BY STEPHANIE MWANGI – Millele FM radio presenter Jalang’o whose real name is Felix Odiwuor says he has – beginning Wednesday, July 31 stopped working for controversial contemporary musician Willy Paul as his emcee.
Jalang’o says Willy Paul formerly a gospel musician, has lost direction in his career which has spanned seven years after he (Willy Paul ) on Tuesday, July 30 released a song called ‘’ Lamba Nyonyo’’.
Vipi ras, uko na madrinks? Huku home, mi niko na mayeng. Unajua ni long time tangu ulambe nyonyo. Pitia hivi uncheze na turoro… [Hey man, do you have alcohol with you? I am at home in the company of young women. You know it is long since you last sucked a woman’s breasts. Drop by my place and play with these young girls],” Willy Paul sings in a part of his 2-minute music track.
The song, which was uploaded to the musician’s music label (Saldido Records) on Tuesday, July 30, has attracted negative feedback from online users, who took to twitter Tuesday evening to slam the artiste for “trying too hard to get attention”.
And the “Kitanzi” hit-maker’s emcee, Jalang’o, is
one of the people who believe Willy Paul has irredeemably sunk his
previously-growing career.
“I have resigned as Willy Paul’s official emcee. The direction in which he is steering his career, I wish to state that I won’t be part of his team anymore. And should I share a stage with the musician in my capacity as an emcee, I urge him not to sing the ‘Lamba Nyonyo’ song,” Jalang’o said on Milele FM early Wednesday.
Jalang’o has been Willy Paul’s emcee-cum-hype man
since June this year.
In a previous statement made on Milele FM, Jalang’o said Willy Paul paid him Ksh 400, 000. The release of the controversial “Lamba Nyonyo” song comes just three days after the award-winning crooner denied claims that he quit gospel music.
“Who says I quit gospel for secular? What God has
put in me is beyond talent. I am a creative artiste, one day I could wake up
and record a love song, the other day, a worship song. At the end of the day
the same God who blesses Wiz kid and Davido [who are secular artistes], is the
same God who blesses gospel artistes,” Willy Paul said.
BY STEPHANIE MWANGI – Starehe MP Charles Jaguar’s lover, Lulu Diva, said her compatriots overreacted to the legislator’s remarks allegedly calling for the assault and ejection of Tanzanian traders operating in Nairobi markets.
If you visit our markets, you would realize they have been taken over by Tanzanian and Ugandan traders. It is time we say: ‘Enough is enough’! We give the Kenyan authorities 24 hours to send the foreign traders away. If they don’t, we – personally — will beat them up and kick them out. We fear nobody,” Said Jaguar
And exactly one month later, the youthful MP’s
lover, a model and singer who hails from Tanzania, has come to the defense of
the former musician.
Speaking recently to Tanzania’s Bongo 5,
Lulu Diva said: “As Tanzanians, we overreacted to his [Jaguar’s] remarks. How I
understood his gripe is that he is a leader, who cares for the constituents he
was elected to represent. I would refer Jaguar to Tanzania’s Paul Makonde, who
is at the forefront in protecting the welfare of Dar es Salaam people. So,
Jaguar saw that the people in his constituency were increasingly becoming
jobless, and he needed to act,” said Lulu Diva.
“The wrong thing he did is that he mentioned the
nationalities of the said-foreigners, whom he believes are taking jobs that
belong to Kenyans. And in his wisdom, he found it appropriate to apologize over
his remarks. If we, Tanzanians, are guided by wisdom, then we should forgive
him. I, personally, have already forgiven him,” said Lulu Diva.
The two have been dating for four months now. Jaguar has been quiet sinc the ordeal that caught the attention of both President Kenyatta and Tanzania’s Magufuli, who laughed the comment off.
Detectives from the Kenyan police Criminal Investigations unit have launched an investigation on the mystrious dissapearance of Computers and other accessories donated by the China.
According to officials, the container logged “Diplomatic goods” had dissapeared while on its way to Nairobi, from the Mombasa Port.
On Tuesday, the said container arrived at Parliament, but when the seals were opened, it was found to be empty in what has shocked parliamentary officials, security forces and the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi.
