tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32306766534218905792024-03-05T19:02:01.245-08:00AfricanCultureDirectWelcome to AfricanCultureDirect - A Documentation of African Culture and Issues by Africans - Presented to the Global Platform...Africa as told by Africa!africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.comBlogger2825125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-13298414317347657832022-11-17T23:49:00.002-08:002022-11-17T23:49:34.904-08:00KENYA: Politicians, hangers-on locked out as Bill Gates tours Makueni<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">A visit to Makueni County by American business magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates was marked by tight security that saw local politicians and even a contingent of policemen who had availed themselves to enhance his protection locked out. </span></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjExkv221jf_GoAjJuog8e0qHWo8sXu0Iu_HS4htZNrUUTdQloqlWxJ8NeJ7Tj7X-5MjLXeG-HVImmI90SyFzJ0q7VaEs2CqTU1HneOaX5ydnH-__jSL-GG1K9VzBwTN1oDsqMCHoICT9dM9Dgad2IYHRFhCKix1acLcGRngxPB6EYQoy0L1-UjE3AaRw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjExkv221jf_GoAjJuog8e0qHWo8sXu0Iu_HS4htZNrUUTdQloqlWxJ8NeJ7Tj7X-5MjLXeG-HVImmI90SyFzJ0q7VaEs2CqTU1HneOaX5ydnH-__jSL-GG1K9VzBwTN1oDsqMCHoICT9dM9Dgad2IYHRFhCKix1acLcGRngxPB6EYQoy0L1-UjE3AaRw" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">American business magnate Bill Gates.</span></div><br />His handlers also barred local media from covering the visit, only allow some international journalists to document his movements. <p></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Earlier, the American billionaire and founder of Microsoft had met Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior at his office before engaging another group of community health volunteers at The Makueni Mother & Child Hospital.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The tight security left a bad taste in the mouths of some of the residents and local officials who had hoped to catch a glimpse of the famed Microsoft founder.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The frustrated lot includes Duncan Muindi, a painter based at Kathonzweni Township, who had expected to cash in on the billionaire's visit.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">When he got wind of the planned visit by the philanthropist, he painted his mural on a 2 metre by 1 metre canvas. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The acrylic on canvas drawing is centered on the countless windows of opportunities Bill Gates has opened all over the world. I started working on the painting on Monday at 9 pm and completed it an hour before he arrived. But I did not get a chance to hand it to him. However, his handlers said it was a fantastic piece of art”.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He said he expects that the county government to buy the painting and install it at Kathonzweni Dispensary, which was part of Mr Gates' tour, to serve as a reminder of the visit by the billionaire. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Lauds health workers</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Gates met lauded community health volunteers in Makueni County for the work they do in enhancing primary healthcare in the county.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“He engaged us through posing a series of questions. For instance, he wanted to know why our unit is comprised of a few community health volunteers against a huge population. We told him that some had fallen out because of lack of allowances. When he wanted to know why I had chosen to stay the challenges I said I felt it was more of a calling than a job. He lauded us for being committed to promoting skilled birth attendance in the region,” Mr Julius Sanya, a community health volunteer at Kathonzweni region, told the <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Nation</em> after a closed-door meeting with Mr Gates at Kathonzwweni Dispensary.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Makueni is among the counties with a vibrant community health model. To support the community health volunteers, the county government has offered them motorbikes which serve as boda bodas for income and as ambulances to enhance linkages to hospitals.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We appealed for funding to set up more income generating activities to sustain ourselves,” Mr Sanya added.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Also read:</span> <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/health/gates-foundation-pledges-1-2-bn-to-eradicate-polio-3987580" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Gates Foundation pledges $1.2 bn to eradicate polio</a></em></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He also visited a farmer at Muvau region. However, he did not make any commitments.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We made a serious presentation on our healthcare workers and our budgets. He had a very keen interest in knowing how we cope with the problem of receiving only 50 per cent of what we require from Kenya Medical Supplies Agency and how we plug in the gaps. He also wanted to understand the workings of community health volunteers,” Governor Kilonzo Jnr told reporters after meeting the US businessman.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“This was an initial meeting. At the meeting with the Council of Governors and at the meeting with the national government they want to see if they can replicate what is happening here in other counties so that they can help the country as a whole. This is just a learning experience so that they can ask the other counties what they are doing and whether we can have a one size fits all which they can fund because they fund big time programmes. At a later date I am going to have a discussion with Thinkwell and Agra, the partners Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation deals with to see whether we can tap into some of their resources and markets,” Mr Kilonzo Jnr added.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/makueni/politicians-hangers-on-locked-out-as-bill-gates-tours-makueni-4020654" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-81925208895203732712022-11-17T23:44:00.000-08:002022-11-17T23:44:40.916-08:00KENYA: American tycoon Bill Gates to spend Sh850bn on Africa in next four years<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">17.Nov. 2022</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Bill Gates, who is the Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed to spend about Sh850 billion in the next four years to confront hunger, disease, gender inequality and poverty in Africa.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6Y4XwnA8yG198hw-jRrJbZahNclVUcWDC0EBpOdHZ61PAtgqqFU-MW3E3IoX2gGCHL-KfrTW1j4TbRGjDorWLtX7lPTYRk4BfDc3MQ4XIohosNwQKvDzS23r81x_DE1thC6oT0BZ4LKt2CZecaxzgQfONjjKJBxTimxmvitg5sZJsQzdN6d7D2_BKsg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6Y4XwnA8yG198hw-jRrJbZahNclVUcWDC0EBpOdHZ61PAtgqqFU-MW3E3IoX2gGCHL-KfrTW1j4TbRGjDorWLtX7lPTYRk4BfDc3MQ4XIohosNwQKvDzS23r81x_DE1thC6oT0BZ4LKt2CZecaxzgQfONjjKJBxTimxmvitg5sZJsQzdN6d7D2_BKsg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">President William Ruto with American tycoon Bill Gates at State House Nairobi on November 16,2022.</span></div><br /><br /><p></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Bill, who is still in Kenya, reaffirmed that his foundation is still committed to supporting African institutions that are developing and implementing innovative approaches in health, agriculture and other areas.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The funding announcement comes as Kenya and the whole of Africa grapples with hunger, drought, poverty and malnutrition.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In June and July, for example, three arid and semi-arid lands(ASALs) were experiencing acute malnutrition, which was mainly attributed to low availability of milk, increasing prices of food and lack of water.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Today, 278 million people across Africa suffer from chronic hunger, with more than 37 million people facing acute hunger in the Horn of Africa alone.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Covid-19 has also caused significant setbacks in immunisation and stalled decades of progress made in combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation continues to provide funding to support breakthrough solutions in these areas. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Also read: </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/blogs/10-questions-bill-gates-innovation-food-security-climate-change-4022266" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">10 questions for Bill Gates on innovation, food security and climate change</a></em></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The big global challenges we face are persistent. But we have to remember, so are the people solving them. Our foundation will continue to support solutions in health, agriculture, and other critical areas—and the systems to get them out of the labs and to the people who need them,” said Gates.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In the same spirit, he visited primary healthcare centres, leading medical and agricultural research institutes and smallholder farms to learn about programmes making an impact, their challenges and how he can support them.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">His Co-Chair, Melinda French Gates, acknowledged how men and women across the African continent continue to brave challenges in their communities, families and countries. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The foundation will continue to invest in the researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and health care workers who are working to unlock the tremendous human potential that exists across the continent,” she said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Her remarks were echoed by Mark Suzman, Gates Foundation CEO, who emphasised on the need to work together to create a resilient continent that will better navigate the acute effects of climate change. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Millions of Africans are feeling the acute impacts of geopolitical instability and climate change, so it is critical that we work together. In close collaboration with our African partners, we will invest in local institutions and new collaborations that build the long-term resilience needed to make these crises less frequent and less devastating,” said Suzman.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The foundation has also urged global leaders to invest in people and innovations that can save lives and create opportunities for the world’s most vulnerable.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">mchelangat@ke.nationmedia.com</em> </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/american-tycoon-bill-gates-to-spend-sh850bn-on-africa-in-next-four-years-4023886" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-16361725811150709702022-10-19T08:15:00.000-07:002022-10-19T08:15:17.861-07:00Daughter of Africa: The story of Kenya’s PR guru, Gina Din<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXhy6akVsVwkJeWC-JNfXmkQOy5r6mocUo0wY3vibMOiQ5Ifnlr2KI2rTPt8Vzm0CFzS16tGfGnJ1eL2QPVCSzeM15kxT8HrgoTjv9Op9_BZEVjx4W7QhqeERyFtAyDY457VIWJR78bJjB0fAOHkRQdmJxx-i1ZIy_yiS2nMH12cQIwWB3aKdqBuz_YQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1439" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXhy6akVsVwkJeWC-JNfXmkQOy5r6mocUo0wY3vibMOiQ5Ifnlr2KI2rTPt8Vzm0CFzS16tGfGnJ1eL2QPVCSzeM15kxT8HrgoTjv9Op9_BZEVjx4W7QhqeERyFtAyDY457VIWJR78bJjB0fAOHkRQdmJxx-i1ZIy_yiS2nMH12cQIwWB3aKdqBuz_YQ" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;">In</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;"> </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;">Daughter of Africa: An Autobiography</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;">, Kenya’s corporate communications pioneer Gina Din tells the story of her ascent to the top with verve and honesty. Review by</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;">Stephen Williams</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #6f6f6f; font-family: news-gothic-std, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3125rem;">.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Gina Din, a Kenyan of Asian heritage, is something of a public relations pioneer, a discipline that was hardly known in this East African country a decade or so ago. In <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Africa-Autobiography-Gina-Din/dp/9914406033" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Daughter of Africa: An Autobiography</em></a> she tells her own story with verve and honesty</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Although public relations is not a widely appreciated profession (indeed Din prefers to describe her company’s activities as ‘corporate communications’), there is little doubt that PR plays an important role in today’s business world.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Her incredible story begins when, as a young woman – having studied at the London School of Journalism and contributed to <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Standard</em> newspaper and other local journals – she took advantage of a family connection to secure a foothold with Barclays, the British bank that was, and still is, a powerhouse in the Kenyan economy. </p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">It was just at the moment when Barclays was to about to go public, launching an IPO to be quoted on the Nairobi stock exchange.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Beginning at the bottom, she proved her metal by climbing the corporate ladder to eventually sit on Barclays’ Kenyan subsidiary’s management committee.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Her insight proved invaluable as the bank struggled to modernise its image from that of a fusty colonial bank to an institution more relevant to the times and the country it served.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">The Barclays post provided a springboard to her determination to launch her own company, Gina Din Corporate Relations (GDCR). It was a bold move, but underpinned by Barclays’ decision to retain her services as an independent consultant she built a portfolio of blue chip clients.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Clients included <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mutual" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;">Old Mutual</a>; the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Association_of_Kenyan_Insurers&action=edit&redlink=1" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;">Association of Kenyan Insurers</a>; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIC_Insurance_Group_Limited" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;">CIC Insurance</a>; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KCB_Bank_Kenya_Limited" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;">Kenya Commercial Bank</a>; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safaricom" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;">Safaricom</a>; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_Red_Cross_Society" rel="external" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #da001a; transition: all 0.1s ease-in 0s;">Kenya Red Cross</a> and<u style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span>Kenya Airways.<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></u></p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0.625rem 0px 0.3125rem;">Helping to build M-Pesa</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Like Barclays Kenya, Safaricom was a Kenyan subsidiary of a major British company, in this case Vodacom, which had been awarded Kenya’s first mobile telephone licence.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Din outlines the tensions that arose in her relationship with Michael Joseph, Safaricom’s chief executive, as she tried to persuade him to focus on the general public as his target market, rather than just the country’s business elite Thanks to the development of pre-paid scratch-card technology, mobile operators could avoid the necessity of credit references in order to establish accounts.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">But Safaricom’s greatest technological advance was creating the M-Pesa app that essentially made every mobile phone a banking tool. Din writes: “M-Pesa was a financial revolution, and became a globally recognised success story. Not only did it give the ordinary man and woman access to to money at all times, it also stimulated micro-entrepreneurship . Especially women-led microenterprises.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">She describes her involvement in M-Pesa as being “intensely satisfying”.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0.625rem 0px 0.3125rem;">Overcoming suffering</h2><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Nevertheless, her company experienced a number of troubling episodes. Perhaps her greatest challenge was in dealing with the public relations surrounding the tragic crash of Kenya Airways Flight 507 shortly after takeoff from Doula airport in Cameroon, with the loss of 108 passengers and six crew members.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">This terrible crash had a deeply personal aspect as Din was married to a KQ pilot herself. Her husband, Chris Kariuki, was part of the Kenya Airways family and deeply affected by this loss.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">However, her professionalism pulled her through as she dealt with the pain and suffering of the passengers’ families and friends drawn from 26 countries across the continent and the world.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">In Din’s own words: “The days ahead were a blur. We had to deal with the families, the press, and the staff. The whole country was in mourning. Flags flew at half mast.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">However, the spirit of this book is, generally upbeat. Forty pages of photos illustrate just how extensive Din’s social circle and contacts grew to be; from Kenya’s President Arap Moi to US President Barrack Obama, from the Reverend Jesse Jackson to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, from Leonardo DiCaprio to Oliver ‘Tuku’ Mutukudzi, and even <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">New African</em>’s managing director, Omar Ben Yedder – her circle of friends and acquaintances is extraordinary.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">As is her narrative, describing how her business gained credibility and traction. She tells how she fostered a loyal team around her, how her staff worked cooperatively for a shared goal. This was recognised in 2013 when she was named as one of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">New African</em>‘s as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of the year.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0.9375rem 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><a href="https://newafricanmagazine.com/28679/" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-21207965655248337662022-09-16T08:06:00.000-07:002022-09-16T08:06:37.536-07:00KENYA: The secret exhumation of Jomo Kenyatta’s body<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShWGDtkcHO8qzRyAGfXTfpHQ9EmMtCl-e9yAU3MIjmV2XmmVmKVXQQCFH3lyaT9hJXpvmboXCveTzUZIDMdY9kp0f3oaKnUCfChSxa7K9CBK90KRIyCBsbrE4D6-0mmGxAzcLggVuC7eZWLDAreInBkiQaDFhit2m3HrEWTRoWXE9rYBIiz1kUKbViA/s960/KENYATTA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShWGDtkcHO8qzRyAGfXTfpHQ9EmMtCl-e9yAU3MIjmV2XmmVmKVXQQCFH3lyaT9hJXpvmboXCveTzUZIDMdY9kp0f3oaKnUCfChSxa7K9CBK90KRIyCBsbrE4D6-0mmGxAzcLggVuC7eZWLDAreInBkiQaDFhit2m3HrEWTRoWXE9rYBIiz1kUKbViA/s320/KENYATTA.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Kenya's first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. He died on August 22, 1978. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP</span></div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8125rem;">By </span></p><div class="article-authors" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.125rem; margin-top: 0.9375rem;"><div class="article-authors_inner clearfix" style="align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;"><div class="article-authors_texts" style="box-sizing: border-box; flex: 1 1 0%; float: left; min-width: 180px;"><p class="article-authors_authors clearfix" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/john-kamau-7526" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; float: left; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">JOHN KAMAU</a></p></div></div></div><section class="article-content_summary" style="background-color: white; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; margin-top: 1.1875rem; padding: 1.875rem 0px 1.375rem;"><h2 class="title-small" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: -0.25rem 0px 0.625rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">What you need to know:</h2><div class="text-block" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.75rem; margin-top: 1.5625rem;"><ul class="rte--list" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 2.5rem; position: relative;">The man who lead the exhumation exercise was Kenyatta’s physician, Dr Eric Mwangola, who was also the Director of Medical Services.