Archbishop Muheria Cautions Youth Over Betting, Living Large

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April 23, 2019

BY FAITH MUTETE – Archbishop Anthony Muheria of the Catholic Diocese of Nyeri leads worshippers during the way of the Cross last Friday. Muheria has said the Church will endeavour to walk with the youth as they grapple with the modern day challenges triggered by the social media emergence, alcoholism, drug abuse and joblessness.

He urged the youth to stop the notion of instant riches, adding that only hard work can guarantee financial success. The archbishop said he was appalled by the betting addiction which he says was destroying Kenyan youth. He urged university students to exercise caution in their social lives, saying many are getting entangled in dangerous cartels in pursuit of extravagant lives beyond the financial means of parents and guardians.

Muheria however said all was not lost, adding that there is time to deal with the youth challenges before they become a crisis.
“The youth problems transcend race, tribe, county, rich, poor. It’s a problem we must confront and deal with firmly” Muheria said.
He was speaking to Uzalendo News in a question and answer interview of various issues facing the youth especially University students.

Two weeks ago a medical student Ivy Wangechi was brutally murdered by an admirer turned stalker right outside Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

Archbishop Anthony Muheria Speech on Easter Weekend

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 23, 2019

My dear Christians of Nyeri,
My dear Daughters and Sons in Christ,
Christ has Risen! Alleluia Alleluia!!

“And suddenly there was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they were like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, ‘There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples…’ ” (Mat. 28, 2-7)

We have walked with Jesus these last forty days of Lent, making ready our souls, our
families and our Church to celebrate the Paschal mystery. We have denied ourselves and fasted, we have made efforts to perform works of mercy, we have especially tried to walk the path of repentance and conversion, in order to uproot the habits of sin in our lives.

The climax of all has been the Holy week which we lived even more intensely, constantly looking at the face of Jesus, watching his every gesture and listening to his voice, in the silence of our hearts.
Throughout this period, the Church invites us to contemplate the Face of Jesus. God the
Father wanted us to be able to see His face, in the human face of Jesus. We saw him in the little Child in Bethlehem, and even as a Child, his eyes and face spoke to us of “Love”. We were at the side of the path, as He rode to Jerusalem on a humble donkey, and there too, his eyes land on us as we watch him pass… Now we see him in his risen Glory. What word does he leave us?
“Seek His face! It is your face all Lord that I seek” (Ps. 27,8)

The Face of Jesus is beautiful to behold. But in the Holy week, that face is covered by the
evil of men. We have seen him slapped, spat on, and with the blood covering his face from the crown of thorns. Our world has covered the face of Jesus with its sins and man’s sinful acts. Today, the news we read or watch speaks mainly of the atrocious actions of the evil one. These last days especially have caused great sorrow to hear of so many cruel murders among couples, siblings, and even friends. The most cruel acts that we can only call beastly, where man has lost his humanity, and become worse than an animal. Yet God created man
in his image and likeness. His face is truly in the face of that person who has been killed or abused or mistreated. What has happened that we no longer recognize the face of Jesus?

Since we call ourselves Christian and God-fearing, we still come out to see him pass on his way to Jerusalem, singing “Hosanna”. But we really don’t want him to look at us, and when the moment comes when we are asked to choose, we cry out, ‘free “Barabbas” the thief’, and to Jesus we shout “Crucify him”. We refuse to recognize his face, as a Son of God and Messiah, because we choose evil in the place of good. Every time we involve ourselves with the evil actions of society, even when many people do it, we, like Judas, betray Jesus with a Kiss. We are pretenders and hypocrites. We have decided to recognize his face outwardly, but inwardly we have denied and betrayed him.

“Now the traitor had arranged a sign with them saying, ‘The one I kiss, he is the man.
Arrest him. So he went up to Jesus at once and said, “greetings, Rabbi, and kissed
him.” (Mat. 26, 48-49)
“Jesus said, ‘Judas are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?’” (Lk. 22, 48)
We have seen the face of Jesus, the face of Christianity, the face of our Catholic Church
covered with the ugliness and dirt of our behavior. The terrible crimes are being done by us, Catholics and Christians; We are unfortunately deeply involved in dishonesty and corruption; we refuse to abide to the laws and always seek short cuts: Couldn’t we please try wipe this Face of Jesus like Veronica? We are involved in hideous crimes of abortion, and some of our Christian and even Catholic doctors are in the front line advocating to legalize the killing of babies: Couldn’t we make resolve to wash this face of Christ? We are the ones doing the business of betting and gambling, to feed the monster of greed, that leads
to theft and poverty; Couldn’t we try to wash this kind face of our Jesus? Our own children, our brothers and sisters, are involved in our homes and neighbors in many immoral plans, and we don’t have the courage to assist and correct them: Shouldn’t we decide to wash this
face of dear Lord that has been spat on so many times? This is Christ looking down at us from the Cross, with a Loving face, inviting us to change. His gaze and look, is one of Love and Mercy. For all these, our betrayals, our negligence and evil actions, we crucified him on good Friday. But we need not be discouraged. We should not lose hope because he is the one who comes again to seek us.