“I made a decision that the DCI officers attached to Parliament Road Police Station be informed of this development which was done promptly,” the Clerk said.
The goods listed as laptops and computer projectors were a donation from the National People’s Congress of China and the consignment was to be delivered through the Chinese Embassy in Kenya.
In a statement, The Chinese Embassy confirmed that it had contracted a transit company, Bollore Africa to deliver the consignment but said the matter is now with the investigating police officers.
“We believe that with the professionalism of DCI, this matter will be resolved, and equipment recovered with their intervention. The Chinese side will continue with our support to our Kenyan brothers and sisters,” reads a statement by the Chinese Embassy.
When the film Wonder Woman is released in early June, it will surely join the blockbuster ranks of other recent comic book-inspired film franchises, including Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and X-Men. But that’s not just because it features a sword-wielding Gal Gadot in knee-high boots and a metal bodice.
Wonder Woman has long been a bestselling creation, originally imagined in 1941 by the psychologist William Moulton Marston, and the film follows some of the main plot lines developed in the comic books.
Wonder Woman is a superheroine known as Diana, princess of the Amazons, who is trained to be an unconquerable warrior. When an American pilot, Steve Trevor, crashes on the shores of her sheltered island paradise and tells tales of a massive conflict raging elsewhere, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat.
We can only wonder – no pun intended! – about the reasons for this imagined link between war and female sexuality. As a sexy but fierce lady warrior, Wonder Woman is hardly alone. Throughout history, cultures across the globe have envisioned and revered the femme fatale, from feline killers to sensual goddesses to sassy spelunkers.
The Sumerian “wonder woman”
In 3000 BC, in the ancient Sumerian city of Uruk in Mesopotamia, the first kings of human history ruled over the south of modern-day Iraq, protected by Ishtar, a great goddess of war and love often associated with lions.
Ishtar would reveal the kings’ enemies and accompany them to the battlefield. It was said that she fought like an unleashed lioness protecting her young – in this case, the Sumerian people. Like Wonder Woman, Ishtar’s sacred duty was to defend the world.
She could also be sensual. More than merely worship the goddess, the Kings of Uruk claimed to be Ishtar’s lovers, who, according to royal hymns of the era, would enter her bed and “plow the divine vulva”.
For the king, receiving sexual and military favours from a goddess served his political agenda, legitimised his reign and made him into an exceptional hero for his people. In the Wonder Woman film, this role is filled by the American pilot.
What’s more sexy than a powerful woman? Taming her, of course.
In ancient Egypt, the most fearsome goddess was named Sekhmet. Like Ishtar, she had two sides – fierce beast and loving companion.
Sekhmet was often portrayed as a terrible lioness, the butcher of the Pharaoh’s enemies. At times, though, she would transform into an adorable cat named Bastet.
Today, the feline is still symbolic of female sexuality. Catwoman, another comic book heroine, was born a few months before Wonder Woman (not that a lady reveals her age) and is the most contemporary avatar of a feline woman.
With her curves and her bondage fetish, Catwoman has always been hypersexual, though some critics regret that her sexuality – not her intelligence – has become her greatest asset these days.
Amazons, the lonely sailors’ dreams
Warrior women with sexual natures are also found among the ancient Greeks.
He embellished his ancient Amazonian setting with details from the legend of the women of Lemnos, in the Aegean Sea, adopting the isolated island idea as Wonder Woman’s home.
According to the Greek story, the women of Lemnos had revolted and massacred all the men on the island, young and old. Living in a forced sexual abstinence, the ladies were delighted when sailors unexpectedly landed on a local beach. They immediately set upon the Argonauts, a team of beautiful and famous mythological heroes that included Hercules and Theseus, compelling them into long orgiastic intercourse.
The sex-starved but unattached women theme is another favourite male fantasy, offering imaginary satisfaction of sexual scenarios that may be difficult to realise in real life.
By the late 20th century, Lara Croft came along to update the idea of the Amazons and the ladies of Lemnos. Croft, an English archeologist-adventurer who started life as a character in the 1990s video game Tomb Raider, was the ultimate virtual-reality dream girl: she is an expert in martial arts, great with a gun and super smart.
