Author: KahawaTungu Reporter

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has asked the public to help identify a public service vehicle from which a passenger was dragged by a tout. In a statement, the authority asked the the public to share the details of the vehicle. “Good morning. Kindly share with us the registration number of the vehicle,” tweeted NTSA on Saturday. In a video doing rounds on the internet, the conductor is seen dragging a female passenger for allegedly declining to pay fare. Read: NTSA Suspends Tahmeed, Taita Taveta Saccos Over Road Accidents But the woman insists that she had already paid her…

Transparency International (TI) has stripped Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji of the 2019 Leadership Integrity Award. In a statement issued on Friday, TI Kenya Executive Director Sheila Masinde said the move was occasioned by concerns voiced by Kenyans over Haji’s withdrawal of high-profile cases in the recent past. “Transparency International Kenya has made the decision to withdraw the Leadership Integrity Award (State/Public Officer) conferred upon you in 2019,” said Ms Masinde. Transparency International also reaffirmed its firm stand that all award winners must uphold the highest standards of integrity. Read: DPP Haji Orders Police To Seize Controversial Pastor Mackenzie’s…

President William Ruto has accused some Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) staff of aiding and abetting corruption. Speaking on Friday after filing his tax returns, the head of state said some of the taxman’s workers do not work for the government but are out to fend for themselves. “Collusion, wanton bribe-taking, and general corruption continue to pervade operations of KRA, facilitating tax evasion, massive leakages of potential revenue, and inability to meet revenue targets,” he said. He added: “It has also been noted that KRA has not embraced a culture of supporting and facilitating taxpayers, alternative dispute resolution and the deployment…

Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga on Thursday walked out of a meeting during which he was tasked with explaining the contentious 3 percent Housing tax. The PS had showed up unannounced before the National Assembly’s Finance and National Planning Committee to explain how the fund will operate. The lawmakers sought to understand if the contributors will receive interest should they decide to pull out of the plan and the criteria for the allocation of the 250,000 homes. However, PS Hinga left without warning after the Molo MP Kuria Kimani-led committee bombarded him with queries. Read: Court Suspends Controversial Housing Tax, For…

Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua has claimed that DCI detectives have sneaked out former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga from the premises to an undisclosed location. “Thuggery Alert! @DCI_Kenya officers this afternoon demonstrated thuggery instead of professionalism by using trickery to separate Maina Njenga from his lawyers who included several Azimio principals and sneaking him out of @DCI_Kenya offices kiambu Road to un undisclosed destination,” she tweeted. She added: “@DCI_Kenya is violating Maina Njenga’s right to legal representation and we fear they will prejudice his rights to a fair trial. In these circumstances is his safety assured.” https://twitter.com/MarthaKarua/status/1661683484459499520 Earlier, police had…

A High Court has forfeited more than Sh100 million sent to a college girl by her Belgian boyfriend to the State. Justice Esther Maina on Thursday said the monies were part of a money laundering scheme. “Upon consideration of evidence, and all materials placed before me. I am satisfied those two accounts are liable for forfeiture to the state. There is obvious money laundering with respect to the funds,” she said. The judge allowed an application filed by the Assets Recovery Agency on grounds that the source of the monies was unknown. Read: Two Lawyers Give Conflicting Details on Whereabouts of…

ICT Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dennis Itumbi has demanded an “unequivocal public apology” from Nation Media Group in response to an alleged defamation piece that appeared in the Sunday Nation and Taifa Leo dailies. Itumbi was vexed by allegations that CASs took office despite a court injunction. The 50 CASs were barred by the High Court from taking office in March, pending the hearing and resolution of a lawsuit brought by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Katiba Institute. “Self-evidently, the Nation Media Group is on a relentless pursuit to demonize our client by publishing miserable non-starters simply…

