Shouting matches as DP Ruto and Bomet governor engage in public war of words

SUNDAY, AUGUST 30, 2015

• Governor Ruto at one point threatened to bring the meeting to an end by leading a walk out after the DPs supporters shouted him down.
• Senator Wilfred Lessan was also booed by the public who demanded to know why he deserted them after the election.
• The governor also criticised the government over the resettlement of Mau evictees.
• Bomet DC Benard Leparmarai and the police had a hard time restraining the public from moving to the dais.

By GEOFFREY RONO

Deputy President William Ruto and Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto engaged in a public war of words at fundraising in aid of women groups Saturday with their supporters engaging in shouting matches.

The political differences between the two former bosom friends turned political foes hit a boiling point as they publicly traded accusations to the surprise of the dignitaries present.

Trouble started when Governor Ruto told the DP that he needs to rein in MPs who have been insulting and undermining him.

Governor Ruto at one point threatened to bring the meeting to an end by leading a walk out after the DPs supporters shouted him down.

Senator Wilfred Lessan was also booed by the public who demanded to know why he deserted them after the election. 

He was forced to cut short his speech and resume his seat as Bomet Central MP Ronald Tonui who was the master of ceremony laughed it off telling the senator that he was paying the price of not bringing his supporters to the meeting.

Bomet DC Benard Leparmarai and the police had a hard time restraining the public from moving to the dais.

STOP INSULTS

“In your absence, MPs have been going round insulting me and publicly stating that they have your blessings to do so,” Mr Ruto said.

“Unless you stop the MPs from insulting us, the political rift in Rift Valley will widen before the next general election and threaten the unity of the Kalenjin community,” he added.

Amidst shouts from the public the governor said, “If these hecklers cannot be stopped…we can bring this meeting to an abrupt end... we can lead people out of this meeting if the nonsense continues,” the governor said at the fundraiser in aid of Joyful Women Organisation (Joywo) whose patron is the DP’s wife Rachel Ruto.

The governor also criticised the government over the resettlement of Mau evictees.

“It is sad that while IDPs were awarded Sh450,000, Mau evictees are still languishing in camps with the government promising them Sh150,000,” Ruto said.

When it came to the DP’s turn to address the public, he accused Mr Ruto of dividing the Kalenjins.

“You can’t threaten us that you will bring this meeting to an end. This is my meeting and you should stop engaging in rhetorical politics,” Ruto said.

He said, “This is my turf and I can’t be threatened. The mentality of dividing the people is primitive and backward.

“All of us were elected by the people and none of us is in an elective position by default,” the DP said.

“I have heard people talking about not knowing who between the two Rutos will be elected President. Is it not clear that there is a difference between Isaac and William?” The DP wondered.

DEFENDED GOVERNMENT

The DP also defended the government on the Mau evictees’ issue.

“You can’t lecturer us on how to resettle the evictees for President Uhuru Kenyatta and I know what we are doing.

“Nothing will deter us from moving forward and delivering what we promised the people in the campaigns ahead of the last general election,” said the DP.

The DP also waded into the controversial issue of the proposed Bomet University College to be built by Moi University saying a technical training institute in the heart of Bomet Town would be converted into a university.

He said five technical training institutes had been earmarked for construction in Bomet East, Konoin, Sotik, Chapalungu and Bomet Central.

“Modern medical equipment to the tune of Sh425 million will be delivered to Longisa County Referral Hospital and another batch worth Sh380 million will be given to Ndanai Health Centre,” DP Ruto said.

The return of ‘Matigari’, the story of two Kenyattas and Ngugi’s new role

Renowned author is in the country, as a guest of the State for the reopening of the Kenya National Theatre where he was banished 35 years ago. ILLUSTRATION| JOSEPH NGARI 

In Summary

• Ngugi then decided to move the centre, by joining hands with other villagers and some academics from the University of Nairobi, to establish a community theatre in Kamiriithu, in his village in Limuru, and stage Ngaahika Ndeenda.

• The play enjoyed massive attendance during its short run before its licence was revoked and the makeshift structure demolished by armed policemen.

• The rehearsals of Ngugi’s post-detention play, Maitu Njugira (Mother Sing for Me) at the University of Nairobi, was similarly disrupted in 1980.

By PETER KIMANI

There is nothing fishy about the coincidences, but the first time I met Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o, we both had rock shrimp for lunch. The setting was California, in December 2003, when he was still an exile, a dissident isolated from his motherland for over two decades.

This week, in Nairobi, we both had fish for dinner — something going by the fancy name of barracuda — but which proved such a chewy affair, my eyes were teary when I was done.

