President Uhuru holds talks with Canadian and Ghanaian leaders, Vows to Support #WomenDeliver

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June 4, 2019

President Uhuru Kenyatta today held talks with his host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo.

The Canadian PM thanked the President for honoring his invitation to attend the Women Deliver 2019 Conference and further applauded the Kenyan leader for successfully hosting a meeting of 18 African countries last year to discuss conflict and post conflict situations as a response to a request made to him by world leaders during the G7 Summit held in Quebec.

The meeting held on 22nd May 2018 resulted into the Nairobi call-to-action, a comprehensive road map with clear action points to be undertaken towards the empowerment of women and girls in Africa.

The two leaders acknowledged and agreed on the need to avail resources for the implementation of the road map and support for the various women and girls empowerment initiatives in conflict and post conflict regions of Africa.

President Kenyatta noted with gratitude Canada’s support for Kenya’s nascent blue economy sector especially the country’s commitment towards the set up of the Coast Guard Unit and the establishment of marine aquarium and fish processing facilities.

Uhuru Kenyatta during the 2018 Blue Economy Conference | COAST WEEK

He thanked Prime Minister Trudeau for Canada’s role in the successful hosting of the Sustainable Blue Economy held in Nairobi in November last year.

“Let me also take this opportunity to thank you and your government for the technical and financial support accorded to Kenya during Sustainable Blue Economy Conference,” said President Kenyatta.

Prime Minister Trudeau lauded the progress made in the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a move he said will open up Africa to more world trade.

The Prime Minister expressed Canada’s interest to partner more with Kenya in trade, acknowledging that the country is the bridge to the expansive African market and a definite attraction to investors from the North American nation.

Prime Minister Trudeau and President Kenyatta affirmed their commitment towards enhanced bilateral relations between Canada and Kenya and agreed to work together towards the realization of each others bid for United Nations Security Council seat in the period of 2021-2022.

President Kenyatta wished the Prime Minister the best of luck as he vies for a second term during the elections scheduled for October this year and invited him to visit Kenya at a time of his convenience.

“All the best as you seek the people’s mandate for a 2nd term,” President Kenyatta told the Canadian leader.

“Let me also extend an invitation for you to visit Kenya at a time of your convenience,” he added.

In a separate meeting, President Kenyatta and President Addo of Ghana, agreed to strengthen further the deep-rooted historical and bilateral ties between the two countries.

The two leaders said, Kenya and Ghana have a unique role to play together in ensuring stability, peace and security in East and Western Africa respectively.

Presidents Kenyatta and Addo agreed to leverage on the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) to grow trade and people-to-people ties between Kenya and Ghana by enhancing air transport between the two countries.

Ghana alongside Kenya and Senegal have been identified to pilot the DELIVER FOR GOOD INITIATIVE that seeks to enhance good practices in gender equality.

Present during the two meetings were Cabinet Secretaries Monica Juma (Foreign Affairs) and Margaret Kobia (Public Service) as well as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Canada Ambassador John Lanyasunya.

President Uhuru Wishes all Muslims Good fortune in Celebrating the end of their Ramadhan fast

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 4, 2019

As we join our Muslim brothers and sisters in celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr and the end of the Holy Month of Ramadhan, let us take time to reflect on the principles of humanity, generosity, kindness and sacrifice embodied by this season.

Let us be thankful for the many blessings that continue to be showered upon our country Kenya, for the peace and security against all enemies both foreign and domestic, for prosperity in our agriculture and commerce and the promise of a bright tomorrow.

As we celebrate this feast, let us not forget those among us who are less fortunate at this time. Those in need of food, shelter, employment and healthcare.

My Government, through the Big Four Agenda, is working tirelessly to achieve a Kenya where each citizen is able to access their basic needs of good nutrition through food security, access to quality health care, affordable housing and employment through industrialization.

To achieve this, we must work together in unity, peace and love as patriotic children of this great nation.

I therefore encourage you today to embrace the Mubarak Spirit of this celebration and share your blessings with those around you.

To our Muslim brothers and sisters, I wish you all Eid Mubarak.

Thank you.

UHURU KENYATTA, C.G.H.,
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA

Some softer solutions to Nairobi’s traffic pollution problem

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 4, 2019

Rapid urbanisation in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, has meant there’s been huge growth in the number of vehicles on roads. Today, Nairobi is one of the world’s most congested cities.

Between 2013 and 2017, the number of registered vehicles rose from about 2 million to just under 3 million – an increase of 49% over just four years. Part of this rise can be attributed to “boda bodas” – motorbike taxis – whose numbers have soared. Last year, the number of newly registered bikes doubled in just 10 months.