</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; padding-left: 2.5rem; position: relative;">Opande offers no further details on how they opened the crypt that has been under military guard ever since Mzee Kenyatta was laid to rest on the afternoon of August 31, 1978.</li></ul></div></section><section style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif;"><div class="text-block" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.75rem; margin-top: 1.5625rem;"><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A new book by a retired Kenya Army general has revealed the care and honour Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was accorded by the military — even in death.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The military, which has responsibility over the founding President’s mausoleum, on at least one occasion removed Mzee’s body in the dead of night three months after his burial and took it to City Mortuary for professional care before returning it to the Parliament grounds.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The hitherto undisclosed information is now contained in Lt-Gen Daniel Opande’s autobiography, <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">In Pursuit of Peace in Africa</em>, adding another twist to the secrecy involving Kenyatta’s burial.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Opande, who has had a colourful career in the military, says that three months after Mzee Kenyatta’s burial he was called by the Army Commander, Gen Jackson Mulinge, and asked to “heighten security around the mausoleum and to be ready to arrange for a military ambulance to take the casket containing the body of Mzee to the City Mortuary”.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The man who was to lead the exhumation exercise was Kenyatta’s physician, Dr Eric Mwangola, who was also the Director of Medical Services.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">PRIVATE MEMORIAL</span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr Mwangola and Dr Njoroge Mungai — Kenyatta’s first cousin — were the two medics that Mzee trusted most.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A source in the Kenyatta family confirmed that the family members knew about the exercise — and that it has happened “twice or thrice” ever since, for “cleaning up”.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The first President died on August 22, 1978 and the anniversary of his death has been marked publicly ever since.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">During the commemoration last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta, his son, announced that the family had made a decision to conduct the memorial privately in future.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In his book, the first time the matter has been brought to the public, Mr Opande says there was some sense of urgency in Gen Mulinge’s call.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I could detect the sombre urgency in his voice as he stressed that the whole operation had to be completed by the following evening. I assured him that I understood his instructions and would comply.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">By then, Mr Opande was the staff officer responsible for ceremonial duties at the Army headquarters.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">PLANNING</span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">During the planning of the burial, Lt-Gen Opande had prepared briefings for Gen Mulinge on the programme — perhaps unaware that this had been firmed up more than 10 years earlier by the British High Commission in Nairobi, intelligence and a few politicians led by Vice-President Daniel arap Moi.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Then, it was not clear why Kenyatta’s body was to be exhumed and as Lt-Gen Opande says, Gen Mulinge “did not elaborate the reason for carrying out this delicate task”.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">But shortly after Gen Mulinge hung up, Mr Opande says he received another call from Dr Mwangola.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“He introduced himself and asked if I could meet him at the mausoleum on Sunday evening at 9.30pm. I replied that I would be glad to do so. I assured him that I had received instructions from the Army Commander to put myself at his disposal.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">"Although I was yet to know what this was all about, I did not ask any more questions, suspecting that the line was not secure,” he writes.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">MILITARY ESCORT</span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Under the cover of darkness and on a lonesome Sunday night, Lt-Gen Opande arrived 30 minutes early with Major Henry Kamiti, who was then the officer commanding the company that was guarding the mausoleum.</p><div><br /></div><div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The area around the mausoleum was cleared and a security cordon thrown around it.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A military escort had been organised and before Dr Mwangola arrived, Lt-Gen Opande briefed Maj Kamiti that they were supposed to retrieve Kenyatta’s casket and take it to the mortuary.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Shortly”, writes Lt-Gen Opande, “Dr Mwangola arrived and briefed me on what he wanted my team and me to assist him with”.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We entered the mausoleum and with the help of a handful of soldiers set out to take out the casket. It was quite heavy and tricky to remove but we managed to bring it out successfully. It was immediately transferred to the waiting military ambulance for the journey to the City Mortuary.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">MISSION SUCCESS</span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Lt-Gen Opande offers no further details on how they opened the crypt that has been under military guard ever since Mzee Kenyatta was laid to rest on the afternoon of August 31, 1978.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Records from the British Archives have recently revealed the details regarding the burial of Kenyatta, with a burial vault — similar to that of John F. Kennedy — flown to Nairobi before Kenyatta’s death and stored at the Kahawa Army barracks, where it was marked M.T Spares.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It was the lifting of this vault that might explain why Lt-Gen Opande described Kenyatta’s casket as “quite heavy”.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“On arrival at the mortuary,” Lt-Gen Opande recalls, “We transferred the casket inside. The pathologist, Dr Rao, and his assistants who were on standby quickly opened the casket and carefully removed the body and placed it on a large table draped with a clean white sheet. I watched carefully as they cleaned the remains that appeared very well-preserved.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Within an hour, the body was placed back into the casket for transportation back to the mausoleum. Later that night, my task accomplished, I called Gen Mulinge and informed him of the success of our mission,” he writes in the book published last week by East African Educational Publishers.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/the-secret-exhumation-of-jomo-kenyatta-s-body-198206?fbclid=IwAR2dPZQvu-rfYMxXlCwZejk2ZGzg7itP7uJcywppuA55wzMWFgkbomKUmJI" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></section>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-66799179665808388552022-08-15T09:51:00.002-07:002022-08-15T09:51:43.959-07:00KENYA: 'It Is Not Over...' Martha Karua Reacts To President-Elect Ruto's Election Win<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFJ_arrwAowbQdMdMbV18KqhYSNbtkZFXehzq4t-qmIBerczCAjhoDMGsAvAFnkM994F0ur3qgA6hXA-VGVp8FAWY7EA7ks76AREOUkjsY1454xRr4Kx0_1ggodSZhX4odPBTNDHM15K010GJuFq1-bqiuUYw_GD0np1Xngngr84I36z7blZ_4dMJI2Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="812" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFJ_arrwAowbQdMdMbV18KqhYSNbtkZFXehzq4t-qmIBerczCAjhoDMGsAvAFnkM994F0ur3qgA6hXA-VGVp8FAWY7EA7ks76AREOUkjsY1454xRr4Kx0_1ggodSZhX4odPBTNDHM15K010GJuFq1-bqiuUYw_GD0np1Xngngr84I36z7blZ_4dMJI2Q" width="309" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;">Azimio La Umoja coalition Deputy Presidential candidate Martha Karua has expressed intention to challenge President-elect William Ruto’s victory in the just concluded elections.</span><p></p><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></div></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Taking to social media soon after the official announcement of Ruto’s victory, Karua said: “It is not over till it is over.”</p></div></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Leaders allied to the Azimio coalition allege that irregularities marred the electoral process.</p></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Moments before IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati announced the final results of the presidential election, Azimio la Umoja Presidential candidate Raila Odinga's chief agent, Saitabao Ole Kanchuri claimed that the systems used by the electoral commission to tally the results of the presidential contest were compromised ahead of the official announcement by the electoral body.</p></div></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Speaking at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday, Kanchuri cited intelligence reports as the reason that informed their claims, going as far as saying that some IEBC officials actively colluded with the perpetrators of the alleged cyber attack to compromise the presidential polls.</p></div></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A petition challenging the presidential election results should be filed within seven days from the declaration of the results by IEBC.</p></div></div><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-0908ae4b="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">According to the Supreme Court, the petition will then be determined 14 days from the day it was filed.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/it-is-not-over-martha-karua-reacts-to-president-elect-rutos-election-win-n303952?fbclid=IwAR0c00M5xkWo6pvPNl50VakaZsHZOCJWXc7-g_kJ85RHRG6cKtAo0fbb8v0" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-90713728459146958742022-08-01T06:11:00.003-07:002022-08-01T06:11:36.313-07:00KENYA: Kibaki visited our home, says Ocholla who claims to be ex-president’s son<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwnU54y8XFpoQL8UCk2nxA_7tLUP1nY2sNq35uiE_EzMV0KitFfY7malmD6uMfHc9l354Yk_08fCIwUtAjVvsbL9qUvFHQddb2CczNeDcgkoIHWTATLi2eZekUxzzm9q1melSupc2tKOeJPed97_FLYUTzzyJquq-4SKMI2H3rYW_GXppnFEUg40LFjQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwnU54y8XFpoQL8UCk2nxA_7tLUP1nY2sNq35uiE_EzMV0KitFfY7malmD6uMfHc9l354Yk_08fCIwUtAjVvsbL9qUvFHQddb2CczNeDcgkoIHWTATLi2eZekUxzzm9q1melSupc2tKOeJPed97_FLYUTzzyJquq-4SKMI2H3rYW_GXppnFEUg40LFjQ" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">PICTURE: JACOB OCHOLA MWAI</div><br /> <p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Mr Jacob Ocholla Mwai grew up seeing, knowing and interacting often with Emilio Mwai Kibaki as a neighbour and a close family friend. Mr Kibaki, he said, used to visit their home often. All that while, he says, he did not know that the man who visited them often was his biological father.</span></p><div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A hotelier by profession, Mr Ocholla was born and bred in Nairobi’s Kaloleni estate, precisely flat H14. He, like other children in the neighbourhood, started schooling at Kaloleni Social Hall. He later proceeded to Mariakani Primary School in 1968 for seven years where he sat for the Certificate of Primary Education test and joined the Rift Valley Academy for two years, before moving to Rift Valley Technical.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It took an evening meeting with the frequent visitor, a year after the death of the man whom he now calls his stepfather, for the daunting revelation to be made to him. Then everything changed, a twist in his life that he had never imagined.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Biological father</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Ocholla vividly remembers the June 21, 1982 meeting like it happened yesterday. It was the day when Kibaki, the then vice-president, in the presence of his now late mum, revealed to him that the man he had always called “dad” was not his real father. He was told that the man seated before him was his biological father.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">As a hotelier, he had always interacted with Kibaki before. Yet, at the VIP sitting at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi, he says, he was meeting Mr Kibaki for the first time as his father. The aura between them was punctuated with memories and a past they all wanted to unlearn or forget. Before him, he thought, was a man whose facial features looked like his. But there was also the shocking revelation that the five-hour evening meeting birthed.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Jacob, I’m your father,” Mr Kibaki told him, as he narrated to the Sunday Nation in an interview earlier this week.</p><div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A lot was going through his mind in the minutes after the revelation. He did not know what to make of it and stared blankly into space. He did not know whether to hug him or to cry.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“It was the most shocking thing I had ever heard. The news left me distraught and with so many unanswered questions,” he recalls the moment. “All along I had grown up knowing that I was a Luo, only to realise that I was not.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The 62-year-old is a father of five children and three grandchildren. <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/former-president-mwai-kibaki-dies-at-90--3790696" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Mr Kibaki died early this year aged 90</a>. The 28-year difference between their ages might as well represent the former president’s age at the time Ms Jane Hilda Ocholla gave birth to Mr Ocholla.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Plans to meet his real father</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">All along, Mr Ocholla says, he knew that Mr Hillary Ocholla, the founding managing director of the Bomas of Kenya, the man he now calls “my adopted father”, was his biological father. His mother had sat him down upon his death in January 1981 and explained that the deceased was not his biological father, and promised to make arrangements for him to meet his real father.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Even when the time came for me to meet with him (Kibaki), even when he walked into the Amboseli Grill Foyer at Hilton Hotel, I did not know he was [my] father, because he was someone I had known when I was growing up. When orders were placed, my mother broke the news and told me Kibaki was my biological father,” said Mr Ocholla Mwai.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The revelation opened a pandora's box and a past they all wished to forget; a story of a father wanting to be as close as possible to his son, yet honouring the boundaries between him, the friend, and the mother.</p></div><div class="content-page-ad_wrap desktop" style="background: url("data:image/png;base64,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") 50% center no-repeat rgb(248, 248, 248); box-sizing: border-box; height: 19.375rem; margin: 1em 0px; max-height: 250px; max-width: 970px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Addressed by name</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“He (Kibaki) addressed me by name. Remember he was a close associate of my adopted father, both having been students at Makerere. Indeed it is in Uganda that he met my mother when she was visiting my adopted father, Ocholla. At one time, the two were even neighbours at Bahati estate, Nairobi,” he says.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Thereafter, Ocholla claims he met and shared meals with Mr Kibaki countless times at Milimani, Mombasa Beach, and Sirikwa hotels in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Eldoret where he served as a manager. Their meetings were most frequent at Milimani Hotel where the then vice-president was a frequent visitor. Mr Kibaki even spent an hour with his late mother at a city hospital when she was stricken by cancer in 1994, he says.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He did not know that things would change drastically after his ascendancy to the presidency.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Access suddenly cut off</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">With Mr Kibaki becoming the third president of the republic and his security beefed up in 2002, Mr Ocholla claims access “to his father” was suddenly cut off. Even in death, he was not allowed to get closer to him and he had to ‘pay’ to view his body.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I was never able to get through his minders when he became President. After his retirement, I made numerous attempts to visit him at his Muthaiga home when he was ailing without success," he narrated.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“One thing that my father insisted on is that I marry a Kikuyu woman,” he said, explaining that all his wives hail from Central Kenya. But that was not the only advise Mr Kibaki gave him, he says. He always asked him to keep their relationship secret to protect his stature in society.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“If my keeping away from his family would give him peace, so be it,” he reasoned.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">When <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/former-first-lady-lucy-kibaki-dies-in-london-hospital-1193054" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Lucy Kibaki</a>, Mr Kibaki’s wife died, he interacted with him at the requiem mass for the first time since his rise to the highest office in the land, he said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I walked to him and knelt by his seat and spoke to him,” he said, adding that Mr Kibaki was battling tears, “an indication of a father remorseful of his actions.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Yet, of all the talks he ever had with his “biological father”, it is the assurance that he would include him in the Will that has pushed him to court demanding to know if the former Head of State bequeathed any part of his wealth to him.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ready for a DNA test</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">After 15 years of him trying to reach out to his family, Mr Ocholla is ready to have a DNA test to prove to his “real” family that he is indeed the oldest son of the late president.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I’ll accept the outcome of the DNA results,” he says. “Many people are curious and are asking why I’m coming out now; it’s because I was honoring my late father’s wish.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“This is an embarrassing situation to be in but if it reaches a certain point and they say they want a DNA test I am ready for that. I am ready for them to exhume the remains of my dad and test me. I am ready for that,” says Mr Ocholla.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He has filed a case in a Nyeri court claiming he fears he might be left out during the succession process. His attorney says they have unsuccessfully tried serving the Kibakis with the court documents.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“That the citor (Ocholla Mwai) has attempted to reach out to the citees (Kibaki children) multiple times but his efforts have not been successful. The citor is afraid that the citees might proceed with the succession process without involving him and he might be left out of the estate of the deceased despite him being entitled to the share of the estate,” the court documents read in part. According to Mr Ocholla’s affidavit, Kibaki might have already written his will at the time he died. He is seeking to know who should be appointed as the administrator of Kibaki's estate and who should benefit from it.