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Mustafa Juma

Last week, a video widely circulated on social media that appeared to show the outspoken Sirisia MP John Walukhe , a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto attacking Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju and his ethnic community, Luo.

The clip attracted the attention of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission which has hence summoned Waluke for grilling on Thursday.

Commission secretary Hassan Mohamed told the media that the legislator violated section 62 of the NCIC Act.

But the outspoken MP has now come out publicly to offer an apology to Tuju, ODM leader Raila Odinga and the entire Luo Community.

Speaking to the press at Parliament buildings, Waluke said that his ethic slur came as result of the sleep of the tongue.

He also disclosed that he is the current acting Jubilee Party Vice chairman after taking over from Dvid Murathe who resigned.

Below is the full video of Waluke’s apology.

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Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has maintained his innocence, denying 15 corruption charges.

While appearing before the Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday following his arrest on Monday, Rotich said that he is innocent. 

The CS said that he is only a victim of circumstance. 

Rotich appeared in court alongside Treasury PS Kamau Thugge, East African Community PS Susan Jemtai Koech and former Managing Director KVDA David Kipchumba Kimosop over misuse of public funds in the construction of Arror and Kimwarer dams estimated at a cost of Sh46 billion ($446 million).

The DPP noted that the Treasury borrowed Sh63 billion instead of the earlier indicated amount. It also emerged that there is nothing done on the ground despite the cash having been used. 

The project, which was awarded to Italian construction company CMC Di Ravenna, has stalled despite billions having been channelled towards the same. 

The DPP wants the suspects charged with conspiring to defraud the state the said billions between December 17, 2014, and September 27, 2018. 

The DPP has also asked the court to charge them for failing to comply with the guidelines of procurement and embarking on a project without planning.

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Economist David Ndii has ruled out chances of working for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration as Finance Cabinet Secretary (CS) following the arrest of Treasury CS Henry Rotich.

Mr Rotich could be fired by Uhuru after he was directly linked by DPP Noordin Haji to the alleged loss of billions of shillings meant for the construction of Kimwarer and Arror dams in Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

In April, while responding to calls to sack ministers embroiled in corruption scandals, Uhuru said he will only sack those prosecuted, adding that he will ensure the law is followed.

“I must, however, caution that the pursuit of the corrupt will be undertaken strictly within the remits of the law, and not through vigilante justice and pitchfork protest. Though media narratives rally our resolve as they should, our actions will not be based on condemnation before one has been heard. The cornerstone of our democracy is the rule of law, and the principle of due process is a critical anchor.

Rotich has already been arraigned in court, along with PS Kamau Thugge, a move that could lead to massive changes at the Treasury. 

But Ndii, who supported former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s bid in 2017, maintains that should he be offered the job, he is not ready to be at the helm of the Treasury, arguing that Uhuru’s regime is ‘illegitimate’.

“Public Notice: I’m not available to work for Uhuru Kenyatta’s corrupt illegitimate govt. Those thinking corruption/ economy can be fixed in Treasury are gravely mistaken. National crisis will persist until a financial implosion or Jubilee is out of power whichever comes first,” he said in a tweet.

Ndii, who is one of the best economists in the country made the statement in response to a netizen who had proposed him for the Treasury job.

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President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga have been pushing for constitutional changes through their Building Brides initiative, but will it be an easy journey?

Well, Thirdway Alliance Party leader Dr Ekuru Aukot is pushing for constitutional changes as well. Whilst President Kenytatta and Raila are pushing for more representation, over representation is Dr Aukot’s major concern.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Thursday approved 1.2 of the 1.4 million signatures which Aukot had presented for scrutiny by the commission.

With the law dictating that a person seeking to implement changes in the constitution present one million signatures, Aukot has cruised past the first section of the test.

Consequently, this exposes the nation to a possible referendum, probably next year, which comes as a blow to Uhuru and Raila, who have been pushing for an expanded government.

Aukot, on the other hand, is pushing to have elective seats reduced.

This will, therefore, force the two to go back to the drawing board to consider other ways of realising their push, putting into consideration that it will be impossible to their referendum bid to materialise with Aukot’s also looming.

