TIG Post

Tag: Kenya

  • CCBA leads extensive beaches and rivers clean-up across Africa

    Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) is leading extensive beach and river clean-ups across the African continent this month as part of the International Coastal Clean-up initiative to remove plastic waste from the environment and raise awareness of the need to recycle.

    Teams of volunteers supported by CCBA have rallied across Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia to collect plastic waste.

    Every year, on the third Saturday of September, volunteers around the world take part in the world’s biggest coastal clean-up, International Coastal Cleanup Day.

    CCBA leads extensive beaches and rivers clean-up across Africa

    “Food and beverage packaging is an important part of our modern lives, yet the world has a packaging problem, which we as CCBA, together with the Coca-Cola Company, have a responsibility to help solve,” said Tshidi Ramogase, CCBA Chief Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability Officer.

    “To encourage more people to recycle more often, we’re investing to help people understand what to recycle, how to recycle, and where to recycle. As part of International Coastal Cleanup Day, we are working with local communities and NGOs across Africa to highlight this critical issue.

    CCBA leads extensive beaches and rivers clean-up across Africa

    “These clean-ups help shift attitudes towards littering and recycling, encourage environmentally responsible waste-management habits and motivate communities across the continent to recycle,” Ramogase said.

    In Namibia, Coastal Cleanup Day coincides with a national clean-up day so the whole country is involved, as well as the Ministry for the Environment. CCBA will be doing clean-ups over September in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo, Keetmanshoop, Walvis Bay and Oshakati.

    In South Africa, there are clean-ups in Enseleni, Richards Bay, Durban, Gqeberha, East London and Port Shepstone.

    In Ghana, CCBA subsidiary, Voltic partnered with the University of Ghana Plastic Recycling Project and Miniplast Limited to clean up Laboma Beach.

    CCBA leads extensive beaches and rivers clean-up across Africa

    In Zambia, CCBA partnered with the Siavonga City Council to conduct a clean-up exercise at Lake Kariba.

    In Ethiopia, CCBA joined forces with a youth-led organisation called Green Rotaract Concept and cleaned up the Little Akaki River in Addis Ababa.

    The team in Mozambique not only held a volunteer clean-up but also had an educational workshop with well-known environmentalist, Carlos Serra, to help increase awareness of the need to develop good recycling habits.

    Ramogase added: “While increasing recycling rates and using more recycled content in packaging is key, it is equally important to dramatically increase the collection of post-consumer waste and prevent it from ending up in rivers and oceans.

    “This requires a mass awareness campaign to shift consumer behavior. We’re bringing people together through programmes like beach and river cleanups and other ongoing local activities.”

    CCBA aims to help make the world’s packaging problem a thing of the past, working in partnership with Coca-Cola Company which launched a sustainable packaging initiative called World Without Waste in 2018.

    CCBA aims to help collect a bottle or can for everyone it sells by 2030, to make all its packaging recyclable and have 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2030, and make 25% of its packaging reusable by 2030.

    Source:myjoyonline.com

  • William Ruto’s bold move to scrap subsidies in Kenya

    Kenya’s President William Ruto has surprised the nation by scrapping a subsidy on petrol which has increased the retail price to an all-time high in his first major policy announcement.

    This comes at a time when  leaders around the world are introducing subsidies to protect people from the rising cost of living.

    This has led to something of a backlash on social media, while analysts warn he risks losing support right at the start of his time in office, after narrowly winning last month’s election.

    “I stopped driving to work some months back and now I’m worried my commute will become too expensive in case matatus [public service vehicles] hike fares,” Nairobi resident John Maina told the BBC.

    President Ruto based his election campaign on a populist “Hustler” narrative – promising to improve the lives of ordinary citizens, create jobs and lower the cost of living, while emphasising his own poor background.

    One of his campaign pledges was to remove taxes on fuel to lower its cost and so reduce the cost of basic commodities.

    But in his inaugural speech, the president announced the end of the subsidy programme, saying it would cost the country $2.3bn (£2bn) by the end of the current financial year, in June 2023.

    “This is equivalent to the entire national government development budget,” he said, adding that the subsidy had failed to achieve the intended purpose of lowering the cost of living.

    Economists agree that subsidies are unsustainable for Kenya and are often just an opportunity for people to swindle money but in the short-term, ordinary Kenyans will feel the pain of a 13% increase in the cost of a litre of petrol to $1.49.

    But analysts warn that the president could pay a political cost.

    “The impact will definitely be felt because the price of everything is bound to increase,” Herman Manyora told the BBC.

    He said there was no need to rush such a big decision even before a new government was formed because it made it look like “one man’s decision rather than a well-thought government decision”.

    President Ruto is yet to appoint cabinet ministers who will then require parliament’s approval before taking office.

    Analyst Javas Bigambo agreed, and said Mr Ruto should have taken more time to explain it to Kenyans first, and also to explain how the money would be used elsewhere, in order to garner public support for the move.

    Mr Ruto also said he would not be renewing a subsidy which had halved the cost of the staple food, maize flour, which was introduced just before the elections.

    Kenya is currently struggling with record debts and under the terms of a loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it had to remove the subsidies, which describes them as “regressive”.

    “The benefits of these subsidies tend to accrue to richer households [more] than poorer households,” said IMF Africa director Abebe Selassie.

    President Ruto has maintained a small subsidy on diesel – used mostly by transporters and manufacturers, and kerosene – which is crucial to rural households for cooking and lighting.

    And while removing subsidies on fuel and maize flour, he said he would instead reduce the cost of fertilizer, which has also shot up since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    Kenya does not produce enough maize to feed itself and he wants to increase national production.

    “Our strategy to bring down the cost of living is predicated on empowering producers,” said Mr Ruto, who enjoys huge support among Kenya’s farming community.

    The new administration therefore said it would provide 1.4 million 50kg bags of fertiliser at $29, down from the current market price of $54, beginning on Monday.

    But if these decisions don’t lower the cost of living in the coming months, Mr Bigambo warned that President Ruto’s popularity could take a big hit.

    “It will depend on how many other things he does right. If the decisions will not lower the cost of living within the next six to eight months then the joy of the ordinary citizens will not last long,” he said.

     

  • Kenya’s Parliament sits for first time since 2022 election

    Kenya’s Parliament has reconvened for the first time since the disputed general elections last month.

    Members of the two Houses of Parliament – the National Assembly and Senate – are being sworn in and will elect new speakers and deputy speakers.

    It comes just days after the Kenyan Supreme Court upheld William Ruto’s narrow victory in the presidential poll, after the result was challenged by his rival Raila Odinga.

    The Kenya Kwanza coalition led by Mr Ruto is vying for control of parliament against the One Kenya movement, led by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta.

    Neither of the two groups won a clear majority.

  • Costly ads hailing Kenyan president-elect William Ruto barred

    Kenya’s Devolution Ministry has warned newly elected governors against using public resources to pay for congratulatory messages in newspaper adverts.

    The ministry argued that the said money for the “expensive” congratulatory messages to the president-elect William Ruto and deputy president-elect could be used to provide essential services.

    “In line with advice from the president-elect, these congratulatory adverts are hereby discouraged with immediate effect,” said Julius Korir, while encouraging counties to use cheaper alternative such as social media.

    “The purpose of this letter, therefore, is to direct that all counties immediately desist from procuring the extravagant congratulatory advertisements,” he said.

    The ministry cited public finance management regulations in the Kenyan law stipulating that “public money shall be used in a prudent in and responsible way”.

    Public entities traditionally pay for space in the media to publish adverts congratulating newly elected leaders.

    Kenya voted in a general elections on 9 August, and President-elect William Ruto is due to be sworn into office next Tuesday.

  • Top officials turned away by Kenyan governor for lateness

    Governor George Natembeya of Trans-Nzoia county, in western Kenya, has refused some top officials entry into a meeting due to lateness.

