Drug barons have taken over sections of Mombasa County in a fresh resurgence barely a year after President Uhuru Kenyatta declared war on the vice.
The president made his intentions clear when he led in sinking a ship — suspected to have drugs — in the ocean.
Mombasa Woman Rep Mishi Mboko claimed on Monday at a meeting in Nyali sub-county that drug dens had resurfaced in Likoni, Mvita and Kisauni constituencies where hard drugs are bought and consumed in broad daylight with police officers extorting cash to protect the barons.
Likoni OCPD Willy Simba confirmed the reports saying the government had come in with renewed force to deal with the menace.
“It’s true what the Woman Rep said. We have had the problem of illicit drug trade in Likoni which, we have seen, is fuelling the insecurity that we are battling with,” said Mr Simba.
Last week, said the OCPD, four rogue police officers suspected to be in the extortion ring were transferred including the Officer Commanding Police Station (OCS) of Inuka and his Likoni police station counterpart together with two constables.
An Administration Police officer was recently arrested in Inuka area of Likoni after being found to be involved in the drug trade.
CRIME HOTBED
Mr Simba warned that Likoni area had once again become a hotbed of crime with marauding youth robbing and killing residents.
A leaders’ meeting was held in the area to find ways of dealing with the fresh menace, said the OCPD.
“We have just subdued M-Pesa robberies which were rampant here. But now, we are faced with emerging trends of young boys committing all sorts of crime. We are also dealing with the issues of terrorism in this area. The Mombasa Republican Council (MRC) too, has started recruiting members after its leader Omar Mwamnwadzi disappeared mysteriously recently,” he said.
The Mombasa County Commissioner Evans Achoki said thorough investigations into the drug and crime allegations would be launched immediately and promised that the government would deal with perpetrators ruthlessly.
“I will call all leaders immediately so that we get a common approach to the matter,” he said.
Ms Mboko said that the problem had spilled over to Mvita and Kisauni constituencies where she said hundreds of youths had been turned to zombies in the area as well known drug barons went scot free after buying their way out from police officers.
“There are places in Likoni, Mvita and Kisauni where in broad daylight, hordes of youths consume drugs which are bought from well-known drug barons.
But the dealers buy their freedom through protection fees and bribery. The security apparatus has totally failed in this county,” she said.
She made the remarks at Freetown community hall in Nyali sub-county during a ceremony to issue cheques to women, youths and People with Disability (PWD) groups from Mvita, Kisauni and Nyali constituencies.
On August 29, 2014, President Kenyatta supervised the blowing up of a Sh1.3 billion ship, MV Al Noor and its contents aboard a military helicopter 33km from the Mombasa Port and sunk to a depth of 329 meters with 370.8kg of heroin.
The Head of State declared war on drugs and warned that if any vessel would be found to be carrying drugs to the country, it would be promptly destroyed.
President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto. Their appetite for external debt is unmatched.