With poor urban infrastructure, a neglect of non-motorised transport (like walking and cycling) and a lack of services – like mass transport systems – the city has become congested and polluted. Nairobi loses about US$500,000 in productivity every day because of traffic jams.

This undermines urban productivity and health as people spend long periods of time in traffic or walking through congested areas, breathing polluted air.

The amount of pollution particles in the air often exceeds the daily guidelines set out by the World Health Organisation. In 2016 for instance, Kenya’s air contained double the recommended volume of particulate matter for outdoor air pollution. Around 40% of CO₂ emissions were attributed to the transport sector.

Reflecting on previous research and experience, we examined potential solutions to Nairobi’s traffic pollution problem.

Attempts by the government to address the pollution problem are still at an early stage. We suggest a combination of infrastructure, policy, regulatory and softer measures – focused more on the city’s residents’ lived experience and environment – that can provide an effective way to address traffic congestion, and therefore, pollution.

Nairobi

The Kenyan government has recognised the congestion problem, and is taking some steps to address it.

It formed the Transport and Urban Decongestion Committee in 2014 and, one year later, it announced that 20% of all funds allocated to the roads budget would be committed to building non-motorised transport and public transport infrastructure. The idea was to create safe networks of footpaths, cycling lanes and tracks and green areas.

In a bid to further reduce car pollution, a ban on the importation of cars which are more than eight years old is set to begin in July. Older cars tend to be high polluters and are often imported from places – like Japan and Europe – where they no longer meet current emissions guidelines.

All of these actions are happening against the back drop of the Metro 2030 strategy – a national strategy which seeks to develop an efficient transport system. A key component of this is the Bus Rapid Transit which could significantly reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in Nairobi.

But these infrastructure projects have been hard to get off the ground. As the Kenya Roads Board stated:

the transport sector in Kenya combines international quality operators and services, a somewhat run down infrastructure and some ineﬃcient and ineffective institutions.

Solutions

But there are other easier, shorter term solutions which could also make a contribution to decreasing congestion and traﬃc pollution in Nairobi.

Temporary and/or permanent vehicle access restrictions could be adopted, in various ways. For example, large goods vehicles and vans could be re-routed away from the city centre during peak hours or the most polluting vehicles be charged for going into certain central zones.

Traffic “calming” measures could be introduced – like 20mph zones or curves in roads – accompanied by behavioural and public education initiatives. This will help to lower emissions associated with erratic revving, speeding and associated brake pad and tyre wear.

Junction improvements – like the introduction of “green waves” which allow slower moving vehicles to pass through traffic signals unhindered at lower speeds – can lessen the need for stopping and starting and reduce emissions that are released with heavy braking. Pedestrian and cycle priority at junctions are also essential to balance the demands of motorised and non-motorised traffic.

For pedestrians and cyclists, covered walkways, segregated on- and off-road lanes and continuous pavements could enhance their experience and encourage new adopters of these modes.

There is a need for infrastructure investment to be complemented by policy, legislation and active regulation. Planning would benefit from being less focused on facilitating vehicle access and travel through the city. Instead, it should be people-focused and aimed at improving the social and environmental aspects of sustainability. Political will, private sector commitment and public engagement are all necessary to achieve this goal for Nairobi.

Professor Miles Tight and Professor Francis Pope, University of Birmingham, contributed to the research on which this article is based.

Fiona Rajé, Research Fellow, Manchester Metropolitan University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Meru Senator Linturi loses First Round of Divorce proceedings

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 3, 2019

PRUDENCE WANZA – Meru Senator Franklin Mithika Linturi has lost the first round in the divorce proceedings by his estranged wife Marianne Kitany.

This is after trial magistrate Peter Gesora dismissed his application to strike out the divorce matter on grounds that he did not have capacity.

Gesora directed the matter be set for full hearing for cross examination of the parties and witnesses.

“I dismiss the application and direct the matter to proceed to full hearing,” ruled Gesora.

The magistrate ruled that there is evidence on how the two met with the sole intention solemnizing the relationship.

Linturi argues that he has never been married to Kitany as he has a wife with whom they married in the year 2000 in a church Meru.

However, according to Kitany, former Chief of Staff at the office of the Deputy President, she was married to the Senator under customary marriage where he visited her parents and gave ‘gifts’.

She stated that she was a mother to six children; three of her own and three fathered by Linturi in his previous relationships.

They moved in together with their children and lived like husband and wife.