    He ordered for the doors to be closed for anyone arriving past 09:00 local time, the time set for the meeting.

    The meeting with County Executive Committee members, equivalent of cabinet ministers, was meant to discuss the county’s development plan for the next five years.

    His actions have been lauded by several citizens.

    Speaking to the media, George Natembeya stressed on the essence of being punctual.

    “When I say we meet at 9am sharp I mean 9am sharp and not 9:01am. I personally arrived here five minutes earlier so everyone should learn to keep time. Past the said time, if you are out, remain there,” Mr Natembeya is quoted as saying by local outlets.

    The governor gained a reputation for his strictness in his former role as a government administrator.

  • The Kenyan Supreme Court validates William Ruto’s victory in the presidential election

    Following the election commission chair’s declaration of William Ruto as the winner, protests temporarily erupted in a number of the strongholds of Raila Odinga, the opposition candidate. It’s unclear if there will be any additional demonstrations.

    The highest court of Kenya has dismissed a challenge to the official results of the presidential election.

    Opposition candidate Raila Odinga had alleged irregularities in the otherwise peaceful election on 9 August, which was won by deputy president William Ruto.

    The court found there was little or no evidence for various claims, including accusations of misconduct, and called some of them “nothing more than hot air.”

    Protests briefly broke out in several of Mr Odinga’s strongholds after the election commission chair declared Mr Ruto the winner on 15 August, but Mr Odinga urged his supporters to stay peaceful.

    It is not clear whether the court’s decision could lead to further protests.

    The court overturned the results of the previous presidential election in 2017, a first in Africa, and ordered a fresh vote after Mr Odinga filed a challenge to that year’s result.

    He then boycotted the fresh election that was ordered, allowing President Uhuru Kenyatta to take power.

    At the time, about 100 people were killed in election-related clashes.

    This time, Mr Odinga was backed by Mr Kenyatta, his former opponent, illustrating how political alliances can shift in East Africa’s most stable democracy.

    Mr Ruto had been declared the winner even though four of the seven election commissioners had disowned the result announced by the commission chairman, claiming the count had been opaque.

    Image:Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga

    The supreme court criticised the commission, saying it “needs far-reaching reforms” before questioning whether “are we to nullify an election on the basis of a last-minute boardroom rupture?”

    Mr Ruto will become Kenya’s fifth president at a time when the east African nation faces several challenges, including billions of dollars in loans and surging prices of basic commodities such as food and fuel.

  • No evidence of election fraud in Kenya, say Ruto’s lawyers

    The proceedings for the presidential petition were ended by Kenya’s Supreme Court on Thursday.

    Lawyers representing the electoral commission and President-elect William Ruto challenged the petition by presidential candidate Raila Odinga and six others seeking to overturn the result of the 9 August election.

    The legal teams urged the court to dismiss pleas made by Mr Odinga and others saying they lacked merit because they had not tabled evidence to support their claims.

    They challenged the petitioners to provide proof to demonstrate that the results transmission system was compromised.

    The court was told that the allegations made about the dispute between the commissioners and the chairperson were merely sensational and do not warrant a nullification of the election outcome.

    They accused petitioners of engineering a constitutional crisis to achieve their political objectives.

    Lawyers will respond to questions and clarifications sought by the seven-judge bench on Friday.

    The judges will then write the judgment over the weekend and deliver the ruling on Monday.

  • Kenya’s Odinga mounts court challenge to presidential poll result

    Kenya‘s defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga filed a petition to the country’s top court Monday, challenging the outcome of the August 9 election in what he called a fight for “democracy and good governance”.

    Odinga, a veteran opposition leader who ran with the backing of President Uhuru Kenyatta and the ruling party, has rejected the outcome of the poll that delivered victory to his rival William Ruto, branding it a “travesty”.

    The 77-year-old politician lost his fifth bid for the presidency by a narrow margin of around 230,000 votes — less than two percentage points.

    Hundreds of supporters cheered as dozens of boxes of evidence were unloaded from a truck outside the Supreme Court.

    “We have enough evidence that it is us who won the election. We didn’t have an election we can be proud of,” Odinga told a press conference after filing the case.

    The outcome of the poll represented a “continuing struggle pitting the forces for democracy and good governance against the corruption cartels that… will stop at nothing to take control of government,” he said, without giving specific details.

    “The action we have taken… affirms our deep belief in constitutionalism, the rule of law and a peaceful resolution of disputes.”

    Although polling day passed off peacefully, the announcement of the results a week ago sparked angry protests in some Odinga strongholds and there are fears a drawn-out dispute may lead to violence in a country with a history of post-poll unrest.

    Since 2002, no presidential election in Kenya has gone uncontested, with this year’s outcome also causing a rift within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which oversaw the poll.

    According to a copy of the 72-page petition, Odinga’s team alleges that IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati failed to tally around 140,000 votes.

    As a result, Ruto “did not meet the constitutional threshold of 50% plus 1 of the valid votes cast” — a requirement for him to be declared the winner.

    Judges now have 14 days to issue a ruling. If they order an annulment, a new vote must be held within 60 days.

    – ‘We want justice’ –

    Odinga supporters began gathering outside the court hours before his arrival, blowing whistles and waving placards reading “Electoral Justice Now!” and “We want justice now”.

    “Odinga must win so that we get the 6,000 shillings ($50) promised in his manifesto,” said one man, wearing a crown made with plants who was referring to a monthly cash handout for vulnerable households.

    Another man — armed with a Bible and wearing huge green glasses — knelt down in prayer as police guarded the court premises.

    A court clerk said the tribunal had also received another eight petitions over the results filed by voters, politicians and non-profit organisations.

    The IEBC was under heavy pressure to deliver a clean vote after facing sharp criticism over its handling of the August 2017 election, which was also challenged by Odinga.

    The court annulled that election in a first for Africa and ordered a re-run which was boycotted by Odinga. Dozens of people died during a police crackdown on protests.

    In a shock development shortly before the results of this year’s poll were announced, four of the IEBC’s seven commissioners accused chairman Chebukati of running an “opaque” operation and later said the numbers did not add up.

    Chebukati dismissed the claims, insisting he had carried out his duties according to the law of the land despite “intimidation and harassment”.

    – Divided opinion –

    Legal experts are divided on whether Chebukati needed the commissioners’ backing to announce the results, with constitutional lawyer Charles Kanjama said there was “some ambiguity” surrounding the issue.

    Odinga has previously said he was cheated of victory in the 2007, 2013 and 2017 elections, and the poll’s aftermath is being keenly watched as a test of democratic maturity in the East African powerhouse.

    On the campaign trail, both frontrunners pledged to resolve any disputes in court rather than on the streets.

    Since the results were declared, Odinga has commended his supporters for “remaining calm” while Ruto has taken a conciliatory tone and promised to “work with all leaders”.

    Kenya’s worst electoral violence occurred after the 2007 vote, when more than 1,100 people died in politically motivated clashes involving rival tribes.

    If the Supreme Court upholds the results, Ruto will become Kenya’s fifth president since independence from Britain in 1963, taking the reins of a country battling inflation, high unemployment and a crippling drought.

    Source: Africa News

  • Kenya’s first female chief justice to preside over election petition

    In a country once known for political interference in the judiciary, Kenya’s Chief Justice Martha Koome is no pushover: she built her career defending dissidents, and this year her court torpedoed constitutional changes proposed by the president who appointed her.

    But her own reputation for independence and fairness is on trial after opposition leader Raila Odinga filed a Supreme Court case on Monday seeking to overturn the results of the Aug. 9 presidential election.

    The election commission is split: the chairman announced that Deputy President William Ruto won by about 233,000 votes, but four out of the seven commissioners dissented, saying results were not aggregated correctly. Kenya’s largest civil society election observation group says its count supports the chairman.

    Any perceived misstep in the ruling by Koome or the six judges she presides over could damage public faith in the judiciary and imperil the peaceful transfer of power in East Africa’s richest and most stable nation.