As we witnessed in Holy Thursday his love has no measure! He washes the feet of his
disciples, our feet. This is a way of revealing his merciful and loving face, in humility. His
face is hidden in humility.
“Although he was in the form of God, did not count equality to God as something to be
grasped. But he emptied himself taking the form of a slave… and he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death, death on a cross” (Phil 2, 6-8)

But the greatest news is that on Easter Sunday, He rises Glorious, full of Joy and beaming with Hope. His radiant face has replaced the disfigured face. No matter how much they try to distort the message of Christ, or seek to discredit the Church, the Glorious face of Christ will shine and overcome those who are determined to proclaim the failure of Christianity.
We must courageously proclaim the risen Lord, by showing that we can live every aspect of
our faith, and show his glorious face so needed by this rotten world. There is Hope of restoring the real Face of Christ to our world. There is Hope of sharing his Glory in heaven even if we must also pass through persecution, and have our face spat on by
others. Jesus rises with power and the soldiers tremble and fall. The evil will crumble before us, through our determination to live our Baptismal calling.

What we need is a firm Faith!
“There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was
crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would.” We must make him rise in our hearts, and in our attitudes. It is true we betrayed him. But
we must make him rise again, by washing his face and returning to his fold through a true conversion.

My dear Christians, we must decide to discover his face in the Sacraments especially the Eucharist. He waits for us to see him and experience his merciful gaze. He has humbled himself so much, so that we may not fear to approach him in the Eucharist. The Silent Face of Jesus in the Eucharist waits for you and me. Let us make time for Adoration in our parishes. Our families are the image of God. There too the face of Christ must be visible. That is why I
am insisting that we must come to the Sacrament of Matrimony to welcome Christ into our families. We can restore his face in the love and forgiveness within our families. You will manage to see the Face of Jesus in your wife or Husband, your son or daughter, your father or your mother, who deserves your love even if he or she is sinful. Wash their faces with love
and let Christ be seen.

The Church has encouraged us to reflect this year on the Theme of “Baptized and Sent”.
Pope Francis has asked us to commemorate in October the sense of Mission in the Church. What that means is that we must reveal the face of Christ to others, and teach them to listen to his voice. As Baptized persons, we have been given the mission to witness.

“He is risen, he is not here… Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and
tell his disciples…”
We are sent to witness with our word and with our life. That is why we must take our
Catholic faith seriously. It does not allow any holidays or moments of excuses. Often we
have really abused the name Christian and Catholic, by the things we have allowed
ourselves to be involved in. We cannot live only a part of the ten commandments, but all the commandments of the Lord. We cannot try only to live some virtues, but rather all virtues.

We cannot go back to betray Christ with a “Kiss” of deception and appearances. God knows our heart and sees our every intention. We must learn to forgive from our heart like Christ, without seeking revenge. Our people need new lessons on Gods mercy: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful”. Then we won’t witness these hate incidents…

This Easter, Christ wants the joyful “Alleluia” in the hearts of those who have realized their weaknesses like Peter, but now contrite, wish to follow him up to the end, with the risen Lord. We are sent first to our families, where we witness in Love, the joyful face of Christ.
We are sent to the society and those around us, especially the sick, poor and forgotten, so as to show the merciful face of Christ in our service. We are sent to those who still want to disfigure the face of Christ, those who don’t believe, to reveal to them, the Loving Face of our Saviour’s which looks for them: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing”.

Our Mother Mary, is also the first messenger of the good news of the resurrection. She
awaited her Son’s resurrection. With faith, after the Pentecost, she confirmed and
encouraged the Apostles to go out and proclaim the Gospel of Christ, the Gospel of Love and Mercy. May she teach us to be true Apostles determined to live their Baptism. She will encourage us when we meet discouragement on our way, by proclaiming that, Christ has Conquered Sin, Evil and darkness.
“Queen of Heaven rejoice Alleluia… For the Lord is risen indeed alleluia!” I send you all my affectionate Easter Blessing.