</p><section style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: medium;"><div class="text-block" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.75rem; margin-top: 1.5625rem;"><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Ocholla says he takes after President Kibaki. He has attached photos that people who have met him say he looks like the deceased in his court documents.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Struggling with identity</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In his “father's” death, he is now a man struggling with identity and belonging. The facial resemblance to the former Head of State, he says, is evidence that he truly is a man with roots in central. Other than Nairobi, Mr Ocholla has always known his mother’s Koru home and his step fathers’ Ugenya home as his other homes where he “is accepted and welcomed as one of their own”. He speaks Dholuo with native fluency and can understand “a little bit of Kikuyu.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In a bid to establish his identity, he visited Mr Kibaki’s then surviving sister, now deceased, <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/nyeri/kibaki-s-remaining-sister-esther-waitherero-dies-aged-115-3879852" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Esther Waitherero</a>’s home. The motive of the visit, he says, was to establish his “roots” for the first time. When he entered her house, Mr Ocholla says, Ms Waitherero stared at him for almost five minutes. When she broke the silence, she told her children and her grandchildren in Kikuyu: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Ũyũ nĩ witũ”</em>, meaning he is one of us. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Ms Waitherero died mid last month aged 115 years.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">dogetta@ke.nationmedia.com; mesimiyu@ke.nationmedia.com</em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/kibaki-visited-our-home-says-ocholla-who-claims-to-be-son-3897688?fbclid=IwAR1Vs0Z5G5onNyLCoisr8etZrVXm4oQoNLLe-4MYH7h8MWn0sq-ZLrg_xoo" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></em></p></div></div></section><aside class="promotion-banner color-set-color-5" style="background: rgb(255, 230, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: medium; margin: 2.5rem -105px 3.125rem; overflow: hidden; position: relative; text-align: center;"><div class="promotion-banner_texts" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; max-width: 80%; padding: 2.5rem 0px 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"></div></aside></div></div><div class="content-page-ad content-page-ad_desktop center-align-ad" data-google-query-id="COGLtcvapfkCFYKidwodgkQBFA" id="desktop-article-ad-3" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px -190px; position: relative; top: 75px; width: 970px;"></div></div></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-67416409386997246242022-07-28T09:08:00.002-07:002022-07-28T09:08:26.678-07:00KENYA: Eric Latiff Biography: Age, Education, Career, Presidential Debate<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4hh1FteqHSXTwReVlokS2USllIYkIh5pBX_QYBV-OVhGqT8GJ66imPMKizK219CEOk-jLLgNcpZdds1F9eVlyKMmIRFd1frgjTVmoXw8JrcAKjeAei9ES_h2St96h8Je9oDmcJcBBiqRo7hS5Fhi7sV-2lg4PLE8Y936E7g-soWAjbdnUdnAN7rc1A/s696/LATIFF.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="569" data-original-width="696" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4hh1FteqHSXTwReVlokS2USllIYkIh5pBX_QYBV-OVhGqT8GJ66imPMKizK219CEOk-jLLgNcpZdds1F9eVlyKMmIRFd1frgjTVmoXw8JrcAKjeAei9ES_h2St96h8Je9oDmcJcBBiqRo7hS5Fhi7sV-2lg4PLE8Y936E7g-soWAjbdnUdnAN7rc1A/s320/LATIFF.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Latiff is a seasoned broadcaster and journalist with over twenty years of experience as a media personality in radio, TV and digital. He was one of the moderators of the Presidential debate, working alongside Citizen TV’s</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><a href="https://whownskenya.com/index.php/2020/05/01/yvonne-okwara-biography-age-family-education-career/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #a36c4d; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration-line: none;">Yvonne Okwara</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Here is his story as told by <a href="http://whownskenya.com/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #a36c4d; text-decoration-line: none;">WoK</a>.</p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 29px; margin: 24px 0px 14px;">Age</h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">56-year-old Eric Latiff was born on August 17<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 11.25px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span>, 1965 in Kenya.</p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 29px; margin: 24px 0px 14px;">Education</h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Eric joined the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) in South B, Nairobi in 1998. He studied as a Telecommunications Engineer and later graduated.</p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 29px; margin: 24px 0px 14px;">Career Background</h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">But just like many other journalists, Latiff has a different career background from journalism. He first trained as a Telecommunications Engineer at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication (KIMC) between 1995 and 1998.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">He first dipped his toes in media when he was part of the founding team led by <a href="https://whownskenya.com/index.php/2022/04/03/rose-kimotho-the-woman-who-founded-kameme-and-k24/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #a36c4d; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose and David Kimotho in 2006 to launch K24</a>. He oversaw the station come to life through its modular news concept.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">He later joined the Standard Media Group (SMG) as a prime-time news anchor on KTN in April 2006. While at KTN, he spent six years sub-editing news bulletins, presenting, conducting live and recorded interviews, program design and implementation and news content production at the station.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Fast forward to 2019, Latiff joined Spice FM in 2019 when it was launched by the SMG. He was named as one of the hosts of <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Situation Room</em>, an uninterrupted morning talk show on Kenyan radio focusing on political commentary and insights about the state of the nation.</p><h4 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 29px; margin: 24px 0px 14px;">Personal Endeavors</h4><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Other than his radio and TV career, Latiff also runs two digital agencies. These are Zeze Digital, a data-driven marketing, advertising and training agency and Zeze Tunes, a digital video content aggregator, digital rights manager and distribution firm.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Services at the agencies include Corporate Digital Media Training, Digital Strategy, Digital Solutions Design and Build, Google Adwords, Facebook Advertising, Digital Media Buying and Social Media Management, among others.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://whownskenya.com/index.php/2022/07/27/eric-latiff-biography-age-education-career-presidential-debate/?fbclid=IwAR13_yDcBVVNfBmDPwlrQ6uShYfpzUH1sUtoVoqhgCB03-WVnV5oCtY9cto" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-55495264379419157422022-07-25T01:02:00.001-07:002022-07-25T01:02:03.167-07:00KENYA: PROPHESY OF THE SUN | TOM MBOYA'S THOUGHT <p> <a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gmql0nx0 gpro0wi8 b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/897660270327802/user/1193091408/?__cft__[0]=AZVDgnypMPDsnVPSKI9yEsi6GuJmohGocw7E8F2scrnaxoL6s1TTBESb3T-5j6AiLWMnBAXfmn1_ZQR8AKE8kCeefSVIaJ8-QZar6sxLbHT5MCuKSSc6C-LkL17rXGRmhO1AYasQNkEDbhpJt4yKaF7hwG4ZtGfpbenCECDlFhtrPfVGYCa7vPYusJqibPoJhaAlydH3ps2jby38rxOwohnG&__tn__=%2CP-y-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span style="font-weight: 600;">Steve Okoth</span></a></p><div class="dati1w0a hv4rvrfc osnr6wyh" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 16px; padding-right: 16px;"><div class="btwxx1t3 j83agx80 cwj9ozl2" style="background-color: var(--card-background); display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-family: inherit;"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: -5px;"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d9wwppkn mdeji52x e9vueds3 j5wam9gi b1v8xokw m9osqain hzawbc8m" dir="auto" style="color: var(--secondary-text); display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.2308; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="jpp8pzdo" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="rfua0xdk pmk7jnqg stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 ay7djpcl q45zohi1" style="clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-family: inherit; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; width: 1px;"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" style="font-family: inherit;"> · </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="tojvnm2t a6sixzi8 abs2jz4q a8s20v7p t1p8iaqh k5wvi7nf q3lfd5jv pk4s997a bipmatt0 cebpdrjk qowsmv63 owwhemhu dp1hu0rb dhp61c6y iyyx5f41" style="align-items: inherit; align-self: inherit; display: inherit; flex-direction: inherit; flex: inherit; font-family: inherit; height: inherit; max-height: inherit; max-width: inherit; min-height: inherit; min-width: inherit; place-content: inherit; width: inherit;"><a class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 m9osqain b1v8xokw" href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/897660270327802/?multi_permalinks=5330280127065772&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&__cft__[0]=AZVDgnypMPDsnVPSKI9yEsi6GuJmohGocw7E8F2scrnaxoL6s1TTBESb3T-5j6AiLWMnBAXfmn1_ZQR8AKE8kCeefSVIaJ8-QZar6sxLbHT5MCuKSSc6C-LkL17rXGRmhO1AYasQNkEDbhpJt4yKaF7hwG4ZtGfpbenCECDlFhtrPfVGYCa7vPYusJqibPoJhaAlydH3ps2jby38rxOwohnG&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-y-R" role="link" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-color: transparent; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: inherit; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-align: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span aria-labelledby="jsc_c_xc" class="j1lvzwm4 stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 q9uorilb gpro0wi8" style="display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: top;"><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;"><span class="t5a262vz l94mrbxd myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; font-size: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em;">J</span><span class="l94mrbxd aenfhxwr myohyog2 b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em; vertical-align: inherit;">u</span><span class="ihxqhq3m myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em;">l</span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em; vertical-align: inherit;">y</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;"> </span><span class="t5a262vz l94mrbxd myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; font-size: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em;">2</span><span class="nc684nl6 l94mrbxd l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="display: inline; font-size: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;">3</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;"> </span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em; vertical-align: inherit;">a</span><span class="ihxqhq3m myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em;">t</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;"> </span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em; vertical-align: inherit;">1</span><span class="t5a262vz l94mrbxd myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; font-size: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em;">:</span><span class="nc684nl6 l94mrbxd l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="display: inline; font-size: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;">3</span><span class="ihxqhq3m myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em;">4</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em;"> </span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; top: 0.001em; vertical-align: inherit;">A</span><span class="l94mrbxd aenfhxwr myohyog2 b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4 ib11zyx6" style="font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; top: 0.001em; vertical-align: inherit;">M</span></span></span></span></a></span></span><span class="jpp8pzdo" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="rfua0xdk pmk7jnqg stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 ay7djpcl q45zohi1" style="clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-family: inherit; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; width: 1px;"> </span><span aria-hidden="true" style="font-family: inherit;"> · </span></span></span><span class="g0qnabr5" style="font-family: inherit; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="tojvnm2t a6sixzi8 abs2jz4q a8s20v7p t1p8iaqh k5wvi7nf q3lfd5jv pk4s997a bipmatt0 cebpdrjk qowsmv63 owwhemhu dp1hu0rb dhp61c6y iyyx5f41" style="align-items: inherit; align-self: inherit; display: inherit; flex-direction: inherit; flex: inherit; font-family: inherit; height: inherit; max-height: inherit; max-width: inherit; min-height: inherit; min-width: inherit; place-content: inherit; width: inherit;"><span class="q9uorilb l9j0dhe7 bk00n993" style="display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; position: relative; top: 2px;"><svg class="a8c37x1j ms05siws l3qrxjdp b7h9ocf4 py1f6qlh cyypbtt7 fwizqjfa" fill="currentColor" height="1em" title="Shared with Public group" viewbox="0 0 16 16" width="1em"><g fill-rule="evenodd" transform="translate(-448 -544)"><g><path d="M109.5 408.5c0 3.23-2.04 5.983-4.903 7.036l.07-.036c1.167-1 1.814-2.967 2-3.834.214-1 .303-1.3-.5-1.96-.31-.253-.677-.196-1.04-.476-.246-.19-.356-.59-.606-.73-.594-.337-1.107.11-1.954.223a2.666 2.666 0 0 1-1.15-.123c-.007 0-.007 0-.013-.004l-.083-.03c-.164-.082-.077-.206.006-.36h-.006c.086-.17.086-.376-.05-.529-.19-.214-.54-.214-.804-.224-.106-.003-.21 0-.313.004l-.003-.004c-.04 0-.084.004-.124.004h-.037c-.323.007-.666-.034-.893-.314-.263-.353-.29-.733.097-1.09.28-.26.863-.8 1.807-.22.603.37 1.166.667 1.666.5.33-.11.48-.303.094-.87a1.128 1.128 0 0 1-.214-.73c.067-.776.687-.84 1.164-1.2.466-.356.68-.943.546-1.457-.106-.413-.51-.873-1.28-1.01a7.49 7.49 0 0 1 6.524 7.434" transform="translate(354 143.5)"></path><path d="M104.107 415.696A7.498 7.498 0 0 1 94.5 408.5a7.48 7.48 0 0 1 3.407-6.283 5.474 5.474 0 0 0-1.653 2.334c-.753 2.217-.217 4.075 2.29 4.075.833 0 1.4.561 1.333 2.375-.013.403.52 1.78 2.45 1.89.7.04 1.184 1.053 1.33 1.74.06.29.127.65.257.97a.174.174 0 0 0 .193.096" transform="translate(354 143.5)"></path><path d="M110 408.5a8 8 0 1 1-16 0 8 8 0 0 1 16 0zm-1 0a7 7 0 1 0-14 0 7 7 0 0 0 14 0z" fill-rule="nonzero" transform="translate(354 143.5)"></path></g></g></svg></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div></div><div class="" dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div class="" dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="ecm0bbzt hv4rvrfc ihqw7lf3 dati1w0a" data-ad-comet-preview="message" data-ad-preview="message" style="font-family: inherit; padding: 4px 16px 16px;"><div class="j83agx80 cbu4d94t ew0dbk1b irj2b8pg" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: -5px;"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto" style="color: var(--primary-text); display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinM0H2ReLcMWVrrpUlFISSI6ET9tdNKsIfF1dTORx9Z3QdL8NxpaKDefmg1G1m3cQfGIENtftZn2iggaxO-JU1HoCVP2nzPh3mbuHI3-1-z8ZLs2TB3XDul9oAzHsrxDDCC5OUvNf-0EYf_4oqTrNSHq0VEkXi5tSaQwlr8_kpwFShhjnzm16yFVLhdA" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEinM0H2ReLcMWVrrpUlFISSI6ET9tdNKsIfF1dTORx9Z3QdL8NxpaKDefmg1G1m3cQfGIENtftZn2iggaxO-JU1HoCVP2nzPh3mbuHI3-1-z8ZLs2TB3XDul9oAzHsrxDDCC5OUvNf-0EYf_4oqTrNSHq0VEkXi5tSaQwlr8_kpwFShhjnzm16yFVLhdA" width="186" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">TOM MBOYA</div><br />PROPHESY OF THE SUN | MBOYA'S THOUGHT </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">We all must love the song "Thuon ok ru". </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Odera Akang'o, Ruoth of Central Nyanza in the colonial 1910s, sang the song when he was being led to his slaughter by the white men.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The king lost his temper with the incessant and unquenchable demands for more troops from Luos during the heat if World War 1. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Luos had committed in an earlier "Ogirmiti" (Agreement) with the British 1904/5 to provide personnel to the administration. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The British later betrayed Luos and contrived the deal that our people should send sons to the unknown the war in unknown lands. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Rwoth Akang'o thoroughly whipped a British District Commissioner in violent disagreement to a disrespectful episode. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The oppressive colonialists then sent their army to arrest, imprison, torture and kill our King.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Till this sad date, his body has not been returned for proper burial. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">No compensation nor apology has been provided to Luos nor his family for the unlawful murder. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">But today it's not about Odera.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">It's about the prophesy in the song. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">THUONDI</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">That song predicts that Luo heroes of courage, wisdom and strength and will one day rise, like a phoenix from the ashes, and revive the community from the rot, damage and rape of outsiders.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Luos looked forward to the time of the predicted "thuondi".</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">5th JULY 1969</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, in 1969, another "thuon" who's was taken to be the "Messiah" was stuck down by the enemy's arrow of sadness. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The time of redemption had once again been postponed at the cusp of time.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">"Yie nimo kochiegni gowo".</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">PROPHESY </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">While Odera "Makaka", left us with prophesy and inspiration, TJ Moya ("Rateng'"), left a treasure of intellectual riches.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Not just for Luos.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Not just for Kenyans. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">But for all Africans. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">TOM'S THOUGHT </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Jarusinga's intellectual achievements stretch for miles, but his 1967 piece "A Developed Strategy for Africa: Problems and Proposals" summarises his thoughts on how the continent ought to develop:-</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">1. Governance systems should reflect African values. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">2. Inter- continental Infrastructure is a priority for opening up economies of our people. There should be high quality intercontinental roads, ports and rails..</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">3. The focuss of Africans should be on intra-African trade. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">4. Aid and donor support will only work if incorporated into local intellectual thought.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">5. Best opportunities should he extracted for each sector. </div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">6. Technology and education is key.