    The dispute has raised tensions in a nation with a history of deadly election disputes.

    “We urge the judiciary to remain an impartial arbiter,” the Angaza Movement, a Kenyan civic and human rights consortium, said on Friday, adding the “tranquillity and peace of the nation” depended upon it.

    The stakes are also high for the judges themselves: when Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified the 2017 election results, judges faced a torrent of abuse, were called “crooks” by the president and one of their bodyguards was shot and injured.

    Koome, appointed in May 2021 by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, has a reputation for integrity.

    Months after her appointment, she quashed broad constitutional reforms backed by both Odinga and Kenyatta, which were widely seen as an attempt to sideline Ruto. Kenyatta fell out with Ruto after the 2017 elections and formed an alliance with Odinga.

    Koome’s ruling prompted praise even from critics like Ahmednasir Abdullahi, a lawyer who has frequently questioned Koome’s independence and who supports Ruto.

    “On the whole, good judgment by the Supreme Court,” he tweeted, praising Koome and a second judge for being “outstanding in their reasoning”.

    CHALLENGING POWER

    In 2017, the Supreme Court became the first African court to scrap the re-election victory of a sitting president, after it annulled on procedural grounds results giving Kenyatta a second term. Kenyatta won the rerun after Odinga boycotted it.

    Four of those judges remain on the Court. The chief justice retired and Koome replaced him.

    Koome – who has 34 years of legal experience – cut her teeth representing political detainees like Odinga when he protested against state repression in the 1980s and 90s.

    In Odinga’s stronghold of Kisumu, faith in the courts helps keep protesters off the streets.

    “Many years ago … courts seemed to be controlled by the government. But today’s courts have come out to be more independent,” said carpenter Meshack Nyamema.

    Koome, 62, is already a trailblazer: her appointment made her the first female head of any Kenyan branch of government. She often discusses her Christianity and liberal social views.

    One of 18 children from a polygamous family of subsistence farmers, Koome co-founded and chaired the Federation of Women Lawyers. It campaigns for women’s rights, offers poor women free legal services and contributed to a landmark 2010 constitution that guaranteed women new rights.

    In another departure from orthodoxy, in 2019 she supported a ruling that it was not illegal to identify as gay. Gay sex is punishable by 14 years in jail.

    This May, Koome used a national prayer breakfast to warn against settling election disputes on the streets.

    “I pray for those who might be tempted to divide our nation for their selfish reasons,” she said. “This country belongs to everyone, and not just politicians.”

    Source: Reuters

  • Kenya election 2022: Raila Odinga rejects William Ruto’s victor

    The results of Kenya’s presidential election have been disputed by Raila Odinga, who claimed that the figures released on Monday were “null and void.”

    The official results show that Mr. Odinga fell short against Deputy President William Ruto.

    The head of the election board was charged by Mr. Odinga with “blatant contempt for the constitution.”

    “We totally without reservation reject the presidential election results,” he said.

    Making his remarks in front of supporters in the capital, Nairobi, he said that there was “neither a legally elected winner nor a president-elect”.

    The 77-year-old long-time opposition leader was running for president for the fifth time. He has challenged the results in the previous two elections, including successfully in 2017.

    This time around, the chairman of the electoral body Wafula Chebukat said he got 48.8% of the vote in last Tuesday’s election compared to Mr. Ruto’s 50.5%.

    Mr. Odinga accused Mr. Chebukati of “gross impunity” saying his team will pursue all legal options. He called his declaration “a major setback” to Kenya’s democracy that could trigger a political crisis.

    He said that Mr. Chebukati went against the law by announcing the result without the backing of his fellow commissioners. But an ally of Mr. Ruto, Musalia Mudavadi, told BBC Focus on Africa radio that commissioners are required to collate the results but do not determine the result.

    This is a legal point that may in the end have to be tested in court.

    Minutes before Mr. Odinga spoke, four of seven electoral commissioners who refused to approve Monday’s results, held a press conference to give their reasons.

    They accused Mr. Chebukati of side-lining them and of announcing results that were full of “mathematic absurdity and defied logic”.

    Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of the commission, said that if you added the percentages as announced by the chairperson of the commission the sum came to 100.01%.

    But the BBC’s Reality Check team says that this was down to a rounding error and is not suspicious.

    Mr. Odinga has however commended the four commissioners for their “heroism”.

    “The majority of (the electoral commission) – who stood up to the bullying and illegal conduct of Mr. Chebukati, we are proud of them and ask them not to fear anything. Kenyans are with them,” he said.

    On Monday, Mr. Ruto described the objections of the commissioners as a “side-show”, but said he would respect a legal process. He also called for unity, saying he wanted to be a president for all, and for the country to focus on the future.

    Last week’s election was largely peaceful. The electoral commission was widely praised for conducting a transparent process by posting on its website results from more than 46,000 polling stations and encouraging anyone to conduct their own tally.

    However, scuffles broke out at the counting center on Monday after Mr. Odinga’s supporters accused the electoral commission of tampering with votes and attempted to block Mr. Chebukati from announcing the final results. At least three poll officials were injured in the melee.

    Calm has been restored in the country after a mixture of celebrations and violent protests followed the official declaration of the presidential results.

    Thousands of supporters, clad in yellow, Mr. Ruto’s party colors, poured onto the streets of Eldoret in the Rift Valley. In contrast in the western city of Kisumu, Mr. Odinga’s supporters blocked roads and lit bonfires. Similar scenes played out in several towns and in the capital, Nairobi.

    Generally ,there is a sense of relief that the counting process is over because the election season often means that life grinds to a halt.

    But people will be paying attention to Mr. Odinga’s plans to file a case at the Supreme Court.

  • Kenya polls: William Ruto wins presidential race

    In the midst of emotional moments, the chairman of the electoral commission has announced that Deputy President William Ruto has won Kenya’s presidential election.

    With 50.4% of the vote, he barely defeated Raila Odinga as his opponent.

    The announcement was delayed amid scuffles and allegations of vote-rigging by Mr. Odinga‘s campaign.

    Due to disputes and claims of vote manipulation by Mr. Odinga’s team, the declaration was postponed.

    Four of the seven members of the electoral commission refused to endorse the announcement, saying the results were “opaque”.

    “We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election,” said Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

    “We are going to give a comprehensive statement… and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm. There is an open door that people can go to court and the rule of law will prevail,” she said.

    Mr. Odinga’s party agent earlier alleged that there were “irregularities” and “mismanagement” in the election.

    This was the first time Mr. Ruto, 55, had run for president. He has served as deputy president for 10 years but fell out with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed Mr. Odinga to succeed him.

     

  • Kenya elections 2022: Raila Odinga and William Ruto in tight presidential race

    With almost half of the results from Kenya’s presidential election now confirmed, the two main candidates are running neck and neck.

    Deputy President William Ruto has taken a slight lead over ex-Prime Minister Raila Odinga – 51% against 48%.

    The head of the electoral commission has admitted that announcing the result of Tuesday’s election is too slow.

    The verification of results has been stopped several times after complaints by supporters of the main candidates.

    On Saturday night, Mr Odinga’s supporters entered a restricted area and accosted electoral officials, accusing them of tampering with the vote.

    Amid the melee, Mr Odinga’s chief campaign manager was able to get to the lectern used by top electoral commission officials, where he criticised the result verification process.

    “I want to announce to the nation that Bomas of Kenya is a scene of crime,” said Saitabao Ole Kanchory, before the microphone was switched off and he was led away. Bomas is the name of the cultural centre in the capital, Nairobi, which is being used as the main tallying centre.

    Mr Ruto’s supporters accused their opponents of interfering with the tallying process.

    Riot police have been deployed inside the building to reinforce security.

    There have been calls for peace from several leaders and bodies including the Catholic church which asked for “patience and civility” and urged the main candidates to show “restraint and statesmanship” as anxiety grows.

