Four Chinese Nationals have been arraigned in court for engaging in employment without a permit in which is contrary to the law. | Prudence Wanza
BY PRUDENCE WANZA – Four Chinese Nationals have been arraigned in court for engaging in employment without a permit in which is contrary to the law. The four; Ji Hongfan, Du Te, Feng Cheng and Zhu Yanliang pleaded not guilty to the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Hellen Onkwani at the Milimani Law Courts.
Ji Hongfan and Du Te are accused of engaging in employment as the Directors at Simon Trading Company Limited at Even Business Parlor along North Airport road in Nairobi, being fully aware they are committing an offense by engaging in such employment.
Feng Chen and Zhu Yanliang have been accused of engaging in employment as supervisors at the same Simon Trading Company without authoritization.
Ruling on whether they shall be granted bail or bond has been set for March 19th 2019
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has said social protection is a fundamental human right and a challenge with a bearing on not only human health but also on the overall human development.
While calling on all stakeholders to play an active role in the establishment of sustainable national social protection programmes, the Kenyan First Lady said she was glad that gender mainstreaming is now a dominant subject in many national social protection systems globally.
The Kenyan First Lady challenged global leaders to reflect on how they can use their leadership influence to ensure the issue of social protection is responsive to the most vulnerable groups in their societies.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta recounted her experience in advocacy, saying her actions resulted in the refocusing of national attention towards ignored areas of the health sector especially the primary causes of maternal and child mortality.
“When I stepped into the role of being First Lady, it allowed me to start thinking about how this position could make a difference and change the course of our country’s future in the health arena,” said the First Lady.
First Lady addressing over 500 delegates during the ongoing 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women | PSCU
The First Lady spoke when she addressed over 500 delegates during the ongoing 63rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which is taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York city.
The theme of the side event was “ The Power of Women’s Agency in Transforming Social Norma for Better Health Outcomes and Well Being.”
She said her simple message that “No woman should die giving life’, resonated well with the masses thereby creating awareness on the health challenges that had long been an impediment to social protection especially lack of access to quality health care, information and education for women, children and vulnerable societies.
“The principle ‘idea’ of Beyond Zero is to spur a ‘movement’ across the country about an issue that weighs heavily on the minds of ordinary Kenyans, ordinary families,” said First Lady Margaret Kenyatta.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta during the recently concluded Beyond Zero Campaign | Beyond Zero
The Kenyan First Lady pointed out that at the time of the launch of Beyond Zero Initiative in 2014, Kenya was considered one of the most dangerous places for a woman to give birth due to the high maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
She also said at that time, chances of survival for an HIV patient was very low and yet the fatalities could have been prevented using proven, affordable and sustainable interventions.
“At that time, the total maternal deaths were 6,300 per year and 13,000 new HIV infections occurred among children annually and the number of pregnant women attended by skilled health workers during delivery was at 44%,” the First Lady said.
She said, it is the above factors that created a sense of urgency within her requiring immediate action.
“An advocacy initiative such as Beyond Zero was timely in creating momentum, mobilise leadership and raise commitment towards achieving results in HIV, maternal newborn and child health,” she pointed out.
The First Lady said the Beyond Zero initiative is anchored in an ideology that exemplifies complementarity to existing global and national health sector plans, policies, and services which accelerates inspired action by all stakeholders to provide concrete solutions.
She noted that through Beyond Zero, the country has over the past five years made great strides in reducing maternal and child mortality.
“Through our collective efforts, we have contributed to prevention of thousands of mothers and babies dying from lack of access to healthcare, ”said the First Lady.
Adding, ”We have contributed to the widespread awareness around the health challenges facing women, children and vulnerable communities.”
The First Lady said at the national level, Beyond Zero has instituted significant progress in Kenya’s healthcare system by increased safe deliveries at health facilities to over 60%, increased breastfeeding rates to more than 60%, increased immunization rates to over 63% and reduction of mother to child transmission of HIV to 11%.
