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  • Kenya, Uganda trade wars escalates

    Kenya, Uganda trade wars escalates

    DP William Ruto chats with Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni at Mubende state lodge in Uganda when he paid him a courtesy call in December 2019

    Deputy President William Ruto has asked Uganda President Yoweri Museveni to release trucks belonging to Kenyan fish exporters.

    The trucks were impounded three weeks ago together with fish valued at Sh50 million (Sh1.5 billion Uganda shillings) in Kasese district.

    According to the traders, who transport fresh fish from Lake Turkana to the Democratic Republic of Congo, the consignment was confiscated by the Uganda Fisheries Protection Unit on October 3 at Mpondwe border.

    Speaking from Busia, Ruto urged President Museveni to release the trucks unconditionally.

    “About the fish impounded in Uganda, I want to tell Museveni to release the lorries in the spirit of the East African Community and allow our traders to take the fish to its destination before they get bad. That is not bhang or illicit alcohol but genuine products that Kenyan traders were transporting,” said Ruto.

    He said fresh fish was highly perishable and if the standoff persists, the traders will incur huge losses.

    “We cannot claim we are good neighbours when we (Kenya) play our role and allow Uganda traders to do business in the country freely but our traders are arrested and slapped with punitive fines and their products confiscated across the border,” said Ruto.

    President Museveni and DP Ruto are friends.  The Deputy President said it was wrong for the Ugandan authorities to continue holding onto the consignment and yet an agreement had been reached to have the trucks released after traders blocked Busia border point last week.

    Angry traders blocked the Busia One stop border point in protest after the Uganda Fisheries Protection Unit (FPU) declined to release the impounded trucks on grounds that the fish that was being transported to DRC had been stolen from Lake Kyoga.

    Protesters had threatened to paralyse operation at the border point unless the trucks and consignment are released by Uganda authorities.

    “The Uganda military is a thorn in our flesh. They arrest us frequently without any valid reasons and arraign us in their courts where we are slapped with punitive fines. On this one, we are not going to relent until we have our fish released unconditionally,” said Yusuf Sefu, chairman Kenya Fish Traders Association.

    “We have closed this border to demand for the unconditional release of our trucks that were intercepted by the Ugandan military at the Mpondwe border post in Kasese,” explained Mr Sefu.

    He said the impounded fish had met all requisite certification from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

    “The fish was from Lake Turkana and not Lake Kyoga as it is being alleged,” argued the official. Sefu wondered why Uganda authorities were laying claim on the fish yet they could easily establish the origin of the fish.

    Calm was restored at the border point after Ugandan officials led by Busia Deputy Resident District Commissioner Mathew Tusubira met with their Kenyan counterparts led by Busia Kenya County Commissioner, John Korir recently.

    It was resolved that representatives from the two groups would meet and secure the release of the trucks but that has not happened.

    So far, affected traders have moved to court and sued the head of the Fisheries Protection Unit-FPU on Lake George and Edward Capt Musa Mugogo and Joyce Ikwaput Nyeko respectively,

    They also sued the acting Director of Fisheries Resources Management – Uganda and the country’s Attorney General who they want charged with malicious damage of property and theft.

  • International Land Coalition Africa stresses the centrality of partnerships in protecting land rights and users

    At a hybrid press conference from Nairobi, International Land Coalition (ILC) Africa displays its plan for protecting community land rights environmental defenders which is among the premier and pioneer.

    On October 18, 2021 in Nairobi International Land Coalition (ILC) Africa has recapitulates that Africa Land Forum 2021 taking place October 26-28 under the theme “Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa through partnerships for inclusive land governance” will mobilize different stakeholders to protect the land rights of communities and users.

    The platform that counts 76 members in 26 countries said it would bring together the region’s actors on land governance, including rural communities and women, to explore opportunities, and design new ways of addressing land-based communal violence, famine and climate change.

    Protecting women’s land rights is a top priority for Africa and the world.