By Shadrack Muyesu
“…The country has been borrowing about Sh40 million per hour that adds up to about Sh1 billion every day or Sh30 billion per month… (The Standard)
“Government has been borrowing about Sh355 billion every year, an amount that is enough to construct about 10 Thika superhighways every year… this borrowing that has pushed up Kenya’s outstanding debt by Sh1.065 trillion in the last three years to hit Sh3.4 trillion… (The Standard)
“…Uhuru oversees signing of Sh15 billion loan from China at State House… A Sh4.8 billion grant was for the construction of the Foreign Affairs ministry’s headquarters while a $1 million (Sh102 million) grant was for support in hosting the on-going World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference” (The star)
“…Treasury data shows that by March 2015, the Jubilee administration had borrowed Sh874.5 billion between 2013 and 2015, overtaking Kibaki’s regime, which borrowed Sh738 billion in his last term…” (The standard)
“…Sh340.5 billion from external sources. Another Sh229.7 billion will be borrowed from the domestic market… A Sh118 billion loan from China to fund the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)… At the current borrowing rate, every Kenyan child born next year will have to shoulder a debt of Sh71,000…” (The standard)
“…The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank raised the red flag as early as last year on Kenya’s growing appetite for debt…” (The standard)
“…China now owns more than half of Kenya’s external debt…Kenya secured a $600 million loan from china last week to help towards paying for a $6 billion budget deficit that government expects this year…” (Quartz Africa)
“…President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Thursday that the investor had agreed to pump in Sh6 billion over the next three years after purchasing the company’s assets…” (Daily Nation)
“…Chinese deals signed by the Head of State will raise the country’s external debt position to Sh1.26 trillion up from the Sh843.6 billion as at the year ending June 2013…” (Capital News)
“…China provided $745 million USD loan for the construction of Kenyatta University Teaching, Research and Referral Hospital…” (AidData)
“…Chinese firm’s Sh16 billion deal kicks off Uhuru, Waiyaki Way expansion…”(Business Daily)
February 11th 1963 at the Presidential Palace in Accra. Dr Kwame Nkrumah is done addressing his Cabinet. Just as he is about to put pen to paper to commission yet another of his grand projects, the Minister for Finance stands to speak, his verdict is damning: “Sir, I am afraid we might not be able to proceed; not now at least when our foreign reserves stand at less than 500,000 pounds…”
Momentarily, an eerie silence engulfs the entire room before it suddenly erupts in animated murmurs, then silence again. Everyone is shocked, yet none as the great man himself. For several minutes, he ponders pensively and then collapses into a teary heap.
Yet how could he? How could Ghana? One time the most promising of tropical states, wasn’t it surprising that hardly six years on, saddled by huge debt, a food shortage that had spiralled out of control and the ever-rising taxes, that Africa’s virgin land now was on the brink of bankruptcy?
Leadership problem
Ghana’s biggest problem had been its leader and, judging from his reaction, he must have known this. A good man to start with, with grand yet genuine ambitions of transforming Ghana into an industrialised state, Nkrumah had recklessly stumbled from one project to another seemingly driven by personal instinct and the grand novelty of an idea rather than its economic viability. He had overlooked the interests of the simple man, the peasant, choosing instead to focus government resources of expensive undertakings such as the mechanising state farms.
Simple necessaries such as elementary schools or even a pharmaceutical plants to heal the burgeoning drug shortage were overlooked at the expense of factories, shipyards and steelworks that he personally sanctioned, not to mention a huge set of concrete silos that were rendered unusable on completion. Actually, they never popped up on his “to do” list but even when they did, he always preferred the option that cost ten times as much.
Anyone with a bribe and a big idea could foster partnership with Nkrumah (Ghana). Then, as yours truly is doing now, some protested but that didn’t deter him for simply, they were “enemies of progress”; neither did a looming cash crisis or anything else for that matter.
Indeed, when domestic coffers ran low, he simply turned to the East for a loan, not caring about the suspect commitments he let Ghana into as collateral (at one time he even lined up a state carrier complete with a fleet of jets to fly to destinations such as Cairo and Moscow for which there was no demand. These planes became the personal taxis of government officials at the expense of the taxpayer). Ghana become an import state – a problem only worsened by the inefficiency and corruption of the battalion of cronies he had handpicked from his CPP faction to oversee his developments. Naturally, his projects couldn’t stand and as, one by one, they collapsed, he followed them into the abyss of Ghana’s forgettable histories.
50 years later, in faraway Kenya, it is Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta’s turn – a laptop project against a teacher and classroom shortage; food insecurity against low maize, cane and coffee prices for peasant farmers; food insecurity and lax imports against an embarrassment of a project in the Tana Delta; immaculate highways against a tipping public and external debt balance; national unity in the Jubilee Alliance against a reward mechanism in incompetent tribal appointments, not to mention a National Assembly that has prostituted its oversight role on the altar of quick cash and party politics! Hardly does history repeat itself in such exact margins.