The initiative has also contributed to increased resource allocations to health and expanded access to specialized care at national and sub-national levels.
“For example, under the Government’s universal health care coverage, dialysis and chemotherapy are now included under the National Health Insurance Scheme,” said the First Lady.
Princess Mabel Van Oranje of Denmark who spoke through a video link commended the Kenyan First Lady for her initiative saying it has greatly helped women, children and the most vulnerable groups in society access quality public health services.
The Dutch Princess, a great champion of global partnership to end child marriage said she will continue collaborating with First Lady Margaret Kenyatta
The Dutch Princess, a great champion of global partnership to end child marriages under the movement ‘Girls not Brides’, said she will continue collaborating with First Lady Margaret Kenyatta to ensure women and girls are empowered to achieve their goals.
Ford Foundation Vice President for International Programmes Martin Abregu said the foundation values partnerships that are aimed offering long lasting solutions to challenges facing vulnerable members of society.
In attendance were the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, Prof. Margaret Kobia, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry Rachel Shebesh and spouse to the former Prime Minister Ida Odinga.
Some 17 years ago today, the political careers of former Vice President Professor George Saitoti and former KANU Secretary General went South. The venue was Kasarani Stadium. The event merger of KANU and Raila Odinga”s National Development Party
The build up to the event was pitch tense. Then President Moi, who was due to retire in 9 months time was in the political market for a successor. And he was already clear that Saitoti was not on his plans. And so on 18th March 2002, Saitoti and his cronies were kicked out of KANU by delegates.
Saitoti and Moi during National Celebrations
In came Uhuru Kenyatta; Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi and Katana Ngala as Vice Chairman. A stunned and visibly angry Kamotho was replaced by Raila Odinga. During the full day drama, Joseph Nyagah and John Harun Mwau were prevailed to step down for Kalonzo after wheeler dealers convinced Moi that Kalonzo should remain in top KANU leadership. William Ruto was elected Organising Secretary.
Political realignments over President Uhuru Kenyatta succession are in top gear. The Kasarani event mad as well have launched Uhuru Kenyattas March to State House which he eventually entered in 2013. But it is his battles with Raila Odinga and the eventual handshake in 2018 that will define his memoirs once leaves office in 2022. Pundits are comparing the Kasarani debacle the handshake.
In both cases Raila aka ‘tinga’ aka ‘jakom’ aka ‘baba’ is a prime mover. In both cases, there are huge political prizes to be traded. In 2002, Raila had hoped the KANU deal will thrust him to State House with Uhuru as his deputy. But Moi wanted Uhuru in state house with Raila as one of the pillars. The professor of politics had wanted the constitution to be changed and a non executive Prime Minister position to accommodate Raila created but only after Uhuru takes over. Raila did not trust Moi…and so he refused to take the bait, struggled the KANU cockerel and backed Mwai Kibaki.
Raila Odinga and William Ruto
The political season and succession in now back. A change of the constitution has been proposed. The Post of Prime Minister is key to these changes. It is this change of the constitution business that has informed the current bad blood between DP Dr. William Ruto and Raila. Allies of the DP feel that the creation of a PM amounts to mutilation of the Presidency at a time when the DP is warming up for the Big seat up the hill.
Raila men know the pain of losing. 1997. 2007. 2013. 2017. They would rather share seats via a new constitution rather than continue waiting. And so they have convinced Kalonzo to back the new deal with a firm promise of a deputy PM. In Mombasa, Hassan Joho has been roped in, Gideon Moi is also in the stable. Musalia Mudavadi political mood is unpredictable but he appears nearer those for constitutional change. The move is complicating political mathematics and science for the DP. But he appears to be spoiling for a mother of all political battles. He is banking on his die hard supporters to soil their hands since he is already part of the Presidency.
Problem is Raila is a political mammal with hands everywhere in Kenya. One thing is however clear. Some political careers may be consumed by the time the handshake is becomes an embrace.
A contractor who designed the controversial Arror Dam is claiming Sh.140 million from treasury for delays in settling his bills.