    “I want to become an instrument to bring peace, to heal, unite and keep the hope alive in our country,” Mr Odinga said on Sunday morning at a church service in Nairobi, his first public remarks since election day.

    The results of 141 of the 292 constituencies have now been confirmed, according to a BBC tally of official announcements.

    Media organisations have been releasing provisional tallies using official data from the 46,000 polling stations. They also show a tight race between the two candidates.

    About 14 million votes were cast – a turnout of 65%.

    The electoral commission has until Tuesday 16 August to declare the winner.

    “We have to make adjustments” to quicken the process of verifying results, the head of the electoral body Wafula Chebukati said in his latest briefing on Saturday.

    “It’s taking three to four hours” to process the result from a single constituency, he said. “Some of our returning officers have stayed here for three days sitting on chairs, which is totally unacceptable.”

    Source: BBC

  • Kenya elections: Raila Odinga and William Ruto in tight race for president

    International tabloids are reporting that Kenya’s 2022 Presidential election is seeing tight race between Deputy President William Ruto and former prime minister Raila Odinga.

    Provisional results already indicate that it would not be easy-peasy for any of the candidates.

    It is unknown who is in lead position but more 90% of results posted from thousands of individual districts, local tallies of the raw data suggest little separates the pair.

    The two frontrunners in the presidential race are seasoned politicians.

    Mr Odinga, 77, who is a long-serving opposition leader, nicknamed Baba (“father”) by his supporters, is running for the fifth time. Outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta is backing Mr Odinga.

    Mr Ruto aged 55 is making his first move in the presidency race.

    Two other candidates; David Mwaure and George Wajackoya are also in the race.

    It could be several days before the official result is known.

    This vote follows an intense campaign dominated by debates about living costs, unemployment and corruption.

    Turnout is estimated at around 60%, well short of the 80% in the last election five years ago.

    A largely peaceful election day was marred by logistical delays and a failure of the identification kit in some parts of the country.

    The media, political parties and civil society groups have been compiling their own tallies using these final results declared at the more than 40,000 polling stations.

    But only the electoral commission can declare the winner of the presidential election after verifying the physical and digital forms sent to the national tallying centre.

    It has seven days to announce the result.

    To win the presidential race in the first round, a candidate needs:

    • more than half of all the votes cast across the country
    • at least 25% of the votes cast in a minimum of 24 counties.

    After counting the votes, local officials take a photo of the final tally sheet and send the image to both the constituency and national tallying centres.

  • Kenya’s Omanyala wins Commonwealth men’s 100m gold

    Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala won the men’s 100m at the Commonwealth Games in a time of 10.02.

    Omanyala won easily ahead of defending champion Akani Simbine of South Africa. Sri Lankan sprinter Yupun Abeykoon took bronze.

    “I am over the moon, I thrive on the hype of this sort of event,” Omanyala is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

    The eighth-fastest man of all time and African champion became the first Kenyan to win the Commonwealth Games title.

    On Twitter he said: “Indeed nothing is impossible.”

    Source: BBC

  • Kenya, Somalia resume khat trade, ink range of deals

    Newly elected Somalian president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, ended Friday a two-day official visit to his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta.

    At the end of his trip, the countries’ foreign ministers announced the nations had agreed to restart with immediate effect the trade of the stimulant khat. Which means that air shipments of khat also known as miraa will resume after a 2-year hiatus.

    Somalia is one of the biggest markets for miraa and central Kenyan, a big producer of the plant whose leaves and stems are a popular stimulant and appetite suppressant.

    Among a range of deals signed, the leaders have directed immediate market access of fish from Somalia to Kenya and vice versa and agreed to ease some visa restrictions a s well as re-open the border.

    President Kenyatta and President Mohamud have directed immediate market access of fish from Somalia to Kenya and vice versa.

    Source: Africanews

  • Kenya, World Health Organization launch emergency hub

    The Kenyan government and World Health Organization on Saturday launched a medical emergency hub in Nairobi, the first in a network of African centres they say will hasten responses to regional emergencies.

    Source:reuters.com

  • Kenya tax staff ‘to wear body cams’ in war on bribes

    Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) says it will start using body-worn cameras among its staff to deal with tax cheating and bribery, its head is quoted as saying by the local Business Daily newspaper.

    The body cams will be used mainly by staff in the domestic tax department and customs and border control, according to the report.

    Some KRA staff have been accused of amassing properties that are not consistent with their pay.

    “Very soon we will also be ensuring our enforcement officers have body-worn cameras, like the ones you see in the US, so that any action they take is recorded and we can see it. When you put it off, we will also have to understand why you do it,” KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu is quoted as saying.

    Last year, the tax authority announced it was viewing the social media profiles of targeted individuals to reconcile their lifestyles with their tax compliance.

    Source: BBC

  • Kenya ‘regrets’ presence of Somaliland flag at event

    Kenya has written to Somalia to express “regret” at the “inadvertent and inappropriate presence” of the flag of the breakaway state of Somaliland at an event hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

    Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya, Mohamud Ahmed Nur, is reported to have walked out of Tuesday’s annual diplomats conference in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

    In its letter, Kenya’s foreign ministry said it reaffirmed “its recognition of the sovereignty of one Federal Somali Government and the integrity of the Federal Somali State”.

    Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in in 1991 although it has not been recognised internationally.

    It functions like a nation state – with its own passport, currency, flag, government and army.

    In a response on Twitter, its ministry of foreign affairs said “it was disappointed about the actions taken by the ambassador of Somalia” at the event.

    “The Republic of Somaliland is a sovereign, independent and democratic country that aspires to line in peace and tranquillity with our neighbouring countries, that includes Somalia,” the statement said.

    Source: BBC

  • Tigray forces ‘ready’ for Kenya-mediated peace talks

    Tigrayan forces who have been at war with the Ethiopian government for more than 18 months say they are ready to send a high level delegation to talks mediated by the Kenyan government.

    A letter signed by the head of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Debretsion Gebremichael, did not set out any preconditions – unlike previous statements about possible negotiations.

    Earlier on Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his government favoured the idea of peace talks to end the war.

    The two statements have raised hopes that the conflict that has forced more than two million people from their homes can be brought to an end through dialogue.

    Source: BBC

  • Judge stops Kenya from taxing church tithes – Report

    A high court in Kenya has stopped the tax authority from demanding tax on tithes, donations and offerings given to churches, the Daily Nation newspaper reports.

    The Kenya Revenue Authority had demanded 5.5 million shillings ($47,000; £37,000) from Thika Road Baptist Church in unpaid taxes, arguing that it failed to produce a tax exemption certificate.

    Churches in Kenya are exempted from paying taxes on tithes, but the KRA had insisted they must get the exemption, the newspaper reports.

    “I, therefore, find and hold that since tithes, offering and freewill donations are not income chargeable with income tax, it was not necessary for the church to seek an exemption,” Justice David Majanja is quoted as saying.

    Last year, the tax authority said it would be be viewing the social media profiles of targeted individuals to reconcile their lifestyle with their tax compliance.

    Source: BBC

  • Kenya marks 59 years of self-rule

    Kenya celebrated Wednesday 59 years of self-rule. Thousands had gathered at the Uhuru Gardens of Nairobi to mark Madaraka Day.

    It is before a large crowd, dignitaries such as the first couple of the Republic of Sierra Leone, the diplomatic corps, VP William Ruto and politician Raila Odinga that the President addressed the nation.

    “Madaraka Day is significant in our history because it is on this day in June 1963 that our founding fathers of our nation replaced the outgoing colonial government and formed the first indigenous government of Kenya”

    For his last ceremony in office, Kenyatta invited his people to consider “stability” when voting for the next election.

    “These forthcoming elections, general elections, on the 9th of August 2022 is to choose peace and stability over fear, hope over hate, and progress over retrogression.”

    President Kenyatta can no longer stand for re-election but his deputy Ruto and his now ally Odinga are just two among a record number of aspiring candidates.

