake government bonds that were later sold to unsuspecting buyers in the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
During his tenure as managing director of Tsavo Securities, Mweni controlled a major portion of Kenya’s market in bonds. He recently claimed to have originated at least 25 per cent of the Sh567 billion in bond transactions done last year. In an affidavit filed then withdrawn from court last year, Mweni claimed Government lost at least Sh2.6b in stolen Treasury bonds. Now he and four others have been drawn into the net cast around fraudulent trades executed during a computer system migration.

Why I Exposed William Ruto’s ICC Framing

BY GILES HUMPHRY, Politics|August 31, 2013

The Jackal News recently reprinted the first two parts of my five part series “The Framing of William  Samoei Ruto” and“How NGOs’s Faked Ruto’s Evidence”.  The reaction of commenters was extremely negative. One common refrain was “Why now?” Those who asked this were presumably unaware that the Jackal News first covered this story long before the last election only to be subjected to a massive hacking attack which forced it temporarily out of action. The first part of my series was published a year ago, and the full story (or as much of it as I able to reveal) was published at the start of this year via my websitegileshumphry.com/politics.  The mainstream media, Kenyan and international, has chosen to ignore the revelations. Unlike the Jackal News, they didn’t believe that Kenyan voters had a right to know that one of the original candidates in the recent presidential elections (Ruto) was framed by another (Martha Karua), with the help of allies of a third (Raila Odinga).

William Rono's Evidence


At the time of the 2007 election William Rono was an activist in President Kibaki's Party of National Unity. After the election he was elected PNU chairman for Eldoret North in the Rift Valley. In the post election violence his house was attacked by supporters of the Orange Democratic Movement. In the aftermath of the violence he and other PNU activists set out to fix leading figures in the Rift valley ODM on charges of organising violence. The main targets were Ruto, Joshua Sang and Henry Kosgey. They also hoped to fix Raila Odinga, the national leader of the ODM but the main focus was on the local Rift valley leaders whom they could better hope to credibly implicate. At the same time, he says, ODM activists were seeking to fix PNU figures on charges of election rigging and counterviolence.

Why the Charges Against Ruto Don't Add Up

According to the ever expanding charges laid by the ICC against William Ruto, from as early as 2005 Ruto was planning the expulsion from the Rift Valley of supporters of Kenya's Party of National Unity (PNU) and the Kikuyu people, two substantially overlapping groups. His alleged aim was to turn the Rift into a fief of the Orange Democratic Union (ODM) and to transform it into a Kikuyu free zone.

In “The Framing of William Samoei Ruto” I showed how the ICC was hoodwinked by “evidence” manufactured by Ruto's political enemies co-ordinated by Kenya's then justice minister Martha Karua. However even absent my own researches there would be good grounds for scepticism about the ICC's charges.

Reflections on the ICC Process

After publishing the first installments of my story I was contacted by a quite well known Kenyan journalist. He asked me if I knew how Martha Karua had used Joseph Kamau (formerly CID chief) and private investigator Jane Nyawira to frame Ruto, Kones and Laboso. If I did not, he said, he would supply the details. However he got cold feet and clammed up when pressed. The late Kipkalya Kones, former minister of roads and Lorna Laboso, assistant minister for Home Affairs, were potential candidates for charges of crimes against humanity until their deaths in a plane crash in June 2008.
This confirmed what I already knew, that there are others yet to speak out who know further details about Ruto's framing. Before speaking to John Busii I had been in touch with another member of the National Council for NGOs who promised to blow the whistle on the conspiracy but he had also proved unwilling to go on the record.

John Busii's Evidence


John Busii is the founder director of HIRTO, the Highway Rescue Team Organisation which works in the Rift Valley to promote food security and peace.. It is a small and underfunded NGO compared with others in this story but Busii is well respected and serves as the chairman of the Regulatory Committee of Kenya's National Council of NGOs. He is not a friend or supporter of Ruto and is a life member of a rival political party. He was able to give me fresh information on the plot to frame Ruto and has decided to speak out publicly for the first time.

