Author: Opinion

Kenya is scheduled to hold the 9th East African Petroleum Conference and Exhibition 2019 (EAPCE ’19) at the Pride Inn Paradise Beach Resort, Convention Center and Spa in Mombasa. The conference, which will take place on 8th to 10th May, 2019, has been organised by the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat and the EAC Partner States. The event which is expected to attract over 1000 delegates, is themed: “The Destination of Choice for Oil and Gas Investment Opportunities to Enhance Socioeconomic Transformation.” Speaking on the upcoming conference, Petroleum and Mining CS, John Munyes noted: “We are all aware that without…

The High Court has ordered Nation Media group to pay businessman Jimmy Wanjigi and his wife Irene Ksh8 million for publishing a false obituary in February 2018 claiming the city tycoon was dead. In a ruling delivered on Friday morning by High Court Judge Wilfrida Okwany, the judge ruled that the publication breached Wanjigi’s privacy. He therefore ruled that the newspaper enjoyed profit from the obituary and should therefore award Wanjigi Ksh4 million and his wife an equal amount for causing her anguish and pain. Through his lawyers, Wanjigi told the court that the obituary caused him mental anguish. He…

A Kenyan female robber, who is on Interpol’s watch-list has been arrested at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as she waited to fly out to Dar-es-Salaam. The robber, regarded as a gang queen, is mentioned to have been a notorious robber who was arrested on Thursday night after detectives trailed her to the airport. An officer stated: “We trailed her for more than one month without raising any eyebrows and we are also planning to make more arrests. We are now targeting her accomplices.” According to an officer privy to the investigations, Ms Margaret Waithira Kamande entered the list of…

Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has now shifted blame of the outrageous county budget to his predecessor, William Kabogo. Speaking during an interview on KTN, Waititu mentioned that the documents presented to the Members of the Senate on Thursday were from the time when Kabogo was Governor and therefore he should be queried on the same. He asserted: “We were elected in August 2017. We started using this budget in November 2017. “It is not us who did this budget,” he affirmed,”it was for the previous government by governor Kabogo.” However, Kabogo was quick to dismiss the claims by Waititu terming…

Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o has on Thursday sacked the Health County Executive Committee member (CEC) Dr Rosemary Obara. In a press release, Nyong’o nominated Prof Judith Atieno Miguda-Attyang’ to head the Health and Sanitation docket. The county boss gave the reason for the change as “furtherance of quality health service delivery and management. “ The County Director of Communication Aloice Ager mentioned that Dr Obara was replaced because the governor believed the docket needed better handling. Her fate, he noted, would be looked into, having been picked from the civil service. Read: Siaya CEC Joseph Warega Resigns Over Disagreements With…

Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has on Thursday morning shocked Members of the Senate County Public Accounts and Investment Committee after presenting them with documents from 2017/2018 financial year. In the documents, which the governor clearly did not know what they entailed, there were various outrageous allocation of county funds. In the report, Kiambu county had allocated Ksh180 million for the administration of benefits to retired presidents. Surprisingly, the reports highlighted that Ksh973 million had been allocated to be used in the coordination of State House function while Ksh590 million used on State Corporations Advisory Committee. The report also noted that…

Anglo-leasing whistle blower John Githongo has asserted that he will appeal the a ruling made on Thursday that ordered him to award former Minister Chris Murungaru Ksh27 million. In a statement issued by Githongo, he expressed his disappointment over the ruling on a matter that was brought against him by former Internal Security Minister Murungaru. He stated: “It is my plan to appeal this judgement vigorously as possible. ” Githongo further revealed that the court had disallowed his witness evidence and he intends to appeal the matter on that ground. In the ruling delivered on Thursday, the court in Nairobi…