    Source: Africanews

  • Kenyans petition Prince William over land evictions

    A group of Kenyans have sought Prince William’s help in getting reparations paid for what they say are human rights abuses committed and land stolen during British colonial rule.

    They also want an apology from the UK government.

    The group is composed of people from the Talai and Kipsigis clans in Kenya’s western Kericho county.

    In a letter to the Duke of Cambridge, lawyer Joel Kimutai Bosek said the UK government had refused to engage with the victims and their representatives.

    He said a request to meet officials from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had been denied this week and no opportunity to resolve the matter had been offered.

    Last year, six UN special rapporteurs wrote to the UK government expressing concern over its failure to provide “effective remedies and reparations” to the two clans who were brutally evicted from their farms by the British army in the late 1800s to mid 1960s to make way tea plantations owned by white settlers.

    In response, the UK government said that in 2013 it “made a settlement in the Mau Mau emergency case of 1952-1963 and therefore do not need to provide any further apology or reparation”.

    In their letter, the group has asked Prince William to treat their request with urgency as he prepares to celebrate his grandmother’s Platinum Jubilee, which marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 70 year reign.

    “Our own elderly family members remember the pain of having their homes and land taken away from them at the same time. We have very little to celebrate.”

    In March on a visit to Jamaica, Prince William spoke of his “profound sorrow” over slavery, saying it should never have happened.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyan teenager jailed over school-fire deaths

    A Kenyan girl has been sentenced to five years in jail for manslaughter over a school dormitory fire that killed 10 of her colleagues.

    The 18-year-old committed the offence in 2017 while aged 14 in her first year of secondary school at the Moi Girls School in the capital, Nairobi.

    The court had heard that she had attempted to take her own life twice before she started the fire in her cubicle.

    The parents and guardians of the girls who died in the fire say the sentence is lenient but are glad justice has been served, local media report.

    Arson has become a common problem at Kenyan boarding schools over the last two decades.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Five key points about Kenya’s historic penile implant surgery

    Doctors in Kenya made history on February 17 after a successful penile implant surgery carried out on a 44-year-old man in the capital Nairobi.

    Below are five key points worthy of note about the procedure

    1 – It was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital, a leading private hospital in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

    2 – It is a historic operation for the East and Central African regions.

    3 – According to the medics, the procedure costs about Ksh800,000 ($7,041) to Ksh1 million ($8,801).

    4 – The surgeons principally implanted a prosthesis device in the penis to help the patient ejaculate as it should be.

    5 – The operation required rare specialised expertise, a sub-specialty in urology and took about an hour to complete.

    What the lead surgeon told local press:

    Dr. Ahmed Yousef, a consultant urologist and the lead surgeon, gave insights into the operation and its outcomes. 

    “The advantage of this surgery is that the man can have intercourse anytime they like without using medication.

    “Through this procedure, his erectile dysfunction condition has been treated. If he had an issue with premature ejaculation, it will also be treated by this procedure,” he said.

    “The man can now have sex with a woman whenever he wants as long as he wants in any style he wants wherever he wants and the success rate is 95-97 percent,” Dr. Yousef said.

    “The advantage of this surgery is that the man can have intercourse anytime they like without using a medication,” the lead surgeon, Dr Ahmed Yousef, added.

    “It is a very nice and short procedure. It is around one hour, and then he had a good erection,” Dr Yousef told Kenya’s Citizen TV.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • 2022 WCQ: Ethiopia to host Ghana in Kenya

    The Walias of Ethiopia will host the Black Stars of Ghana in Kenya for the penultimate match of the African qualifiers for the 2022 Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.

    This follows a ban on the Bahir Dar Stadium by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), where the Ethiopian national team played their matches including a 3-1 loss against South Africa in World Cup qualifiers.

    CAF has decided that the match with the Black Stars of Ghana scheduled for November 11, would be played in Kenya.

    CAF declared the Bahir Dar Stadium unfit to host international games after failing to meet at least seven of its requirements including substandard medical, VIP, Media centers as well as training facilities of the stadium are among the reasons for the ban.

    The Stadium is now banned from hosting any international games including World Cup Qualifiers, CAF African Champions League Confederation Cup matches

    This development is certainly good news for the Black Stars who have to win the match to keep the chase on leaders South Africa as they quest to qualify to the final round of the qualifying stage.

    Source: GNA

  • Kenya president urges world to invest in education

    At a global education summit in London hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, governments, businesses and philanthropists are being asked to invest in the future of children by raising more than $5bn (£3.5bn).

    This comes at a time when charities have criticised the British government’s decision to make significant aid cuts around the world.

    A boost to education is especially urgent given the impact of the coronavirus.

    The pandemic has caused the greatest disruption to education in a generation.

    In wealthier countries with broadband and computers available, some virtual learning has continued.

    But for many young students in rural Nigeria or Zambia for example, school closures have been far more harmful – especially for girls who are less likely to ever return to the classroom.

    Even before the pandemic more than a 130 million girls across the world were out of school.

    At this summit in London billions of dollars will be raised to help transform education in dozens of countries.

    World leaders will be asked to commit a fifth of their national budgets to education.

    Source: bbc,com

  • Students in Western Kenya use boats to school as a result of floods

    Some Kenyan students in Kisumu county, close to the overflowing Lake Victoria, are forced to take a boat to school, only to find waterlogged classrooms and no teachers on site. Public schools have reopened in Kenya following a closure ordered by the government in March 2020 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

    The flooding has made parents to spend more in maintaining their kids attendance to schools despite the beckoning dangers

    “When the coronavirus came all the pupils stayed home, but today the schools reopen and we are forced to take them back to their original schools where they were learning. But it’s impossible as the school is marooned and the only way to reach it is through water transport in boats. But they have to eat lunch and we also pay the boat fare again in the evening for the return,” a parent said.

    The floods now pose high risks to the learners as some of them are expected to compete with other students and schools in the upcoming national examinations.

    “There is a lot of water in the school. We cannot learn like the others (in other schools), but we will sit the same national exams,” a student told journalists.

    Kenya has had almost 97,000 cases and over 1,600 deaths since the start of the outbreak, with a surge in its positivity rate of up to 20 percent in October decreasing to below five percent in the past week

    Source: africanews.com

  • Kenya’s surging coronavirus infections risk derailing transformation agenda

    Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has said that a sudden increase in the number of COVID-19 positive cases in the country and fatalities has placed new hurdles towards the realization of the country’s socio-economic transformation agenda.

    Kenyatta said during a televised address to the nation that the pandemic had reversed economic progress achieved in 2019 besides wreaking havoc on livelihoods.

    “The pandemic has slowed down economic growth and disrupted provision of critical services like health and education. We must not backtrack in our commitment to defeat it and hasten our recovery,” said Kenyatta.

    Kenya’s total COVID-19 caseload reached 66,723 on Thursday after 919 people tested positive to the disease while national fatalities rose to 1,203 after 23 patients succumbed to the virus.

    The country’s positivity rate rose from 4 percent in late September to the current 17.5 percent amid concern that flouting of containment measures is to blame for the spike.

    Kenyatta on November 4, announced new measures to curb the spread of coronavirus including extension of night curfew hours, a halt on phased reopening of schools and greater uptake of remote work in the public sector.

    He acknowledged the heavy economic toll the pandemic has on his agenda for growth, shared prosperity, stability and peace, adding that its containment was interwoven with his legacy.

    Kenya is among 10 African countries with the heaviest COVID-19 caseload as efforts to flatten the curve prove elusive amid the emergence of new transmission hotspots like rural counties, schools and entertainment joints.

    The relaxation of containment measures in late September led to a dramatic surge in infections amid fears the East Africa’s largest economy could be on the throes of a second wave.

    The Ministry of Health said on Thursday a total of 60 patients are in intensive care units, out of which 20 are on ventilatory support.

