Beruflich Dokumente
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Nairobi | Monday, July 28, 2014
No. 18011
Cord leaders tell electoral commission not
to worry about where the money will come
from because the National Treasury will
pay once the question is approved by
counties and the two Houses of Parliament
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
BY PETER LEFTIE
pmutibo@ke.nationmedia.com
T
he national referendum being
pushed by Cord will cost
taxpayers in excess of Sh8
billion, top ocials at the electoral
commission have said.
Independent Electoral and
Boundaries Commission (IEBC)
acting CEO Betty Sungura-Nyabuto
told the Nation that the commission
would sit in due course to work
out the actual nancial cost.
Estimates indicate that the cost
of the vote would be much higher
MP Kabandos
mother killed
P. 6 Police are ques-
tioning the brother
of Mukurwe-ini MP
over the attack
TWO GOLDS FOR KENYA | Marathon and 5000m stars crowning moment in the Commonwealth Games
Flomena Cheyech
Daniel breaks the
tape to win the
womens marathon
at the Glasgow City
Marathon Course
during the 2014 Com-
monwealth Games in
Glasgow, Scotland,
yesterday. Flomena
led teammate Caro-
line Kilel in a one-two
victory.
Far right: Caleb
Mwangangi celebrates
after winning the
5000m race at Hamp-
den Park last evening.
Isiah Koech took the
silver. By last evening,
Kenya had two gold
and three silver med-
als and was number
10 in the rankings.
Stories and more pic-
tures on Pages 58-59
PHOTOS I AFP
POLITICS | High number of registered voters will push up expenses compared to 2010 plebiscite
Referendum to cost
Sh8bn, says IEBC
INDEX News P. 2-11, Back Opinion P. 12-13 Letters P. 14 County P. 17-28 World P. 30-35 Business P. 38-39 Sport P. 55-59
P. 17 > Keep politics out of security issues, Mombasa lawmakers tell Marwa
COUNTY NEWS
Coast leaders say
county chiefs
utterances could spark
tribal animosity
BY DANIEL NYASSY
@dnyassy
dnyassy@ke.nationmedia.com
AND JONATHAN MANYINDO
jmanyindo@ke.nationmedia.com
C
ords decision to drop
Kili North MP Gideon
Mungaro as the Minor-
ity Chief Whip in the National
Assembly has caused a political
tailspin at the Coast.
While Taveta politicians have
welcomed Wundanyi MP Thomas
Mwadeghus elevation to replace
Mr Mungaro, dissenting Cord
governors and legislators have
vowed to work with the Jubilee
Government in protest.
The Kilifi North MP is also
leader of the Coast Parliamen-
tary Group.
Mr Mungaro said in Mombasa
and Kili on Saturday that the
push for the formation of a re-
gional party would go ahead and
warned Mombasa County Sena-
tor Hassan Omar against scuttling
the quest for Coast unity.
Nothing wrong
Mr Omar and Mombasa Gover-
nor Hassan Joho have stood their
ground against regional MPs and
governors who rebelled against
their sponsoring party, ODM, in
its push for a referendum on the
future of the electoral commission
and an increase in the amount of
money allocated to counties each
year among other demands.
Taita Taveta Governor John
Mruttu, area Woman Representa-
tive Joyce Lay and Members of the
Taita Taveta County Assembly
welcomed the decision to drop
Mr Mungaro. Mr Mruttu said
there was nothing wrong with
the position revolving among
Coast leaders because it was
aimed at sustaining the regions
attachment to the party that
sponsored the MPs.
He said it was wrong for poli-
ticians from some parts of the
region to protest against the
new development pegging their
argument on an individual.
But in Kili, Mr Mungaro said
he was paying the price of seeking
regional unity.
The clamour to consolidate
Coast so that we speak with one
voice is unstoppable. Those being
used by outside forces to destroy
our agenda like Hassan Omar
will fail miserably, he said and
warned that leaders opposing the
unity agenda would be rejected
by voters in the 2017 General
Election.
He said like-minded Coast
leaders would start extensive
tours of the region to seek views
from voters on the way forward
for 2017.
In two weeks time, we shall
start a massive Coast tour begin-
ning at Kwale County, he said.
We will talk to our people and
hear their opinions on where
they want us to go. This is the
road we have decided to take be-
cause other regions have taken
this region for granted for much
too long.
Mr Mungaro termed his ouster
as a relief, saying he had not been
appreciated in ODM.
Despite working hard for the
party, I have not been recognised.
In the recent Shela ward by-elec-
tion, for example, I camped for
one week using my own resources
to campaign for the party until we
got the seat. But nobody wants
to see this.
He said he was not to blame
for Cords lacklustre performance
in Parliament, insisting it was a
collective duty.
At Mghange Dawida in Taveta
on Saturday, Governor Mruttu
said Mr Mungaro had failed.
He complained that the former
Whip was not performing his
duties well.
Hold talks
Us here in Taita Taveta did
not complain to Cord when they
chose Mr Mungaro to the posi-
tion and his sympathisers should
not criminalise us for accepting
the position, he said.
Mr Mruttu challenged Mr
Mungaro to hold talks with Coast
leaders outside the National As-
sembly over the matter before
raising complaints that portray
the Coast as divided.
In a separate meeting at the
Wundanyi Chiefs Camp, Ms Lay
said Mr Mungaro had failed in
his responsibilities and this was
not a collective but an individual
problem.
This position was reserved for
the Coast and since Mr Mungaro
was one of the senior MPs it has
gone to another senior one in
the region which is not bad,
she said.
According to her, it would have
been wrong if the post had been
given to an MP from another
region.
Coast leaders split over Mungaro ouster
POLITICS | Taveta governor backs Mwadeghus appointment as Kili politicians protest and threaten to ditch Opposition
KEVIN ODIT | NATION
Coast political leaders after a meeting at the Bahari Beach Hotel on
Saturday where they agreed to support Kili North MP Gideon Mungaro
against his removal as Minority Chief Whip.
Tuesday, July 22: Cord MPs
meet at the Boma Hotel in
Nairobi and resolve to drop
Gideon Mungaro as the Mi-
nority Chief Whip.
Wednesday, July 23: 20
Coast MPs, including some
from the ruling Jubilee Coali-
tion, protest against decision
to drop Mr Mungaro.
Thursday, July 24: Mr Francis
Nyenze, the National Assem-
bly Minority Leader writes to
the Speaker informing him
that Cord had dropped Mr
Mungaro and replaced him
with Mr Thomas Mwadeghu.
CHRONOLOGY
Events leading
to MPs ouster
Us here in
Taita Taveta
did not
complain
to Cord
when they
chose Mr
Mungaro to
the position
and his
sympathisers
should not
criminalise
us for
accepting the
position
Taveta
Governor John
Mruttu
BY NATION REPORTER
Kenya is among 60 devel-
oping countries set to benet
from US$28.5 billion (Sh2.4
trillion) pledged by global
partners.
During the Second Replen-
ishment Pledging Conference
of the Global Partnership for
Education in Brussels, the
country was also among 27
developing nations that com-
mitted to increase domestic
funding for education.
Further, Education Principal
Secretary Belio Kipsang said
the government would raise the
transition rate from primary to
secondary education from the
current 77 per cent to 100 per
cent by 2018.
The conference brought
together more than 800 par-
ticipants from 91 countries and
marked the start of a four-year
replenishment campaign.
European Commission or-
ganised it to harness resources
for universal basic education.
Kenya to get funding
Nairobi SUHUR 5.08
IFTAR 6.46
Mombasa SUHUR 5.01
IFTAR 6.30
Kisumu SUHUR 5.14
IFTAR 6.56
Nakuru SUHUR 5.09
IFTAR 6.51
Nyeri SUHUR 5.06
IFTAR 6.47
Eldoret SUHUR 5.11
IFTAR 6.55
Kitale SUHUR 5.11
IFTAR 6.56
Isiolo SUHUR 5.01
IFTAR 6.46
Garissa SUHUR 4.56
IFTAR 6.35
Wajir SUHUR 4.50
IFTAR 6.37
Moyale SUHUR 4.51
IFTAR 6.44
Lamu SUHUR 4.53
IFTAR 6.29
Malindi SUHUR 4.57
IFTAR 6.30
Ramadhan Timetable
Courtesy of Young Muslim Association
28th July 2014
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
2 | National News
BY AYUMBA AYODI
newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
I
t was supposed to be the Kenya
marathon teams crowing mo-
ment. It turned out to be a shocker
as the men were defeated due to what
they said were rainy conditions.
For ve kilometres to the end of
the 40 km marathon, Australian
Michael Shelly overtook Kenyas
Stephen Chemlany to win what ana-
lysts had considered the countrys
race to lose.
Shelly, who won silver at the 2010
Delhi Games, came from seven places
behind to zoom to victory in a per-
sonal best of 2:11:15.
Chemlany settled for silver after
clocking 2:11:58. Defending champion
John Kelai and Eric Ndiema sunk to
fth and sixth places, managing 2:12:
41 and 2:13: 44 respectively. The per-
formance of the team mirrors that of
the 2012 London Olympics and 2013
World Championships. And just like
the Olympics, the rains jinx once again
came to haunt Kenyan athletes.
Rains rainsrainsrainsthat
is it! mourned Chemlany. I just
couldnt carry my legs after 35kms
and could only walk as Shelly zoomed
past. Its very disappointing.
Chemlany said all was well until
it started to drizzle as the race pro-
gressed. It was a good battle with
the Ugandans until the rains started.
My legs felt heavy in the last few kilo-
metres, said Chemlany. I am used
to dry conditions and not this kind
of weather. Kelai also blamed the wet condi-
tions. Its sad to lose this title but I
thank God for the second opportunity
since its not easy, said Kelai, the sec-
ond Kenyan to win the Club Games
marathon title after Douglas Wakiihuri
at the 1990 Auckland Games.
The 37-year-old Kelai, the winner
of the 2003 Singapore, 2004 Brussels
and 2006 Mumbai marathons, said he
was not done yet. I still have a few
more years before I call it quits.
At rst, the race seemed as if it was
Kenyas to lose. A pack of 10 athletes
including Kenyans and their Uganda
rivals Abraham Kiplimo, Solomon
Mutai and Philip Kiplimo looked
stronger with Fabiano Naasi from
Tanzania in the midst. That was
until the last seven kilometres that
Shelley broke out and overtook the
East Africans, to the cheers of his
hometown Gold Coast.
More stories and pictures on Page 58
and 59
Rains spoil the
party for Kenya
athletics team
RACING FOR GLORY | Countrys performance in the race mirrors that of 2012 Olympics
Men runners blame the
weather for defeat in
Commonwealth games
as Australian zooms
past East Africans
ANDREJ ISAKOVIC | AFP
Kenyas Stephen Chemlany runs toward the line to nish second and take silver
in the mens marathon event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
Right: The winner, Australian Michael Shelley who clocked a personal best of 2:
11:15.
I just couldnt carry my legs
after 35 kilometres and could
only walk as Shelly zoomed
past
Stephen Chemlany
BY NATION REPORTER
When she walked into the Nation oces on
the cold Thursday of June 26, Ms Phyllis Kerubo
was a broken woman; her eyes puy from nights
of crying instead of sleeping, and her face tired
from the frustration over the uncertainty of what
had befallen her son.
Clutching a picture of her only son, whom
she had named after Ronald Reagan, the 40th
president of the United States, Kerubo pleaded
with us: Please, help me nd my boy!
Her son had been missing for days and she
was almost giving up. This, she had imagined,
would be a nightmare to end soon, but it was
dragging on for too long. Her energy was
spent, and now she needed help.
Please, help me, Ms Kerubo repeated
plaintively.
And then, as beaten as she had walked into
Nation Centre, she walked away and disap-
peared into the thick Nairobi crowds, looking
like just another woman up and about; just
another woman who had forgotten to comb
her hair and iron her scarf in the morning;
just another miserable Nairobi woman.
Meanwhile, somewhere in this bustling
African metropolis, 11-year-old Reagan
Nyambati was going through the biggest
nightmare of his life. He had woken up to nd
himself locked in a cold, dimly lit room.
And he was not alone as there were several
other boys there too; all haggard, stressed and
lying on a oor covered only with sacks.
Last week, Kerubo walked into Nation Centre
again, this time accompanied by the child whose
disappearance almost drove her crazy.
Today, we tell you how Reagan was reunited
with his family after a month in captivity, how
he survived the darkest chapter of his young
life, and his brave escape from captivity.
Full story in DN2
Abducted boy reunited with mother after month-long ordeal
How the Nation reported the story on July 11.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
National News 3
than the Sh7.2 billion spent on
the 2010 referendum that led to
the current Constitution.
Usually, when we have an
exercise of this nature, the
directorates come together and
consider the budget, operational,
human and other requirements,
security and risk implications, etc.
This will be addressed wholesome
in due course, Ms Nyabuta said
at the weekend.
However, she ruled out a fresh
voter registration if Cord suc-
ceeds in its push.
Certainly, we shall not re-
quire a fresh voter registration,
she said.
Other senior IEBC officials,
who spoke to the Nation on
condition of anonymity because
they swore an oath not to reveal
the commissions internal mat-
ters to third parties, concurred
that the Cord-driven referendum
would cost more than the 2010
one because of a signicant rise
in the number of registered voters.
During the last General Election,
IEBC had registered more than
14 million voters.
We have witnessed a new
impetus by young Kenyans to
register as voters particularly in
their home counties driven by the
huge job opportunities created
by the new Constitution. This
obviously means more money
to run the referendum, said one
source.
Cord leaders on Saturday told
the electoral commission not to
worry about the source of money
to pay for the referendum, say-
ing it was the obligation of the
government to do so. If the push
by Cord succeeds, the electoral
commission will nd itself in a
unique position as it will be con-
ducting a referendum that could
also decide its future.
In an interview with the Nation,
Wiper Democratic Party leader
Kalonzo Musyoka, whose party
is aliated to Cord, said: Once
Kenyans agree on the need for
a referendum then the funding
must come from the Consoli-
dated Fund as provided for in
the Constitution.
His views were supported by
Mr Moses Wetangula, the Sen-
ate Minority Leader, who said: It
is not a question of if and when
funds are available, it is a matter
of obligation on the part of the
government.
Mr Wetangula, also the Bun-
goma Senator, said Cord would
only pay for the collection of the
one million signatures of reg-
istered voters required for the
referendum to take place.
For us we want to collect one
million signatures and much more
and present them to the IEBC,
he said. It is the government
which is under obligation to
fund the referendum, not Cord.
Our team of experts is working
on the gures.
Mr Wetangula declined to state
how much the coalition had set
aside for the collection of the
signatures.
For us we are relying on the
goodwill of ourselves, our sup-
porters and Kenyans to fund
our activities like the collection
of signatures. There are many
Kenyans of goodwill out there
who are coming to us and telling
us, guys you are pursuing a good
cause, here is something to keep
you going but it is important that
we protect their identities and in-
tegrity, he said.
His Kakamega counterpart,
Dr Boni Khalwale, echoed the
sentiments, saying Cord was
prepared to fund the collection
of the signatures and the drafting
of the referendum question.
When we talk about funding,
there are two aspects to it. There
is the aspect of funding activities
such as the collection of one mil-
lion signatures and the drafting of
the referendum question. This is
an aspect which if we left to the
Treasury, we will be told Ooh
there is no money so we have
organised ourselves suciently
because we know that it is a
cost we must bear ourselves,
he said.
Once we have collected the
one million-plus signatures and
drafted the referendum question
and the signatures have been veri-
ed by IEBC and the referendum
question forwarded to the County
Assemblies, the cost of the rest
of the exercise will be charged on
the Exchequer.
On Friday, Interior Cabinet Sec-
retary Joseph ole Lenku alleged
that some people were using the
promise of free government land
in Nakuru and the North Rift to
collect signatures for the refer-
endum.
Cord has resolved to exploit the
popular initiative constitutional
provision as a way of beating the
numerical strength that Jubilee
enjoys in Parliament.
Using this provision, the Op-
position Coalition will need
to collect at least one million
signatures, as required by law,
to support its campaign, before
moving to the next stage of get-
ting the endorsement of at least
24 county assemblies, after which
the referendum question will be
taken to Parliament.
The method has a crucial provi-
sion which means that Parliament
cannot block the move for a ref-
erendum.
The provisions laid out in
Article 257 provide that should
24 counties or more support the
referendum question, the matter
would then be taken to the Na-
tional Assembly and the Senate.
If both Houses of Parliament pass
the draft Bill, they should forward
it to the President for assent with-
out going to a referendum.
The clincher that Cord is rely-
ing on is that should either House
reject the referendum question,
then it will automatically be
presented to the electorate for a
vote within 90 days. This means
that Jubilee will be constrained in
its one advantage tyranny of
numbers if Parliament blocks
the Oppositions push for a ref-
erendum.
At the weekend, Siaya Senator
James Orengo said the strategy
would work.
Whichever way, this thing must
end at a referendum except if the
questions do not mandatorily
require a referendum. Again, you
should know that not all of the 13
issues we have raised will be sub-
jected to a referendum, he said.
Sources said Cord was work-
ing on a one-year timetable in the
hope that this will eventually lead
the country to a referendum late
next year on issues they have
said demand urgent attention.
They intend to rally Kenyans
and their elected leaders around
issues that will be selected from
the 13-point agenda that Cord
identied during its July 7 rally
at Uhuru Park.
BILLY MUTAI | NATION
Cord leaders Raila Odinga (left), Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula
at a press conference on July 16. If their push for a referendum succeeds,
the electoral commission will spend over Sh8 billion to conduct it.
Referendum to cost
Sh8bn if Cord push
for the vote succeeds
POLITICS | Actual cost to be determined once electoral commission meets as Opposition says money should not worry IEBC
1
Cord intends to collect a
million signatures before
it can present the refer-
endum question to the IEBC.
2
Once it has the sig-
natures, it will seek
endorsement of the
referendum question from
counties. At least 24 counties
must vote in favour for it to
go to the next stage.
3
If counties approve, the
referendum question
is then sent to the Na-
tional Assembly and Senate.
If either House rejects the Bill,
then it automatically goes to
a referendum within 90 days.
4
If both Houses approve
Bill, it is sent to the
President for assent.
THE PROCESS
Key steps before
the referendum
Once we have collected the one
million-plus signatures and... the
referendum question forwarded to
County Assemblies, the cost of the rest
of the exercise will be charged on the
Exchequer
Bungoma Senator Boni Khalwale
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
4 | National News
BY NATION
CORRESPONDENT
Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno
has promised a political
revolution in Nyanza.
He said he would con-
tinue to speak for the
silent majority no matter
the circumstances.
We want a leadership
that oers practical solu-
tions to our problems and
not rhetoric, he said at
Kanyawanga High School
in his constituency during
a prizegiving day.
Im seeing a serious po-
litical revolution beginning
in Rongo soon.
The MP (below) criticised
his party, ODM, for calling
for a referendum, arguing
that it was premature to
amend the Constitution.
This is an important
exercise that should not
be rushed.
He warned that a ref-
erendum would increase
ethnic division as the re-
sult is likely to be 50:50
just like the last General
Election.
He said broad con-
sultations among
leaders were neces-
sary before
the is-
sues are
t a ke n
to the
ballot,
to ensure a clear victory.
A constitutional
amendment requires an
overwhelming majority in
a bid to secure our peace
and stability as a nation.
He also rejected calls for
dissolution of the electoral
commission, saying that
instead, his party should de-
mand an audit of the results
transmission system.
He further accused some
leaders of practising politics
of deceit.
Tribalism has been
caused by politics of con-
sumption because parties
are used as vehicles to the
eating table, he said.
We must change our
style of politics and nurture
human capital.
He dismissed unnamed
young leaders whom he said
were questioning his loyalty
to ODM.
They are political nov-
ices who were nowhere
when we assembled the
Orange team.
Dalmas promises
change in Nyanza
BY NATION TEAM
Western Kenya MPs have
diered over the calls for a refer-
endum as the vote push continues
to generate political heat in the
region.
In Kakamega, Senator Boni
Khalwale and Matungu MP David
Were clashed over the quest for
the vote.
Dr Khalwale (below) said Cords
push to have IEBC disbanded was
meant to ensure a level playing
ground in future elections.
We must have an impartial
referee to ensure free and fair
elections, said Dr Khalwale while
addressing mourners in Ikolomani
constituency.
Speaking during a fundraiser in
Ugunja, Mr Were said it was too
early for Cord to start demanding
changes in the Constitution.
Kenyans want to see elected
leaders working for them instead
of engaging in endless political
gimmicks, he said.
He said the 47 devolved gov-
ernments were already receiving
40 per cent of total revenue and
wondered why Cord insisted on an
increment of the money.
We dont know what other 40
per cent they are talking about
since that is the allocation coun-
ties have been getting all along,
he added.
In Busia, three MPs speaking
at dierent forums acknowledged
that the country was undergoing
a difficult period, but failed to
agree on the best approach to
solve problems.
While Budalangi MP Ababu
Namwamba and his Funyula
counterpart Paul Otuoma said
the country needed a referendum
to provide solutions to key matters
like runaway insecurity, corruption
and tribalism, Nambale MP John
Bunyasi dismissed calls for the
vote as a waste of money.
Only a referendum can address
problems facing Kenyans, Mr
Namwamba said during the Bun-
yala sub county education day.
Dr Otuoma said the Jubilee
government had failed to address
the challenges facing Kenyans and
only the people could decide which
route to take.
While addressing UDF delegates
at a Busia hotel, Mr Bunyasi said it
was unnecessary to call for a refer-
endum because the process would
take long and waste money.
Deputy minority leader in the
National Assembly Jakoyo Midiwo,
Siaya Women Rep Christine Om-
baka and Homa Bay Governor
Cyprian Awiti maintained that
the country should go to a refer-
endum to change sections of the
Constitution that do not favour
development.
Western MPs
dier over
the push for
referendum
BY MAZERA NDURYA
@mazerandurya
mndurya@ke.nationmedia.com
P
resident Kenyatta has asked
Opposition leaders to respect
the presidency and warned
against speeches that heighten
tension between communities and
religious groups.
In direct reference to Cord leader
Raila Odinga, Mr Kenyatta said it was
wrong for the Opposition to continue
engaging in campaigns that further
divided the people.
I was given the mandate to lead
this country and the Opposition
should stop going around maligning
the government.
I am asking my brother Raila Od-
inga to accept defeat and help this
government in uniting Kenyans and
delivering on development instead
of putting the country in a campaign
mode, said the President.
Mr Kenyatta was speaking at
Mlango Kubwa in Mathare, Nairobi,
while campaigning for TNA candidate
George Wanjohi, before attending an
inter-denominational prayer service
at the Redeemed Gospel Church in
Huruma.
He said he would have done the
same if Raila had won the elections in
2013, saying the government could not
realise its goals of serving Kenyans
if the Opposition continued to put
roadblocks on its way.
I would have respected Raila as
the head of State if he had defeated
me in the elections, and I expect
him to do the same now that Im the
President, he said.
Mr Kenyatta acknowledged that
there were challenges, including in-
security and unemployment, but said
it would be dicult for the govern-
ment to surmount such problems in a
hostile environment that also scared
investors from coming to Kenya.
I respect Raila as a leader in this
country, but as a government, we will
not accept conditions that do not add
value to our quest to unite Kenyans.
Let him come and oer whatever solu-
tions he has for this country, but not
setting conditions that will not help us
solve problems facing Kenyans.
We inherited all these problems
from the previous regimes that spent
most of the time bickering. We are
up to the task of addressing all these
issues but this can only be achieved if
everyone joins in instead of engaging
in politicking, he said.
Deputy President William Ruto who
attended the service said the govern-
ment would not be distracted.
Kenya is going places and the few
challenges that you see today are only
temporary, said Mr Ruto.
Leaders who spoke condemned the
push for a referendum.
Accept defeat, Uhuru tells Raila
POLITICS | President campaigns for TNA candidate in Mathare
Opposition warned
against speeches that
heighten tension
between communities
Leader of Majority Adan Duale
yesterday scoed at calls by
Raila to be arrested by the
President, saying the Opposi-
tion leader was insincere while
knowing too well that the Presi-
dent did not have such powers.
I think Raila is trying to divert
attention from the mess that his
ODM party is in at the moment
when there is growing discon-
tent, said Mr Duale in an inter-
view yesterday.
RELATED STORY
Discontent in
ODM, says Duale
President Uhuru
Kenyatta at Hu-
ruma in Nairobi
yesterday where
he campaigned
for TNA can-
didate George
Wanjohi who
is vying for the
Mathare parlia-
mentary seat. The
constituency will
have a by-elec-
tion on August 7.
EVANS HABIL |
NATION
Elimu Yetu Coalition is the National Campaign platform/ network of Civil Society Organizations
working towards the realization of the right to quality basic education for all in Kenya.
The Coalition was established in 1999 to lobby for the implementation of the Education for
All (EFA) goals as articulated in the Jomtien Declaration and Dakar Framework for Action.
Currently the coalition brings together over 134 Civil Society Organizations (CSO) involved in
efforts to domesticate the Jomtien Declarations, The Dakar Framework and other related global
conventions for the attainment of quality basic education for all in Kenya.