The Framing of William Samoei Ruto: How Martha Karua Made an Ass Out ofInternational Law

I came to meet the honourable William Ruto, the Kenyan MP and (at the time) candidate for president, when he was chosen to be guest of honour at the launch of “Unyielding Hope:the Life and Times of Koitaleel Somoei”, a biography of the freedom fighter who led the resistance to the British invasion of Kenya which I had co-authored with a descendant of the subject. The only thing I knew about Ruto at the time was that he was indicted for crimes against humanity at the Hague. My Kenyan friends made haste to assure me that not only was he innocent but that he was the best person to launch the book, being the de facto leader of the Kalenjin ethnic group to which Koitaleel had belonged. However I could not be easy in my mind without determining for myself whether William Ruto was guilty of the terrible crimes of which he stood accused.

Be warned

From Laura Ryan

Received a phone call from BT, informing me that he was disconnecting me because of an unpaid bill.. He demanded payment immediately of £31.00 or it would be £ 118.00 to re-connect at a later date. The guy wasn't even fazed when I told him I was with Virgin Media, allegedly VM have to pay BT a percentage for line rental! I asked the guy's name - he gave me the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' accent - & phone number -0800 0800 152. Obviously the fellow realized I didn't believe his story, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. I asked how & he told me to hang up & try phoning

Friday 30 August 2013

Treasury says March 4 General Election cost Sh32.1 billion

elections_KENYAThe March 4 General Election cost the taxpayer a whopping Sh32.1 billion, overshooting the original budget by Sh3.5 billion, the Treasury said.
Treasury secretary Henry Rotich says in a report released on Thursday that the actual cost of the election stretched beyond the budgeted ceilings as agencies took measures to improve security and encourage mass participation in the democratic process.
This was by far the most expensive poll since Independence, involving several layers of government.
Security, registration and inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta are some of the items that breached their limits, the Treasury’s Post-Election Economic and fiscal report 2013 shows.

Blacks Asked To Leave South Carolina Restaurant Because White Customer Felt Threatened

racial discrimination wild wingsA group of 25 African Americans waited two hours to get in a Wild Wing Cafe restaurant in North Charleston, South Carolina, only to be asked to leave almost immediately after entering the restaurant because a white patron felt “threatened” by them. One member of the group took his complaint to Facebook when the corporate office of the restaurant did not call him back.

Nursing homes in kenya, a potential yet to be exploited.

Luxury care for the aged in Kenya

senior+homes
Planning for retirement can be a daunting task, it’s one that has no guarantee or certainty but also one that cannot be overlooked because as sure as the sun comes up and sets every day, we are all faced with the reality of life after employment and beyond.
While some buy and build their dream homes, others engage in hobbies such as farming but more interestingly are a new generation of ageing people – parents and grandparents – that has started keeping money aside for when they move to a retirement home.
Having a secure future in old age is paramount to many in this generation where people do not want to change their lifestyle habits and therefore prefer to invest on life in high-end retirement homes where they get 5 star care and attention.

Why Kenyans are purely greedy, not needy


By Muthoni Thang'wa

Many Kenyans have a voracious appetite for all things, grand, extravagant and opulent. This is a very good thing, by all means. It however better be matched by an equal amount of enthusiasm for hard work, smart thought processes or great innovation.

Wenger: We will not buy



Arsene Wenger has vowed to hold his nerve in the transfer market, in spite of depleted resources and a daunting Champions League draw.

The return of Mathieu Flamini on a free transfer - only the second arrival of the summer after French rookie Yaya Sanogo - has done little to allay fans' fears that a significant recruitment drive before Tuesday's deadline will not materalise.

The humbling of David Cameron: No military strike against Syria .......'You're a disgrace' you should resign......

