Graft case against Embakasi North MP James Gakuya adjourned as lawyers withdraw from the matter

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June 21, 2019

EMBAA — Embakasi North MP James Gakuya at the docks

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – The graft case against Embakasi North MP James Mwangi Gakuya and 13 others had to be adjourned on Thursday 20th after their lawyers withdrew themselves from the matter.

The lawyers withdrew after trial magistrate Elizabeth Juma declined to grant them an adjournment pending hearing of the application of stay of proceedings filed at the high court which were certified urgent by Justice Mumbi Ngugi and directed the parties to appear next week for hearing.

The defense had made an application at the trial court to be supplied with the investigation diary, investigation report and a copy of the occurrence book for the matter in question.

However the state through the prosecuting counsel conceded to supply to supply the OB and the investigation diary but declined to supply the investigation report which is a communication between the EACC and the ODPP.

The defense team is made up of Dunstan Omari, Kiraithe Wandugi, philip Magal, Professor Wajakoya, Duncan Okatch, Shadrack Wambui and Stanley Kangahi.

The contention by the defense is that the accused persons right to fair trial entails them to be supplied with all documents in the possession of the prosecution which is relevant to the case whether it is to be relied on by the state or not.

It was their submission that the documents they seek are crucial and relevant to enable them put up a solid defense in relation to the allegations leveled against them.

The state on its part urged the court not to grant the orders sought as the investigation report was an internal communication between EACC and ODPP.

The court noted that the issue before it was a pre trial issue and ought to have been dealt with at a pre trial stage.
The court further found that the investigation report under section 35 of the ACECA does not fall under article 50(2)(j).

CM Juma ruled “In this case, the defense has already been supplied with the witness statements, documentary evidence and extract from the OB and the investigations diary.”

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the parties appealed to the High Court seeking to set aside, review or vary it arguing that full, accurate and complete disclosure by the prosecution of all relevant material within its possession is an essential and integral part of the right to fair hearing.

The matter is coming up for inter parties hearing on the question of stay on 25th.

The MP and his co accuses are charged with with mismanagement of public funds, embezzlement of Sh 39.8 million, conflict of interest, conspiracy to defraud, willful failure to adhere to procurement laws and fraudulent acquisition of public property.

They denied the charges and were each granted a bond of Sh 5 million of a cash bail of Sh 2 million.

Man Charged for Stealing 25,000 from a Vehicle, released on a 100,000 Cash Bail

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 20, 2019

BY LYNN KYALO – A man was charged from stealing cash from a vehicle in Kibera Law Courts.

Mr Makokha was accused of stealing ksh 25, 000 from a vehicle that was parked in an open place.

He denied the allegations before kibera chief magistrate B.Ojoo and was released on a cash bail of ksh 100, 000 or a bond of Ksh 200, 000.

The case will be mentioned on 4th August 2019 and the hearing will be on 29th August 2019.

President Kenyatta launches a new job creation program #YoungAfricaWorks

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 20, 2019

President Uhuru Kenyatta said Africa has to invest more in its youth for it to become a continent of hope and prosperity.

The President said he was committed to keep up the momentum to create more jobs for the youth in Kenya and would each year host a summit on jobs to engage directly with young people.

“I commit to host an annual Jobs Summit which will engage young people, partners and all stakeholders to take stock of progress and advance action to increase the quality and quantum of jobs available to our young people,” said the President.

The President said this as he launched a public-private partnership program that brings together MasterCard Foundation, Kenyan banks and the Government to support job creation by supporting SME’s to the tune of more than Shs 100 billion.

The Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works Kenya platform aims to work closely with technical colleges and linking the youth to the job market. It will also create jobs by supporting the Small and Medium Enterprises through access to funds and training.

President Kenyatta said the youth are Africa’s biggest asset and governments should focus necessary policy attention on them.

“I urge Africa to invest in the youth and we will become a continent of hope, dignity and prosperity,” said the President when he spoke at the event held at Radison Blu Hotel in Nairobi.