On both occasions, Ngugi picked the tab. The only difference is that this week, he segregated the bills: my meal and those accompanying me would be settled using his credit card; his meal and his wife, Njeeri’s, would be charged to his hotel room account.

Again, nothing sinister about this arrangement save for that the hotel bill will be paid by the Government of Kenya. Reason, Ngugi is in the country as a guest of the State.

“From the airport, we had a police escort with a siren wailing,” Njeeri chimes in, “it wailed all the way to the hotel.”

The last time Ngugi enjoyed a similar status, that is, a guest of the State, was in December 1977, when he was taken into custody and detained without trial. His jailor: President Jomo Kenyatta, the first President of Kenya. Ngugi’s crime remains unknown to this day, although speculation is rife that his play, Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), which ridicules the emergent, political elite with a ravenous appetite for public resources, may have precipitated his incarceration.

Ngugi’s host on this trip is President Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Jomo Kenyatta. Ngugi’s engagement with Uhuru, started in June this year, when the author arrived to mark 50 years of the publication of his seminal novel, Weep Not, Child.

Ngugi paid a courtesy call on the President, followed by a second, private visit, during which Uhuru invited him to participate in the official re-opening of the Kenya National Theatre, which was recently refurbished at a cost of Sh100 million.

The KNT is the hallowed space that Ngugi could not easily access in 1977 to stage plays such as The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, co-authored with Micere Mugo.

“At a time when theatre in Kenya is trying to reflect national history and a national struggle,” Ngugi wrote in the Daily Nation in October, 1977, and reproduced in his essay collection, Writers in Politics, “The foreign management of our cultural centre is selling Christmas cards that commemorate the KNT as it was in 1952, flying a colonial flag…”

MOVED THE CENTRE

Ngugi then decided to move the centre, by joining hands with other villagers and some academics from the University of Nairobi, to establish a community theatre in Kamiriithu, in his village in Limuru, and stage Ngaahika Ndeenda.

The play enjoyed massive attendance during its short run before its licence was revoked and the makeshift structure demolished by armed policemen. The rehearsals of Ngugi’s post-detention play, Maitu Njugira (Mother Sing for Me) at the University of Nairobi, was similarly disrupted in 1980.

“There were armed policemen waiting outside the Norfolk, while others waited outside the Central Police station,” Ngugi says, pointing in the direction of the two establishments, his hand touching his forehead, lingering on for a moment, rubbing the eyes, before he stared ahead in a blazing, clear gaze. It’s a gesture that Ngugi repeats over the next three hours as I seek to know what he makes of the overtures from the President and what that says of our political evolution. Ngugi is returning to the KNT, where he was banished 35 years ago. And the son of the man who jailed him is now his host. The dissident has become the distinguished.

What does all this mean to him? Is the son atoning for the sins of the father?

“It means learning from history,” Ngugi says quietly, before his gaze turns to his glass of water. There is a fizz inside. An insect has dipped in before he can take the first sip.

As the waiter disappears to fetch a fresh glass, I ask of Jomo, which somewhat explains his dalliance with his son. Kenyatta, after all, is the mythical figure in his seminal novel, Weep Not, Child, while kiama, the party, which echoes the independent party, Kanu, provides one of the controlling metaphors in A Grain of Wheat.

“The old Kanu was a very progressive party,” Ngugi says, explaining its tenets were to eradicate poverty, ignorance and disease. And the man who led it, Jomo Kenyatta, had different facets to him: Kenyatta the pan-Africanist, who took the Kenyan cause beyond its shores; Kenyatta the nationalist, who was jailed in Kapenguria, and Kenyatta the community leader who served as the first principal of the Githunguri College.

“The year 1952 was very crucial,” Ngugi says, fixing his gaze beyond the stylish Lamu door before his hand returns to the eyes. “It was the year that the campaign to crush locals’ efforts at self-reliance began in earnest.”

Ngugi enumerates the destruction of the Githunguri College, the towering symbol of indigenous efforts to educate Kenyans, was turned into a gaol where the Mau Mau fighters were hanged; a towering symbol of hope reduced to a monument of shame.

Ngugi says his return to the KNT “is very important,” and he is grateful the President has opened the door for him.

Some critics claim Ngugi’s dalliance with the President reflects a “softening” of his once radical stance. The answer to this question is deductible from his observations, as he rode from the airport.

“Is there any pride in saying, the Chinese built this or that for us? Are the Chinese training local engineers, so that there is skill transfer to ensure we manage our affairs, in a few years?

