Author: Kenya Insights Team

  • Google Deals A Blow To YouTube Content Creators In Kenya

    Google Deals A Blow To YouTube Content Creators In Kenya

    Content creators in Kenya, India and other parts of the world have began receiving emails from Google informing them that the YouTube video platform will begin taxing their earnings. Apparently, Google is now required to deduct taxes from YouTube content creators regardless of them not residing in the U.S.

    The email reads:

    We’re reaching out because Google will be required to deduct U.S. taxes from payments to creators outside of the U.S. later this year (as early as June 2021). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking you to submit your tax info in AdSense to determine the correct amount of taxes to deduct, if any apply. If your tax info isn’t provided by May 31st, 2021, Google may be required to deduct up to 24% of your total earnings worldwide.

    What this means is that income that is generated by viewers residing in the U.S.A is what will be taxed. This new imposition is set to affect up to hundreds of thousands of creators and could come into play beginning June 1st.

    Google will begin deducting taxes from non-U.S. creators on earnings generated by U.S. viewers through ad views, YouTube Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Channel Memberships.

  • Mombasa-UK Based Activist Fears For His Life After Leaking Fierce Conversation With Speaker Aharub

    Mombasa-UK Based Activist Fears For His Life After Leaking Fierce Conversation With Speaker Aharub

    A leaked phone call between Speaker of the Mombasa County Assembly Aharub Ebrahim Khatri and a popular Mombasa-UK based activist/blogger only identified as Dr. Amkeni has become the center of undertones in the Mombasa gossip corridors.

    An irate speaker had called Amkeni following allegations that he had labeled against him on his viral Facebook posts. “Why are you defarming me?” The speaker asked referring to defamation. Before the conversation could go further, the two in an audio-visual clip seen by Kenya Insights, agreed to record each other perhaps as a backup should there be a legal redress.

    Dr. Amkeni sensationally accused the speaker of having links to drug trade of which the speaker denied knowledge of. At first Amkeni is heard saying that the speaker used to do drugs and when he was pressed further he alleged that he used to sell drugs and is still selling.

    A clearly angered speaker asked him why he wouldn’t table the evidence of his allegations if they’re indeed true instead of just throwing what he termed as hearsay. Amkeni couldn’t hear none of that going ahead to allege that the speaker had been once arrested in relations to drugs and illegal firearms possession before he fled to Dubai and Holland. The two then had unprintable exchanges.

    Aharub Ebrahim Khatri during his swearing in.

    In 2017, the speaker’s house had been raided by police and he was arrested, there were a number of speculations within intelligence sources as to the reasons behind his arrests. Rumors would later run around social media after MP Moses Kuria alleged that Aharub was being sought after by the Interpol.

    It was not only Kuria who made the allegations of him being in Interpol watch list, on 17th  January, 2017, then Coast coordinator Nelson Marwa who now is Principal Secretary for Labour and Social Protection made the same sentiments at a press conference. During the raid at his house, A police officer Kipkemboi Rop told a court that police had raided Khatri’s house in Ganjoni and retrieved three guns. He said the raid followed intelligence that Khatri was illegal holding an AK-47 assault rifle.

    Aharub would then sue Marwa for defamation. In the case against Marwa , Khatri said in court that Marwa’s remarks captured on videotape “have denied me the opportunity to quit bachelorhood, as no woman wants to associate with me …”

    “I have lost two lovers after they read negative things about me on the internet. No one would want to associate with a man linked to illegal businesses,“ he said. The court ruled in his favor.

    In the phone conversation with Khatri, Dr. Amkeni questions the speaker’s academic credentials that qualified him for the speaker’s seat. He alleged that he only got the position due to his close links to the Governor Joho. He also accuses the speaker of not overseeing the payments of salaries to county workers and other corruption allegations.

    Speaker is heard on the phone call saying that he will be suing Amkeni telling him to put his evidence together to prove his allegations. “I know people in UK I will find you.” The speaker said and vowing to make his threat clear of suing Amkeni.