Archbishop Anthony Muheria

Archbishop of Nyeri

Man arraigned in court for stealing from Central Police Station.

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 23, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – A man has been charged in court for stealing a motor vehicle from central police station which was being detained to be used as an exhibit.

The accused, Martin Maty Mutua pleaded not guilty to the charges claiming that the motor cycle belonged to him and the deputy OCS had authorized the release of the motor cycle.

He also faces charges resisting to be arrested and refusing to be taken finger prints.

He appeared before Chief Magistrate, Francis Andayi and was released on a bond of Ksh. 100,000 and an alternative cash bail Sh. 50,000.

The hearing of the case has been set on 4th April, 2019.

Why responsible sourcing of DRC minerals has major weak spots

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 23, 2019

Peer Schouten, Danish Institute for International Studies

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rich in minerals such as coltan, tantalum, tin and gold. All are coveted for their widespread use in modern technologies, like semiconductors for cars and mobile phones.

These minerals are widely held to be at the heart of over two decades of conflict in eastern DRC, involving dozens of armed groups in shifting alliances. These ongoing tensions have cost the lives of over five million people. Congo’s abundant minerals are considered a root cause of the conflict because the mines out of which they come are believed to be controlled by armed groups who exploit the minerals and use the revenue to fuel their activities, earning them the label “conflict minerals”.

Because of this, responsible sourcing initiatives were born with the hope that they would increase oversight on mineral supply chains. The idea was that they would enable consumers to demand that companies account for where their minerals came from to ensure that they are conflict free.

But are minerals really at the heart of the conflict? And do responsible sourcing efforts help?

To address these questions, the Danish Institute for International Studies and the International Peace Information Service launched a report on lessons learnt from 10 years of our research on conflict minerals in the DRC.

We found that even though some armed groups rely on minerals for funding, they do not fuel conflict in eastern DRC. This is because most groups in the area fund themselves in other ways, like roadblocks. Also, responsible sourcing programmes have their flaws. They don’t always work, they have had a negative impact on artisanal miners and in some areas have led to increased insecurity.

Role of minerals

There are currently over 100 armed groups in eastern DR Congo.

About a dozen of them get significant revenue from mining. The NDC-Rénové, for instance, controls more than 100 gold mining sites in North Kivu. For such armed groups the profits involved can be a driver of their activities.

But this is a very small number of the armed groups operating in the DRC. Only a handful of them actively occupy mining sites. Instead, most rebel groups fund themselves in other ways, like taxing the local population, money from political patrons, or roadblocks on trade routes.

A soldier from a Mai Mai militia group extorts money from a passer-by at a checkpoint. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA

Our data also suggests that most armed confrontations are unrelated to control over mining sites and are instead related to other stakes – like revenge or control over strategic locations.

These findings suggest that it’s not minerals that drive the conflict, and that efforts to solve the conflict by acting on minerals fall dramatically short.

Responsible sourcing

The belief that minerals drove conflict has led to responsible sourcing programmes.

Guidelines and regulations – like the US’s Dodd Frank Act – target companies selling products which might contain “conflict minerals”. They pressure them to monitor their mineral supply chains to ensure that they don’t contribute to conflict or human rights violations.

Initiatives also target supply chains in the DRC, monitoring the origin of minerals and the human rights situation along the supply chain, to reassure downstream buyers.

These initiatives have secured an ongoing outlet for Congolese minerals. Mines covered by the programs also experienced considerably lower levels of armed interference. It seems that the higher level of scrutiny involved constitutes a deterrent for armed actors.

But responsible sourcing – and the increased regulation it comes with – has also had unintended consequences.

One is that it’s had a negative effect on informal artisanal miners. Over one million Congolese rely on mining for their livelihood and they in turn support about five times as many people.

For instance in Rubaya, eastern Congo, after schemes were set up to trace the source and certify minerals, artisanal miners complained of rising poverty and unemployment. This is because traders – who purchase minerals from miners and sell them on – wait until they get paid for their certified minerals before paying out artisanal miners. This can take months and means that only miners who have a bit of capital can afford to keep on mining. This led to increased insecurity. Many of the artisanal miners who find themselves out of work, resort to banditry.

A second weakness is that it’s not even clear that the minerals subject to responsible sourcing or traceability programmes are actually conflict free.

