Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

The Ministry of Education now wants all public learning institutions that were used as quarantine and isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients be vacated ahead of the planned reopening of schools. Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang, in a letter to his Health counterpart Susan Mochache directed that the learning institutions be vacated and fumigated by September 28, 2020. PS Kipsang stated that stakeholders had arrived at a decision to reopen schools earlier than initially projected after an observation that the Covid-19 curve is flattening. “Arising from the above, and aware that the public schools were used both as quarantine and isolation…

The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) will with immediate effect challenge in the High Court Chief Justice David Maraga’s advisory to President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has said. The President of the Supreme Court of Kenya had on Monday advised the Head of State to dissolve the August House over its failure to enact legislation required to implement the two-thirds gender rule. Addressing members of the Press at Parliament buildings on Tuesday, Speaker Muturi faulted the CJ terming the advisory as unlawful and unconstitutional. “The commission regrets that the Chief Justice appears to be willing,…

Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi has been freed from police custody after being charged with flouting Covid-19 containment measures. In a Facebook post on Monday night, the aspiring Woman Member of Parliament for Kampala said she was freed alongside her political assistant Rugumayo Ka Kusemererwa on a non-cash bail of USh1 million by Grade One Magistrate Kebei of Busia Chief Magistrate’s Court. A non-cash bail is a sum of money asked by the court to be paid by a surety when the accused fails to appear in court. The two were charged with disobeying lawful orders put in place to contain…

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has objected calls by Chief Justice David Maraga for President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament. The President of the Supreme Court of Kenya had earlier advised the Head of State to dissolve the August House over its failure to enact legislation required to implement the two-thirds gender rule. But in a lengthy statement to newsrooms, Muturi now says the gender rule should be subjected to a referendum due to the cost of implementing it. “Given the current efforts and initiatives to amend the Constitution that are currently underway such as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI),…

The government has extended the Covid-19 containment measures including the 9pm-4am curfew until September 29. In a statement on Monday, Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua said President Uhuru Kenyatta will issue new guidelines next Tuesday after planned National COVID-19 Conference scheduled for Monday, September 28. The Tuesday address will be the Head of State’s 12 national address on the Covid-19 situation. The Head of State gave the 11th national address on August 26. Read: Uhuru Extends Closure Of Bars, Curfew By Another 30 Days In his address, the President ordered the continued closure of bars and nightclubs for a…

Chief Justice David Maraga has asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament over its failure to enact legislation required to implement the two-thirds gender rule. This is following six petitions filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) , Margaret Toili, Fredrick Gichanga Mbugua’h, Stephen Owako, Johnn Wangai, Aoko Bernard and David Sudi. The petitioners fault parliament over failure to pass the laws in accordance with Article 27(3) read together with Articles 81(b) and 100 of the 2010 Constitution despite four Court orders. In a statement issued on Monday, the President of the Supreme Court of Kenya said Parliament should…

Health workers at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) have threatened to down tools next Monday, September 28 over failure by the management to implement a proposed salary review. The seven-day strike notice dated Monday, September 21, was issued in a joint statement by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) and the Kenya Union of Domestic, Hotels, Education institutions, Hospitals and Allied Workers (KUDHEIHA). The workers accused KNH management of failing to implement salary review proposals made by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) in line with re-categorization of the hospital status to…

Suspects in the murder of car dealer Kevin Omwenga have been granted bail by a Nairobi court. In a ruling delivered on Monday, Justice Jessie Lessit ordered that Chris Obure be released on a Ksh2 million cash bail and two sureties of a similar amount. Obure’s bodyguard Robert Bodo Ouko has also been released on Ksh500,000 cash bail and two sureties of the same amount. Justice Lessit ordered the suspects not to contact the family of Omwenga or any of the witnesses in the case. The suspect will be required to deposit their travel documents in court and also file…

Deputy President William Ruto’s elite guards found at MP Oscar Sudi’s house when police raided his home to arrest him have been given show-cuase letters over their role in the lawmaker’s escape. The elite presidential escort guards, a chief inspector and two constables, were summoned to police headquarters on Thursday where they were grilled and later given a day to respond to the accusations. The officers were given show-cause letters on Friday after giving their responses. Two of the officers identified as Simon Siengo and Isaack Dida were arrested at Sudi’s home after the raid on September 11. Police reports…

Kenyan journalist James Smart is headed back to the Nation Media Group, Kahawa Tungu has learnt. In a tweet on Monday morning, the seasoned journalist confirmed that he is returning to the former employer to help the media house in its new Podcast iniative. “As they say, some personal news. Excited to join Nation Media Group to lead efforts in PODCASTING. New territories filled with so much potential and a personal passion of mine for a longtime, ” he tweeted. https://twitter.com/jamessmat/status/1307893565989609473?s=20 Podcasting is the practice of using the Internet to make digital recordings of broadcasts available for downloading to a…

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested three people linked to a car theft syndicate in the coastal region. 42-year-old John Kimani and Pacificah Kemunto Nyakundi, 39, were arrested yesterday for being accomplices of 50-year-old George Morara. DCI said the accused, who were arrested in Kilifi and Kajiado counties, have been stealing hired cars after posing as genuine customers. During the intelligence-led operation, sleuths recovered a Toyota Axio that was stolen two months ago. The police said that the victim had hired the vehicle to Morara for three days on July 26 but the accused failed to…

Alinur Mohamed, an aspiring Member of Parliament, was on Sunday arrested while donating food at the Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi. Mohamed, who is popularly known as “The Somali Guy”, was in the company of musician Bahati when he was roughed up and forced into a Police vehicle. The police accused him of holding an illegal meeting. Attempts by members of the public to stop his arrest bore no fruits. “I have just been arrested while at the Kamukunji Ground. I don’t know where they are taking me, ” Mohamed tweeted shortly after his arrest. https://twitter.com/HonAlinur/status/1307607497755287552?s=20 Mohamed shot into the limelight…

Ugandan activist Stella Nyanzi was on Saturday evening arrested after her visit to Kenya. The aspiring Woman Member of Parliament for Kampala was arrested by Ugandan authorities at the Busia border. In a Facebook post on Sunday morning, Nyanzi said she is detained alongside her political assistant Rugumayo Ka Kusemererwa at an unknown cell in Busia town. She, however, said that the whereabouts of her driver and campaign photographer remains unknown. “They were arrested ahead of the two of us but are not detained in our (unknown) detention facility, ” she said. “What is our crime? Can somebody tell me.…

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested one of the suspects caught on camera breaking into a parked car in Mombasa. In a statement shared on Twitter on Sunday, the DCI said the suspect identified as Boris Mutua Malai was arrested at his home in Kiembeni. Police recovered a Toyota Ractis bearing Registration number KCX 726 Q from Malai’s residence. The car had been captured on surveillance cameras on September 17 with different plates; KCU 113 P at crime scene at the Texas Building near Cinemax within Nyali. In a two minute video that has since gone…

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leaders are now accusing Deputy President William Ruto of misusing elite presidential escort guards. This is after three guards attached to the DP were found at Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi’s home in Eldoret following a night attempt on September 11 to arrest the controversial lawmaker over alleged hate speech and incitement remarks. The ODM leaders accuse the second in command of facilitating the re-assignment of his elite guards to lawmakers allied to his Tanga Tanga camp whose security was withdrawn by the state. The party’s minority whip in the National Assembly Junet…