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="font-family: inherit; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">7. Risk profiling and management of key risks such as security, food and</div></div></span></div></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-2281303528912440262022-07-15T23:35:00.005-07:002022-07-15T23:35:50.709-07:00This is called S.O.S !! The Slower, Older and Smarter <p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCQ0EzrexX8ekOlRFl_XTS1ACka8wpEZD91j4xpCnOw7Z67BKGi8-3hwnypy6G3TQQDDkSLrzOpam1DpPKZqokSrx-Xp17JmJ1KY7hcDEnHBdhWkVA3OOXvG2LdS6-KjmB9cTsJ-D1l-9UR70j2SExQ4-tg4gKgaVaOnDVtc3oyvI74In9A68biqIA5Q" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="644" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiCQ0EzrexX8ekOlRFl_XTS1ACka8wpEZD91j4xpCnOw7Z67BKGi8-3hwnypy6G3TQQDDkSLrzOpam1DpPKZqokSrx-Xp17JmJ1KY7hcDEnHBdhWkVA3OOXvG2LdS6-KjmB9cTsJ-D1l-9UR70j2SExQ4-tg4gKgaVaOnDVtc3oyvI74In9A68biqIA5Q" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is SOS</div><br />An Airbus 380 is on its way across the Atlantic. It flies consistently at 800 km/h at 30,000 feet, when suddenly a Eurofighter with a Tempo Mach 2 appears.<p></p><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The pilot of the fighter jet slows down, flies alongside the Airbus and greets the pilot of the passenger plane by radio: "Airbus, boring flight isn’t it? Now have a look here!"</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">He rolls his jet on its back, accelerates, breaks through the sound barrier, rises rapidly to a dizzying height, and then swoops down almost to sea level in a breathtaking dive. He loops back next to the Airbus and asks, "Well, how was that?"</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The Airbus pilot answers: "Very impressive, but watch this!"</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The jet pilot watches the Airbus, but nothing happens. It continues to fly straight, at the same speed. After 15 minutes, the Airbus pilot radios, "Well, how was that?</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">Confused, the jet pilot asks, "What did you do?"</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The AirBus pilot laughs and says, "I got up, stretched my legs, walked to the back of the aircraft to use the washroom, then got a cup of coffee and a chocolate fudge pastry.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">The moral of the story is: When you’re young, speed and adrenaline seems to be great. But as you get older and wiser, you learn that comfort and peace are more important.</div></div><div class="cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql o9v6fnle ii04i59q" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">This is called S.O.S... Slower, Older and Smarter. Dedicated to all my "elder & older" Connections, don't worry about the Jet planes surrounding you. Enjoy your Cruise mode now with a Million Smiles.</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">SOURCE:</div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;">FACEBOOK: </div><div dir="auto" style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d" style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; white-space: normal;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v b1v8xokw m9osqain hzawbc8m" dir="auto" style="color: var(--secondary-text); display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.9375rem; line-height: 1.3333; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><h4 class="gmql0nx0 l94mrbxd p1ri9a11 lzcic4wl aahdfvyu hzawbc8m" id="jsc_c_sj" style="color: inherit; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; 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text-decoration-line: none; touch-action: manipulation;" tabindex="0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sajjad Madani</span></a></span></h4></span></div><div class="qzhwtbm6 knvmm38d" style="color: #1c1e21; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px; white-space: normal;"><span class="d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql lr9zc1uh a8c37x1j fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d9wwppkn mdeji52x e9vueds3 j5wam9gi b1v8xokw m9osqain hzawbc8m" dir="auto" style="color: var(--secondary-text); display: block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.8125rem; line-height: 1.2308; max-width: 100%; min-width: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; word-break: break-word;"><span id="jsc_c_sk" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span aria-labelledby="jsc_c_sq" class="j1lvzwm4 stjgntxs ni8dbmo4 q9uorilb gpro0wi8" style="display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: top;"><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: inherit; position: relative;"><span class="t5a262vz l94mrbxd myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; font-size: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">J</span><span class="l94mrbxd aenfhxwr myohyog2 b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">u</span><span class="ihxqhq3m myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">l</span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">y</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative;"> </span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">1</span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">1</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative;"> 2022 </span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">a</span><span class="ihxqhq3m myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">t</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative;"> </span><span class="ihxqhq3m myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="font-family: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">4</span><span class="t5a262vz l94mrbxd myohyog2 l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; font-size: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit;">:</span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">1</span><span class="t5a262vz aenfhxwr b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; vertical-align: inherit;">9</span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative;"> </span><span class="t5a262vz nc684nl6 ihxqhq3m l94mrbxd aenfhxwr l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="cursor: inherit; display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative;">P</span><span class="l94mrbxd aenfhxwr myohyog2 b6zbclly l9j0dhe7 sdhka5h4" style="font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; position: relative; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: inherit;">M</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-79467490066965492462022-07-15T23:28:00.000-07:002022-07-15T23:28:03.827-07:00KENYA: ‘I’ve Shed Off Weight On Purpose,’ Paul Muite Refutes Claims He Has Cancer<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnnlw46B3fXaXuOk_49TvoT3ye_RRo9A_PbUFwxCojXl3xosWB074nlmGoKY3aB2ZsFbfnGTqKYvw3SE5J7s7Yc9l-vLwwL_LQSjlCdAFrFr7bcRmj7DI8OHaF75NsPw0makTX28pEbX2ka1zUc7d4R2rvNDSJfD1W0_2zSLH0XG1XZ6utVGolusO2zg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="966" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnnlw46B3fXaXuOk_49TvoT3ye_RRo9A_PbUFwxCojXl3xosWB074nlmGoKY3aB2ZsFbfnGTqKYvw3SE5J7s7Yc9l-vLwwL_LQSjlCdAFrFr7bcRmj7DI8OHaF75NsPw0makTX28pEbX2ka1zUc7d4R2rvNDSJfD1W0_2zSLH0XG1XZ6utVGolusO2zg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Paul Muite</div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;">Senior Counsel Paul Muite has come out to address claims that he is unwell and ailing from Cancer.</span><p></p><ul style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 0px;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Jost; margin-bottom: 0.8em;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: jost !important; line-height: 16.1px;">Muite sought to clarify the social media reports saying he is in fact very fit and has never been in better shape in his life.<o:p style="box-sizing: border-box;"></o:p></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Jost; margin-bottom: 1rem;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: jost !important; line-height: 16.1px;">The Safina party boss stated that he had personally come to the decision to lose some weight, adding that he even jogs in the morning now.</span></li></ul><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">Muite, in a tweet posted on Friday afternoon, sought to clarify the social media reports saying he is in fact very fit and has – matter of factly – never been in better shape in his life.<o:p style="box-sizing: border-box;"></o:p></span></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">The Safina party boss stated that he had personally come to the decision to lose some weight, adding that he even jogs in the morning now.</span></p><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">“Reports on social media that I am sick with cancer are not true. Given my age, I have had to shed off weight on purpose to keep sugar levels where they should be otherwise I have never felt better; enjoyed 1 & 1/2 hrs jogging in Ngong forest this morning</span>,” he wrote.<o:p style="box-sizing: border-box;"></o:p></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">This comes after an image of a seemingly frail-looking Muite, posing next to an unidentified woman, went viral on Twitter on Friday alongside a caption that seemed to suggest that he was not doing well.<o:p style="box-sizing: border-box;"></o:p></span></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">Twitter user Abdulahi Adan shared the photo and captioned it: “</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">This picture of second liberation icon, Paul Muite has touched my heart. Cancer one day you too will die. Quick Recovery Paul Muite.</span>”<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;"><o:p style="box-sizing: border-box;"></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;"></span></p><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;">The tweet opened the floodgates to a myriad of ‘get well soon’ messages from Kenyans on Twitter, thereby making Muite a trending topic.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;"><a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/ive-shed-off-weight-on-purpose-paul-muite-refutes-claims-he-has-cancer-n302189" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 30.6px;"><br /></span></p></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-86988883145957797102022-07-15T23:23:00.001-07:002022-07-15T23:23:22.825-07:00KENYA: How educated is Governor Charity Ngilu?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtTcuXT80uvRp3--ZmoJHvQ2xybhyD58JiDaztwGmIm4r6VQ-KbN6OGBatE8IPlXTsXcilJBA2nhHPy3-rlEELseHlVUNR0M_5RxUxzRnkwm9xSb2hYzQvVOCZnJ6dL9_JRPUeKVV556P_IIS66iiSniwwHEeDqvjNjN97IWm-2W_pJJpEsYU4qsZ2Vg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="1373" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtTcuXT80uvRp3--ZmoJHvQ2xybhyD58JiDaztwGmIm4r6VQ-KbN6OGBatE8IPlXTsXcilJBA2nhHPy3-rlEELseHlVUNR0M_5RxUxzRnkwm9xSb2hYzQvVOCZnJ6dL9_JRPUeKVV556P_IIS66iiSniwwHEeDqvjNjN97IWm-2W_pJJpEsYU4qsZ2Vg" width="207" /></a></div><br />Primary Education: Mbooni Intermediate School<p></p><p>High School: Alliance Girls - graduated there 1972</p><p>Then worked as a Secretary for Central Bank of Kenya: Before becoming an entrepreneur, she acted as director of plastics extrusion factory.</p><p>Then joined Kianda College and Government Secretarial College where she studied Governance and Secretarial Studies</p><p>In 2012 Ngilu graduated with Bachelor's degree in Leadership and Management from St. Paul's University</p><p>Born:28.01.1952</p><p>Vied for Presidency in 1997</p><p>Became second elected Kitui County Governor in 2017</p><p>2003-2007 Minister for Health</p><p>April 2008 - 2013 Minister for Water and Irrigation</p><p>2013 until 2015: CS for Lands, Housing & Urban Development</p><p> 2017:One of the First 3 female Governors in Kenya alongside Joyce Laboso-Bomet County and Anne Waiguru-Kirinyaga County.</p><p><a href="https://biznakenya.com/how-educated-is-charity-ngilu/?fbclid=IwAR0LTLz8tAXfTQIFWoQ6C7oAZS9jBw157CSbw2-0SMjfJ5FsekPVM6eHr9M" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-85267726916147908302022-07-13T00:59:00.000-07:002022-07-13T00:59:02.861-07:00KENYA: Why we moved from the US to raise our children in Meru<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Mekenze Limiri had a wonderful childhood growing up in the suburban area of Utah, United States. Her parents provided quality family time for Mekenze and her four younger siblings.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8A5p8foSDnwlOR5G9vYO9VdmmEjF4aH6QAAVkAMiqpCho0XLDayHaZ7-kQvPInZ41N-9CdB6mdxyI1NYmhRg8zVgQK1r9_NP5O1yenIWSA0dkYtAZMKKbn6S2Mipq6MDQpNWS0KE8VdByPddugrFZVqtn532D41osli0zHBn7WV50xsVbcVDasU4ceQ/s960/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8A5p8foSDnwlOR5G9vYO9VdmmEjF4aH6QAAVkAMiqpCho0XLDayHaZ7-kQvPInZ41N-9CdB6mdxyI1NYmhRg8zVgQK1r9_NP5O1yenIWSA0dkYtAZMKKbn6S2Mipq6MDQpNWS0KE8VdByPddugrFZVqtn532D41osli0zHBn7WV50xsVbcVDasU4ceQ/s320/1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">George Limiri, his wife Mackenzie and their children (from left) Lukas Thuranira, Londynn Nkirote and Liam Muthomi at their home in Akithii, Meru County. </span></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I played sports such as basketball, soccer and softball. I was also into music; I sang, danced and played the violin and piano. Some of my fondest memories include participating in music performances and sport tournaments. My parents were so supportive and encouraged us to pursue our interests. As a little girl, I often imagined how lovely it would be to have my own family and support my children the same way my parents did.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKa_hAhfU6aVjrZHmkb7fGjKHE-5uf_EUwvcbxDyT7ozikBZ4MOPjwBQcj_q7TLaHxPl3vUlFKTtxJQ9VOorcTFtHLUNxSZ37c0h-I19Uc4hfAATxdzjVySNxle61o-yDe_t53SNF5WGjGPHaIOwFW6E15OcIH5XC1u-ZaRpFy0VL5QUWGv-7vdUY8fw/s960/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKa_hAhfU6aVjrZHmkb7fGjKHE-5uf_EUwvcbxDyT7ozikBZ4MOPjwBQcj_q7TLaHxPl3vUlFKTtxJQ9VOorcTFtHLUNxSZ37c0h-I19Uc4hfAATxdzjVySNxle61o-yDe_t53SNF5WGjGPHaIOwFW6E15OcIH5XC1u-ZaRpFy0VL5QUWGv-7vdUY8fw/s320/2.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">George is an excellent farmer and keeps pigs, sheep, goats poultry as well as growing vegetables and fruits. The bulk of their diet is sourced from their farm.</span></div><br /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">However, in all the fantasies about her future family, never did Mekenze imagine that she would raise her children in a village in Kenya…</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zwBNJ8zlwUn19qOW6-ouw34eIuli0F_BQCr0X81iwTkz1NnxHVJesTyjC-PRV0lu8tigM6DTZRybrkrJSWE6LScVh9St5uZwH1arcrqK7j02Hm0VJyz_wIlRM_TgHL5iXL1F1Wj5mbTLdDJx6er0dKWpQemuyizkLm4_APyWjSjdcLjl9vG6fLcg0w/s960/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zwBNJ8zlwUn19qOW6-ouw34eIuli0F_BQCr0X81iwTkz1NnxHVJesTyjC-PRV0lu8tigM6DTZRybrkrJSWE6LScVh9St5uZwH1arcrqK7j02Hm0VJyz_wIlRM_TgHL5iXL1F1Wj5mbTLdDJx6er0dKWpQemuyizkLm4_APyWjSjdcLjl9vG6fLcg0w/s320/3.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">George Limiri and his wife Mekenzie sample sugarcane at their farm in Akithii, Meru. The family relocated from the US this year to settle in Kenya permanently.</span></div><br /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">George Limiri grew up in Kibirichi, Meru County. Like his wife Mekenze, George’s childhood was packed with exciting activities. He stayed with his grandmother and spent days on end grazing animals, digging in the family farm and running errands.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNuCQPd10i7xftHFaYdhblE4Dd0LpJraleiFnAY01e9DJ-y0TvVLU25qwyXHD2PnjNU4UGptxrBQX5nlfXtf3M7sKGZiHEHPA3IikqvhWWCYqO9wC2gpFtfRSDOoUw-HhPUi06khwrY6AyEq_8Ksh53gQg9IEuF80-g8hQXPevUV7OOD-ujhKAihdQA/s960/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNuCQPd10i7xftHFaYdhblE4Dd0LpJraleiFnAY01e9DJ-y0TvVLU25qwyXHD2PnjNU4UGptxrBQX5nlfXtf3M7sKGZiHEHPA3IikqvhWWCYqO9wC2gpFtfRSDOoUw-HhPUi06khwrY6AyEq_8Ksh53gQg9IEuF80-g8hQXPevUV7OOD-ujhKAihdQA/s320/4.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Lukas, Nkirote and Liam are home-schooled, a decision the couple made to help them spend quality time with the children.</span></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I was very close to my grandmother. She taught me how to live well with people, to work hard and to have upright morals. I had the dream of becoming a dad one day and hoped to share childhood experiences to my own children.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">So, how did the young man from Meru meet the young woman from Utah and end up being a family?</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mekenze and George met in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012. At the time, George was trying his hand in business, running a music record label. He had come to the US in 2005 as a student at the University of Georgia and was now looking for ways to make ends meet after completing his studies.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"> “We met through a mutual friend. George was looking for a vocalist and this friend told me about it. I grew up singing, so when I heard of the opportunity, I was all in,” says Mekenze.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">At first, their relationship was purely professional. They worked on a couple of music projects together. The nature of the job made them spend many hours recording music and they became friends. This friendship blossomed into a romantic relationship which was sealed by a spectacular wedding in Utah towards the end of 2012.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We fell in love and decided to tie the knot even though I hadn’t met his family back in Kenya,” says Mekenze.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">However, she was no stranger to George’s family as they communicated frequently on phone.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We heard each other’s voices and that’s how we knew each other at first. About three and a half years into our marriage, in 2016, we visited George’s family and saw each other for the first time. George had been away from home for over a decade and it was quite a reunion. We stayed for six weeks before returning to the US.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">For those six weeks, the couple traversed different parts of Kenya, from the mountainous areas in Meru to the expansive plains of Maasai Mara. It was during these expeditions that the idea of starting a tour company occurred to them.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We realised there were people in our networks and family who would love to experience the game drives and beauty of Kenya. So, we developed the idea into a tour company and named it Limiri Travels. We registered the business, got a van for the safaris and launched the company. It is one of our income sources to date,” shares Mekenze.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Shortly after getting married in 2012, the couple welcomed their first child, Lukas Thuranira who was named by his paternal grandfather. Then came the second child, Londynn Nkirote.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“My mum is a kind, joyful and pleasant woman. We named our daughter Nkirote after my mum’s character,” explains Mekenze.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Relocating to Kenya</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">After staying in the US for five years, the couple began to think more deliberately about moving to Kenya. For Mekenze, the thought was influenced by her brief stay when she came to meet George’s family back in 2016.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I fell in love with the country, it was nothing like what I grew up seeing in the media. It was my first time to visit Africa as well. I was amazed to see how productive and beautiful the country was. It was during this visit that I began toying with the idea of moving to Kenya permanently.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In 2019, the couple and their two children came to Kenya. Mekenze was pregnant with their third child, Liam Muthomi. Not even the hassle of traveling with little children could dampen the couple’s excitement. The plan was to stay for one year, test the waters and see how everyday life was like in Meru, Kenya before making the big decision to settle down permanently.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Raising our children in the US was great. We lived close to my family and got to see them a lot. However, as the children got older and more active, we figured it would be best to introduce them to a different environment, one that allowed them to stay outdoors for longer and explore their curiosity. Having visited Kenya, and specifically Meru, I knew it would be the best environment for them,” explains Mekenze, adding that it was also important for the fast-growing children to know and bond with George’s family.