He said the majority of Africa’s population is composed of the youth, persons below 25 years of age and that is why all policy decisions must give them due consideration. In Kenya alone, there are 17 million children in primary and secondary schools, giving a true picture of Africa’s youth bulge.

The President said Africa is on the cusp of an economic transformation with the adoption of the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Agreement which will provide a common marketplace for over 1 billion people.

He said the common market arrangement will create enormous opportunities for Africa’s youth who are full of energy and innovative ideas.

The President called on Africa’s leaders to make continental integration a reality because it will create more avenues for economic growth and social integration.

“Socio-economic integration of the African people is the greatest task of our time and our generation,” said the President who was joined by Cabinet Secretaries George Magoha (Education), Amina Mohamed (Sports, Culture and Heritage) and Joe Mucheru (ICT).

The President said the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works Kenya program is a strong platform to expand job opportunities for young people in the country.

“We are now seeking to unlock their potential; with this platform being an important avenue to allow them to transform their lives, the country and the world. The programme we are about to launch today will contribute significantly towards this goal in several ways,” said the President.

He said the program will support TVETs to improve quality of content and instruction, provide 21st century employability skills and demand-driven training. The program will in addition create pathways to work for graduates including internships and apprenticeships.

The President said the program will also work hand in hand with the Government’s Ajira program to create opportunities for online jobs for the youth.

“Kenya is on the verge of a digital transformation and this programme will catalyze the creation of new and quality jobs across the entire country,” said the President.

The program will also enhance the creation, growth, sustainability and productivity of over 200,000 Micro, Small and Medium Scale enterprises (MSMEs).

Support for MSMEs will be achieved through a partnership between Equity Group and Equity Bank Foundation and Mastercard Foundation on one hand and KCB Group and KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation on the other.

“Together, these institutions will provide about 100 billion Kenya Shillings in capital, business development services, and market linkages,” the President said.

The organisations participating in the program will also provide financial and digital literacy and entrepreneurship training to MSMEs to support owners to grow and sustain their businesses and to mentor other entrepreneurs in the network.

MasterCard Foundation CEO Reeta Roy said her organization will contribute Shs 10 billion to support the small and medium scale enterprises noting that it aims at enabling 5 million Kenyan youths get employment.

FULL SPEECH: Launch of the Young Africa Works Programs by Mastercard

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 20, 2019

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H., PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE LAUNCH OF THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION – YOUNG AFRICA WORKS PROGRAMME, 20TH JUNE, 2019

Chair of the Mastercard Foundation Board of
Directors and Members of the Board,

Ms. Reeta Roy, President and CEO, Mastercard
Foundation,

Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Permit me to start by welcoming you all to this very special event, which touches on issues that are very close to my heart and to the future of our nation, continent and the world. A warm welcome to Members of the MasterCard Foundation Board of Directors.

I thank you for co-creating this unique programme with us. I embrace you as our partners on this crucial journey; one which is brimming with possibilities and the potential to increase opportunities for our youth in terms of finding fulfilling and dignified jobs.

By joining us, you have added momentum to the quest for the realization of my Administration’s Agenda to harness the ingenuity and the resilience of our people, which fires our undying hope in tomorrow’s beauty and promise for Kenya.

Our youth are our nation’s greatest resource. As I travel across the country, I am inspired by the creativity, boldness and resilience of our young people as they use their talents and energies to innovate and forge a better tomorrow for themselves as well as Kenya as a whole.

Even as we acknowledge the strides we are making, we recognize that a lot more needs to be done. A significant number of our young people are unemployed or underemployed, and they are struggling to make ends meet in our fast-paced economy.

I am also aware that our young people face significant structural, financial or technical barriers that limit their access to jobs or entrepreneurship.

It is for this reason that my Administration is taking bold action to eliminate the barriers that prevent young people from reaching their full potential and opening up opportunities for gainful employment.

We are making steady progress and delivering monumental positive change in creating opportunities for all. In that regard, and to equip our young people with the necessary know-how, we have this year successfully transitioned to secondary school 100% of all pupils who sat for their end-of-primary-school examinations.