    “We work for half of the world’s population, which are women; where land rights are respected, women’s income goes up 3.8 times higher, and everybody benefits including households,” Mike Taylor, ILC Director said from Rome during a virtual attendance adding that he has never met any government official that denying women land rights. 

    The forum will provide an opportunity to assess the strength of partnerships in the face of emerging needs in people-centered land governance. “The 2021 Forum will strengthen existing partnerships on land rights. We will introduce our national platforms, drivers of the SDGs at the country level, through a multi-stakeholder approach,” Audace Kubwimana, ILC Africa Regional Coordinator said.

    The African Union declared the Year 2021 as The AU Year of the Arts, Culture and Heritage as Land is part of Africa’s cultural heritage where Africa’s art and cultural heritage will help forge regional cooperation and foster innovative and bold solutions to regain the drawbacks from COVID-19.

    Dr. Janet Edeme, Head of the African Union Commission’s Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Development talked of demographic changes and conflict on the current situations makes us think forward and straight “Demographic changes and conflict on the continent are making us re-think how land can be better used, leveraging our cultural identity, to advance the progress of Member States,” said Dr. Janet Edeme.

    He however added that, land is more than an economic resource in some part of history as the African Union Commission hopes that collaboration with International Land Coalition in Africa will help realize the Africa wanted.

    Regional Economic Communities assists in advancing the AU’s mandate on land governance. The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) has been walking the road with ILC to guarantee people-centered land governance, but more remains to be done.

    Esther Obaikol, Land Governance Expert at IGAD speaking on the position of the IGAD in the region as the most conflict-prone with high levels of land degradation and climate change the region of Africa terming land as the most important resource ”We want to use the two most important resources we have which is land, on the one hand, and people, on the other, to improve the standard of living of the people in the IGAD region,” Esther Obaikol said.

    Indigenous Peoples have been experiencing intensive land grabbing over the past few years as activist Amina Amharech indicated that Policies based on colonial laws do not respect the rights of indigenous peoples giving statistics that Today just 1% of land is occupied by Indigenous Peoples in the world and on farming activities for Indigenous Peoples do not go beyond 2 hectares as they cannot realize the SDGs with this with hopes the coming forum on land will also address the issue.

    With the murder of Joannah Stutchbury, the plight of environmental and land defenders became a burning issue. Through the Natural Justice, ILC Africa has set up the African Environmental Defenders Fund, a platform that enables defenders to highlight their plight and receive support. The same applies to communities as they strive to defend themselves which is the only such resource on the continent today according to Samuel Nguiffo, representing ILC Africa members.

    ILC Africa’s broader work extends to participatory rangelands management, youth access to land, family farming, data development in the land sector, ecosystems, food systems, to name but a few.

    ILC Africa also said that this year’s Forum will be a pre-event of the 2021 Conference on Land Policy in Africa.

  • Kenya calls for joint approach to tackle AMR


    Ministry of Health
    Health Chief Administrative Secretary Dr.Rashid Aman addressing the media

    By Lenah Bosibori

    Nairobi, 16 Sep…Kenya has called for a joint effort from all government departments and independent organizations to help tackle Anti microbial resistance (AMR).

    Speaking recently during a virtual launch of the Report on Using Citizen-Generated Data by Global Partnership and Africa’s Voices to Address Drug Resistant Infections in Kenya, Rashid Aman Chief Administrative Secretary ministry of health said that the complexity posed by AMR in essence.

    “We are fully aware that no single government, department or independent organization can tackle AMR alone and that containing, controlling and preventing emergence of AMR demands well-coordinated actions across multiple levels, sectors, disciplines and with a broad range of stakeholders including the citizens,” adds Aman

    From the reports of the situation analysis, Kenya is no exception to this threat with increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance being reported in hospitals and communities.

    From operational research conducted on public awareness in 2019, levels of awareness on the dangers of AMR are low with 73cent of members of the public interviewed indicating they have never heard of the AMR awareness week and 71 per cent of those interviewed indicated that they trusted doctors who prescribed antibiotics and would move to an alternative if one does not prescribe an antibiotic.