    In response, the blogger read the words of Khatri as threats to his life and even dared him to make them true. “We will welcome you to UK, but I would like us to meet and file this case in New York Pennsylvania where it would be easy to transfer evidence, I will pay for your air ticket.” Said Amkeni.

    “Nitampata.” The call ends.

    After the phone call was ended, Amkeni went on saying that he stood by his words and warned the speaker against threatening his life. Speaker’s media team has yet to give a rebuttal to the allegations.

  • UK Agrees To Return To Nigeria $5.8M Stolen By Former Governor

    UK Agrees To Return To Nigeria $5.8M Stolen By Former Governor

    The UK has promised to return to Nigeria £4.2m ($5.8m) which was stolen by a former governor.

    Former Delta State Governor James Ibori was convicted of money laundering in the UK in 2012.

    Prosecutors say he stole an estimated £117m from the oil-rich state.

    This is the first time that money recovered from criminals will be returned to Nigeria since an agreement was signed in 2016, the UK authorities say.

    The UK and Nigerian governments signed an agreement on Tuesday for the £4.2m recovered by UK agencies to be sent back to Nigeria for infrastructure projects, including the Lagos to Ibadan Expressway, the Abuja to Kano road and the Second Niger Bridge.

    Who is James Ibori?

    James Ibori went from petty thief to Nigerian state governor to convicted money launderer.

    He went to the UK in the 1980s and worked as a cashier at a DIY store in London.

    Ibori was convicted in 1991 for stealing from the store but then returned to Nigeria and got involved in politics.

    When he ran for Delta State governor, he lied about his date of birth to hide his UK conviction – which would have prevented him from standing for office.

    He became governor in 1999 and soon began taking money from state coffers. Delta State is the source of much of Nigeria’s oil.

    Also Read  Pope Francis tours Iraq’s terrorist-ravaged north on day 3 of historic visit

    Why did the British authorities convict him?

    The British police began to take an interest in Ibori again in 2005 after they came across a purchase order for a private jet, made through his solicitor in London.

    He evaded capture in Nigeria after a mob of supporters attacked police, but was eventually arrested in Dubai in 2010 and extradited to the UK.

    He was convicted on 10 counts of fraud worth a total of nearly £50m in 2012.

    After his release in 2016, Ibori was placed straight into immigration detention.

    The publication of the court judgement revealed a Home Office email that had recommended keeping him in immigration detention to buy time to work out how to recover at least £57m.

    Once he was eventually released, he returned to Nigeria and sued the Home Office for unlawful detention.

    Ibori won the case but was awarded just £1 compensation.

    In 2020 prosecutors in a UK court asked a judge to make a confiscation order against Ibori of £117.7m.

    Court documents list several bank accounts owned by Ibori, as well as more than 10 properties around the world, ranging from flats on London’s famous Abbey Road to a £5m mansion in Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

    The documents also list a Bentley car and a Bombardier Challenger jet valued at just under £17m.

    The court is yet to hand down a decision.

  • UK Palace Breaks Silence On Harry, Meghan Racism Allegations

    UK Palace Breaks Silence On Harry, Meghan Racism Allegations

    LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace issued a statement Tuesday, saying the family was saddened to learn of the challenges Harry and Meghan had faced in the past few years — and that they would address the issues privately.

    The palace said the “issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” and are taken very seriously.

    “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members,” the statement said.

    The statement is the first comment by the palace following Harry and Meghan’s two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they alleged that Meghan had experienced racism and callous treatment during her time in the royal family.

    Racism. Bullying. Insensitivity.

    Prince Harry and Meghan’s allegations of ill treatment by Britain’s royal household are so serious that some observers say Buckingham Palace’s silence on the topic has only added to the furor surrounding their TV interview with Oprah Winfrey.

    While the palace often tries to stay above controversy by remaining silent and riding out the storm, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s charges are so damaging to the royal family that it will have to respond publicly, says royal biographer Angela Levin.