Linturi produced a marriage certificate to prove that he got married in 2000 and has never divorced his wife.

The court questioned if the marriage was contracted between the applicant and his wife in 2000, why was the marriage certificate obtained on 28th December 2018? 18 years later.

The certificate was also obtained only a few days to the filing of this application.

According to the ruling, section 6 of the marriage Act allows recognition of customary marriage while subsection (ii)restricts one in a monogamous marriage from marrying again.

The court also found that the signatures appearing on the court documents for the applicant and that in the certificate are different.

It was further found that the certified copy of marriage certificate lacks crucial information and has a lot of discrepancies.

Kitany intends to call 30 witnesses from Meru, Kericho and Nandi.

The case will be heard on 23, 24 and 25th July.

Three terror suspect who tried to access Narok Stadium to be detained for 10 days

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 3, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – Three terror suspects who wanted to access Narok Stadium, where the Madaraka Day celebrations were being held on Saturday have been detained pending investigations.

Adan Galhai alias Urisha Galhai, 22,Thomas Okan alias Mbuta and Abdulmajeed Njenga were arraigned before Magistrate Peter Ooko at the Milimani Law Courts.

The magistrate allowed an application by the prosecution to detain them pending completion of investigations.

Adan is said to have wanted to enter the stadium on Friday and when searched, his National Identity Card and another ID written ‘National Security’ were recovered from him.

When questioned, he fled and on Saturday morning, he returned to try and enter the stadium and was arrested.

He told the officers that he had spent the night in a lodging but this was established to be a lie after he took them to the supposed location and officials denied having seen him.

Adan was arrested on May 31, 2019 by military police in Narok Stadium on suspicion of engaging in terrorism activities and reasons for his arrest explained to him.

“Aden is said to be hailing from East Leigh in Nairobi and is suspected to have connections to Al-Shabaab,”said Investigating Officer Geoffery Busolo in the affidavit.

Busolo said that Adan was in possession of National Identity card and another card bearing the names of National Security. The cards are currently being verified /examined and the reports are yet to be obtained.

Urisha was arrested on June 1, 2019 in Mlango Kubwa estate within Nairobi County on suspicion that he was an associate of Adan and was in communication with him while in Narok conducting Surveillance.

The officer urged the court to detain them due to security reasons citing that the investigations require phone details of all the persons that the suspects have been communicating with both in Kenya and outside the country.

Abdulmajeed Njenga another suspect was arrested on June 1, 2019 by Military Police Officers near Narok Stadium within Narok County during the Makadara Day Cerebrations.

He is a Kenyan Citizen and a resident of Kiembeni Estate within Mombasa County according to an affidavit filed by Geoffrey Busolo an officer attached to Anti-Terrorism Police Unit who is seeking to have him detained for 10 days.

“Njenga was arrested due to his possible involvement in terrorism surveillance and intended terrorism attack within the country,” said officer Busolo.

Adan Galhai alias Urisha Galhai, 22, and Thomas Okan alias Mbuta will be detained for 10 days while Abdulmajeed Njenga will be detained for 7 days.

Doctor charged in Court for trying to steal Land worth Sh 20 Million from Ministry of Health

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 3, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – A doctor attached to the ministry of health has been charged with conspiracy to defraud land valued at 20 million

The accused, Jonah Onentia Magare is defraud Joshua Chiefta Gichana Magare of his land situated at Green Field measuring 0.0098 hectares , conspired to register the said land to himself.

He was also charged with forging a letter of authority to transfer lease title dated 28thFebruary, 2011 purporting it to be genuine, signed by Joshua Magare of the said land.

Prosecution further accused Magare of obtaining registration of the said land fraudulently through the certificate of lease on 21st January, 2011 at Nairobi Land Registry.

On 22nd May, 2019,Mary Moraa Mogire who is said to be wife to Joshua Chiefta was charged in court with conspiring to defraud her husband the same parcel of land at greenfield.

Mogire was also charged with conspiring with others not before court to defraud her husband by registering the parcel to Onentiah on or before March 5, 2011.

The case will be mentioned on 2nd July, 2019 for the two files to be consolidated since the two were charged at different times.

Magare was released on a cash bail 500,000 and bond of 1 million.

Liverpool Defender Virgil Van Djik to Win 2019 Ballon D’or — Here’s Why We Think So

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 2, 2019

Liverpool defender Virgil Van Djik is set to bag the prestigious Balon D’Or ahead of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo

The Dutch defender was named the man of the match during the UEFA Champions League final and was also named the Professional Footballers Association’s best

Premier league Player of the season in England

During the Saturday game, against liverpool, the Dutch captain completely marked England Captain Harry Kane out of the game. He has also been outstanding for the Netherlands National team the Netherlands team, the Orange.