The government has deployed General Service Unit (GSU) officers to Kamahindi area after residents hacked to death Chuka Officer Commanding Station (OCS). The OCS in Tharaka-Nithi Joseph Kinyua was among four other people who were killed by angry residents, after going to investigate the murder of a chief, Mr Mayau Mukengu. Kinyua was murdered alongside another officer who had accompanied him to the scene of the murder, in a bid to investigate the case. The chief, Mr Mukengu, was slashed to pieces on Tuesday evening and his remains burnt to ashes by residents of Kamaindi location. According to reports, the…

The High Court has reduced the Ksh12 million cash bail imposed on former National Land Commission (NLC) chairman Muhammad Swazuri to Ksh7 million. The order was delivered by Justice Mumbi Ngugi on Thursday morning. The Ksh30 million bond issued by the High court has also been reviewed down to Ksh15 million. In an application filed by Swazuri’s lawyers, the former NLC chair noted that the amount was unreasonably high and should have been reviewed. He argued that the cash bail or the alternative surety bond of Ksh30 million was ‘unjust, exorbitant and in contravention of Article 49 of the Constitution.’…

The authorities have lined up 10 witnesses to testify against Naftali Kinuthia in the murder of Ivy Wangechi, a medical student at Moi University. According to the police, the 10 include boda boda riders as well as her former colleagues at the Moi Referral Hospital, who witnessed the gruesome murder. It is reported that his parents as well as Wangechi’s parents are also set to testify in court against the suspect. This was after Kinuthia pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder on Tuesday in an Eldoret court. Appearing before Senior Eldoret Magistrate Stephen Githinji, Kinuthia denied the charges…

Kenyan soldiers who are traumatized by the Somalia war are always disciplined instead of receiving treatment. One Christopher Katitu, who was a low-ranking soldier with the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) has now divulged. Despite spending two years manning a mounted machine gun fron a trench in Kismayo, Katitu had to face the wrath for having post-traumatic stress disorder. Narrating his story to international media _The Washington Post_, Katitu stated that after the fatal Garissa attack that claimed the lives of 147 students, he was sent to the edges of the tense city to guard a highway checkpoint day and night.…

Itare residents of Kamaindi location in Tharaka-Nithi County have slashed their chief into pieces over the death of a man in 2018. The residents then set the chief, Mayau Mukengu’s body on fire. According to reports, the residents gruesomely killed the chief following a revelation that he had a hand in the murder of the man who died in 2018. The residents of Itare have also accused the chief of carrying out many illegal dealings in the government offices such as supporting vigilante groups in the area, hence denying them their rightful services. They alleged that they had numerously reported…

Magistrate Faith Munyi was forced to hold a court session in a police car on Monday after a robbery suspect declined to alight from the vehicle that ferried him for his arraignment in court. According to reports, the suspect, Simon Sigei was accused of killing Peter Bore and his daughter Judy Chepkoir after a robbery incident became violent in Boror area, Rongai sub-county. Additionally, the suspect was accused of raping the late Bore’s other daughters aged 9 and 12, while in the company of other unidentified armed men. The men were said to have been in possession of rungus, machetes…

Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti has temporarily ‘handed over’ his official duties to his deputy Hamilton Orata. According to the governor’s director of press service Juma Aluoch, Mr Orata will run the affairs of the county for now as the governor seeks medical attention. Speaking to Nation, Aluoch mentioned: “All affairs of the county will be run by the deputy governor as it has been since the governor has been unwell.” “There is no cause for alarm and all residents will get relevant services from the county. There is no vacuum,” he added, confirming that the county boss is out…

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)  detectives have on Tuesday morning arrested two men in Mombasa for being in possession of heroine. The two Salima Bakari Ali, 62, and Zainab Abdi Farah, 40, were found in possession of one kilogram of heroine worth Ksh3 million. The DCI also reported that an undisclosed amount of cash was also recovered. They have since been locked up at a Police Station pending their arraignment in court. According to the detectives from the Transnational Organised Crime Unit, the suspects had tried to conceal the drug by wrapping in a polythene bag. They divulged that they…