EYC will be hosting the 6
th
National CSO Conference on Education for All which will bring
together over 300 education stakeholders including Civil Society Organizations, Student
Governing Councils, Teacher professional groupings and unions, Government of Kenya
representatives (Ministry of Education, Treasury), Parliamentarians, Parents Associations,
Academia and Education Development Partners.
Details of the conference are as follows:
Date: 30
th
31
st
July 2014 CSO EFA Conference
1
st
August 2014 General Assembly
Venue: Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (K.I.C.D)
Chief Guest: The Principal Secretary, State Department of Education, Science and
Technology, Dr. Belio Kipsang
Theme Reaffirming the role of Civil Society in building strong systems in
Kenyas education sector
We would also like to invite you to make your exhibitions during the conference. Please contact
Ms. Magdaline Kerubo at info@elimuyetu.net for more information and registration.
You can also visit our website on www.elimuyetu.net to learn more or visit our offices:
Elimu Yetu Coalition, Hillside Apartments 2nd foor,
Ragati road, off Haile Selassie Avenue,
P. O. BOX 24621-00100, Nairobi- Kenya.
Offce numbers: +254202446669
Mobile number: +254715242644 / +254 787 146 120
ELIMU YETU COALITION 6TH ANNUAL CIVIL SOCIETY
ORGANISATIONS CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR
ALL (EFA) AND 12TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
National News 5
BY KEVIN J KELLY
in Washington
Kenyans account for
almost 10 per cent of the
500 young Africans chosen
to take part in a leadership
summit in Washington
hosted by President Barack
Obama.
A group meeting on Mon-
day with Mr Obama opens
a three-day series of events
that includes a discussion
with First Lady Michelle
Obama on girls education
in Africa.
Secretary of State John
Kerry, members of the US
Congress and other gov-
ernment ocials are also
making presentations at an
event that caps the six-week-
long Young African Leaders
Initiative (YALI) sponsored
by the State Department.
Mr Obama (right)
launched the YALI pro-
gramme in 2010 as a way
of helping groom Africas
future leaders while seeking
to ensure they propagate
positive views of the
United States.
The participants in
this years initiative were
chosen from 50,000
applicants from all over
Africa. That says to us that
there is a huge, huge need
for the opportunities oered
through the programme,
said Linda Thomas-Green-
eld, the State Departments
top Africa ocial.
Half of those in the
initiative are women, and
all participants are between
the ages of 25 and 35. Each
of sub-Saharan Africas 49
countries is represented in
the group.
Women self-reliance
Magdalene Kelel, a project
leader in the Free Pente-
costal Fellowship in Kenya,
was chosen for her work on
HIV, youth advocacy and
womens self-reliance. When
she returns, Ms Kelel plans
to work on promoting youth
involvement in democratic
processes. Like each of the
other YALI participants, Ms
Kelel was awarded
a fellowship to
study either
business de-
velopment,
civic leader-
ship or public
management
at one of 20 US
universities in
the past six
weeks.
46 Kenyans at
US-Africa talks
BY NATION REPORTER
The National Social Security
Fund has failed to realise maxi-
mum collections from employers
due to ineciency, the workers
umbrella union has claimed.
The Central Organisation of
Trade Unions (Cotu), whose
boss Francis Atwoli is locked in
a dispute with Labour Cabinet
Secretary Kazungu Kambi, says
NSSF failed to collect Sh1.7 billion
from employers between January
and June.
A Cotu survey shows that the
fund last year did not collect
Sh5.3 billion from employers and
attributed this to corruption and
ineciency.
Our assessment is focused on
the loss of funds by NSSF due
to ineciency. The loss was in-
curred due to failure by the NSSF
to collect NSSF contributions
and making prudent investment
decisions. The loss is also due to
corrupt practices within the fund,
said Cotu.
The Cotu report shows that
NSSFs collection of funds from
employers had not risen beyond
65.2 per cent since last year,
with the lowest standing at 42
per cent.
This means that instead of
collecting Sh3.27 billion between
January and June this year, NSSF
only collected Sh1.526 billion.
Between January and June
2014, a total of Sh1.744 billion
has been lost by the fund. This is
against an expected contribution
of Sh3.270 billion. This means that
the amount lost was 53.33 per cent
of the expected contribution in
2014, says the report.
For last year, Cotus survey
showed that NSSF collected
Sh4.3 billion from employers and
individuals instead of the expected
Sh9.6 billion.
The expected NSSF contribu-
tion for 2013 was Sh9.6 billion.
The funds loss during the pe-
riod was Sh5.3 billion. The loss
of funds has been occasioned by
several factors, chief of which is
mismanagement and corruption,
says the report.
During this period, the umbrella
workers union said, Sh2.844 bil-
lion was paid to beneficiaries,
leaving little money for invest-
ment.
Cotu explained that it undertook
the survey since the ineciency
at NSSF burdened employers
and was also a loss to employees,
who are the beneciaries of the
money.
Eciency in the utilisation of
NSSF contributions should be seen
as adherence to the NSSF Act and
the regulations that guide invest-
ment of the fund. Such compliance
would ensure that the correct
amount of members contributions
are collected and credited to their
accounts, says the report.
Ineciency
cost NSSF
Sh1.7bn, says
labour group
Amount National Social Security
Fund failed to collect from employ-
ers last year, according to Cotu
Sh5.3bn
BY JAMES NGUNJIRI
@mjngunjiri
ngunjirij@ke.nationmedia.com
P
olice are questioning a brother
of Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando
wa Kabando in connection with
the death of his mother yesterday.
Ms Rose Wachera Mwangi, 70, was
hacked to death at around 2pm at
Kaini Village in Mukurwe-ini.
Witnesses said Ms Mwangi was at
home with her son Caesar Thiari, 40,
who is in police custody.
A relative, Ms Agnes Njeri Mach-
aria, said she was returning home
from church with friends when
they heard screams from the com-
pound.
Brandishing a panga
I shouted at my cousin (Thiari)
who was in the compound but he did
not respond. The gate was locked from
inside and we started screaming, Ms
Macharia recalled.
The high perimeter wall, she added,
prevented them from forcing their way
into the compound.
Ms Macharia said her cousin
emerged from the gate brandishing
a panga and chased them away.
We had to run for our lives and
seek refuge in a neighbours home
as he was armed with a panga,
she said.
She said they heard the suspect
shouting; Mambo imekwisha,
Mambo imekwisha! (It is over. It
is over) and once he ran away, they
rushed into the compound only to
nd her aunts body.
Ms Macharia said the MPs mother
had missed the days church service
and had been left home together with
her son.
Area Nyumba Kumi team leader
Maina Karanja claimed the suspect
was mentally ill.
Mukurwe-ini Deputy County Com-
missioner Isaac Masinde said they
had informed close relatives including
the MP and were waiting for them
to arrive.
He said they received reports of
the killing at around 2pm from Mr
Kabandos personal assistant.
Residents arrested the suspect and
handed him over to the police.
Shocked villagers thronged the home
of the MP to oer their condolences.
Kabando mother killed in attack
MURDER | Witnesses heard screams from the compound
Police seize MPs brother
after 70-year old woman
is hacked to death in
gruesome noon incident
We had to run for our
lives and seek refuge in a
neighbours home as he was
armed with a panga
Ms Agnes Macharia, a neighbour
who was among the rst to
arrive at the scene
JOSEPH KANYI | NATION
A relative mourns the death of Ms Rose Wachera, the mother of Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando. Right: Kaini residents
mill around the compound shortly after the attack yesterday.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
6 | National News
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
7
BY NATION REPORTER
NGOs yesterday launched a
campaign to push for prudent
use of devolved funds by county
assembly members.
The initiative is being
spearheaded by Coalition for
Constitution Implementation
Convener Cidi Otieno, Mr John
Wamagata of the Centre for Mul-
tiparty Democracy and Mr Vincent
Kidaha of Bunge la Mwananchi,
among others.
In a statement read by Mr Otieno
in Nairobi, the groups said they
were concerned about the wastage
of resources by county assembly
representatives, warning that the
implementation of the Constitu-
tion was at risk if no action was
taken.
Accountability
Mr Otieno also launched Opera-
tion Ondoa Panya, which urges
Kenyans to take action against
county representatives across the
country for misuse of funds.
The operation will see Kenyans
take rats to their respective county
assemblies to symbolise the greed
of some leaders. The campaign
seeks to ensure errant MCAs are
sent home before the end of their
ve-year tenure, said Mr Otieno.
Residents in various counties
were being educated on account-
ability and how to recall leaders.
Drive aims to
stop MCAs
funds misuse
BY MATHIAS RINGA
@mathiasringa
mringa@ke.nationmedia.com
S
ome hotel workers who lost their
jobs have returned to work after
the arrival of Italian tourists in
Malindi and Watamu.
On Saturday, about 700 Italian
tourists arrived at Moi International
Airport from Milan and Rome, giv-
ing the ailing sector a much needed
boost.
This follows the resumption of char-
ter ights from Italy by Meridiana and
Neos airlines.
In April this year, most hotels in
Kili county temporarily shut down
due to the low tourist season and
more than 3,000 hotel workers were
sent home.
But yesterday, the Kenya Associa-
tion of Hotelkeepers and Caterers
Coast branch executive ocer Sam
Ikwaye termed the resumption of
charter ights from Italy to Mombasa
as a major boost to tourism.
Sta are also back to work to serve
the visitors. The high tourist season
was to begin on July 15.
Some workers in the two tourist
towns have resumed work following
the reopening of hotels in the resort
towns, he explained
Mombasa and Coast Tourist Asso-
ciation (MCTA) chairman Mohamed
Hersi termed the arrival of the Ital-
ian holidaymakers as a plus to the
industry. The ocial said the Italian
tourists would boost occupancy in
Malindi and Watamu hotels, which
have been hit hard by US and Britain
travel advisories against Kenya.
We hope that the United King-
dom and the US will lift the travel
advisories to help the sector recover,
he added.
Mr Hersi, who is also the Herit-
age Hotels CEO, thanked Ethiopian
Airlines for taking tourists from Ger-
many, the UK, Austria and Holland
to Mombasa.
Tourists ying with Ethiopian Air-
lines, he added, had cushioned the
sector against lack of charter ights
from the UK.
Although we have no charter ights
from the UK market, Ethiopian Air-
lines has supported us to bring in
tourists from across Europe, he
said.
We appeal to Kenya Airways to
start ights from London to Mom-
basa, he added.
Ashnil Hotels sales and marketing
manager Paul Kurgat said the arrival
of Italian tourists had increased the
number of visitors at the Maasai Mara
game reserve. He said Ashnil Mara
Camp had an occupancy of 90 per
cent, thanks to the holidaymakers
from Italy.
Meridiana Airline resumed ights
to Mombasa on July 14.
Italian visitors boost tourism
ECONOMY | Hotels had closed in April as advisories and the low season took their toll
Workers who were sent
home return to work
after tourists from Rome
Milan arrive in Coast
Tax : The initiatives include
employers paying for a weeks
holiday for their sta and get-
ting the cost deducted from their
taxes. This is expected to encour-
age more than 25,000 Kenyans
to take a holiday.
Tickets: It also removed VAT on
air tickets and park entrance fee,
which were introduced under the
VAT Act 2013. This is to make air
travel cheaper.
BACKGROUND
Ministry tries to
jump-start sector
FILE | NATION
Tourists at a Mombasa hotel. The region
is gearing up for the high season.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
8 | National News
BY MARYANNE GICOBI
@MaryanneGicobi
mgicobi@ke.nationmedia.com
A
bout 30,000 fresh univer-
sity graduates are to be
recruited for a government
internship programme that begins
in two months.
The graduates will work as vol-
unteers for one year.
They will be attached to dierent
sectors that match what they studied
at university.
In an advert in newspapers
yesterday, the government said
that it planned to recruit gradu-
ates between the ages of 22 and
30 interested in volunteer work
and self-improvement.
Most of the graduates are expected
to work as primary school teachers
for an uninterrupted one year. They
must have ocially graduated at the
time of applying.
Two volunteers will be placed in
each participating primary school
and will receive a modest stipend
of Sh6,000 per month, says the
ocial government web site
Eligible candidates are expected
to be brave, adventurous, disci-
plined, hardworking, ambitious
and self-driven.
These attributes will help success-
ful candidates in their work as most
of them will be stationed away from
the areas they live.
Applicants will go through a rig-
orous and competitive selection
process. Success will be deter-
mined by a combined score based
on ones online application, correct
responses to essay questions and
a series of tests, and assessment
by independent and professional
interviewers.
The selected volunteers will
undergo a three-week intensive
residential training aimed at pre-
paring them for placement.
The graduates will be employed
anywhere in the country in areas
that are in line with their skills.
National cohesion
The trial programme, run by the
Oce of the President, is an attempt
by the government to create jobs and
national cohesion. It is expected to
run for ve years.
Similar programmes have suc-
cessfully been implemented in the
United States and Australia, with the
volunteers sent to work in less-fa-
voured nations.
Interested candidates can apply
for the positions by visiting: http:
/ / volunteer.presidency. go.ke or
sending an email to: volunteer@pr
esidency.go.ke
30,000 new graduates
to be hired as interns
WORK EXPOSURE | Majority to be placed in primary schools
Successful candidates
to work as volunteers
anywhere in the
country for one year
The stipend each volunteer will be
paid per month
Sh6,000
BY NATION REPORTER
The Environment ministry has
agreed to review laws governing
the trade of charcoal after pressure
from stakeholders.
Players in the industry have a
month to make proposals that
will be incorporated into a new
law. The rules were last reviewed
in 2009.
The current regulations do not
address issues such as packaging ,
health and the environment, Prin-
cipal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe
said yesterday.
Dr Lesiyampe, who was ad-
dressing a workshop on the
trade in Nairobi, said most trad-
ers were ordinary Kenyans who
could not aord the Sh300,000
to Sh700,000 licence fee.
Licence fee
He said the demand for wood
stood at 40 million cubic metres
annually. Of this, 30 million cubic
metres was harvested from sus-
tainable sources while the rest was
from unsustainable ones.
Recent studies indicate that char-
coal aggravated the wood shortage.
The sector employs an estimated
200,000 people directly.
Charcoal
trade laws to
be changed
MACHAKOS
Boy held over arson
bid at girls institution
A teenager is being held by po-
lice in Matungulu sub-county
for allegedly planning to burn
the property of a girls second-
ary school. Police boss Joseph
Chesire said the boy wanted to
source petrol for students of
Tala Girls Secondary School
who intended to carry out the
arson attack at the institu-
tion last week. Following this
threat, the institution has
been closed indenitely. The
students were sent home on
Friday.
NANDI
County rejects results
of deadly spirits probe
Governor Cleophas Lagat has
vowed to form a team to investi-
gate the death of 20 people who
died after drinking spirits two
weeks ago. The governor also re-
jected a report by the government
chemist which indicated that the
drinks did not contain any poi-
sonous chemicals. Dr Lagat pro-
tested that it was wrong for the
government chemist to clear the
spirits yet those who took them
died and 50 others were hospital-
ised. The report, which was seen
by the Nation, notes that the 13
brands analysed were safe.
BRIEFLY
NAKURU
Headteacher accused
of raping schoolgirls
A headteacher has been sus-
pended for allegedly molest-
ing pupils at a primary school
in Naivasha sub-county. Area
stang ocer Winnie Strong
told the Nation that the teacher
would soon appear before a
Teachers Service Commission
disciplinary panel which would
decide his fate. She said the
deputy teacher would take over
the institution until the matter
was concluded. Ms Strong told
the Nation that the suspect had
previously been accused of mo-
lesting 31 girls.
CAPPED | Celebrating the power to read
RAPHAEL NJOROGE | NATION
Mount Kenya University
graduands celebrate
after the institutions
graduation ceremony
on Friday. Vice-Chancel-
lor Stanley Waudo said
the university planned
to open an Institute
of petroleum studies
and renewable energy
at its Lodwar campus
in Turkana County.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
National News 9
BY JOHN NGIRACHU
@JohnNgirachu
jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com
T
he National Security
and Administration
Committee is the latest
parliamentary team to give the
Executive the go-ahead on a
contract worth billions.
In a new trend where MPs
scrutinise government projects
before implementation, the com-
mittee gave the Sh14.9 billion
Safaricom security surveillance
system contract a clean bill of
health.
The current MPs are dier-
ent from their predecessors in
that they tend to question the
integrity of big government jobs
before they start, often raising
a furious storm if they have not
been appraised.
In such cases, the committees
rst instruction is to the Execu-
tive to suspend a deal until it is
investigated.
This started early this year
with the contract given to
China Road and Bridge Corpo-
ration for the construction of a
new railway.
Standard gauge railway
Currently, Transport and Pub-
lic Investments committees are
scrutinising the award of the
contract to review the design
and oversee the construction
of the standard gauge railway
to a Chinese consortium and
two Kenyan rms.
Parliaments increased
involvement in the sort of scru-
tiny usually conducted by the
Public Procurement Oversight
Authority has raised questions
over whether its oversight
mandate extends to approv-
ing contracts.
House leaders Aden Duale
and Jakoyo Midiwo caused a stir
early this year when they claimed
that committees were involved
in rent-seeking as they went
about their duties.
Mr Midiwo, the Deputy Minor-
ity Leader, said wars between
committees over control of in-
vestigation and oversight over
the Executive had more to do
with seeking benets than the
public good.
All these clashes are not
because of any lacuna in the
Constitution or the Standing
Orders. They are because of the
value of that investigation, which
members dont know. That value
is what we must speak about,
said Mr Midiwo.
The clash was between the
Transport and the Public In-
vestments committees. Both
claimed the mandate to scruti-
nise the standard gauge railway
contract.
The dispute arose after
Speaker Justin Muturi ruled,
last December, that the PIC and
the Public Accounts Committee
cannot form joint teams with de-
partmental committees because
they had separate mandates.
The dierences persist, and
now, the two teams are carry-
ing out parallel inquiries into the
other standard gauge railway-re-
lated contract.
Mr Midiwos allusion to cor-
ruption was never followed
through and an informal meet-
ing called to discuss that and
other allegations did not take
place because only a handful of
MPs showed up.
The Ethics and Anti-Corrup-
tion Commission has said it is
investigating members of the
Transport Committee on alle-
gations that they were bribed
by businessmen and wheeler-
dealers as they investigated the
railway contract.
Senior Counsel Nzamba
Kitonga says scrutiny of con-
tracts by the committees is
okay if they draw a red line
and are not involved in approv-
ing them but limit their role to
questioning the integrity of the
Executives actions.
Oversight role
My take is that they are
satisfying themselves in view
of complaints as to whether,
because they have an oversight
role, it meets the integrity re-
quirements of the procurement
legislation and in the case of the
police, the competitive process
of recruiting that is in the Con-
stitution, he says.
Mr Kitonga, who chaired
the Committee of Experts that
drafted the Constitution, said
approval for him meant cer-
tifying whether the individuals
recruited for the police, for ex-
ample, are t for the job, which is
not what the MPs are doing.
You remember, in the past,
MPs used to handle the report
of the Controller and Auditor-
General, which is three years old
and by that time, money has been
stolen, people have enriched
themselves and in some cases
even left the country and there
is nothing we can do.
That was the case with the
unfullled deal for a fertiliser
factory in the 1970s that Kenya
continues to pay for, in spite of
Ken-Ren, the contractor, not
having put up the plant. Kenya
will have paid Sh5.1 billion by
2015. According to Mr Kitonga,
Parliaments inquiries should
stop at assessing the integrity
of projects. Making themselves
the nal authority to approve
would not be proper.
Director of Media and Exter-
nal Relations at State House
Munyori Buku says the Executive
has no problem with the inves-
tigations because they enhance
transparency.
House teams come under scrutiny as
they assert their oversight function
PARLIAMENT | State House ocial welcomes National Assemblys querying of public contracts
If there is something that has
a controversy or there is a po-
tential of loss of public money...
there would be no problem
with what MPs are doing
Former Committee of Experts
Chairman Nzamba Kitonga
All these clashes are not be-
cause of any lacuna in the Con-
stitution or the Standing Orders.
They are because of the value of
that investigation.
Deputy Minority Leader in the
National Assembly Jakoyo
Midiwo
There is no disquiet because
the committees of Parliament
have shown goodwill. If certain
things have not been clear to
them, they have raised ques-
tions.
State House Director of Media
and External Communications
Munyori Buku
REACTION
Inquiries elicit
varying views
Some
leaders
view MPs
as rent
seekers
when they
probe
public
contracts,
but others
support
the role
SALATON NJAU | NATION
Public Investment Committee chairman Adan Keynan (left) contributes to a session in Parliament on July
8, when Kenya Pipeline ocials appeared before the team over a tender. House committees have asserted
their oversight role.
BY NATION REPORTER
With its value of Sh327 billion and
additional expenses bringing the cost
to Sh447 billion, the contract for
construction of the standard gauge
railway drew the biggest interest
from MPs.
With separate but similar questions,
Transport, Public Works and Housing,
and Public Investments committees
conducted much-publicised investiga-
tions and eventually recommended
that the Executive proceeds with the
tender.
Other projects, albeit of much lower
value, have followed: the security
surveillance project by Safaricom,
the pipeline deal given to Zakhem
International and the contract for
the review of design and overseeing
construction of a railway by Chinese
rm The Third Railway Survey and
Group, whose local partners are Edon
and Apec consultants.
And recently, the National Secu-
rity and Administration Committee
ordered the National Police Service
Commission to postpone reporting
of police recruits for training.
The commission complied and
moved the reporting date to Octo-
ber 3.
But investigations into the railway
contract awarded to the Chinese con-
sortium could complicate matters.
Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau
told the PIC that the group had
started work.
The order to commence has al-
ready been given. We can look at (ways
of) administratively telling them how
to go about things. Legally, we cant
tell them to stop, said Mr Kamau.
Sh327bn railway contract attracted biggest interest
Sh327bn
The initial cost of constructing
the standard gauge railway
before additional expenses
pushed the amount to Sh447
billion
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
10 | National News
BY NATION TEAM
newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com
T
eachers have called for the
suspension of a directive to
schools to release certicates
withheld over arrears, saying it could
throw the institutions into a crisis.
The Kenya Secondary School Heads
Association asked the Education min-
istry to give the institutions a proper
formula to implement the order.
Chairman John Awiti (right) said
schools would end up incurring
losses and this would adversely af-
fect students.
Mr Awiti said the issue should be
tackled in a way that ensures a win-
win outcome. He was speaking in
Kisumu at the weekend.
The official asked Education
Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi
to rethink the directive to avoid a
crisis in schools.
Mr Awiti criticised the government
over failure to consult school admin-
istrators on such matters.
The other day, we were asked to
give children contraceptives with-
out being briefed on how we would
monitor their use. We dont want
such things since they will ruin our
schools, he said.
At the same time, Kenya National
Union of Teachers (Knut) Secre-
tary-General Wilson Sossion called
for caution in the implementation of
the certicates directive.
He said schools could go broke and
education disrupted if the huge out-
standing fees were not paid in full.
It is estimated that former students
owe schools in Kenya a total of Sh14
billion in fees.
Schools have been withholding
nal exams certicates belonging to
defaulters to compel them to pay.
The worst part is that headteachers
are expected to implement the direc-
tive yet they know nothing about it,
said Mr Sossion.
He spoke at Kericho Day Secondary
School during a Knut branch meeting
at the weekend.
Mr Sossion scoed at plans by gov-
ernors to employ teachers and push
for the devolution of the education
sector, saying that such a move was
impossible and could lead to chaos
owing to the small budgets controlled
by county governments.
In Trans Nzoia, Ford Kenya lead-
ers criticised the certicates directive,
describing it as a populist strategy by
the government aimed at covering up
its failures.
Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa said
the government was wrong as it had
not provided schools with alternative
ways of paying their debts.
Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi
warned that some schools could be
forced to close down. The directive
will make some parents refuse to pay
school fees, he said.
Reported by Moses Odhiambo, Tim-
othy Kemei and Philip Bwayo
Teachers want papers order shelved
EDUCATION | Principals warn of crisis at institutions
Ministry asked to give
schools proper formula
for releasing certicates
they are withholding for
non-payment of fees
Sh14bn
Total amount which schools
in Kenya are owed by former
students
BRIEFLY
NAKURU
Family wants roads
named after Kimathi
Descendants of Mau Mau war-
rior Dedan Kimathi want the
Nakuru-Nairobi highway and
other major roads named after
the Mau Mau hero. In a petition
to President Kenyatta, more than
70 grandchildren of the inde-
pendence struggle leader further
appealed to the government to
rename the Aberdare Ranges Ki-
mathi Ranges since the mountain
was an important hideout for
Mau Mau ghters.
NYANDARUA
Varsity student
arrested for burglary
A third year student at the
University of Nairobi has been
arrested for shop burglary and
theft of goods in Nyandarua
North. He was among six people
arrested on Saturday night after
two who were caught in the act
led police to their accomplices. At
Leshau and Gwa Kungu markets
in Ndaragwa constituency, goods
were stashed into waiting vehi-
cles and taken to secret locations.
NAROK
999 dams to be built
in ood-prone areas
The Environment and Natural
Resources ministry will build 999
dams countrywide in ood-prone
regions and sink boreholes in dry
areas. Cabinet Secretary Judi Wa-
khungu said the Treasury had set
aside funds for the programme
that seeks to mitigate the eects
of adverse weather patterns.
Speaking during a tour of Narok,
she said Sh217 million had been
used to construct dams in Narok,
Kajiado and Nakuru.
