Azimio: Kenyans Don’t Eat Government, They Want Food

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July 17, 2023

The Azimio la Umoja coalition now claims that Kenyans are tired of President William Ruto’s regime and that they no longer care.

Senate Minority leader Stewart Madzayo said while Kenyans ask the state to lower the cost of living and reduce taxes, the government continues to talk about funds.

Speaking at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation (JOOF) on Monday, Madzayo insisted that all Kenyans want is food, because they cannot eat the government.

“Kenyans have specifically asked for the cost of goods to come down and taxes reduced but Kenya Kwanza is talking about deficit and funds. We have seen Kenya Kwanza resort to tired phrases like “Lord of violence” it won’t work,” he said.

“People don’t care. All that they want is food and decent standards of living… The people realise they don’t eat the government. People eat food and they want food,” he said.

The senator stated that, contrary to what Kenya Kwanza leaders claim, the protestors come from all walks of life, including some from parties affiliated with the ruling coalition.

“The thousands of Kenyans turning up for protests are not just Azimio supporters. Those are Kenyans from across all political and non-political formations who have been brought together by suffering,” Madzayo stated.

“The protesters are from Azimio, Ford Kenya, ANC, and even Kenya Kwanza.”

He added that it is clear that Kenya Kwanza is struggling on all fronts, and he urged Kenyans to wake up to the reality that they are on their own.

“We have to fight for ourselves,” he said.

It Wasn’t Me, MP Mbai Denies Assaulting A Kenya Power Officer

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John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

Kitui East Member of Parliament Nimrod Mbai has denied allegations of assaulting a Kenya Power officer.

Asserting his innocence, Mbai, who claims to be a pastor, stated that he had no knowledge of the incident in question and claimed that the video footage had been tampered with.

“No, I never assaulted anyone. Did you see me? I am a pastor and did not do that,” he said.

He had been summoned to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission following the incident.

And after spending almost four hours, he walked out and said it was not him who committed the offense.

Expressing no remorse, he, however, defended his actions, stating that if given another opportunity, he would handle the situation differently.

In the viral video doing rounds on social media, the MP can be seen hurling insults at the Kenya Power officers before repeatedly slapping one of them.

EACC Chief Executive Officer Twalib Mbarak condemned MP Mbai’s behaviour calling on Kenyans to choose their leaders wisely.

Mbai is accused of slapping a Kenya Power engineer who was reportedly seeking to disconnect an illegal power line at the legislator’s home in Kitengela, Kajiado County.

Messi Hailed As ‘America’s Number 10’ As He Greets Rapturous Miami Fans

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John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

FBL-USA-MLS-MIAMI-MESSI — A fan waves a banner at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 16, 2023, as Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi is presented as the newest player for Major League Soccer's Inter Miami CF. (Photo by GIORGIO VIERA / AFP)

It rained on his parade, but Lionel Messi greeted his new Inter Miami fans and was hailed by the club’s owner as “America’s number 10” at a damp but celebratory unveiling event on Sunday.

Miami’s 20,000 capacity stadium was close to full despite a huge thunder storm just before the event to celebrate the arrival of the Argentine World Cup winner was due to begin.

A massive tropical downpour forced organizers to delay the start of “The Unveil” as fans took cover or waited out the rain in their cars.

The event started around two hours later than originally scheduled with wet but delighted fans chanting Messi’s name as the lights dimmed on the venue.

The club’s co-owner David Beckham opened the ceremony saying Messi’s arrival was a “dream come true”.

“Leo, we are so proud that you have chosen our club for the next stage in your career,” said the former Manchester United player whose move to MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 was the league’s previous biggest arrival.

“Welcome to our family Leo,” Beckham added in Spanish, to roars from the crowd.

Miami’s majority owner Jorge Mas then whipped the crowd up with his own bilingual speech.

“Tonight is a gift and celebration to the city that opened its arms to my family,” said the Cuban-American businessman.

“Tonight we are doing this in the rain. “This is holy water!” he added.

“This is our moment! Our moment to change the football landscape in this country,” he added, before introducing Messi as “Your new number 10, America’s number 10”.