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In most rural homes in Kenya, the family compound hosts several houses belonging to close relatives such as older siblings or uncles. The homestead of George’s parents was no different. It had extra houses for visiting relatives and this is where the Limiri family stayed for a whole year.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Visiting a place is very different from staying long enough to experience everyday life. However, there was nothing to worry about as Meru already felt like our second home. Still, there were a few challenges like adjusting to a new diet, especially for the kids. And also new ways of cooking. Till now, I can’t slaughter a chicken or watch it being processed. It would ruin my appetite or make me go vegan. Fortunately, George is the primary chef of our family and his cooking is way better than mine.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The covid-19 pandemic found them still in Meru and with the uncertainties that followed the onset of the pandemic--borders closing and the world shutting down--they rushed back to the United States.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">However, the test-run stay in Meru had convinced George and Mekenze to relocate and so they began putting up their own home in Meru while still in the US. George travelled a few times to Meru to supervise the construction. The house was completed towards the end of 2021 and in March this year, the Limiri family moved in, this time for good.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“As soon as we settled into our new home in Kenya, I began making short videos to keep my family updated on how we were all settling in. A few videos in, I thought of starting a YouTube channel which I named Mekenze in Kenya. I still upload videos on that channel. I never expected to get such a warm reception online and I am grateful for my viewers and subscribers. The channel is a creative outlet for me.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Home-schooling</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In addition to adapting to the village life, George and Mekenze have added an interesting twist to their parenting style by choosing to home-school their children. This began while they were still in the US as the couple wanted to spend a lot of time with the children. While home-schooling is common in the US, In Kenya it is still at a budding stage.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We have always wanted to ensure our children thrive in all areas. Back in the US, my parents and family were very supportive of the idea of home-schooling. Here, the concept was initially unclear to George’s family. They kept wondering when we would enrol the children to regular school. Eventually, they came around after seeing that the children were learning well at home,” shares Mekenze.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Lukas, Nkirote and Liam learn core school subjects including Math, Language, Science, History and Art. They are creative when it comes to inventing games and are sociable whenever they get to meet and interact with other children. The couple agrees that plenty of outdoor time has done the children good, nurturing their minds to stay curious and always ready to learn.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Remember George’s dream as a young boy to one day share his childhood experiences with his children? Well, he is definitely living the dream. The family grows most of their food and keeps animals and poultry and children help with chores such as feeding the animals and tending the farm.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We have beehives and harvest honey for sale. We also keep goats, sheep, pigs and chicken. I followed in the steps of my grandma who was a successful farmer. I am happy to see my children doing chores around the farm. I am glad we got the chance to come back to Kenya, it was something I always hoped for back when I was living in the US,” shares George.</p></div><div class="content-page-ad_wrap desktop" style="background: url("data:image/png;base64,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") 50% center no-repeat rgb(248, 248, 248); box-sizing: border-box; height: 19.375rem; margin: 1em 0px; max-height: 250px; max-width: 970px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It’s been barely five months since the Limiri family settled into their new home, but you cannot easily tell this by looking at them. Mekenze fit right into the village life and the children have not only started making friends but also picking a few Kimeru words from the everyday conversations around their dad.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Truth is , it can be hard to be away from family. Like I mentioned, my family in the US is particularly close. But we have found a way to bridge that gap thanks to frequent video messages and calls. We are all excited for my mum to come and visit later this year. Other family members will visit for sure too, next year,” Mekenze says and adds in her parting shot;</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Children are young for such a short time, it is important for parents to be present and involved in their formative years. It is such a rewarding experience. Also, Kenya is a beautiful place for kids to grow and thrive.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Maryanne.gicobi@gmail.com</span></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/dn2/why-we-moved-from-the-us-to-raise-our-children-in-meru-3877338?fbclid=IwAR0mwN6RCz_ES7_tFuV03wbZi6Yj4lWdoRqQsbrVn9ObPIiqTiQdSkVd9TM" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></span></em></p></div><div class="content-page-ad content-page-ad_desktop" data-google-query-id="CISm7JWr9fgCFcKQ_Qcdb5UFxA" id="desktop-article-ad-6" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 0px 0px -190px; width: 970px;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-88497968257053534882022-07-12T06:35:00.001-07:002022-07-12T06:35:08.239-07:00KENYA: Uhuru-Kenyatta University land drama: VC sacked<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Trouble is brewing in Kenyatta University after the secretary to the cabinet Joseph Kinyua ordered the Vice Chancellor Prof Paul Wainaina to surrender university title deed as the row between the university and the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital over the ownership of a 1,000-acre piece of land escalated.</span></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">This even comes amidst reports that Prof Wainaina has left the institution under unclear circumstances. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Prof Wainaina addressed staff on Tuesday morning telling them “This is probably the last time you’ll see me addressing you as VC”. </p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It is also understood that the University council has been replaced, and anew team set to take over running of the institution later today. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">This comes just two days after President Uhuru Kenyatta castigated the university management for opposing plans to cede part of the learning institution’s land to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which is setting up a Sh600 million emergency hub to cater for its regional operations.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The university and the hospital have been warring over the land, with the varsity saying it was hived off without its knowledge.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Speaking to the press last week, Kenyatta University vice-chancellor Paul Wainaina said the idea to grant land to WHO was not in the best interest of the university as no consultations were done and they were not involved.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">But without naming names, Mr Kenyatta said some individuals do not reason with the nation in mind, saying such managers should shape up and be ready to go home with him as he retires in a month after his reign in office comes to an end.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We have individuals who are very ignorant and behave as if they have never entered a classroom… they don’t understand that Kenya has never operated in isolation. We shall deal with those individuals swiftly and very effectively,” he said. </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The WHO Emergency Hub will be completed in three years and the Kenyan government has allocated 12.4 hectares with a committed fund of $5 million (Sh600 million) for the investment.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/uhuru-kenyatta-university-land-drama-vc-sacked-3877078?fbclid=IwAR2191TUM3kJRpNBwgh0ldIklg7ObWtFp5A4WmdWDDgrph6yOF3RHimRenA" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-43726760796944485012022-07-12T06:32:00.001-07:002022-07-12T06:32:51.004-07:00KENYA: Kenyatta University VC Prof. Paul Wainaina Resigns After President Uhuru's Warning<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;">Kenyatta University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Paul Wainaina has resigned days after President Uhuru Kenyatta warned that action would be taken against the institution’s management following contention over a piece of land that the government has allowed for the construction of the World Health Organization (WHO) African regional operations and logistics hub.</span></p><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Prof. Wainaina is reported to have been in opposition to a decision by the government to allow WHO set up the hub on the grounds adjacent to the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRH).<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On Saturday, during a groundbreaking ceremony for the project, a visibly-agitated President Kenyatta lectured the university management telling them to know that the land is public property and they are just but caretakers of the property.</p></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Head of State went ahead to warn that those opposing the project would be health with "swiftly and very effectively."</p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">“Some people don’t just seem to get it. It is not your property. It is public property. You are just a caretaker. And when you recognise that, and also recognise a whole government approach. Then you also recognise that Kenya has never operated in isolation. Kenya is a respected member of the global community. On top of that, Kenya throughout her history is recognised as a very strong supporter of our multi-lateral institution,” said Kenyatta.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">He added: “Alafu unaenda huko kusema hii shamba ni yako... shamba yako kutoka wapi? Hii ni shamba ya wakenya. Lakini bado nimebaki wiki tatu... we shall deal with those people swiftly and very effectively. Tutaenda nyumbani na wao. We can’t have people operating as individuals.”<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Among the high-profile guests at the event was WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.</p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The University council is set to unveil Prof. Wainaina's replacement.</p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">According to Prof. Wainaina the idea to cede part of the land to WHO was not in the best interest of the university as no consultations were done. </p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Kenyatta University and the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital have been embroiled in a row over ownership of the land in question.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">On Saturday, President Kenyatta said the Government has allocated 30 acres of land adjacent to KUTRRH and committed USD 5 million (Ksh.600 million) towards the operationalization of the hub to facilitate the commencement of its operations.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">He added that the Government has also provided WHO with rent-free office space at the KUTRRH to accommodate the initial staff component of up to 150 officers needed to start preparations for the establishment of the hub.</p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> “This space has been identified on the Training Research and Innovation (TRIC) building of the KUTRRH,” President Kenyatta said.</p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Kenya is one of the three African countries selected by the WHO to host a logistics hub that will be equipped with emergency medical personnel, commodities and equipment to support countries with emergencies in Eastern Africa.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p></div></div><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="background-color: white; border-color: transparent transparent transparent rgb(64, 64, 64); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: jost; font-size: 18px;"><div data-v-3ce21510="" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Senegal and Nigeria are the other two African countries selected to host the WHO hubs that will also be centres of excellence in emergency medical training with a capacity to respond to over 100 crises at a time.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.7 !important; margin-bottom: 1.5em !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/kenyatta-university-vc-prof-paul-wainaina-resigns-after-president-uhurus-warning-n301954" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-26077957730438291462022-07-09T09:38:00.002-07:002022-07-09T09:38:41.403-07:00IEBC threatens to suspend polls in 31 elective areas with petitions<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">The electoral commission has threatened to suspend elections in at least 31 electoral areas having pending court cases.</span></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati said that the ongoing cases may stall the printing of ballot papers.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Chebukati asked the Judiciary to fast-track the cases to allow the commission meet some of its key electoral timelines in preparations for the August 9 polls.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I want to urge the Judiciary to finalise them (cases). If for any reason they are not finalised in good time, then as a commission, we cannot wait forever, we shall be forced to suspend elections in those areas where decisions that affect the printing of ballot papers are made because we cannot wait forever,” said Mr Chebukati.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The 31 pending cases arose from the 325 disputes that were lodged with the IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The commission has since started printing ballot papers for electoral seats with no disputes pending in court. The first batch of the papers arrived in the country on Thursday.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The commission has indicated plans to print the ballot papers for the presidential race starting July 15. The commission plans to fly representatives of the candidates to Greece to monitor the printing.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Read: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/the-chaos-at-iebc-3872790" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Eyes on IEBC as first batch of ballot papers make surprise arrival</a></em></span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Some of the cases were settled by the committee while the 31 proceeded to the High Court for Judicial Review.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Some of the high profile pending cases include petitions challenging the candidatures of Nairobi governor candidate <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/nairobi/not-time-yet-for-sakaja-to-rest-easy-in-nairobi-governor-race-3872508" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Johnson Sakaja</a> and Mombasa counterpart <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/wiper-makes-a-u-turn-on-plan-to-drop-mike-sonko-3873976" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Mike Sonko</a>.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Sakaja is running on <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/people/william-samoei-ruto-3809570" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Deputy President William Ruto</a>’s United Democratic Alliance ticket while Mr Sonko is running on Wiper.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Mr Chebukati made the remarks at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Saturday morning during a meeting convened by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission for the presidential candidates to commit to peaceful campaigns.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/iebc-threatens-to-suspend-polls-in-31-elective-areas-with-petitions-3874416" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-9702805047440561172022-07-09T06:24:00.004-07:002022-07-09T06:24:49.673-07:00South Gem ODM candidate Nick Wanga dies in hospital<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Wanga, who was admitted to Nightingale Hospital in Kisumu earlier this week, passed away on Saturday morning. </span></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Siaya ODM chairman Oloo Okanda said the Orange party received the news of Wanga’s demise with shock.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuEqCd10QZ_NFhEM2SGefCTlHrEBh_UcqxX52lNGDGBSLBkU6anJs5W3wNzgD6EI0gdRG3mo30L0LLt05X5B1snvh0bt3P1MZIfEDpGhwzhn5xhIRY476stu-S7PxMzC2TtThQF_iSihZ58oe76vzefgnpxMy0lYSa1YlL-jMBdh1LdQxmR7b618-GA/s960/odm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDuEqCd10QZ_NFhEM2SGefCTlHrEBh_UcqxX52lNGDGBSLBkU6anJs5W3wNzgD6EI0gdRG3mo30L0LLt05X5B1snvh0bt3P1MZIfEDpGhwzhn5xhIRY476stu-S7PxMzC2TtThQF_iSihZ58oe76vzefgnpxMy0lYSa1YlL-jMBdh1LdQxmR7b618-GA/s320/odm.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">ODM nominee for Gem South Ward Nick Wanga. He died on July 9, 2022.</span></div><br /><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I personally called him on Wednesday because I wanted to meet aspirants' agents to prepare for the August polls, but I could not reach him on phone,” said Mr Okanda.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He added, “I was later informed that he was hospitalised after attending a rally in Gem on Monday. He had complained of body pains. His demise is a big loss to the Orange party.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Wanga was a brother of the current Kisumu City manager Aballa Wanga.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He won the South Gem Ward ODM ticket in the party primaries held on April 13 and was subsequently cleared by the IEBC to participate in the August 9 elections.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Currently, South Gem Ward is represented by David Audi who is defending the seat on a UDM ticket.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/siaya/south-gem-odm-candidate-nick-wanga-dies-in-hospital-3874374?fbclid=IwAR2Doiq2gZR1kRFczqzzgFxeWt31iiVhONpm2lF7juou_xBTMmHJoZJDuoo" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-57378582478485962882022-07-09T05:27:00.003-07:002022-07-09T05:27:51.128-07:00Not time yet for Sakaja to rest easy in Nairobi governor race<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Legal battles facing Johnson Sakaja’s governorship bid are on the rise, after three more voters filed separate cases on Thursday seeking his disqualification from the elections.</span></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGOBkHzz8ThXk_qhfsxTV7kEgSc0YnxboIuS5WdkhwcY0mRgnm1SJY4ATisWX9U7l0y3vp--6iG42in6PJfSUb999pDQZqfpfu_vf5gt2wZpv4sbqZVjoc6WQ2dsN4a_9Bg4-S3EIe1phjxs5Q8uAKIWloH1E2t4DGhfL3uqZCqWAnuhZ320Wa2voVA/s960/SAKAJA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggGOBkHzz8ThXk_qhfsxTV7kEgSc0YnxboIuS5WdkhwcY0mRgnm1SJY4ATisWX9U7l0y3vp--6iG42in6PJfSUb999pDQZqfpfu_vf5gt2wZpv4sbqZVjoc6WQ2dsN4a_9Bg4-S3EIe1phjxs5Q8uAKIWloH1E2t4DGhfL3uqZCqWAnuhZ320Wa2voVA/s320/SAKAJA.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Nairobi Governor Candidate Johnson Sakaja at the Milimani Courts. </span><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: left;">Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group</span></div><br />The petitioners -David Gitau, Antony Macharia Munene and Timothy Charo Odhiambo -want the court to endorse the decision of the Commission for University Education (CUE), revoking the recognition of Mr Sakaja’s degree from Team University, Uganda.<p></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The petitions were filed on the eve of the day the High Court is set to render judgment in a related case filed by voter Dennis Gakuu Wahome on validity of the Nairobi senator's degree certificate.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In the fresh suits, the petitioners argued that Mr Sakaja is ineligible based on the CUE’s letter dated June 30, 2022 addressed to the electoral commission indicating that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate had no valid degree certificate.