BY NATION
CORRESPONDENT
A teachers union has threat-
ened to call a strike in 30 days
if the government does not roll
out a new medical scheme
within a month.
The Kenya National Union
of Teachers (Knut) ocials ac-
cused the Teachers Service
Commission of dilly-dallying
on the issue. TSC recently ad-
vertised a tender in the local
dailies for the same.
Shortage
Speaking during the Kili
Knut AGM, the unions vice
chairman Samson Kaguma
said the commission should
speed up the process because
teachers were suffering. He
said they wanted the scheme
implemented immediately.
TSC needs to look for a
health insurance firm that
will have the faith of all teach-
ers. We are giving them just a
month or we will call a strike to
push for its implementation,
said Mr Kaguma.
Kili Knut branch executive
secretary Patrick Mwalimu
Rasi also rooted for the new
scheme, saying teachers were
deducted 25 per cent for medi-
cal fees.
Mr Rasi said that Ganze
and Kili had a shortage of
2,856 teachers. Kilifi needs
810 teachers.
There is a crisis due to the
shortage. Students are going on
strike because they fear exams.
They fear exams because they
normally do not complete the
syllabus. The syllabus is never
complete due to shortage of
teachers, he explained.
Knut warns of strike
over new medical plan
There is a crisis due to
the shortage. Students
are going on strike
because they fear
exams,
Knut Kili boss Patrick Rasi
ANTICIPATION | Goat traders set for Idd ul Fitr celebrations
KEVIN ODIT | NATION
Goat traders wait for
customers at Kikowani
in Mombasa yesterday
ahead of Idd ul Fitr
celebrations to mark
the end of the holy
month of Ramadhan.
SEPTEMBER, 2014 INTAKE IN PROGRESS
KENYA SCHOOL OF MEDICAL
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
P.O Box 1734 01000, Thika,
Tel: 0770 216 742 / 020 2306446,
Email: ksmst.thika@gmail.com
About Us
Kenya school of Medical Science and Technology
is registered by the Ministry of Higher Education
Science and Technology Reg. No. MOHEST /PC/
1458/011 and recognized by the relevant Regulatory
Authorities in the Ministry of Health. The school is
affliated to Central Memorial Hospital situated along
Upper Road near Thika Municipal Stadium, next to
Kenya Tanning Extract Ltd.
Our Vision
To promote Medical Training, Research and provide
Medical Personnel for East African Community and
beyond.
Benefts while learning at K.S.M.S.T
Hospital based for clinical experience
Qualifed and experienced Lecturers.
Well equipped Medical, Biological, Chemistry,
Pharmaceutical and Computer
Laboratories.
Well stocked Library with study materials and
Medical Museum.
Conducive learning environment.
We endeavor to place our student in industrial
attachment.
Hostel accommodation available.
Very competitive tuition fee.
We offer professional Courses in Medical, Health
and Information Communication
Technology as indicated below. Our intakes are
in January, May and September of every year.
MEDICAL COURSES
Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology: 3yrs
(KNEC/KMLTTB)
Mean Grade C & above. English/Kiswahili C, Math/
Physics C-, Biology / Chemistry C.
Diploma in Pharmaceutical Technology: 3yrs
(KNEC)
Mean Grade C & above. English/Kiswahili C, Math/
Physics C, Biology / Chemistry C.
Diploma Biomedical Laboratory Technology:
3yrs C (KNEC)
Mean Grade C & above
Certifcate in Medical Laboratory Technology:
2yrs (KNEC/KMLTTB)
Mean Grade C- & above. English / Kiswahili C-,
Math/Physics D+, Biology / Chemistry C
Certifcate in Biomedical Laboratory Technology:
3yrs (KNEC)
Mean Grade C- & above.
Health Courses
Diploma in Health Records & ICT: Mean Grade C
(3yrs)
Diploma Community Health & Social Work: Mean
Grade C- (2yrs (KNEC)
Diploma in Community Development & Social Work:
Mean Grade C (2yrs)
Diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics: Mean Grade C
(2yrs)
Diploma in Social Work: Mean Grade C (1yr)
Diploma in Psychology and Counseling: Mean Grade
C- (1yr)
Diploma in Environmental Health: Mean Grade C
(3yrs)
Diploma in HIV/AIDS Management: Mean Grade
C- (2yrs)
Certifcate in Theatre Technology: Mean Grade D+
(1yr)
Certifcate in Auxiliary Health Work: Mean Grade D
(8Months)
Certifcate in Community Health: Mean Grade D+
(1yr)
Certifcate in Health Records and ICT: Mean Grade
C- (2yrs)
SPECIALISED HEALTH COURSES (JOB ORIENTED)
Auxiliary Health Course in: I.C.U, Dialysis & Ortho.:
2yrs
Advanced Theatre Technology: 2yrs
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COURSES
Advanced Diploma in IT: 1yr
Diploma in ICT: Mean Grade C (2yrs)
Certifcate in ICT: Mean Grade D+ (1yr)
Basic Computer Application: 2 Months
Advanced Computer Application: 3 Wks/Course
Computer Maintenance & Upgrading: 3 Months
Registration Requirement
Copies of Academic Certifcates
Registration fee of Ksh. 500
Closing Date: 30th August 2014
Classes start on 2nd September 2014
Website: www.ksmst.ac.ke
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
National News 11
I
have just returned from
Oxford, one of the
most beautiful towns
in England, and which is
home to the 38 colleges that
comprise Oxford University.
I was attending a workshop
at the universitys Wadham
College, founded in the
17th century by Nicholas
Wadham and his wife
Dorothy.
This college, like all the
other colleges in Oxford,
with its manicured lawns
and rectangular courtyards,
epitomises the Gothic and
neo-Gothic architectural
heritage that the university
has preserved since it was
founded in the 13th century.
In the hallowed halls of
Manseld College where I
was staying, breakfast was
served in an awe-inspiring
hall that was once a chapel.
Stained glass biblical images
stared down at me as I
sipped coee and ate toast.
It was utterly surreal.
I was also fortunate
to be invited to the 2014
Caine Prize for African
Writing award ceremony
at the universitys Boldein
Library, whose underground
galleries contain 180
kilometres of shelves that
hold many of the librarys
collection of old books,
maps and manuscripts.
This year, two Kenyans,
Billy Kahora and Okwiri
Oduor, were shortlisted.
Oduor won the 10,000
prize for her short story, My
Fathers Head, a poignant
tale about a woman who
summons her father from
the dead. Odour is the third
Kenyan to win the prize;
Binyavanga Wainaina won
it in 2002, while Yvonne
Owour won it in 2003.
It has been a good year
for Kenyan artists. With
Lupita Nyongo blazing
the trail in Hollywood,
and young Kenyan
writers making a mark
internationally, it may not
be long before Kenya is
viewed as the literary and
artistic capital of Africa.
However, what struck
me about the Caine
Prize ceremony was how
English the setting was.
There, in the gardens of
Exeter College, where
the nominees, judges and
patrons gathered while
sipping champagne, it
seemed odd that a prize
celebrating African literature
would be announced in a
place that was anything but
African.
Perhaps that was its
appeal. The ceremony, held
at one of the worlds most
prestigious institutions of
higher learning, forces a
decorum that is, in essence,
upper-class English and a
tad snobbish.
The Caine Prize has
launched the literary careers
of several African writers,
including Nigerian Helon
Habila, who published his
rst book after winning
the prize in 2001. The
Kenyan winners, Wainaina
and Owour, also went on
to publish books after
winning the prize, as did
Zimbabwes NoViolet
Bulawayo. The Nigerian
author, Chimamanda Ngozie
Adichie, who was shortlisted
(but did not win) in 2002
has published four books
since her nomination.
Critics of the Caine
Prize say that the selection
criteria are slanted towards
stereotypical African images
of poverty, war, child
soldiers, prostitution and
desperation.
Indeed, many of the
winning stories have been
about communities and
individuals trapped in a kind
of post-colonial madness or
are about victims of violent
or dysfunctional societies.
Some critics, such as
Helon Habila, who was the
rst to win the prize, have
wondered whether there is
a Caine Prize aesthetic
perpetuated by judges and
publishers whereby style
feeds on style, especially
if that particular style has
proven itself capable of
winning prizes and book
deals and celebrity.
The Prize has also been
criticised for lowering the
bar for African writers in
that it judges short stories,
not full-length novels, unlike
most literary prizes.
The Caine Prize has
also been accused of being
paternalistic towards
African writers. There is
a feeling that Anglophone
African writers need to be
anointed by this British
institution before they are
taken seriously.
The Prize has certainly
opened doors for young
African writers who have
found a market for their
work, which is not so with
many African writers.
Many winners have become
celebrities in the literary
world.
Africa-based literary
prizes, such as the
Jomo Kenyatta Prize for
Literature on the other
hand, do not seem to
bestow the same fame or
fortune to its winners. For
instance, Stanley Gazemba,
who won the prize in 2003
for his rst novel, The
Stonehills of Maragoli, is
still a struggling writer who
has yet to be embraced by
Kenyas literary community
as a celebrity.
rasna.warah@gmail.com
Critics say the
selection criteria
for the Caine Prize
are slanted towards
stereotypical African
images
LOWERING THE BAR | Rasna Warah
Must African writers be anointed
by foreigners to be taken seriously?
Contain the talent drain
K
enyas performance at the 15th IAAF World
Junior Championships that ended this
morning in Oregon have yet again reinforced
our reputation as a global athletics superpower.
However, along with the exemplary performance
of the youngsters, it is worrying that a good number
of our talented teens are continuously ditching their
Kenyan passports to take up the nationality of the
oil-rich Gulf state of Bahrain.
One of these defectors, Ruth Jebet, on Saturday
showed Kenya what they will be missing in future by
leaving two of her former compatriots trailing in her
wake as she dashed to the nish line to clinch the
gold medal in the 3,000 metres steeplechase.
While we must appreciate the fact that the world
has become a global village where you can take your
expertise to the highest bidder, it is, nevertheless
disturbing that we are losing the very best of talent
with great potential to make it big in their careers.
It is even more disturbing that the authorities do
not seem bothered by this massive talent drain to
nations that have traditionally beneted from our
excellent sporting facilities.
This is an issue we must address by giving our
youths no reason to believe the grass is greener on
the other side.
A PUBLICATION OF NATION MEDIA GROUP
LINUS GITAHI: Chief Executive Ocer
TOM MSHINDI: Ag. Group Editorial Director
MUTUMA MATHIU: Group Managing Editor
Published at Nation Centre, Kimathi Street and printed at
Mombasa Road, Nairobi by Nation Media Group Limited
POB 49010, Nairobi 00100
Tel: 3288000, 0719038000. Fax 221396
editor@ke.nationmedia.com
Registered at the GPO as a newspaper
Its a bold move by a
womens organisation
T
he news that a womens group has been
awarded a Sh30 million contract to
rehabilitate rural roads in Muranga County is
worth talking about because it is unique in several
ways. One is that a womens organisation has won a
tender, not to engage in a traditional, gender-based
undertaking, but to rehabilitate roads and, second,
that this is partly the product of devolution.
What this development means is that more
womens groups can now gather the courage
to think outside the box and venture into more
challenging business undertakings while competing
against seasoned players in those elds.
Though the amount involved is not humongous
in the Kenyan context, it represents a bold step and
has the potential to inspire other womens groups
to step up their entrepreneurial engagements.
It is also important that the contract was awarded
by a county government, a pointer to the benets of
devolution, which is important in two ways.
First, it is going to boost the incomes of many
households in the rural region besides empowering
the women nancially. Secondly, this could be the
rst step in a long journey that could see womens
organisations competing for major government
tenders and thinking beyond the small-scale
enterprises they have been associated with.
Indeed, this is a step other counties should
emulate to boost their own growth and spread the
benets of devolution.
The contract also highlights the importance of
empowering cooperative societies which have been
an engine of growth by providing relatively cheap
credit to members. By pooling the resources of
their members, saccos can now ex their nancial
muscle at the grassroots and bid for contracts that
could increase their revenues and fatten members
dividends.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
12 | Opinion
NO NEED FOR WAR | Ibrahim Mwathane
O
ne strategy used in the
past to allocate public
land preferentially was
secrecy. Thats why surveyors,
planners, land ocers and
politicians became inuential
and powerful during the land-
grab regime.
Some few planners and
surveyors had the much
needed information on vacant
plots. Land ocers in the
Ministry of Lands had powers
to prepare letters of allocation.
They also were privy to
information on expiring leases.
Politicians, particularly
those close to the
Commissioner of Lands,
the Lands minister or the
President, were critical players
since they could inuence
land allocation to friends and
cronies.
So while the country moved
on with routine business, this
alliance was busy identifying
vacant plots and expiring
leases for allocation. They
made big, quick wealth; not
through hard work or creative
invention but from preying on
public land.
The country only woke up
to these realities when the
new land lords, or those theyd
sold to, appeared in schools,
forests, or road reserves or
with title deeds ready to
occupy the land.
This power to allocate
secretly is coveted and pundits
observe that it perhaps
underlies the wars between the
Lands Ministry and the Land
Commission. Perhaps each of
them quietly craves to enjoy
the immense powers.
But unless Kenyans and
land sector stakeholders go
into a big slumber, the power
of preferential allocations was
dealt a big blow by the new
Land Act.
Yes, the national and county
governments, in whom various
categories of public land are
vested, shall continue to have
a role in the allocation of
public land.
Indeed, the Land
Commission too has a big
role in the allocation and
management of such land.
But each of these institutions
wont exclusively determine
who should be allocated public
land without risking censure
and possible prosecution for
breach of the law.
This is why ocers in the
Ministry of Lands and the
Land Commission need not
view themselves as power
wielders any more, and
why they shouldnt even
ght. They should perhaps
be more worried that they
could undermine their career
progression and suer
prosecution should they
breach the law.
The Land Act provides for
the allocation of public land
by the Commission on behalf
of the national and county
governments by way of public
auction to the highest bidder
at prevailing market values,
subject to, or not less, than the
reserved price.
It also provides for the
allocation of public land
through public notice of
tenders as may be prescribed
or through the public
drawing of lots. But the land
identied for allocation must
neither be subject to erosion,
ooding and earth slides nor
waterlogged. It shouldnt also
be a forest, wildlife or any
other such reserves nor lie
along watersheds and rivers.
Land to be allocated
must also not be reserved
for strategic public uses
like security, education or
research. Land of exceptional
national cultural or historical
value cannot be allocated for
private use either.
The new law further requires
that public land shall not
be allocated unless it has
been planned, surveyed and
serviced, and that guidelines
for its development must be
issued before allocation.
Such allocated land shall
not be sold, disposed of,
sub-let or sub-divided unless
it has rst been developed
for the purpose for which
it was initially allocated.
If the conditions of lease
are breached, such land
shall automatically revert
to the national or county
government.
Applicants for allocation
of public land must
internalise these fundamental
requirements.
To ensure transparency, the
new law requires the Land
Commission to publish or
send a 30-day notice informing
the public and other interested
parties of the intention to
allocate public land. The
notice is what ocials may try
to bypass.
The various provisions in
sections 13 to 16 of the new
law have made it particularly
dicult for public ocials
to allocate land secretly and
preferentially.
While specic procedures
and regulations to operate
the requirements are yet to be
developed, it must be borne in
mind that the new law became
applicable on May 2, 2012,
hence its letter and spirit are
in force.
This is why stakeholders
have kept informing the Land
Commission and the ministry
that recent allegations
regarding secret allocation
of public land and the
reallocation of expired leases,
if true, attracts censure and
possible prosecution.
Relentless vigilance on this
issue must be maintained.
Mr Mwathane is a consultant in
surveying and land information
management (Mwathane@land
sca.co.ke.)
Take notice: The Constitution expressly
outlaws secret allocation of public land
President Kenyatta and CS Ngilu
during a visit to Ardhi House
L
ooking at the political theatrics of
the recent past, it is hard to tell
what agenda Kenyan leaders have
for the people. It is saddening that almost
500 days after the general elections;
Kenyans are still treated to the charged
political atmosphere normally witnessed
hours before an election.
Hunger looms large with a poor
harvest expected, Al-Shabaab is
dancing in jubilation following attacks
that successfully divide leaders rather
than attract retaliation, the prices of
commodities soar as the life of ordinary
Kenyans becomes tougher; tourist have
left our hotel rooms empty, yet politics
still dominates.
Politics is not bad; in fact we get our
leaders through political processes.
However, the route that the Cord and
Jubilee coalitions have adopted can only
be summarised by one word myopia.
The shortsightedness is so acute that
at some point, they have totally become
blind to the realities we are facing. The
two sides of the political divide are pulling
apart, leaving a good number of Kenyans
in the middle wondering what madness
has engulfed our nation.
While Cords myopia makes them fail
to see and respect the government, their
mandate and the fact that they are not
willing to cede even an inch and that the
messengers they parade to preach change
have been there before without making
any signicant dierence, Jubilees is
thriving in the tyranny of numbers.
The arrogance with which Jubilee
MPs keep saying that matters should be
handled through Parliament, knowing
very well they will dictate what the
outcome of any such engagement, is one
symptom of this dangerous illness.
The sarcasm that makes Jubilee grin at
the cloud which Cord kept announcing
and the rain that never was, will not
yield much. I keep wondering who these
leaders really represent. The feeling we
get is that we are on our own. Neither side
of the political divide has any clue how to
rescue Kenya.
Human nature dictates that light is not
appreciated until there is darkness. This
is probably why we leave things to reach a
critical stage and then react. The present
and past regimes have perfected the art.
We cannot think about CCTVs and
security installations or recruit more
policemen until crime levels reach where
we are; matatus dont need to be regulated
until road accidents soar to bad levels.
Now dialogue is not necessary until . . .
your guess is as good as mine.
There is a need to re-focus the leaders
attention to their ultimate bosses the
people. Let us recognise where there
are real issues that require collaborative
approaches and postpone political
campaigns to the right time.
This grandstanding is unhealthy and
retrogressive. It is a united eort by both
the government and opposition to take
back the gains Kenya has made in the
economic, social and political spheres.
Mr Okoth works with a local bank
as a communications ocer
(edwincowino@gmail.com)
POLITICAL FUTILITY | Edwin Okoth
Cord, Jubilee myopia will lead us nowhere
Let us recognise where there
are real issues that require
collaborative approaches and
postpone political campaigns to
the right time
Kenyans throng KRA oces in Nairobi to le returns
THE CUTTING EDGE
BY THE WATCHMAN
CRACKDOWN TIMELY. The crackdown on
pedestrians who cross roads at undesignated
places in Nairobi is commendable, says Kamichore
Mutindira. The instant nes save the culprits the
inconvenience of having to go to court. However,
Kamichore is disappointed that police and the county
trac marshals only go for soft targets. They should
also arrest PSV drivers at Kencom and Ambassador
bus stages who park their vehicles on the zebra
crossing. His contact is kamichore7@gmail.com.
E-mail: watchman@ke.nationmedia.com
or write to Watchman,
POB 49010, Nairobi 00100.
Fax 2213946.
REMOVING KIOSKS. A Nairobi City County
Government ocial, acknowledging Tony Ns
complaint about the erection of kiosks on road
reserves in Langatas Southlands and Park estates,
says they are working with relevant agencies to
have the structures removed. County executive Anna
Othoro, who is in charge of trade industrialisation,
adds: As a long-term and sustainable solution, plans
are underway to provide proper trading spaces to
businesspeople. This will be done by redesigning
existing markets and building new ones.
A YEAR LATER, NO POWER. Keen to see his
mothers home deep in rural Kisii County lit up, Oscar
Nyamboki applied for power connection in November
last year, paying the requisite fee of Sh35,000. To
date, he moans, Kenya Powers Kisii branch has failed
to deliver despite his numerous visits to their oces.
I hope my mother will some day be delivered from
darkness. It will be my best present to her for bringing
me up. The reference is E24402013060202 and his
contactoscarnyamboki@yahoo.com.
END THIS AGONY. Also hoping Kenya Power CEO
Ben Chumo will end his agony is Dan Murugu. At the
beginning of the year, he called at the power utilitys
oce in Nakuru thinking an application for meter
separation would be eected immediately. Says he:
It has stalled despite more than 100 visits. The MD
should intervene and also take action against the sta
due to whose inaction we have gone without power
for the last eight months. Some of them have worked
in this oce for over 20 years. His contact is Tel
0720988086 or murugugu@yahoo.co.uk.
KRA CALL CENTRE USELESS. Kenya Revenue
Authority may have had the best intentions when it set
up a call centre at its headquarters in Nairobi to enable
taxpayers to have their queries answered, but it hardly
ever works, says William Kamau. He asks: Could it
be me alone or has anyone ever phoned the KRA call
centre and got assisted. The phone rarely gets through
and if it does, you are put on voice-mail forever. I have
never got any assistance on the phone. His contact is
wkamau@rocketmail.com.
BIRTHS PRIVATE. Advertising births does not
serve any practical purpose, remarks Richard Mundia,
in response to the criticism of Kenyans apparent
obsession with the dead. According to him, deaths are
advertised to inform relatives and the public and give
them details about funeral arrangements so that those
who wish to can go and mourn. Whereas a death is
public, unless a family indicates otherwise, a birth is
a private aair, concludes Richard, whose contact is
mundia@haritsheth-advocates.com.
Have an informative day, wont you!
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
Opinion 13
SATURDAYS QUESTION
What is your opinion on the sacking of Mungaro?
TOM LUYALI: I support the action
taken against him. Its better you
have one lion in your camp than a
thousand rats.
BUBU HIRIBAE: Pure anarchy. The
coalition does not tolerate independ-
ent thinking. Why didnt they wait for
Mungaro to come back from abroad?
FELIX LILECHI: It was fair and
just. You cant have one foot in Cord,
another in Jubilee. Allegiance is im-
portant.
DENNIS JOHNSTONE ONYINO:
Well, thats according to ODM party
principle pertaining to loyalty.
LITSWA CYRUS: MPs who ditch a
party after using the same as a plat-
form to take them to power should
be sent home. Just having them
relinquish the parliamentary posts ac-
corded by their political party is not
enough. They may then join the other
party they love. This will show that
indeed its their ability and not the
partys ability that they are MPs. This
can only be done when they are sent
home and their seats declared vacant
to allow them to seek fresh mandate
with a party of their choice.
DEBATE QUESTION
Should the police
recruitment be
nullied over ir-
regularity claims?
Send your comments to:
mailbox@ke.nationmedia.com
T
he governments continued
assertion that it is the op-
position Cord that is causing
chaos at the Coast without pro-
viding tangible evidence is dan-
gerous for this country. If it knows
the Opposition is behind the at-
tacks, then the suspects should be
named, arrested and prosecuted.
Its painful to watch leaders is-
suing conicting press statements
that end up polarising an already
divided country even further. First
it was the Cabinet Secretary for
Internal Security after the Mpeke-
toni attacks, then our President
who every Kenyan looks up to for
guidance. Now its the Mombasa
County Commissioner Nelson
Marwas turn.
These blame games are worrying.
As a country, we should be afraid
because the governments senti-
ments are more like a diversionary
tactic. Such loose statements only
serve to energise the real perpetra-
tors of the chaos.
Cases of insecurity should be
treated with seriousness. The
governments response should be
thorough and intelligence-led, not
predicated on ethnic or religious
proling. Blaming the opposition
without tabling any evidence or
substantiating the allegations is
like propaganda being used to di-
vide Kenyans along ethnic lines.
In a polarised country like ours,
such conduct is irresponsible. It
trivialises security concerns and
turns Kenyans against one another.
Unfortunately, it has already led to
the distribution of hate leaets in
major towns.
Its the governments responsibil-
ity to support the public good. The
Opposition has a legitimate place
in the constitutional order to raise
security and other concerns using
lawful channels, both in and out
of State institutions. Its therefore
necessary for the government and
the opposition to work together in
good faith.
If the State knows its the Op-
position behind the unfortunate
attacks at the Coast, then the State
machinery should be used to arrest
the perpetrators. Apportioning
blame on such a sensitive issue
only helps the real perpetrators
when Kenyans ght one another.
JAMES OKONGO, Nairobi
Marwa failure
Marwa is obviously an adminis-
trator under siege, and so operates
under the panic of being shown the
door for his continued failure in
security matters.
After failing to put his nger on
what makes his county fall prey to
thugs and religious insurgents, he
has found a scapegoat in ODM.
Kenyans are an intelligent and
schooled lot that can no longer buy
such imsy excuses from adminis-
trators who still languish in political
propaganda of yester-decades.
Come on Marwa, style up and
move with the times. Tell us some-
thing more sober and reasonable.
NEHRU MANGICHO, Nyahururu
To the editor
The editor welcomes brief letters on topical issues. Write on e-mail to: mailbox@
ke.nationmedia.com. You can also mail to: The Editor, Daily Nation, POB 49010,
Nairobi 00100. Letters may be edited for clarity, space or legal considerations.
SHORT TAKES
TALKING POINT
Blaming Cord for insecurity will
polarise divided Kenya even more
FILE | NATION
Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa.
Emails from correspondents
Keep politicians and counsellors out of prime time TV news
Waiting for prime time news these days is no longer
worth it. It has become a fashion show where news
anchors pace up and down; some minimally dressed
as if to showcase their curves. Yet the news anchors
posture is no big deal. What viewers want is watch
news and nothing else!