Messi, who arrived in Miami on Tuesday with his family and caused a viral sensation after being photographed shopping with them in a local supermarket, thanked the supporters.

“Thank you very much to all the people for supporting me and giving me this love. I am very happy to be here in Miami,” he said.

“I really want to start training, to compete, I have the same desire that I always had to compete, to want to win, to help the club continue to grow.

“I am very happy to have chosen to come to play in this city with my family, to choose this project and I have no doubt that we are going to enjoy it a lot, we are going to have a good time and very good things are going to happen,” he said.

Inter Miami, the bottom club in Major League Soccer, confirmed on Saturday that the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner had signed a deal that will keep him with the club until 2025.

The former Barcelona great opted to join Miami after his contract with French club Paris Saint-Germain expired last month.

His former Barcelona team-mate, Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, was also presented to the crowd after completing his move.

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber praised Mas for his determined pursuit of Messi for the club which is in only its fourth season.

Greatest of all time

“Lionel Messi was on his radar from the very beginning. I have to say, when he would say that many years ago, I didn’t think that he would be able to deliver it,” Garber told reporters.

“But here we are today with a player that I think, without doubt, is not only a generational player, but in my opinion, the greatest of all time.”

He was scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday but the club said Sunday that had been postponed. No explanation for the decision was given.

Messi could make his debut for the club on Friday against Mexico team Cruz Azul in the new Leagues Cup, which features teams from both MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

However on Saturday, the team’s new Argentine coach Gerardo Martino urged “patience” after watching his side’s winless streak extend to 11 games.

“We look to the future with hope (given) that the best player in the world will play for our team, but also with the patience that we have to have so that he can get in good physical shape and can play at the right moment,” he said.

Latin music stars Camilo and Ozuna were set to entertain the crowd at the DRV PNK Stadium, about an hour’s drive north of downtown Miami.

The stadium, Inter Miami’s temporary home on the site of the old home of the now defunct Fort Lauderdale Strikers, was not completely full as the event got under way with fireworks.

Inter are planning their own purpose-built stadium, Freedom Park, in Miami but it is not expected to open until 2025.

Bomet: Property Worth Millions Destroyed By Fire

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John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

An inferno at Kipchimat supermarket in Bomet town on Sunday destroyed goods worth millions of shillings and caused lots of disruption in neighboring businesses.

The fire broke out in the wee hours of the night at around 3 am on Sunday and razed down the entire property.

Following the unfortunate event, the business community in Bomet called on the county government to procure more fire engines and further equip the Disaster management department as it took the intervention of the Kericho team to put out the fire that wiped out everything in the supermarket.

Agness Cherotich, a tenant of the Guttered Supermarket told KNA that she got the information of the fire at 4.30 am that for her nothing was salvaged from the inferno.

“It was around 4.30 am when I was informed of this unfortunate incident and it saddens me that nothing was saved. We don’t know where to start again and we have not so far established the cause of the fire nor do we know the worth of goods the tenants have lost,” she said.

Stanley Mutai, a disaster officer in Bomet County said efforts to put off the fire were futile as the fire spread out fast covering the entire building within a short period.

“It took us, the disaster team, and the Kenya Red cross from Bomet and Kericho almost three hours to put out the fire. The property is now safe though nothing was saved from the fire,” explained the disaster officer.

The cause of the fire is yet to be established but preliminary reports indicate it might have been caused by an electricity fault within the premises.

UNDP, Ministry ICT Sign MOU To Bridge The Digital Divide In The Country And Continent

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Vanessa Kariuki

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July 17, 2023

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today announced its portfolio of digital public infrastructure projects and penned an MOU with the Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Digital Economy.

This collaboration aims to promote inclusive digital transformation and close the digital divide in Kenya and throughout Africa.

Kenya is leading the way in the digital transformation of Africa, according to UNDP Kenya, but the digital gap is still an issue.

Since Kenya has made considerable progress in its road towards digital transformation and along with UNDP, they will advance the nation’s digital ecosystem.

Digital transformation has become a global imperative, offering unprecedented opportunities for economic growth.

