Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

Human rights activist Okiya Omtatah wants Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu barred from assuming the role of acting Chief Justice after David Maraga’s exit. In a case filed in court, Omtatah argues that Mwilu is not fit to act in the office of the Chief Justice when David Maraga retires in January next year. The activist wants the court to bar the Judicial Service Commission from appointing Mwilu as acting CJ unless they clear her of all abuse of office and corruption allegations levelled against her. He argues that currently there are four petitions before JSC seeking her removal from office.…

Tanzanian opposition politician Godbless Lema has been granted asylum in Canada, his lawyer George Luchiri Wajackoyah confirmed on Thursday. Lema, who fled to Kenya early last month, flew out of the country with his family last night to their newly found safe haven. The immediate former Member of Parliament for Arusha Urban Constituency had fled his motherland citing a crackdown on opposition leaders. He was arrested on November 8 by Kenyan authorities in Kajiado while seeking political asylum and released a day later after concerns from human rights groups including Amnesty International Kenya, who urged the government not to deport…

Two people narrowly escaped death on Wednesday after a light aircraft they were in crash-landed at Maili Saba along the Isiolo-Meru road, Isiolo County. Reports indicate that the Cessna plane, registration number 5Y-VBB, was trying to land on the tarmac road following a mechanical failure. Eyewitnesses who spoke to members of the press said that the aircraft crash-landed as the pilot was trying to avoid an oncoming lorry and motorbike. The occupants of the aircraft were identified as employees of Lewa Conservancy. The two were from Isiolo headed to Nanyuki. Read: Aviation Authority Launches Probe Into Narok Chopper Crash The…

The Office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has expressed its dissatisfaction with a ruling delivered yesterday by a Milimani Court acquitting businessman Humphrey Kariuki and his co-accused of tax evasion charges in a case where they had been accused of being in possession of 80 drums of uncustomed ethanol. In a ruling delivered on Tuesday, Senior Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot said the ODPP had failed to produce witnesses 16 months after the suspects were charged. But in a letter addressed to the court, the prosecution has requested to be supplied with certified typed and handwritten copies of the proceedings…

The Ministry of Health has given the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) a green light to start releasing Personal Protective Equipment from their warehouses. Appearing before the Senate’s Health Committee on Wednesday, the ministry’s Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr Mercy Mwangangi told the Senators that the exercise will begin this Friday. The CAS attributed a delay witnessed over the past few months to procedures that had to be followed before the protective gear could be released. The agency, Dr Mwangangi said, will be informed of the ministry’s decision to have the PPEs sold at an affordable price. Read: Nurses Union…

Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi is under investigation for allegedly falsifying information in the self-declaration forms he submitted for the 2017 General Election, Kahawa Tungu has learnt. This writer understands that the DG has been summoned by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) and is expected to appear before the commission today, Wednesday, December 9. “The commission, pursuant to its constitutional and statutory mandate, is investigating allegations of falsifying information provided in your self-declaration forms submitted to the EACC for the 2017 General Election, and swearing a false declaration,” the summons issued on November 30 reads. “The Commission would like…

The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has asked the government to clear Dr Stephen Mogusu’s hospital bill and compensate his young family. The 28-year-old doctor succumbed to Covid-19 complications yesterday. He had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital. The young doctor is said to have contracted the virus at Machakos Covid-19 treatment centre while on duty. While announcing Dr Mogusu’s death yesterday, the doctors’ union said that he had not been paid for five months. Reports indicate that by the time of his death he had accumulated almost…

Businessman Humphrey Kariuki got a reprieve on Tuesday after a Nairobi court acquitted him of tax evasion charges in a case where he had been accused of being in possession of 80 drums of uncustomed ethanol. In his ruling, Senior Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot said the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had failed to produce witnesses 16 months after the Thika billionaire was charged. The defence team led by lawyers Kioko Kilukumi, Cecil Miller and Philip Murgor had asked the magistrate to invoke section 202 of the Criminal Procedure code and acquit the accused. “The prosecution is not…

Lugulu Girls’ High School students on Tuesday took to the streets to protest an alleged defilement incident that happened in the school recently. The victim is said to have been defiled on Saturday morning while taking a bath just before the morning preps. In videos shared on Twitter, the girls, who staged protests along the Webuye-Kitale Highway in Bungoma County, claimed that the management had failed to act and instead urged them to remain silent. The students accused the school principal of attempting to cover up the matter. They claimed that the school head had threatened students who witnessed the…

Six suspected gangsters were on Monday killed in a shoot-out with police officers in Section 58, Nakuru East Sub-County. Police said two others escaped with gunshot wounds after they were ambushed while on a mission to commit a robbery in Nakuru town. Confirming the incident, Nakuru County Criminal Investigations Officer Anthony Sunguti, who led the operation, said the officers were acting on a tip-off. The officer said the gunmen, who were driving a Toyota Probox car, were trailed from Nairobi after the police tracked their phone conversations. Read: Security Guard Killed During Mountain Mall Robbery Police suspect that the car…

The Federal Government of Somalia has introduced strict guidelines for Kenyans traveling to the country as the relationship between the two nations continues to deteriorate. In a notice seen by Kahawa Tungu, all Kenyan passport holders travelling to the territory of the Federal Republic of Somalia will from December 13 be required to obtain visas from Somali embassies as opposed to getting them on arrival in Mogadishu. The country’s Immigration and Naturalization Directorate stated that the move is “in line with the Federal government’s policy of ensuring security, improving migration management and reducing the risks of COVID-19 Infections”. Further, diplomatic passport holders…

President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to take a one month break from official duties. In a circular to Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Nairobi, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Head of State will be out of office from December 15, 2020, to January 15, 2021. The President will resume official duties on January 16, 2021. “The ministry has the honour to inform you that H.E the President will not be available for any official/public engagements including phone calls unless they are emergencies,” read part of the circular. The ministry directed that any request towards the president should be made through the…

Two police officers in Uasin Gishu are nursing injuries sustained during a recent operation that left a civilian dead. According to a police report seen by Kahawa Tungu, Police Constables Joseph Chebeu Cheptora and David Kamuren were assaulted on November 27, 2020. The officers had accompanied the deceased, Andrew Wanyika Indenje, to arrest Philip Amboke in Chebarus village over an alleged assault that had been reported under OB No. 09/19/07/2020. However, after effecting the arrest, the suspect’s wife, Jackline Nanjala, raised alarm which attracted members of the public who turned against the officers and the complainant. “After the suspect by…

The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) is now demanding compensation of families of 26 nurses who succumbed to Covid-19 before resuming duty. Speaking on Monday, KNUN Secretary-General Seth Panyako said that a total of 23,000 nurses have started industrial action and will only resume duty when their demands are met by the government. “We have about 26,000 nurses, but those from Kenyatta National Hospital ad Moi Teaching and Referral will not down tools because the two institutions had made arrangements with the nurses,” said Panyako. Panyako accused the government of doing little to protect the lives of the frontline…

Julius Gitau, the Thika businessman, who resurfaced yesterday after disappearing for over two months, now claims that he was being held hostage for the entire period. Gitau, a well-known wholesale trader in Thika town, went missing on September 21. A ‘suicide note’ was found on his vehicle’s dashboard. The 44-year-old millionaire popularly known as Gitau wa Mali told the police that he was freed on Saturday by his abductors. He told the police, who have been looking for him for 11 weeks now, that he was being held at Kamwangi town in Gatundu North constituency adding that he came to…