Moreover, prime time news has become a forum
for political, social and economic interviews. Indeed,
there is a tting time for political interviews and time
for news. It is a poor sort of logic to assume that
viewers will endure an eternity watching politicians
square it out at the expense of news. Who cares these
days about politicians?
Some stations even have the indierence of loading
on viewers marriage counsellors at prime time. What an
insult! Shouldnt there be time for such programmes?
As politicians rant and rave, sports enthusiasts and
those keen on foreign news are left cursing, wondering
if they will get a glimpse of their preferred news.
Foreign news has been given total blackout. As of
now, war rages in the Middle East. The world is focused
on the unfolding events between Israel and Palestine.
But in Kenya, the media neither see nor hear of it. This
is very well so far, but what about the shooting of the
Malaysian plane with hundreds of passengers aboard?
Was it not news worth? And what about the kidnapped
Nigerian girls?
MALIK SUMBA, Nairobi
On the issue of releasing certi-
cates to former students with unpaid
school fees balances, I support the
stand taken by the Kenya Secondary
School Heads Association.
I am the chairman of a school
board and I know it is dicult to
provide boarding facilities and basic
amenities to a highly demanding ad-
olescent population if their parents
do not pay fees in good time.
Suppliers of food and laboratory
tools have been known to sue and
levy distress on public schools. This
is why timely collection of fees is a
serious matter. Even with the current
fees subsidy system the government
is always late in releasing funds,
hampering school programmes in a
very big way each and every term.
COLLINS WANDERI, Nairobi
Headteachers right to
hold on to certicates
We have to blame Twitter Corpo-
ration for the recent hacks on the
KDFs and Deputy President William
Rutos Twitter accounts. Twitter has
failed to provide a robust access con-
trol system, and this makes it easy
to gain access to user accounts.
Twitter should create their own
encryption algorithms rather than
using vender algorithms that have
been studied by hackers. It should
also incorporate password proles
that dene password complexity,
password lifetime, failed login at-
tempts, password lifetime, password
grace time and password reuse time.
Otherwise they will force us out of
twitter.
GIDEON KOSGEI, Eldoret
Twitter can do more to
secure us from hackers
Its unfortunate that Kenya is
becoming a playground for evil ele-
ments. The Coast is on re, and now,
the hackers called Anonymous are
inltrating the governments ICT
systems and adding more agony
to an administration already under
siege. A fortnight ago, they hacked
into the KDFs Twitter account.
Just the other day, they took con-
trol of Deputy Presidents Twitter
account and defaced the Integrated
Financial Management Information
System (IFMS) meant to streamline
the existing chaotic government pro-
curement processes.
If the government IT experts are
unable to deliver, then why not con-
tract technology companies?
ANTONY ALEX IRUNGU, Nairobi
Kenya now playground
for criminal elements
IGNORANT MCAS: I am saddened
by an article purporting that we let
MCAs travel to broaden their minds
and expand their horizon at taxpay-
ers expense. Were the MCAs minds
not broad by the time they were
elected? Let us put a limit on the
qualication of an MCA. Kenyans
know about life in Nigeria through
lms and news for example. Are
there are no books, lms, videos and
documentaries about what they are
boarding a plane to visit? When the
world was embracing globalisation
where were they?
VERONICA ONJORO, Mombasa
CATTLE TRACK: Ongata Rongai,
in the outskirts of Nairobi, is a fast
growing residential destination for
many. There is a road that starts
from Maasai Lodge junction in Ron-
gai through Tuala and Kitengela, and
joins the Namanga Road. This road
is more or less a cattle track. The
bitumen has only reached Nazarene
University, a distance of less than
four kilometres from Rongai. Its re-
ally dicult for residents of these
two towns to access Magadi Road
due to the poor state of this road.
Lets tarmac this road.
JACKSON MURIUKI, Nairobi
NO GRILLS AT KNH: The Nation
editorial of July 24 Far too many
suicides at Kenyatta National Hospi-
tal was spot on, as always, except,
perhaps, with regard to putting
grilles on windows to bar patients
from jumping. Why? I spent the bet-
ter part of April at KNH taking care
of a patient. The conspicuous lack
of grills on windows and verandas
obviously roused my interest. But
as a nurse explained, in case of a
re outbreak, it would be possible to
evacuate critically ill patients in their
beds and into a low ying helicopter.
NJOROGE KIRATU, Juja
WHY PAY SCHOOL FEES? Second
term ends in a few days to give the
way to a short recess followed by the
third term, which is the nal school
term for Form Four candidates. This
years third term presents a peculiar
dilemma for parents to pay or not
to pay school fees. Placed in that sit-
uation, I would not pay. The undeni-
able fact remains that students who
will not pay their fees and those with
arrears shall still be allowed to sit
for the KCSE exam and later receive
their certicates. By paying fees it
makes for a case of being the nave
parent throwing money to support
the children who fail to pay.
MARTIN M. MAKUNDI, Mwala
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
14 | Letters
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
15
PROCUREMENT OFFICE
INVITATION TO TENDER
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) invite bids from competent Bidders
to bid for the following.
S/NO DESCRIPTION TENDER NUMBER CLOSING DATE
1. Purchase of Space (Building) in Nairobi CBD MMUST/42/14-15 11/08/2014
2. Purchase of 2 No. Seven Seater Motor Vehicle MMUST/43/14-15 11/08/2014
Detailed tender documents may be obtained from Procurement offce during normal working
hours upon payment of a non-refundable fee of kshs. 1,000.00/= (Kenya shillings One
Thousand) only, payable at KCB Kakamega Branch, MMUST Deposit A/C No. 1101811269.
Or downloaded from the University website www.mmust.ac.ke
Duly completed Tender documents (Original and Copy) in plain sealed envelope, clearly marked
with Tender name and Number and bearing no indication of the bidder should be sent to:
The Vice Chancellor,
Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology
P.O Box 190-50100
Kakamega
OR dropped in Tender Box outside the Vice Chancellors Offce at Main Campus in Kakamega,
so as to reach the University NOT LATER THAN 1200 Hours on 11
th
August, 2014. Opening
of the documents will be done immediately thereafter in the presence of applicants or their
representatives who wish to attend.
The University reserves the right to accept or reject any tender in whole or part and does
not bind itself to accept the lowest or any bid.
Tel: 056-30784/31375 P.O Box 190
Fax: 056-30153 Kakamega 50100
E-mail mmust@mmust.ac.ke Kenya
Website www.mmust.ac.ke
RESULTS
Overall net revenues were down 4% for the rst half of the year 2014 against prior year same period. The overall
trading environment was characterized by recurrent insecurity alerts and incidences that have negatively affected
customer shopping behavior, particularly in the shopping malls.
Initiatives undertaken by the company to streamline supply chain and right-size the business have begun to take effect.
The supply chain efciencies improved the operating margin by 27% over the prior period while the average ticket
remained at the same level.
Overall, expenses were down 4% to the same period last year mainly driven by operational efciencies that included
the addition of two stores in late 2013.
The business recorded a loss before taxation and sale of business of Kenya Shillings 1.7M compared to a loss of
Kenya Shillings 142M for the same period of prior year.
DIVIDEND
The Directors do not recommend payment of an interim dividend.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Subject to the improvement of the overall security situation currently in the Country, the Company projects positive
trading results in the second half of the year.
The Company is at an advanced stage of re-launching a agship Adidas store and a Mr Price Home store at the Sarit
Centre in Q4 of the year 2014. Our associate company, Woolworths Kenya Proprietary Limited, recently launched
a store in Kisumu City.
The Board has made signicant progress with regards to the search for new brands, identication of new retail space
in the upcoming shopping malls and the introduction of a strategic partner.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD
J.L.G. MAONGA
COMPANY SECRETARY
Date: 24 July 2014
STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
6 Months 6 Months 12 Months
2014 2013 2013
Kshs 000 Kshs 000 Kshs 000
SALES 781,815 812,616 1,791,863
NET OPERATING MARGIN 417,276 328,738 750,472
EXPENSES (423,830) (442,131) (989,423)
FINANCE COSTS (30,486) (43,643) (84,782)
NET FOREIGN EXCHANGE GAIN 24,955 12,658 67,132
SHARE OF PROFIT FROM ASSOCIATE 10,357 2,286 15,022
PROFIT BEFORE SALE OF BUSINESS (1,729) (142,092) (241,579)
PROFIT FROM SALE OF BUSINESS - 394,638 405,856
PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS (1,729) 252,546 164,277
TAXATION CREDIT / (TAXATION) 519 18,981 59,703
PROFIT/(LOSS) FOR THE PERIOD FROM CONTINUING
OPERATIONS
(1,210) 271,527 223,980
PROFIT/(LOSS)FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS - 18,507 (45,443)
PROFIT/(LOSS) FOR THE PERIOD (1,210) 290,034 178,537
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
EXCHANGE DIFFERENCES FROM TRANSLATION
OF FOREIGN OPERATIONS (218) (6,682) 669
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD (1,428) 283,352 179,206
======== ======== ========
BASIC AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS* (0.01) 2.20 1.81
======== ======== ========
BASIC AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS* - 0.15 (0.37)
======== ======== ========
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 30 JUNE 2014
2014 2013
Kshs 000 Kshs 000
ASSETS
Non Current Assets 631,515 981,205
Current Assets 1,202,797 1,147,199
TOTAL ASSETS 1,834,311 2,128,404
======== ========
SHAREHOLDERS FUNDS AND LIABILITIES
Share Capital 308,896 308,896
Share Premium 548,803 548,803
Reserves 494,546 637,445
Non-current liabilities 236,890 212,643
Current Liabilities 245,176 420,617
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 1,834,311 2,128,404
======== ========
DEACONS KENYA LTD HALF YEAR UNAUDITED FINANCIAL
RESULTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 30 JUNE 2014
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE PERIOD
ENDED 30 JUNE 2014
www.deacons.co.ke
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
INVITATION TO TENDER
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVE BIDDING
SUPPLY, INSTALLATION, TESTING MAINTENANCE AND REPLACEMENT OF
MEDICAL EQUIPMENT AND ASSOCIATED TRAINING FOR COUNTY AND
SUB-COUNTY REFERRAL HEALTH FACILITIES THROUGH A MANAGED
EQUIPMENT SERVICE (MES) ARRANGEMENT
SECOND ADDENDUM TO TENDER NO. MOH/001/2014/2015
1. Introduction
This Addendum is issued by the Ministry of Health on the 28
th
day of July, 2014 to amend Tender No.
MOH/001/2014/2015 for the Supply, Installation, Testing, Maintenance and Replacement of Medical
Equipment and Associated Training for County and Sub-County Referral Health Facilities through a
Managed Equipment Services (MES) Arrangement.
2. Amendments
The tender documents are amended as follows:
2.1 The bid submission date is hereby extended to 8
th
September, 2014 at 12.00 hours
2.2 The Appendix to Instructions to Tenders is amended to incorporate the following amendments
to Clause 2.5: Clarifcation of Tender Documents:
All clarifcation questions must be submitted by bidders on or before 1
st
August 2014 at 17.00 hours. The
procuring entity shall collate clarifcation questions received and provide its responses in writing to all
bidders by 8
th
August 2014.
3. Tender Documents to remain in full force and effect
Save as amended by this Addendum, all other provisions of the tender documents remain in full force and
effect.
Issued by;
Principal Secretary
Ministry of Health
6
th
Floor, Afya House
Cathedral Road
PO Box 30016-00100
Tel: +254 20 2717077,
NAIROBI, KENYA
Email: ps@health.go.ke
HEAD, SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
For: PRINCIPAL SECRETARY
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
16 |
Nairobi >
County workers union backs
governors on pensions plan
The County Government Workers Union yesterday
supported the Council of Governors decision to
take over management of the Sh45 billion Laptrust
pensions fund. The unions Rift Valley Regional
Chairman Daniel ole Tome said the group backed
the decision to adopt the Laptrust Retirement
Pension Fund in accordance with the law. The union
denied claims that there had been disagreement
between them and the Council of Governors. The
governors are our employers and we are committed
to working together as a team to safeguard the
rights of the employees and employers, said Mr
Tome. He asked workers to embrace the governors
decision, to ensure a peaceful transition in the
management of their pension. Mr Tome said those
ghting the plan were out to derail implementation.
COUNTY NEWS
TURKANA BORDER SECURITY >
Kimaiyo says more reservists to be sent to
the area after touring conict-prone border
of Turkana and West Pokot counties. Page 23
MPS TO WORK WITH UHURU >
Cord leaders from Coast say they will go
against the grain for as long as they
get favours. Page 20
BY MWAKERA MWAJEFA
mwajefa@ke.nationmedia.com
AND HAMISI NGOA
hamisingoa@yahoo.com
C
ord leaders have told
Mombasa County Com-
missioner Nelson Marwa
to stop politicising security
matters as it could spark tribal
animosity.
Speaking at Soweto village in
Likoni where three people were
killed by unknown attackers last
weekend, ve Cord leaders hit
out at the commissioner over
the deteriorating security at
the Coast.
Mombasa Woman Repre-
sentative Mishi Mboko asked
Mr Marwa to reveal the identi-
ties and mission of two suspects
who were gunned down by police
at the Likoni matatu terminus
on Friday.
She said rearms were be-
coming too easy to nd, and
this exposed innocent people
to danger.
It seems as if there is an
agenda to kill the countys
economy. Mr Marwa should
get down to business and restore
security, she said.
Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba
said Mr Marwa erred when he
claimed that ODM was behind
the recent Likoni attacks. He
promised to reconcile Gover-
nor Hassan Joho and Mr Marwa,
who do not see eye to eye, for the
betterment of the county.
I will make sure Abdulswa-
mad Nassir (Mvita MP) and
Masoud Mwahima (Likoni MP)
are brought on board for the sake
of our people, he said.
Mr Mwahima, the area MP,
skipped the function but sent
his condolence contribution
through Mombasa Senator
Hassan Omar.
Nyali MP Hezron Awiti chal-
lenged Mr Joho to call a meeting
to discuss pertinent issues.
We can ght at the meet-
ing then come out with goodies
that will change the lives of our
electorates who are currently
facing a myriad of hardships,
he said.
The land issue must be ad-
dressed. We cannot keep quiet
when some leaders are involved
in grabbing, he said.
Senator Omar castigated the
Jubilee government for failing
Kenyans in all the fronts. Mr
Omar said that rampant inse-
curity was bad for the countrys
economic, social and political
well-being.
The national government
should work at ensuring equity
for all and not just for a select
few, he said.
The Cord leaders also ad-
dressed party issues at the
meeting.
Mr Omar warned Cord rebels
in the region that their days were
numbered. If they thought they
had clout, then they should
resign and face the electorate
through their preferred parties,
he said.
If these leaders feel that they
can no longer stay in Cord then
they should do the honourable
thing and resign. Let them go
and seek fresh mandate from
the electorate, he said.
Describing themselves as a
decisive generation, the leaders
said they will use the ballot to
change the destiny of the region
and country in 2017 poll.
Ms Mboko took a swipe at Kil-
i North MP Gideon Mungaro
and his allies. She said that if
the former Minority Whip and
his group was not comfortable
in Cord, then they should ship
out.
Even in a marriage, if you are
caught indulging in mpango wa
kando (extra-marital aair) you
are dumped, she said.
Commissioner
criticised for claim
that Raila is behind
attacks in Likoni
BACKGROUND
Accusations
y over high
insecurity
Mombasa County
Commissioner
Nelson Marwa and
Governor Hassan
Joho have disagreed
openly in public in
the recent past.
Mr Joho, who do-
nated police vehicles
for the ght against
crime threatened to
withdraw them if the
deteriorating security
situation was not ad-
dressed.
Mr Marwa alleged
that Cord leader
Raila Odinga was
behind the attacks in
Mombasa.
The remark drew
condemnation, with
some Cord lead-
ers calling for Mr
Marwas removal.
FILE | NATION
Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar (left), Nyali MP Hezron Awiti and nominated Ward Rep Mohammed Hatimy on Friday
condemned County Commissioner Nelson Marwa for blaming ODM for the recent attacks in which three people died
in Likoni.
Likoni | Identity of two terrorist suspects who were shot dead sought
Keep politics out
of security issues,
leaders tell Marwa
It seems as if
there is an
agenda to kill
the countys
economy. Mr Marwa
should get down to
business and restore
security
Mombasa Woman Rep Mishi
Mboko
Nandi >
Sack ocers who are sleeping
on the job, senator tells Uhuru
A URP senator wants an evaluation of top police
ocers to weed out non-performers. Nandi County
Senator Stephen Sang said it was time President
Uhuru Kenyatta overhauled the entire security
command to check the spiralling insecurity. He
cautioned against politicising security matters,
saying this only served to escalate the problem. Mr
Sang said the continued attacks being witnessed in
major towns in the country was an indication that
somebody was sleeping on the job. Speaking in
Eldoret yesterday, he said an audit should be done
to monitor the performance of all top ocers. The
President should gauge his security team. Ocers
found to be incompetent should be shown the door
to pave the way for those who are up to the task,
said Mr Sang.
BRIEFLY
Mombasa >
Mvita MP bursts into tears
over killings at the Coast
An MP was overcome with
emotion and wept in public
over insecurity in the county.
Mvita MP Abdulswamad
Shari Nassir cried while
addressing his constituents.
He was presiding over
the awarding of bursaries
to college and university
students when he burst into
tears as he spoke about the
runaway crime.
The MP condemned
Mombasa County
Commissioner Nelson
Marwas recent remarks
linking the attacks in Likoni
to ODM.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
17
Nakuru >
Governor asks Muslims
to go for county jobs
Governor Kinuthia Mbugua has
asked Muslims in the county to
apply for positions when they
are announced and assured
the of fairness. He also urged
them to apply for tenders. You
have shunned radicalism and
we commend you for that, Mr
Mbugua said. The governor was
addressing the Iftar celebrations
at Jamia Food Mart. The
occasion was organised by the
United Congregation of Imams
in conjunction with the US
Embassy, Nairobi. Francis
Mureithi
Nakuru >
Ex-rm boss sent home
for Sh20m loss, court told
A water company chief executive
was retired for due gross misconduct
that cost rm Sh20 million, the
Industrial Court heard on Friday.
Nakuru Water and Sanitation
Services Company director Georey
Asanyo told the court that Mr John
Cheruiyot, who was relieved of
his duties as managing director
on June 26, had exposed the
employer to risks. Mr Cheruiyots
management led the company to
suer huge nancial losses and the
board decided to send him to early
retirement to avoid more losses, he
said. The former MD has sued the
company for Sh2.9 million, claiming
unfair termination of his contract
and defamation, among others.
Eric Matara
Kakamega >
Firm risks blacklisting
for delayed Bukura job
A construction company
risks being blacklisted for
delayed completion of a
conference complex at the
Bukura Agricultural Training
Centre. County executive
for Environment and Water
Peninah Mukabane said Kora
Construction Company was
paid Sh38 million but failed to
complete the work. She gave the
contractor a week to complete
the work or be blacklisted. It is
now a year since the contractor
asked for extension period to
complete the work and as a
county government we cannot
allow that to happen, Mrs
Mukabane said at the college
yesterday. Benson Amadala
Kwale >
Commission will not
follow up PSB case
The National Cohesion and
Integration Commission (NCIC)
will not proceed with the case
against county Public Service
Board chair Kassim Riga and
secretary Victoria Tumaini. This is
after the commission concluded the
Board did not out employment
procedures as claimed by the
Assembly Labour Committee.
Committee chair Swaleh Simba
admitted that they were wrong.
Mr Simba assured the Board of
his support. We discovered that
it is not a must for a member of
minority group to be employed
even when he does not qualify, he
told a recruitment forum at Amani
Beach Hotel in Tiwi on Saturday.
Farouk Mwabege
Muranga >
County chief warns of
Mungiki comeback
The government has issued an
alert over re-emergence of the
Mungiki sect in the region.
Mathioya Deputy County
Commissioner Charles Laboso
said the outlawed sect had
made a comeback in Kiria-ini
and was extorting money from
traders and matatu operators.
Other areas where the Mungiki
is active are Kangema, Mathioya
and Maragua. But Muranga
Woman Representative Sabina
Wanjiru urged the police to
ght insecurity and avoid
intimidating people by branding
every youth as Mungiki.
Martin Mwaura
Laikipia >
County to ght maize
farmers exploitation
The county government is
working on a multi-billion-
shilling initiative to enable maize
farmers get more value for their
crop. Governor Joshua Irungu
yesterday said the warehouse
receipting system would protect
farmers from exploitation.
The initiative is one of the ve
economic pillars of Mr Irungus
development plan and will kick
o after harvesting in November.
Others are beef processing,
tourism, horticulture and dairy
farming. We produce some of
the best maize in the country. We
want to add value to the crop, he
said. Muchiri Gitonga.
Laikipia >
Police hiring was free
and fair, say residents
Hundreds of Laikipia North
residents yesterday protested
against Mr Mathew Lempurkel,
their MP, for calling for a repeat
of the recent police recruitment
in the region. The protesters
said the region had produced
the highest ever number of
recruits into the police service
and accused the MP of being
insincere. They said they had
condence in the recruitment.
Muchiri Gitonga
Meru >
Kaimenyi laments drop
in education standards
Lack of parental concern and
understang in schools have
been blamed for the regions
dismal performance in national
examinations. Forced repetition
and teacher absenteeism were
other reasons for the poor show
by the region, said Education
Cabinet Secretary Jacob
Kaimenyi. It is disturbing that
only 594 candidates qualied
for university admission despite
Meru being a reservoir of some
of the best brains in the country.
Stakeholders must do what is
humanely possible to protect that
reputation, he told the County
Education Day at Kaaga Girls
High School on Saturday.
Kennedy Kimanthi
Nakuru >
Gangsters shot dead and
AP uniforms recovered
Police yesterday gunned down
two gangsters and recovered
Administration Police uniforms
at Kisulisuli. Nakuru police
commander Bernard Kioko said
the two were part of a three-man
gang that terrorised residents in
the area armed with guns. The
suspects had wooden toy guns
that resembled AK-47 ries. Police
ocers opened re at 3.30am
when the suspects deed orders
to surrender, said Mr Kioko. The
third suspect escaped with gunshot
wounds, he added. James Kariuki
Kajiado >
End female cut, PS
urges the Maasai
The Maasai have been urged
to stop circumcising girls. The
practice was the reason for the
high drop-our rate among girls,
Devolution Principal Secretary
John Konchellah told a prize-giving
day at Olosho Oibor Primary in
Kajiado North on Saturday. His
Information counterpart Joseph
Tiampati asked girls to work hard
and remain in school for them
to have respectable places in the
society.KNA
Kwale >
Public vacancies too
few, says board chief
The County Public Service Board
is overwhelmed by job seekers.
Kwale Chairman Kassim Riga
said vacancies were limited, yet
the public had high expectations.
The board cannot meet the high
demand for jobs, he said amid
criticism of awed recruitment.
Mr Riga said at Tiwi yesterday
that some people mistakenly
thought the board could dish out
jobs at will. He said low literacy
levels were a hindrance to jobs
for most people in the formal
sector. Since most applicants fail
to meet requirements, the board
is sometimes forced to lower the
(entry) grades, he said. KNA
Vihiga >
Agoi launches Sh2m
fruit-growing project
Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi has
started an avocado farming
project to spur economic growth.
He said he wanted to make
farmers diversify from maize
and tea cultivation. The CDF, he
said on Saturday, would spend
Sh2million on the project. Our
farms are small. We cannot
continue to rely on the two crops
in this age, he said, adding that
the agriculture department would
procure a million seedlings.
Derick Luvega
COUNTY NEWS >ROUND-UP
DENISH OCHIENG | NATION
Residents of Kisii watch an acrobat perform in the town yesterday. The acrobats
entertain residents at a small fee.
This is how its done Kisii |
Trans Nzoia >
Leaders condemn
rise in child labour
Leaders and education ocials
have raised the alarm over
child labour in Kwanza. Area
MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi
blamed large-scale farmers and
agricultural corporations for
promoting the vice. Education
standards have greatly
deteriorated because of child
labour. Kwanza now lags behind
other regions in this county, Mr
Wanyonyi said as he launched
the constituencys multipurpose
vehicle at Maridadi centre on
Saturday. Separately, Senator
Henry Ndiema said child labour
had aected retention levels in
primary schools. Philip Bwayo
Kili >
Talks will stop strikes,
say education leaders
Education sector leaders
yesterday called for a permanent
solution to the frequent strikes
in local schools. Kili County
Education Board chairman
Gabriel Katana called for talks
among parents, teachers and
students leaders to curb the
strikes. County education boss
Dickson ole Keis said fourteen
schools have been aected by the
strikes. Kazungu Samuel
Kakamega >
Respect Head of State,
bishop tells Cord leaders
Bishop Philip Sulumeti has
told the Opposition to respect
the President. The head of the
Kakamega Catholic Diocese said
leaders were anointed by God.
He was speaking at Chamakanga
Catholic Church in Vihiga County
yesterday. Bishop Sulumeti
urged those ambitious to become
President to wait until the 2017 poll.
His call came amid heated political
temperatures in the country over
the proposed referendum by Cord.