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">CUE had stated that its investigations had established that Mr Sakaja was never admitted to the Kampala-based University.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Read: </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/team-university-moves-to-kampala-court-to-stop-sakaja-degree-probe-3869408" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Team University moves to Kampala court to stop Sakaja degree probe</a></em></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In the new cases, which were consolidated yesterday by Justice Anthony Mrima, the petitioners have also sued the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for declining to disqualify Mr Sakaja from the contest.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">They are aggrieved by IEBC’s decision to dismiss the CUE’s letter.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">They are also aggrieved by the electoral commission’s reasoning that the only way to compel it to reverse its decision in clearing Mr Sakaja, is through a court order setting aside the decision by the commission’s Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC).</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee had thrown out a petition that was challenging his nomination, stating that it lacked investigative powers and it could only rely on a criminal conviction against Mr Sakaja for it to deem the degree certificate as invalid.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">But the new petitioners said the IEBC committed an illegality by disregarding advise of the CUE.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dismissing the letter</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">According to them, by dismissing the letter, the electoral commission abdicated its mandate of ensuring that candidates for election are duly qualified for those positions.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The IEBC in spite of new evidence regarding qualification of a candidate for the position of a governor abdicated its responsibility and declined to exercise its authority. The conduct and performance of the IEBC offends the spirit and letter of the Constitution,” said Mr Macharia, one of the petitioners.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Also read:</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/nairobi/two-horse-race-in-battle-for-city-hall--3867800" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Two-horse race in battle for City Hall</a></em></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Through lawyer Guandaru Thuita, the voters said IEBC has been mandated by the Constitution, the IEBC Act and the Elections Act with the power to hear and determine pre-election disputes.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The position taken by the IEBC that it cannot determine a dispute relating to the authenticity of a disputed Degree Certificate is an absolute abdication of its responsibility and a failure to act in discharge of a duty imposed under any written law,” said Mr Macharia.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The petitions will be heard on July 12, 2022 by Justice Hedwig Ong’undi at the High Court in Milimani.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Pending determination of the petitions, they want court to issue interim orders suspending the IEBC’s decision clearing Mr Sakaja to vie for the governor’s position.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">They also want temporary orders barring IEBC from publishing in the Kenya Gazette or printing ballots, the details of Mr Sakaja as a contestant for the position of Governor of Nairobi.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">jwangui@ke.nationmedia.com</em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/nairobi/not-time-yet-for-sakaja-to-rest-easy-in-nairobi-governor-race-3872508?fbclid=IwAR31PXrgyBEliPlq498ReVzBXvVERHmLY45pnVNwb1cNAFoDKVxbF-x7qck" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></em></p></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-5568109824997294332022-07-07T07:56:00.003-07:002022-07-07T07:56:36.675-07:00UK Prime Minister Boris resigns<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px;">Boris Johnson has resigned as the British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkako8dnocVJ0pVUO1Lyz82HMJM0FpyQiRw-AG-ymBJ77SZPdBnbXVnszYLPmmHmQo4KqnMR19uHbEjMdXVSlsLKLGWKoPN_LzCguBisBNTf2UX1ofuC1TJV_vUaDWxwJoOA1c-BzQOtjzllMZkmK_UsBksTsnyM8v1qC7rTYLsI6-BjzrAiro-tRKcA/s800/BORIS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkako8dnocVJ0pVUO1Lyz82HMJM0FpyQiRw-AG-ymBJ77SZPdBnbXVnszYLPmmHmQo4KqnMR19uHbEjMdXVSlsLKLGWKoPN_LzCguBisBNTf2UX1ofuC1TJV_vUaDWxwJoOA1c-BzQOtjzllMZkmK_UsBksTsnyM8v1qC7rTYLsI6-BjzrAiro-tRKcA/s320/BORIS.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; flex-shrink: 0; font-family: caput, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bolder; margin-top: var(--bs-gutter-y); max-width: 100%; padding-left: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) / 2); padding-right: calc(var(--bs-gutter-x) / 2); text-align: start; width: 836px;">Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson address a press conference in Nairobi on March 17 2017, shortly after having bilateral talks on critical matters of mutual interest, following his visit to Kenya.</span><span style="background-color: #f1e9bf; font-family: caput, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">[David Njaaga, Standard]</span></div><br />Speaking outside Downing Street, Johnson said the process for choosing the new leader of the Conservative Party should begin now, with a timetable to be announced next week.<p></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">He said he intends to remain in place until a new Tory leader is elected.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">His decision to remain in office comes despite a clear lack of support from within his own party and a growing push across the political spectrum for him to step down immediately.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Johnson gave up to pressure to resign after he lost the support of his ministers and MPs.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">By today morning, several media outlets had reported that over 51 ministers had resigned.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">A Conservative leadership contest will take place this summer and a new prime minister will be in place in time for the party conference in October.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Pressure on Johnson’s exit started by the resignation of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid over protests at how the PM had handled allegations of misconduct against a prominent Conservative Party lawmaker.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Johnson had defied pressure to quit on Wednesday from senior ministers and a mounting rebellion within his ruling Conservative Party, saying he will fight off any attempts to oust him over a series of scandals, Reuters reports.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">After more than 40 resignations from within the government and with many <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/world/article/2001449747/uk-prime-minister-boris-set-to-resign" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none !important;">Conservative lawmakers</a> in open revolt, some cabinet ministers went to Downing Street to tell Johnson he needed to go.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">According to Reuters, some lawmakers encouraged Johnson to make a dignified exit by setting his own timetable rather than face a confidence vote.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Many lawmakers said it was now a question of when, not if, he has to go.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Reuters said that the attorney general for England and Wales, Suella Braverman, on Wednesday called on Johnson to resign and became the first cabinet minister to say they would run to replace him in any Conservative Party leadership contest.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">"I do think the time has come for the prime minister to step down," Braverman said on ITV. She said she did not want to resign from her post. "If there is a leadership contest I will put my name into the ring."</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Dozens have publicly criticised Johnson's integrity after he was forced to apologise for appointing a lawmaker to a role involved in pastoral care, and had not recalled being briefed that the minister had been the subject of complaints about sexual misconduct.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">It is the latest crisis to hit Johnson’s administration after months of scandals and missteps, including a damning report into parties at his Downing Street residence and office that broke strict COVID-19 lockdown rules and saw him fined by police.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">But despite the clamour for him to resign, James Duddridge, a Conservative lawmaker and close aide of Johnson, told Sky News the British leader "is buoyant, he is up for a fight" after a meeting with members of his top cabinet team.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Duddridge said Johnson and the newly-appointed finance minister Nadhim Zahawi would set out a new joint plan for the economy next week which would include tax cuts.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Johnson sacked Michael Gove, a senior minister who media earlier <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/world/article/2001443048/boris-johnson-becomes-first-pm-to-be-sanctioned-for-breaking-law" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration-line: none !important;">said had told the British</a> leader he should quit. On Wednesday night, Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart joined those resigning.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Earlier Johnson told a parliamentary committee: "I am not going to step down and the last thing this country needs, frankly, is an election."</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Johnson said had a mandate from the 2019 national election, which he won with a large majority, and it would not be responsible to walk away from the job in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and war in Europe. Johnson has been a visible supporter of Ukraine following Russia's invasion in late February.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">Johnson also refused to say if he would try to stay in the job even if he lost a confidence vote from his own lawmakers. That could come next week if they agree to change the party's rules, which only allow one such challenge a year. He narrowly won a similar vote last month.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;">The dramatic resignations on Tuesday of his health and finance ministers triggered a growing swell of other ministerial departures and many Conservative lawmakers questioned his fitness to govern.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Periodico, serif; font-size: 20px; line-height: 35px; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/europe/article/2001449757/uk-prime-minister-boris-resigns" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-67550636002597945332022-07-07T00:02:00.002-07:002022-07-07T00:02:46.112-07:00KENYA: George Njoroge: Meet Azimio IT Guru Who Built Data Empire<p> <span style="background-color: #e6ded2; color: #993333; font-family: "PT Serif"; font-size: 19px;">In a country where elections are hotly contested and systems often compromised, jobs don't come much harder</span></p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbpGavbg74JgREV3-Md_chaFHRbs4VW5_o-kr6ovB49HEC1CzHY3qDUXoGXg_LDRfW8d9yDSqE6EwHpTCd5DEP-0D40dCjftjtHyfowxyKVbeTMwNXrNlsYMiYcr8_FkOKFXJ8WEt575aLwiRJnu6ESifwtnMWCw7b9W-cSgXxzhwJ5q2-nrLSLxJlA/s696/GURU.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="696" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbpGavbg74JgREV3-Md_chaFHRbs4VW5_o-kr6ovB49HEC1CzHY3qDUXoGXg_LDRfW8d9yDSqE6EwHpTCd5DEP-0D40dCjftjtHyfowxyKVbeTMwNXrNlsYMiYcr8_FkOKFXJ8WEt575aLwiRJnu6ESifwtnMWCw7b9W-cSgXxzhwJ5q2-nrLSLxJlA/s320/GURU.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />George Njoroge is a prolific IT and Computer forensics guru who built one of the continent’s largest data recovery and computer forensics firms – East Africa Data Handlers (EADH). He has served as Managing Director of the company since establishing it 15 years ago.<p></p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Since 2016, he has also served as CEO of a newer venture – Alternative Pulse Plc, trading as Go Pesa. The firm describes itself as a ‘mobile merchant platform powering over 10,000 merchants in Kenya’.</p><div class="code-block code-block-3" style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; margin: 8px 0px;"></div><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">This year, however, he finds himself with the task of overseeing IT in the Presidential campaign of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition candidate. In a country where, historically at least, elections are hotly contested and systems often compromised, jobs don’t come much harder.</p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">His professional career has seen him hold a number of key IT roles in the private sector. In 2004, he spent 10 months at Microsoft before moving on to Sahara Computers as IT Manager for Kenya and Uganda.</p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Between August 2005 and October 2006, he served as IT Manager at AITEC Africa, an ICT-focused professional development and training firm. Njoroge’s roles at AITEC included managing the company’s ICT infrastructure.</p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">He jumped into business in 2007 when he established East Africa Data Handlers. The firm has grown into one of the region’s most sought after data companies and counts several large businesses among its clients.</p><div class="code-block code-block-2" style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; margin: 8px auto; text-align: center;"></div><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">The firm describes itself as ‘the biggest Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Solutions provider in Africa with its patented technology-driven services and software to help recover, search, analyze and produce data efficiently and cost-effectively.’</p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">He has earned various accolades in his career including being named the ICT CEO of Year in 2016 by the ICT Authority in Kenya. For his contribution to the ICT Sector in Kenya, he was awarded the ICT Lifetime Achievement Award 2015 by the Computer Society of Kenya.</p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;">In Azimio, his role will include overseeing the campaign’s assesment and analysis of results being tallied and transmitted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). He was among key officials who accompanied Odinga to a meeting of Presidential candidates with IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati.</p><p style="background-color: #e6ded2; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "pt serif"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 26px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word;"><a href="https://businesstoday.co.ke/george-njoroge-meet-azimio-it-guru-who-built-data-empire/?fbclid=IwAR0NGIPY_j7ClOqK0TJG1_wzbIgciVzhD4gUhjtRWYXhGxTq1OW6T_lZAV0" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-64382831713930608262022-07-05T02:09:00.000-07:002022-07-05T02:09:09.719-07:00Tanzania tests electric train on new SGR line, hits top speed of 160km/h<p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Tanzania has started to test its first, maiden, Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) electric train along the Dar-es-salaam and Morogoro section.</span></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvaEivZlDBdJWr5ubl2Ej4ci0OzkMkn7lBWBqwycddInUKC3ajPLmfwq_SsLYWICuOppoZQqwOkU8hROdr0h5vH1Fy953znkZMXB9g04H9t5ssXAC1fgOlyoEx8165R-bnFOIbuKbx_xNUrkx6pfVHw2wat9of8utcgMq29kSXYOT6XHMWwb7MxcuMg/s960/k.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjvaEivZlDBdJWr5ubl2Ej4ci0OzkMkn7lBWBqwycddInUKC3ajPLmfwq_SsLYWICuOppoZQqwOkU8hROdr0h5vH1Fy953znkZMXB9g04H9t5ssXAC1fgOlyoEx8165R-bnFOIbuKbx_xNUrkx6pfVHw2wat9of8utcgMq29kSXYOT6XHMWwb7MxcuMg/s320/k.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Tanzania tests electric train on new SGR</span></div><br />The Tanzania SGR hit a speed of 160Km/h compared to Kenya’s SGR that uses diesel and can move up to 120Km/h.<p></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It is being expected that, once commissioned for service, the new SGR train should be able to travel at the velocity of 160 kilometers per hour, which is essentially twice the speed of an ordinary bus.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The SRG line between Dar-es-salaam City and Morogoro Station measures 300 kilometers.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">On Sunday, Tanzania’s Chief Government Spokesperson through their official social media shared a short clip of the electric SGR during its first test.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Majority of Tanzanians bear reservations regarding efficiency of an electric powered locomotive, taking into considerations that Tanzania always suffer regular power outages.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Tanzania is building the new SGR targeting to replace the rather aged and less efficient meter-gauge railway system, established during the colonial East African Railways.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">This proposed Standard Gauge Railway featuring wider and firmer tracks supports heavier loads coupled with higher speed, compared to the older Meter Gauge Railway (MGR).</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In May, the government said citizens will wait longer to ride on the electric train, thanks to delays in completion of Julius Nyerere Dam that is expected to produce electricity to power locomotive engines on the SGR.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">According to officials, the construction schedule of the dam was re-done and the completion date pushed to 2024.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Railway lines will be complemented with overhead powerlines to supply electricity to the trains and wagons.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The project will be developed in five phases starting from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro at 300 kilometers, which is now complete.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The Railway line’s Phase Two runs from Morogoro to Makutupora, covering 422 kilometers.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Another recently unveiled Phase Three targets to link Makutupora to Tabora Town along a track measuring 294 kilometers long.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">From there, the country will embark on the Fourth Phase measuring 130 kilometers to link Tabora with Isaka.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Isaka is going to be the branching point. Here one arm will be extending to Mwanza with an added 249 kilometers in Phase Four to wind up the in-country, Dar to Lake Zone SGR network.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">At $1.92 billion, Tanzania appears to have secured the cheapest railway construction deal in the region, given that it will be spending nearly half of what Kenya spent to build the first phase from Mombasa to Nairobi.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Kenya’s line between Mombasa and Nairobi, which was slightly longer by about 50 kilometres, was constructed at a cost of $3.8 billion.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/tanzania-tests-electric-train-on-new-sgr-line-hits-top-speed-of-160km-h--3869506?fbclid=IwAR0MkTLOw2Spvj8WXg4LqpsLasTg3XTALd59U9iyFHKtug_Nzh7liZdjHlM" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-68313141342595705672022-07-04T08:59:00.002-07:002022-07-04T08:59:22.862-07:00KENYA: Degree ‘loses allure’ as KCSE exam stars shun universities<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtCAX6Wg7SUxHpb0dqE1CkfWgPLAB4HlBgPu8VxwqEJUaSkCj1Vkc_Fxk0sFTuUPeQqe4qkdJ8-Ucpy8O_30_MKCaF23CBi72scFruULSoewMt8-3MoJ29t6a1djpzXlOQCX3WCoomhxssLeMaoVxiH_8tNTWW7i3nVgP0b5V_CybVmXkIsxQgKjpoQ/s960/DEGREE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtCAX6Wg7SUxHpb0dqE1CkfWgPLAB4HlBgPu8VxwqEJUaSkCj1Vkc_Fxk0sFTuUPeQqe4qkdJ8-Ucpy8O_30_MKCaF23CBi72scFruULSoewMt8-3MoJ29t6a1djpzXlOQCX3WCoomhxssLeMaoVxiH_8tNTWW7i3nVgP0b5V_CybVmXkIsxQgKjpoQ/s320/DEGREE.