As we cheer on the sand castle he is building, we should remember that, while the Chinese are always at our beck and call with “cheap” yet easily accessible loans, their dictate is often that this money will be spent on Chinese labour and Chinese machinery. Over and above the normal monetary payments, our friends from the East have been known to insist on China-friendly policies and other market concessions as preconditions – even payments for their loans. Simply, China pushes us to take loans she knows we will never be able to pay before it fills our markets with cheap Chinese commodities, which, unless we pay back, we can never have the moral or legal authority to throw out. It is no wonder therefore there is Chinese fish in Kisumu, Chinese mitumba, gadgets, “naturalised” Chinese ajua experts in Nyanza and the rising movement of cons and randy highway constructors that we can never deport.
The truth behind China’s extensive generosity is simple…
…To continue reading this story, please buy a copy of the magazine available in all leading supermarkets and street vendors at only kshs 350
From left: National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) members Francis Paul, Kipchoge Keino, Peter Nderitu and Fridah Shiroya address journalists during at a past event. Paul, thee NOC-Kenya (NOC-K) secretary general was arrested on Friday evening and locked up at Muthaiga Police Station. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
In Summary
Francis Paul was grilled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation officers in Gigiri, Nairobi, before being taken to Muthaiga Police station.
Police officers raided NOC-K officers at the 2000 Plaza, Mombasa Road, where they recovered hundreds of cartons containing Team Kenya uniforms for Rio Games.
Chef de mission Stephen Soi, who is also a top officer at General Service Unit and NOC-K deputy treasurer, was the main target.
By AYUMBA AYODI
The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) secretary general Francis Paul was arrested on Friday evening and locked up at Muthaiga Police Station awaiting trial over unspecified charges.
Paul, who arrived in the country Friday last week from Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil, was grilled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officers at their headquarters in Gigiri before being taken to Muthaiga Police station.
A police source who sought anonymity disclosed that Paul will be taken to court on Monday.
RAID
The DCI officers also raided NOCK officers at the 2000 Plaza, Mombasa Road where they recovered hundreds of cartons containing Team Kenya uniforms for Rio Olympic Games.
“The consignment is big and we surely don’t know why these uniforms were not given to the team,” said the source adding that police were due to make more arrests at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where NOCK officials were expected from Rio, Brazil.
Chef de mission Stephen Soi, who is also a top officer at General Service Unit and NOC-K deputy treasurer, was the main target.
Paul's arrest comes a day after Cabinet Secretary for sports Hassan Wario disbanded NOC-K owing to mismanagement of Team Kenya for Rio Olympic Games.
Philip Kinisu, the chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, before the National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee at Parliament Buildings on August 26, 2016. PHOTO | WILLIAM OERI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
IN SUMMARY
Philip Kinisu, the chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, has has a hard time trying to explain why he thinks dealings did not amount to conflict of interest.
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee is investigating Mr Kinisu’s association with Esaki, which was was paid Sh35.4 million by National Youth Service (NYS) in 2014 and 2015.
On the other hand, the anti-corruption agency is investigating the NYS for loss of Sh791 million.
Embattled anti-graft agency boss Philip Kinisu on Thursday admitted he was a signatory to a bank account that received millions of shillings from the scandal-hit National Youth Service.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman, who was appearing before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, had a hard time trying to explain why he thought such dealings did not amount to conflict of interest.
The committee is investigating Mr Kinisu’s association with Esaki Ltd that was paid Sh35.4 million by NYS in 2014 and 2015.
On the other hand, the anti-graft agency is investigating the NYS for the loss of Sh791 million.
“The accusation here is conflict of interest, whether you are doing business with the government or not is a different matter. Even as you chair the EACC, you are still receiving money as you are a signatory to that bank account,” committee chairman Samuel Chepkong’a said.
“Any money made by this company, you benefit. Imagine you are trading with a government you are supposed to be investigating. How impartial can you be?” he said.
Mr Kinisu replied: “The law allows commissioners, as they work part time, to engage in other lawful business. The business was before I joined EACC. As a Kenyan, I don’t see why I should not be associated with a lawful business.”