All the 26 Catholic bishops have
opposed it. Derick Luvega
Vihiga >
Traders ask Cord to
stop plebiscite talk
The business community
yesterday asked Cord to go slow
on calls for a referendum. The
traders said the increased political
temperature sent fears to both
local and foreign investors. The
National Chamber of Commerce
and Industry Vihiga branch vice-
chair Billy Nyonge said holding
a referendum a year after the
2013 general elections would be
costly. Let the Constitution be
fully implemented rst before
calling for amendments, he told
journalists. Derick Luvega
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
18 | County
Nakuru >
MP: Empower women
to cut HIV infections
The high rate of HIV infections
in the county may be reduced
if women were economically
empowered. Woman Rep Mary
Mbugua yesterday said this
would make women make
independent decisions on their
reproductive health. She added
that upholding family values
would also reduce infections.
Nakuru is the seventh county
with the highest number of HIV/
Aids cases and infections.
Moraa Obiria
Nairobi >
Varsity card to help
monitor Helb loans
St Pauls University has
launched a smart card to enable
students monitor the status of
Higher Education Loans Board
applications. University public
relations ocer Michael Mungai
said the card was also capable of
monitoring the students lecture
attendance as it would be swiped
to record attendance. The card
can be used for M-Pesa deposits,
paying of insurance premiums
and other cashless transactions.
Francis Mureithi
Nakuru >
Water rm paying
Sh26m power bill
The Nakuru water company
could be plunged into a nancial
crisis due to high electricity
costs. Managing Director
James Nganga said the rm,
which is owned by the county
government, now pays Sh26
million monthly, up from Sh12
million it has been paying since
last October. For a company
that makes around Sh55 million
a month, this, we can say is a
potential challenge.
Benard Ogembo
Kwale >
County chief calls for
calm during crackdown
Matuga Deputy County
Commissioner Chedotum
Kamnyan has called for calm
as security ocers conduct
an operation in Kwale County.
Mr Kamnyan yesterday said
the crackdown only targeted
criminals and innocent residents
need not worry. An employee
of Matuga Girls High School
was arrested on Wednesday on
suspicion of being involved in
terrorism but was released after
interrogation. (KNA)
Uasin Gishu >
Minister warns over
high land division rate
Land sub-division is hindering
the countrys eorts to attain
food security, Agriculture
Cabinet Secretary Felix Kosgei
has said. In North Rift the
countrys food basket land
under cultivation is diminishing
due to sub-division. Speaking
during an Agricultural Finance
Corporation function in Turbo
on Saturday, Mr Kosgei said
this trend had dealt a big blow
to eorts to increase food
production. Coppereld Lagat
COUNTY NEWS > ROUND-UP
Sh45bn
COUNTY IN NUMBERS
Money set aside to renovate hospitals
in all the 47 counties, according to
Deputy President William Ruto
Sh3.7bn
Kirinyaga Countys budget for this
nancial year passed by the county
assembly last week
45
The number of roads West Pokot
County has earmarked for rehabilita-
tion
223bn
The budget decit in shillings
Governor Peter Munya says
Meru County faces in its ve-
year plan
For comprehensive stories, go to www.nation.co.ke
Kericho >
Probe prison torture
claims, says family
The family of an inmate at
Kericho Prison has asked the
Commissioner General of
Prisons to investigate claims
of torture at the institution.
Hillary Kiplangat Rono, who is
serving a 10-year jail term for
manslaughter is said to have
been isolated from other inmates
and subjected to mistreatment.
This emerged after a source
familiar with goings-on at the
prison told family about the
ill-treatment of their kinsman.
Distressed family members who
spoke to the Press said that they
feared losing our loved one
before he completes his term.
Rono has served seven years of
his term. Eric Matara
Homa Bay >
Magistrate laid to rest
amid glowing tributes
Kisumu Principal Magistrate
Samwel Atonga was buried at
the weekend in a ceremony
that was attended by judges
and lawyers from across the
country. Judicial ocers who
attended the event in Wayando,
Rusinga Island eulogised Atonga
as a dependable, obedient and
supportive magistrate. Mbita
MP Millie Odhiambo Mabona
also attended the event. The late
Atonga died after he collapsed at
home. Maurice Kaluoch
Kisumu >
Cane farmers ask Uhuru
to open agricultural show
Cane farmers in the western
Kenya sugar belt have appealed
to President Uhuru Kenyatta to
ocially open an agricultural
show in the area on Thursday.
They said this would give them
the chance to air their grievances
about the ailing sector. The
sector needs to be overhauled
and we welcome the President
to the show to announce plans
the government has for us, said
Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation
and Allied Workers Secretary
General Francis Wangara. Most
of the farmers depend on sugar
cane, he added. Everline Okewo
Narok >
Energy CS says power
project will benet all
Energy CS David Chirchir
yesterday said rural socio-
economic development through
provision of electricity was meant
to benet all Kenyans. He said 998
institutions had received solar PV
systems with a combined installed
capacity of 2.1 megawatts at a
cost of Sh2.2 billion. He said the
project was under a Kenya-Spain
partnership programme. The
project that targets 10 counties will
benet 380 more schools at a cost
of Sh1 billion. George Sayagie
Homa Bay>
Awiti wants classrooms
to be built by counties
Governor Cyprian Awiti
yesterday asked the national
government to devolve
construction of classrooms to
the counties. Mr Awiti (below)
admitted that it would be dicult
to devolve the entire education
system, arguing that it will be
a great burden to the county
governments.
Siaya>
Assembly sets aside
Sh30m to buy maize
The county government has
allocated Sh30 million for buying
maize from farmers to stock in
reserves. Crop Ocer George
Oduma told more than 20,000
farmers to sell their maize to the
county government for between
Sh2,500 to Sh3,000 for each
90-kilo bag. We shall engage
farmers from Rarieda, Bondo,
Alego Usonga, Gem, Ugenya
and Ugunja sub-counties in the
campaign to save food for the
future, said Mr Oduma.
Nelcon Odhiambo
Turkana >
Fire razes camp for
Legio Maria members
At least 300 members of the
Legio Maria religious sect spent
a night in the cold after re
destroyed 45 houses at their
Nakwamekwi village camp in
Lodwar town on Saturday. Mr
Emmanuel Ewoi, a resident,
said: The wind fanned the re
as we struggled to salvage a few
belongings from looters. The
county government, Kenya Red
Cross and World Vision donated
food to the victims on Sunday
morning. Deputy Governor Peter
Lokoel said disaster management
operations should be devolved to
the counties. Sammy Lutta
Nyandarua >
Schools urged to start
mentorship programmes
School in Nyandarua County
have been challenged to start
programmes to help mentor
pupils. Speaking during the
inaugural county education
day at Ol Kalou stadium at
the weekend, Governor Daniel
Waithaka and Nema director-
general Georey Wahungu said
professionals from the area
should also be enlisted in the
programmes. David Macharia
Meru >
University conference
to discuss devolution
Devolution will be the focus
during the Kenya Methodist
University Annual International
Conference, which started
yesterday and ends on
Wednesday at the main campus
in Meru. The theme will be
Devolved Government as Key
to Wealth Creation. Scholars,
graduate students and policy
makers will present papers.
Other topics to be discussed
are leadership and governance,
health and environment. Lucas
Barasa
Chuka >
MP urges residents to
back electricity plan
Chuka Igambangombe MP
Muthomi Njuki has called on
residents to support a project
meant to have electricity
installed in all public primary
schools in the constituency.
Mr Njuki said the project
will target 110 public primary
schools, said the MP at Chuka
High School during the sub-
county headteachers meeting on
Saturday. Kevin Ngai
JARED NYATAYA | NATION
Ms Peggy Koech
drops a coupon
into a container for
the Daily Nations
Kusoma na Kudrive
promotion at Eldoret
Bus Park last Friday.
The promotion re-
wards Kenyans for
reading the coun-
trys favourite news-
paper. Readers stand
a chance of winning
10 pick-up trucks,
cash prizes, smart
phones and newspa-
per subscriptions for
six months.
A boon for Daily Nation readers Promotion |
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
County 19
Kakamega > Dedicated for divine service PICTURE-speak |
ISAAC WALE |
NATION
Bishop Simon
Oketch (extreme
right) of the An-
glican Church of
Kenyas Diocese
of Maseno North
ordains Jackson
Chitechi as deacon
with the help of
Bishop Jackson
Ole Sapiti of Keri-
cho Diocese at
Christ Church in
Kakamega. Bishop
Oketch criticised
western countries
for their campaigns
to have prostitution
and homosexual-
ity legalised in the
country.
Well work with Uhuru, say leaders
BY DANIEL NYASSY
@dnyassy
dnyassy@ke.nationmedia.com
S
tate House goodies are too
tempting to resist, some Cord
leaders at the Coast have
said.
Lawmakers and ward reps allied
to Kili North MP Gideon Mungaro
said they would continue supporting
President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The leaders, who visited State
House last Wednesday, said they were
ready to go against the Cord leader-
ship provided they returned home
with their baskets overowing.
Mr Mungaro, who was last week
stripped of his position as Minority
Whip, said that the President has
opened the wallet for the region.
He was addressing a rally at Kili
Prison ground at the weekend. Also
present were Kwale Woman Rep
Zainab Chidzuga, Lunga Lunga MP
Khatib Mwashetani and Kinango MP
Gonzi Rai.
The leaders said President Keny-
atta had pledged to give Kwale County
Sh350 million for a water project.
Coast Cord leaders to
go against the grain
for as long as they
are given favours
Voters
elected us
to steer
growth.
We shall
work with
the State
to achieve
our goals.
Lunga
Lunga MP
Khatib
Mwashetani
Kili | Mungaro maintains they will not follow anyone blindly
The funds will be used to rehabilitate
and expand Mukanda Dam in Lunga
Lunga constituency. The water from the
dam will be used for large-scale irriga-
tion. Other dams will be constructed in
Kinango, Ms Chidzuga said.
President Kenyatta has also prom-
ised that the government would seize
500,000 acres of grabbed land. He also
pledged that the Kombani-Kinango-Sam-
buru and Kinondo-Lunga Lunga-Dzombo
roads would be tarmacked.
Mr Kenyatta said he will expand
Ukunda Airstrip as well as develop the
shing industry in the South Coast,
Ms Chidzuga said.
In four months, the President will
issue title deeds at Mwanguda Pri-
mary School in Lunga Lunga.
Since independence, we have been
waiting for the Samburu-Kinango road
to be tarmacked because of its eco-
nomic importance, Mr Rai said.
Voters elected us to steer growth.
We shall work with the State to achieve
our goals, Mr Mwashetani said.
Mr Mungaro, who is the Coast
Parliamentary Group chairman,
said they were assured of cash to
boost security.
The President gave us Sh600
million for the Mariakani-Mavueni
road and Sh1.4 billion for the Ron-
ald Gideon Ngala Utalii College at
Shariani. We also got Sh70 million to
complete the Gede-Watamu road, he
said and pledged to work with Jubilee
and criticise it when it was wrong.
He said that they will not follow any
leader blindly.
LABAN WALLOGA |
NATION
Kili North MP
Gideon Mungaro
is welcomed
by supporters
at Kili Prison
ground on
Saturday.
Quarantine imposed to stop foot and mouth disease
BY NATION CORRESPONDENT
The foot and mouth disease
threatens some 100,000 head of
cattle.
The viral disease has been reported
in various parts of the county. So far,
30 animals have been aected.
The disease was rst reported in
Ndia where 15 animals were aected.
The county government has imposed
a quarantine.
The disease, which struck last
week, has since spread to Gichugu,
Kirinyaga Central and Mwea.
Veterinary ocers have been put on
high alert and are working extra hours.
County Livestock Director Gichangi
Karimi said samples had been col-
lected and taken to the Embakasi
Foot and Mouth disease laboratory
in Nairobi for analysis.
There are four types of this dis-
ease and we want to establish the one
that has struck the county before we
embark on a vaccination campaign,
he said yesterday.
Dr Karimi said although all animals
were in danger of getting infected,
there was no cause for alarm since
qualied ocers had been dispatched
to enforce the quarantine.
Kirinyaga >
Tea growers ask
for signatures
to eject directors
BY NATION CORRESPONDENT
Tea farmers in South Rift have
started collecting signatures in
their push to kick out the direc-
tors of eight factories.
They accuse the directors of re-
fusing to approve their mini-bonus
pay as ordered by President Uhuru
Kenyatta.
While factories in other regions
have obeyed the directive, theirs
are yet to comply, the farmers
said.
We blame the non-payment on
our crop of directors. We want to
collect signatures from farmers to
have then removed from oce, said
the Kenya Union of Small-Scale Tea
Owners, Mr Joel Chepkwony.
Presidential directive
In an interview with the Nation,
Mr Chepkwony said that they would
present the signatures of more than
40,000 farmers approximately
half their total number to the
Ministry of Agriculture.
Once majority of farmers
append their signatures, the gov-
ernment will have no alternative but
to act according to their plea, said
Mr Chepkwony.
Agriculture Cabinet Secretary
Felix Koskei recently called on the
factories to respect the presiden-
tial directive and promptly pay the
farmers their mini-bonus.
Bomet >
MCAs defend
passage of high
allocation in
county budget
BY NATION CORRESPONDENT
Members of the Kirinyaga
County Assembly yesterday de-
fended the Sh3.7 billion budget
they passed.
The ward representatives said
they followed due process when
discussing and endorsing the
budget for this nancial year.
The MCAs dismissed claims
that the budget was riddled with
anomalies.
They told journalists in Kerugoya
Town that legal procedures were
strictly observed and there should
be no cause for alarm.
Relevant committees
The budget estimates for both
the assembly and the county ex-
ecutive were tabled in the House
for endorsement after being
scrutinised and rationalised by
various relevant committees. The
legal process was adhered to, said
Mr David Mathenge, the chairman
of Budget Committee.
The assembly also consulted
Governor Joseph Ndathi.
The Controller of Budget has
questioned the proposals, more
so after the Assembly gave itself
21 per cent of the budget - the
highest in the country.
Kirinyaga >
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
20 | County
In line with the strategy for development of Kenyas road infrastructure, the Government
is committed to completing ongoing road projects and initiate new ones in the country.
This will enhance opportunities for growth, economic development and employment.
Specifcally, the Government intends to roll out development of 10,000km of new
roads within the next fve (5) years using alternative fnancing and delivery strategies
in partnership with the Private Sector. The program is divided into three (3) Phases and
covers highways, rural and urban roads as follows:
Phase I 2,000km
Phase II 3,000km
Phase III 5,000km
Phase I of the Program will commence by December 2014.
The Ministry has therefore organized a one-day Road Infrastructure Development
Stakeholders Conference on Wednesday, 30
th
July, 2014 to sensitize key stakeholders
on available opportunities in the Sub-Sector under the Annuity Model.
Participants are invited from the following sectors:
Development Partners
Financial Institutions
Contractors
Members of the National Assembly and the Senate
County Governments
Consulting Engineers, Surveyors and Planners
Equipment and Materials Manufacturers/Distributors
Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies
Interested participants are requested to register via Email: ps@infrastructure.go.ke;
dg@kenha.co.ke or call 0700423606, 0722405659, 0721221826 by Monday 28
th
July,
2014. Registration Form can be accessed from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
Website: www.transport.go.ke or Kenya National Highways Authority Website www.kenha.co.ke
DATE : WEDNESDAY 30
TH
JULY, 2014
VENUE : KICC, TSAVO HALL, NAIROBI
TIME : 8.00 AM TO 2.00 PM
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT STAKEHOLDERS CONFERENCE
30
TH
JULY, 2014
Developing Road Infrastructure Through Partnership
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
21
BARINGO COUNTY ASSEMBLY
P.O. Box 159 - 30400
KABARNET.
Tel: (053) 22115
Email: baringocountyassembly@gmail.com
TENDER NOTICE
The Baringo County Assembly invites Tenders for the following goods, works and services for the Financial Year
2014/2015
CATEGORY A : TENDERS
NO TENDER NO. ITEM DESCRIPTION ELIGIBILITY
1 BCA/T/001/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Staff Uniforms and Protective Clothing/
Gear.
Open
2 BCA/T/002/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of General Offce Stationery. Open
3 BCA/T/003/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Detergents, Disinfectants and Insecticides. Youth, Women
& PWD
4 BCA/T/004/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Petrol, Diesel, Oils, Lubricants& Gas. Open
5 BCA/T/005/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Bottled Water, Beverages and Soft Drinks. Youth, Women
& PWD
6 BCA/T/006/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Computer Stationery & Accessories Open
7 BCA/T/007/2014/2015 Provision of General Insurance Services (Tenders invited from
Insurance Companies only)
Open
8 BCA/T/008/2014/2015 Provision of Medical Scheme Insurance Services for Members
& Staff (Tenders invited from frms that offer medical
insurance scheme)
Open
CATEGORY B: PREQUALIFICATIONS
9 BCA/P/001/2014/2015 Provision of Branding & Printing Services for T-Shirts, Caps,
Calendars, Diaries, Business Cards, Stickers and Banners.
Youth, Women
& PWD
10 BCA/P/002/2014/2015 Provision of Security Services. Open
11 BCA/P/003/2014/2015 Provision of Legal Services. Open
12 BCA/P/004/2014/2015 Provision of Legislative Drafting Services. Open
13 BCA/P/005/2014/2015 Provision of Internet Services, Data Communication Services,
Computer Networks and Structured Cabling Installations.
Youth, Women
& PWD
14 BCA/P/006/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of General Hardware and Building Materials. Open
15 BCA/P/007/2014/2015 Provision of Air Travel and Ticketing Agency Services (IATA
registered only).
Open
16 BCA/P/008/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Computer, Laptops, Printers, Scanners,
Photocopiers, I-pads/Tablets and other Hardware and Software
Accessories, Laptop bags, I-pad poaches.
Open
17 BCA/P/009/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery Cameras, LCD Projectors, PA Systems,
Audiovisual Materials, microphone, camera and scanner batteries.
Open
18 BCA/P/010/2014/2015 Provision of Airtime and Scratch Cards. Youth, Women
& PWD
19 BCA/P/011/2014/2015 Repair and Maintenance of Computers, Laptops, I-pads,
Photocopiers & Printers.
Open
20 BCA/P/012/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Newspapers, Magazines, Periodicals and
Documentaries.
Youth, Women
& PWD
21 BCA/P/013/2014/2015 Provision of Accommodation, Conferencing and Catering
Services.
Open
22 BCA/P/014/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Electrical Appliances and Fittings and
Electronic Equipment.
Open
23 BCA/P/015/2014/2015 Repair and Maintenance of Electrical Appliance and Fittings. Open
24 BCA/P/016/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Utensils, Cutlery and Water Dispensers. Youth, Women
& PWD
25 BCA/P/017/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Offce Cabinet, Equipment, Curtains,
Carpets, Furniture & Fittings.
Open
26 BCA/P/018/2014/2015 Provision of Web Development, Hosting and Maintenance
Services.
Youth, Women
& PWD
27 BCA/P/019/2014/2015 Repairs, Servicing and Maintenance of Motor Vehicles. Open
28 BCA/P/020/2014/2015 Supply and Delivery of Tyres, Tubes and Batteries. Open
29 BCA/P/021/2014/2015 Servicing and Maintenance of Hansard Equipment. Open
30 BCA/P/022/2014/2015 Supply, Servicing and Maintenance of Firefghting Equipment. Open
31 BCA/P/023/2014/2015 Supply, Delivery and Servicing of First Aid Equipment. Open
32 BCA/P/024/2014/2015 Provision of Architectural and Quantitative Survey Services. Open
33 BCA/P/025/2014/2015 Provision of Events Management/Organization services. Youth, Women
& PWD
34 BCA/P/026/2014/2015 Supply, Delivery, Installation and Commissioning of
Telecommunication Equipment.
Open
Tenders should be addressed to the undersigned or sent by post so as to reach the address; The Clerk, Baringo
County Assembly, P.O. Box 159-30400, Kabarnet on or before, Tuesday 12
th
August, 2014 at 4.00 pm.
Submitted bids will be opened publicly in the presence of Bidders/ Representatives who choose to attend at the
Baringo County Assembly Board Room. Late bids will be returned unopened.
The Baringo County Assembly reserves the right to reject any tender without giving reasons for the rejection and is
not bound to accept the lowest tender.
The Tender documents with detailed specifcations may be obtained from the Procurement Offce at the County
Assembly Offces ground foor, during normal offcial working hours upon payment of a non-refundable fee of
Kshs. 1,000/= at the cash offce of the Baringo County Governors Building or in Bankers cheque drawn in favour
of Baringo County Government per set. Prices quoted must be inclusive of all applicable taxes and should remain
valid for a period of 90 days from the closing date of the tenders. The youth, women and people with disabilities
are encouraged to apply who are residents of Baringo County.
Duly Completed and Sealed Tender Documents clearly marked Tender No.. Original and Copy on the top
right hand corner and bearing no indication of the tenderer should be deposited in the Tender Box placed at the
main entrance of the County Assembly Offces situated at the County Assembly hall along Kabarnet- Eldoret Road,
Opposite KCB Bank within Kabarnet Town or sent by Registered mail and properly addressed:-
The Clerk,
Baringo County Assembly,
P.O. Box 159-30400, Kabarnet.
Plan is an international humanitarian child centered community
development organization, without religious, political or government
affliation. Plan is committed to protecting and promoting child
rights and to improving the lives and futures of vulnerable children,
their families and communities through a child-centered community
development approach.
Plan International Inc. Kenya is seeking to recruit for the following positions:-
COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
To be based at the Country Offce, Nairobi on a 3 year contract.
Purpose of the Job and Key Responsibilities:
Develop, package and disseminate reports, information materials and other
communication materials
Work closely with the communications manager to develop an ongoing
communications and marketing plan for events
Review all publications produced to ensure that Plans branding and
communication guidelines are consistently adhered to across the country
programmes
Assist in coordination of media events including press conferences, radio and
television segments.
Identify opportunities that provide platforms for media work; write press releases
and press statements
Conceptualize, design, post and administer the social media platforms
Develop and publish digital content to engage audiences
Work with the Communication Manager to establish and publish timelines for
communications projects and an editorial calendar.
Educational Qualifcation, Knowledge & Experience:
University degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Publishing or
related feld
Minimum experience of 3years in public relations and communications
In-depth knowledge of the local and international media represented in Kenya
Demonstrable experience in using digital platforms
Demonstrable experience in using web content management systems and blog
platforms including HTML and CSS knowledge.
SENIOR LOGISTICS AND PROCUREMENT COORDINATOR
To be based at the Country Offce, Nairobi on a 3 year contract.
Purpose of the Job and Key Responsibilities:
To implement and monitor logistics systems, in accordance with Plan Kenya
policies and procedures.
To receive all procurements and supply requisitions and ensure they are all
endorsed prior to processing for procurement purposes.
Request for offers and quotations and prepare the necessary BIDs analysis
Provide technical guidance to the requesters on offers received and best services
to be procured taking cognizance of value for money, specifcations and quality
issues.
Prepare Purchase orders/contracts and ensure all approvals are obtained, purchase
orders delivered to the relevant suppliers and acknowledgement received.
Follow up with suppliers and ensure goods and services are delivered as agreed.
Timely update and correctly enter all related data of purchases into PRISM
Analyze monthly spend reports to identify trends and opportunities for further cost
reductions.
Educational Qualifcation, Knowledge & Experience:
Degree in procurement and supplies management, Business Management or
relevant training in Logistics procedures and systems
Minimum of 5 years proven experience in procurement and supply chain
management
Relevant work experience with other NGOs, UN agencies or government
departments
Demonstrated ability to use latest MS Offce applications.
Thorough understanding of Procurement and Logistics policies, rules and
regulations;
Experience on VAT exemptions procedures and Knowledge on Government
requirements on duty exemptions;
Demonstrated ability to maintain integrity in performing responsibilities assigned;
Ability to pay close attention to details, take initiative and work with minimal
supervision;
Knowledge of SAP operations will be an added advantage.
Exposure using P2P SAP Processes and logistics management.
Plan Kenya is a development organization uniting people to advance the
rights of all children. Accordingly, we are an equal opportunity employer and
employment is subject to our child protection standards including appropriate
background checks and adherence to our Child Protection Policy.
If you meet the requirements of the above positions, please visit http://plan-
international-kenya.org/jobs/ to access the full job descriptions and make an online
application. The closing date of applications is 8 August, 2014. This position is open
to Nationals Only. You are invited to read more about Plan in our website www.plan-
international.org.
We regret that only short listed candidates will be contacted.
VACANCIES ANNOUNCEMENT
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
22 |
Nakuru >
We are watching you. KWS issues stern
warning to conservancies over poaching
Kenya Wildlife Services Boss William Kibet Kiprono
has accused some conservancies of collaborating with
poachers to kill wild animals. Speaking during the
Wheelbarrow Race at Hells Gate park in Naivasha, Mr
Kiprono said he had a list of the conservancies, and
warned they risked being de-gazetted. We have enough
proof that some of the poachers are actually aided by the
so-called conservationists. In fact, some even provide the
poachers with the powerful weapons to kill wild animals,
he added. The same conservationists later use photos of
the dead rhinos and elephants to solicit funds globally to
ght poaching in Kenya, he said. Joyce Kimani
More police
reservists to
be deployed
in clash area
BY SAMMY LUTTA
@sammylutta
lokhako@ke.nationmedia.com
AND BY BARNABAS BII
bbii@ke.nationmedia.com
I
nspector General of Police
David Kimaiyo has ordered
deployment of additional
police reservists to enforce
law and order in the volatile
Turkana and Pokot border
region.