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha addresses the media at Eastleigh High School in Nairobi on June 25, 2022 after receiving the results of the 2021 student placement report to universities, Tvet institutes and teacher training colleges from Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service CEO Agnes Mercy Wahome (right). </span></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Are Form Four leavers losing interest in degree programmes offered at the country’s public universities? Is the degree losing its allure? Should universities begin offering technical courses to attract more students?</span><p></p><div class="content-page-ad_wrap desktop" style="background: url("data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAC0AAAAtCAYAAAA6GuKaAAAABHNCSVQICAgIfAhkiAAAAAlwSFlzAAALEgAACxIB0t1+/AAAAB50RVh0U29mdHdhcmUAQWRvYmUgRmlyZXdvcmtzIENTNS4xqx9I6wAAABZ0RVh0Q3JlYXRpb24gVGltZQAwMy8xMi8yMf1tTtIAAAYsSURBVFiF1ZlPbCRHFYe/dns7s9OWdzy1ntnJmk2cMSvtBkhEdQKIRCtFcIuIhHKDAxEcwwGuQcrCJUIgIcSBA4eVIEKCzYVbBCdLkRKgWwjCrizjWSdhrbbH1HRv47ZG7e1tDna3e8bzz+N/4neaqfe66uuqV6+qq7QkSfh/0+RRHnYcRwAvAl8HngUqwAVAy9UdAQGwAXwA3Abel1KG47arjdPTjuM8A/wAeGlycvJj0zQflEqlUrFYfErX9elu/ziOg+3t7VXf970wDC88fPjwSeBd4C3gjpTy0YlAO44zATwHvKlp2vVyufyREGLBMIzLh2kQIIqiNaXUSqvVejJJkg+B70sp/3US0D8Gvi2E+GetVrtxWNB+cl13sdVqPZEkydvAT6WUD4Y9MxTacRwJ3DIMI6zX69d7Df9RFcdx0Gg07kZRFAGvSSnvDfIfCO04jgX8WgjRPM7e7SfXdReVUp8GXhwE3gGtaVr227bt54E/VqvVD2dnZ184Sdi8Njc339vY2CgD37Is66/d9iRJekPbtv0ccKtarXqnCZxqD3wa+JplWR/nbUmSMNHnuV8KIf5zFsAAs7OzLwghPOA3tm2b3fYOaNu2Ndu23zQMY+c0YniQarXaDcMwzgFvdNu6e/oa8Hq9Xr9+KmRDVK/Xr2ua9g3btp/Jl2fQjuNMAj8RQtw5ibQ2jnRdny6Xy6vAD/Pl+Z5+XtO0p886LLpVq9VuaJp2zbbtZ9Oy/Ibpe+Vy+SPgiWEVxXFMEAQopZifn0fX9b6+nufh+35PW6FQwDRNTNMcWEe5XHaVUq8D38mgHcepAjeEENEw4FRra2sABEHAzMxMX7+ZmRmUUrTbbSqVCpVKJbOFYYjneaytrSGE6LDlJYRYUEpdS/+n4fHS5OTk/VE3P7quY5q7mUgpNdR/err3FDFNk7m5OS5dukSz2WRlZYU4jg/4GYZxWdf1Ndu2P5+Hftk0zaEblVRRFLG7TYB2u00Yjr01BnZHQwhBu93ORrBbU1NTD4Bv5qE/UyqVSqM2opSiUqlkve153pGggSw0giDo2QmlUmkG+DLsQ9eKxeJTozaQxrEQAgDf97OeH1f5kAuC4IC9WCzOA5fz0FOj5mbP87KJNz09zblz5zLwo6pQKAC7IdetPb4LcHBFHCqlFPlIunjxYlZ+VKVpb8AcKcA+9GOjVBqGIYVCAcMwsrJSqYSu68RxfCyxPUQTcMivcc/z2NnZYXV1tbOmiQniOEYpNTBnj6o0THroIXR+5vf1hN001263WVhY6GlbXl7O0l86oQ6rNJYHQEewHx5BHMcHp2xOvu9n2aJbhmFkC8hRQiSN5V6jtcf3X9iHXt/e3l494JmT53l9VzYgm5zjpj/P84jjONuLdGuP714e+u++7/ftIqUUhmEM3NTkG2o2mx22dNiDIOj5QmEYsr6+TqFQ4MqVKz3r3+P7M+zH9DtbW1s3ezl7nofrugC4rkutVjvgE8dxx+T0fZ/z588jhEAplS0WpmnSbDZ59OhRR04OwxAhBEKIvh2ztbV1AXgH9r7GHccpAOrq1aveOCdG4yiNX13XB008YPdEanl5uQBUpZTxBICUsg38SSm1ctKwqdLYHQYMsMd127KsGDpXxDdarVbvgDpjtVqtx4Gfp/8zaCnlnSRJ7rquu3gmZH3kuu5ikiR/sSxrKS3r3nvcbLVac8Ny9mkpjuOg1WpdBH6UL++AtizLTpLkt41G4+6p0vVRo9G4myTJLcuylvPlvXZ5P4uiaPusw8R13cUoiu4Dv+q29TvL+xTwQbVavXeGZ3lV4AuWZXUsen3P8izL+jfw1Y2NDbG5ufneaYCm2gM2gJe7gVP1PeoFsG1bAr8TQtw/xfPpx4FXLcv6Ry+fA0e9veQ4TgX4vWEYj53CTUAopfzKMP+hn1tSyibwShRF7y4tLW0e9wR1XXdxaWmpGUXR28ArozxzqCs5x3GeBm5qmvbZcrm8fgy3W7NJkvwNeEtKeWfU58e9R/wc8F3gVV3XV6emph6USqWZYrE4P+I94hzwB+AXUsqesXvs0F0v8CXgNeCLQA2YBnT2Q2+H3RvbT4BF4LaU8v2jtHlk6LPQ/wAxwfBTz1pbXwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==") 50% center no-repeat rgb(248, 248, 248); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; height: 19.375rem; margin: 1em 0px; max-height: 250px; max-width: 970px; position: relative; text-align: center;"><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">These are some of the many questions being raised by education experts and students even as it emerges that a growing number of learners are shunning local institutions to pursue studies abroad.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem; text-align: start;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Many other students are enrolling in private universities or Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet) institutions.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In the placement results released two weeks ago, a total of 21,588 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination candidates who qualified for university courses under government sponsorship did not apply, with a large number opting for Tvet instead.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Of this number, some 16,310 qualified candidates did not submit any university courses application while 5,278 opted for diploma programmes at various Tvet institutions, a trend the country has been witnessing for five years.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/ministry-moves-to-end-duplication-of-programmes-in-universities-3602938" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ministry moves to end duplication of programmes in universities</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">During the 2021 placement, a total of 14,467 students did not apply for programmes in local universities despite attaining the minimum entry mean grade of C+.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Among the group, some 6,617 opted for Tvet courses while 7,850 did not send application for degree or diploma courses to the Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Service (Kuccps).</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Diploma courses</span></h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha later said those who failed to apply for degree and diploma courses at local universities may have opted to pursue education abroad or private universities.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">However, education experts say the trend should send university managers back to the drawing board.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">They say local universities need to begin offering courses that expose students to marketable job skills.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Prof Magoha said Tvet offers a bright future for students as they usually find employment as soon as they graduate.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I have noted that 16,310 candidates who qualified for degree programmes in the 2021 KCSE examination did not submit applications and may have opted to pursue other opportunities, including studying abroad,” the minister said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He added that those who opted to join Tvet stand a better chance of being exposed to quality equipment the government has invested in.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/tvet-course-credit-transfers-to-become-easier-within-eac-3574896" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Regional curriculum to make Tvet course credit transfers easier</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“This is what President Uhuru Kenyatta wants. Jobs are in the Tvet sector and the fact that up to five per cent of those who qualified to join universities applied for Tvet directly is a statement. This statement is because we have invested heavily in Tvet. The government has also increased the number in those institutions,” he added.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We use Tvet skills every day. This is the way to go.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr George Njoroge, an expert with wide teaching experience at many universities locally and in the United States of America, said the high number of jobless graduates could be the main contributor of students opting to fly out for further studies.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“When students pursue university courses abroad, especially in the West, their academic papers are held in high esteem. That is why these graduates easily find work, compared to those who acquired their certificates locally,” Dr Njoroge said.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He added that local public and private universities need to brand themselves based on their niche courses as that would make their graduates stand out in the job market.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr Njoroge said branding also leads to an institution attracting more students.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/it-s-time-society-appreciated-the-role-of-tvets-in-education-3557126" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">It’s time society appreciated the role of Tvets in education</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“If a university brands itself and capitalises on making its courses more attractive, competition improves,” he said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Competency-based curriculum</span></h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“In most universities in the United States, only five per cent of those who apply are admitted. Ninety five per cent of applicants are left out due to competition,” Dr Njoroge explained.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He added that Kenyan universities need to identify gaps in their curricula and focus on addressing them.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“With the continued rollout of the competency-based curriculum (CBC), universities have no choice but to restructure their courses and ensure that they meet the needs of the job market,” he said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">According to Dr Njoroge, the trend of students opting for courses at Tvet institutions should be a wakeup call to local universities.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The young people are joining Tvet because they want to get skills and quality education that will help them find jobs fast instead of pursuing a degree and acquiring a paper that will leave them unemployed for eternity,” Dr Njoroge said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read also: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/14-000-kcse-stars-forgo-varsity-degree-courses-3515346" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">14,000 KCSE stars forgo varsity degree courses</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr Wilfridah Itolondo, a senior education lecturer at Kenyatta University, said continued investment in Tvet by the government and numerous campaigns encouraging more students to take up Tvet courses is a major contributor to the shift.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The attitude of the government and the society towards universities is changing. This has made many high school students want to pursue Tvet courses, not degree programmes at the university,” Dr Itolondo said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">She added that universities face funding and many other challenges, which need urgent interventions from the government and donors.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Our universities need to look at the kind of education they offer. They should ensure the programmes and courses are competitive. Our students need to find or create jobs as soon as they graduate,” she said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Prof Magoha said the next government should audit universities and “right-size” them to ensure they have enough faculties to improve the programmes offered.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Kuccps Chief Executive Mercy Wahome said many of those opting for Tvet want to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses. The programmes are presumed by many Kenyans to be more marketable than business and arts courses.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“If a student’s passion is a Tvet course, let him or her pursue that,” Dr Wahome said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">She added that with the CBC rollout, more students will eventually want to pursue Tvet courses “because that is where they will find their passion and competency”.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">In the last two years, several universities have introduced Tvet courses in their curricula in a bid to attract more students.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Meru University of Science and Technology, a public institution, graduated its first Tvet diploma class during a ceremony held in May.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">fnyamai@ke.nationmedia.com</em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/degree-loses-allure-as-kcse-exam-stars-shun-universities-3867554?fbclid=IwAR1g-joMLOtuecKYyT6aEtvkR4ycNWDc_u-rrQSPaWWdFvlymFRf6O_t1A4" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></em></p></div></div></div></div></div><div class="content-page-ad content-page-ad_desktop" data-google-query-id="CKrPwf7L3_gCFQ_6dwodsF4Cqw" id="desktop-article-ad-1" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px 0px 0px -190px; width: 970px;"></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-39989731638975848792022-07-04T08:39:00.004-07:002022-07-04T08:39:33.386-07:00KENYA: Tvet gets Sh1.55 billion in new five-year plan<p> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">The government has launched a five-year plan to strengthen and expand Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Tvet).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTx8YCe9KHS-3RkOPq6i-b9TO1LPg7wYxH9ANEd8sNmR8lpjn8PYQOdrq2VxNd9W6k3m05Ms2JSgkJPeQD-MjelWx6PrzmrfZUzDixBbzT8j18APgpUgxvaR4ZJ1kMcgSNEGu7ZJqCZv_887sE1UfPn4M3NLBPlCRu4Q775ziebwqllNR-LX2ALOjPg/s960/TVET.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTx8YCe9KHS-3RkOPq6i-b9TO1LPg7wYxH9ANEd8sNmR8lpjn8PYQOdrq2VxNd9W6k3m05Ms2JSgkJPeQD-MjelWx6PrzmrfZUzDixBbzT8j18APgpUgxvaR4ZJ1kMcgSNEGu7ZJqCZv_887sE1UfPn4M3NLBPlCRu4Q775ziebwqllNR-LX2ALOjPg/s320/TVET.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;"> A mechanical engineering student operates a lathe machine at Nyeri Technical Institute.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The programme also aims at enhancing collaboration and linkages to the industry, national and county governments and other players to strengthen youth employability.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">About 500,000 young people join the job market every year but only 25 per cent are absorbed.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">A majority of young adults in Kenya are engaged in agriculture, building and construction, transport, casual labour and jua kali.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Others are in retail, wholesale and distribution – industries that are largely informal.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">According to the Tvet Data Gaps Implementation Plan 2022-2027, the Ministry of Education will strengthen knowledge access to promote inclusivity and equity in the institutions.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">This will include expanding infrastructure, supporting trainees and mainstreaming special needs and gender.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/sh39m-afdb-programme-to-train-engineering-lecturers-3494264" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Sh39m AfDB programme to train engineering lecturers at Egerton University</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">During the launch of the plan in Nairobi on Thursday, Vocational and Technical Training Principal Secretary Margaret Mwakima said data mapping is important in decision-making.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“It will address many challenges in the sector,” Dr Mwakima said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The plan also focuses on providing adequate data for quality of Tvet courses, enhancing knowledge on resource mobilisation and governance.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The government says it will spend Sh1.55 billion on the programme.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Some Sh262 million will be utilised by the government in the 2022/23 financial year, Sh309.1 million in 2023/24 fiscal year, Sh322 million in 2024/25, Sh327.5 million in 2025/26 and Sh336 million in the 2026/27 financial year.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The PS said data mapping began in November last year. Tvet data mapping was developed by the ministry in partnership with Zizi Afrique and Education Sub-Sahara Africa.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Zizi Afrique CEO John Mugo said implementing the plan would strengthen Tvet by providing policy makers and researchers with necessary information.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/thousands-to-miss-tvet-sponsorship-3418938" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Thousands to miss TVET sponsorship</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Young people have needs beyond employment,” he said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">According to an evidence brief by Zizi Afrique Foundation on supporting jobless youth, education and training to access technical and vocational education, the government needs to popularise Tvet programmes, especially in rural and marginalised areas.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Despite government interventions and mobilisation, including reforms in Tvet, the country is still recording high numbers of youths who are not enrolled,” the report reads.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It says 16.9 per cent of individuals aged 15-34 in Kenya were not in education, employment or training in the first quarter of 2021.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The rate had grown to 18.1 per cent in the next quarter.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The report also shows that although there are ongoing interventions to enhance access to Tvet including funding and Higher Education Loans Board disbursements, costs are a major reason for stopping education and training.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Recent reforms include devolution of vocational technical centres and the introduction of the competency-based education and training (Cbet) curriculum.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Enrolment in Tvet institutes has been increasing over the years from 85,563 in 2015 to a record 476,202 in 2020 according to the 2021 Economic Survey.</p><section style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: medium;"><div class="text-block" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.25rem; line-height: 1.75rem; margin-top: 1.5625rem;"><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read also: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/report-reveals-mess-in-vocational-training-centres-206368" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Report reveals mess in vocational training centres</a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Zizi Afrique Foundation says the institutes need to design programmes and courses targeting unemployed and untrained youths, enhance use of well targeted financial support mechanisms and initiate targeted communication strategies to curtail negative perceptions around Tvet.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">It also recommends government jobs targeting Tvet graduates, accessible and stable internet services and coverage to expose youths to social media and making Tvet more accessible to girls and women with disabilities.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr Mugo said there is a higher demand than supply of skills in the labour market.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">He added that the gap between skills sought by employers and the actual skills by graduates is huge and needs to be addressed by Tvet.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Analyses on skills demanded and supplied in the market have established that marketing and sales, technical abilities, financial planning and management, life skills and entrepreneurship lack in official and informal sectors,” reads the brief on enhancing Kenya’s youth preparedness for the fourth industrial revolution published by the foundation.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">According to Dr Mugo, the government will need to come up with strategies that will ensure the country has enough human resources to train young people.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Under the collaboration, trainers will get an opportunity to acquire academic and industrial skills from experts.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">fnyamai@ke.nationmedia.com</em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/education/tvet-gets-sh1-55-billion-in-new-five-year-plan-3867560?fbclid=IwAR0NntweBzZ-530lhHzyntPsjaaDPPU-3qaxD37saC5MaOXOQ241UisZc7g" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></em></p></div></div></section><aside class="promotion-banner color-set-color-5" style="background: rgb(255, 230, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: medium; margin: 2.5rem -105px 3.125rem; overflow: hidden; position: relative; text-align: center;"><div class="promotion-banner_texts" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; max-width: 80%; padding: 2.5rem 0px 0px; position: relative; z-index: 0;"></div></aside></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-90125936713619740722022-07-04T08:30:00.000-07:002022-07-04T08:30:00.763-07:00KENYA: Costly unga prices to persist despite grain import tax cut<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-KQw_PjSj5txvPkDXbj3wC0GSJXOtJWQ7WzYeozPsNeEXaAxb-Dbj0g3ulF6i-ph7WzNXGXAf7iuN_Ui-ihutI4CBYYtxf2xAijAc5f5lIsfxVcuGXF59UdjhdiWa8WLKoZ5Gy_zuAFMfIol5318DkBvMVSLHwGvtjg_a2ll4jzV-_dHjslRKvmdbw/s960/UNGA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-KQw_PjSj5txvPkDXbj3wC0GSJXOtJWQ7WzYeozPsNeEXaAxb-Dbj0g3ulF6i-ph7WzNXGXAf7iuN_Ui-ihutI4CBYYtxf2xAijAc5f5lIsfxVcuGXF59UdjhdiWa8WLKoZ5Gy_zuAFMfIol5318DkBvMVSLHwGvtjg_a2ll4jzV-_dHjslRKvmdbw/s320/UNGA.