Political analyst Herman Manyora claims that Deputy President Dr William Ruto stands to benefit from the referendum push by Dr Aukot.

Through his YouTube channel, Manyora explained that Aukot’s plans go through then the country can’t hold another plebiscite until 2022.

In his opinion, this would frustrate plans by the ODM Party Leader to hold a similar exercise to amend the Constitution. 

“There are those who believe that if this referendum were to be undertaken, not even go through, just to be undertaken then it would make it nearly impossible for any other group, BBI and the handshake included, to bring another referendum to Kenyans before the next election. 

“Therefore Ruto will have scored if the Thirdway Alliance was able to be taken to the people for a vote,” Manyora explained.

He went on to add that skeptics were claiming that the ‘Punguza Mzigo’ initiative would die before it reaches the County Assembly because of the many legal issues surrounding it.

Watch Manyora’s video below:

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Migori County Governor Okoth Obado has been facing misfortunes since last year with various cases haunting him. His troubles began when his girlfriend Sharon Otieno, a Rongo University student was murdered, making Obado the main suspect in the murder case.

Before the case could end, detectives from Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) were at his home in a graft case when they came across 8 guns in the home of the county chief, bring another case before him.

He has however been handed a reprieve after a Nairobi Court dismissed the firearms case before him.

The ruling comes after the investigations revealed that the county boss followed the right procedures in acquiring the firearms and he deserves security as he serves the people of his region.

In a presentation in court, the investigating officer confirmed to the court that the firearms confiscated from the governor was obtained through a legal means. 

He also asked the court to take lawful action after the Governor’s arms were taken away. Magistrate Joyce Ngadani has since directed the government to ensure that the governor gets back his arms with immediate effect to allow him to perform his duties without any form of fear.

The prosecution was also warned against acquiring any information in the name of trying to incriminate the Governor following the decision of the court. 

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Barely hours after Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) verifying over one million signatures from Dr Ekuru Aukot’s Punguza Mizigo initiative, an armed gang allegedly raided his office in Lavington, Nairobi.

It is alleged that Dr Aukot’s Thirdway Alliance Party Secretary General Fredrick Okang’o was shot and injured in an ugly scene that occurred on Thursday night.

According to Ekuru Aukot, six armed men raided their office and shot Okang’o but fortunately he managed to escape before they took away his life.

“Our party office Thirdway Kenya in Lavington, Chalbi drive has just been invaded by 6 armed men in Nairobi. They have shot at our SG Fredrick Okang’o who ran and hid inside one of the offices. This comes barely few hours after Punguza Mizigo Bill passed. This a cowardly act,” Aukot posted on Twitter.

The motive of the attack is however not yet to be established.

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Former Gatanga MP, Peter Kenneth has been thrown into a deep mourning following the death of his mother.

According to reports, Kenneth’s mother, Rahab Wambui Muhuni, passed on while undergoing treatment at Aga Khan hospital in Nairobi on Thursday morning.

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Former TV news anchor, Esther Arunga has been sentenced to 10 months in jail after she admitted to lying to police in Australia about the circumstances that led to her son’s death.

She was however handed a parole, which is a relieve on her.

Parole is the temporary or permanent release of a prisoner before the expiry of a sentence, on the promise of good behaviour.

On Monday, Arunga pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact to manslaughter.

She told the court that she lied about her son’s death to protect her husband, Quincy Timberlake.

Timberlake is accused of killing the couple’s three-year-old son, Sinclair.

Australian Associated Press quoted Crown Prosecutor Danny Boyle saying Arunga called emergency services and told them that the boy had fallen down the stairs.

But an autopsy revealed Sinclair died “as a result of a severe blunt force such as punching or stamping or similar” and his injuries were inconsistent with a fall. It wasn’t until Timberlake was involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility that Arunga changed her statement.

She told police that she went to the bathroom on the night of June 17, 2014 to find Quincy hitting Sinclair in the stomach before throwing the boy against the wall.

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Barely two months ago, Kenyans were in a big scare following government’s threats on the registration of Citizens into the National Intergated Information Management system (NIIMS) using a unique number dubbed huduma namba.