    “This is a clear pointer to the enormous task ahead of us in advancing the AMR agenda. In response to this, the Ministry Of Health in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries & Cooperatives joined the concerted regional and international efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance and ensure the availability of effective antibiotics now and in the future.

     In response to the AMR threat, the two Ministries consolidated national efforts to implement sustainable measures to mitigate any further emergence and spread of AMR according to Dr Aman.

    “The Government has taken several measures across various sectors to intensify action against AMR, the implementation of the National Policy and Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance and accompanying strategies on Surveillance,” said Aman.

    “Our National AMR surveillance system is now established with 16 laboratories (10 human health and 6 animal health laboratories) in the network up from 2 in 2017 when the policy was launched,” said Dr Aman.

    In view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, several studies globally have indicated a high rate of antimicrobial prescribing and self-medication for those with symptoms of Covid-19, much of which is unnecessarily promoting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as most of the initial illnesses being treated have been from covid-19 viral infection.

    “We cannot fight resistance if people are not aware, empowered and if they do not take action in making the right decisions. Everyone can and should be Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Awareness champion and by people we don’t just mean the technical experts, we mean ordinary citizens who make daily decisions that affect their health,” he added.

  • Hon Ongwae’s Political advisor, Hon Nyarangi graduates

    Hon Ongwae’s Political advisor, Hon Nyarangi graduates

    By Sharon Jebiwott and Irene Anyango ,

    Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in our country on March 17th, things seemed to have taken a different turn away from the norms affecting all sectors of the economy, including people’s social lives. The education sector is one of the many sectors that were greatly affected by the pandemic as things falling fell apart for students from all levels of learning.

    However, Stephen Nyarangi is one happy man who has been able to complete his studies and graduate with a degree in leadership and management from California University/the University of Yoll in collaboration with an evangelical training center in Nairobi. He attributes his success to God and thanks Him for the opportunity accorded to him despite all the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

    Hon Stephen Nyarangi with his brother Robert Onsomu

    COVID-19 was a blessing in disguise when it comes to his education according to Stephen “In fact, COVID-19 has made me study because you work from home. In most cases when I’m at home, I used to read a lot, so it was a blessing in disguise because I had enough time to sit down and read,” he said.

    Besides being a student, Stephen Nyarangi works with the county government of Kisii as the political advisor to Hon. Governor Ongwae of Kisii County. He had to balance between work and studies, the saying was not an easy task to dedicating his time and took the course as a serious and noble calling for him to dedicate his time for the studies.

    He however recalls excellent scores in the examinations did progress from 63% to 80% during the academic years.

    Stephen is looking forward to using his experience in leadership and management to mentor younyoung people has he plans to further his studies with Masters’s, Ph.D., to be a role model in soviet society. “As an advisor, I needed to have a lot of experience in leadership and management because you can’t advise without having rich experience in leadership and management and how to relate with people,” he said.

    He started a political journey in 2002, when he wanted to run for the seat of the Member of Parliament in Westlands Constituency, Nairobi but did not pursue his ambition since the Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, a close working partner offered him a place in NARC headquarters as one of the directors of elections.

    He, later on, formed a party called BDP, in which he was the chairperson until he was later elected the vice-chair in charge of finance and establishment center for multiparty democracy.

    Nyarangi has worked closely with political leaders such as the former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Gov James Ongwae, the speaker of the national assembly Justin Muturi as well as Alice Wahome, the Member of Parliament for Kandala Constituency enabling him to gain political expertise.

    He holds the Governor of Kisii County, Governor James Ongwae, in high regard and is grateful for the opportunity to serve as his advisor and looks forward to working with like-minded people including the president.

    Stephen Nyarangi however is not intending to run for any electoral position at the moment, as he wants to keep working with the county government and concentrate on ensuring that Governor James Ongwae delivers his mandate to the people and leaves a rich legacy in Kisii County.