In response to our young entrepreneurs’ keen appetite for procurement opportunities, we rolled out the affirmative and preferential action programme – the Access to Government
Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) that has set aside 30% of government procurement opportunities for enterprises owned by youth, women and persons living with disability.

In addition, we have made significant gains in creating an enabling environment for job creation; which gives us the assurance that our labour will bear bountiful fruits.

We have also invested heavily in our transport, communication, energy and technology infrastructure; and we are at close to 100% universal mobile phone coverage, while 74% of Kenyans are connected to electricity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Kenya has a strong and vibrant private sector. We are also located in the most dynamic economic region in the world, and Kenya plays an important leadership role in the region.

Indeed, on account of this comparative advantage, a number of global companies have established their continental or regional
headquarters in our country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Socio-economic integration of the African people is the greatest task of our time and our
generation. Indeed, Kenya was the first country to ratify the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Agreement which will provide a common marketplace for over 1 billion people in Africa and create enormous opportunities for our entrepreneurs and companies.

We have a strong platform to expand job opportunities for our young people. We are now seeking to unlock their potential; with this platform being an important avenue to allow them to transform their lives, the country and the world. The programme we are about to launch today will contribute significantly towards this goal in several ways.

Firstly, it will support TVETs to improve quality of content and instruction, provide 21st century employability skills and demand-driven training that is relevant to the labour market, and create pathways to work for graduates including internships and apprenticeships.

I am very pleased to note that the program builds on the excellent reforms that have been
undertaken by the Ministry of Education to make TVET more relevant and better aligned to the needs of our economy.

Secondly, the programme will build on the Ajira Digital Programme to provide work readiness training, link young people to digital enabled work and increase access to work opportunities in the digital economy. It will enable technologically-savvy Kenyan youth to take full advantage of our extensive technology platforms to create and connect to jobs, obtain accurate, relevant and timely labor market information and build a virtual support and mentorship ecosystem. Kenya is on the verge of a digital transformation and this programme will catalyze the creation of new and quality jobs across the entire country.

The third pillar of the programme will enhance the creation, growth, sustainability and productivity of over 200,000 Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs). This will be achieved through a partnership between Equity Group and Equity Bank Foundation and Mastercard Foundation on one hand and KCB Group and KCB Foundation and Mastercard Foundation on the other. Together, these institutions will provide about 100 billion Kenya shillings in capital, business development services, and market linkages.

Those partners will also provide financial and digital literacy and entrepreneurship training to MSMEs to support owners to grow and sustain their businesses and to mentor other entrepreneurs in the network.

When small firms and entrepreneurs access financial services, they obtain the resources they require to grow, expand into new markets and opportunities, create jobs and establish inter-generational wealth.

The benefits then create a ripple effect which generates employment for others beyond the direct beneficiaries of the access to those financial services.

It is in this context that the two banking institutions are expected to create more than 2 million jobs through this programme over the next 5 years.

I wish to thank the Equity Group and Equity Bank Foundation and the KCB Group and KCB Foundation for their contribution to this programme. Both these institutions have committed to provide substantial funding from their own resources; for which we are grateful.

Over the five-year period, Mastercard Foundation will provide Ksh 10 billion to KCB Group against their contribution of Ksh 50 billion and Ksh 7.2 billion to Equity Group against their contribution of Ksh 32 billion.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is a public-private partnership at its very best. I encourage other partners to emulate Mastercard Foundation, KCB and Equity Bank who have joined hands with Government to build a secure future for our young people.

Through this and other initiatives, the sons and daughters of Kenya are boldly stepping into a new future in which their individual and collective contribution will transform Kenya, Africa and the world.

As I conclude, I wish to reiterate my commitment to the young people of Kenya. You are the most important agenda for me and my Administration because you are our future. We will continue to ensure that we level the playing field for you through education and training; and we will increase opportunities for you to be the very best of Kenya.

To maintain the momentum on job creation, I commit to host an annual Jobs Summit which will engage young people, partners and all stakeholders to take stock of progress and advance action to increase the quality and quantum of jobs available to our young people.

We stand determined to complete this monumental task within one generation.