The explanation did not go down well with the MPs, who fired a flurry of questions at him, and were at times openly sceptical about his answers.
BACK DOWN
Mr Kinisu eventually seemed to back down. “Over time, if we find it is untenable as EACC chairman to continue, the family business will stop (dealing with government),” he said.
He then presented documents to prove he had resigned from the company and transferred the majority shareholding to his daughter, who he said had 70 per cent shareholding while the other signatory is his wife.
But the documents landed him into deeper trouble.
Said Mr Chepkong’a: “You will find me totally upset with you because you either misled this committee or you did not tell the truth.”
He was referring to a document that showed Mr Kinisu resigned from Esaki on April 19, 2016 yet the committee’s records, from an earlier session indicate he left in 2008.
Mr Kinisu replied: “Today’s documents have full disclosure of my shareholding. I did not have the records with me at the (other) time because the company had moved premises.”
Mr Chepkong’a heatedly told him he did not need documents to remember he sat at an Esaki meeting this year unless he suffered a “memory lapse”.
Wajir Woman Rep Fatuma Ibrahim asked how as EACC boss, Mr Kinisu could not influence investigations.
“Commissioners do not have an active role in investigations. My role comes when signing reports to the director of public investigations,” he said.
Mr Kinisu blamed unnamed staff at the EACC secretariat for his problems.
“Reform implementation (at EACC) has not yet started. Some proposed measures do not sit well with those who want the status quo and so are plotting against me.”
Kasarani MP John Njoroge asked how he would fit in at the EACC if he was cleared to continue holding office. “How will you work with the secretariat you are fighting? What about the public confidence and the media?” said Mr Njoroge.
Some Team Kenya athletes decided to sneak into the country from Rio Brazil in protest against the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) officials.
The athletes, some who sought anonymity, accused Athletics Kenya of abandoning them in the hour of need when NOCK officials failed to listen to their grievances right from the time of trials and residential training in Eldoret and even in Rio de Janeiro.
The athletes said the mess in Rio did not begin with the haphazard travel arrangements and missing training kits from Nike , but it began when their protests against taking the national trials and residential training in Eldoret fell on deaf ears.
Apart from the new Olympic marathon champion Jemimah Sumgong, two times 3,000m steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi, sprinters and Kenya Sevens team, who arrived to a rousing welcome at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Friday, a number of athletes returned incognito.
Most athletes declined to board buses provided by the government, opting to use other means to their homes. Others declined to go to Milele Hotel where they had been booked.
Olympic champions David Rudisha (800m), Vivian Cheruiyot (5,000m) and Conseslus Kipruto (3,000m steeplechase) and Olympic silver medallists Paul Tanui (10,000m) and Julius Yego (javelin) and another 10,000m team member Bedan Karoki among others sneaked into the country silently from Rio.
Rudisha came Saturday night followed by Cheruiyot on Sunday night. Yego and Kipruto arrived Monday afternoon unnoticed.
Instead of coming back home, some opted to travel to Europe to prepare for the resumption of Diamond League with most making their own separate travel arrangement back home.
“We don’t want people to hog publicity from our arrival when they have treated us badly,” said an athlete at the JKIA. “NOCK simply doesn’t care about us since they know we shall still perform as they hog the limelight.”
One athlete after the other said the NOCK mess started when they were forced to attend the trials in Eldoret despite their protests.
“We complained to Athletics Kenya who promised to do something but nothing happened,” said an athlete.
“We allowed politics to take precedent and athletes suffered during the trials what we no warm up track closer to the stadium.”
KAZI MINGI FARM
The athletes said they protested residential training being held at Kazi Mingi farm, High Altitude Performance Training Centre, owned by NOCK chairman Kipchoge Keino but it all fell on deaf ears.
“The facilities there were not to the required standards…the weather conditions were also not put into consideration,” said another athletes.
“We were forced to look for areas to train as far as Kaptagat when it rained hence wasting a lot of time and transportation was a big issue.”