  • The humbling of David Cameron: On a momentous night, Tory rebellion forces Prime Minister to rule out military strike against Syria... and plunges him into a deep political crisis

    • PM's authority in Parliament and on world stage dealt unprecedented blow
    • Shouts of 'resign' from Labour benches as 285-272 vote was announced.
  • Last time any PM was defeated over issue of war and peace was in 1782
  • Downing Street source says David Cameron has no intention of resigning
  • Gove allegedly shouted at Tory rebels outside chamber: 'You're a disgrace'
  • Britain faces 'soul-searching' about role in the world, says George Osborne

David Cameron’s authority in Parliament and on the world stage was dealt an unprecedented blow last night as he faced a breathtaking Commons defeat  over plans for missile strikes on Syria.
In an extraordinary assault on the Prime Minister’s authority, 50 coalition MPs joined Labour in voting against a watered-down Government motion supporting the ‘principle’ of military action.
There were shouts of ‘resign’ from the Labour benches as the result – 285 votes to 272 – was announced to a shocked House of Commons.
Scroll down for video 
Chastened: Prime Minister David Cameron faced calls to 'resign' in the Commons as MPs voted by 272 votes to 285 to reject his motion backing British intervention in principle
Chastened: British MPs voted by 272 votes to 285 to reject Prime Minister David Cameron's motion backing British intervention in principle
The last time a Prime Minister was defeated over an issue of war and peace was in 1782.
A Downing Street source said Mr Cameron had no intention of resigning, adding: ‘His colleagues support him on most things, but on this issue they disagreed.’
Education Secretary Michael Gove was said to have shouted at Tory rebels outside the  chamber: ‘You’re a disgrace, you’re a disgrace.’

Human head, hands dumped at police boss Johnston Kavuludi’s office

August 29th 2013

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi police boss Benson Kibui said they are yet to know the motive behind the incident.

The head's torso was missing and police believe it belongs to one that was discovered earlier in the day in Ruai area, Nairobi. The head was light with beards and seemed to have been chopped off the torso few hours earlier.

"We do not know who brought it here and it is shocking. We are investigating," said Kibui.

Kavuludi and his commission are in Mombasa on official matters. He expressed shock at the findings saying those behind it were out to intimidate him and the other commissioners.

"We hope those who killed the man and brought the head and hands will be caught," he said.

He added its more worrying given their security was withdrawn in unclear circumstances.

Police had initially feared to open the box and called bomb experts who screened it only to realise it had a head and hands.

The body parts were later taken to the mortuary for preservation.

Pundits believe those behind it are opposed to reforms that the commission is undertaking.

President Uhuru Kenyatta issue Title Deeds in Coast region.

PSCU August 30, 2013
Media Alert


President Uhuru Kenyatta will from today Friday 30th August issue Title Deeds to residents in Coast region.

The three day programme starts with Kilifi County at Karisa Maitha Stadium at 9.30 am today followed by Mombasa County at 1.30 PM at Khadija Primary school.

On Saturday, August 31, President Kenyatta will issue title deeds in Pate Island in Lamu County at 9.30 am and thereafter travel to Tana River County where he will issue title deeds to wananchi in Hola town at 1.30pm.

The President will on Monday, September 2, 2013, issue title deeds to residents of Kwale County at Baraza Park in Matuga at 10.00 am. Afterwards at 2.00 pm at Voi stadium, the President will issue title deeds to wananchi in Taita Taveta County.



Thursday 29 August 2013

Install Roll Cages to PSV;s: Save a Life

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/install-roll-cages-to-psv-s-save-a-life-ministry-of-industrialisation-and-enterprise-developments
GROUP F ARSENAL, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli

Champions League draw Done and dusted!

The draw for the group stage of the Champions League is taking place in Monaco, and you can follow all the latest here.

GROUP A MANCHESTER UNITED, Shakhtar Donetsk, Bayer Leverkusen

GROUP B Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatasaray

GROUP C Benfica, Paris St Germain, Olympiacos

GROUP D Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow, MANCHESTER CITY

GROUP E CHELSEA, Schalke, Basel

GROUP F ARSENAL, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli

GROUP G Porto, Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg

GROUP H Barcelona, Milan, Ajax

5.30 So City get the holders, and Arsenal are drawn with the runners-up. Arsenal, incidentally, were grouped with Marseille and Dortmund two seasons ago and came through okay

Just Pot 4 to go, then, and on comes Paulo Sousa - back-to-back winner with Juventus and Dortmund - to do the honours.

5.20 That's Pot Two drawn, and Groups B and H are looking like the prime candidates for the dreaded 'Group of Death' moniker. Manchester City will be getting nervous...Drawing the balls this time? Michael Owen.