Under current programmess, minerals extracted responsibly are supposed to receive a “tag” when they come out of the ground. This avoids them being mixed-up with minerals from elsewhere. But we found that this only happens in 58% of the mines covered by these programmes. In some cases, tagging only happens at a considerable distance from the mining site, because the site is difficult to access.

There’s also an issue with contamination as the very agents responsible for tagging sell tags to third parties.

These factors make it difficult to assess whether the minerals brought in are really “clean”.

This doesn’t mean we should abandon responsible sourcing initiatives. It’s a laudable idea. And although they are unlikely to resolve an armed conflict, they do rebuild consumer confidence in the DRC’s mineral production on which millions of people depend.

For responsible sourcing to be sustainable a way needs to be found to plug the loopholes, and to uplift artisanal miners.

Ken Matthysen, a researcher from the International Peace Information Service, contributed to this article

Peer Schouten, Postdoctoral fellow, Danish Institute for International Studies

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

President Kenyatta condoles with former President Moi following the death of Jonathan Moi

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 22, 2019

President Uhuru Kenyatta visited former President Daniel Arap Moi at his Kabarak home and personally conveyed his condolences following the death of Jonathan Toroitich Moi.

Upon his arrival at the former President’s family home in Nakuru County, President Kenyatta who was received by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, signed the condolences book before proceeding for a private meeting with the retired President.

The President condoled with the bereaved family and assured them of his full support during this difficult period of mourning.

The Head of State paid tribute to the late Jonathan Moi, describing him as his friend and brother.

Government: Register for Huduma Namba or be switched off

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 18, 2019

In a rather shocking move, the government has vowed to switch off mobile phone sim cards of users who will not have registered for Huduma Namba by the end of the 45 day deadline. Director General of the Communications Authority of Kenya, Francis Wangusi, promised stern actions if Kenyans will not have registered.

Among other measures, non registered users will not be able to access crucial financial services such as M-Pesa and mobile linked bank accounts.

Francis Wangusi also added that data security is a priority in this operations and Kenyans should not fear, as the relevant authorities have put necessary measures to guard data.

Despite the court order making the application for Huduma Namba a voluntary excercise, it seems the government is darn serious about this project. The immigration Department also announced that as from May, no one will be able to apply for crucial services; passport and Visa applications, without being registered in the platform.

Afrograins East Africa MD charged of obtaining Sh. 15m falsely.

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 18, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – Afrograins East Africa Managing Director has been arraigned in court for obtaining Sh. 15m from James Waithaka Managing Director of Convex Commodity Merchants Limited.

The accused David Michael Okoth, allegedly obtained the money by pretending that he was in a position to supply the complainant 700 tones of white maize, a fact he knew to be false.
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot at the Milimani Law courts, he denied the charge.
He will be released on a bond of Sh. 2m and an alternative cash bail of Sh. 1m.

The case has been set for hearing on 21st May, 2019 and the mention on 2nd May, 2019.

Woman charged of manslaughter released on Sh. 1m bond

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 18, 2019

BY PRUDENCE WANZA – A woman has been arraigned in court for killing one Peter Wasike at Kibera, Soweto area.
The two were married five years ago but separated and on the night of 31st March, 2019 they had a fight which resulted to the death of the deceased.
The accused Rosemary Okwiri, pleaded not guilty to the charge before Senior Principal Magistrate, Kennedy Cheruiyot at the Milimani Law Courts.
She has been released on a bond of Sh. 1million and an alternative cash bail of Sh. 1million
The case has been set for hearing on 21st May, 2019 and the mention on 2nd May, 2019.

Uhuru calls for more private sector participation in infrastructure development

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 18, 2019

President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged African Governments to create an enabling environment to enable the private sector to participate more in the development of critical infrastructure in Africa.

The President said he was convinced that public private partnerships supported by robust national institutions to ensure accountability and transparency holds the key to closing the prevailing infrastructure gap on the continent.

The Head of State pointed out that Africa must work to address the insufficient stock of functional and quality infrastructure in energy, water and transport services to enable companies to produce competitively for both domestic and international markets.

He said, good infrastructure is the backbone upon which African nations will achieve economic growth that will inturn create the much needed jobs for the youth as well as generate wealth to deal with the challenge of poverty.

“High quality infrastructure reduces transactional and other costs; enabling efficient use of labour and capital, but more importantly, enhancing connectivity between production points and market points,” President Kenyatta said.