The new Wonder Woman film seems to have made a careful choice of actress, looking beyond just a pretty face and a remarkable body. Gal Gadot has both of those, but she’s a lot like the heroine in other ways, too.
BY FLORA MWENDWA – Infamous Kiambu governor Ferdnard Waititu AKA baba yao joins a list of embattled county heads.
The EACC has
established that M/S Testimony Enterprise owned by a Mr Charles Chege and Ms
Beth Wangeci Mburu, who were close associates of the governor, had earlier been
paid Sh147.3 million. They were then paid the Sh588 million for a tender to
upgrade various roads as had been advertised by the county on February 12 on a
local daily under the tender title “Proposed improvement of various gravel
roads to bituminous standards in Kiambu”.
The projects,
according to the county’s estimates, were to cost Sh610 million with each kilometer
gobbling up Sh29 million.
Further, after
scrutinising the statements, they established that on various dates, the firm
paid a cumulative amount of Sh25.4 million to Saika Tw
Estate Developers
Ltd where Mr Waititu and his daughter are directors. The firm was also awarded several other
contracts amounting to over Sh74 million. Once the monies were paid by the county
government, Sh25.6 million was remitted to entities associated with the
governor.
On
Tuesday, Chief
Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi barred Waititu from accessing his offices until the
case is heard and determined.
The woes facing Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu continue to mount with
Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) hatching out a plan to oust him from
office. Biashara Ward MCA Mr Elijah Njoroge revealed he was
preparing a motion to oust Governor Ferdinand Waititu from office which he said
was 70 per cent complete.
He
said since the governor had been” barred from office” by the court
there was no way he was going to work effectively for the people of Kiambu
which is why they were seeking to oust him through the assembly.
Others in hot
graft and political siege are Samburu Governor Moses Kasaine who is
being investigated over a Sh84-million-fuel-supply scandal involving his county government.
Marsabit county top officials were also questioned on claims of irregular employment. Garissa county
government is being investigated over employment of staff using forged
documents, over-staffing and lack of adherence to employment procedures.
Machakos is on the
radar for receiving Sh50 million from the Danish government, whose expenditure
is being queried.
Under scrutiny also is
ex-Nandi governor Cleophas Lagat. Mr Lagat who is being investigated for
floating a Sh103.4 million tender while in office for the construction of
county headquarters, with EACC reports showing the amount was grossly
exaggerated to the tune of Sh20million and the work is yet to be completed.
Other count heads under investigations Muthomi Njuki
(Tharaka Nithi), Mwangi Wa Iria (Muranga) Charity Ngilu (Kitui) and Granton
Samboja (Taita Taveta).
BY STEPHANIE MWANGI – Barely a week after the push and pull over whether to cremate or bury the Late Ken Okoth, a fresh controversy has rocked the family, as a ‘second wife’ emerges with Ken’s ‘five year old son’.
The said woman, a jubilee nominated MCA, approached Okoth’s family on Tuesday evening and demanded that her son be recognized before his ‘father’ is buried
The family was meeting on Thursday at Silver Springs Hotel along Valley road with the ODM leadership to give funeral details
The son whose pictures with Okoth have been shared online, is well known among the Late Kibra MP’s circle and family members .
The MP’s widow, Monica, is said to have got wind of the boy and opposed the idea of publicly recognizing him. She and Okoth had no biological kids but adopted three.
The widow said to have protested attempts to have him
mentioned In the MP’s funeral advertisement.
The orbituary which was to be published in Wednesday’s newspapers, was delayed by the push and pull on whether the child should be listed
The details of the second family emerged as the controversy persisted
over whether the lawmaker’s remains will be buried or cremated.
Opposition leader Raila Odiga on Wednesday chaired a crisis meeting with the family but only told the press “the body will be handled in the same way as that of Kenneth Matiba’’
A close friend who requested anonymity said Ken did have a second family and he never hid from the fact that he is the father of that boy.