Kenyans woke as early as 3:00 am to beat the governments deadlines in May this year as others chose to boycott the registration process. But do you think government’s threats were just mere?

Well, then you were wrong. Kenyans were notified of missing crucial government services should they not have huduma namba, which is now coming into reality soon.

The Government has proposed a bill that will lock out individuals without Huduma Namba from crucial services that are offered by the government.

The draft Huduma Bill 2019  seeks to make Huduma Namba compulsory.

The Government has proposed a bill that will lock out individuals without Huduma Namba from healthcare services and participating in the country’s election among other essential services.

What is your opinion on this bill?#HudumaNamba pic.twitter.com/MEBYDTeA8M

— ktn (@KTNKenya) July 18, 2019

The number is mandatory in paying taxes and accessing all government services including universal healthcare, renewal of driving licences, application for electricity connectivity, registration of a mobile number, opening of a bank account among others.

Enrolling your children into a public educational facility will be impossible without listing yourself under the National Integrated Identity Management System.

You will also not sell or buy land, or even acquire a passport without the vital document.

For business people to transact in the financial markets they will be required to provide their Huduma card.

When the roll out was being done, Kenyans were all over the social media protesting, with some saying that they were ready for consequences that were to come with boycotting the process.

Well, are you aware that there is a punishment? Any individual who wants to transact the listed services without the Huduma Namba will be jailed for one year or pay a fine of Ksh1 million, while unlawful production of the document will see one spend three years behind bars or Ksh3 million fine.

Individuals who give false information or make a false statement when providing information for entry into the NIIMS database will also face a Ksh5 million penalty or five years in jail.

Kenyans are now again all over social media protesting against the bill.

Some are questioning if there are any data protection laws in the country.

Some are even arguing that huduma namba is all about Raising Tax revenues and social control in a scheme to cater for the ever rising national debt.

What is your opinion on the proposed Huduma Bill 2019?

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Garissa Township Member of Parliament Aden Duale is among the MPs who are pushing for more allowances in the Parliament prompting Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to launch an attack against him over the weekend.

The MPs have been demanding more money in allowances at the expense of a common mwananchi. But did you know that the National Assembly majority leader is among the members who earn handsomely every month?

Well, Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria has revealed that MPs from North Eastern parts pf the country earn four times the amount of money other MPs earn in a month.

Speaking in an exclusive interview on KTN News’ PointBlank show on Wednesday night, Kuria who has hence expressed his 2022 presidential ambitions said that Members from Garissa, Turkana, Mandera, Wajir, Moyale, Isiolo and other North Eastern regions take home four times the amount he takes home as a Gatundu South MP.

Kuria says this is because of some animal called mileage.

“A member from North Eastern takes home 4 times the money he takes home because of some animal called mileage,” the vocal MP told Tony Gachoka, the host of KTNPointBlank show.

Last year, a number of legislators expressed concern about hefty payments and siphoning of taxpayers’ money through mileage claims.

At least 18 MPs from the 11th Parliament raised complaints with Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) against their colleagues and the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) for excessive allowances and skewed claims.

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Pangani estate residents were on Sunday forced to spend their night in the cold when the most feared bulldozers from Nairobi County government landed on their houses in an effort to evict them to pave way for development of new houses.

The move sparked a lot of reactions with a section of Kenyans questioning why Governor Mike Sonko’s government had to evict the victims in the midnight with their property being crashed in the houses.

In a quick response to the critics, Governor Sonko has vowed not to compensate the victims, arguing that those who have not been paid are only those who refused the payment.

The seemingly angry governor told the evictees off, daring them to go to Court.

Sonko further notes that his government shall not allow development plans to be politicised.

“Take your NONSENSE to hell. Those not paid are the ones who refused to take the money, and we are not going to pay them. Let them go to court. We shall not allow development plans to be politicised,” tweeted Sonko.

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2017 goes down in Kenya’s history as the year that not only had presidential election results cancelled, but also marred with irregularities.

NASA leader Raila Odinga complained of the elections, with him even boycotting the October 26, 2017 repeat polls in protest of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that had conducted the disputed polls.

Cambridge Analytica was accused of aiding President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election.

