Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed has challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government to resign over what he termed as failure to address challenges that have come with the Coronavirus pandemic. In hard-hitting remarks the lawmaker made on the floor of the house on Wednesday, Junet challenged the Jubilee administration led by Uhuru to resign and pave way for a new government that will take Kenyans’ affairs seriously. The legislator accused the government of exploiting vulnerable and poor citizens in the name of fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the lawmaker, the government had failed on its promise to provide…

Nairobi County Governor Mike Sonko has threatened to pursue legal action against Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho over what he termed as crimes against humanity. In a lengthy Facebook post on Wednesday, Sonko said he will sue PS Kibicho, Nairobi Regional Commander (RC) Wilson Njega and Nairobi Regional Police Commander Philip Ndolo at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for evicting Kariobangi residents from their houses in spite of a court order barring the exercise More than 5,000 people who were living in the sewage slum estate were on Sunday left homeless after the government demolished their houses to reclaim the…

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Tuesday scolded Kenyans over abuse of the government move to reopen restaurants in the country amid the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking during the Covid-19 daily briefings, the minister observed that some Kenyans had devised ways of drinking excessively in the eateries as bars remain closed. The CS noted some individuals were abusing the government’s directive to reopen the restaurants and the sell of alcohol in the business premises. The government had on April 27 allowed the restaurants to sell alcohol to customers but directed that the drinks can only be served to individuals waiting to…

Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Tuesday reached out to President Uhuru Kenyatta to express his regrets after a Kenyan cargo aircraft was shot down in Bardale area in Baidoa on Monday, May 4, killing six people. In a statement to newsrooms, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said Farmajo made a phone call to President Kenyatta on Tuesday morning to inform him that he had ordered investigations into the incident. The probe is being conducted by Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority. According to the ministry, President Farmajo extended an invitation to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to team with their Somalia counterparts…

The Kenyan government has called on Somalia authorities to expeditiously investigate circumstances under which a Kenyan private cargo aircraft was shot down in Bardale area in Baidoa on Monday, May 4, killing six people. In a press statement on Tuesday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the aircraft was supporting humanitarian operations during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ministry said the incident could affect humanitarian activities in the country. “The Government of the Republic of Kenya urges the Federal Government of Somalia and International Agencies to thoroughly and swiftly investigate the matter because it impacts humanitarian operations at a time of highest…

As wrangles in the ruling Jubilee party escalate, Secretary-General Raphael Tuju has dared Deputy President William Ruto’s allies to make good on their threats to eject him from office. Tuju irked members of the DP’s camp after he published the contested list of National Management Committee (NMC) members. The DP’s allies led by the party Deputy Secretary General Caleb Kositany took issue with the move accusing Tuju of disregarding the Registrar of Political Parties directive to activate internal dispute resolution mechanism after the list was contested. The Ruto men said they will seek to remove Tuju from office for failing…

30 ventilators purchased by the Ministry of Health that were allegedly distributed to counties are nowhere to be seen, the Senate has said. The Senate was alarmed after governors said that they are yet to receive the crucial equipment in the fight against Covid-19. A medical ventilator is an automatic machine that moves breathable air mechanically into and out of the lungs. The machine helps provide the mechanism of breathing for a patient, who is physically unable to breathe, or effectively breathe on their own. Covid-19 being a respiratory illness, most patients rely on a ventilator to breathe. The Senate…

The Minister of Health in Tanzania Ummy Mwalimu has ordered the suspension of the Managing Director of the National Community Health Laboratory Nyambura Muremi after President John Pombe Magufuli questioned COVID-19 tests conducted by the institution. In a statement sent out to the media on Monday, Mwalimu also directed the secretariat to suspend the institution’s quality control manager Jacob Lusekelo to pave way for a probe into the COVID-19 cases that Magufuli claimed were inflated. The Miniter appointed a special committee that will be in charge of the investigations. The committee of nine members is expected to commence the probe…

Caring has the gift of making the ordinary special, a famous quote by renowned late psychologist George R. Bach, is perhaps the best quote that can describe good deeds that a section of Kenyans continue to extend to front line workers in the fight against the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). Well, TV girl Betty Kyallo on Saturday surprised health workers at the Mbagathi Hospital with a meal as they continue to care for Covid-19 patients and contacts isolated in the facility. The K24TV anchor teamed up with her celebrity friend and chef, Tracy Macharia, to put a smile on the faces…

The school fees dispute pitting a section of Brookhouse parents and the management has taken a new twist after the parents who recently took the school to court were accused of sabotaging learning at the institution by another group of parents. The international school had resorted to virtual learning following the indefinite closure of schools by the government due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The management offered parents a 10 per cent discount. But the parents moved to court protesting the directive requiring them to pay nearly the full school fees for third term despite their children learning from home.…

Individuals who flout the dusk to dawn curfew rules will no longer be quarantined in government COVID-19 isolation centres. In a statement on Sunday, Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman said the National Emergency Response Committee on coronavirus has directed the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to establish special holding places where the individuals will be isolated. The CAS, however, said police will be required to ensure social distancing is observed in the detention centres. Over the recent past, there have been concerns that persons who break curfew rules risk infection when quarantined with contacts of individuals who…

Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli is eyeing a herbal drug from Madagascar to treat COVID-19 in the country. Speaking on Sunday during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-appointed Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, Magufuli said his government is in communication with Madagascar and a team will be sent to get the drug. “Ninawasiliana na Madagascar na wameshaandika barua. Wanasema kuna dawa zimepatikana kule, tutatuma ndege kule na dawa zile zitaletwa pia ili Watanzania nao waweze kufaidika nayo…Sisi serikali tupo na tunafanya kazi usiku na mchana, ” said magufuli. Loosely translated, “I have information that a (COVID-19) cure…

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Tanzanian is inflated,  President John Pombe Magufuli has said. Speaking on Sunday during the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-appointed Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, Magufuli expressed his disgust over the high number of COVID-19 cases reported in the country further saying he had reason to believe that test results from the National Referral Laboratory were ‘unrealistic’. Magufuli noted that recently, his security team sent samples from a bird, pawpaw fruit, jackfruit, goat, sheep, rabbit and oil to the laboratory for tests and the results were shocking. According to the President,…

The Nakuru County government has cautioned motorists plying John Momanyi Road after a section of the road caved in. In a statement on Sunday, Deputy Governor Erick Korir said the road has been cordoned off as engineers investigate the cause of the damage. Korir said preliminary investigations point to underground faulting. “We wish to caution motorists using John Momany Road near Koinange Primary School near Shabaab area that a section of the road has caved in, ” the statement reads in part. “We have cordoned off this section as our engineers investigate the cause of the collapse with our initial…

Tanzania’s opposition party Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) has directed all its Members of Parliament to with immediate effect stop attending parliamentary sessions and committees due to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19 )threat in the country. In a statement on Friday, party chairman Freeman Mbowe also appealed to the members not to set foot in the two parliament precincts both in Dodoma and Dar es Salaam following the sudden death of three MPs in the country who are believed to have succumbed to COVID-19. Mbowe noted that the lawmakers are at risk of contracting the disease if they don’t adhere…