5.10 Billy McNeill's number is held aloft and on comes Johan Cruyff - three-time winner with Ajax - to make the next part of the draw...

5.00 Joining Billy at the bowls is another former winner, Luis Figo, who is apparently an ambassador for this year's final in his native Portugal - at Benfica's Stadium of Light in Lisbon, to be exact.

UEFA's general secretary Gianni Infantino runs us through the rules quickly - the assembled delegates fidget and look distracted like aeroplane passengers during the safety procedure.

And now we're away...

4.55 Apologies for the duff information: the vote will take place later in proceedings and for now we welcome a guest - Celtic's Lisbon Lion Billy McNeill - who will help draw the balls.

McNeill brings 'Big Ears' with him for good measure and sets the famous trophy down at the front of the stage.

4.45 Over to the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, then, where the customary pomp will precede the nitty-gritty of the draw.

First on the agenda is the vote to decide who will become the third UEFA Best Player In Europe award winner.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery are the shortlisted players, and journalists from each of UEFA's member countries will vote live to determine which of them follows in the footsteps of previous winners Andres Iniesta and Messi.

4.30 The ceremony is due to crank into action at 4.45pm, UK time, and we'll have details of the groups as they are drawn.

Three of the four English teams represented are in Pot One and will avoid Europe's very biggest names, but Manchester City and Celtic are seeded lower and can expect to find themselves in tough sections.

Full details of the seedings are here:

Pot 1: FC Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester Utd, Arsenal, Porto, Benfica

Pot 2: Atletico Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, AC Milan, Schalke, Marseille, CSKA Moscow, PSG, Juventus

Pot 3: Zenit, Manchester City, Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Basel, Olympiakos, Galatasaray, Bayer Leverkusen

Pot 4: FC Copenhagen, Napoli, Anderlecht, Celtic, Steaua Bucharest, Pizen, Real Sociedad, Austria Vienna

THE REAL COURSE OF THE ROAD CARNAGE IN KENYA

Joseph Mwai, a returned Diaspora 
By Joseph Mwai

THE REAL COURSE OF ROAD CARNAGE IN KENYA
I have repeatedly submitted this vital document to the only channel I believe would generate results. Unfortunately, the editor of the daily nation newspaper has consistently failed to publish it or even respond to my emails on any reasons why it is not published. What appalls me is the shear ignorance on the contents herewith which I believe would bring to light the fact that something deeper is wrong with our standards in the assembling of the vehicle bodies locally in spite of the only blame on drivers over speeding of their vehicles.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

United paired with Liverpool

Long-time rivals Manchester United and Liverpool have been drawn to play each other at Old Trafford in the third round of the Capital One Cup.

The Premier League giants were the first clubs out in the draw and the match could mark Liverpool forward Luis Suarez's return to action after a 10-match ban.

The 26-year-old was handed a 10-match suspension after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic last season.

Eager to leave Liverpool this summer at one point, it now looks like he may be staying, and his return would obviously add extra interest to an already intriguing tie.

League One Swindon knocked out Championship QPR on Tuesday night and the Robins have been rewarded with a glamorous home tie against Chelsea, while Bristol City, who saw off Crystal Palace, will be away at Southampton.

Swansea lifted the Cup last season and they have been handed a potentially tricky tie at Championship side Birmingham.

Aston Villa will be at home to Spurs while other all-Premier League ties are West Ham against Cardiff, West Brom v Arsenal and Fulham-Everton.

Manchester City have been drawn at home to Wigan and Newcastle's home tie with Leeds could be an interesting encounter.

Capital One Cup third round draw:

Man Utd v Liverpool

Sunderland v Peterborough

West Ham v Cardiff

Man City v Wigan

Burnley v Nottingham Forest

Newcastle v Leeds

Southampton v Bristol City

West Brom v Arsenal

Swindon v Chelsea

Tranmere v Stoke

Watford v Norwich

Aston Villa v Tottenham

Hull v Huddersfield

Leicester v Derby

Birmingham v Swansea

Fulham v Everton

Ties to be played week commencing September 23.