    He is working to ensure Raila Odinga becomes president hinting that the Gusii community remains united leaving a rich legacy for the Kisi County. “I don’t want to contradict my work, your young I say that I’m going to run for the seat of Member of Parliament or something else, then I’ll not be able really to work for the governor or rather the county or people, I’ll concentrate on people,” he said.

    He alluded that the ongoing wrangles of fee increment at Kisii University urging the whole management to form committees to assist the lowering the fees so that the needy students from the community can enjoy an get the knowledge without any difficulties saying that a reasonable fee amount is a key and not only to success but also a brainstorming step for the better future.

     

    By Sharon Jebiwott and Irene Anyango

  • President Uhuru Kenyatta in New York

    H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta in New York Charing United Nations Security Council Session

    President Uhuru Kenyatta arrived in New York on Sunday for a two-day working visit of the US during which he is scheduled to chair a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) high-level open debate on diversity, state-building and peace.

    Having assumed her position as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on the 1st of January this year for two years, Kenya currently holds the monthly rotational presidency of the Council for October 2021.

    Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Amb Martin Kimani, Kenya’s overriding agenda at the UN Security Council is to offer ideas and solutions to global peace and security in areas such as the Horn of Africa and the troubled Sahel region.

    “The Security Council is a body that has the mandate to solve major challenges, but for many reasons has been unable to do so. We have ideas on how to do that, we have experience in building peace in our region and we bring those ideas and perspectives to the Council.

    “Kenya is suggesting innovations on how to approach particular conflict situations,” Amb Kimani said, adding that the country is encouraging the UN Security Council to work closely with Africa.

    Alongside his meeting at the UNSC, the Head of State is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and witness the signing of a trade agreement between Kenya’s private sector and a consortium of American companies during his two-day vacation.

    In the assemblage with Mr Guteress, the President and the UN boss are expected to discuss several subjects of mutual interest to Kenya and the UN among them the global response to Covid-19.

    “Kenya has been very specific on the steps it expects the United Nations to take particularly concerning the Covid-19 pandemic vaccination, peace and security and how the world should get to COP26 in a month. How the world responds to climate change is key to Kenya’s future prosperity,” Amb Kimani said.

    On the business agreement, Amb Kimani said President Kenyatta while in New York witnessed the signing of a new initiative between the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the Corporate Council on Africa, the largest umbrella body of US companies operating in Africa.

    The business agreement seeks to enhance collaboration between Kenyan companies, especially the small and medium enterprises (SME’s) with their American counterparts in a deliberate Government effort to create more jobs and employment opportunities for Kenya’s youth.

    Further, President Kenyatta is scheduled to participate in the Global Leaders’ high-level discussion organized by the International Peace Institute (IPI) as a platform for world leaders to discuss contemporary subjects.

    The President will be joined in the discussion by former Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein to talk about the UN Secretary General’s Common Agenda report.

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  • Arrested for selling heroin in Mwingi town

    Arrested for selling heroin in Mwingi town

    Three suspects were Monday night arrested in Mwingi town after they were found selling narcotic drugs including heroin.

    The suspect’s John Musya, Paul Mumo and, Julius Musya all aged between 23-24 were arrested as they hawked the highly addictive illegal drug that was carefully concealed in seven sachets.

    Over 10 rolls of bhang were also recovered from the suspects, who had contravened curfew orders to ply their illegal trade in Mwingi town.

    According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the suspects sell the illegal drugs to twilight girls who moonlight in the busy town.

    The suspects were placed in custody pending arraignment in court for being in possession and trafficking in narcotics.

    Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man committed suicide on Saturday night at deliverance court in Umoja estate, following a disagreement with his wife over an unknown issue.

    His wife had made good an earlier threat to quit their marriage, despite him pleading that she doesn’t desert him.

    After the argument, the woman is reported to have packed her belongings and gone back to her parent’s home in Dandora.

    The man only identified as Brayo was so heartbroken that later in the night, he wrote a text message to his estranged wife informing her that he had left her the world, ‘nimekuwachia Dunia.’

    Worried, the woman tried to call him frantically to dissuade him from taking his life but the man’s phone went unanswered.