The most vocal athlete who protested the trials and residential camp being held in Eldoret was World javelin champion Julius Yego while most decided to keep quiet for fear of being victimised.
Yego would suffer when his air ticket went missing at the JKIA and it’s after a protest from the team that declined to board the plane that he finally got a boarding pass.
Yego had taken issue with NOCK for delaying the departure of his coach Joseph Mosonik , who was to leave the country a week later.
The athletes said nutrition was also not put into consideration with the menu quite predictable.
“At Kasarani, we had a variety and nutrition was valued but not at the residential training in Eldoret,” said another long distance athletes.
The conditions in camp forced many athletes to make technical appearances and only availed themselves few days to departure.
“The camp was half empty most of the time as most opted to train on their own…we had no training kits,” said another athlete.
“Sprinters suffered most as they had to relocate to the Kipchoge Keino Stadium whose altitude could not help them much.”
RESIDENTIAL TRAINING CAMPS
The athletes now want to have a say on residential training camps while preparing for championships like the Olympics, African Games or Commonwealth Games.
“Athletics Kenya should be left to decide on where we should train in future and not NOCK, whose officials have vested interests and (are) out to make financial gains as athletes suffer,” said another athlete. “There has been no controversy during major athletics championships.”
Athletes noted that this was the second time athletes are being treated ‘badly’ after the 2012 London Olympics debacle.
“We were taken to some camp in Bristol, London, (during 2012 London Olympics), against our wish and the results were bad….most of us decided to put behind the difficulties and perform in Rio,” said one of the medallists.
“We want proper auditing of the accounts and people told to explain how uniforms disappeared.”
The athletes also want the government to take action against NOCK officials for the haphazard travel arrangements that saw some coaches and athletes miss their air tickets.
They said it beats logic to have athletes leave for the Rio Games while their coaches are left behind.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) Raila Odinga have called upon Kenyans to maintain peace even as the country heads to the 2017 General Election.
Speaking during the commemoration of the 38th anniversary of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s founding father, at the Holy Family Basilica in Nairobi, the two leaders said that Kenya is a democratic society and the electorate must make their choices without fear or favour.
President Kenyatta noted that competition is healthy but should not compromise peace.
“Kenya is a democratic country, a free nation and we shall compete healthily,” noted the Head of State.
“But never again, shall we compete to the detriment of our people or to cause bloodshed. None of us is going anywhere, those who win and those who lose we must join hands and work together for our country.”
On his part, Odinga said that Kenya has shed enough blood and the country should never go to that direction again.
“As we get into the campaigns, heat is going to be here but Kenya is going to be here thereafter,” noted Odinga.
“Let the campaigns not divide the people, never again shall we shed blood again because of the elections.”
President Kenyatta and Odinga are expected to face-off again in the 2017 elections after the incumbent defeated the latter during the 2013 polls, the first under the new constitutional dispensation.Kenyatta’s jubilee has expressed optimism that it will clinch victory in the presidential election come August 8, 2017 especially after merging the coalition’s affiliate parties. On the other hand, Odinga’s opposition CORD is also optimistic of unseating Kenyatta from State House.
Tonight, I go to sleep quite sad. For as beautiful as the Olympics have been, today saw an unbelievably disgraceful act (in my opinion). Ezekiel Kemboi is a Kenyan Steeplechase runner - the most decorated in history - two-time Olympic champion, four-time world champion. Now 34, he's been in the sport since 2001 - 15 years! And today, he took the bronze medal in what would prove to be his last run. After the race, he immediately retired. But two hours after the race, he was disqualified. If you happen to see it in the news, it’ll mention his disqualification casually, but there’s way more to it than that.
Those who watched the race would have seen something odd as the 4th place man crossed the finish line more than three seconds behind Kemboi. This man was holding up three fingers (thumb, first finger, and middle finger). In the moment, a viewer would think, “Maybe that hand gesture means something to him.” It turns out, it meant a whole lot more than anyone could know.
Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad is a French runner. After the race, this man filed a formal protest. He said that on Lap 4, Kemboi stepped outside the course in the water turn for two steps and should, thus, be disqualified, making him the bronze medalist (since he’d finished 4th). The judges could only look at the video and enforce the rules since this was a formal protest. Kemboi had indeed stepped out which is an automatic disqualification. The man who filed the appeal lost by more than THREE SECONDS to Kemboi, not three steps. He finished 20 METERS behind Kemboi - wasn't even in the screen when Kemboi finished!
The thing that will make you incredulous is that this man was once himself stripped of a medal for dubious reasons. Back in the 2014 European Championships, this man torched the field. He was so pumped that he took off his bib and waved it over his head in celebration as he came down the final 100 meters. A fellow competitor filed a protest after the race on a rule which states an athlete must display their number at all times. This man was disqualified and stripped of his gold. At the time, the president of his country's track federation called the filing of the protest “anti-fair play."
And now he has shamefully protested and had a medal stripped from a retiring track LEGEND. Normally, we say someone “wins” a bronze medal. Today, I feel like this man has stolen one. He's a man that has assaulted mascots (multiple times). He assaulted his own teammate after a race. He's notorious for all the wrong reasons. It seems his mistakes have never softened him.
Now, before we Americans go and get on our high horse, our country has a bad race on our hands, too. Not as egregious as this, but a bit sad (and really nuts!). Back at the 2008 Beijing Games, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands took silver in the 200m final behind Usain Bolt. American bronze medalist Wallace Spearmon was immediately disqualified by the judges for leaving his lane (which in a short race like the 200m can be significant). When our American officials looked at the video to confirm, they saw Martina had ALSO stepped over his lane line. So THEY filed a protest. Martina was disqualified and the original 4th place finisher, American Shawn Crawford, was given the silver and original FIFTH place finisher, American Walter Dix, was given the bronze.
What happened next, though, is beautiful. A week after the Olympics, there was a big track meet in Zurich. One morning, the Netherlands’ Martina was informed a delivery was waiting for him at his hotel's front desk. When he opened the package, he couldn’t believe it. Inside was a red box with a note that simply read:
“Churandy, I know this can’t replace the moment, but I want you to have this because I believe it’s rightfully yours. -Shawn Crawford"
Inside the red box was the medal! CRAWFORD GAVE THE SILVER BACK!
Now, rules are rules, I get it. By the LETTER OF THE LAW, perhaps all these men - Kemboi, Spearmon, and Martina - should have been disqualified. But when we consider the SPIRIT OF THE GAME, everyone knows, in this case, Ezekiel Kemboi deserved bronze. He gained no material advantage by leaving the course. Inside, most of us are incensed by this story. “THIS IS WRONG!” we yell.
But I see a lesson here for myself. Some people will be better than me on any given day. I should never let the anger of defeat cause me to treat another person poorly. In our day-to-day life, each of us makes mistakes - we have poor form. Becoming aware of our bad moments, admitting them, and working to become better - much like athletes train - will make us stronger people with better hearts. Catching our small bad moments keeps us humble. We get into trouble when we become petty and file “protests,” yelling at others over immaterial things. In this way, life is like sports. How? This man will lose the respect of hundreds of thousands of people around the world (quite probably millions because Kenyans are furious). Many of his fellow athletes will find what he did distasteful if not disrespectful to a legend like Kemboi. Which serves as a reminder to us all - sometimes you win the bronze… and lose the war. Long live King Kemboi!
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said the new law defines various types of marriages.
Story highlights
The bill initially allowed the first wife the right to veto husband's choice of additional spouses
Male members of parliament successfully pushed to get that clause dropped
Now the first wife has no say
A new law that went into effect in Kenya this week makes it legal for a man to marry as many women as he wants. And a leading women's group is applauding it.
President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the polygamy measure into law Tuesday, formally recognizing what has long been a cultural practice in the nation.
Parliament passed the bill in March despite protests from female lawmakers who angrily stormed out of the late-night session at the time.