Van Djik is a former Southampton player and the giant defender is viewed as the best in the world in that position. He also has netted crucial goals for the season.

He is also viewed as the undisputed future captain for Liverpool.

We asked Kenyan students about climate change. They didn’t know much

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 2, 2019

Over 80% of Kenya’s land is made up of arid and semi-arid areas that are prone to frequent droughts and periodic floods. These events are on the rise while about 70% of all disasters in Kenya are now related to changing weather patterns.

An increasing body of research links these changing weather patterns to climate change. For instance, a general warming and increase in seasonal average temperatures in many parts of Kenya has led to a significant decline in rainfall since the mid-1970s.

To address the risks associated with climate change, it’s important that Kenyans understand it. They must be equipped with enough information to make the right decisions. These might include reducing carbon emissions, or by preparing for future shocks – like drought.

I wanted to understand what university students know about climate change in Kenya and where the gaps in their knowledge might be. I surveyed 108 undergraduate students in their final year from two Kenyan universities.

I found that there’s a gap in basic knowledge on climate change. Two main factors led to this. The first was a negative attitude towards agriculture, which was seen as the main sector affected by climate change. The second was a bias in the integration of climate science content in Kenya’s education system.

These gaps must be addressed to ensure that young Kenyans are aware of the challenges of climate change and are better informed to find solutions.

Climate change knowledge

The survey focused on the students’ knowledge about climate change and what they knew about global and national strategies to address it and the actors involved. I also asked them when they thought climate change should be introduced into education.

Most of the students (96.3%) were familiar with current changes in weather patterns. This included knowing about less rain or delayed rains, warmer nights and more severe droughts and floods.

But their general knowledge on more technical areas, like global warming and carbon sequestration, was weak. They also weren’t aware of the various actors involved in climate change adaptation or the strategies used.

By the time students in other countries, like Ireland, leave primary school they would’ve been taught the basic science behind climate change, what it is and its effects.

In secondary schools, learners should have a deeper understanding of global warming and climate change and how it can be dealt with.

Students at the university level are required to develop innovations that provide solutions to the problem of climate change.

Over 60% of those I surveyed had no knowledge of any global actors, including the Conference Of Parties, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. When it comes to knowing about what’s important for Kenya, most of the students (60.5%) had no knowledge about actors such as Drought Monitoring Centre or even the national climate change policies such as National Climate Change Response Strategy.

Knowledge of both global and national actors and policies on climate change would provide students with a better understanding of what’s being done and how they can participate.

Students were unable to differentiate between climate change coping, adaptation and mitigation strategies. Coping is a short term strategy while adaptation is a long term strategy. Mitigation strategies are actions taken beforehand to reduce or prevent risks.

But all students did know about strategies to mitigate climate like tree planting, although most didn’t understand what role the trees played.

Climate change in curricula

The reason for this poor understanding can be put down to the content in Kenyan schools’ curricula. For instance, climate change issues are directly or indirectly addressed in 0.53% of the total secondary school curriculum.

We analysed both primary and secondary schools syllabuses alongside university taught courses. Topics related to climate change in syllabuses for primary and secondary schools of all taught subjects and curricula in universities were identified. Teaching of climate change starts right from primary school.

We found that climate change was concentrated in the earlier years and in very few subject areas. In primary schools, climate content was taught under “weather” and “climate” in science and social studies at very basic levels.

In secondary schools and universities, the climate change content was taught in subjects that were not only optional but also in selected topics. For instance, weather and climate under “Geography”, ecology under “Biology” and in crop production under “Agriculture”. Climate change content was also uncommon in universities’ curricula except in Geography, Agriculture and Environment related subjects.

What’s worrying is that students didn’t seem interested in learning about climate change. They attributed its relevance to farming activities. Only 14.9% thought it should be included in all levels of education (primary to universities).

There are some counter arguments that acquiring knowledge about climate change does not necessarily mean concern toward it. But evidence points out that students equipped with such knowledge show concern about the environment and climate change. Research suggests that good climate change teaching should be part of the science curriculum and also be multidisciplinary.

And a good climate change curriculum should be learner-centred with specific learning outcomes for each level of schooling.

What needs to be done

The study recommends that there be a deliberate integration of climate-related content into curricula at all levels of education. The curricula should ensure that by the end of the formal education, every learner has enough understating of the Earth’s climate, factors that influence climate change, its effects, and approaches to adaptation or mitigation.