This despite the fact that the designs, delivered in 2013 are not being used in the works. The total contract sum was Sh.900million but details are emerging that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations may have been duped about the availability of the design.
Ministry of Treasury, Nairobi
Investigations by Uzalendo News has unearthed shocking revelations that an Irarian firm NTN designed the Arror dam at a cost of sh.900million. The design which was allegedly delivered to Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA) in 2013, but the company is still owed sh.120million. This information was not availed to the DCI…ostensibly because it was altered for reasons Uzalendo News could not ascertain.
The detailed designs took 2 years to construct. So far, three ministers namely Henry Rotich, Mwangi Kiunjuri and Eugene Wamalwa have recorded statements over the dams. So far, the Government has paid out sh.27billion. The dam designer is currently claiming Sh.110million in interest over the same.
Maasai warriors wearing red and women wearing beads have come to be seen as symbols of “traditional” Africa. These colourful glass beads and red blankets play an important role in Maasai culture.
For thousands of European tourists who travel to East Africa, a visit would be incomplete without buying beads and blankets. What few know is the intricate cultural interconnection between Africa and Europe that resulted in these “traditions”.
Glass beads first arrived in Africa from the first millennium AD through the trans-Saharan and coastal trade. Because they were produced in India they were very expensive and only used by royalty.
From 1480 onwards, the mass export of beads from Europe to East Africa started from Venice and Murano in Italy, Bohemia and the Netherlands. By the late 19th century huge quantities of beads were being used as trade goods.
Although beads were readily available, the Maasai did not develop an interest in them for quite some time. The Iltalala age-set, who were warriors from 1881 until 1905, were the first to use larger numbers of beads to decorate themselves. An age-set is an institutionalised stage in life which is shared by people that are in the same age-category. Maasai age-sets are determined by the circumcision-ceremonies of boys, which initiate them into warriorhood. The time of circumcision defines who belongs to a certain age-set.
The age-sets have names and their members used to paint their bodies and shields to distinguish themselves. When the colonialists prohibited warriors from wearing their weapons in public, the Maasai instead began to wear beaded ornaments which made a public statement about the wearer.
The Iltalala age-set, who were warriors from 1881 until 1905, were the first to use larger numbers of beads to decorate themselves.
Beadwork fashions come and go
Beadwork can tell you several things about the wearer. Specific ornaments and colours indicate whether the person is Maasai or from another ethnic group. Different Maasai clans also use certain beads and colour combinations to indicate their affiliation. Finally, a person’s beadwork reflects his or her position in life. The belt of a young woman is different from the belt of a young man, and an unmarried girl’s earrings are different from those of a married woman.
Within those cultural rules, beadwork fashion changes all the time. Each new generation develops a particular style, including certain materials, colour placements and symbols that unite and identify them. In the spirit of creative competition, the girlfriends of a new age-set make new ornaments to ensure that their men outshine the previous age-set.
Other changes in the fashion result from a shortage of beads of certain types or colours for trade reasons. A good example is the blocking of the Suez Canal during the third Arab Israeli war in 1967.
Rivalry between age-sets also sparks change. Competing age-sets have often chosen to incorporate symbols of adopted technology. For instance, the Iseuri age-set, which was circumcised in the 1950s and 1960s, chose the telegraph pole as their symbol, as a reference to the speed of communication between warriors and their girlfriends.
The next major age-set, the Ilkitoip, elaborated on this theme by adding a large button eye on top of the telegraph pole to symbolise the swirling blue light of a police car. Succeeding age-sets created ornaments with a helicopter rotor blade because helicopters are faster than police cars.
Outside influences
Tourists are often quite surprised and a little disappointed when they find out that Maasai beads are imported from Europe. They would like African beadwork to be “authentic”. And it’s true that some ornaments have more cultural meaning than others.
Some are adapted to tourists’ preferences. For instance Maasai women started to use colours and designs they would not normally use in their own beadwork, just because tourists liked them. And ornaments for tourists are often made of cheaper Chinese beads.