This cooperation with the Ministry of ICT seeks to address this and realise the full potential of the country’s digital economy.

Sudan’s Paramilitary RSF Detained 5,000, Some Tortured, Human-Rights Groups Say

By

John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

Sudanese human rights organisations had evidence the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had detained more than 5,000 people in the capital and were keeping them in inhumane conditions, the group told Reuters on Friday.

The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army for three months, having dominated the Sudanese capital on the ground. Residents have accused the force of looting and occupying homes.

When asked for comment, the RSF said the reports were incorrect, and that it only held prisoners of war who were well-treated.

“These organisations are ignoring violations by the army against civilians including air and artillery strikes, detentions, and arming of civilians,” a representative for the force said.

Among those detained in several locations across Khartoum were combatants, but also 3,500 civilians including vulnerable women and foreign nationals, said the organisations, who asked to have their names withheld for fear of retribution.

The group said they would present to the United Nations documentation of cases of death by torture, as well as “degrading, inhumane conditions of detention devoid of human dignity and the most basic necessities of life.”

The U.N. human rights office said on Thursday at least 87 people had been buried in a mass grave in the Darfur city of El Geneina, accusing the RSF and allied militias of the killings, which the paramilitary force denied.

Late on Thursday, the International Criminal Court said it would investigate killings across the region. The RSF did not respond to a request for comment on the investigation

FBI Finds Skulls, Other Human Remains Decorating Man’s Apartment

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John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

When FBI agents arrived at James Nott’s Kentucky apartment with a search warrant on Tuesday, they asked if anyone else was home.

“Only my dead friends,” Nott replied.

That’s according to the FBI, who in a criminal complaint detailed 40 human skulls and other remains they found decorating Nott’s home, tying him to a ring of people allegedly buying and selling human body parts illegally – including a Harvard Medical School morgue manager, who is accused of stealing cadaver parts.

The skulls were strewn around Nott’s house; one had a headscarf wrapped around it and another was found on the mattress where he slept, according to the complaint. The agents also found spinal cords, femurs, hip bones and a Harvard Medical School bag, according to the affidavit submitted by the FBI.

Nott has not been charged with crimes connected with the body parts. But he is facing a federal charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person due to his status as a convicted felon.

In 2011, Nott pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered destructive device, after being found with a detonation cord, igniting devices, timed fuses and other materials that could be used to assemble “a destructive device,” the complaint states.

CNN has reached out to Aaron Dyke, Nott’s public defender, for comment but has not heard back.

It all started last summer, when the police in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, received a tip about possible human remains located at the home of a man named Jeremy Pauley, according to the complaint. Officers searched his home in Enola, Pennsylvania, and found organs and skin, among other human remains, the FBI said.

During the FBI investigation, Pauley told agents about a network of people buying and selling stolen human body parts. The investigation revealed one of those people was Cedric Lodge, who worked in a Harvard Medical School morgue, where he allegedly stole cadaver body parts to sell online, the FBI said.

Lodge was fired in May and is facing federal charges for stealing, selling and shipping the body parts, according to an indictment filed last month in US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Through Facebook messages, officials connected Nott to Pauley and the ring of people allegedly engaged in the illegal trade of body parts, according to the criminal complaint.

Nott used a Facebook account with the username “William Burke,” where he posted human remains for sale as recently as June, and even sent Pauley images of skulls for sale last summer, according to the complaint. “William Burke was a serial killer active in Edinburgh between 1827 and 1828 along with his partner, William Hare. Burke and Hare sold their victims’ bodies to Dr. Robert Knox, an influential lecturer in the Anatomy Department at the University of Edinburgh,” the affidavit notes.

“I don’t mind paying up a little for shop stock. Makes things look good. How much total for the couple and the last video you sent plus the spines?” Pauley wrote to Nott in one exchange, according to the complaint.

Pauley was charged last month with violations related to the interstate transport of stolen goods and conspiracy. Pauley will plead guilty to the charges, according to CNN affiliate WGAL. CNN has reached out to Pauley’s attorney for comment, but has not heard back.

