Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

212 more people have tested positive for Covid-19 from 3,937 samples tested in the last 24 hours. This now raises the number of confirmed cases in the country to 34,705 from 463,499 samples tested so far. In a press statement in Homa Bay County on Thursday, Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman said all the new cases were Kenyans except 14 who were foreign nationals. The youngest is a one-month-old infant and the oldest 76 years old. The CAS said Nairobi continues to lead in the number of infections with the county accounting for 96 cases reported today. Mombasa…

The Council of Governors (CoG) has put the Senate’s County Public Accounts and Investment Committee (CPAIC) on the spot over alleged extortion of county bosses in the name of summons related to audit queries. In a statement on Thursday, September 3, CoG Chairman Wycliffe Oparanya called on investigative agencies, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), to probe the matter with the aim of taking necessary action against Senators who have turned the summons into a cash cow. According to Oparanya, the committee has continued to summon county chiefs to appear physically despite an…

Justice Weldon Korir has dismissed a case by Brookhouse School parents who wanted the management compelled to reduce fees by 30 percent following a decision to introduce online learning as learning institutions remain closed due to the coronavirus threat. In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Weldon Korir declined to reduce the international school’s fees, arguing that the court can not order a reduction. The judge stated that the market dictates the cost of the product or service and it would be unjust for parents to demand a reduction of fees. “Parents do have constitutional rights but this has to…

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of sidelining his deputy in the day to day running of government. Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday night, the former majority leader claimed that the Head of State stopped inviting his deputy for important state meetings. He wondered why the President had betrayed his running mate who did everything to ensure the Jubilee party ascended to power in 2013. The vocal senator seemed to confirm local media reports that Ruto was locked out of his official residence in Mombasa in January this year. “He (Uhuru) chased…

Officials from the Ministry of Transport were on Wednesday hard-pressed to explain the ministry’s role in the clearing of Jack Ma Foundation donations that arrived in the country in March this year to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Appearing before the National Assembly Health Committee chaired by Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege, Transport Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Chris Obure, found it hard to convince the committee as he was accused of lacking facts regarding the clearing of the consignment. Consequently, the representative from the ministry and his team were sent away to “prepare well” before appearing before the…

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has listed nine Kenyan individuals suspected of supporting terrorist activities in the country. In a statement on Wednesday, the CS Ordered that the bank accounts and property of the individuals be frozen with immediate effect. “The only way to deny terrorists the means to threaten our way of life is to choke their facilitation networks, and this is why I have published the foregoing list so that they can no longer finance Al-Shabaab’s operations within our borders, ” said Matiang’i. The nine persons are Halima Adan Ali, Waleed Ahmed Zein, Sheikh Guyo Gorsa Boru, Mohammed…

Deputy President William Ruto has hit back at Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe for linking him to one of the companies said to have benefited from the Covid-19 scandal at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa). Appearing on Citizen TV on Tuesday night, Murathe distanced himself from Kilig Limited but said the owners of the company are known partners of the second in command. Kilig is said to have received money amounting to Ksh7.7 billion in a direct procurement from Kemsa. But in a tweet on Wednesday morning, the DP seemed to rubbish the claims accusing Murathe of looting the…

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested two men over drug trafficking links. The two, Samuel Kimani Macharia and Peter Mwangi Kuria, were nabbed by detectives from the Transnational Organized Crime Unit while transporting sacks of Cannabis Sativa (bhang) worth millions of shillings to Nairobi from Namanga. The bhang was confiscated and the vehicle bearing registration number KCD 808N, which was ferrying the illegal substance, impounded. “Two Suspected drug traffickers have been arrested by DCI Transnational Organized Crime Unit detectives & a motor vehicle Reg No. KCD 808N that was heading to Nairobi from Namanga ferrying sacks…

Kiambu County Governor James Nyoro has sacked 48 municipal board members who sit in committees of projects funded by the World Bank after concerns over lack of education. The county chief stated that the affected members were appointed by former Governor Ferdinand Waititu, who was impeached early this year over graft and abuse of office allegations. According to the governor, the appointments were made in total disregard of the law. “Most of them had not met the set qualifications,” Nyoro told Nation. The governor disclosed that there is skills mismatch in Kiambu County staffing that needs to be addressed as…

Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa has claimed that there is a plan to arrest and charge her with murder in two weeks time. Speaking after she was released on a Ksh2 million bail in a Ksh19 million Constituency Development Fund (CDF) graft case, Jumwa alleged that her recent arrest was politically instigated. The lawmaker alluded that she is targeted for supporting Deputy President William Ruto’s 2022 presidential ambitions. She vowed not to succumb to the “distractors” pressure. “I know all this is being done to fight me because of my stand. In two weeks, they are planning to bring…

The Coronavirus pandemic hit the education sector hard, with learners forced to stay at home for months with no clear date when classroom learning will resume. Embakasi East Member of Parliament Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino, who for a long time championed for student welfare back in his days as Chairman of the powerful Students Organisation of Nairobi University (SONU), seized the moment in May and started online classes for secondary school candidates preparing for their national exams. Well, for months now, thousands have been following his classes on YouTube and Facebook and the First Class Honors Actuarial Science Graduate…

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has promised to ensure that Peter Otieno, a former Sarova Hotel chef, who was injured at work, gets justice after a 15-year wait. The plight of the paralysed chef was aired on Citizen TV on Monday night, with Otieno crying out for help after his advocate abandoned the case. In a tweet, the LSK President Nelson Havi stated that the hotel should consider an amicable settlement. “I have heard the cries for help by and on behalf of Peter Odoyo. I apologize sincerely for the failure by the Advocate on record to respond to…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has given the Ministry of Health 30 days to establish a mechanism for all tenders by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) to be published online for transparency purposes. “The ministry should come up with a transparent, open method through which tenders done by Kemsa are available online…so that we can see who has awarded the tender and who was evaluated among others,” said the head of state during a virtual Covid-19 conference on Monday. “This is an issue to all government procurement departments.. we need to work together .. “Kenyan people have a right to know…

ODM leader Raila Odinga’s wife Ida has revealed that a recent fundraiser organized by the family for a Library & Resource Centre project at her Alma Mater Ogande Girls in Homabay realized Ksh176.9 million in “cash, commitments, cheques and in kind”. The 500-student capacity state-of-the art library is estimated to cost at least Ksh300 million. In a statement on Monday, Ida, a teacher by profession, disclosed that whereas the target was not achieved she is immensely grateful for the support accorded to her especially during the tough economic times occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic. “I am here to say a…

Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority(TCAA) requires individuals interested in registering drones in the country to obtain permits for each province they intend to deploy the aircraft, the authority’s Director General Hamza Johari has declared. The annual registration fee for a drone in Tanzania is $100 (Ksh10,000) equivalent to Tsh (232,000). According to Hamza, after paying the annual fee an individual is only permitted to operate the drone in only one province “Mkoa”, and not countrywide. He said that for you to be allowed to operate the drone in another region, you will need to obtain another permit, for that particular province.…