“I’m not saying it is wrong to have connections with others, but it’s important to do things for ourselves because, what happens when the foreigners go away, or withhold their support?

“The foundation of this country was self-reliance. The Mau Mau struggle against the British did not enjoy external support. It relied upon local support. Kamiriithu was about self-reliance. We fuelled our vehicles to drive there, and paid for the theatre construction using our resources.”

Ngugi pauses, looks wistfully ahead: “When foreigners mark our land to claim their role in this or that project, that’s modern-day slavery. It’s the master marking his name on the slave body.”

Some food for thought. Ngugi has finished his barracuda; I give up on mine. He takes a sip of his tea but pushes it away; he says it is too strong and will keep him up all night.

I claim his tea-pot and ask for a fresh cup. I take the tea. As he ushers us out, Ngugi makes an order for peppermint with honey to be dispatched to his room.

Quite some mellowing, I think; Africa’s greatest living writer will need some good night sleep. I want to stay up and contemplate his words.

The KNT will be reopened on Saturday, September 5.

 

 

Lonely in retirement: Life after the big office

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2015

FROM LEFT: Former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, former PS Thuita Mwangi and former PS Bitange Ndemo. PHOTOS| FILE 

In Summary

• Leaving the office after a long service to the public ought not be anything to dread; after all, isn’t one supposed to live the rest of his life surrounded by lovely grandchildren?

• The reality, however, is totally different for many.

By ELVIS ONDIEKI

Former President Daniel Moi understands what idleness and desertion can do to a retiree.

Thirteen years after leaving State House, Mr Moi still worries about what is going on in his farms, wracks his brain about the various institutions in which he is patron and minds the duties bestowed on him as the Chancellor of Kabarak University.

At almost 91 years, Mr Moi would now perhaps have withdrawn from all commitments to enjoy a quiet life. But he detests being idle, or “vegetating” as his long-time aide Lee Njiru puts it.

Both Mr Moi and Mr Njiru, 66, have deliberately decided to keep themselves busy as a way of adapting to the disappearance of some friends, the subtle ridicule by some members of society and the reality of “being forgotten” that comes with leaving a prominent public office.

It was a debate recently stirred by former Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo, a columnist with the Business Daily and a blogger with nation.co.ke, who wrote a post criticising the way Kenyans consider “useless” the people who have quit public jobs.

In the article, Prof Ndemo said that his phone, which would sometimes receive as many as 30 calls an hour, stopped ringing soon after he left office in 2013.

“My ‘friends’ had moved on. I found myself checking my phone to establish if I had inadvertently put it off. The phone was fine,” he wrote.

Mr Njiru, who headed the then Presidential Press Service for decades, told Lifestyle his experience chimed in with Prof Ndemo’s description after Mr Moi’s 24-year term ended in 2003.

“I lost a lot of friends but most of them are crawling back. However, after the experience, I now deal with them very cautiously,” he said.

In reference to those who leave top postions, he added: “After you retire, nobody needs you for anything. You should know that. But when you establish yourself, after some years, people will respect you again.”

Mr Njiru said that after retirement, prominent people tend to attract more critics for no apparent reason, including people wishing for their downfall.

“People can be very insolent. They won’t attack you directly but will say things without mentioning names,” he said.

Mr Njiru worked in the president’s communication team from 1977 during the reign of Kenya’s first president Jomo Kenyatta and rose through the ranks to be inside the inner circle of Mr Moi, Jomo Kenyatta’s successor. He told Lifestyle that he was a co-passenger with the former president on their way home after Mwai Kibaki took over power in January 2003.

Now engaging in farming among other businesses, Mr Njiru wakes up early every morning to “take instructions from my boss”. From 5.30 am to 5 pm every day, he is at Mr Moi’s office at Nairobi’s Kabarnet Gardens and during weekends, he travels to Nakuru to attend to his farms.

To cope with the quietness that comes with his life, Prof Ndemo is now a lecturer because “you need to have some problems to solve” and he also engages in some research work, including material his column. 

Mr Charles Njonjo, the first Attorney-General of independent Kenya, is also known to operate on a strict regime long after leaving the government. Business Daily writer Jackson Biko, after interviewing him in May, wrote that Mr Njonjo’s discipline was worth emulating.

“I asked him why he still comes to the office at 95 years of age. What motivates him to still work? He’s made more money than he or his three children will ever exhaust in his lifetime yet he wakes up in the morning and puts on a suit and a tie and he is driven to the office where he walks into the lifts and presses the fourth floor button and sits behind his massive desk,” Mr Biko wrote.