Kenya government to transform Mombasa port into modern sea port

Presidents Yoweri Museveni, Paul Kagame,
Uhuru Kenyatta commissioning
 Mombasa port Berth 19. 
[Photo: PSCU
]
By PSCU

KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday the government will transform the Port of Mombasa into the largest, busiest and the most friendly sea port on the East African coast.


 He challenged Kenyan businessmen and public servants to take advantage of the port development and other infrastructure development in the transport sector by developing services that focus on the entire East African region.
 Speaking during the commissioning of Berth number 19 at the port, President Uhuru noted that despite an enormous growth in cargo volume to 900,000 Twenty Equivalent Units, the government has increased cargo handling capacity from 250,000 to 450, 000 units following the construction of the berth.

Akorino; The Pacifist Presence in Kenya

Akorino Ceremony Nairobi
Heritage, Museums and Memorialisation in Kenya: exploring the past in the present

Timothy Gachanga, Tangaza College, Nairobi, Kenya  

In this paper, I will discuss how the Community Peace Museums Heritage Foundation (CPMHF) provides a venue for the expression of pacifist values among the Akorino in Kenya. The Akorino are a group of African Christians whose beliefs and practices are based on the principle of non-violence. They are among the groups of people who are considered non-mainstream, and perhaps ineffective in the national politic. This may be because they are small in number, simple and spiritual people. They normally do not join the military and the police force.

Tenants agree to surrender houses in slums

August 2013 By 

RAWLINGS OTIENO

The tenants agreed towards unity after a series of dialogue initiated by the Kenya Tuna Uwezo (KTU) civil society group in partnership with Peace Net Kenya, spanning over the past five years.

Good morning Wanajamhuri in Oxford UK

News just in indicates that personal documents of a Mr "Kinyanjui" have been found outside the old post office at Templers Square, Barns Rd side, oxford. At around the same point, a black male has been taken away by an ambulance this morning. 
Please let*s be quick with our spirit of "Pamoja" to find out who this "person" is ASAP and post back on Facebook, text/call POC info Desk on 07414101750 or email:  info@amojaoxfordcommunity.org

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Kenya government probes Sh6.7 billion tender that led to firing of NSSF boss

How NSSF project stacks up against top rivals.


Tuesday, August 27th 2013By MOSES MICHIRA
KENYA: A controversial deal through which taxpayers could have lost Sh4 billion led to the sacking of the National Social Security Fund ( NSSFchief executive, Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambirevealed for the first time on Tuesday.
Kambi said in an exclusive interview that the Sh6.7 billion tender to extend Hazina Trade Centre in downtown Nairobi awarded to China Jiangxi International was inflated three-fold, well above the originally projected cost of Sh2b
“We are digging to find out how this firm won this tender at such a high cost yet it should be much cheaper,” said Kambi, adding that it was among the reasons he fired the NSSF managing director Tom Odongo and another board member last month.

Yes, you are tribal. Even the hens in Kikuyuland are all tribalists.

My missus is Kikuyu. She’s called Wambui  – named after her paternal grandmother. Her shags is in Maragwa. Have you been to Maragwa? I have. If you come from a place like Kendu-Bay, just below the navel of South Nyanza, Maragwa comes as a little jolt.

You get off the main road at the shopping centre called Irebu, then you plunge into greenery. Everything is green. The grass looks photo shopped. The leaves on trees look plastic. There are banana plantains, and maize and mango trees, and folk have tilled every conceivable piece of land, a show of both hard work and voracity. But God is a fair God. For what he gives the people of Maragwa in cultivable land – and a great weather – he gives them the most village drunks per square kilometre. It all levels out.