    But that response is likely being delayed by Queen Elizabeth II’s struggle to balance her sometimes-conflicting roles as monarch and grandmother, says Levin, author of “Harry, a Biography of a Prince.” Yet she says there’s little doubt that ultimately the 94-year-old monarch will make her decision based on what’s best for the 1,000-year-old institution she has led since 1952.

    “The queen has a motto: Never complain, never explain,” Levin told The Associated Press. “And she’s stuck with this for four decades. But I think in this climate and 2021, everything goes everywhere. There’s so much social media that in this instance, she really can’t not say anything.”

    The Times of London reported Tuesday that a palace statement had been delayed because the queen wanted more time. The newspaper didn’t cite a source for the information.

    The interview, which aired Sunday night in the U.S. and a day later in Britain, has rocked the royal family and divided people around the world. While many say the allegations demonstrate the need for change inside a palace that hasn’t kept pace with the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements, others have criticized Harry and Meghan for dropping their bombshell while Harry’s 99-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, remains hospitalized in London after a heart procedure.

    During the two-hour interview, Meghan described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts, yet when she asked for mental health help from the palace’s human resources staff she was told she was not a paid employee. She also said a member of the royal family had expressed “concerns” to Harry about the color of her unborn child’s skin.

    Winfrey later said Harry told her off camera that the family member was not Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, sparking a flurry of speculation about who it could be.

    Harry also revealed the stresses the couple endured had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.

    So far there has been silence from the palace about the interview.

    “I think that one of the major worries is you don’t want to throw oil on the flames to make it even worse,” Levin said.

    Alastair Campbell, who advised the royal family how to respond to Princess Diana’s 1997 death in a car accident, suggested that Buckingham Palace should maintain that silence. Campbell, who also served as Prime Minister Tony Blair’s communications advisor, told the BBC that Diana’s death and the interview with Winfrey were very different situations.

    “The death of Diana was a huge event — and following which they were all going to have to be involved in the funeral and in the response to what was happening in the country as a result of her death,″ he said. “Whereas this, I think, is a pretty extraordinary and a pretty explosive media frenzy, but that ultimately is what it is.″

    “So I’m not sure I would advise them to do anything much beyond what they are doing — which is not very much,” he added.

    Charles didn’t comment on the interview Tuesday during a visit to a vaccine clinic in London.

    Harry’s father visited a church to see a temporary vaccine clinic in action and met with health care workers, church staff and people due to receive their vaccine jab. The visit was his first public appearance since the interview aired in the U.S. on Sunday night.

    Maziya Marzook, a patient at the event, said “private matters didn’t come up at all” during Charles’ visit.

    “He didn’t bring up anything,″ Marzook said. “He was more interested in how the vaccine was and how we feel.”

  • Uganda’s Bobi Wine Declares Himself The Presidential Election Winner With 54pc

    Uganda’s Bobi Wine Declares Himself The Presidential Election Winner With 54pc

    The opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has declared himself the winner of the January 14 presidential election. The former presidential candidate claims he won the election by 54.19 per cent and has called on Ugandans to claim their victory which he says was robbed the Electoral Commission.

    Tabling before the media what he claimed was evidence of some 2,000 declaration of results forms (DR) which he said were rejected by the Supreme court, Kyagulanyi says Museveni only scored 34.83 per cent of the total ballots cast and not the 58.64 per cent that was given to him by the Electoral Commission chairperson Simon Byabakama.

    Kyagulanyi said he’d tried to challenge the election results in court last month but was met with bias from the justices. He highlighted the decision to deny him the chance to amend his petition with supporting affidavits and judges who have a history of working closely with President Museveni as reasons that forced him to withdraw the petition.

    Addressing Journalists in a press conference joined by the elected NUP leaders, supporters at the Kamwokya based NUP headquarters, Kyagulanyi said the displayed DR forms contain actual results contrary to what the Electoral Commission announced. The EC has come under intense scrutiny after admitting to posting “fake” DR forms whose totals did not tally – lending credence to allegations of mass vote-rigging in favour of President Museveni.