According to Mr Njiru, it is important to have a plan before retirement or leaving a high position in order to “disappoint” critics because the shock may be “dangerous”. 

“You find yourself in an alien territory. What kills people during retirement is not the lack of money. It is the translocation shock,” he said.

His advice? Look up to God, and take care of your physical, mental and financial wellbeing. To him, nobody should lack a reason to take a shower every day and wear clean clothes. He added that it is a disgrace for an old man to be “seen urinating by the roadside, wearing slippers even when going out to meet someone and indulging in too much alcohol”.

“When you are about to retire, start a business — it could be a butchery or a small shop. Even if you make Sh200 a day, it will give you a reason to wake up, take a bath and go somewhere.”

In the post that triggered the debate, Prof Ndemo said that as a PS from 2005 to 2013, he had been receiving over 30 calls an hour and up to 200 emails a day but all that traffic dried considerably when he left office.

It was almost a similar experience for former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who told the congregation at a church service in May that some of his so-called friends had deserted him after he lost the recent election — even before his successor Muhammadu Buhari was sworn-in. Mr Jonathan was in Kenya on holiday earlier this month. 

After the elections, his spokesman Reuben Abati, in a post on the website of Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper, said his phones are now “loudly silent”.

“By May 29, my phones had stopped ringing as they used to. They more or less became museum pieces; their silence reminding me of the four years of my life that proved so momentous. On one occasion, after a whole day of silence, I had to check if the phones were damaged!” said the post.

UNLIKE BEFORE

Mr Abati said the condition after quitting public service was a far cry from what used to happen when he was a spokesman, when “my wife complained about her sleep being disrupted by phones that never seemed to stop ringing.”

An incident this past Thursday involving former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, now a co-principal in the opposition Cord, was a pointer to the anguish that comes with leaving influential positions.

Mr Musyoka was spotted at the 9 West building in Westlands, where immigration firm VFS Global handles visa applications for Britain and Australia. A Nation reporter who saw him noted that although it wasn’t clear which country Mr Musyoka intended to visit, the process of getting the visa had evidently frustrated him.

Accompanied by a guide, Mr Musyoka kept moving back and forth, logging into computers at the self-service area and, at times, stepping out to make calls. He looked tired and frustrated as applicants who came after him completed the process and left.

The episode must have been a reality check for the Wiper party leader, who would not have gone through such a hustle when travelling abroad if he was still in power.

Television reporter Richard Chacha told Lifestyle that some people ceased considering him important after an April 2012 accident confined him to a wheelchair.

Some of his friends when he was an NTV political reporter and news editor, he said, not only stopped calling but also did not pick his calls.

“I guess they thought I was asking for favours or something,” he said.

Once a “most wanted” man when he was a regular at Parliament Buildings, Mr Chacha said he has lost quite a number of friends he had before the crash.

“You would even find some MPs queuing for me to interview them. They would come to me and ask if they could share their sentiments,” he said.

He, however, said that what gave him satisfaction was that there were friends who have stuck with him and that he had made new friends.

“I have come to know who my true friends are,” added Mr Chacha, now running a public relations company.

Prof Ndemo, who had interviewed over 150 people before writing the article, suggested the situation was due to the tendency of Kenyans to attach monetary value to friendships.

“The Kenyan culture is such that people attach value to friendship, but their friends value them for their money or influence … We make many of those close to us to seek material wealth that will give them sustainable relevance to people,” he wrote.

Interestingly, Mr Njiru told Lifestyle that most of the people who called him seeking to talk to the former President were usually after money, perhaps drawn by “Mzee’s (Mr Moi’s) legendary generosity”.

MONEY POWER

“People from all over Kenya and overseas ring me. They call for various reasons: medical assistance, school fees, money for business, money for politics — usually it is money. They may lie to you that they just want to greet him, but 99.9 per cent of the time they are looking for money,” said Mr Njiru.

He, however, acknowledged there were also a number of genuine people who simply come to greet Mr Moi on a goodwill mission.

Speaking on the issue of finances, the communication chief of the former Nigerian leader wrote: “The ones who won’t give up with the stream of phone calls and text messages are those who keep pestering me with requests for financial assistance. I am made to understand that there is something called ‘special handshake’ and that everyone who goes into government is supposed to exit with carton loads of cash.”

Prof Ndemo said some of the  prominent personalities who called him to associate themselves with his article are the former anti-corruption czar Prof Patrick Lumumba, and former Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi.

The associate professor’s article sparked a flurry of reactions from Nation readers, some who said it is the actions of people when they are in power that inspire the way they are treated when they leave.