    According to the Ministry, 89 patients are separately on supplementary oxygen, out of which 71 are in general wards and 18 in the high dependency unit.

    The Ministry also confirmed at least 2,207 healthcare workers have contracted the virus since the pandemic was first reported in the country in mid-March.

    Out of this, 23 healthcare workers have lost their lives since the pandemic struck. The Ministry said that there are 1,279 patients currently admitted in various hospitals across the country while another 6,102 patients are in the home-based care programme.

    So far, the total number of COVID-19 recoveries has reached 44,040.
    Public health experts said that a sense of fatigue combined with wanton violation of public health guidelines was fuelling new coronavirus infections and undermining economic recovery after months of slowdown.

    Githinji Gitahi, CEO of Nairobi-based AMREF Health Africa said that surging COVID-19 infections risk overwhelming public health facilities besides destroying livelihoods of vulnerable demographics.

    “The community transmission of coronavirus has escalated against a backdrop of flouting of public health protocols by a large swathe of the population,” Gitahi said at a local television briefing.

    “We must guard against a slide into a second wave that could worsen socio-economic challenges facing the country,” he added.

    Source: GNA

  • Kenya’s tourism-dependent businesses struggle as pandemic keeps visitors away

    The COVID-19 pandemic has led to job losses globally and Kenya is no exception.
    This company which specialises in handcrafts is among businesses striving to keep afloat.

    According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, unemployment doubled from 5.2 percent in March when the first Kenyan case was reported, to 10.4 percent on 1st September 2020.

    The nation’s once profitable tourism sector has particularly been hard hit.

    The annual wildebeest migration, for example, saw a low turn out of tourists this year.

    Many businesses which depend on tourist spending have seen a sharp downturn.

    Kazuri Beads exports worldwide as well as catering for the tourist trade.

    Founded in 1975, the social enterprise employs 235 vulnerable, single mothers to whom it also offers free medical care.

    One hundred and thirty-five women lost their jobs from the economic shock dealt by the pandemic.

    “Usually we have 235 single mothers working in the factory but right now we only have 35 women working. So mostly we depend on tourists but right now we are struggling to get orders to maintain the 35 single mothers. So from May to September is usually our peak season. We usually have traffic in the shop, but right now we have no customers coming at the moment,” says marketing manager Rose Ayuma.

    The women earn a monthly salary of $200.

    Some had even applied for loans that they hoped it would enable them to realise their entrepreneurial dreams.

    Spelling out the losses, operations manager Ronney Goes explains: “We don’t get local sales and the exports have also dropped by 80 percent. What we have on the floor now is what we had before we closed down. So there are a few ladies that we have brought back out of 220, we have brought back 35 ladies who have actually come back to finish the old orders.”

    Bank obligations
    Now the women can barely pay their rent let alone finance their bank loans.

    “It has become difficult to feed and clothe our children. We feel like our lives are really deteriorating,” says Beth Wachira, who has four children and has worked here at Kazuri Beads for 20 years.

    “We have loans that we have taken from the banks but we are unable to pay for them even though they continue to accumulate interest. We are fearing for the worst. When we took the loans, we hoped we would have something that we would call our own in the future.”

    May to September is usually a seasonal peak. It’s when many tourists visit Kenya to witness the annual spectacle of the wildebeest migration.

    “This is the worst season ever in Kazuri because there is no single day we have ever closed the shop without selling a single thing. But in Kazuri, because of COVID-19, we don’t see customers. We can close the shop even for a week without seeing one customer,” says Ayuma.

    With international travel restrictions tightening, businesses like Kazuri can’t even begin to plan a future.

    Source: africanews.com

  • Kenyan MP to face murder charge over election chaos

    Kenya’s public prosecutor has approved murder and assault charges against MP Aisha Jumwa.

    The charges are related to the fatal shooting of a person during a by-election in October last year in the coastal region.

    Several others were also injured.

    She will be charged alongside her aide Geoffrey Okuto Otieno.

    The MP is accused of storming the home of one of the candidates in the by-election where a meeting was taking place and confronting those in charge.

    A scuffle ensued between her supporters and those of the candidate and the police fire teargas. One person was shot dead and several others injured.

    The minister was arrested shortly after the incident but later released.

    Ms Jumwa denies being involved in the murder.

    She says she was at the scene of the scuffle but insists she left, on the advice of the police, before the fatal shooting.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyan lawyers protest turns to a ‘tea party’

    A planned protest by Kenya’s lawyers outside parliament on Monday has been criticised for turning into a tea party.

    The protest was intended to put pressure on President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve parliament after the chief justice said that parliament lacked a constitutional provision for one-third of seats to be occupied by women.

    Only a handful of Law Society of Kenya (LSK) officials showed up for Monday’s protest. They later accepted an invitation for tea at parliament’s canteen.

    Nelson Havi, the LSK president, said they accomplished their mission and presented their message to parliament’s clerk during the tea session.

    He tweeted “the tea appears to be the only event highlighted to belittle our mission”:

    Two weeks ago Chief Justice David Maraga wrote an advisory to President Kenyatta asking him to dissolve parliament after it failed to enact a gender law as required by the constitution.

    A high court has since issued an order suspending the advisory until a petition by two Kenyans opposing parliament’s dissolution is heard and determined.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Video of schoolgirls being ‘disinfected’ angers Kenyans

    A video showing schoolgirls queuing to be sprayed as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus has divided Kenyans online.

    The 30 – second clip uploaded on Twitter by a local newspaper shows a man wearing protective clothing spraying a substance on the girls’ exposed hands, legs and uniforms.

    The World Health Organization does not recommend the spraying of individuals and says it could be “physically and psychologically harmful”.

    Schools in Kenya reopened on Monday for final year students with guidelines to provide sanitisation and handwashing facilities and ensure social distancing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

    Kenyans on Twitter expressed mixed reactions to the spraying of students.

    “Such things and spray booths were banned by the ministry of health How did adults sit down and decided that spraying children like this contains #Covid19? What happened to running water and soap?” Dr Mercy Korir tweeted.

    “Then from next day we have skin issues, chest congestion ,asthma flare ups all in the excuse of money. Parents had to pay for their children to be sprayed like cows,” Phill Kamara tweeted

    “I don’t see any problem with this activity.. How would you expect them to be disinfected? .. Some of u are just rebellious just for the sake of it . smh,” Denno Duevshi tweeted.

    Social embed from twitter

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyan court to rule on shopping mall attack case

    A court is Kenya is set to pass judgement in the case of three men charged with helping armed militants launch an attack on a shopping mall the capital, Nairobi, in 2013.

    At least 67 people died in the assault on the upmarket Westgate shopping complex.

    Somalia-based Islamist militants al-Shabab said they carried out the attack. The state said the attackers involved were dead.

    More than 140 witnesses testified in the case, in which the accused persons denied conspiring to commit terrorism.

    A conviction will encourage a country that remains on high alert over possible terrorist attacks, and whose military is still in Somalia fighting al-Shabab from their bases.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyan MPs face arrest over deadly political clash

    The head of Kenya’s police force has ordered the arrest of two MPs in connection with an outbreak of violence between rival political supporters that left two people dead and several injured.

    Ndindi Nyoro and Alice Wahome are accused of hiring people to instigate clashes between supporters of President Uhuru Kenyatta and those backing his deputy, William Ruto.

    Police chief Hillary Mutyambai has also ordered that vehicles hired to “ferry goons” be tracked and detained to assist in Investigation.

    Supporters of President Kenyatta, and those backing his deputy, Mr Ruto, pelted each other with stones and burnt tyres outside a church in central Kenya.

    The police fired tear gas – some of which went into the church.

    The two leaders have fallen out, largely due to Mr Ruto’s intention to run for president in two years time when Mr Kenyatta steps down.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Two people die in Kenya brawl after bars reopen

    Just a day after bars reopened in Kenya, two people died in a bar brawl in the capital, Nairobi.