Chinese Embassy has dispelled claims that Chinese hackers attacked Kenyan government agencies including Office of the President. The Reuters report, the Chinese Embassy spokesperson said, was “far-fetched and sheer nonsense”. The Embassy stated that an cyber attack on another government was a very delicate political matter. “The relevant media should adopt a professional and responsible attitude and underscore the importance to have enough evidence when conducting reports, rather than make groundless assumptions and accusations,” it said. Read: British Army YouTube, Twitter Accounts Restored after Hacking Incident The Embassy also pointed out that for more than 60 years, Kenya and China have maintained close diplomatic ties. It said that…

With the anticipated hike in import duty, excise duty, and value-added tax (VAT), telecommunications giant Safaricom has ruled out the idea of assembling Sh5,000 smartphones. This will pump the brakes on President William Ruto’s idea for Kenya to produce the cheapest phones in the continent. The planned tariffs, according to the telco, will result in a Sh11,500 price increase for locally-made devices. The telco on Tuesday asked MPs to review downwards the import duty, excise duty, and VAT rates on mobile phones through the Finance Bill, 2023 so as to lower the price of locally produced phones. Read: Safaricom Gets License…

Former Mungiki sect leader Maina Njenga has presented himself before the Nakuru Law Courts. Njenga was accompanied by lawyer Ndegwa Njiiru. This was after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) declared him wanted over criminal activities. In a statement, DCI boss Mohamed Amin said they were looking for the politician over the recovery of two firearms and over 90 rolls of bhang at a home linked to him. Read: DCI Looking for Ex-Mungiki Leader Maina Njenga Over Recovery of Firearms at Residence “One of the firearms recovered was a homemade pistol capable of firing while the other one was a Tokarev…

Former Harlequins rugby player Alex Olaba will spend six years behind bars after a court found him guilty of plotting to kill a witness in a sexual assault case. On Wednesday, Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo said he had considered Olaba’s mitigation and a probation report tabled in court. While rendering the ruling, Mr Onsarigo noted that the prosecution had proved its case against the accused person. “Although the accused person is remorseful, the offenses he faces are serious. l convict and sentence him to serve six years in count one of conspiracy to kill and two years imprisonment in the second…

Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi has distanced herself from the Sh102 million gold scandal involving her law firm. In an affidavit, Ms Amadi told Justice David Majanja that she left private practice in 2014 immediately after she was appointed as the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary. She swore that her son, Brian Amadi, has been managing the firm since her exit, hence she was unaware of the alleged gold deal involving Bruton Gold Trading LLC, a Dubai-based company. Ms Amadi claimed that she did not receive or benefit from the monies allegedly paid by the foreign company as…

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition party has suspended the bipartisan talks for a week. Nairobi senator Edwin Sifuna on Tuesday cited various issues among them the “attack” on Jubilee Party. In a statement, Sifuna said the opposition could not agree with the government side on  various issues that formed the basis for discussion. “We have had to suspend the Bipartisan dialogue after we could not persuade our friends from Kenya Kwanza to concede to some common sense interim measures,” he said. https://twitter.com/edwinsifuna/status/1661029312827633665 The legislator noted that there were other unresolved issues including lowering the cost of Unga, preservation…

Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) has allowed the expulsion of Jeremiah Kioni, David Murathe and Kagwe Gichohi, from the Jubilee party. In a letter addressed to Jubilee deputy secretary general Joshua Kuttuny, Registrar of Political Parties Anne Nderitu noted that the Kanini Kega-led faction had followed the party constitution in kicking out the trio. “It is further noted that the party concluded the disciplinary processes against Hon. Jeremiah Kioni, Hon. David Murathe, and Mr. Kagwe Gichohi, wherein they participated in line with Section 14B (2) of the Political Parties Act, 2011 (PPA),” said Ms Nderitu. “Consequently, the party…

Principal Secretary (PS) for Correctional Services Esther Ngero has resigned due to personal reasons. The PS was recently reassigned from the State Department for Performance Management and Delivery Services in the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary to the State Department for Correctional Services within the Ministry of Interior & National Administration. Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, in a statement lauded Ngero for establishing the institutional framework to support the implementation of Public Service Performance Management and Monitoring for Ministries, State Departments, and State Agencies (MDAs). “The Head of State has conveyed his gratitude to Ngero for her service…