“The problem is [that] when someone gets a big job, he/she shuns the common man because of class and status. While the people ‘you left behind’ expect you to help them, it is good to try and keep the friends you had before because you will need them when your artificial status is expired,” opined Grace Wanjiru.

Another reader using the nickname Dingdong on the Disqus platform posted: “When we build power and become drunk with power, we create capitalist friends since [we] become capitalists ourselves. We communicate for purpose but not for fun. We try to ‘buy’ friendship with people who matter ...!”

The debate also raised the issue of abandonment in retirement. Ms Joyce Wanjiku Kairo, who runs a foundation to take care of the elderly, told Lifestyle that it is not just prominent people who face such challenges.

“The moment elderly people start feeling sorry for themselves, they withdraw from the community,” said Ms Kairo, the founder of Purity Elderly Care Foundation.

Ms Kairo has traversed various parts of the country, especially her Nyeri County backyard, to attend to the elderly. Her observation is that even a person’s own children can sometimes neglect them.

“You buy your parents phones and believe it is enough to call periodically and find out how they are faring. With M-Pesa, you no longer need to visit home. When an old person is sick and alone at home and all you do is send them money, they feel lonely and depression sets in,” she said.

 

LEAKED Salaries of top State officials (no.95 will surprise you)

AUGUST 28, 2015

1 President of the Republic of
Kenya 1,750,000
2 Deputy President 1,487,500
3 Speaker of the National
Assembly 1,400,000
4 Chief Justice 1,380,351
5 Speaker of the Senate
1,375,439
6 Cabinet Secretary 1,120,000
7 Chief of Defence Forces
1,120,000
8 County Governor 1,111,673
9 Deputy Speaker of the Senate
1,107,509
10 Deputy Speaker of the
National Assembly 1,107,509
11 Deputy Chief Justice 1,099,182
12 Attorney General 1,095,019
13 Auditor General 1,082,528
14 Judge of the Supreme Court
1,082,528
15 Chairman, IEBC 1,082,528
16 Chairman,CIC 1,082,528
17 Secretary to the Cabinet
927,500
18Vice Chief of the Defence
Forces 927,500
19 Commander, Kenya Army
923,919
20Inspector General National
Police Service920,338
21Judge of the Court of Appeal
920,338
22 Director General (NIS) 916,757
23 Principal Secretary 909,595
24 Commander, Kenya Airforce
906,014
25 Commander, Kenya Navy
902,432
26 Director of Public Prosecution
902,432
27 Controller of Budget 895,270
28 Vice Chair, IEBC 895,270
29 Vice Chair, CIC ‘ 8 95,270
30 Chair of the Public Service
Commission 750,000
31Chair, Teachers Service
Commission 750,000
32Chair, Transition Authority
750,000
33Chair, Ethics & Anti Corruption
Commission750,0 00
34Chair, Kenya National Human
Rights Commission 750,000
35Chair, Commission on Revenue
Allocation750,0 00
36Deputy Inspector General
Kenya Police Service750,000
37. Deputy Inspector General
Admin Police Servi750,000
38. Chair, Commission on
Administrative Justice750,000
39. Chair, Salaries and
Remuneration Commission
740,927
40. Chair, National Land
Commission740,9 27
41 Chair, National Police Service
740,927
42. Chair, Commission on Gender
and Equality740,927
43. Member of the National
Assembly740,927
44 Member of the Senate
740,927
45 Deputy Governor 728,831
46 Judge of the High Court
728,831
47 Commissioner, IEBC 725,806
48. Commissioner, Commission
on the Implementation of the
Constitution 725,806
49. Registrar of Political
Parties700,000
50. Vice Chair, Judicial Service
Commission 700,000
51. Vice Chairperson, Public
Service Commission700,0 00
52. Vice Chair, Teachers Service
Commission 694,093
53. Vice Chair, Transition
Authority694,09 3
54. Vice Chair, Ethics & Anti
Corruption Commission694,0
93
55. Vice Chair, Kenya National
Human Rights Commission694,0
93
56. Vice Chair, Commission on
Revenue Allocation694,0 93
57. Vice Chair, Commission on
Administrative Justice694,093
58. Vice Chair, Salaries &
Remuneration Commission688,1
86
59. Vice Chair, National Land
Commission 688,186
60. Vice Chair National Police
Service 688,186
61. Vice Chair, Commission on
Gender and Equality 688,186
62. Commissioner, Parliamentary
Service Commission685,2
32
6363. Commissioner, Judicial
Service Commission685,2 32
64. Commissioner, Public Service
Commission 685,232
65. Commissioner, Teachers
Service Commission 685,232
66. Commissioner, Ethics & Anti
Corruption Commission685,2 32
67 Commissioner, KNHRC
685,232
68. Commissioner, Commission
on Revenue Allocation685,2
32
69. Commissioner, Commission
on Administrative Justice685,232
70. Commissioner, Salaries &
Remuneration Commission
679,325
71. Commissioner, National Land
Commission 679,325
72. Commissioner, National Police
Service Commission 679,325
73. Commissioner, Commission
on Gender & Equality 679,325
74. Secretary, Public Service
Commission 652,743
75. Secretary, Ethics & Anti
Corruption Commission652,7 43
76 Chief Magistrate 437,500
77. Senior Principal
Magistrate315,0 00
78 Chief Kadhi 313,514
79. Speaker County Assembly
283,500
80 Principal Magistrate 272,596
81. Member of County Executive
Committee 182,000
82. Senior Resident Magistrate
181,062
83 Resident Magistrate 161,000
84. Member of County Assembly
157,574
85 Senior Kadhi 110,000
Kadhi 84,000