Some items have such symbolic significance that they cannot easily be sold. An example is the Elekitatiet belt, which a woman makes for her daughter-in-law when she has delivered her first baby.
Nowadays uncircumcised boys in the city wear beaded necklaces in Rastafari colours, and warriors buy beaded straps that give their watches a Maasai touch.
So Maasai beadwork continues to be the result of the interaction between European and African cultures, and there is nothing isolated or timeless about it. Rather than exotic, static and detached, it forms an ever changing, multi-cultural realm of exchange of materials and ideas between Africa and Europe.
Emerging evidence from the recent crash in Ethiopia suggests that malfunctioning automatic control systems overwhelmed the crew and doomed the flight. Based on my analysis, it appears that the Ethiopian Airlines crew followed the standard procedures found in the Boeing 737 pilots operating handbook and flight crew operations manual.
A typical flight starts with manual control of the plane. The pilot and co-pilot will personally steer the aircraft onto the taxiway, configure the flaps for takeoff, actively control the aircraft as it accelerates down the runway, and smoothly pull back on the control yoke to lift the plane off the ground and into flight. The flight’s altitude and speed data, transmitted from the plane in real time and made available to the public by FlightRadar24.com, shows that happened normally as Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 left the runway.
Everything appears to have gone as usual on the initial climb away from the takeoff, too. Normally, the pilot will retract the landing gear and maintain a relatively steady speed as the aircraft climbs. The plane might accelerate slightly until it’s going fast enough that the flaps – extended to increase lift at lower speeds – can be safely retracted, letting the wings themselves generate the necessary lift. This process usually takes place in the first minute after takeoff. Once the aircraft has climbed to 1,000 feet above the ground, the pilot will engage the autopilot system.
That’s the point at which the computer takes over – and where, my analysis of the data suggests, things went wrong for Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. A modern autopilot system gives the computer command of the engine throttles, rudder, elevators and ailerons – basically full control over the aircraft.
Simulating the expected flight
Using modeling tools developed by my research team, I recreated a hypothetical flight profile to simulate the Ethiopian Airlines 737 departure based on the handbook procedure for an identical plane carrying a similar amount of weight. The simulation timing, key speeds and altitudes all follow my best estimate of the procedure that a trained pilot would be expected to follow.
Comparing this data to the actual flight data, I was able to see where the ideal predicted performance differs from the actual motions of the lost flight. My simulation closely matches the actual speeds of the aircraft on its takeoff roll, and recreates its first few miles of airborne flight. The pilot let the aircraft accelerate gently during initial climb, which isn’t specifically called for or prohibited in the official manual.
The flight paths between a typical flight and the actual course sharply diverge only after the aircraft reached an altitude of 1,000 feet above the runway.
Immediately after flap retraction, the pilot should have engaged the autopilot, leaving the computer to command a climb at constant airspeed. Instead, the ill-fated flight began to dive and accelerate, losing altitude and gaining speed until it struck the ground a few miles away from the airport.
There are several possible reasons a plane could crash like this. One is that an engine could malfunction. But the telemetry data doesn’t indicate the loss of acceleration that an engine failure would cause. Another reason could be that some part of the fuselage, wings or tail broke or collapsed. The data doesn’t show the sort of change in speed or climb rate that would result from such a loss of stability.
The crash does not appear to be due to pilot error, either. I’ve studied pilot overreactions during developing emergencies, and see no evidence of that before the initial dive; the pilots seem to fly an otherwise typical takeoff. If there was some other mechanical failure, the pilots didn’t report it to the control tower. There is no indication that they overreacted or overcompensated to some emergency: The radar track shows no evidence of a condition called “wallowing,” characterized by periodic fluctuations in speed and altitude, nor any accidental stall, where airspeed drops sharply before the plane loses altitude.
Therefore, it appears that the various automatic control systems conspired to prevent the pilots from asserting direct control over the ailerons, elevators and rudder that keep the aircraft aloft and on course.
How long on the ground?