The close friend who accompanied Okoth to Tetu, Nyeri County, to meet the woman’s parent said the existence of the boy was an open secret known to both Okoth and the woman’s parents.
They are said to meet in 2011 while the woman was working as a nurse at Agakhan hospital in Nairobi before she was nominated during the 2017 general election.
The revelations came after okoth’s mother Angelina Ajwang
warned that her son did not father any child outside his marriage with Monica.
The close friend who spoke to Uzalendo News said that the child was included in the will and the family should respect his wishes.
Section 84 (d) of the Kenya Information Communication Act, that criminalizes publishing of obscene information in electronic form, has been declared unconstitutional.
In a ruling that would potentially trigger a flurry of appeals against it, Justice Wilfrida Okwani ruled that the law is vague, citing that imposing the same is unconstitutional and a violation of Kenyan rights.
Justice Wilfrida added that circulation of ideas should not be prohibited in that the ideas are infact pointers that certain leaders need inorder to realise that their actions are wrong.
The decision was made after controversial blogger Cyprian Nyakundi challenged the Act. He was arraigned and charged in a Kiambu court for posting scornful comments against Governor Anne Waiguru and Nairobi’s Mike Sonko.
A new antiretroviral drug regimen has been given the go-ahead by the World Health Organisation. This follows the preliminary results from studies that include an ongoing trial in South Africa.
The ADVANCE study, conducted by a Johannesburg-based research group from the University of the Witwatersrand, will only be completed next year. But early results show that dolutegravir is an effective and well-tolerated antiretroviral drug. ADVANCE, which will continue for 96 weeks, presented its 48-week results at the International AIDS conference in Mexico City.
The results are important because the Johannesburg trial includes a population much more representative of the real-world populations being treated for HIV across lower- and middle-income countries. Study participants are black, and almost 60% female with an average age of 32 years.
Previous studies of dolutegravir involved around 3000 participants, most of whom were middle-aged white men from high-income countries in the US and Europe. They obviously aren’t reflective of the global and South African HIV epidemic, which is comprised of mainly black (more than 70%) and women (more than 52%), many of whom are under 40 years of age.
The drug efavirenz has been used in South Africa’s public sector antiretrovial therapy (ART) programme for many years and has served the country well. But it has drawbacks. HIV easily becomes resistant to it; it’s relatively expensive and it causes side effects in some people. This explains why dolutegravir is being introduced into many HIV programmes across the world, based on recent guidance from the World Health Organisation. Efavirenz will nevertheless continue to be used, too.
There were other gaps as well, including little to no data regarding the use of dolutegravir in those with advanced disease; pregnant or breastfeeding women; people with HIV and tuberculosis coinfection; infants and children; and the elderly.
The study
All the participants (over 1000) in the ADVANCE study were recruited from inner-city Johannesburg. Only 60% were South African, with the remaining 40% from other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, mainly Zimbabwe.
ADVANCE was designed to be as inclusive as possible. This was in an attempt to fill some of the evidence gaps left by the dolutegravir development programme. These included:
placing no restriction on CD4 counts;
allowing participants who developed TB or became pregnant during the study to remain in the study;
recruiting from age 12 years and above; and
keeping the exclusion criteria to enter the study to a minimum.
Another unique feature of ADVANCE is the fact that it was designed by a consortium of leading international HIV clinicians and researchers. There were also inputs from global bodies such as the World Health Organisation, Clinton Health Access Initiative, as well as treatment advocates and activist groups.
It was funded by USAID, Unitaid, the South African Medical Research Council. Study drugs were donated by Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare.
What’s been found so far
The ADVANCE study is comparing two dolutegravir-based ART regimens with an efavirenz-based regimen in people starting ART. It is also comparing the currently used ART backbone containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) to the newer tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF).
The early studies in Europe showed that dolutegravir didn’t have many side effects. The most marked of the side effects was insomnia. In addition, both dolutegravir and TAF are cheaper to manufacture at scale and can be easily made into a single, much lower dose pill than the current fixed-dose combination used in the public sector.
The study showed that people starting ART with a dolutegravir-based regimen achieved the same high rates of viral suppression as those starting with efavirenz. We also saw very little treatment failure and in most cases, even those individuals who had a high viral load subsequently had an undetectable viral load after adherence counselling.