And the teachers…
Job Group Monthly Basic
86. H 30,530.34
87. J 38,719.34
89. K 48,391.20
90. L 55,660.50
91. M 64,048.60
92. N 73,730.70
93. P 11,7841.040
94. Q 135,519.480
95. R 163,633.50

Six-lane Mombasa-Mariakani Road to cost Ksh22 billion

August 24, 2015 

by MyGov

Written by MyGov

A Ksh22 billion superhighway will be constructed along the Northern Corridor between Mombasa and Mariakani Weighbridge. This will hasten movement of persons and goods from Mombasa Island.  The Kenya Government has signed a multi-billion agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to convert a section of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway into a dual carriageway to ease congestion.

It is expected that Transporters travelling into the interior to deliver goods to Countries within the East and Central African Region will experience efficient service delivery. The road project expansion is expected to immensely contribute and alleviate poverty levels in line with the Government’s development plan.

Before 2013, goods being transported from the Port of Mombasa to Rwanda and Uganda took up to 18 days. Through President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention, goods being transported from the Port of Mombasa to Kampala in Uganda now take less than four days on the 1160 kilometers distance.

The Kenya National Highways Agency (KeNHA) estimates that on completion of the six lane dual carriageway in three years, the total cost of constructing the road will have risen to approximately Ksh24.5 billion. This section of the superhighway will be 11.7km long.

AfDB Regional Director Gabriel Negatu said the project is expected to start in four months time (before December 2015). “Our support is in line with our strategy to align our funding programmes with the Country’s Vision 2030.”

The deal with African Development Bank will see the government construct the first 11 kilometers of the 40 kilometers road section between the Port of Mombasa and Mariakani Weighbridge.

The Government expects to mobilise an additional Ksh 50 billion that will partly be used to expand the 6.4 kilometers from Moi international Airport Mombasa and the Port Reitz access road joining the Nairobi Mombasa dual carriage way.

This earth-shattering road project will come with its benefits and displeasures. It is expected that as is the norm in road construction projects, structures will be demolished. Some of those to be affected include Churches, Residential Houses and perimeter walls.

The National Land Commission has said that the 11km road construction from the Port of Mombasa will require that about 62acres of land be acquired from those residing near the road.

It will also call for the Government to compensate those whose land will be acquired compulsorily. Unfortunately those who will have encroached on Government land illegally will not be compensated.

KeNHA says that the section of the 11 kilometers road is faced with rapid increase in traffic volumes and intensive land usage. It is estimated that about 4,000 trucks use the road daily ‘To and from Mombasa Island’ causing inconveniencing massive traffic snarl-ups.

The current road capacity is overwhelmed due to persistent traffic congestion, which leads to economic losses, safety risks and environmental degradation.  The Acting General Manager in charge of special projects at KeNHA Eng. David Muchilwa said rehabilitation works on several sections of the Northern Corridor is underway.

These sections include, Maji ya Chumvi-Miritini Road, Sultan Hamud-Machakos Turn-Off, Lanet-Njoro, Njoro Turn Off-Timboroa, Mau Summitt–Kericho Kericho-Nyamasaria and Nyamasaria-Kisumu Airport. The Kisumu By-pass and the on-going rehabilitation of Kisumu Airport-Kisian Road have been done.

During stakeholders’ consultations, KeNHA was asked to consider setting aside lanes that will be used by trucks to ensure free flow of traffic especially from Mariakani to the Weighbridge. It was observed that roads used by both trucks and other vehicles tend to experience high rates of traffic congestion.