Officials say in their search of Nott’s Mount Washington, Kentucky home, they also found multiple weapons, including an AK-47 rifle.

“It’s a shock. You just never know who your neighbor is anymore,” Caroline Branum, a neighbor who lives across the street from Nott, told CNN affiliate WLKY.

Nott is being held without bail, and his arraignment is set for August 4.

Animals Become Healing Companions In Mexico Hospital

By

John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

Nine-year-old Alessia Ramos gently pets a hamster at a Mexican hospital where animals ranging from Australian parakeets to a Siberian Husky are being used to provide mental health therapy.

“It helps me to relieve my anxiety, to control my emotions, to relax and be more focused,” said Ramos, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Eight dogs are also among the furry therapists at the National Center for Mental Health and Palliative Care in Mexico City.

Harley, a five-year-old Pug, lost his eye in an accident but made a quick recovery, said doctor Lucia Ledesma, head of mental health services at the Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers, the agency of which the hospital is a part.

“We follow that example of resilience in the face of adversity. He’s a dog that does everything, without impediments,” she said.

The facility is the only public hospital in Mexico using animals to treat mental illnesses, though such therapy is also practiced in other countries.

“Contact with animals generates powerful neuropsychological changes that contribute to lowering states of stress and anxiety, as well as benefiting other cognitive processes,” Ledesma said.

Harley became famous in Mexico when he entered Covid-19 wards wearing a protective suit, booties and glasses to boost the morale of medical personnel working long hours away from their families.

“It was the only animal-assisted intervention in the world within a Covid area,” Ledesma said.

“There were dogs in hospitals in other countries, but they never entered the Covid zone. We’ve received international recognition.”

Silvia Hernandez first met Harley when she was working as a nurse during the pandemic, which left her with mental health issues for which she is still undergoing therapy.

“He came straight to me, as if he knew me, as if we were great friends,” she said.

“We could see colleagues becoming emotional and feeling that love, that gesture of Harley to release their tension. Some of them cried,” Hernandez recalled.

There is now a “Harley and his friends” self-care and mental health program and even a comic distributed in public schools.

It seeks to promote mental health, prevent or detect complications and intervene in already diagnosed problems, Ledesma said.

The most important attribute for a therapy dog is a calm temperament and willingness to interact with humans, she explained.

Harley’s fame led to food and canine accessories firms offering him their products for free and seeking to benefit from his high profile.

“Harley, in that incomparable doggy personality, rejected all the offers. He told them: ‘my work is totally humanitarian,'” Ledesma joked.

Chebukati’s Wife, Mary Wanyonyi, Sworn In As CRA Chairperson

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John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

Mary Wanyonyi, who is the wife of the former chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wafula Chebukati, has been sworn in as the new chairperson of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA).

Ms Wanyonyi, the commission’s third chairperson, was sworn in as the commission’s third chairperson on Monday morning by Chief Justice Martha Koome.

She will succeed Jane Kiringai, who retired in February 2023.

Ms Wanyonyi was appointed as CRA chairperson in May 2023 by President Ruto, a position that was also contested by Thomas Ludindi Mwadeghu and Felicity Nkirote Biriri.

The CRA’s mandate is to distribute revenue between the national and county governments.

M23 Rebels Blamed For Killing 11 In Eastern DR Congo

By

John Mutiso

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July 17, 2023

At least 11 men were found dead in eastern DR Congo on Sunday, according to sources in Rutshuru territory who accused M23 rebels of killing them.

They said the bodies were found in Bukombo, around 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of the regional capital Goma after the rebels withdrew from the area.

“I’m at the scene and there are 11 corpses of civilians in front of me, some shot dead, others killed with knives,” a resident told AFP over the phone. “There are no fighters among them”, he said.

Other sources in Bukombo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed this toll.

One civil society leader put the number at 12, saying the rebels had fought against “self-defence groups yesterday” and left “with people they forced to carry their luggage.

“When they got to Bukombo-centre, they killed them”.

The Tutsi-led M23 rebel group has seized swathes of territory and displaced about a million people in the region since re-emerging from dormancy in late 2021.

The group did not respond to a request for comment.

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