More than 300 Boeing 737 Max aircraft have been flying since 2017, with thousands of safe takeoffs and landings. That suggests the problem for Ethiopian Airlines – and possibly the 2018 Lion Air crash too – is one of the difficult sort of engineering troubles that happen intermittently, or even seemingly randomly, in very complex systems.
Boeing has already said it will update the aircraft’s software. Any fixes will have to be checked not only to ensure that they handle whatever the exact problem is that’s identified by crash investigators, but also to make sure they don’t cause other unexpected errors. That will take its own amount of time. In the meantime, all the Boeing 737 Max aircraft in the world are on the ground, waiting.
A man has been arraigned at Milimani Law Courts for allegedly obtaining a total of Ksh. 4.5M from Ibragim Kistoeb Kostoev the Director of Truly Golden Trading Company.
The accused, Gabriel Peter Ooko pretended to be in a position to sell 210kgs of gold to Ibragim. Appearing before the Chief Magistrate, at Milimani Law Courts, Francis Andayi, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was released on a bond of Ksh. 500,000 or a surety of a similar amount and an alternative cash bail of Ksh. 200,000.
President Uhuru announced that the government will not only fund national sports teams but also invest more in youth talent development programmes.
He said by sponsoring youth talent development activities, the government aims at creating a strong feeder system of talented sports men and women for national teams.
“We have set aside money to ensure we fully fund our sports men and women but not just the national teams, we are also going to start putting money into the under-21s and under-17s,” said the Head of State.
The President said this is the only way the country can develop its sporting potential by investing in its budding sports men and women.
He was speaking at the Karen Country Club where he presided over the presentation of trophies to the winners of the 2019 Magical Kenya Open Golf Championship, won by 24-year old Italian Guido Migliozzi who scooped the Shs 20 million winner’s prize.
The President encouraged the private sector to step up partnerships with the government in the development of sporting talents among young Kenyans.
The President especially thanked beverage maker, Coca Cola for investing in the under-15’s football development in the country.
He said his recent announcement that the government will fund all national teams including the Harambee Stars, the Rugby Sevens team, National Women Netball team and the National Athletics teams is aimed at making Kenya a sporting destination.
“And this is where we want to position and place our country. It is through commitment, love of our country and integrity that we shall be able to achieve these objectives,” said the President.
The golf championship was co-sponsored by the government and partners among them the Absa group. It was also the first time that the tournament changed its status from a European Tour Challenge to the upgraded European Tour Circuit.
President Kenyatta said he was happy that a promise he made at Muthaiga Golf Club last year to move the championship from a challenge cup to the European tour had been realized through efforts by the government, partners and sponsors.
He said this commitment and sponsorship of the Magical Kenya Open Golf Championships will continue for the next three years.
President Kenyatta was joined at the function by the Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage Ambassador Amina Mohammed and her Tourism and Wildlife counterpart Najib Balala. The Head of State was hosted by an international golfing fraternity led by the chairman of the Kenya Open Golf Limited Peter Kanyago, Chairman of the Kenya Golf Union Lucas Marang’a, Chairman of the Karen Country Club Louis Otieno, and the European Union Tour Tournament Director Paul Carrigill.
The recent announcement that a British museum will return two stolen locks of hair from a 19th century Ethiopian king was hailed as an “exemplary gesture of goodwill” by the Ethiopian Embassy in London. The hair was cut from Emperor Tewodros II’s head after he shot himself rather than be taken prisoner by invading British forces. The forces attacked his fortress at Maqdala during Easter in 1868.
The British forces went on a looting spree, taking so much bounty after the Battle of Maqdala that they needed 15 elephants and 200 mules to cart it away. It included more than 500 ancient parchment manuscripts, two gold crowns, crosses and chalices in gold, silver and copper, and religious icons. His seven-year-old son Prince Alemayehu was taken to the UK along with the looted treasures.
Strands of the Emperor’s hair were given to the National Army Museum in London 60 years ago.
The return of the locks follows a recent report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron that recommended African treasures in French museums be returned to their countries of origin. During colonial rule in Africa, thousands of cultural artefacts were plundered from the continent by Western countries.