In addition, teachers working with these issues need to be trained to gain the required knowledge about climate change.

Julius Huho, Associate Professor, Garissa University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Old 1000Ksh Note Phase Out: “You have 120 Days to Spend Stashed proceeds of corruption”

By

Dan Ojumah

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June 2, 2019

The year 2019 has been full of suprises, especially in our local world of finance. Kenyans were yesterday treated to the shock of the century.

Kenyan President Uhuuru Kenyatta announced the introducxtion of the new note currencies of the values, 1000, 500, 200, 100 and the 50 kenyan shillings. With the initial announcement recieving backlash from all ends, the Central Bank of Kenya went back to the drawingboard to come out with a better design for the new notes.

Kenyans then went ahead and rejoiced over the new announcement… but for a moment. Uhuru then went ahead to announce the phasing out of the most precious of the currencies.. the 1000 note otherwise known as brown/ndovu, in 1st October 2019

This announcement sent jitters down many kenyans weho would rather store their money in their homes, and other organizartions that dont trust the banks. “This is going to be a problem to the banks, because now everyone will be forced to use banks to handover 1000sh notes, therefore we might be getting long queues especially in remote banks” said one Leonard, a Bank agent.

Drawing similarities to a similar action by India Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, the currency withdrawal maybe a tool in fighting corruption in kenya. with the backdrop of the recent roll out of the much criticized Huduma Namba, it will now be hard for you to launder the money. Heres why

With the likes of Kabura who used to carry cash in sacks, will now be forced to make purchases, bank large sums of the money or choose to invest in ”air” inorder to disapear the notes in thin air. Or even worse, (God forbid) those church harambees may come in handy now.

But this might be a challenge. The 1000 note will be useless after 1 october 2019 therefore making it hard for property traders to accept cash.

Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr also chipped in applauding the move by the government that was geared to fighting corruption. In a tweet, ”In Kenya, the money in vaults may not be surrendered entirely, but the owners will be left with stationery in October. Touché,” he conveyed.

Outstanding Kenyan Athletes awarded 181 Million after impressive performance

By

Dan Ojumah

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May 31, 2019

President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Nairobi witnessed the disbursement of over Shs 181 million to Kenya’s elite athletes, to complete a process of compensating the champions since 2010.

A total of 3338 athletes received the cash awards for participating in 32 international sporting events covering Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World Championships and the World Under 18 and Under 20 junior competitions.

The money to compensate the athletes was drawn from the National Sports Fund.

Besides the prize money, the President gave the athletes an additional Shs 2 million token of appreciation.

World beaters Geoffrey Kamworor (the world half marathon champion), Beatrice Chepkoech (world steeplechase record holder) and Alphas Kishoyian (400m gold medallist) received the cheque on behalf of their colleagues, some of whom are out of the country for international competitions.

President Kenyatta gave the Ministry of Sports three months to come up with a practical compensation policy for athletes who “bring pride and glory” to the country through their stellar performances in international competitions.

“Moving forward, I am directing the Ministry to formulate a realistic compensation policy for all athletes and launch it within 3 months,” said President Kenyatta

The President further directed that all Kenyan sportsmen going for international competitions must be fully catered for before departing the country.

Through the National Sports Fund, the President reiterated that all sportsmen representing the country in international tournaments will be fully facilitated covering provision of kits, tickets, accommodation and allowances.

On Thursday, the Head of State hosted Harambee Stars, at State House, Nairobi before their departure for training and friendly matches in France ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

President Kenyatta congratulated the Ministry of Sports for ensuring that the national football team received the over Shs 244 million they needed to facilitate AFCON preparations.

The President said Kenya should never again suffer the embarrassment and shame of its high achieving sportsmen being stranded at international airports for lack of money.

He said sportsmen and women should receive their reward money immediately upon return when handing back the Kenyan flag, which they normally receive from the Head of State before departure.

President Kenyatta said the issue of compensation for athletes had bothered him for a long time.

“Whenever we hand over the flag to you before you depart for international competitions, we make promises to reward you, but when you return, there is nothing. But now under the National Sports Fund, there is something for you when you return,” the President said.

The President said only men and women of integrity will be allowed to manage the National Sports Fund and thanked the current board among them former Vice President Moody Awori for ensuring that all resources are put to good use.

The ceremony was attended by over 140 athletics stakeholders led by Sports CS Amina Mohammed.

Others were elite athletes and officials of Athletics Kenya led by their President Lt General (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei who doubles up as chairman of the National Sports Fund.