Very few people stopped the study because of side effects, although more people on efavirenz experienced side effects.
Hardly any ADVANCE participants developed TB – a common co-infection in people living with HIV – as nearly all received tuberculosis preventative medication.
But there are some concerns. One finding was that we saw weight gain in participants receiving dolutegravir-based ART, which was worse in women and in those who received both dolutegravir and TAF. Obesity carries many health risks in terms of developing high blood pressure, risk of diabetes and other problems. Because of this, we are monitoring obesity levels in ADVANCE participants.
We are not sure what the wider implications of this finding may be. But similar findings of weight gain associated with the use of integrase inhibitors, including dolutegravir, were presented at the retroviruses and opportunistic infections conference in March 2019. The finding highlights the importance of including screening for co-morbidities and appropriate lifestyle interventions when treating people with HIV. More research is needed to understand the cause and implications of weight gain seen with integrase inhibitors.
The number of pregnancies in ADVANCE are too small to draw meaningful conclusions from about the risk of neural tube defects. We have not seen any neural tube defects in the study.
Why it matters
ADVANCE is an important study. It confirms that dolutegravir is an effective and well-tolerated ARV for people initiating ART.
This is reassuring as South Africa is planning to roll it out as part of its antiretroviral programme.
Because ADVANCE included a diverse African population and was much more representative of the demographics of the HIV epidemic, its results are important both to people living with HIV in South Africa, as well as globally.
The results have been shared with the World Health Organisation to inform guideline discussions and with regulatory bodies across the globe.
Kenya has, over the past two decades, made tremendous achievements in promoting breastfeeding. The number of babies who were exclusively breastfed rose from just 13% in 2003 to about 61% in 2014.
This was achieved largely because of two programmes led by the Ministry of Health: the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and the Baby Friendly Community Initiative. The hospital initiative promotes breastfeeding in hospitals at the time of delivery, while the community initiative promotes breastfeeding at home.
Breastfeeding is important. It lowers incidences of child illness and death and has also been linked to better outcomes at school. The World Health Organisation recommends that babies be breastfed immediately after they’re born, followed by exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of their lives.
For over ten years scientists at the African Population Health Research Centre (APHRC), myself among them, have tried to tackle the challenges that still stand in the way of Kenya achieving its national target of getting 80% of women to breastfeed.
To do this, we focused our research on the Baby Friendly Community Initiative. Over the past five years, it’s been rolled out in several counties. The initiative recognises that many women deliver at home and need continued support after delivery.
Our studies, carried out in rural and urban settings, looked into how well home-based counselling worked. The aim was to see where improvements could be made. We also carried out an exercise across Kenya to understand community perceptions on how best to implement the initiative.
We found that the project was a success. Mothers developed confidence and knowledge about breastfeeding and felt supported by the community health workers. These health workers are volunteers motivated by goodwill and recognition for the work they do.
But more needs to be done. It is important to include fathers and others – such as grandmothers and traditional birth attendants – in implementing the project. Also, incentives should be given to community health volunteers to ensure they stay engaged.
Our hope is that the study will inform guidelines being developed by the Ministry of Health for scaling up the initiative.
Home-based counselling
To test the initiative, we designed a project that involved regular home visits by community health workers during a woman’s pregnancy and until the baby was a year old. It was implemented in two low-income settlements in Nairobi for almost two years.
The health workers taught mothers about nutrition, the immediate initiation of breastfeeding after birth, breast positioning and attachment and the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. Workers also explained how long and often they should breast feed for, how to express breast milk and how to store it.
It was hugely successful. Exclusive breastfeeding rates for the baby’s first six months rose from 2% to 55%.
The intervention also worked in rural areas. We implemented the study in Koibatek – a rural area in the Rift Valley area. Over 87% of the mothers who received counselling breastfed exclusively for six months, compared to 43.8% at control sites.
In addition to these two studies, in partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Health, we conducted an exercise across the country to get insights into what communities thought was the best way to implement the Baby Friendly Community Initiative and what the role of different stakeholders – like fathers, grandmothers, community leaders, traditional birth attendants and community health volunteers – should be.