What makes these 151-year-old Ethiopian artefacts so deeply significant? The answer lies in Tewodros’s subsequent symbolism and significance in the history of Ethiopia – historically known as Abyssinia – a nation that has faced vicious attacks from powerful nations, and still, stands tall in its independence.
Ethiopia is a storytelling nation in which the past is of crucial importance. Tewodros has a special place in the storytelling process.
King of Kings
A ferocious warrior, Tewodros rose from being the son of a provincial chief to power, known as Nəguśä Nägäśt or King of Kings. Ending the chaotic period in Ethiopian history known as “Zämänä Mäsafənt” (the era of princes), he aimed to unify and modernise Ethiopia.
Tewodros was deeply religious and saw his political policy as a part of divine mission. The immediate threats that brought about his demise were Islamic Turks threatening to occupy parts of Ethiopia. He assumed that the Christian West would to come to his aid, and made an appeal by a letter to Queen Victoria of England saying,
…when I told the Turks to relinquish the soil of my fathers, they refused, and so, by the power of God, here I am about to struggle against them.
However, to his utter bewilderment, the queen declined. The emperor could not fathom how a Christian nation like England could uphold the power of Islam in Egypt and Turkey.
Out of fury, Tewodros jailed the British consul and other foreigners. His calculation was using the detainees as bargaining chips to secure the British support. However, his action led Britain to see Ethiopia as a “risk without profit”.
They sent 64,000 people (including 12,000 fighting men) under Sir Robert Napier, and invaded Ethiopia to face Tewodros. Called the Napier expedition, it’s been described as the largest military offensive by the British empire in Africa. Rather than being captured, the emperor killed himself.
Hero status
Tewodros’s biographer Philip Marsden wrote the impression he got when visiting the region in the early 1980s, which is when Mengistu Haile Mariam’s military junta governed Ethiopia, was that Tewodros was,
a mad dog let loose, a sort of black reincarnation of Ivan the Terrible.
But when he returned after the 1990s when the dictatorship had been deposed, a “heroification” of Tewodros had started – this, Marsden found, was necessary because of a vilification of the Ethiopian leader by foreign authors.
It’s quite debatable if there was such a dramatic shift in the Ethiopian perception Tewodros.
Less debatable, however, is a clear difference between how Western and Ethiopian writers interpreted and portrayed the man. Like all interpretative projects, this one is not without ideological preoccupation. The Western authors wanted to caricature him in a certain way to justify the British looting of precious historical artefacts as “war trophy”.
In order to restore him, it required the imagination of arts to cement his memory in the Ethiopian history.
No other leader has influenced popular culture in Ethiopia as Tewodros did. He is a treasure trove for songwriters, playwrights and poets. Once Abbe Gubegna, a prolific writer who uses his literary skills to launch sharp political critiques, said,
Tewodros will continue to sparkle like a jewel in the heart of many generations.
Moreover, the dramatic nature of his lifestyle, his rise from an ordinary background and his ambitions of transforming Ethiopia into a modern state adds to the fascination of the literary world in his life and action. He is viewed as a true leader who authored his immortality by refusing to surrender to British forces and taking his own life instead.
The scene of his confrontation with Napier’s forces was re-imagined by renowned playwright, Tsegaye Gebre-Medhin, who was also considered Ethiopia’s poet laureate:
‘Hands up,’ says a European
A hand to be raised and surrender
What hand does have a wild fire?
Except that burns and consumes.
Teddy Afro’s tribute to Emperor Tewodros.
Teddy Afro, a contemporary singer and songwriter, captures the significance of his hair as a thread that ties all Ethiopians together across ethnic divides:
Bring a thread from his (Tewodros’s) hair
Let’s tie our covenant so we’re divided more.
A storytelling nation
Tewodros’s sacrifice has ramifications to both Ethiopia’s projection of itself at home and to the international community.
