Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

Chief Justice David Maraga’s plan to reopen courts as Kenya grapples with an increasing number of COVID-19 cases has suffered a major setback after Judges and Magistrates protested the move. In a letter to the National Council of Administration of Justice (NCAJ), chaired by Maraga, the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) stated that there is need to prioritise the health of judicial workers. The association further stated that NCAJ had not consulted its members regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the operations of the courts. “A majority of the judicial staff and some Judicial Officers use public…

Electricity distributor, Kenya Power, is under pressure following a system outage that has left many Kenyans unable to buy prepaid tokens. Kenyans, who made payments through mobile money mostly M-Pesa, didn’t receive tokens as they remained unprocessed for hours. In a tweet on Monday morning, Kenya Power said a system hitch was causing delays but assured its customers that its engineers are working to resolve the problem. “Good morning, we are working to resolve a hitch which is causing delays in vending of prepaid tokens. Apologies for the inconvenience caused, ” Kenya power replied to one of its customers who…

Individuals found outside during the dusk-to-dawn curfew hours will be quarantined for 14 days, Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Mercy Mwangangi said on Sunday. While issuing a daily update on COVID-19 pandemic, the CAS said the persons will be assumed to have come into contact with suspected cases of Coronavirus and hence placed under quarantine. “Going forward, fellow Kenyans, all those who break the curfew rules will be assumed to have been in contact with suspected cases and hence will be quarantined for a period of 14 days,” Dr Mwangangi said as she announced eight new cases of COVID-19. The…

Eight more people have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) raising the total number of cases confirmed in the country to 270. In a statement on Sunday Health Chief Administrative Secrecratraty (CAS) Mercy Mwangangi said two more people have succumbed to COVID-19 bringing the death toll to 14. Dr Mwangangi said a total of 1330 tests have been carried in the last 24 hours. The new cases include seven Kenyan citizens and one foreigner. Three cases emanated from quarantine centres and five were picked by surveillance teams across the country. “Four are from Mombasa, three from Nairobi and one from Kajiado.…

As the country grapples with the rising numbers of COVID-19, a majority of Kenyans believe that the number of cases reported in the country might not reflect the actual figures, a poll conducted by research firm Infotrak shows. In a poll results released on Sunday, 78 per cent of Kenyans believe that there are many people who have contracted COVID-19 but are not aware they have it. The poll was conducted between March 30 and April 2. A total of 831 respondents were interviewed in the poll that covered 24 counties out of 47. On Saturday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi…

Nakuru County Member of County Assembly Karanja Mburu is dead. The Lake View MCA was killed on Sunday morning in a road accident near Viewpoint area in Gilgil on the Nakuru – Naivasha Highway. He was driving to Nakuru. Reports indicates that Mburu lost control of his vehicle and veered off the road, ramming into a tree. Read: Politics Is The Last Thing On My Mind – Tuju Says As He Makes First Public Appearance After Accident Nakuru County Assembly Deputy Speaker Samuel Tanui said Mburu was found dead at the accident scene at around 5am with his car having…

The Kenyan Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has asked Kenyans who would like to be evacuated back home in the wake of Coronavirus (COVID-19) to submit their details for the process to be initiated. In a notice seen by Kahawa Tungu, Ambassador Kariuki Mugwe appealed to all Kenyans in UAE to register with both the embassy in Abu Dhabi and Dubai consulate to help the officials have an accurate number of Kenyans residing in the country. Ambassador Mugwe noted that there are approximately 50,000 Kenyans living and working in UAE but only about 13,000 had registered with both…

The Kenyan government is on the receiving end of Kenyans wrath after offering to evacuate citizens stuck in China but at their own costs. The Foreign Affairs Ministry through officials at the Kenyan Embassy in Beijing issued a notice on Friday asking Kenyans who wish to fly back home to be ready to dig deep into their pockets for expenses such as plane tickets. The officials called on those ready to be evacuated and are Coronavirus free to register with the Embassy. Additionally, the individuals must agree to be placed under compulsory quarantine for a period of between 14 to…

The government will challenge the High Court’s ruling that allowed members of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to be included in the list of essential service providers in the wake of the dusk-to-dawn curfew. In a notice of appeal filed on Friday, the government says it is dissatisfied with the ruling that was made by Justice Weldon Korir on Thursday. Justice Korir had directed the Ministry of Interior to exempt the groups from the restrictions of the 7pm to 5am curfew. The Judge directed Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to amend the…

53 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Tanzania bringing the total number of cases confirmed in the country to 147. This is the biggest number reported in a day in the country as President Pombe Magufuli continues to attract criticism over his style of leadership in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. Magufuli refused to close churches last month despite calls from medical experts from all quarters. Instead, the Head of State termed worship centres as places where people could seek healing. Speaking at a Sunday service in the country, Magufuli said the virus is “satanic” adding that there is…

The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has directed the Jubilee Party leadership to internally resolve underlying issues regarding change of officials in the National Management Committee (NMC). Deputy President William Ruto and his allies in the Jubilee party had opposed the changes terming them as “illegal” and orchestrated by fraudsters within the party. They accused the individuals of taking advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to get some persons to leadership positions through the backdoor. In a letter addressed to the party Secretary General Raphael Tuju, the Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu said she had received a total…

With little warning, the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), is changing everything about our normal schedules both socially and professionally as we fight to remain alive. Well, for nominated Nairobi MCA Anne Thumbi, COVID-19 had to take her back to what she loved most before joining the political arena, saving lives. As the County Assembly suspended its sittings last month for 30 days over fears of the contagious disease spreading, Ms Thumbi, a trained nurse, saw an opportunity to use her medical skills instead of sitting home like everyone else waiting for the dust to settle. The mother of one, who was…

The government has established a weekly support program to cushion needy families amid the adverse effects of COVID-19 on the economy. Many Kenyans in informal settlement have in the recent past decried tough economic times as some were rendered jobless after businesses closed down with others scaling down operations due to tough measures issued by government to prevent spread of the contagious disease. In a press statement on Thursday from State House, Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta said the government has identified needy households in Nairobi who will be the initial beneficiaries of the government stipend. “Our vulnerable Kenyans will also…

Nine more people have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Kenya bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 234. In a statement on Thursday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said that one patient has succumbed to the disease. The COVID-19 death toll now stands at 11. The President said a total of 704 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours. The Head of State said 53 patients have recovered from COVID-19 and have been discharged from hospital. He directed Health and Public Service ministries to develop welfare package to cushion frontline health workers. Read: COVID-19: Chelsea…

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has protested the continued closure of the Land Registries Countrywide over the Coronavirus pandemic. In a letter addressed to Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney, LSK President Nelson Havi stated that the extended suspension of critical services “will result in serious infractions of legal rights and obligations”. The Land Registries suspended its services for 28 days on March 17, four days after Kenya confirmed its first case of COVID-19, as part of government efforts to contain the spread of the disease in the county. Despite an agreement to freeze statutory timelines for registration of documents…