    “The rigging of the election results shows that the Byabakama commission rigged this election brainlessly, the rigging was done in such an immature way, from our tally, even with all the ballot stuffing, we beat Gen Museveni with 54.19 per cent,” said.

    He urged his supporters to come out in large numbers and stage peaceful demonstrations.

    “The Constitution of Uganda under Article 29, gives us the right to protest peacefully,” said Kyagulanyi.

    “I call upon all Ugandans to march to their respective Electoral Commission offices in your areas of residence and those elsewhere to protest peacefully in any way they see fit as long as it is peaceful.”

    He said that they are going to peacefully protest against Museveni’s victory on four grounds among which is a rigged election, demanding the immediate stop of abductions, detention of people for their conscience, and trying civilians in military courts. He said it is high time Ugandans break the chains of enslavement that they have been locked in for the 35 years under General Museveni.

    Yesterday police announced that they had intelligence reports which pointed at NUP supporters planning to hold riots across the country. Amidst heavy deployments in all roads leading to Kamwokya, a police helicopter was also seen hovering over the NUP party offices as the press conference went on.

    External SourceExternal Source.

  • Kenyan Military Gets On COVID-19 Vaccination Process

    Kenyan Military Gets On COVID-19 Vaccination Process

    The Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed, Tuesday launched the KDF vaccination exercise against the COVID-19 pandemic at the Defence Forces Memorial Hospital in Nairobi.

    Speaking after receiving his vaccine jab, the PS said that those who would be vaccinated will still be required to fully observe the COVID-19 protocols for total success in the fight against coronavirus. “It is important that we all get vaccinated since this is another intervention that shall help us curb the spread of the virus. Let us continue observing the protocols and not leave anything to chance because we have been vaccinated,” he said.

    Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed receives Covid-19 vaccine jabDr Mohammed assured the KDF personnel that the vaccination exercise will be rolled out to the various military barracks across the country where all medical staff, KDF personnel and civilian staff alongside their families will be vaccinated.

    “Since March 2020 when the first case was reported in our country, the Ministry of Defence adopted all measures as outlined by the Government to prevent further spread of the virus,” said the PS.

    “Due to the observance of the protocols, our numbers have been minimal. We, therefore, thank the health workers at KDF for the work well done,” said Dr Mohammed.

    He thanked the Government through the Ministry of Health (MoH) in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for making the vaccine available to military personnel who have been considered frontline workers and essential services providers.

    The Director of Medical Services (DMS) Major General George Ng’ang’a also received the vaccine alongside the PS and reiterated to the KDF personnel to continue observing the COVID-19 protocols while on duty and at home.

    Director of Medical Services (DMS) Major General George Ng’ang’a receives Covid-19 vaccine jab

    “Unlike other sectors, it’s very hard for the military to work from home. We have never missed work since the pandemic struck and we thank our staff for adhering to the protocols,” said Maj Gen Ng’ang’a.

    The DMS further reiterated to the service personnel to continue observing COVID-19 protocols both at work and at home so as maintain low numbers of infections.

    Other senior officers, mostly from the medical corp, also received the jab together with other officers and service members.

  • Governor Petitions Uhuru To Return Tough COVID-19 Restrictions

    Governor Petitions Uhuru To Return Tough COVID-19 Restrictions

    Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui has petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to reinstate some of the tough restrictions he had put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 following an upsurge of new positive cases in the past one week.

    Governor Kinyanjui expressed concern that gains made in previous months in the fight against spread of the pandemic have been wiped out in just under one month.

    Addressing the media in his office, the county boss spoke of enforcing localized protocols and movement restrictions in areas where there is an upsurge in cases. “Where there is an upsurge of Covid-19 cases in a specific county the affected devolved unit should be compelled to issue localized lockdowns and movement restrictions as may be necessary to stem the spread,” he suggested.

    Kinyanjui observed that since President Kenyatta eased restrictions allowing bars and clubs to operate, and pushing the nighttime curfew to 10 pm, most Kenyans had adopted a carefree attitude towards Covid-19.