The bill initially allowed the first wife the right to veto the husband's choice of additional spouses. Male members of parliament successfully pushed to get that clause dropped.
"Marriage is the voluntary union of a man and a woman whether in a monogamous or polygamous union," Kenyatta said in a statement. "The Marriage Act 2014 defines various types of marriages including monogamous, polygamous, customary, Christian, Islamic and Hindu marriages."
No limit on number of wives
The law legalizes polygamous unions, but does not provide an official limit on the number of wives a man can have.
The Federation of Women Lawyers, a powerful women's rights group, applauded aspects of the bill and criticized others.
Polygamy already is a common fixture among many cultures in Kenya and in some other African countries.
The bill, the group said, is long overdue because polygamous unions were previously not regarded as equal to regular marriages.
"We are happy with the law because finally all marriages are being treated equally," said Christine Ochieng, executive director of the nation's Federation of Women Lawyers.
"All marriages will be issued with marriage certificates, including customary marriages. Before this, customary marriages were treated as inferior with no marriage certificates. This opened up suffering for the women because they could not legally prove they were married to a particular man. "
First wife has no say
However, she said, the first wife should have a say in picking her husband's co-wives.
"What we are not happy about is that now a man can marry another wife or wives without the consent of the first wife," she said. "That section of the law is potentially open to abuse because a man can secretly marry other wives because he doesn't need his wife's consent to marry."
But Jane Kimani, a Nairobi resident, said the bill is archaic and has no place in modern society.
"Polygamous marriages should not even be an issue today," she said. "Kenya is moving backward instead of changing with the times."
Passengers arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE
By ANNIE NJANJA anjanja@ke.nationmedia.com
Tuesday, August 9 2016
IN SUMMARY
KRA has set maximum duty collected on personal effects at Sh50,000 ($500).
The guidelines come in the wake of complaints lodged by passengers arriving from Dubai and China, saying they are always subjected to extortionist rates unlike their counterpart from America and Europe
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has set maximum duty collected on personal effects at Sh50,000 ($500) in its latest bid to speed up clearance of passengers at the international airports. The guidelines published last week also details a list of items to be subjected to customs taxes at the arrival and departure terminals.
Basically, all the taxable items attract levies at rates determined by the value of money paid at a foreign country rather than factors such as quality, size, or weight, the guidelines state. “The Harmonised Tariff System provides duty rates for virtually every existing item,” KRA said.
The guidelines come in the wake of complaints lodged by passengers arriving from Dubai and China, saying they are always subjected to extortionist rates unlike their counterpart from America and Europe.
The KRA says that passengers departing from Kenya are required to fill in a Temporary Importation Form-P45- to declare items being shipped overseas for repair and the accompanying tools and show the receipt during return as declaration.
Also items bought and carried for business promotional and commercial purposes need to be declared during departure for purposes of taxes on return. Electronics like phones, video recorders and projectors bought while on a trip to Kenya and currency exceeding Sh1 million ($10,000) must also be declared at the customs before departure.
Passengers arriving in Kenya are also required to fill passenger declaration form stating the amount paid for each item including the taxes. Items intended for sale or for use in a business including those coming back to Kenya after they are used commercially, taken abroad for repair and currency above Sh1 million must be declared too.
At the arrival desk a traveller is expected to declare newly acquired items whether they were bought, inherited or gifted and any other items bought exceeding the limits of duty-free shops.
“Duty-free shop articles sold in a customs duty-free shop are free only for the countries in which that shop is located. Therefore, if your acquired articles exceed your personal exemption and allowance, the articles you purchased in customs duty-free shop, whether in the Kenya or abroad, will be subject to customs duty upon entering your destination country,” said KRA.
Household goods such as carpets, paintings, tableware and tools of the trade, professional books and instruments are cushioned from taxes “where minimum conditions are met”.
Donations are also not exempt from taxes unless in situations where a Pro 1B document (mostly accompanying diplomatic goods) and a special letter from the Treasury is produced.
