Author: Mercy Auma

Suna East member of parliament and National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed on Tuesday, April 14, 2020 left the parliament in stitches with a joke about the elderly MPs. During the afternoon session, Junet singled out legislators above the age of 58 and jokingly requested that they should be allowed to leave as they were most vulnerable to contracting COVID-19. “Mr Speaker I have an issue that I want to raise. The guidelines that you issued were very clear. One of the guidelines was anybody above 58 years should not appear in the chambers, and I’m seeing Honourable Amos Kimunya,…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has ordered the delisting of Kenyans who have defaulted their loans with less than Sh1,000  from Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs). This, according to CBK is following public outcry regarding blacklisting of people by mobile lenders that has seen at least 2.7 million Kenyans credited negatively. Additionally, the circular indicates that people who will seek CRB clearance certificates for the first time will not be charged. Read: Relief For Kenyans As Gov’t Reduces PAYE Tax “A minimum threshold of Sh1,000 has now been set for negative credit information that is submitted to CRBs by lenders. Borrower’s…

Amref has distanced itself from the study claiming that over 800,000 Kenyans are expected to die due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) blow up in the country. The study was initially published by Standard Newspaper before being circulated by other online media platforms. Through a statement by the CEO, Dr Githinji Gitahi, the organization indicated that they had not undertaken any study in regards to the same rather the report was a personal opinion by Prof Joachim Osur who was a staff member. “We would like to reassure the public that no such study was undertaken by Amref Health Africa. The article…

Kenya currently has 208 positive cases of coronavirus, 9 deaths and 40 recoveries with hundreds of others in isolation. The immediate symptoms for COVID-19 were initially linked to flu-like symptoms, although some patients have tested positive with no indications of any symptoms. Scientists have discovered other abnormal symptoms that appear between two days to 14 days after exposure. Here are the symptoms: 1 Shortness of Breath. Shortness of breath indicates the severity of COVID-19 and in most cases it is the most serious. When a loved one exhibits this symptom and finds it hard to breathe, it is time to…

John Mbadi, the National Assembly Minority Leader has advised Members of Parliament against taking salary cuts amid Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. According to Mbadi, giving donations would make a bigger impact to the country as compared to taking voluntary pay cuts. Ideally, he stated that MP’s basic salary is at Sh400,000 hence a pay cut would be less effective in aiding fighting the virus. “MP’s taking pay cuts is on a basic salary which is less than 400,000 as we speak. 10% of that, let’s say upwards of 400,000 is 40,000 and that 40,000 is usually taken as taxation so the…

Four suspected Al-Shabaab militia members have been killed in a gunfight in Kakabey, Wajir County with an unknown number of police reservists reported to have been injured. According to Wajir County Police Commander Thomas Ngeywa, the incident took place around 10 am while the police reservists were on patrol in the area. “Earlier today we received reports that some of our police reservists who were on routine patrol encountered an unknown number of suspected Al-Shabaab militants in Qarsa area before a gunfight ensued resulting in casualties,” said Ngeywa. Ngeywa did not disclose the number of police officers injured rather he…

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has been forced to respond to the bizarre burial of a COVID-19 patient in Siaya following public outrage. Addressing the media at Afya House, Kagwe stated that the human remains of COVID-19 victims will be disposed of in a manner that protects the lives of the living. Further, he cautioned netizens to be fully prepared for worst-case scenarios adding that moving forward there will be more challenges where the cultural practices on how bodies of the dead are disposed might not be practical. “Moving forward there will be challenges. I will be brutally honest that…

The government directed that the families of victims who had succumbed to Coronavirus (COVID-19) had up to 24 hours to collect their kin’s bodies from the mortuary, failure of which they would be buried by the state. This, according to government pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor was aimed to curb the spread of COVID-19 which most likely gets infectious through piling up of bodies. The government went as far as offering to provide logistical support including transportation to have the bodies buried as soon as possible. “To avoid a situation where we have so many bodies lying in the mortuary and…

Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) risk postponement over the uncertainty caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Officials in the education sector are scheduled to review the KCPE, KSCE and other important education programs with the view of postponement. According to the Star, the COVID-19 pandemic has interfered with school calendars hence need to adjust in case the uncertainty leads to further confusion. Last week, numerous questions were raised over the fate of learners following COVID-19 menace that has caused 8 deaths and 197 positive confirmed cases, countrywide. Read: Questions Raised Over Students’ Fate Following…

Kenya has confirmed two more positive Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases with the number totaling to 191. Addressing reporters at Afya House, Health CAS Dr Mercy Mwangangi stated that the two positive cases arose from 491 samples that were collected and tested within 24 hours. “491 samples have been tested out of which two have tested positive. One in Mombasa and the other one in Nairobi,” the CAS stated. The two cases involve a Kenyan, aged 2 years old and a foreigner aged 32, both with no history of travel. Also, two more people have recovered and were discharged bringing the total…

10 staffers from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) have been ordered to quarantine after it emerged that they had come into contact with foreigners who tested positive for Coronavirus. In a report published by Daily Nation, the KRA staffers were working at the Mombasa Port alongside the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). For instance, KRA and KPA employees are two independent bodies but work closely together hence increasing the risk to contract the virus. As of yesterday, COVID-19 cases in the country had risen to 189, with the fatalities standing at 7. Also, 22 people were reported to have recovered from…

The Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, Wu Peng has blamed evicted Africans for the mistreatment leveled against them in China. In response to the public uproar that arose after reports emerged that Kenyans were among Africans being mistreated in China, the ambassador, Wu Peng, indicated that those affected violated the social distancing directive. “People who found themselves in trouble did not follow regulations on social distancing. Most reported are not Kenyans,” read the tweet by the Chinese ambassador. Yesterday, April 10, reports emerged that Kenyans and other Africans in China had been evicted from houses and were being forced to live…

Raila Odinga Junior, Raila Odinga’s son has dared his father to take part in the Museveni work out challenge. Taking to his Twitter, Junior posted a picture capturing Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni working out in his office and tagged the ODM leader asking him to join in. “Come on @RailaOdinga you’ve been given a challenge, all African leaders need to do the Museveni challenge,” read the tweet. https://twitter.com/Railajunior/status/1248260288471678976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1248260288471678976%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FRailajunior2Fstatus2F1248260288471678976widget%3DTweet Read: Uganda’s President Museveni Excites Netizens With Work Out Video Yesterday, Museveni excited netizens after he released a work out video in his office as a way of encouraging people to keep fit…

Seven Members of Kirinyaga County Assembly (MCAs) who had earlier sought to impeach Governor Anne Waiguru have backed down and asked for forgiveness. The MCAs reportedly accompanied the governor for a Coronavirus (COVID-19) sensitization mission and opted to seek forgiveness claiming they had been misled. For instance, John Gatari, the Kangai Ward MCA indicated that they changed their mind after Jubilee Party disapproved of the move. Ideally, they pledged to have the Majority leader James Murang’o ousted from his position by filing a formal application. Read: Moses Kuria Threatens Rebellion Against Tuju For Meddling In Kirinyaga County Impeachment Motion “We don’t…

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has excused job seekers from presenting clearance certificates during the Coronavirus pandemic. Public entities have also been advised to avoid blocking applicants who do not present the clearance certificates from the agency. EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak has called upon state agencies not to make it mandatory for applicants to present the certificates, rather they should take it upon themselves to do the clearance. Following the global Coronavirus pandemic which has hit the country, submission of hard copies and forms had been suspended by different agencies. Read: COVID-19: DPP, EACC Present Ksh2 Billion Of Corruption Proceeds To…