Though the region has
enough police camps, they
are understaed.
Addressing journalists at
Kapese airstrip in Turkana
South, during a tour to assess
security in the region, Mr Ki-
maiyo said the reservists would
be deployed in Kainuk, Loya-
pat, Nakuse, Lokwar, Kaputir,
Nakwamoru, Katilu, Kakong,
Kalimorock and Kwotoruk
ashpoints.
He assured residents living
along the border and inves-
tors in the two counties of
their security.
The security personnel
deployed along the border
are to protect all residents,
their property and border,
said Mr Kimaiyo.
The border has ocers from
the General Service, Anti Stock
Theft and Rapid Deployment
units and Administration police
camps in strategic spots.
Mr Kimaiyo appealed to
leaders in both counties to be
at the forefront in managing
the conict, saying this should
be undertaken urgently.
Citing the huge investments
like that done by Tullow Oil
Company, the police boss said
the area had a huge develop-
ment potential which issues
of insecurity should not be
allowed to frustrate.
We want to start seeing
both communities living har-
moniously and coexisting as
business activities are encour-
aged. he said.
Turkana South MP James
Lomenen said with the
increased number of police re-
servists, provision of armoured
vehicles and helicopter, secu-
rity would be guaranteed in
the region.
Dialogue call
Deputy Governor Peter
Lokoel said the county govern-
ment would always advocate
dialogue for the sake of the
regions development.
Turkana South Deputy
County Commissioner Elijah
Kodoh too called for dialogue
between communities in the
neighbouring counties in a
bid to address conflict that
perennially pits them against
each other.
His comments came in the
wake of reports that hundreds
of Pokot herdsmen had crossed
into Kaakong division of Tur-
kana County with their animals
in search of pasture, heighten-
ing tension between the two
pastoral communities.
We are asking the herdsmen
to retreat to their grazing eld
to avert possible clash with
their Turkana counterparts,
said Mr Kodo.
Colonial times
Six people have recently
been killed and hundreds of
animals stolen in fresh armed
conict between the Pokot and
Turkana.
Mr Kodoh said the attacks
occurred along River Turk-
wel, a region claimed by both
communities since colonial
times.
The conict is attracting
new players including politi-
cians, civil rights activists and
potential investors with diverse
interests, said Joseph Akoule,
the chairman of Sikom peace
Development network.
Kimaiyo issues directive after touring
the conict-prone border between
Turkana and West Pokot
AT A GLANCE
Measures
in place to
restore peace
Deployment of additional
police reservists to provide
security in the conict-prone
border region.
Promotion of dialogue
between the two
communities to ensure they
co-exist and dierences
solved peacefully.
Leaders from both
communities to go to the
frontline in promoting peace
among the residents of the
two communities to avoid
ghts over pasture.
Peace activists call for
awareness to avoid conicts
because of emerging
resources such as oil and
minerals.
Turkana | Leaders back move
Trans Nzoia >
Group reaches out to leaders of
counties ravaged by ghts over border
An organisation involved in peace-building is working
with political leaders of West Pokot and Turkana counties
in a bid to stop border conict between their people. The
Karamoja Cluster Project has reached out to governors
to help stem the animosity which has claimed numerous
lives. The two governors have shown willingness to
broker a deal that will end the wars for the sake of peace
and development, said the projects director, Mr Tony
Karbo, at a gender and peace-building training in Kitale
yesterday. Some of the women gave moving accounts
of how they had been inherited many times after their
husbands get killed in the clashes. Philip Bwayo
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
County 23
Counties to import cheap fertiliser
BY JAMES NGUNJIRI
@mjngunjiri
ngunjirij@ke.nationmedia.com
C
ounty governments are set to
take over the collection and
distribution of imported fer-
tiliser to ensure it reaches farmers.
The move on the subsidised ferti-
liser programme follows a deal with
the National Government, according
to Council of Governors Committee
on Agriculture and Land chairman
Nderitu Gachagua.
Mr Gachagua, who was speaking
at Wambugu Agricultural Train-
ing Centre (ATC) yesterday after a
two-day farmers eld event, said
agricultural extension ocers in all
counties had been asked to submit
the list of fertiliser types needed by
farmers in their counties.
Across the board
We want to know the requirements
of all farmers in all sectors sugar-
cane, tea, coee, horticulture and
when these requirements are pulled
together we have agreed that the
subsidised programme on fertiliser
will now target all fertiliser across the
board, said Mr Gachagua.
It was also agreed that county gov-
ernments take up the distribution of
fertilisers after collecting it from the
Port of Mombasa.
We are taking up the responsibil-
ity to ensure that fertiliser reaches
all the farmers across the agricultural
sector, he said.
This will allow counties to import
Allowing regions to
acquire and distribute
commodity meant to
end perenial delays
We are
taking
up the
respons-
ibility to
ensure that
fertiliser
reaches
all the
farmers
across the
agricult-
ural
sector
Mr Nderitu
Gachagua,
Nyeri
Governor
and distribute fertiliser to their farm-
ers and eectively address perennial
delays and shortages.
The recommendation was con-
tained in a report prepared by the
National Acceleration Agricultural
Input Access Programme Secretariat,
under the mandate of the Ministry of
Agriculture.
The report also suggested that
counties form regional blocs to
allow them to import the commod-
ity in bulk. It stated that the devolved
governments provided a good oppor-
tunity to address shortage issues and
stimulate agricultural productivity to
improve food security, income and
social welfare.
One of the strategies that county
governments can undertake to address
high prices is to take an active role in
fertiliser market, the report stated.
It suggested that counties develop
mechanisms for bulk procurement
either through importation or local
purchases and increase their bargain-
ing power and exploit the economies
of scale to have lower prices.
The devolved units were also given
the leeway to develop a memorandum
of understanding with relevant par-
astatals.
In Nyeri, coee farmers are already
getting fertiliser, which they have been
advanced by the county government.
The fertiliser was accessed at a cost
of Sh1,500 a bag, down from Sh2,400
previously.
The subsidised fertiliser has
helped coffee farmers in Nyeri to
save about Sh900 per bag, said Mr
Gachagua.
FILE | NATION
Port workers of-
oad a consign-
ment of 22,000
tonnes of DAP
fertiliser in Mom-
basa early this
year. Counties
have been man-
dated to import
and distribute to
their farmers, the
government sub-
sidised fertiliser
to boost food
production.
Nyeri | Move follows deal between devolved units and National Government
Elgeyo-Marakwet >
Teacher seriously burnt in chemical
mishap in laboratory ahead of exam
A high school teacher has been referred to Moi Teaching
and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for specialised treatment
after a laboratory accident that left her and three of her
colleagues with serious acid burns. The Chemunada
Secondary School teacher was assembling chemicals in
the school laboratory ahead of an examination when the
accident occurred, prompting the test to be called o.
The students were outside the laboratory, waiting to be
called in to take the test once preparations were complete.
The principal, Ms Catherine Tembesi, said the teacher
sustained severe burns on the face and feet. Philemon
Suter
Kitui >
Re-opening of colonial water canal
to benet farmers in two counties
Residents of Kitui and Machakos counties are to benet
from the rebuilding of Yatta Furrow, dug during colonial
times. The 62-kilometre canal, which is choking under
decades of neglect, is to be de-silted and extended a further
45 kilometres at a cost of Sh2.1 billion. Tanathi Water
Services Board chief executive ocer Nicholas Muthui said
the project was being nanced by the National Government
and African Development Bank. It will take eight months
to complete. Mr Muthui told the launch of the project
at Kithimani market yesterday that the furrow, which
originates from River Thika, would benet hundreds of
farmers.Kitavi Mutua
Youths
block road
to protest
shooting
BY NATION CORRESPONDENT
Angry residents of Naivashas
Karagita area yesterday demanded
the arrest and prosecution of a
policeman who allegedly shot and
killed a man.
They blocked the main Naivasha-
Mois South Lake road for hours
protesting the disappearance of
a fisherman allegedly shot at a
private island.
Police clearing the road showed
restraint even when the youths
threw stones at them. The young
men had put boulders and lit bon-
res on the road.
Locked up
Trouble started when the youths
stormed the home of the tycoon
accusing him of being behind the
shooting.
A protester, Patrick Kamau, ac-
cused the investor of manhandling
locals by locking them up when they
strayed into the islands waters.
Waving twigs, the youths staged
a sit-in outside the businessmans
house demanding to know the fate
of the man shot earlier.
We know he was shot by the
police and died but we are yet to
see the body. His two colleagues
were arrested and locked up, said
Mr Kamau.
The three were allegedly engag-
ing in shing near the island when
they were accosted by police.
One of them who claimed to have
witnessed the shooting said they
surrendered but were later released
unconditionally as police continued
searching for the body.
Police refused to comment on
the matter.
Naivasha >
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
24 | County
Nakuru >
Gilgil MP and locals fence o grabbed
plot earmarked for two public schools
Gilgil MP Mathenge Ndiritu has decried the rampant
land-grabbing in the constituency, terming it a drawback
to development. Speaking on Saturday in Ol Begi area on
the outskirts of Gilgil Town after leading locals in fencing
o a plot, he asked them to join hands in stamping out the
vice. He said the land in question had been earmarked for
construction of primary and secondary schools but was at
the centre of a tussle between a few people and the public.
We must do all we can to secure the remaining prime
lands, said Mr Ndiritu. He added that Sh1.4 million had
been set aside for the construction of two classes and a
toilet for the primary school.
Hospitals to
be renovated
for Sh34bn in
ve-year plan
BY WYCLIFF KIPSANG
wkipsang@ke.nationmedia.com
H
ospitals in all counties
will be renovated at a
cost of more than Sh34
billion, Deputy President Wil-
liam Ruto has said.
Two Level Five hospitals will
be elevated to referral status,
he added.
Mr Ruto was speaking
at Saint Josephs Primary
School in Kapseret, Uasin
Gishu, where he presided
over a funds drive in aid of
womens groups.
County governments
are doing well, especially in
health. Despite some chal-
lenges, governors are doing
their best. Hospitals are well
stocked with drugs, he said.
Mr Ruto said that the Jubilee
government was on course to
implement all its election
pledges.
The Deputy President said
the government would ex-
pand Eldoret Airport to boost
exports in the agriculture-rich
region. He said plans for a dual
carriage road were under way
to decongest Eldoret town.
Referral hospital
Mr Ruto said the Cabinet
had already approved the
setting up of another referral
hospital in the town on 200
acres of land.
He appealed for unity in
the country and challenged
the Opposition to work with
the government in developing
the country.
There is no separate
Kenya for the government
and the Opposition. We want
to unite Kenyans irrespective
of the political and ethnic af-
liations. We should put the
interests of Kenyans rst be-
fore selsh political interests,
said Mr Ruto.
We should mobilise re-
sources towards the bettering
of living standards of our
people instead of engaging in
empty political rhetoric.
Mr Ruto said the government
would boost the agricultural
sector at a cost of more than
Sh200 million.
Centres for artificial in-
semination will be available
for livestock farmers at sub-
sided prices to improve their
breeds.
Mr Ruto said plans were on
course for the setting up of a
fertiliser factory in Eldoret to
ensure that farmers acquire
inputs on time.
Uasin Gishu Governor Jack-
son Mandago and senators
Charles Keter (Kericho), and
Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo
Marakwet) and some MPs from
the region were some of the
leaders at the funds drive.
Mr Murkomen dismissed
referendum calls by Cord,
saying that there was nothing
serious to warrant the change
in law at the moment.
Cord are masters of double
speak. They want national dia-
logue yet they cannot manage
their own house. They chased
Gideon Mungaro as parlia-
mentary deputy minority
whip just because he worked
with the government. said Mr
Murkomen.
Mr Keter dismissed claims
that the Rift Valley region had
been given a raw deal in the
Jubilee government.
Deputy President lauds county chiefs
eorts in devolution that has seen
improved services in health centres
Uasin Gishu | Medical centres to be upgraded
34
Billions of shillings to be
used for renovating hos-
pitals in all the counties
County governments
are doing well,
especially in health.
Despite some
challenges, governors
are doing their best.
Hospitals are well
stocked with drugs.
Deputy President
William Ruto
Kisumu >
KRA to train cyber caf owners in 10
counties on how to ll tax return forms
The tax agency will train cyber caf owners on a new
tax collection system. In advertisement in dailies, the
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) said the training would
incorporate caf owners who help taxpayers le returns.
The system called iTax aims at making the collection fully
automated. Participants will be trained on how to update
an iPage, ling Pay-as-You-Earn (Paye), Value Added Tax
(VAT) and income tax returns. They will also be shown how
to generate payment slips from iTax. The training, from
today to Friday, will train cyber caf operators mostly from
counties in western Kenya. iTax is aimed at improving
compliance and eliminating tax evasion.
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
County 25
JOSEPH KURIA | NATION
Administration Police ocers carry the casket containing the body of their colleague, Const Benson
Wanjohi Wairimu, during his burial at Geta Village in Kipipiri, Nyandarua County on Saturday. Const
Wanjohi was among several ocers killed in an attack in Lamu last week. Since the Mpeketoni attack
two months ago, Lamu has experienced many other killings. Ocers are not spared, either.
Slain ocer buried Nyandarua
Merus ve-year-plan
short of Sh223 billion
BY LUCAS BARASA
lbarasa@ke.nationmedia.com
T
he county government faces a
decit of Sh223 billion to im-
plement its ambitious ve-year
development plan.
The County Integrated Devel-
opment Plan (CIDP 2013-2017)
launched by Governor Peter Munya
will be implemented at a cost of
Sh252 billion but the devolved unit
only expects Sh29 billion allocation
from the national government in the
same period.
This means that to fund all the
projects, the county would have to
mobilise Sh223,589.829 million over
the ve years. The highest expendi-
ture is expected to be in 2015/2016,
says the plan.
The plan, prepared through the sup-
port of US Agency for International
Development (Usaid), was debated
and passed by the County Assem-
bly. This makes it a legally binding
document that will guide planning
and implementation of all projects
and programmes in the area.
Mr Munya said on Saturday that
through the implementation of the
plan, his government hoped to build
a united, prosperous and green model
county.
The governor who had just returned
from a US visit said his government
would engage in aggressive strate-
gies to mobilise additional funding
to implement the projects.
It is obvious that we have a huge
nancial gap which we will attempt
to ll with the support of our partners
and other stakeholders, Mr Munya
added.
He said the county government
would embark on continuous partici-
patory monitoring and evaluation in
order to implement the project.
This will ensure we continuously
track progress during the implementa-
tion of the CIDP, he said.
He added that any deviations and
corrective actions would quickly be
dealt with to ensure the programmes
are implemented within the stipulated
period.
Mr Munya announced that county
workers would sign performance
contracts from next week.
29
The amount
in billions
of shillings
Meru will
get from the
government
223
The money
in billions
of shillings
the county is
looking for
to ll gap
252
The total
amount in
billions of
shillings the
CIDP project
will cost
Meru | Munya to seek funds from development partners
Governor also says
employees will begin
signing performance
contracts next week
Garissa >
BY NATION CORRE-
SPONDENT
Two Ijara constituency
l eaders yesterday com-
plained that pastoralists
from the area suered har-
assment when they went to
look for pasture in Lamu.
They said the security
operation had left many
pastoralists dead or miss-
ing.
Ijara MP Ahmed Ibrahim
Abass and MCA Mohamed
Abdullahi criticised the
crackdown, claiming it tar-
geted their people.
The MP told the Nation by
phone that it was unaccept-
able for the police to arrest
and detain people for long
periods then release them
without preferring charges.
If they are criminals, they
should appear in court. We
demand an explanation as to
why our peoples rights are
being trampled on by security
agents, he said.
Police accused of harassment
Telephone: 020 344194
City Hall,
P. O. Box 30075-00100 NAIROBI
Being served is your right! Fighting corruption is your responsibility
SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES FOR WARD DEVELOPMENT FUND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Nairobi City County Public Service Board is pleased to invite the following shortlisted candidates for interviews on the dates and time indicated.
S/NO ID/PASSPORT NO. NAME GENDER QUALIFICATIONS INTERVIEW DATE TIME
1. 23543282 Jackson Mutethia Mutua M MBA,BCOM,CPA K,ACCA 5.08.2014 9.30 a.m.
2. 0493432 Kariuki Muchemi M MSc,BSc 5.08.2014 10.15 a.m.
3. Kungu James Otieno M MBA, BED,CPA K 5.08.2014 11.00 a.m.
4. 14674786 George Wakaba M MBA,BCOM,CPA K,CPS K,CISA 5.08.2014 11.45 a.m.
5. Fredrick Riaga M MBA, BSc 5.08.2014 12.30 p.m.
6. 40676221 John M Ngala M MBA,BSc 5.08.2014 1.15 p.m.
7. 1092768 Peter Nyaga Munyi M PhD,MBA,BCom, CPA,CPS,CISA 6.08.2014 9.30 a.m
8. 10361604 Yassin M Ismail M MBA,BSc 6.08.2014 10.15 a.m.
9. Dominic Dan Ayaa M PhD,MA,BA 6.08.2014 11.00 a.m.
10. Abdikarim Ibrahim Abdow M MA,BA 6.08.2014 11.45 a.m.
11. 11648749 Irene Karimi Ruingu F MBA,BED 6.08.2014 12.30 P.m.
12. John Watson M MBA,BA,DIP 6.08.2014 1.15 P.m.
The interviews shall be conducted in the County Public Service Boards Board room, 2nd Floor, Room 205.
Note: The candidates are requested to be at the venue at least thirty (30) minutes before commencement of the interview.
The candidates must bring with them originals of the following documents:
i. National Identity Card or Valid Kenyan Passport
ii. Academic and Professional Certicates and Transcripts
iii. Certicate of Good Conduct from the Criminal Investigations Department
iv. Clearance Certicate from Higher Education Loans Board (HELB)
v. A Tax Compliance Certicate from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)
vi. Clearance from the Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)
vii. Any other relevant documents.
SECRETARY
NAIROBI CITY COUNTY PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD
Customer care contact : 0725 624 489 or 020 344 194
Email : info@nairobi.go.ke
Website : www.nairobicity.go.ke
Twitter : Twitter@county_nairobi
Facebook : NairobiCityCountyOfcial
Fire and disaster management contact : 020 2344 599
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
26 | County
BY NATION CORRESPOND-
ENT
All the 47 counties will
soon be connected to the
bre optic cable to enhance
service delivery.
Information, Communica-
tion and Technology (ICT)
Cabinet Secretary Fred Ma-
tiangi (below) yesterday said
this was part of the national
governments eorts to digitise
public services.
Our focus has now moved
to building capacities of
county governments in a bid
to enable them to deliver on
their mandates and improve
livelihoods of Kenyans, said
Dr Matiangi.
He spoke at Kanyawanga
High School in Rongo during
the schools prize-giving day.
FILE | NATION
Dr Fred Matiangi, the Cabinet Secretary for ICT, addresses the Press
at a past function. Yesterday, he revealed plans to connect all coun-
ties to the bre optic cable, in an eort to digitise public services.
Minister reveals bre
optic plan for counties
Migori >
Lets share debt burden, counties tell State
BY SILAS APOLLO
apollochieng@gmail.com
AND NELCON ODHIAMBO
neodhis@gmail.com
F
ive county assemblies
in western Kenya are
pushing for the national
government to help in paying
of debts owed to defunct local
authorities.
Busia, Siaya, Vihiga,
Kakamega and Kisumu coun-
ties also want forensic audits
done to ascertain the comple-
tion of contracts.
They said the correct
amounts owed to the mu-
nicipalities should also be
determined before any pay-
ments are made.
Loan collateral
The ve assemblies accused
the national government of
shortchanging counties follow-
ing an earlier agreement that
counties settle the debts.
Last week, the Transitional
Authority (TA) issued a di-
rective to both the national
and county governments,
warning them against selling
assets without following due
process.
The TA Chairman, Mr
Kinuthia Wamwangi, said the
sales aimed at settling debts
running into hundreds of bil-
lions of shillings had seen
several counties lose properties
used as loan collateral.
Majority Leaders Josephat
Andera (Busia), Robert Ma-
khanu (Kakamega), Samuel
Ongow (Kisumu), Edwin
Omondi (Siaya) and Vihigas
Andrew Ahuga said they had
directed audits to be done to
determine if all the projects
and programmes listed were
completed.
Amounts owned
Mr Andera said assembly
members had debated a mo-
tion seeking to compel Busia
county to consider sharing the
debts with the national govern-
ment to avoid losses.
He said through the motion
on the state of county debts,
they had directed an audit to be
done to ascertain the debtors as
well as amounts involved.
In March, we debated and
asked the Executive to consult
the national government on
ways of settling these arrears,
which run into huge amounts.
The county has no capacity to
do that, said Mr Andera.
Mr Makhanu said a report
sent to Kakamega county by
the Auditor-General concern-
ing the debts raised a lot of
questions.
List of assets
Mr Makhanu also insisted
that the initial agreement was
that the national government
settles the arrears.
The TA, however, failed
to sort out the issues, leav-
ing counties with the burden
of debt. Unfortunately, there
are still many areas that need
Assemblies blame
TA for confusion,
saying liabilities
were to be settled
by the national
government
clarication, he said.
Mr Ongow said the authority
had also not handed over a list
of assets and liabilities to the
county ocials.
He said this could make the
counties suer unnecessary -
nancial burdens.
Chances are, a lot of assets
were lost during the transition
period. The TA should rst
hand over that list to us before
giving directives, he said.
Mr Ahuga said they were
consulting with executive of-
cers to see how the problem
could be solved.
The county is being over-
burdened. If we sell o these
assets as demanded by the
authority, we may end up
with nothing, said the Vihiga
Majority Leader.
Suspend payment
Mr Omondi said the Siaya
Assemblys Public Invest-
ment Committee (PIC) had
directed the Executive to
suspend payment of all the
debts it inherited from the
local authorities.
This would provide room
for scrutiny of the local au-
thorities financial records
and a forensic audit following
a report by the Auditor-Gen-
eral that millions of taxpayers
money was misappropriated,
said Mr Omondi.
Busia | There is fear that a lot of assets may have been lost in the transition period
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
County 27
JOSEPH KANYI |
NATION
Nyeri Governor
Nderitu Gach-
agua admires lo-
cally processed
coee at the
Mutira Farmers
Co-operative
Society stand at
Wambugu farm
in Nyeri during
a eld day yes-
terday.
Governor attends eld day Nyeri |
BY BERNARD ROTICH
brotich@ke.nationmedia.com
Governor Simon Kachapin is
banking on infrastructure and
improved health services to
transform West Pokot County.
Mr Kachapin says residents
will soon start seeing the fruits
of devolution. To him, getting
the priorities right will help
foster equitable distribution of
resources.
This region has been mar-
ginalised for a long time. My
government has embarked on
various projects to change the
face of West Pokot, Mr Kach-
apin says.
Top on the list of his devel-
opment agenda is the health
sector, which he has allocated
the bulk of money in the
budget 24.4 per cent of the
Sh3.7 billion budget.
Social equaliser
Other dockets that also got
a big share are education and
roads.
Another area of concern is
the Early Childhood Education
(ECD), which Mr Kachapin says
determines the foundation of a
childs education.
He wants to build and equip
classrooms to boost ECD.
My government will con-
struct an ECD classroom in
every school in West Pokot,
Mr Kachapin, the former
principal of Ortum High School,
views education as the social
equaliser and a crucial ingredi-
ent for development.
Mr Kachapin aims at im-
proving education standards
through the provision of bursa-
ries and upgrade of schools.
The governor will also de-
velop infrastructure to woo
investors.
The county government has
embarked on the rehabilitation
of 45 roads.
Mr Kachapin has threatened
to sue the Kenya National
Highway Authorities (KeNHA)
for ignoring repairs on the Ki-
tale-Kapenguria-Lodwar road.
Since independence, the
Kitale-Kapenguria-Lodwar road
remains in a poor state, ac-
cording to the governor.
Region neglected
He says that the region has
been neglected by the previous
regimes and he promised to
better the living standards of
residents.
The county government has
outlined areas to set up irriga-
tion projects to boost food
security.
The governor says that some
foreign investors have signed
an agreement for collaboration
in the irrigation projects.
Mr Kachapin urges the Na-
tional government to disburse
equalisation funds meant to
fast-track development in mar-
ginalised counties.
The assembly will assist the
jua kali artisans by holding
exhibitions and seminars for
traders to grow their invest-
ment skills.
Ailing health sector and
education given priority
This region
has been
marginalised for
a long time. My
government has embarked
on various projects to
change the face of the
West Pokot.
West Pokot Governor Simon
Kachapin
GOVERNORS DESK | West Pokot
Elgeyo Marakwet >
County digitises operations
with help from Safaricom
The county government has automated
all its operations. The Public Service
Board (PSB) was the rst to adopt
the system which will go a long way in
serving job applicants online. The revenue
department has adopted the electronic
payment system with the aid of mobile
service provider Safaricom. The ICT
and Public Service Executive member
Monicah Rotich on Saturday announced
the County M-Pesa Paybill number
827600. She said all the revenue ocers
would be receiving payments through the
system.