    He observed that occupancy of Covid-19 beds countrywide was steadily rising, just in the last few months of easing Covid measures, while national positivity rate had risen to alarming levels.

    “The Covid positivity rate that we were all happy and very excited about when it dropped to four percent has now shot up to an incredible 14 percent in the past week. This is almost four times what it was before. This reality is reflected in increased diagnosis and hospitalization of patients in need of critical care. Consequently, there is need for greater caution to reduce the rate of infections. If the current trend goes on without intervention, our healthcare systems will be under great duress. The window of intervention is small and dependent on the timing,” warned the governor.

    He expressed concern that the public has failed to follow health protocols to limit the spread of Covid-19, leading to a jump in daily infections.

    While raising concern on how public vehicles have gone back to carrying the full capacity, Governor Kinyanjui sounded a warning that the situation may worsen if people do not change their behaviours and attitude.

    He stated that a disturbing trend was emerging in villages where people were now greeting each other through handshakes and hugs during funerals and other social gatherings.

    In the meantime, Nakuru County Government has rolled out Covid-19 vaccination campaign targeting high-risk groups after receiving over 30,000 doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca from the National Government.

    Prioritized high-risk groups include frontline workers, elderly people above 65 years, and people living with underlying conditions and the disabled.

    A total of 11,000 healthcare workers, members of the County Health Management Teams, drivers, cleaners and other hospital employees will be vaccinated. Some 3,000 doses will be supplied to the Lanet Regional Military Hospital.

    Nakuru has so far recorded 4,961 confirmed infection cases and 102 deaths since the first case of Covid-19 was first reported in the County in March last year.

  • Kenyans On Why They Don’t Bother Engaging Safaricom CEO Ndegwa Like They Used To With Collymore

    Kenyans On Why They Don’t Bother Engaging Safaricom CEO Ndegwa Like They Used To With Collymore

    Social media has become great and prompt medium for direct engagement between companies and their clients, updated companies use the medium to maintain personal touch with their clients. They also use the feedback from clients to better their services.

    Almost any sane company in the world today has a Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and even the more savvier ones have tiktok and Snapchat. The core goal here is reaching out to your clients, becoming easily accessible, people live on the internet so firms fo where they reside.

    Customer Service to clients is slowly moving away from traditional calls to messaging on social media.

    The late Bob Collymore was one of the most active corporate executives on TwitterTwitter. He earned himself the title tweeting boss, while his staff would attend to complaints from customers, Bob too responded to some of the issues raised. It’s through this that people learnt if you wanted your issue addressed with the fastest speed all you need was to tag him on your tweet and once you get his attention, he’d personally follow up to its address. He was a hands on manager on that.

    Exit Bob, enters Peter Ndegwa, the low key figure wasn’t previously an active social media user but by the virtue of his office and company, he was forced to join the Twitter wave.

    Created in November 2019, his TwitterTwitter account remained inactive for long before he started tweeting sometime late in 2020. And with only 68 tweets as of the time of press, his account is a dry timeline , not as interactive as his predecessor and we can baptize his Twitter as the boring CEO TL. That doesn’t however mean outside the 240 characters space he doesn’t work. SafaricomSafaricom is still the most profitable company in Kenya.

    Riaz Gilani, a regular Kenyan on Twitter user seems to have realized the loud silence of the account and opened a conversation on Twitter.

    “He is anti social.. Who is he anyway? As far as I’m concerned, @SafaricomPLC died when Bob Collymore died.” One Jackie Arkle replied.

    Ahmed Salim a PR practitioner noted, “He never responds.” To which Mihr Thakar replied, “Yeah he probably doesn’t handle his own twitter account. Mans seems like a workaholic.” Prompting Salim’s input, “You can hire someone. You can have a minute to speak to your audience – if he truly seen the history of Safaricom customer care – he would know his presence and voice makes a huge different.”