Man in wife-sharing saga sacked

PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA Mr Sylvester Mwendwa, one of the two husbands who had agreed to share a woman in tears on August 26, 2013 after being thrown out of the ‘marriage’ agreement by the wife.
PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA Mr Sylvester Mwendwa,
one of the two husbands who had agreed to share a woman in tears
on August 26, 2013 after being thrown out of the ‘marriage’
agreement by the wife.  NATION 
MEDIA GROUP

By WINNIE ATIENO
More by this Author
A man who agreed to sign a contract with another to share a woman has been fired.
The butcher, Mr Sylvester Mwendwa, 26, who over the weekend openly declared his love for the widow said that his boss fired him after he heard the story.
Mr Mwendwa was not shy to reiterate his love for the woman saying: “I love her for real and I was ready to do anything for her even if it meant sharing her with another man,” even as he claimed that his life was in danger after receiving threatening messages.
After their relationship with Joyce Wambui and another man went public, Mr Mwendwa has now gone into hiding, fearing for his life.

China goodies: The hidden risks in turning to the East

President Uhuru meets Chinese delegation on his visit to the country. 
The head of State bagged many goodies for the country.
Updated Tuesday, August 27th 2013 at 10:48 GMT +3

 
By JEVANS NYABIAGE
President Uhuru Kenyatta may have bagged some goodies from China, but the billion-dollar question still lingers. Were the deals secured from the Asian giant really worth their perceived value?His mission to grab a piece of the resource-hungry dragon, observers say, will simply make him one of hundreds of heads of State that have visited  China hoping to cash in on the world’s most populous country and its booming economy that everyone wants a piece of.
But efforts made, including courting by the powerful US, Germany, Britain, France and hundreds of emerging economies including Nigeria, and Egypt, to woo China have been not always gone as hoped.

Monday 26 August 2013

A letter to Kenyans Abroad

Dear Diaspora.

There is this time I walked into this shoe shop in Dublin, Ireland. It was winter and cold as a hyena’s snout. I had on this hoodie with “Safaricom” emblazoned on its front in green. So, there I was checking out these shoe when I heard someone ask, “Wewe ni Mkenya?” I looked up to find this grinning miro guy. I said, yes, I was Kenyan. Boy, was he happy to make my acquaintance! He bear hugged me, which is something I try to reserve for the opposite sex. He then rattled on, asking about home and how it was “back there.” Asking about politics and things. He told me he watched Citizen news online most of the time, but that still left him shelled with homesickness. He lived in Northern Ireland, which is really next to the end of the world, and he is probably the only black guy for thousands of miles before you run into a Nigerian.

Letter in the Standard highlighting troubles Kenyan in America undergoes

This is a letter posted in the Standard newspaper by a Kenyan lady. Needless to say, her research leaves a lot to be desired.
——————————————————————————–
DIASPORA4By Sophia Baraka (as posted in the StandardNewspaper)
ruth is always bitter and painful but it helps future generations from repeating the same mistakes.
I feel sad. I cannot even eat my favourite wet-fry frog meat. Kenyans are dying in Obama-land in droves.Media reports give clinical reasons such as domestic violence, suicide, drowning as the cause of death. But we on the ground know the painful truth. Former Kenya Ambassador to Washington Elkanah Odembosays out of the 400,000 Kenyans living in Obama-land, only 200,000 are legally registered.
Kenyans who come to study in Obama-land with money raised from Harambees back home get a rude shock on arrival. They carry exact tuition fee only to learn that they must also pay for registration, accommodation, hostels, food and daily upkeep.
As a result many students resort to crazy jobs to make ends meet. They juggle work and classes. Some hold two to three jobs and attend classes at night.

Saturday 24 August 2013

Arsenal joy in drenched derby



Arsenal made light of conditions at a rain-soaked Craven Cottage to claim a 3-1 derby victory over capital rivals Fulham.

Arsene Wenger may have spent much of the past week under a cloud, as he endeavours to bring the big-money additions into Emirates Stadium that the Gunners faithful are crying out for, but the Frenchman saw his side shine through a constant downpour in west London on Saturday to secure an impressive three points and right the wrongs of a forgettable opening day.

Twins sister Khertima and Khadijah Taylor die on the same day.