Thank you and God Bless Kenya.

Vermont Flowers boss charged with stealing Industrial Equipment worth Sh.9m

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 20, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – The managing director of Vermont Flowers (EPZ) limited has been charged with stealing industrial equipment valued at Sh 9 million.

Gerard Etiennem Bernazano is alleged to have stem assorted components of industrial equipment worth Sh 9,156,358 the property of Jacobus Johannes Viljoen the Chief Executive Officer of African Floralush (pty) limited.

The director is said to have committed the offence between December 2015 and May 2017.

He faced another count of malicious damage to property. He is said to have willfully and unlawfully damaged assorted components of industrial equipment valued at Sh 1,260,054 property of Viljoen.

The Belgian denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi.He was released on a cash bail of Sh 1 million and directed to deposit his passport in court.

The matter will be mentioned on 6th July and will be heard on 6 August.

Philippe coutinho doubtful about his future in Barcelona

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 20, 2019

BY BONIFACE MUUSYA – The Brazilian and former Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho has expressed doubt about his future in La Liga giants, Barcelona.

Being part of the Brazilian team that was held to a frustrating goalless draw by Venezuela, the hosts saw three goals rejected by VAR and were booed off the pitch by some home fans.

Since making the switch to Barcelona , Coutinho has struggled to nail down a regular starting berth with the Blaugrana fans booing him on some occasions.

Asked about his future at Barcelona amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain – PSG, Coutinho said that he doesn’t know the future and he is focused to play for the national team “I do not know, the future nobody knows, I am focused to play with the national team now.”

The Brazilian’s poor season saw him score just five goals and two assists in 34 league appearances.

Museve Shrine: Architectural masterpiece in the heart of Kitui

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 20, 2019

Holy architectural marvel, Our Lady of Protection Shrine- Museve structure is now nearing completion.

According to official pictures posted in the Catholic Diocese of Kitui Diocese, the main Church has been completed.

It is the latest Shrine of the Catholic Church in Kenya. The project was resources were mobilised by the people of Kitui County, the County Government of Kitui and the Friends of Kitui Diocese based in various towns across Kenya.

Nyeri Archbishop Anthony Muheria, who pioneered the project has expressed satisfaction with the progress of the work so far.

“We thank God for this far He has brought us. This Shrine is a tranquil place for prayer and adoration for all Christian’s”, Muheria said.

Blogger Alai and Prison officer Safari Robert to be detained for 14 days over Wajir attack

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 19, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – Blogger Robert Alai and prison officer Patrick Safari Robert will now be detained for a period of 14 working days to allow the anti terror police unit to complete investigations.

The two are suspected to have links with terrorists who perpetraited the Wajir terror attack that left police officers dead on 15th June,2019.

The Anti terror police unit made an application to the court through a sworn affidavit to detain the two for a period of thirty days to allow them to complete investigations.

Hon.Sinkiyian at the Milimani Law Courts allowed the antiterror police to detain the two for a period of fourteen working days.

“I find that continued detention sought by the antiterror police unit has merit but to ask for thirty days is long overdue to anlyse the information and carry out investigations. The court allows detention of the two respondents for fourteen working days,” the magistrate ruled.

In the application, Alai is said to have used his Twitter handle to incite the general public and police officers relating to the terror attack in Wajir which is still under investigation.

Patrick Safari ,a prison officer based at Mandera prison,was arrested in Kitui on 19th June,2019 on suspicion that he was an alshabaab sympathizer.

It is alleged that on diverse dates on the month of June he in his Twitter handle he posted photos of deceased police officers who lost their lives in the Wajir terror attack and messages to police officers against the government.

“It is believe that the photos of the deceased police officers and the scene if the terror attack were taken by the alshabaab and shared with the respondents and there is therefore need to investigate the links between the respondents and the terrorists involved,”states the affidavit.

During the time of the arrest their mobile phones were seized and are currently under forensic examination.

The two will be presented in court on 4th July,2019.

Blogger Alai and Prison officer Safari Robert to be detained for 14 days over the Wajir terror attack