    The ministry of health’s secretary Rashid Aman on Wednesday said bar owners should follow the guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

    He termed the deaths “unfortunate” and said the incident was “sad and alarming”.

    The bars were allowed to operate until 22:00 local time, an hour before the start of the curfew.

    On Tuesday after bars were allowed to reopen, revellers filled pubs and local television reports showed packed bars.

    Kenya has 38,529 confirmed cases of coronavirus including 711 deaths.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenya lost coronavirus billions to corruption – Audit report

    Kenya lost 2.3bn Kenyan shillings ($21m; £16m) during the procurement of Covid-19 items, according to a recent audit report.

    The Auditor General, Nancy Gathangu, said managers at the state body responsible for purchases, the Kenya Medical Supply Authority (Kemsa) violated procurement rules leading to loss of public money.

    The government ordered an investigation following a public outcry.

    Kemsa has denied that any money was stolen.

    The audit report says that Kemsa bosses colluded with companies that were given contracts. Some of the companies were registered around the time the country recorded its first Covid-19 case.

    Items were overpriced and some procured in excess and are still at the Kemsa warehouses.

    It says the state body also diverted money meant for the universal health coverage programme and purchased Covid-19 items without approval from the ministry.

    The auditor general recommended for an independent audit of the transactions. She also urged investigating agencies to probe any criminality in the procurement process.

    The report comes after local media reported that Covid-19 donations from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma were stolen, diverted and sold instead of being distributed.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyans react to the planned relocation of ‘iconic fig tree’

    Kenyans online have criticised government’s plan to relocate a mature fig tree that is along the planned route of a new highway under that’s construction.

    Some are upset about the environmental damage while others are concerned about the cost.

    Some Kenyans online joked of how much would be spent in the relocation.

    “I hope it won’t cost one billion to do that. I saw Singapore moving trees so easily and effortlessly, you can consult the experts rather than tendering to Escobar wa Kemsa,” Shukry wrote referring to alleged corruption at the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa).

    Others wondered why that particular tree was being relocated while others were cut down.

    “Why didn’t you do this for all the ‘iconic’ trees you’ve mowed down on this road?” Carol Nyaga wrote.

    “Why didn’t you relocate all the other trees especially along Waiyaki way? Me thinks you guys should embark on a massive tree planting campaign,” Israel Otieno tweeted.

    The highways authority said the relocation was part of its conservation efforts:

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyatta heads to France to sign U.S.$1,7 billion loan

    President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to leave for Paris tomorrow, where he will take billions of shillings in debt for a road project.

    The Head of State is scheduled to sign a public private partnership (PPP) deal worth Sh180 billion for dualling of the 190-kilometer Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Road.

    This will be the President’s first trip post Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the Kenyan airspace closed for both domestic and international flights.

    The Nation understands that the President will meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace in Paris, where they will sign and preside over the inking of several PPP agreements on water, infrastructure and energy. Mr Macron was in Nairobi in March last year on a State visit.

    Kenya’s signing of the tolling concession pact with a consortium of French firms under Rift Valley Connect led by Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund will unlock the funding of the road, which once complete will be the country’s first toll highway outside Nairobi.

    The road, a key segment of the Northern Corridor, is expected to significantly cut the travel time for both people and goods, reducing the cost of doing business. It will also compliment the standard gauge railway (SGR) services between Naivasha and Malaba Border.

    Awarded tender

    Last year, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) awarded the tender for the road to French firm Meridiam International, with others in the consortium including Vinci Highways SAS and Vinci Concessions SA.

    The project is expected to be undertaken on a PPP basis that will see the consortium raise finances for the road, design, construct, maintain and operate the road on pre-agreed standards and specifications.

    Sources told the Nation that a tolling fund is expected to be established later this year.

    “The modalities of the agreement, or of the establishment of the tolling fund are not known yet,” a source with knowledge of the matter said.

    Efforts to get a clarification over the matter from Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia were futile as he was unavailable on phone.

    But in an earlier interview, Mr Macharia told the Nation that the Cabinet had decided to prioritise two PPP’s project in order to ease the nightmare for users between Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Westlands, and those who use the Nairobi-Naivasha-Nakuru highway.

    “We decided to give priority to two Public Private Partnership projects,” he said.

    Under the PPP model, investors are expected to raise finances for the two road projects and design, construct, maintain and operate them on pre-agreed standards and specifications. The concession for both roads has been capped at 30 years.

    Last year, KeNHA’s Director-General Peter Mundinia said the contractor will be expected to recover their funds from the road through a user fees (tolls), after designing, building, and maintaining it within the agreed time-frame. It is also understood that the contractor will be granted the operation and maintenance of the Southern Bypass, including the Gitaru to Rironi segment within Kiambu County.

    As per the contract, the Rironi-Mau Summit project will see the contractor expand the 175 kilometres between Rironi in Limuru to Mau Summit in Nakuru County into a four-lane dual carriageway.

    It will also entail the re-carpeting of Rironi-Mai Mahiu- Naivasha road.

    Sh59 billion

    This will be the second road the country has signed PPP on after it handed over the Sh59 billion JKIA-Westland’s Expressway to China Road and Bridge Corporation.

    The road, which is currently under construction, will also entail a toll station to allow for the contractor to recoup their investment. It is expected to be complete by the end of next year.

    In October last year, Kenya suspended the construction of the Sh300 billion Nairobi-Mombasa expressway for two years over the country’s debt concerns.

    It would have been Kenya’s first expressway and the largest single-contract road project.

    The project, modelled to complement the Sh327 billion SGR, was to be undertaken by Bechtel, a US-based private construction conglomerate.

    The company won the multibillion-shilling contract in a government-to-government deal that formed part of President Kenyatta’s discussions with President Donald Trump during his US visit in 2018.

    Mr Macharia said the Cabinet had decided to suspend the project for at least two years to allow the country’s debt levels to drop, while also prioritising other key projects.

    Source: nation.africa

  • Glimmer of hope for Kenya’s economic growth

    A leading ratings agency says the Kenyan economy will grow by one percent in 2020, revising down an earlier forecast.

    Moody’s had predicted six percent growth in East Africa’s largest economy before the arrival of coronavirus.

    The tourism sector has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, and may not fully recover for another three years.

    However Moody’s say there will be a strong bounce back in 2021, with growth returning to about five percent.

    It warned, however, of a growing fiscal deficit because of falling tax revenues and foresaw a tightening of government spending.

    The IMF has forecast that economies across the African continent will shrink by one-point-five percent in 2020.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyan police officers ‘told to buy their own uniforms’

    A section of police officers in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, have been buying their own uniforms from civilian tailors to comply with an alleged order to wear new-look uniforms despite lack of supplies, local media report.

    The police officers were reportedly told to wear the new uniforms starting on Monday. Some officers who reported to work in the old uniform were turned back, the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers report.

    The National Police Service and the interior ministry have not responded to the reports.

    Police officers interviewed told reporters that they had not been issued with the new-look uniforms, but were directed to civilian tailors who charge up to 5,000 Kenyan shillings ($50; £40) for a pair, according to the Daily Nation newspaper.

    Some officers have opted to stay at home following the new directive because they lack funds to purchase the uniforms.

    The new persian blue uniforms were launched in 2018 as part of police reforms:

    Source: bbc.com

  • From salon to sewer worker in coronavirus Kenya

    To help some of the hundreds of thousands of Kenyans who have lost their jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic, the government is paying some of them to brave open sewers to clean up their neighbourhoods.

    Dressed in neon vests, masks and gumboots, they stand ankle-deep in a stinking, grey stream which runs between the corrugated iron shacks of Kibera, the largest informal settlement in the capital, Nairobi.

    They scoop plastic bottles, broken shoes, dirty nappies and human faeces from the open sewer, using their metal spades and rakes.

    “It’s disgusting work,” says 33-year-old Abdul Aziz, who is worried that he might get a water-borne disease like cholera because of the insanitary working conditions.