BRIEFLY
Kirinyaga >
Former chief appears in court
today over toxic alcohol
A former chief accused of trading in
toxic liquor was on Friday released on
a Sh30,000 police bond. He will appear
in court today. He was freed after being
questioned for hours at Wanguru Police
Station. The suspect was seized when
Administration Police raided his home in
Mwea on Friday following a tip-o by the
public. The ocers said they entered the
house at dawn and on ransacking it, found
103 bottles of the liquor packed in cartons.
The suspect was thereafter taken to the
police station for questioning.
Two critics of
Singapore trip
censured
BY NATION CORRESPONDENT
Division continues in the County As-
sembly after two MCAs criticised ocials
foreign travel.
Werugha MCA Jason Tuja and his nomi-
nated counterpart Rosina Mshambala now
face disciplinary action after they criticised
the just-ended tour of Singapore by some
executives. The two said the trip paralysed
House business due to lack of quorum.
Subsequently, the Majority Leader has
brought a motion in the House to have Ms
Mshambala removed from the Speakers
panel.
The nominated MCA read ill-will in the
move, saying she was being sacriced for
speaking the truth.
We did not have sittings on Tuesday af-
ternoon and Wednesday morning because
we lacked quorum. I was removed from the
position for speaking my mind, she said.
Speaker Meshack Maghanga termed the
criticism unfair because the delegation
had travelled to learn education matters that
could be of importance to the county.
Those who say the trip was not ocial
are malicious. I granted permission. Some
of them are jealous because they were left
behind, he said.
Taita Taveta >
The Kenya National High Authority (KeNHA) is a State Corporation established under
the Kenya Roads Act, 2007, with the responsibility for the Management, Development,
Rehabilitation and Maintenance of National Roads. The Authority invites bids from
eligible frms/consultants for the Provision of Consultancy Services for Market
Survey on Commonly used items in KeNHA.
Details of the scope of services and requirements for bidding is as stipulated the
Request for Proposal documents.
Procurement shall be based on the post qualifcation method and the above details
will be submitted with the proposal.
Interested frms may inspect the Request for Proposal documents from the procurement
offce, Kenya National Highways Authority Headquarters, on the First Floor, Blue Shield
Towers, Hospital Road, Upper Hill, Nairobi during normal working hours.
Request for Proposal documents may be obtained upon payment of a non- refundable
fee of Kshs. 1,000.00 (Kenya Shillings One Thousand only) in form of bankers
cheque payable to Kenya National Highways Authority. Alternatively Request for
Proposal documents may be obtained free of charge by downloading from KeNHA
website: www.kenha.co.ke.
The proposals shall be enclosed in a plain sealed envelope clearly marked with the
tender number and tender name and deposited in the tender box situated at KeNHA
headquarters Mezzanine Floor, Blue Shield Towers or be addressed to:-
Secretary/Tender Committee,
Kenya National Highways Authority,
Blue Shield Towers, Mezzanine Floor, Hospital Road, Upper Hill,
P. O. Box 49712-00100,
NAIROBI, KENYA
So as to be received on or before Tuesday 12
th
August, 2014 at 11.00 am.
Opening of the proposals will take place immediately thereafter at the KeNHA
Board Room, 3
rd
Floor, Blue Shield Towers in the presence of frms/consultants
representatives who choose to attend.
Levina Wanyonyi
FOR: DIRECTOR GENERAL
INVITATION TO TENDER
TENDER No. KeNHA/858/2014 - PROVISION OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES
FOR MARKET SURVEY ON COMMONLY USED ITEMS IN KeNHA
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
28 | County
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
29
WORLD
TIGHT PROCEDURE | With no vaccine, patients believed to have caught the virus must be isolated
VIOLENCE
Gaza truce eorts go up
in smoke P. 35
WASHINGTON, Sunday
A
n American doctor bat-
tling West Africas Ebola
epidemic has himself
fallen sick with the disease in
Liberia, his aid agency said.
Samaritans Purse, a Christian
charity, said Dr Kent Brantly had
been isolated at the groups
Ebola treatment center at the
ELWA hospital in the Liberian
capital Monrovia.
Dr Brantly is married with
two children, the group said,
in a statement posted to its
website.
Samaritans Purse is commit-
ted to doing everything possible
to help Dr Brantly during this
time of crisis. We ask everyone
to please pray for him and his
family. Dr Brantly is the medical
director of the Samaritans Purse
Ebola case management center
in Liberia, where the agency con-
tinues to work with Liberian and
international health ocials to
contain the outbreak.
Ebola is an haemorrhagic fever
with a very high fatality rate.
Liberia, Sierra Leone and
Guinea have borne the brunt
of the recent epidemic, and last
week Nigeria recorded its rst
death. As of July 20, the number
of Ebola cases recorded in the
months-long epidemic stood at
1,093, including more than 660
deaths, according to the World
Health Organization.
The virus can fell victims
within days, causing severe fever
and muscle pain, vomiting, diar-
rhoea and, in some cases, organ
failure and unstoppable bleeding.
Ebola is believed to be carried
by animals hunted for meat,
notably bats.
It spreads among humans via
bodily uids including sweat,
meaning you can get sick from
touching an infected person.
With no vaccine, patients be-
lieved to have caught the virus
must be isolated to prevent
further contagion.
Ebola rst emerged in 1976
in what is now the Democratic
Republic of Congo, and is named
after a river there.
Meanwhile, US ocials are
closely monitoring the outbreak
of deadly Ebola virus in Nigeria,
and is working with governments
and aid groups to try to stop the
spread.
Our thoughts and prayers are
with those ghting the virus,
Will Stevens, spokesman for
the State Departments Africa
bureau, told AFP.
The US government contin-
ues to provide a comprehensive,
multi-agency response to assist
those countries aected by the
Ebola virus outbreak, he added,
saying multiple US agencies were
contributing to the outbreak re-
sponse eorts.
But there were growing in-
ternational concerns after a
Liberian national died Friday
in quarantine in Lagos, con-
firmation that the virus has
reached Africas most populous
country.
US agencies including from
the Center for Disease Con-
trol, and Pentagon bodies like
the Defence Threat Reduction
Agency and Army Medical Re-
search Institute of Infectious
Diseases (USAMRIID) have been
lending their expertise to local
health ocials and international
specialists.
Stevens said the United States
also commended West African
health ministers for adopting
a common regional strategy to
combat the disease earlier this
month. (AFP)
TO COMMENT ON THIS AND
OTHER STORIES GO TO
www.nationmedia.com
US doctor infected with Ebola
in Liberia outbreak as toll rises
PHOTO |AFP
A 10-year-old boy walks with a doctor from Christian charity Samaritans Purse at the groups Ebola treatment centre at ELWA hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia
at the weekend after being taken out of quarantine following his mothers death from Ebola.
Virus can fell victims within days, causing severe fever and
muscle pain, vomiting, diarrhoea and in cases organ failure
Samaritans
Purse is
committed
to doing
everything
possible
to help Dr
Brantly
during this
time of
crisis. We ask
everyone to
please pray
for him and
his family
Samaritans
Purse, a
Christian
charity
Emergency: Liberias Presi-
dent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
has declared the outbreak of
the deadly Ebola virus in the
country a national emergency.
Fight: The president has
urged citizens from all shades
of opinion to come together
to ght the disease.
Task force: The Liberian
leader has constituted a Na-
tional Task Force, headed by
her to combat the outbreak.
Across borders: The Liberian
leader urged Liberians to go
across borders and join their
brothers and sisters of neigh-
bouring countries aected by
the virus.
Regret: The president has
expressed regret for the death
of all of the health workers
who lost their lives while pro-
viding service to their country
and humanity and called on
all Liberians to follow the ad-
vice of health authorities and
workers .
MORE INFO
President has declared war
Nigeria open
to talks over
abducted
schoolgirls
LAGOS, Sunday
Nigerias Permanent
Representative to the UN, Ms
Joy Ogwu, says the country is
still open to negotiation to secure
the release of over 200 schoolgirls
abducted in April.
Ms Ogwu said in a televised
interview on Saturday that
terrorism is a global problem that
requires global solution.
She was speaking on the latest
terrorist attacks in northern
Kaduna and Kano, which killed
several Nigerians and injured
many others.
It is now more than 100 days
after the schoolgirls were abducted
by Boko Haram terrorists in
Chibok, Borno.
She said Nigerians have not
given up hope on the release of
the girls as they have persevered in
prayer vigils, protests and appeals
to their abductors to free them.
According to the Human Rights
Watch, Boko Haram has so far
been responsible for the death
of 2,053 civilians in 95 attacks
during the first six months of
this year.
In May, at the request of Nigeria,
the terrorist group was added
to the UN Security Councils
Al-Qaeda-linked organizations
subject to an arms embargo and
asset freeze. (Xinhua)
Five killed in
church attack
KANO, Nigeria, Sunday
At least ve people were killed
and eight were injured today in a
bomb attack on a Catholic church
in a mainly Christian area of Kano,
the largest city in Nigerias north,
police said.
The attack came shortly after
the end of mass at the Saint
Charles Catholic church, police
spokesman Frank Mba told
AFP.
We suspect an IED (improvised
explosive device) that was
thrown from across the road
at the church in Kanos Sabon
Gari district, which has suered
previous attacks by the Islamist
group Boko Haram, he added.
Also in Kano on Sunday, a
woman suicide bomber blew
herself up outside a university
after police prevented her from
carrying out an attack, injuring
ve ocers, Mba said.
A female suicide bomber
was isolated as she was walking
towards the gate of the university,
Mba said, adding that she had
hidden the bomb under her long
black hijab. (AFP)
DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
30 |
PHOTO I AFP
A Burkina
Faso Air
Force
soldier and
a journalist
look at the
debris of the
Air Algerie
Flight AH
5017 at the
crash site in
Malis Gossi
region at the
weekend.
BAMAKO, Sunday
F
rench investigators
today scoured through
the debris of a shattered
Air Algerie jetliner in Malis
remote desert north to get to
the cause of the third global
air disaster in eight days.
Experts from Frances Bu-
reau of Investigations and
Analyses agency (BEA) that
probes air accidents arrived
at the site late Saturday and
began their delicate task.
They will try to glean
the maximum information,
BEA chief Remi Jouty said
in Paris.
Their work will take a few
days, he said, adding that
they will examine the planes
data ight recorders and any
other information including
the prevailing weather con-
ditions at the time.
It is too early to make any
conjecture about the reason
for the crash, he said.
French President Francois
Hollande, who met families of
some of the victims in Paris
on Saturday, said the bodies
of all 118 victims would be
repatriated to France and a
memorial would be erected
at the site.
Ocials who had already
reached Malis remote, bar-
ren Gossi area described a
scene of devastation littered
with twisted and burnt frag-
ments of the plane.
No one survived the impact
of Thursdays tragedy and en-
tire families were wiped out.
France bore the brunt with
54 of its nationals being killed
in the crash of the McDonnell
Douglas 83, which had taken
off from Ouagadougou in
Burkina Faso bound for Al-
giers. Travellers from Burkina
Faso, Lebanon, Algeria, Spain,
Canada, Germany and Luxem-
bourg also died in the crash,
increasingly being blamed on
bad weather that forced the
pilots to change course.
President Hollande said
ags would y at half-mast
from government buildings
for three days from Monday
to mourn the victims.
In Burkina Faso, Presi-
dent Blaise Compaore met
the families of the victims
of diverse nationalities and
opened an investigation into
the tragedy.
Lebanese national Pierre
Hage sought Compaores
help so that he could recover
the remains of my relatives
either wholly or in part.
Prayers were held on Sun-
day for the victims in many
churches in Burkina Faso. At
the airport in Ouagadougou
people left a teddy bear, ow-
ers and lit candles next to the
photos of some of the dead.
French Interior Minister
Bernard Cazeneuve said
weather conditions ap-
peared to be the most likely
cause of the accident, the
worst air tragedy for French
nationals since the crash of
the Air France A330 from
Rio de Janeiro to Paris in
June 2009.
The Air Algerie crash was
the third worldwide in the
space of just eight days, cap-
ping a disastrous week for the
aviation industry. (AFP)
Investigators scour
Air Algerie crash site
TRAGIC | A scene of devastation littered with twisted and burnt fragments of the plane
54
The number of French
nationals killed in the
crash
We are not
saying that
travelling is bad.
Our concern is
whether these
trips were in
accordance with
the Constitution
and if the money
was prudently
used
EACC boss Mumo
Matemu
FILE | NATION
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Mumo Matemu
addresses a press conference at the Sarova Whitesands Beach
Resort in Mombasa on May 21.
FORMULA ONE
HAMILTON THRILLS AS
RICCIARDO CLAIMS RACE
Briton nishes third as Aus-
tralian wins second Grand
Prix in Hungary. P.55
SPORT INSIDE
ATHLETICS
Kenya under pressure to retain running
talent as Bahrain vows to break bank
and lure more local stars. P.55
For more information, contact Kingston Trading Co. Ltd
Zanzibar Road, Shimanzi Area Next to DHL Mombasa
e-mail: kingston@africaonline.co.ke
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DAILY NATION
Monday July 28, 2014
Download the NMG PLAY app
on Google Play and scan this
QR code with your smart phone
for pictures, videos and more
stories.
DN
KITOTO> My wife is intimately involved with priest in our church
INSIDE> A critical review of the changing meaning of fast
FREE WITH YOUR DAILY NATION.
Reagan Nyambati was going
home after an evening of
football when a car blocked
him and two men abducted
him. He tells us how he
survived the darkest chapter
of his young life, and the
brave escape from his
Sobibor
Pages 2&3
Daily Kenya Living
Monday, July 28, 2014
Boys daring escape
from kidnappers
DN
2
COVER STORY
Ag. GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Tom Mshindi GROUP MANAGING EDITOR: Mutuma Mathiu FEATURES EDITOR:
Bernard Mwinzi REVISE EDITOR: Mary Wasike SUB-EDITORS: Elly Wamari, Naliaka Wafula PHOTO EDITOR: Joan
Pereruan ACTING CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Andrew Anini ACTING DEPUTY CHIEF GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Michael
Mosota GRAPHIC DESIGNERS: Dennis Makori, Alice Othieno, Ken Kusimba, Benjamin Situma, Joy Abisagi, Linus
Ombette COVER GRAPHIC: Dennis Makori
is published every week by Nation Media Group Limited. It is distributed free with every Daily Nation.
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BY NJOKI CHEGE
@njokichege
nchege@ke.nationmedia.com
A
mothers greatest night-
mare is losing a child,
whether through death or
disappearance into nothingness.
So when Phyllis Kerubo learnt
that her son, 11-year-old Reagan
Nyambati, had vanished on the
evening of June 21 this year, she
was devastated.
On the rst night, Kerubo did
not sleep a wink as her mind
was on overdrive mode. She was
thinking about her boy, the young
man who had brought her so much
joy when she gave birth to him all
those 11 years ago. Had he had
dinner? Was he safe wherever he
was? Would she ever hold him in
her arms again?
The next day she reported the
matter to Ruai Police Station, then
she printed posters to announce
that her only son was missing.
She called friends, relatives and
acquaintances to ask if they had
seen her son, but none had, and
it was driving her crazy.
Parted ways
Reagan had spent the late
afternoon of the fateful day
playing football with his friend
a young boy named Stanley
at a dusty eld in Ruai, along
Kangundo Road on the outskirts
of Nairobi.
They parted ways at dusk and
each headed home. Stanley got to
her parents but Reagan did not,
and nobody knew what had hap-
pened to him. Nobody had even
seen him after they parted with
Stanley.
Kerubo knew something was
amiss when night fell and the
hours dragged on minus her son.
It would be over in a few minutes,
she thought to herself. Maybe Rea-
gan was just playing truant, and
for that he will have a hiding when
he got home.
Well, no one received any hiding
that night, because poor Reagan
did not make it home. He did
not show up the following day,
and the next, and the next... for
a month.
Kerubo was undergoing the
most crushing test of mother-
hood, her patience and strength
stretched beyond limit. She be-
came an emotional wreck, the
spring in her step replaced by a
tired, given-up stoop.
Broken woman
I went to all media houses to
announce that my son was miss-
ing, she remembered last week.
I even had somebody upload his
picture on social media, and then
I distributed posters to churches,
schools, bars all public places.
I wanted to nd my son before it
was too late.
When she walked into our oces
on the cold Thursday of June 26,
Kerubo was a broken woman, her
eyes red and puy from nights of
crying herself to sleep, and her
face tired from the frustration
of the uncertainty of what had
befallen her son.
Clutching a photo of the boy she
had named after Ronald Wilson
Reagan, the 40th president of the
United States, Kerubo pleaded
with us: Please, help me find
my boy!
Almost gave up
She was almost giving up.
This, she had imagined, would
be a nightmare soon ended, but
it was dragging on for so long.
Her energy was spent, and now
she needed help.
Please, help me, she re-
peated.
And then, as beaten as she had
walked into Nation Centre, she
walked away and disappeared
into the thick Nairobi crowd; just
another woman up and about. Just
another woman who had forgot-
ten to comb her hair and iron her
scarf in the morning. Just another
miserable Nairobi woman.
Meanwhile, somewhere in
this bustling African metropolis,
Reagan was going through the
biggest nightmare of his life. He
had woken up from a daze to nd
himself locked in a cold, dimly lit
room. And he was not alone as
there were several other boys
here too. All haggard, stressed
and and lying on a oor covered
only with sacks.
He waited for the nightmare to
end, but it dragged on for hours.
And then the reality hit home. He
had been kidnapped, and this was
a holding pen. The young, terried
boys inside the dank room were
not just victims of a crime that is
sweeping across the nation, but
were also being held for ransom...
or worse.
But, how did he get here?
A month after he disappeared,
and a month after her mother
walked into Nation Centre, both
child and mother came calling
on us last week. They had been
re-united in the most dramatic of
ways which we shall get into in
a moment.
Reagan, a bubbly young man
who looked a bit confused by the
world around him, volunteered
his story.
The last thing I remember
was walking home after a great
football match with my friend. A
black saloon car with tinted win-
Captors fed us
on bread and
water, says brave
boy who ran
away from hell
Reagan Nyambati is just 11 years old, but he has been
to hell and back. Reunited with his family after a month
in captivity, he still does not know who kidnapped him or
where he was being held, and that is a puzzle he hopes
the police will help him solve. All he remembers is that he
had company in captivity, and that they were kept in a
house with a sizeable compound fenced with iron sheets.
The house, he says, was in a quiet estate and there were
several cars parked within the compound
+20
Number of boys Reagan says
were still being held by her
captors when he escaped. He,
however, says he cannot gure
out the exact location, or even
direction, of the abductors
holding bay
2
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014
dows drove slowly behind me; and
then, in a ash, two men got out,
grabbed me and forced a piece of
cloth onto my face that knocked
me out. I woke up in a room with
many other young boys.
He still does not know who
those men were or where he was
being held, and that is a puzzle
he hopes the police will help him
solve. He speaks softly and shyly,
vividly describing his ordeal in the
hands of four kidnappers.
He remembers that he and the
other captive boys were kept in a
house with a sizeable compound
fenced with iron sheets. The
house, he says, was in a quiet
estate, and there were several cars
parked within the compound.
There were about 25 boys aged
between 11 and 16 held in the com-
pound by four kidnappers, one of
whom was dreadlocked. They fed
us on bread and water and often
whipped us, he says.
The kidnappers spoke in a
language Reagan did not under-
stand and stayed in a separate
room, where they cooked their
food and drunk beer.
Pranksters and fraudsters
The 30 days over which Reagan
was missing was the most trying
time for his mother, who received
hundreds of calls from friends and
strangers, but pranksters and
fraudsters took advantage of her
situation as well. One woman, for
instance, called Kerubo and told
her that she was living with Rea-
gan in Thika, so could she send
her airtime so that they could keep
in touch before she delivered the
boy?
I reported the matter to the
Criminal Investigations Depart-
ment (CID) and the woman was
traced to Muhoroni. She later
apologised for lying, but it made
me realise that not everyone cares
about you or your situation. Here
you are, crying your heart out, yet
some people are ready to take
advantage of your situation,
says Kerubo.
On June 29, two men called
Kerubo and told her that they had
her son, and that they would only
release him in exchange of a Sh1
million ransom. She was crushed.
There was no way she could raise
that amount, and they were not in
the mood to negotiate down.
They told her the money should
be delivered within hours, other-
wise they would kill her son. She
reported the call to the police, who
traced its origin to the Naivasha
Maximum Security Prison.
As criminals latched on the op-
portunity to make money, Kerubo
and her husband were busy comb-
ing police stations, hospitals and
mortuaries in search of any clue
to what had befallen their son. But
she says that, even as she let mor-
tuary attendants draw body after
body of young boys, she had this
feeling that her son was okay; that
they would be reunited soon.
I never allowed myself to lose
faith, she says. I knew that had
he been dead, we would have al-
ready found his body. The longer
he stayed, the stronger my faith
grew. My motherly instincts told
me that my son was alive and
well, and that God would bring
him back to me.
Reagan, on the other hand, says
that his resolve and determination
to go back home was what kept
him going for the one month
he was held captive. There were
boys who had been held there for
months longer than him, so when
he learnt that there were some who
were plotting an escape, he told
them he wanted in. They obliged.
As long as he kept his cool, he
could join them.
Daring escape
On July 17, Reagan and four
other boys scampered out of the
room they were being held in and
made their way into the vast com-
pound outside. Luck was on their
side as all the four kidnappers had
been distracted by a lorry deliver-
ing supplies he says he does
not know what exactly they were
delivering to the compound.
We hid behind the lorry and
waited for it to start moving. Then
slowly we moved behind it as it
left the compound. Once we were
outside, we run as fast as we could.
I was following the older boys be-
cause I did not know where I was
and where I was going, he says.
Together they walked almost
overnight until they found
themselves at the Muthurwa bus
terminus in Nairobi. They spent
the rest of the night at the stalls
in Muthurwa as they waited for
daybreak. At around 9am the
following morning, Reagan ap-
proached a stranger who was on
his way to work and requested him
to call his mother.
Stranger called
At this point, his mother takes
over: A stranger called me and
asked if my son had been missing.
I did not want to get my hopes
high, so I demanded to speak to
my son rst before entertaining
the conversation.
The man handed the phone to
Reagan, and immediately he called
me Mum I began to cry. You cant
forget the voice of your son, no
matter how long he goes missing.
They had found him!
Kerubo requested the stranger
to direct Reagan to a bus stage
and ensure that he takes a matatu
home.
At the terminal, I called one of
my friends who works as a tout
there and asked him if he could
see Reagan. He answered in the
armative. I was so excited that I
wanted to hop onto a motorcycle
immediately and rush to the city
centre and pick my son, but my
friend told me there was no need;
it was all over. He would ensure
Reagan boarded a matatu and got
home safe,
The one-hour wait for her son
at the Ruai Welkim stage seemed
longer than a days. And then, after
eternity, a matatu pulled over.
Kerubo watched from a distance,
struggling to breathe.
The door opened. Kerubo felt
her heart jump to somewhere near
her throat. Some movement in the
matatu. The tom-tom of Kerubos
heart now a thud-thud. And, nally,
a scrawny gure jumped out.
Kerubos eyes widened as she
let out a wild scream. Mother and
son rushed towards each other, the
mother an elephantine reservoir
of energy; the son a scrubby, tired,
confused and teary wreck.
They did not embrace, but more
like crashed into each other. And
then hugged and kissed and cried
and laughed and got lost in the
emotional moment.
Lost weight
He had lost weight and it was
evident that he wasnt feeding
well. His eyes were sunken and
he looked sad and feeble, says
Kerubo.
Unable to hide her joy, and be-
cause it takes a village to raise a
son, Kerubo called her neighbours
and friends to celebrate Reagans
return. Last week at Nation
Centre, she said the trauma had
made her son timid, dgety and
paranoid, and so he is currently
seeing a counsellor and is yet to
go back to school.
But, even after his safe return
home, Reagans mother fears for
her sons life. She fears that the
kidnappers may strike again, or
even put the other children left
behind at a greater risk.
For now, Reagan is happily
reunited with his younger sister
Nicole and his parents. He is happy
to be home, but his heart bleeds for
the 20 other boys he left behind,
and hopes that they are as lucky
as he was to be reunited with their
parents.
dn2@ke.nationmedia.com
DN
2
COVER STORY
A stranger called
me and asked if
my son had been
missing. I did not
want to get my hopes
high, so I demanded to
speak to my son rst
before entertaining
the conversation.
The man handed the
phone to Reagan, and
immediately he called
me Mum, I began to
cry. You cant forget
the voice of your son,
no matter how long he
goes missing. They had
found him!
Thank you for the retweets!
Baby Fatuma found her parents
On July 11, the Daily Nation ran a story on the grow-
ing list of missing persons in the country. Among them
was a two-and-half-year-old girl named Fatuma Jamal
who had gone missing before being found on April
30 this year near the Pumwani DOs oce by sta
of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR). The little girl, too young to speak or say her
parents names, was placed under the care of the UN
sta, who housed her until the Kenya Red Cross Society
tracing team shared her story with the Daily Nation.
After the story was published, it attracted a spirited
social media campaign of sharing, tweeting and re-
tweeting the little girls plight. That helped, and today
we are happy to report that Fatuma, seen here with
her mother and father on the day they were re-united,
will be celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr in the arms of her doting
parents.