Channel 4 news has exposed a British Member of the European Parliament Alexandra Phillips who secretly worked for Uhuru’s Jubilee Party in 2017 polls.

Phillips admitted to the media house that she secretly worked for Jubilee.

“I wasn’t working for Jubilee I was employed by Cambridge Analytica who had the contract with Jubilee. I was brought on as a political communications consultant for the Kenya project,” Channel 4 News quotes her as saying.

Phillips was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the South East England constituency at the European Parliament elections of May 2019. 

Phillips told Channel 4 News that her work was “so sentitive” that whenever someone asked what she was doing she would respond that she was “a air hostess”.

She is quoted saying that she helped in writing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s speeches and shaping the messaging by State House team.

“I’d be writing the president’s speeches and his talking points for rallies and State House statements. I trained their communications team; they’re all sort of journalists who came together to create a press office. So I had to train them up and daily management of that communications team,” she is quoted as having said.

State House and the Jubilee Party have previously denied that Cambridge Analytica was ever contracted to work in Kenya during the elections.

In response to a similar revelation last year, former Jubilee Party Vice-Chairman David Murathe said that had paid for “branding” in the 2017 presidential election from SCL, affiliate of consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

“They were basically branding and all that but not directly,” Murathe said at the time.

According to Channel 4, Phillips sent them a statement stating that; “In Kenya, I worked as a freelance contractor — focusing on speechwriting – with the team of President Kenyatta, who is a great ally of the UK. The campaigns I worked on promoted peace and national unity in a country that I love dearly.”

She also added that this work was sub-contracted out to her by SCL, which went on to become a different company.

“Out of respect for those whom I served, I will continue to respect the confidentiality agreements that I signed upon accepting the role in Kenya. And I will not be bullied by agenda-driven, guilt-by-association reporting,” Phillips said.

Watch video here Courtesy of Channel 4 news.

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With President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila odinga’s Building Bridges initiative prepare to hand in a final report on the looming referendum, the debate seem to have taken a new twist.

With different leaders in the country giving their own opinions on referendum, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria who is currently running a Team Wanjiku initiative alongside Governor Mike Sonko opines that the next referendum will be held on the 9th August 2022.

According to the controversial MP, this will be alongside the 2022 General Elections as the 7th ballot.

Kuria says people cannot be interrupting Kenyans’ lives in the mid-terms to hold referenda.

Through his facebook page post, Kuria believes people want to change the constitution anytime to suit your whims.

The lawmaker suggests that those interested in changing the constitution should wait for every 5 years to do so.

“I agree we need to remove the 1,000 nominated MCAs, Scrap the women rep positions and remove the Senate? Great. Let’s do it in 2022,” reads part of his post.

He further suggests that in the interim the Country will use parliament for the urgent reforms ahead of 2022.

Among his urgent issues on the referendum is scrapping the senate.

“By the way the most urgent is scrapping the Senate. The main business of the Senate is to add various billions to the governors in the pretence of protecting devolution then turn back and demand the same from governors to protect them from Senate oversight. You will burn in hell,” reads his post.

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Powerful Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i has been officially delegated the role of chairing weekly Cabinet meetings by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Most government business is now transacted through Cabinet subcommittees which meet regularly and report to Matiang’i.

In January this year, Uhuru appointed Matiang’i as chairman of the National Development Implementation and Communication Cabinet Committee.

Part of the committee mandate is to provide supervisory leadership throughout the delivery cycle of all national government programmes and projects.

However, Article 153 of the Constitution makes Cabinet Secretaries accountable to the president.

“Cabinet secretaries are accountable individually, and collectively, to the president for the exercise of their power and the performance of their functions,” Article 153 (2) states.

There has been speculation that the Cabinet could be split because of the differences between the head of state and his Deputy Dr William Ruto.

Ruto’s allies have also gone on the offensive, demanding a purge on CSs believed to be anti-Ruto.

However, the President has remained silent as there are fears that the infighting could hamper or stall service delivery.

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Deputy President Dr William Ruto on Sunday took a swipe at Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju questioning his new role in ODM leader Raila Odinga’s team, two days after the CS without portfolio attended a meeting with ODM leaders in Rarieda constituency.