In domestic politics, the nation has struggled with leaders who could not see beyond their personal enrichment. For those who failed to put the nation first, Tewodros still stands as a loud critical voice. As for international diplomacy, Tewodros symbolises Ethiopia – a nation that has faced vicious attacks from powerful nations, and still stands tall in its independence.
Mohammed Girma, Research Associate and the author of Understanding Religion and Social Change in Ethiopia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), and the editor of The Healing of Memories (Rowan & Littlefield, 2018). Follow him on Twitter @girma_mohammed, University of Pretoria
President Uhuru Kenyatta said the government wants all pupils to join secondary school despite challenges associated with the 100 per cent transition.
He said the government will do what it takes to expand physical facilities in existing institutions to ensure all pupils successfully transit to secondary school.
The President said the government is already taking stock and assessing existing infrastructure to establish deficits before undertaking a comprehensive program of expansion and addition of new facilities in schools.
“We want all children in school. We shall built new infrastructure and expand existing ones after taking an assessment,” said the Head of State.
He was speaking at the 94 year old Mang’u High School in Thika during the institution’s prize giving and thanksgiving ceremony.
Mang’u High school, one of the best performing secondary schools in Kenya, started in Kabaa High School (Machakos) in 1925 before moving to the compound of the current St Francis Girls’ High School (old Mang’u) and finally finding its current home on Exit 16 along the Thika Superhighway.
Some of the school luminaries include top scholars, doctors, engineers and political leaders including retired President Mwai Kibaki and former VP Moody Awori. Kibaki sent an apology through the former VP during today’s ceremony.
Before the President spoke, the Principal Secretary for Basic Education Dr. Belio Kipsang said the transition rate currently stands at 94 per cent and the number of secondary school students has shot up to 3 million compared to 1.9 learners in 2013.
The President said the ongoing modernization of the education sector includes the implementation of the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) which he said grounds the students better academically, morally and socially.
“The Curriculum (CBC) lays emphasis on learners’ ability to process issues as well as their passions and talents. Assessment (under the CBC) will be formative rather than summative so that the skills acquired match what our industries require,” said the President.
As a policy, President Kenyatta said, the government will continue paying examination fees for all students, enhance capitation for secondary school students and provide medical cover to all students under the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), a programme that was started last year.
Presidently keenly pays attention to Mangú student’s presentation | PSCU
“Our aim and the aim of these efforts is to modernize our education and training so that our sons and daughters can acquire the knowledge and skills that they need to efficiently serve this country and leave it better than they found it,”he said adding that the government will continue supporting all students in Kenyan secondary schools.
The President said Mang’u High school has so far received Shs15 million in the current financial year to enhance and improve its classrooms, dormitories and ablution capacity.
“To further improve the learning environment for students, the ministry of education will continue to work with the school management to progressively address the infrastructural needs in the school,” said the Head of State adding that Mang’u will receive another Shs 140 million in the next two financial years for its infrastructural development needs and expansion program to cater for its rising student population that now stands at over 1700.
He also promised the school a new 72-seater school bus on the request of the school captain Kitagwa Powell.
The President advised the students to remain diligent , work hard and devote their lives to the service of the people, community and the country if they hope to match the distinguished careers of the great men who have gone through the school.
He also congratulated the school management under the chairmanship of former Cabinet Minister George Muhoho and the sponsorship of Catholic primate John Cardinal Njue (Diocese of Nairobi) for sustaining the school as a centre of excellence.
Uhuru Kenyatta opening the new hall named after retired President Mwai Kibaki and the modern Captain Ronald Karauri Dining Hall. | PSCU
Earlier, the President officially opened the newly constructed Amphitheatre named after retired President Mwai Kibaki and the modern Captain Ronald Karauri Dining Hall.
Dr Kipsang said the implementation of the CBC is on course and so far the ministry has distributed over 26 million books to ensure its success.
Other speakers included Mr Muhoho who announced his retirement as chairman of the school board after 23 years, Cardinal Njue who also conducted Eucharistic mass for both the parents , the students and invited guests, Moody Awori and Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu among others.