    Overwhelmed by emotions, she returned to the house early Monday morning accompanied by Brayo’s brother to check on him, only to be confronted by his lifeless body lying on the bed.

    Bray had taken a poisonous substance that killed him instantly.

    Scene of Crime detectives documented the scene and moved the body to Mama Lucy Lucy’shospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.

  • Stop public gatherings, Archbishop Muheria tells politicians

    Interfaith Council Chairman Archbishop Anthony Muheria has called upon politicians to refrain from holding political rallies in public and places of worship as the country continues to record increased Covid-19 infections.

    Muheria said despite the roll out of vaccination across the country there is still need to observe the Ministry of Health guidelines on Covid-19.

    “Politicians are still holding impromptu political rallies where their supporters attend without masks and with the highest risk of infection. Even if we are vaccinated it important to note that it does not mean you cannot get Covid-19.” He stated

    “In my backyard in Nyeri we have seen the number of deaths being so high that the coffins cannot supply enough for all the funerals we are having.” He added

    The Nyeri Archbishop called out politicians who attend church services to gain political mileage by addressing the congregation.

    “The Catholic Church has said it very clearly that we will not allow politicians to speak in our churches. If you are coming to pray in our churches, you are welcome and sit like any other ordinary Christian and do not expect to address people in our churches. Politicians have a place to come and pray but have no place to speak in our churches.” He said

    Muheria urged politicians to adapt modern means of campaigning without bringing huge crowds of people together which act as Covid-19 super spreader events.

    “They can use more modern means of campaigning; the media, TV, Radios like they did in the United States without necessarily bring those crowds of people together during this dangerous times, for the love of the people that they hope to lead.” Muheria stated

  • Politicians to sign decency charter ahead of polls, says NCIC

    Politicians will soon sign a political decency charter in latest efforts by National Cohesion and Integration Commission to tackle hate speech ahead of next year’s polls.

    The commission has vowed it will not tolerate hate speech and war mongering moving forward even as it scaled up action against offenders by ensuring they are barred from elective positions, public office and eventual black listing internationally.

    Speaking to KBC Monday on good morning show,  NCIC Chairman Rev Dr Samuel Kobia said they will hold a series of symposia before June 2022 that will hold politicians and leaders accountable as part of its roadmap towards election attaining peaceful 2022 general elections.

    Presidential candidates will be expected to lead the process dubbed ‘Election Bila Noma’ by signing the charter committing themselves to the path of peace and decency in speech and action.

    “We want a political leadership that acts in a decent and civil manner” he said.

    Although the commission is seeking more powers and tough penalties for perpetrators of incitement and hate speech through parliament, Kobia avers that progress had been made in the fight against the vice.

    “There is a bill in parliament that is still being debated and seeks to empower the commission to create a tribunal to deal with hate speech. We have also decide to work very closely with the DCI and DPP” said Kobia adding that close to 60 hate speech cases are under probe.

    So far, the commission has enhanced surveillance by creating the walls of fame and shame which according to the chair has led to a decline in the vice.

    “ No politician wants to be barred from running for an elective post. We are in the process of coming up with a criteria for determining candidates for elections. We have began consultations with IEBC, party leaders and the diplomatic community for imposition of severe penalties ”

  • Universities be centers of peace building

    Universities be centers of peace building

    Universities and other institutions of higher learning have been dubbed as game changers in the country’s politics as they hold the potential to eliminate the tribal divides during electioneering periods.

    Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs Cabinet Secretary (CS) Joe Mucheru said that universities have been referred to as the melting pots of cultures since this is where ideas are hatched, where intellectuals infuse their ideals to the next generation of leaders and where different cultures come together as one in search of enlightenment and this citadel should therefore be the model for peace in the country.

    Speaking on Friday at the University of Nairobi (UoN) during the closing ceremony of the first National student’s convention on youth peace and elections, Mucheru said that he is particularly encouraged that the project brings young people from across the tribal and political divide, to not only promote dialogue and peace, but also to develop cohesive and resilient relationships that promote mechanisms to resolve conflict peacefully.