The President was speaking when he officially closed the inaugural AfroChampions Boma forum on African Infrastructure Financing and Delivery organized by the AfroChampions Initiative.

The AfroChampions Initiative is a set of innovative public-private partnerships and flagship programs designed to galvanize African resources and institutions to support the emergence and success of African private sector in the regional and global spheres.

The initiative is driven by prominent private and public sector players in Africa.

President Kenyatta said the dream of connecting the continent cannot be realized unless viable solutions to mobilise the required infrastructure financing are found.

“We need to connect Africa, but this cannot be possible without investing in critical infrastructure,” he said, adding that African economies must also be diversified by promoting value addition and manufacturing to create job opportunities for the more than ten million young people joining the labour market each year.

“Indeed, industrialization is the way to go if we are to achieve and sustain shared prosperity and job creation for our peoples,” he continued.

President Kenyatta observed that the AfroChampions Initiative is important as it presents an exceptional opportunity for government agencies, private financiers and other stakeholders to come together and share their knowledge, expertise and experience leading to innovative solutions to the challenges in financing and implementing world class infrastructure systems in Africa.

While noting that Nairobi is home to over 50 international development organizations as well as several global multinationals, the President reiterated Kenya’s commitment to continue assisting African companies to thrive.

President Kenyatta also spoke on Pan-Africanism saying the African dream is that of a continent brimming with promise finding its feet in the modern world and striding confidently into a future of peace, prosperity and unity.

“It is the dream of our founding fathers; great men and women who saw in us the seeds of greatness and our vast potential to be a force for good; both at home and abroad,” President Kenyatta said.

He pointed out that Africa’s golden path to its deserved destiny lies not in nations engaging each other in fierce competition but rather in coming together to build a common better tomorrow for all those privileged to call Africa home.

“The Pan-African dream of peace, prosperity and unity is set to be spurred by the imminent entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement. This continental feat presents an extraordinary opportunity for Africa to become the single largest market in the world,” he said.

The President underscored the need for Africa’s companies to take cross-border leadership in key industries and for leading hubs – like Kenya – to play their proper role as accelerators for the expansion and triumph of African home-grown champions.

The Head of State informed the meeting that Kenya has already taken giant steps in facilitating free movement of persons on the continent by offering visas on arrival to all African citizens.

Addressing the meeting that brought together key public and private sector players from across the continent, African Union’s High Representative for Infrastructure Development and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga expressed optimism that Africa is capable of addressing its infrastructure needs.

Mr Odinga called on African countries to remove barriers that hinder the free movement of people, goods and services by abolishing policies that curtail the involvement of the private sector in infrastructure development.

Maize flour consumers in dilemma as prices escalate

By

Dan Ojumah

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April 18, 2019

BY PETER WAFULA – You now have to dig deeper into your pockets in order to continue enjoying a bowl of ugali, a delicacy considered as staple food by majority of households in the country. This is the stark reality facing millions of maize flour consumers. A spot check in the market reveals an upward spiral of the commodity’s prices over the last two weeks with some brands having increased the price by Ksh.30 for a 2 kg packet of maize flour.

On retail stores shelves, leading maize flour brands Jogoo, Hodari and Dola 2kg packets are selling at ksh 109, ksh 107 and ksh 106 from ksh 79 and ksh 77 respectively. Two weeks ago, a price increase of between sh29 and sh30 with a likelihood of further increase of price unless drastic intervention to stabilize supply is urgently undertaken.
Maize millers have justified the upward prices review citing shortage of maize in the country. The move comes despite government’s assurance that the country has enough maize reserves to cushion Kenyans against hunger that has ravaged some parts of the country.

Maize sector has been riddled with controversies stemming from alleged corruption in the National Cereals and Produce Board, a body mandated to buy and stock maize from farmers over existence of a
cartel that is accused of importing maize leaving farmers at the mercy of middle men who offer low prices for farmer’s produce.

While the millers cite shortage of maize, some farmers in the maize growing regions have in their stores last year’s produce protesting what they term as low prices offered by the NCPB.

“We have maize rotting in our stores, we are surprised in other parts like Turkana people are dying of hunger not far from here. Let the government give us sh.3600 for a 90kg bag” said Nicodemus Kigen, a large scale maize farmer in Kwanza Sub County in Trans Nzoia County.

In a free economy market that currently exists, prices of commodities are left to be determined by market forces of demand and supply. Past attempts by the government to subsidize maize flour prices have proved short term with experts warning against attempts to impose price control on commodities.