JENNIFER MUIRURI | NATION
Happy to be back home, 11-year-old Reagan Nyambati is seen here with her mother Phyllis Kerubo outside
the Nation Centre, Nairobi last week. They young boy was held captive by kidnappers for a month before he
escaped on July 17. He says there were more than 20 young boys held in the same compound with him.
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014
3
Dear Kitoto,
I thank you for the splendid job you
do in assisting couples and other peo-
ple with relationship issues. I will try to
summarise my story.
A few years back, I started suspecting
that the relationship between my wife
and one of the priests in our church
was not appropriate. The reason was
that while her conversations with all
the other priests were open, her discus-
sions with the particular priest were
always away from my hearing. I later
found messages about missing and
loving each other etc. I confronted
her, but she said it was nothing; that it
was just general talk. From then on, the
messages disappeared, but I suspected
the relationship had not died.
Later, I managed to record a conver-
sation that shocked me. It was lewd and
full of sexual overtones about how
they should meet urgently. I heard her
declaring her love for him. I also estab-
lished that she kept buying him gifts,
which were carefully hidden. She even
sent a substantial amount of money to
him.
I keep telling my wife that the only
thing she will get from this priest is
scandal. He already has a track record
of similar relationships with women.
But she seems much attached to him
for a reason I am not able to tell.
I still love my wife, but this matter
has killed a part of our relationship.
Whenever the thought crosses my
mind, I get deeply angry, and I can
hardly relate with her closely.
This issue has completely killed my
passion for our parish. It is also aect-
ing my faith. Sometimes I attend mass
as routine, since its expected of me, but
I can hardly attend mass by the said
priest because I feel betrayed and angry.
It is not easy to leave the church be-
cause people will start asking why.
I have enough evidence to pursue
the matter with the church authorities,
but it is not an easy matter to deal with
since it can cause a big scandal in the
church and in my family.
Please advise on how I should ap-
proach the issue
P.K
Hi
On behalf of the priest and many oth-
ers who serve Gods people, I say sorry.
I commend you for the maturity and
the restraint, but this in itself will not
be the answer and the solution that will
bring deliverance to the priest and your
wife, and cause your marriage to heal.
It is sad that people who are called to
be the shepherds can turn to be unruly.
According to your email, you have evi-
dence that the priest and your wife are
emotionally compromised. The second
fact is that your wife is aware that you
know of her close emotional attachment
to the priest. However, she has purposed
not to listen to your advice to work on
your relationship. Third, you are afraid
of what would happen if you involved the
leadership of the church.
I will mention here that although we
are all human, we are called to live a life
of self-control in marriage or as singles.
This priest has crossed the line and his
priesthood is in question before God, be-
fore you and before others who are being
indirectly aected by his actions.
You are the only one with the link
between the two of them and the leader-
ship of the church. I suggest you rst
approach the priest with the evidence
and ask him to stop seeing your wife,
with a warning that if he continues, you
will expose him to the leadership. Indeed
if he fails to stop seeing your wife, go
ahead and involve the churchs leaders.
Ask him to visit with his leaders for
counselling and spiritual support for the
restoration of his ministry. He cannot
continue ministry in this state.
Also, it looks to me that there is more
than what you have mentioned. There
is a lot you need to do between yourself
and your wife. I do not understand how
a respectable wife would continue with
such an action even after being con-
fronted. She needs counselling too.
I only want to love him,
not break his marriage
Dear sir
I am a frequent reader of your re-
sponses to relationship issues in the
Daily Nation. I am a woman aged 40,
and I have been in a relationship with a
married man for 14 years. Weve had a
good relationship, but of course with
ordinary problems here and there.
For example, we had to end our re-
lationship one time when the wife
came to know about us and threat-
ened to leave him.
My aim has never been to break
his family, but we love each other.
When we parted ways, it was very
painful, but I learnt to bear with it.
I had a son when we met, and he
didnt hesitate to be supportive. Even
when we were not together, he still sup-
ported him.
After three years, he came back to
me and after sometime, we got back
together. He has been very nice, only
that of late, for about ve months now,
he has changed and we rarely see each
other. I know he has a very challenging
job, which he says its consuming all
his time. The wife works in a dierent
town. What do I do? Be patient with
him? For how long? Or is he no longer
interested in me? Please advise, for I
dont want to be stressed due to my
health condition.
Jane
Hi
From the onset, it looks like you dont
see yourself as a second wife. He too
does not see you that way. I guess that is
why he had to go back to the wife when
it was discovered that the two of you
were seeing each other.
I do not support the fact that you are
with someone elses husband. Besides
the potential to break the marriage,
which you have stated is not your
intention, the relationship still aects ac-
countability of the man to his wife. I can
only but imagine what the other woman
would feel like if she discovered that the
two of you were back together.
From a Christian perspective, you are
in an adulterous relationship. If he had
married you customarily, then it would
be a dierent case altogether.
So, the issue of faith and values will
play a part in helping you decide where
you fall. Since this man has taken
responsibility over your child, it is some-
thing you can be grateful for, but not to
let him use it to get emotional and inti-
mate with you.
And why is he quiet? I dont know.
Maybe it is one of those reection mo-
ments. Could this be the right time to
move on and let him sort himself out? I
believe you have the key that will bring
healing to yourself and the other woman
who could end up with a broken heart.
Tired of my drunk and
quarrelsome husband
Hi Kitoto
I am a married woman aged 30, with
two children. I have a marital problem
for which I seek your advice.
I have been married for seven years,
but I feel like I am dying inside. My
husband is a DDO (daily drinking of-
cer). He is in self-employed and he
comes home past midnight almost
everyday. As soon as I open the door
for him, he starts making noise over
nothing.
I have never asked him where he
comes from at those odd hours, but
still, he wont let me have peace.
He knows Im a fearful person, and so
he does anything to scare me. He wakes
up the children, breaks utensils, and
bangs the doors. I mean, he does any-
thing to get me scared.
He manages a bar, and therefore
when I ask him why he drinks everyday,
he argues it is because of his job.
Mr Kitoto, I am tired of this because
I was brought up in a Christian family
and my father never drank alcohol. He
was also a very present father.
In my marriage, we hardly discuss is-
sues because he is never at home, and
when he is, he is drunk and dicult to
communicate with.
I dont see this as a marriage. He is
very good in providing, but I bet there
is no more love. He is always in the bar,
having a good time with girls. When I
politely ask him, he says those are his
bar maids. He even takes those bar
maids out.
I have been feeling very lonely for the
last four years. This is the only man I
have known sexually since my teenage
years. He says that he loves me, but his
actions speak otherwise. People pity me
because I am very beautiful.
I have never caught him red-handed
but I have seen love messages in his
phone a number of times, including
photos of him and a woman. When I
ask, he says they were sent to him.
Do you think he is being unfaithful?
I have lived my life trying to please him
for the sake of our marriage, but I am
now tired. l want to go back to work and
rebuild my life without him. However, I
am worried about the children.
Please advise as soon as possible
because I am mentally exhausted and I
have developed high blood pressure.
AAO
Hi
I really empathise with the way you
have been treated. However, I like the
fact that through it all, you have done
several things the best way you know
how. The rst is to arm your beauty.
It is not this man who makes you com-
plete. You have to nd fullment in who
you are, appreciate your values and
choices in life. This is where you get
peace.
You know that you were raised well.
You also know your current stand with
your husband is not the product of your
upbringing. It is okay to be polite and
ROSES N THORNS: EXPERT ADVICE TO YOUR MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONS
RELATIONSHIPS
philip
kitoto
It looks to
me that
there is
more than
what you
have men-
tioned.
There is
a lot you
need to do
between
yourself
and your
wife. I do
not un-
derstand
how a re-
spectable
wife would
continue
with such
an action
even after
being con-
fronted.
She needs
counsel-
ling too.
RELATIONSHIPS
My wife wont take advice to stop
TO OUR READERS: Many counsellors now believe that the Kenyan family, the building block of our society and nation, is in a crisis. There is unhappiness and discord where there should be love
and joy. We have put together a diverse team of experts, family and marriage counsellors, led by Mr Philip Kitoto, to help heal the family by oering advice and support. Readers questions will
be answered on these pages and online at www.nation.co.ke. Send your questions to dn2@ke.nationmedia.com, or to The Editor, DN2, P O Box 49010, GPO 00100, Nairobi.
The fact that you have also
seen his good side in providing
for the family should not blind
you from critically dealing with
the aws in the relationship
4
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014
kind, but this should not be abused.
I also like the fact that you know you
have done all a Christian wife should do.
You have served him, respected him and
been a good mother. You have also con-
fronted the issues you see going wrong.
So long as this has been done in respect
and due care, you should not blame
yourself. The fact that you have also seen
his good side in providing for the family
should not blind you from critically deal-
ing with the aws in the relationship.
I suggest you acknowledge and move
to deal with certain issues. First, meet
a counsellor who can help you deal with
your inner or emotional pain. As a Chris-
tian wife, allow God to heal and arm
you. Through prayer, live a life of faith.
Move from worrying too much to letting
God reveal to you what to say and do.
Your inner healing will bring perspec-
tive and new understanding that will be
needed to help your man while remaining
focused.
I also suggest that you reach out to
any older couple or a friend he respects,
and see if they can help bring the two of
you at the discussion table. Sometimes
it is how we ask about issues and not
necessarily what we ask, that brings a
deadlock.
Starting with armation, particularly
for persons bordering on addiction be-
haviour, helps. You may need to move
your relationship from being just a wife
to being a close and intimate friend so
that he can let you into his world.
Worried how Ill pay for
college, cater for son
Hello,
I must commend you for the job you
do on advising people. I am a single
mother in need of advice.
My son is turning two in August. We
live at my parents place, and soon I will
be going back to school for a degree. I
am lucky because through my church, I
got a half scholarship to university. I am
to report to Kiriri University of Science
and Technology in September.
However, when I look at how we live
at home, we cant manage the rest of my
university fees. I therefore badly need
a job to support my son and myself
through college. Can you help me nd
one in Nairobi, even if its menial?
Susan
Hi
The unemployment levels in Kenya are
still very high. I encourage you to push
on with your quest to go to college.
Since you already have so scholarship,
I suggest you go to your local constitu-
ency or county ward to see if you are
eligible for further scholarship.
Universities also give loans and bur-
saries, and one can do some work on
campus. Try these out and see.
In this column, we can only advise you
on what to do and not necessarily take
on the responsibility of nding you a job.
Thats a dierent assignment altogether,
for which we are not equipped.
I pray that things work out for you. Just
dont give up hope.
ROSES N THORNS: EXPERT ADVICE TO YOUR MARRIAGE AND RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONS
Here is my prescription for
this week on how to avoid the
turbulence that is so common in
relationships:
1. COMPLIMENT INSTEAD
OF COMPETING - Sadly in re-
lationships, some partners are
competition freaks. They have
to be rst in everything. They
want to be the best or win at
everything they do. Overly com-
petitive nature in a relationship
oftentimes causes tension and
results in two sets of parallel
goals. Love and competition are
oil and water. They do not mix,
says Dr Phil, a relational expert.
So, instead of competing, cele-
brate accompaniments together.
2. CHOOSE LISTENING
BEFORE RESPONDING - In mar-
riage, we dont give orders to
each other. We dialogue. There
are situations where we have
a one-way communicator who
talks but never listens and pays
no attention to whether the lis-
tener has feelings or desires to
express themselves. This is self-
ishness. Place value in both how
you communicate and listen to
your partner. Sometimes arma-
tion and appreciation are shown
in how we listen.
3. BE BEST OF FRIENDS
INSTEAD OF JUST BEING MAR-
RIED TO EACH OTHER - Working
towards being best of friends in a
relationship can be both reward-
ing and scary. You tell you friend
everything, right? Of course, but
why do spouses keep secrets
from the very person they are
supposed to be closest to? Being
best of friends brings another
level of relating that has no
inhibitions. It creates increased
understanding and intimacy.
However, this is exactly what we
are afraid of to be truly known
emotionally, nancially, of our
weaknesses, and so on.
4. BE EMPATHETIC INSTEAD
OF JUDGMENTAL - According to
Mike Robbins, When were sym-
pathetic, we often pity someone
else while we maintain our dis-
tance (physically, mentally, and
emotionally) from their feelings
or experience.
However, where true empathy
is shown, we may feel a sense
that we dont truly understand,
relate to, or imagine the depth of
another persons emotional state
or situation, but we make the
choice to relate to their feelings
without judging or seeking to
give them answers on what they
could have done dierently.
This will mean that we make
the choice to feel with a person
through their pain, rather than
pitying them. Your partner needs
to see and know that you care,
you are concerned, and you are
involved in their world, mucky as
it might be.
5. BE SELFLESS INSTEAD OF
SELFISH - Selshness can at
times be subtle, but still cause
serious damage. Those who have
been bitten by it remain under
its grip.
Youve heard statements like,
Why did they lie? Why didnt
they care about my feelings?
Why didnt they help? Why
werent they there for me? Why
do they only respond when it is
convenient for them? What did
I do wrong? These are voices of
pain and regret as people suer
the erosion and burning left be-
hind in the mind of the victims.
Selshness is like a cancer, and
the root cause of many broken
relationships. It gives more focus
to I than you or we. It has
its roots in insecurity; will always
give conditions; will lead to more
lies and manipulation; will block
any eort to build trust. Its fruits
are hurt and pain
6. FAILURE TO PLAN IS PLAN-
NING TO FAIL - How can two
walk together unless they are
agreed. Agreement is key to any
thriving relationship. Every mar-
riage or relationship must agree
on several fundamental issues if
they are going to be pulling in
the same direction.
First is the agreement in vi-
sion and values that will run
the relationship. A relationship
without a vision will have no
clear direction. Worse still, is one
without values the pillars that
should keep the relationship on
the right path. Values give shape
and stature to a relationship. For
example, In this marriage, we
respect each other; we arm
each other; we protect each over;
we talk to each other, not at each
other, and so on.
Values keep us committed to
what gives marriage the stamina
to work. Second is the agree-
ment on goals of the relationship
short-term and long-term. It
is important to keep asking each
other, Where is this marriage
headed and how shall we get
there? If we can plan for stud-
ies, business and career, why not
for marriage, seeing that it is the
place where two previously inde-
pendent adults meet and have a
long-term desire to become one
esh?
Six ways of avoiding turbulence to
keep your relationship boat aoat
RELATIONSHIPS
seeing priest
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014
5
commentary
BY ABU AYMAN
abuayman888@yahoo.com
M
illions of Muslims
around the globe have
been observing the fast
of Ramadhan, one of the five
pillars of Islam, for the past four
weeks. The fast gets its name from
the ninth month of the Islamic
lunar calendar, and begins with
the sighting of the new crescent,
after which all physically mature
and healthy Muslims are obliged
to fast for a month.
Between dawn and sunset, the
faithful, with the exception of the
underage, those on a journey, the
sick, menstruating women as well
as expectant and breastfeeding
mothers, are required to abstain
from all foods, drinks and conjugal
relationships as an act of worship
and obedience to God.
In addition to this physical
component, the spiritual
aspects of the fast include an
added emphasis on refraining
from slander, lies, obscenity and
other sinful acts.
Based on self-restraint
Unlike other acts of worship
prescribed by Islam, fasting is
entirely based on self-restraint.
Since others can never know for
sure if the person is fasting or if
he broke the fast in secret, self-
restraint requires a high degree
of sincerity and faithfulness, and
is a sublime measure of Gods
obedience.
Unlike what some believe,
fasting is not meant to punish
the body, but to strengthen
the mind, directing it to higher
spiritual goals. To function well
and smoothly, machines require a
rest period due to metal fatigue.
Likewise, human beings are in
need of occasions to boost and
revitalise their faith. For Muslims,
the past one month has been an
important opportunity for the
purication of the soul.
For a whole month every
year, Muslims go through this
stimulating experience that breaks
the normal routine of life. Not only
is it refreshing, it also teaches
the person to adapt to varying
conditions and circumstances of
life while oering an opportunity
for intensive worship, reading
of the Quran, charity, purifying
ones behaviour and doing good
deeds.
Develop moral discipline
As Ramadhan helps Muslims to
develop moral discipline, it also
reminds them of the plight of those
who live in constant hunger and
deprivation. The Quran reminds
the faithful that religiosity is
meaningless if it does not lead
people to care and share.
Like other Islamic injunctions,
the benefits of Ramadhan are
not limited to either spiritual
or temporal elements of
life. In Islam, the spiritual,
social, economic, political
and psychological intermingle
in a consistent and cohesive
whole, promoting the spirit of
unity and belonging within the
community.
Fasting also promotes the spirit
of human equality as males and
females, rich and poor, from all
ethnic backgrounds go through
the same experience of deprivation
with no special privileges for any
group or class.
Further, fasting promotes
Islamic sociability, mutual
understanding and tolerance. That
is why Muslims are urged to invite
others, non-Muslims included, to
share in breaking the fast and also
attend iftar dinners organised by
people of other faiths.
Among the wisdom behind
fasting is that it allows one to
build a sense of self-control and
willpower, which can be benecial
throughout life in dealing with
temptations and peer-pressure.
Through fasting, Muslims learn
to control their natural urges such
as hunger and thirst, and thus are
able to better resist temptations
like crime, drug abuse and other
anti-social behaviours.
Fasting also has medical
benets, including a much-needed
rest for the digestive system. The
reduced food intake during the day
allows the body to concentrate
on getting rid of harmful dietary
toxins accumulated as natural
by-products of food digestion
throughout the year.
Dr Shahid Athar, a United
States-based endocrinologist, says
that the physiological eect of
fasting includes lowering of blood
sugar, cholesterol and systolic
blood pressure, and that, in
fact, fasting would be an ideal
recommendation for the treatment
of mild to moderate, stable, non-
insulin diabetes, obesity, and
essential hypertension.
The last 10 days of this noble
month are held in much reverence
and it is a time for many faithful
to perform itikaf spiritual
retreats at mosques leaving
all worldly pursuits to establish
a closer relationship with God.
It is within the last 10 days that
Muslims believe the sacred text
of the Quran was rst revealed to
Prophet Muhammad in the valley
of Hira, where he had retreated for
a spiritual sojourn.
As Ramadhan draws to a close,
every Muslim is required to give to
charity, which is known as Zakat Al
Fitr. This money is meant to help
the less fortunate also partake in
the celebration of Eid ul Fitr (the
festival of breaking the fast) which
marks the end of Ramadhan.
A growing concern, which
depletes the spirit of this month,
is that many Muslims have turned
the month of Ramadhan into an
annual season for showcasing
lavish foods.
Areas around mosques and
Muslim-populated areas are
transformed into eateries with
various snacks and foods meant
for those who break their fast.
Homes turn into feasting zones
where various dishes are put on
display, with a huge chunk of
leftovers nding its way to garbage
bins the following morning.
To many non-Muslims,
Ramadhan is increasingly being
associated with eating rather than
spiritual reinvigoration. It is not
a surprise, therefore, that even
with fasting, these bad eating
habits lead to some people
experiencing signicant weight
gains after Ramadhan!
While the overall goal of fasting
is to achieve righteousness, it also
comes with economic benets. But
these gains are hardly realised
as household expenditures
dramatically increase due to
additional expenses on food items,
which mainly consist of sweets,
sugar and fatty foods.
For some families, their
expenditure on food during
Ramadhan is more that the other
11 months of the year combined!
Further, many women miss
out on the spiritual benets of
Ramadhan as they are preoccupied
with preparing lavish meals
instead of concentrating on
matters that could uplift their
spiritual development.
Fasting-related illnesses have
become an increasing problem
in Gulf countries. Last year,
dozens of people suering from
abdominal pain were admitted to
hospitals in the gulf state of Qatar
after overeating on the rst night
of Ramadhan, while in 2011, the
Hamad Medical Corporation in
the capital Doha reported 7,700
cases of Ramadhan-linked cases
of illness in the rst week of the
holy month alone.
This is not a month for
eating or shopping festivals as
many people wrongly believe,
cautions Sheikh Juma Amir, the
deputy Imam of Nairobi Jamia
mosque. It is a month for fasting,
reection, devotion, generosity
and sacrice.
Fasting is not simply a time
during which people deprive
themselves from physical
pleasures, but an occasion to
exercise moral restraint and
experience spiritual growth.
Better human beings
The month-long intensive
training programme is designed
to make Muslims into better
human beings and change their
lives for the better, leaving behind
un-Islamic and immoral practices.
Lessons acquired in this training
school ought to be replicated in the
everyday life of a Muslim beyond
the one-month fast period.
Our faith demands that our
concerns go beyond ourselves
and families to our brethren in
faith and brothers in humanity.
An increasing number of people
in the country and other parts
of the world are falling victim
to conflict, hunger, incurable
diseases, genocide and human
rights abuses.
Regardless of religion or
ethnic background, we have a
responsibility to help others in
whatever way possible as we aspire
to become better Muslims.
The writer is a Nairobi-based
journalist.
As Ramadhan ends, a critical look
into the changing meaning of fast
Unlike
what some
believe,
fasting is
not meant
to punish
the body,
but to
strengthen
the mind,
directing it
to higher
spiritual
goals. To
function
well and
smoothly,
machines
require a
rest pe-
riod due
to metal
fatigue.
Likewise,
human be-
ings are in
need of oc-
casions to
boost and
revitalise
their faith
FILE | NATION
Muslims bow in prayer in Nairobi in this le photo. As Ramadhan comes to a close, many hope to continue seeking a better relationship with God.
The month-long fast is akin to an intensive training programme that is designed to make Muslims into better human beings and change their lives
for the better, leaving behind un-Islamic and immoral practices. Therefore, lessons acquired in this training school ought to be replicated in the
everyday life of a Muslim beyond the one-month fast period, but there are concerns that some have turned this into an annual season of feasting.
7,700
Number of cases of Ra-
madhan-linked illnesses
reported in Doha, Qatar, in
the rst week of the fast
in 2011. Fasting-related
illnesses have become an
increasing problem in Gulf
countries, and last year,
dozens of people suering
from abdominal pain were
also admitted to hospi-
tals in the gulf state after
overeating on the rst
night of Ramadhan.
FEAST OR FAST?
6
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014
7
You mean something happened in
school as well?
Listen. Today, Mr. Njoroge asked
me to stand up in class and recite the
capital cities of Tanzania, Uganda,
Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan.
What did you say? I asked him,
knowing very well that the task he had
been given by the Geography teacher
was far beyond his capability.
I said Nakuru, Mombasa, Kitale,
Naivasha and Nyeri.
I couldnt help laughing.
Hey! Stop laughing at me, he
warned me.
I told him the truth: the capital
city of Tanzania is Dodoma, the capital
of Uganda is Kampala, the capital of
Somalia is Mogadishu, the capital of
Ethiopia is Addis Ababa, the capital of
Sudan is
I am not interested, he said in
disgust. All I want is to go to U-C.
You mean the US?
Call it whatever you may. I want to
go there.
Then we shall go together.
Never! I cant travel with someone
who tries to humiliate me all the time.
Me? Humiliate you? I asked.
Yes, of course.
Later Madoa told to me how Mr.
Njoroge had ordered him to run
around the football pitch ten times
as a punishment for his ignorance
and stupidity. Instead of doing his
punishment, Madoa ran all the way
home. He told his mother about what
had happened at school. She got mad
at him and beat him severely. So he
had run away into the thick forest just
as I had done. This time round, he was
determined to relocate permanently
from Kenya to the United States of
America.
I felt hurt when he said he would
not go with me to America.
Yes-Of-Course, I thought you were
my friend, I told him as tears welled
up in my eyes.
Why do you say that?
S O L U T I O N
Fill in all the squares
in the grid so that
each row, column and
each of the four 2x2
squares contain the
numbers 1, 2, 3, 4
1
The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4
should appear only once
in each row and in each
column.
2
Each number 1, 2, 3,
4 should appear only
once within each 2x2
square
SIMPLE SUDOKU 4 BY 4 NUMBERS
CONTINUES TOMORROW
CHILDRENS CORNER
FILL IN THE BLANKS
QUICK QUIZ
1 . D i a s t e m a 2 . 2 0 1 0 3 . M a r t i n L u t h e r . 4 . T r u e 5 . N i a m e y 6 . 5 t h d a y 7 . F e d e r a l 8 . T e n ( 1 0 ) 9 .
1 9 6 4 1 0 . R e t w e e t i n g
2. Year FIFA world cup was held in South
Africa?
3. German church reformer regarded as the
founder of Protestantism?
4. True or false: hummingbirds can y
backwards
5. The capital city of Niger is?
6. According to The Bible on which day did
God create birds?
7. What does the F in FBI stand for?
8. How many tentacles does a squid have?
9. The year Kenya African Democratic
Union (KADU) was dissolved
10. The act of reposting or forwarding a
message posted by a user on twitter is
called?
BY BENARD ABUKI
SOLUTION
CONTINUED FROM FRIDAY
TITLE: The American Dream
AUTHOR: Ken Walibora
PUBLISHER: Longhorn Publishers
BOOKS
1. A gap between teeth especially the two
upper front teeth is called?
WORD SEARCH
1 2 3 4
3 4 2 1
2 1 4 3
4 3 1 2
2
3 2
3
4 1
8
DAILY NATION
Monday
July 28, 2014