President Anthony Carmona paid a surprise visit to the family of identical teenage twins Khertima and Khadijah Taylor, who were killed in an accident while returning home from a birthday bash early yesterday. The twins and their friend, Kafiya Gill, were killed when the car in which they were travelling crashed between the pillars of a bridge at the Cross Crossing Interchange in San Fernando. They were among four people killed in two road accidents yesterday.The driver, David Balkissoon, 20, of Concord Road, Pointe-a-Pierre, suffered minor injuries. Two other friends, Akinton Derek, 21, a student of Regent Road, Petrotrin, Pointe-a-Pierre, and Kenisha Garcia, 18, of Theresa Street, Marabella, remained warded at the San Fernando General Hospital. Garcia, described as critical, was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit around 2 pm yesterday after her condition worsened.



The Chemical Attack & Massacre of Damascus

imageAug 21, 2013 - At approximately 3:00am this morning in Damascus, a year to the day after Obama’s infamous “red line” speech warning Assad about using chemical weapons, and as a specialized UN inspection team sleep in their hotels in Damascus, ostensibly there to investigate a CW attack 6 months ago, Assad launched his largest, most wide scale and most deadly attack using chemical weapons on the Damascus suburbs of Zamallaka and Ein Turma in the Eastern Ghouta area. The fallout from the attack was also felt in many of the surrounding districts.
Preliminary reports are that close to 600 people have been killed so far with thousands more injured from the effects of the gas which some are claiming, based on the symptoms seen, to be “weaponized cyanide” 

Cameroon’s president Paul Biya orders more than 100 Pentecostalchurches closed citing criminal practices snd faking miracles.


Biya


Yaounde, Cameroon (CNN)
Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has ordered the closure of nearly 100 Christian churches in key cities, citing criminal practices organized by Pentecostal pastors that threaten the security of the West African nation.
But Pentecostal pastors said the move is evidence of Biya’s insecurity about the churches’ criticism of the government.
Biya is using the military to permanently shut down all Pentecostal church denominations in the nation’s capital, Yaounde, and the North West Regional capital, Bamenda, which have the largest Christian populations in Cameroon.
More than 50 churches have now been closed, with the government targeting nearly 100 in eight other regions.
“We will get rid of all the so-called Christian Pentecostal pastors who misuse the name of Jesus Christ to fake miracles and kill citizens in their churches. They have outstretched their liberty,” Mbu Anthony Lang, a government official in Bamenda, told CNN Wednesday.

Friday 23 August 2013

From pastors asking for healing money, now a Kenyan singer ‘kills’ hischild on Facebook and solicits funds.


Facebook


The Standard: A city singer has admitted he collected Sh300,000 by claiming on Facebook that his daughter had died.
Furious friends told The Nairobian that Moses Kamunya aka Maleek lied to them that his four-year-old girl had died and he needed contributions for the hospital bill and funeral expenses.
The artiste started his campaign last week when he updated his Facebook status saying his daughter was unwell and needed prayers. Friends and fans wrote on his wall many expressing sympathy.
Two days after the post, Maleek announced that his daughter had died.
The musician then went ahead, every few hours, posting quotes from the Bible, saying how much he missed his daughter.
Friends and fans immediately met and started contributing money to offset hospital bills and to help meet funeral costs.

Opposition has legitimate role in a democracy, but it needs discipline



By Macharia Gaitho

In Summary
The latest brouhaha in the blind rush into a referendum campaign illustrates clearly a tactless opposition leadership...”
It is a prerequisite of a nascent democracy such as ours that the government in power be constantly kept in check by strong and vibrant opposition.

The Real, Terrifying Reason Why British Authorities Detained DavidMiranda

AUG 22 2013

Hobbes-Banner.jpg
Frontispiece from the original edition of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan, by Abraham Bosse (1651)
Last Sunday, David Miranda wasdetained while changing planes at London Heathrow Airport by British authorities for nine hours under a controversial British law -- the maximum time allowable without making an arrest. There has been much made of the fact that he's the partner of Glenn Greenwald, the Guardianreporter whom Edward Snowden trusted with many of his NSA documents and the most prolific reporter of the surveillance abuses disclosed in those documents. There's less discussion of what I feel was the real reason for Miranda's detention. He was ferrying documents between Greenwald and Laura Poitras, a filmmaker and his co-reporter on Snowden and his information. These document were on several USB memory sticks he had with him. He had already carried documents from Greenwald in Rio de Janeiro to Poitras in Berlin, and was on his way back with different documents when he was detained.