    Bari Yahiti says, “Bob Collymore had a very powerful online, social, and corporate personality and his presence was felt across the three “sprectums”. Corporates felt him, the society felt him, Netizens felt him, making it easy to engage him at all these levels. Ndegwa….woi!” Another user Steve says, “I said it before; the CEO of Safaricom must impact culture. You can’t simply be a manager/director within the company. You MUST impact culture.”

    Throwing jabs Genje notes, “Bob Collymore knew banter. This new guy is just another rigid Kenyan corporate without a personality.”

    Not everyone has a problem with his inactive account like Joseph Muoria who thinks it’s okay for him not to be active on social media, “Hatutaki kusumbua @PeterNdegwa_. We shouldn’t bother him with our petty, trivial and less-important issues because that position is no joke.”

    But there are also those who’ve contacted him and he acted upon their complaint like Elon Nduati, “I once escalated a Home Fibre problem to him and he responded. It was sorted the very next day.”

     

  • CEO Seeks Sh1.9B In The Big Fallout Of Lancet

    CEO Seeks Sh1.9B In The Big Fallout Of Lancet

    Lancet Kenya CEO Ahmed Kalebi is seeking close to Sh1.9 billion from the laboratory services firm in the wake of a shareholder fallout with his French and South African partners.

    Dr Kalebi, who helped found the firm in 2009, Monday sent a separation agreement to the director of Lancet ahead of the firm’s board meeting Tuesday, setting the stage for one of Kenya’s largest executive payouts.

    He informed his South African and French partners of his intention to quit the firm on April 30 when his employment contract as East Africa CEO and chief consultant pathologist expires.

    “The current term under the aforementioned employment contract is set to lapse on 30th April 2021 and our client does not wish to apply for a new term,” said a letter sent to the firm by Dr Kalebi’s lawyer, Donald Kipkorir.

    “The total claim under the employment contract and under shareholder agreement is Sh1,851,879,151.75 which sums our client claims,” says the letter.

    He reckons that the majority shareholders have sidelined him from Lancet operations, including hiring of executives while diluting his ownership.

    In 2009, Dr Kalebi, a pathologist, set up Lancet Kenya as an offshoot of its parent company in South Africa.

    It operated under Pathologist Lancet Kenya (PLK) and Lancet Services Company (LSC).

    In 2019, France-based multinational Cerba Healthcare bought shares in South Africa’s Lancet Laboratories for an undisclosed amount in a deal that saw it take control of the East African unit headed by Dr Ahmed Kalebi.

    Lancet SA holds a 49 percent stake in the joint venture while Cerba Healthcare has 51 percent.

    The joint venture, however, did not include operations in South Africa. Cerba became the majority shareholder of Lancet Kenya while Dr Kalebi remained a minority shareholder with an estimated 20 percent stake.

    Dr Kalebi currently owns 7.67 percent of PLK and 10 percent of LSC, according to Mr Kipkorir’s letter. He was on a monthly pay of Sh1.76 million.

    Dr Kalebi is seeking overtime accrued from May 2009 to April 2021 amounting to Sh473,523,080; bonus pay for 11 years of service of Sh54.7 million; gratuity pay of Sh14.5 million and a golden parachute or exit package of Sh100 million.

    This pushes his employment claims to Sh660 million.

    “Our client wants his shares in PLK and LSC to be converted into preferred shares and free from any dilution without our client’s consent,” Mr Kipkorir said.

    He is also seeking goodwill payout for having built the firm and the brand over the past 12 years. The East African unit is said to generate annual sales of Sh2.5 billion.

    “We are under instruction to claim for goodwill in the sum of Sh1,167,738,000 being the weighted average of our client’s contribution to the business brand and goodwill based on OECD’s recommended guidelines on pricing of intellectual property since 2009 to date,” Mr Kipkorir said.

    Dr Kalebi often recounts his journey from growing up poor in Kibera to owning the state of the art pathology centre, which he and his wife, Kamari Makka, helped to grow.