Ruto’s post on twitter sparked a debate with his close allies calling for the resignation of Tuju following his suspected links with Raila.

“So our democracy is so liberal that the SG of a ruling party has become the chief strategist of the opposition!! Maajabu (wonders),” Ruto’s post read.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has however defended Tuju over the claims.

State House spokesperson Kanze Dena told the Nation Tuesday that Mr Tuju’s Rarieda meeting was official and it was sanctioned by the President.

“The meeting in Rarieda was a government function and Mr Tuju was there in his capacity as the presidential representative,” said Ms Dena.

Kanze Dena further revealed that Tuju had an official speech of the President that he was to read.

“The Cabinet Secretary had an official speech of the President and, therefore, it was not a private function but a development event by the government.”

Mr Tuju also confirmed that he read the Head of State’s speech as a government official.

“It was indeed an official trip. On our arrival, we were received by the local administration and Permanent Secretary in the State department of Youth,” he said.

On Thursday last week, Mr Tuju, Siaya Senator James Orengo, MPs Otiende Amollo (Rarieda), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem) and Jubilee secretariat official Steve Mwanga flew to Rarieda in one chopper to tour various development projects, sparking controversy in Jubilee.

Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju (left), Senator James Orengo and MP Otiende Amollo at a past function. [Source/James Orengo/Twitter]
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Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri is set to appear before Parliament today (Wednesday) to explain why he is pushing for maize importation when all indications suggest the country has enough stock.

The MPs claim Kiunjuri’s importation plans are suspect and are meant to enrich maize cartels at the expense of millions of farmers across the country.

Millers are on the verge of running out of maize as the dispute between the ministry, the Strategic Food Reserve, millers and the National Cereals and Produce Board persists.

About 50 of the country’s 200 millers have closed because of the maize shortage, according to the United Grain Millers Association.

The shortage has increased prices for a bag of maize and also added to flour and feed costs.

Kenya is currently facing a shortfall in domestic maize supply forcing it to import the commodity which is the dominant staple food for the majority of Kenyans.

The country consumes between 1.5 and 1.7 million bags of maize in a month.

The legislators say that there is no justification for the imports and that the argument of an impending shortage is a lie.

Through the agriculture committee, the MPs told Mwangi Kiunjuri to drop the push because the hard times are over.

The committee cited statistics from the Strategic Grain Reserve which shows the country can do without the maize importation.

Committee chairman Adan Haji (Mandera South) said the opening stock at the NCPB in May before the government began to sell to millers was 4.2 million bags of maize.

Of this,  1.7 million bags were sanctioned to be sold to millers in order to reduce the price of maize flour on the shelves.

“That leaves 2.5 million bags which are in stock, there is a cabinet memo that is awaiting approval of a further 1.7 million to be released to millers this month, which means in July the millers are covered, there is no reason to see prices hiked,” Haji said.

He added, “We are left with August, and if you look at the ministry’s own statistics, we are talking of 1.5 to 1.7 million bags per month required by all millers in the country, we just need another 1.7 million bags to cover us in August. We are now waiting for harvests.”

MPs Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo), Florence Mutua (Busia MP), Justus Murunga (Matungu), Silvanus Osoro (South Mugirango) and Daniel Tuitoek (Magotio) who sit in the committee read mischief in the planned importation.

“Someone somewhere is raising alarm for no reason. This is a clever way to invite cartels and businesspeople to import maize,” Wangwe who is also the vice-chair of the committee said.

Mutua questioned the necessity of the importing expensive maize when local farmers were offered a lower price.

“Why does he want to import maize at Sh5,000 and they cannot buy local maize at Sh3,200? We know it is cartels who want to do the importation,” Mutua said.

The MPs are expected to tell Kiujuri off of the importation plans.

“In South, Rift maize is starting to get ready, we want to ask the CS to stop the process of importation of maize,” Tuitoek said.

The MPs’ views are in line with the position taken by Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund – a state agency domiciled in Kiunjuri’s docket – which has differed with the CS over the matter. 

The Fund’s chairperson Noah Wekesa has maintained that the maize in the reserves, together with those from expected harvests will be enough for the country.

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