In another development, Trade Mark East Africa (TMEA) will raise about Ksh. 50 billion to fund projects like the relocation of the Kipevu Oil Terminal in Mombasa aimed at deepening and straightening of berths at the Port.

The coastal region is famous in Kenya for tourist attraction sites. This improved road network programme is bound to spur development in the Tourism sector since good roads inspire many people to travel. Mombasa Port is a key import and export gateway into this East African Region that has many landlocked Countries. (BY SHARON MALONGO

Ng’ang’a church accounts frozen as trader seeks back Sh2mn ‘gift’

 AUGUST 27, 2015

The High Court has frozen the accounts after businessman Geoffrey Ndung’u sued the Evangelist, accusing him of swindling him of Sh2.3 million/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 27 – A day after lawyer Cliff Ombeta withdrew as Apostle James Ng’ang’a’s counsel for non-payment among other concerns, it has emerged that the bank accounts of his church Neno Evangelism Centre have been frozen.

The High Court has frozen the accounts after businessman Geoffrey Ndung’u sued the Evangelist, accusing him of swindling him of Sh2.3 million.

In his court papers, Ndung’u says he moved the funds from his account to one of Neno’s in April of 2012 after receiving prayers from Ng’ang’a for mental problems.

Ndung’u says he was on medication for a psychotic break when he transferred the funds and was therefore not in his right mind.

He says efforts by himself and his family to have the funds returned to them have borne no fruit, leading to the suit.

In his replying affidavit, Ng’ang’a denied any knowledge of the funds being transferred into his church’s account but argues that in the event they were, it was received as a gift and gifts are not refundable.

“If such money was deposited in the church’s account, it was deposited without coercion, inducement and was an absolute gift,” the affidavit reads.

The case is slated for mention on September 22.

Ng’ang’a has in the past few weeks made headlines after being accused of causing the death of Mercy Njeri by dangerous driving.

He is out on a Sh500,000 cash bail and on Wednesday got some form of reprieve when the court refused to order a DNA sample from him.

READ: Lawyer Ombeta abandons Pastor Ng’ang’a

He has challenged the charge and the associated charges of conspiring to defeat justice and providing false information to a public officer in the High Court.

It’s alleged that on July 26, while driving a Range Rover, he collided with a car which Njeri was driving.

He has also been charged with fleeing the scene of the accident.

On August 20, Ng’ang’a formally denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Timothy ole Tanchu at the Limuru Law Courts.

READ: Pastor James Ng’ang’a denies fatal accident charges

The State counsel had sought to have Ng’ang’a compelled to undergo DNA testing in a bid to match a blood sample taken from the driver’s seat of the Range Rover to him.

Ng’ang’a has denied being behind the wheel of the car when the accident occurred.

Release Judith Now! End Her Unjust Detention At Yarl's Wood

My name is Judith, I am a 40 years old woman. I have been living in Oxford, GB for 16 years after having fled from Kenya, my country of origin. In Kenya I had received threats of Female Genital Mutilation after my family refused to agree to forcibly marry me with a regional leader from the Mungiki sect.

The Home Office says that I'm not credible and have refused my refugee applications, also due to rogue legal advisers that exploited me on my arrival. The government has failed to ensure that I as a claimant have proper legal representation.

Despite that I have lived in England for 16 years, the Home Office fails to accept this as a prove that I qualify for private life and have refused to give me legal status. The government denies that my right to a private and family life should prevent my removal from the UK. However, my value as a person is not based on factors I have no control over.

Since July 10th I have been in Yarl's Wood, a privately-run Immigration Detention Centre that Mr. Nick Hardwick, chief prisons inspector recently said "Yarl’s Wood is failing to meet the needs of the most vulnerable women" making it a "place of national concern".

Despite that my application for Judicial Review was granted on the 11th of August, the Home Office, using the private company TASCOR Oversees, tried to remove me on Thursday 13th August 2015. After I refused to leave Yarl's Wood (on the legal ground that I have a Judicial Review pending), TASCOR subjected me to demeaning treatment - they handcuffed me, pushed me to the floor, and tied a restraining belt on my hands and feet; they carried me like a bag of potatoes and bundled me in a van. Only after we arrived at Heathrow they accepted that that they could not legally remove me.

These tactics of targeted intimidation have left me with fear, anxiety, despair and sleeplessness at night. But all of this also made me stronger in my conviction that I have the right to remain in England. And it strengthened me to fight for that right.

However, I am still in detention, even though my only crime is seeking sanctuary. I am a model British citizen, I have no criminal convictions no aggressive or violent behaviour. I am an ordained minister of religion, a musician, a mentor for young people, Godmother, friend, among various other things.