    “This is what we need as a country: preaching peace and unity rather than politics of division. I am proud of the work that the Universities and Colleges Students’ Peace Association of Kenya (USCPAK) is doing under the Executive Director Allan Chacha and the fact that they are bringing the youth together and discussing peaceful elections just 11 months to the election,” said Mucheru.

    The CS urged the youth to take advantage of their numbers to make a difference for themselves and for this country saying… “I also take this opportunity to challenge you to seek elective office so that you can embark on the journey of making meaningful gains for yourselves and your country. You have the largest stake in this country as you constitute 75.1 per cent of our population. It is your time to take the mantle of leadership.

    “I encourage you to read the biography of Tom Mboya, who at 29 was recruited by Martin Luther King Junior and was in John F. Kennedy’s election team. You will see that there is no better time than now to wake up and heed the call for leadership,” said Mucheru.

    The Cabinet Secretary said that with Kenya having the best internet connectivity in Africa, having a youthful population and the innovative nature of Kenyans, the country is set to take off and get to the levels of Malaysia and Singapore.

    The CS said that the Ajira digital programme right now has over 1.2 million young people working and that number can rise to even 10 million because the demand they are getting from Korea, Singapore, USA and Australia among others is very high.

    “We want to create awareness on these job opportunities and that is why we are building Ajira youth empowerment centers across the country so that the youth can go there and be able to have access to machines and internet and work online,” said the CS.

    USCPAK Executive Director Allan Chacha said that there is a lot of tension between the police and students and as a way of mending the strained relations, they have planned a series of clean-ups in police stations together with the police so that they can interact and defuse the tension.

    “We are tired of being given small money and being incited to harm our fellow youth, the only complaining that we will do is at the ballot box,” said Chacha.

    He said that they were championing the Mwanafunzi Investment Trust Fund because the students say that the reason they are used to cause chaos is due to lack of a source of income before and after graduating making them vulnerable to misuse.

    “The initiative is aimed at encouraging the youth to save and invest. The proposal we have is that if a student is able to save even Sh100 per month then that in itself can be used as collateral instead of being asked for a title deed while accessing a loan from financial institutions,” said Chacha.

    IEBC Acting Director for Voter Education, Partnerships and Communications Amina Sudi said that they would carry out an aggressive voter registration and they have agreed with the universities that the institutions will be used for voter registration.

    “We are going to have an open voter registration for our university students where they will register at their universities and be allowed to vote at their respective home areas,” said Sudi.

    “As young people, I urged you to go out and say what you want to say using the ballot, you don’t have to shout or go to the streets, you have a weapon to use kindly use it wisely,” she said.

    University of Nairobi Dean of Students Johnson Kinyua said that university students in their hundreds of thousands deserved a seat in Parliament which would see their issues articulated in the way they deserve.

    Kinyua called on the IEBC, Parliament and the Judiciary to look at ways this could be actualized legally.

  • Ugenya guards buried as leaders call for speedy investigations

    Ugenya Member of Parliament, David Ochieng is calling on investigative agencies to bring to book the killers of four security guards who were allegedly hacked to death at Siranga trading centre in Ugenya.   

    Speaking during a funeral service for the four at Siranga Primary School grounds the lawmaker lamented that close to two weeks since the incident happened no suspect has been apprehended.

    Mourners including a section of area leaders accused the security apparatus of being too slow in their investigations. 

    Led by Ugenya Member of Parliament David Ochieng, the leaders called on the relevant bodies to fast track investigations to ensure the perpetrators face the full force of the law.  

    Ugenya Assistant County Commissioner Rufus Kihara assured residents that authorities were doing all they can to unravel the mystery surrounding the frequent killings in the area. 

    The deceased security guards were George Agara Opuch aged 68, 59 year old Patrick Oduor Ondoo, 49 year old Benard Odhiambo Opondo and Thadeus Ochieng Radido aged 43 years.