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Packets of maize flour at a Nyeri supermarket. A two kilogramme packet is selling between Sh190 and Sh240 depending on the brand</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Consumers will have to continue paying more for maize flour due to acute shortage in local and regional market.</span><p></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">This is despite the introduction of measures by the government including suspension of fees and levies on imported grains.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />According to the millers, lifting of levies and charges on imported maize, will translate to ‘minimum’ reduction due to challenges in sourcing for the grains to sustain crushing operations for the next three months-before the next crop is ready.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“As much as we appreciate the suspension of charges on imported maize, it is too early to determine the cost of flour after implementing the changes in levy, considering the biting shortage of maize in local and regional market,” said Kipngetich Mutai, chairman Grain Belt Millers Association(GBMA).<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Maize prices have skyrocketed with 90kg bag being sold at Sh6,200 up from Sh5,400 two weeks ago, forcing most millers to suspend operations to cut down on costs.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya in a notice issued on July 1, suspended the payment of fees and levies on imported maize for 90 days to cushion millers and consumers from acute maize shortage and help lower flour prices.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Read:</span><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/laikipia/it-s-meal-a-day-as-drought-ravages-laikipia-villages-3867598" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Residents of Solio in Laikipia appeal for food as drought persists</em></a> </p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The millers in a petition to the national government said they face challenges importing the grains from Tanzania due to tough conditions set by the East Africa Community (EAC) member state.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“Although there is some maize in Tanzania, the stringent conditions on export license is making it hard for our members to import the grains,” added Mr Mutai.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Among the charges they pay per a truck loaded with 311 bags of maize are Sh7,200 to Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs), Sh500 to Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (Kephis) and Sh10,000 for cess among other levies.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The millers want the government to negotiate with Zambian and Tanzanian authorities to facilitate importation of six million bags of maize to meet the current shortage and lower flour prices that have hit Sh165 up from Sh130 per two-kg packet.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“It is also critical that government supports transport and logistics for the importation of maize from these countries. This is because of the high cost of transporting produce from neighboring countries, which ultimately drives up the price of finished products,” added the millers in their petition.</p><div><br /></div><div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.5625rem; letter-spacing: -0.005rem; line-height: 1.875rem; margin: 2.5rem 0px 0.9375rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Transportation costs</h2></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">They decried increased transportation costs of the grains from Lusaka- Zambia estimated at Sh185,000 up from Sh120,000 per tonne and escalated sea freight costs since the outbreak of the Covid-19 and worsened by the Russia - Ukraine conflict.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Maize imports from Tanzania retail at Sh5,400 per 90-kg bag while that from Zambia and Malawi lands at Sh5,200 which the millers have termed as too expensive.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“Consumers are already struggling with high price of commodities. The implementation of these recommendations will be crucial in mitigating rising costs of wheat and maize-based commodities,” said the millers.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The petitioners include Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Cereal Millers Association (CMA), Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA), Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC), Agro-Processors Association of Kenya (APAK), Grain Belt Millers and Farmers Association (GBMFA), Agriculture Sector Network (ASNET) and United Grain Millers Association (UGMA).<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Maize production is estimated at 3.2 million metric tons annually against the consumption of 3.8 million metric tonnes with the deficit being bridged through imports from EAC member states.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The country produces approximately 100,000 metric tonnes of wheat against an annual demand of 2.4 million metric tonnes, hence relies heavily on imported wheat estimated at - 96 percent of the produce.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Also read:</span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/trans-nzoia/kitale-woman-kills-husband-for-buying-cigarettes-with-sh100-meant-for-food--3867632" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Kitale woman ‘kills’ husband for buying cigarettes with Sh100 meant for food</a></em></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“Kenya imports 60 percent of the deficit mainly from Ukraine and Russia. The current situation in the two countries has disrupted the importation supply chain. As a result, players in the sector have turned to the expensive importation of wheat from USA, Argentina, Australia and Canada. This has been aggravated by the total ban of imports from India by the Kenyan government,” explained the millers.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Customers will no longer receive traditional ugali saucer after hoteliers enforced array of cost cutting measures to endure the escalating flour prices.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The hoteliers have suspended ‘ugali saucer’ until further notice to cope with the deteriorating maize supply that has pushed flour prices beyond Sh200 per 2kg packet.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“Kindly take note that ugali saucer has been suspended until further notice due to biting maize shortage that has impacted negatively to our operation,” read a notice in one of the food kiosk in Eldoret Town.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“We have no option but to suspend ugali saucer due to the increased flour prices to enable us remain afloat in the market,” said Susan Too, a hotelier in Kapsabet Town, Nandi County.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /> <br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Millers have expressed fears of further rise in the prices as the supply deteriorates.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/costly-unga-prices-to-persist-despite-grain-import-tax-cut-3868632" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-54413632642113746172022-07-04T08:25:00.003-07:002022-07-04T08:25:26.430-07:00KENYA: Why buyers are ditching Toyota for Mazda, Nissan car models<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtje6NRa_sDlJdDjpupRoYsu-yroU8kUKDSkum252SEAB7steZTdqVc7zuOeKGAeJh3VLCc8mne8IEm5jltZqj2JEKPkF5irdkI5oK9nBqTPC6IiMZ3lge5jXlKEPFiJQmQLle2W9CovOnVjJLYcVaMlFwZJrs9wGPyCbcrxsUryFwJzyRCYFFjdefaQ/s960/MAZDA.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtje6NRa_sDlJdDjpupRoYsu-yroU8kUKDSkum252SEAB7steZTdqVc7zuOeKGAeJh3VLCc8mne8IEm5jltZqj2JEKPkF5irdkI5oK9nBqTPC6IiMZ3lge5jXlKEPFiJQmQLle2W9CovOnVjJLYcVaMlFwZJrs9wGPyCbcrxsUryFwJzyRCYFFjdefaQ/s320/MAZDA.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mazda Cars</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">Used car prices in Kenya have jumped by up to 30 percent over the past three months on weak shilling, scarcity of vehicles and rising shipping costs, pushing low-range types such as Vitz above the Sh1.2 million mark.</span><p></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Popular 2015 Japanese models such as Toyota Harrier, Toyota Fielder and Toyota Premio and Nissan Sylphy have gone up by between Sh150,000 and Sh400,000 since April, according to data from Kenya Auto Bazaar Association, which represents used car dealers.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Buyers are cutting orders and shunning popular Toyota car models in favour of Nissan and Mazda brands due to cost pain.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dealers are facing increased competition from buyers in source markets such as Japan and the UK as automakers have scaled down production owing to shortages of semiconductors used in electronic devices.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">Read: <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/industry/local-car-assemblers-get-more-concessions-in-bid-to-boost-sales-3839424" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Local car assemblers get more concessions in bid to boost sales</a></span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Most buyers in the developed markets would typically buy new cars but have now resorted to second-hand models in response to shortages.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/why-buyers-are-dumping-toyota-for-mazda-nissan-car-models--3868122" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></p></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3230676653421890579.post-26710215215664992292022-07-04T08:21:00.003-07:002022-07-04T08:21:38.521-07:00KENYA: The unending battle between Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP123mBAQQlHhFTTsDtEKMiT8OCRAsz87GK3NRt6uTbQwNuzTFjw100WbyNv9a2EoD4sfGPxL2XX3gW1BTgfHZ1hW8cU5NJpoOnPIvAlDvMsZsrMG3NB5W3Uv4dRgzMJ2e2DYSawS5otKmjHKML3UnkFgzpRocN6Yh0kc3k74tiw8VEFiEngeY2a1gIQ/s960/UK.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="960" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP123mBAQQlHhFTTsDtEKMiT8OCRAsz87GK3NRt6uTbQwNuzTFjw100WbyNv9a2EoD4sfGPxL2XX3gW1BTgfHZ1hW8cU5NJpoOnPIvAlDvMsZsrMG3NB5W3Uv4dRgzMJ2e2DYSawS5otKmjHKML3UnkFgzpRocN6Yh0kc3k74tiw8VEFiEngeY2a1gIQ/w422-h211/UK.png" width="422" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.55); font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">President Uhuru Kenyatta with Deputy President William Ruto at State House in Nairobi on March 13, 2019.</span></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">The tumultuous relationship between </span><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/people/uhuru-muigai-kenyatta-3809330" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">President Uhuru Kenyatta</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"> and his deputy </span><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/people/william-samoei-ruto-3809570" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">William Ruto</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"> once again played out in public with the two going at each other over the weekend.</span><p></p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The simmering tension between the erstwhile political friends has in recent months escalated with the two leaders openly engaging in a string of political attacks.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Morion, Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">At the centre of the war of words is succession politics, performance of the Jubilee government and alleged betrayal from both camps.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">With the president and his deputy no longer seeing eye-to-eye, the verbal confrontations between the two have intensified.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">President Kenyatta has in recent days openly shown support for Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga, going ahead to publicly endorse him as his preferred successor, much to the chagrin of his deputy.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/william-ruto-hints-at-initiating-uhuru-s-prosecution-if-he-wins-august-9-polls-3866540" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">I'll probe Uhuru after polls</a></em></span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Clapping back, the DP has wasted no time in being critical of the Jubilee government while also reminding the president that he is occupying the seat of power courtesy of his support.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Calculative and showing open defiance, the Kenya Kwanza Alliance leader has always chosen the president’s Mt Kenya backyard to respond to his boss, telling him he is the man in charge and should be blamed for government shortcomings.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Further, he has asked the president to stay away from his succession and let him battle it out with Mr Odinga.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr Ruto’s allies have also joined the bandwagon attacking the president for what they call mistreatment and betrayal of his deputy and openly campaigning for Mr Odinga.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Together, they have accused the president and the former premier of being responsible for the economic woes facing Kenyans, turning the high cost of living and failures by the government as a campaign tool much to the exasperation of the Commander-in-Chief.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">However, on Saturday while presiding over the National Council of Ushirika Day celebrations at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi, the Head of State renewed his attack on his deputy, castigating him for doublespeak.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/ruto-the-day-i-almost-slapped-uhuru-3867200" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ruto: I pushed Uhuru to run in 2017 repeat polls</a></em></span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Scathing in his attack, he accused the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party leader of absconding his duties and resorting to making noise around the country.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">President Kenyatta said the DP has been moving around giving promises on what he intends to do if he wins the August election yet he has failed to deliver while serving in the government. “I am saddened when I see some people ever complaining about the failures of the government. Someone who has been given a task to serve the country, instead of performing his role, is just busy making noise here and there,” said the president. “All we are hearing is we will do this and that. Why didn’t you do it while you were in a similar position.”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Going bare-knuckle, the Jubilee party leader labelled his deputy a whiner who keeps on looking at the past instead of focusing on what he will be doing for the country, urging Kenyans to “think very hard” before electing leaders as the country heads to the August 9 polls.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/just-who-s-fooling-whom-fights-between-the-big-two-turn-ugly-3737798" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Fights between Uhuru and Ruto turn ugly</em></span></a></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“There is nothing you say about what you want to do for this country. All you do is complain, saying someone has taken your wife. If indeed your wife has been taken by someone please marry another one,” said President Kenyatta.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">But in a swift rejoinder, the Kenya Kwanza leader told off his boss, saying he does not need his vote or help in his battle with the former prime minister.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/ruto-tells-off-uhuru-over-criticism-of-kenya-kwanza-manifesto-3867974" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ruto tells off Uhuru over criticism of Kenya Kwanza manifesto</a></em></span></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“I am told President Kenyatta is angry with me because of the manifesto I launched the other day. Let him not get angry because I am not competing with him. I do not need your vote or help. Stop disturbing yourself, just stay aside and let me handle Odinga,” said Dr Ruto during a campaign rally in Tharaka-Nithi County on Saturday.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The war of words came a day after the DP hinted he could prosecute his boss for supposed constitutional failings should he succeed him.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Dr Ruto, while speaking during his manifesto launch, vowed to form a judicial team to investigate actions and policies of his boss should he win the August 9 election.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The DP indicated that he will reverse a number of Mr Kenyatta’s policies if elected, even indicating that they will not fear going after the President once he leaves office.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“We will form an inquiry into state capture and a tribunal on enforced disappearances and violation of human rights,” he said.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">The UDA leader has also vowed to create eight tribunals, task forces and review panels to reverse some of the President’s policies.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Read: <em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/you-should-have-quit-uhuru-tells-ruto-as-spat-gets-ugly-3800974" rel="noopener" style="background: 0px 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid; border-image: initial; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: none; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">You should have quit, Uhuru tells Ruto as spat gets ugly</a></span></em></p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Suna East MP Junet Mohamed blamed the UDA leader for falling out with his boss, alleging that a plan to impeach the president was the last nail in the coffin of a long-standing differences between the two . “The President has not yet spoken and when he starts doing so, Ruto will not have anywhere to hide. He might want to ask the ground to swallow him,” said Mr Mohamed.</p><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">For his part, Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi said the DP is just bitter because his boss did not endorse his candidature.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The president is a voter like you and I and it is okay for him to have a choice and express the same,” said Mr Muriithi.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">However, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, one of the DP’s close allies, said: “He (the president) shouldn't blame DP William Samoei arap Ruto for his non-performance in the government of high cost of living and failing economy,” said Mr Cherargei.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki went further to rope Mr Odinga in the government’s failure.</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;">“The President and Honourable Raila, who has been the de facto deputy president since 2018, is squarely to blame for the economic woes facing Kenyans at the moment. Dr William Ruto was kicked out and his roles were assigned to other people. Facts!”</p></div><div class="paragraph-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.6875rem;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;">comulo@ke.nationmedia.com</span></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><br /></span></em></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 700;"><a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/the-unending-battle-between-uhuru-kenyatta-and-william-ruto-3867968" target="_blank">SOURCE</a><br /></span></em></p></div></div></div></div></div>africanculturedirecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11502246924017654947noreply@blogger.com0