Please sign this petition and raise awareness for my case. Together we can achieve that the UK Government stops treating me like a criminal and grants me the rights that I deserve.

LETTER TO

UK Government

home office

Release Judith Now! End Her Unjust Detention At Yarl's Wood

Kenya to receive $55.6 Billion in infrastructure investment

• By Vidal Holness|August 14th, 2015|Kwanji

As the economic opportunities are rising in East Africa and become widely noticeable, this grants new opening for Africa’s economic powerhouses. With oil, agricultural and retail sector expansion potential, Kenya is soon to benefit from this grand investment which is planned to become effective this year.

As of 2010 market research and analyst experts Frost & Sullivan prospected that over 300km of new roads will be built in and around the Nairobi area, valuing at $313 million. However as these plans have come into effect, they have been met with various displays of protest from the locals causing building delays, and consequently delaying the opportunity for Kenya to become the  undisputed businesses and tech leader for Africa.

These developments will be accompanied with the arguably best educated and the youngest generation of workers that Kenya has seen to date, with 60% of Kenyans being 25 and younger. Attracting more businesses to set up shop in Kenya What does this mean for the youth of Kenya? More jobs, as technological developments like M-Pesa’s mobile payment service have exploded, competitors look to tap into the market and issues like Cyber Security may arise and will need solving by an educated tech savvy workforce. Also M-Pesa is evidence that Kenya as a collective, is ready to be the next economic powerhouse, across all spectrums of social class and education. The service itself being geared towards small scale transactions, amounts to 10% of Kenya’s annual GDP. 

Kenya also have a constructive relationship with China, and as South Africa joined the AIIB, many African states look to follow suit, Kenya being one of them. This would mean even more money would be pumped into infrastructure projects whilst receiving the consultation of rapidly growing infrastructure development masters such as China. Joining the AIIB would also, in theory, allow Kenya to gain easier access to Asian markets, which is of great importance in the long term as 7 of the top 10 fastest growing economies of 2015 stem from the region.

Although a substantial amount of Kenya’s success is coming from their own internal entrepreneurs, like Trushar Khetia, the 28 year old founder of $7 million advertising business Tria Group, the rest of the world is paying attention – noticeably IBM who have chosen to open a research lab in Nairobi. Referring to the region as “Silicon Savannah” if you value semantics, this is just another clear indication of where the East African powerhouse is heading.

Trump Plans To “Deport Kenyans Back Home And Force Kenya To Pay For it"

by Lea Vat KensAugust 22nd 2015

(Photo Credit: Lev Radin/Shutterstock)

Recently, the Trump campaign released its first official position paper, a three-prolonged plan to combat illegal immigration and reform the illegal immigration system should he make it to the White House. Trump reiterated his intention to build a wall across the southern border and to have Mexico pay for that wall – a consistent refrain in interviews and stump speeches.

““For many years, Mexico’s leaders have been taking advantage of the United States by using illegal immigration to export the crime and poverty in their own country (as well as in other Latin American countries),” the paper reads. “In short, the Mexican government has taken the United States to the cleaners. They are responsible for this problem and they must help pay to clean it up.”

However, in accordance with his well-known temper, the real estate mogul didn’t stop there. He recently suggested that the illegal immigrants who came from Mexico are “just the beginning.” According to a recent interview, Trump plans to use the deportation of Mexicans as a “trial run” that aims to show the “difficulties in logistics and other aspects” of the endeavor, so that they may be eliminated and thus, “pave the way for a general deportation of all who ever came to the United States.

For example in the 17th century, which makes me believe that there’s more to that challenge than meets the eye. ‘Kenyan Americans,’ as they call themselves, have been here for a while now, and there are bound to be some difficulties with the whole deportation process. But, I wouldn’t be who I am if didn’t love a good challenge,” Trump told Newslo. 

Just like with Mexico, the media magnate also said he will make Kenya pay for the costs of deportation: “It’s really no different than Mexico, just like no other deportation will deviate significantly from this model, which I would like to call ‘Trump’s final solution.’ I promise Americans that I will make the Kenyan government pay for the deportation of every descendant of every Kenyan who today resides in the United States, regardless of how they came to be here.”

When asked whether his previous statement about the deportation of the descendants of Kenyans would include President of the United States Barack Obama, whose father is Kenyan, Trump replied: “Naturally. There will be no exceptions. Especially so, since the situation in which America is today is largely his fault. When he’s deported, the long road to recovery will finally be able open for us.”