    “However, this is better than staying at home, while being hungry and jobless,” the father of two children, who lost his job as a private driver at the beginning of the crisis, said.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenya resolves coronavirus spat with Tanzania

    The Kenyan government has included neighbouring Tanzania on its list of countries whose travellers are exempted from mandatory quarantine upon arrival.

    The move is considered controversial as Tanzania has not published figures of Covid-19 cases in months.

    The two East African nations have been locked in a diplomatic standoff since May when Kenya blocked Tanzanian truck drivers from entering the country.

    The Kenyan government had long feared that its neighbour was not transparent on how it dealt with the pandemic. In June, President Magufuli declared Tanzania was “coronavirus free” thanks to prayers by citizens.

    But the tension seems to be cooling off now.

    Other countries whose travellers Kenya has exempted from mandatory quarantine include South Africa, the US, India, Mexico and Spain – who are among countries with the highest Covid-19 cases in the world.

    The Kenyan authorities will still require all arriving travellers to have a Covid-19-free certificate. Passengers with body temperatures above 37.5 degrees will be quarantined.

    Kenya has more than 36,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and more than 600 deaths.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenya Airways incurs more losses over Covid-19

    Image caption: The airline was struggling to cope with losses before the coronavirus pandemic

    Kenya Airways has posted a pre-tax loss of $133m (£100m) for the first six months of the year, as its performance stalled during the coronavirus pandemic.

    The national carrier was already struggling to cope with losses and tough competition from rivals before the Covid-19 outbreak forced governments to ground airlines.

    The company has revealed that it lost revenues of $100m between January and June, as passenger numbers fell 56%, compared to last year.

    The airline told investors in a statement that it will take a long time to recover with “reduced demand in passenger business and increased costs due to tight health and safety measures”.

    Kenya Airways, which is due to be nationalised by the government, also admitted its “business focus for the rest of 2020 will be ensuring” survival.

    In recent weeks the carrier has confirmed it will reduce the number of routes it flies and continue to lay off staff.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Freed Kenyan journalist opts to remain in Ethiopia

    A Kenyan journalist who was freed from detention in Ethiopia has opted to stay there with friends, according to Kenya’s foreign ministry.

    Yassin Juma was arrested at Ethiopian opposition figure Jawar Mohammed’s house in early July during violent protests following the killing of prominent singer Hachalu Hundessa .

    He was released this month after the intervention of Kenya’s foreign ministry and taken to a state-run isolation centre in Addis Ababa after testing positive for Covid-19 while in detention.

    The journalist completed 14 days in quarantine and was discharged from the facility after testing negative, according to a statement from the Kenyan ministry.

    In a letter published by Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation, the journalist said he had not seen his family in Kenya for more than a month.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyan governor and his children in court over graft

    A Kenyan governor and four of his children have been arraigned in court over the alleged embezzlement of public funds amounting to 73m Kenyan shillings ($675,000; £511,000).

    Governor Okoth Obado of Migori county in western Kenya is accused of indirectly receiving the money through his children – who received multiple payments from companies trading with the county government

    The money was used to, among other things, pay for his children’s school fees, upkeep, maintenance and medical bills in Australia and the UK, according to the public prosecutor.

    Mr Obado and his co-accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges and asked to be released on bail pending trial.

    The governor and his children were arrested on Wednesday after being summoned for questioning by anti-corruption officials.

    They have been charged alongside directors of the companies named in the court papers.

    The governor was in September 2018 charged with aiding and abetting the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend, who was a pregnant university student.

    He pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on bail. That case is still ongoing.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Tanzania bans more Kenyan airlines over Covid-19 row

    Tanzania has banned three more Kenyan airlines as a standoff between the East Africa neighbours over Covid-19 escalates.

    The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) nullified the approval granted to Fly 540, Air Kenya Express and Safarilink Aviation.

    The airlines operate daily flights to the tourist destinations of Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

    “The basis of the decision to nullify our aproval for the three Kenyan airlines is the ongoing dispute between the two countries,” Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority director general general Hamza Johari is quoted as saying by the Citizen newspaper

    Earlier, the national carrier Kenya Airways had been banned after Nairobi said passengers from Tanzania have to quarantine for 14 days when they arrive in the country.

    President John Magufuli declared Tanzania free of coronavirus in June.

    His government has been criticised for its relaxed approach to the disease.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenya may reopen schools later this year – Minister

    Kenya’s education minister has hinted at reopening of schools earlier than his initial proposal of January 2021 if coronavirus cases continue to reduce.

    George Magoha has said tertiary institutions may also reopen earlier than was planned.

    Kenya scrapped the entire 2020 academic year in March because of the pandemic.

    The minister said it would be in the interest of learners to reopen schools early if the infection rate maintains its recent downward trend.

    The ministry of health has been reporting lower numbers in its daily updates, with the director general saying the rate needs to be below 5% for a period of two weeks for the curve to be said to be flattening.

    The World Health Organization and Unicef last week urged African countries to consider reopening schools but with strict guidelines.

    The agencies said children were being exposed to violence, teenage pregnancies and poor nutrition while at home during the pandemic.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenya ‘expects lockdown-induced rise in births’

    The authorities in Kenya are preparing for a surge in the number of births from the end of this year, according to the Standard newspaper, citing a report from the health ministry on the effects of coronavirus.

    Data from across the country indicate about a 10% rise in antenatal clinics since March this year compared to the previous two years, the newspaper reports.

    No explanation has been given for the surge, but a health expert is quoted as saying that health facilities focused on the pandemic and compromised on provision of contraceptives.

    Kenya’s government imposed a nationwide night-time curfew in March after confirming the first cases, and encouraged employers to allow people work from home.

    Movement in and out the capital, Nairobi, and two other coastal counties was also temporarily restricted.

    Kenya’s population stands at 47.5m according to a 2019 census.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Kenyans demonstrate over loss of coronavirus funds

    Police on Friday morning confronted protesters at freedom corner, Nairobi during a peaceful demo over the loss of Covid-19 funds.

    The protest, dubbed #ArrestCovid19Thieves, was organised to demand accountability for the use of Covid-19 billions amid reports that funds allocated to deal with the pandemic may have been diverted to other uses not related to the disease, misapplied or misappropriated.

    The police said it was against the Public Health Act to hold a gathering of more than 15 people.

    The officers also inquired if they if they had notified OCS Nairobi of their impending action.

    However, the activists say they had attempted to inform relevant authorities but none was swilling to accept their letter of notice to picket on Friday August 20.

    Stood their ground

    They stood their ground at freedom corner despite being lobbed by teargas several times.

    The police demanded that the protestors disperse from freedom corner.

    The activists were about 15, as most were chased away before the number grew.

    They later assembled at the Kencom bus stage, where the last stand-off took place.

    Here, police arrested about 5 of them. The number later grew to about 11 who were under arrest.

    They were seen being bundled into the back of a police vehicle.

    Security around freedom corner was beefed up this morning. Several police officers in plain clothes could be spotted walking around as they kept an eye out for protestors.

    Source: allafrica.com

  • Doctors in Kenya’s capital begin strike

    More than 300 doctors in public hospitals in Kenya’s capital Nairobi have begun a strike.

    The health workers want better pay and working conditions including personal protective equipment (PPE).

    Nairobi has the most of coronavirus cases in the country.

    The doctors say they have been patient with the county government that is in charge of health services in Nairobi.

    The chairperson Thuranira Kaugira tweeted that healthcare workers have improvised enough.

    The doctors want a comprehensive health cover and quality PPE when handling Covid-19 patients.

    This is not the first time doctors in Kenya are going on strike for better pay and working conditions.

    Doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals have been calling for the formation of a health service commission to address all their concerns but this has not been successful.

    Out of the more than 30,000 Covid-19 cases in Kenya, close to 700 of them are among healthcare workers.

    Several healthcare workers have died with the virus.

    Source: bbc.com