Lessons for improvement
The key lesson was that consistently supporting mothers to breastfeed through home-based personalised care worked. This was partly because the health workers came from their community and so the women trusted them more. The health workers were also more accessible than other health care providers, like hospital nurses.
When it came to the role of the different stakeholders, the community suggested that fathers and other key influencers of infant feeding – like grandmothers, traditional birth attendants, and community leaders – should be involved in implementing the initiative. They also suggested that community mother support groups be formed.
But a major challenge in scaling up the initiative is how to embed the programme into Kenya’s health care system, working with existing resources and within existing structures.
The initiative is a low-cost intervention, as the community health workers are volunteers. This is great in resource-constrained situations – but it also raises a problem: the community health volunteers often lose motivation. We suggest that they be supported through income generating activities such as farming or bee keeping, as was the case in the Koibatek study.
There are also questions of workload and how much more the community health workers can take on.
Once these issues are ironed out, the low resource requirements of the initiative should make it interesting for other African nations. In the future, we plan to translate the learning from Kenya to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Milka Wanjohi and Florence Sipalla, from the African Population Health Research Center, contributed to the writing of this article
President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured that he will not relent in the war against corruption.
The President emphasized that no effort will be spared in ensuring that the vice that has been choking the country’s economy is completely destroyed.
“We will remain focused in the fight against corruption. We hope that every institution will play its part to make this war successful,” President Kenyatta said.
The President spoke today at State House, Nairobi when he separately bid farewell to outgoing European Union (EU) Delegation Ambassador Stefano Dejak and British High Commissioner Nic Hailey.
The President commended the two envoys for strengthening relations between Kenya and their respective jurisdictions during their tour of duty.
President Kenyatta said Kenya appreciates EU’s partnership which has promoted development adding that he looks forward to more collaboration as the country explores the blue economy as an emerging frontier for wealth and employment creation.
In the meeting with the outgoing British High Commissioner, the President noted that the UK remains one of Kenya’s biggest trade partners.
“We hope to continue with the journey we began on empowering the youth through small and medium enterprises,” the President told the outgoing British High Commissioner.
Ambassador Dejak and High Commissioner Hailey separately praised President Kenyatta for standing firm in the war against corruption.
The outgoing EU envoy encouraged President Kenyatta not to loosen his grip in the fight against graft saying this will restore Kenya’s dignity and entrench its position as a thriving and progressive economy in Africa.
“The war against corruption in Kenya is restoring investors’ confidence. The EU will remain a strategic partner of Kenya not only on the economic front but in the fight against corruption as well,” Ambassador Dejak said.
On his part, High Commissioner Hailey commended the President for the commitment he has shown in combating the vice where even senior government officials have not been spared.
The outgoing British High Commissioner assured President Kenyatta that trade between the two countries will continue to grow whether or not there is a BREXIT deal.
Earlier at State House, Nairobi, President Kenyatta received credentials from incoming Japanese Ambassador to Kenya Ryoichi Horie who pledged to take the bilateral relations between Kenya and Japan to new levels of success.
Ambassador Horie said during his tour of duty in Kenya he will work tirelessly towards enhancing the close ties that have existed between his country and Kenya since 1963.
“I will devote all my energy towards strengthening the existing relationship between Kenya and Japan that is founded on our shared values and goals for the purpose of development,” Ambassador Horie told the President.
The new Japanese Ambassador to Kenya pointed out that as a testimony of the close ties between the two countries, Kenya hosted the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI) Summit in August 2016. This made Kenya the first African country to ever host a TICAD Summit since its inception in 1993.
President Kenyatta welcomed the new envoy and assured of his administration’s commitment to working closely with him to boost the existing cooperation and partnership between Kenya and Japan.
“Welcome to Kenya. I look forward to working with you to expand our areas of partnership for the mutual benefit of the people of Kenya and Japan,” President Kenyatta said.
President Kenyatta acknowledged Japan as one of Kenya’s key development partners whose cooperation has played a big role in the country’s development.