    (BD)

  • Kenya Deports US Capitol Insurrectionist Sturgeon  Who Fled To Hide In Kenya After Attack

    Kenya Deports US Capitol Insurrectionist Sturgeon Who Fled To Hide In Kenya After Attack

    On January 6th a group of domestic terrorists allied to the then President Trump attacked the US Capitol where the senate were voting to stamp president Biden’s win by certifying the electoral votes . This followed a lengthened campaign of baseless claims of election fraud by President Trump.

    His numerous petitions were thrown out of courts as they lacked merits, in his many attempts to block the win of Biden, Trump called upon his supporters to turn up in Washington DC where he promised his cult that things would get wild. When Trump and other leaders invited the mob to raid the Capitol to stop the voters certification, they heeded and launched one of the biggest attacks in the country.

    At the end five people died including a policeman. FBI has since been following up and arresting the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol.

    One of them is Sturgeon – who lives in Montana US. On learning that the FBI was on the trail of all those who stormed DC, he fled to Kenya on the 24th February and purchased a return ticket for April 5th 2021.

    Having been located in Kenya by the FBI , they collaborated with Kenyan authorities who ordered his deportation and subsequent handover to the American authorities. He left Kenya on 5th March and arrived in the US on 6th where he was scooped up by the feds upon arrival at JFK Airport in NYC.

    Isaac Steve Sturgeon is accused of picking up a metal police barricade, pushing it into officers and crawling under to access the Capitol Building on Jan 6.

  • Agency Pin Gachagua’s Frozen Sh200M To Money Laundering

    Agency Pin Gachagua’s Frozen Sh200M To Money Laundering

    BY SAM ALFAN.

    Assets Recovery Agency has maintained that Sh200 million held in three bank accounts belonging to Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua are proceeds of crime.

    While dismissing the defence advanced by Rigathi, the agency’s chief investigator sergeant Fredrick Musyoki maintains that the funds are proceeds of crime which are obtained through deceit and unlawful.

    He says the MP has not tendered any shred of evidence to show any legitimate means he used to obtain the same.

    “No shred of evidence is presented by Gachagua to demonstrate the linkage between the alleged businesses and the funds in the issue which are preserved in the specified bank accounts,” says Musyoki.

    While responding to the agency application to forfeit the funds to the state, Gachagua claimed that he has invested in different companies where he is either a director or shareholder.

    But the agency while countering the application says that his argument of being a trust of other entities are fictitious since no deed of trustees or any either trustee instrument has been presented.

    He says the said companies are a decoy meant disguise and hide the source of the funds in question and is a scheme of money laundering.

    Gachagua, says ARA, has not produced any notices calling for the purported board of directors, meeting agenda, minutes and name and registration of the purported companies secretaries who purportedly signed the board resolution.

    The agency further claims that the purported payment vouchers filed in court by Gachagua on Wanyoro Investment limited are serially numbered, following sequentially each other though dated differed, while some are of differed years and the alleged payment have no any linkage with the acquisitions of the funds in question.

    ARA says that the supporting documents consequently following each other, dated differently dates and years as evidence from the documents analysis is clear self-invention of artificial evidence in a scheme of money laundering solely to conceal and hide the source of the funds in question and mislead the courts.

    “The conduct and the partner of Gachagua creating fictitious loans, payment vouchers and invested book keeping is pure placement, layering and integration process of money laundering schemes meant to distinguish, conceal the nature source of funds in issue and its trail,” says Musyoki

    ARA wants the court to declare that the funds held in the banks of the MP at Rafiki MicroFinance bank are proceeds of crime and the same should be forfeited to the government.

    In their petition, the agency claims that they have amassed more than Sh5.8 billion within seven years, amounts that included funds from companies or business entities, providing services to ministries, state agencies and county governments.

    The application by ARA comes after the High Court had in May last year frozen the MP’s three accounts holding Sh200 million, pending a petition by a state agency for the money to be forfeited to the government.

  • NIS Chief Warned Uhuru To Distance Himself From Raila

    NIS Chief Warned Uhuru To Distance Himself From Raila

    Kenya’s intelligence chief Philip Kameru has joined several of Uhuru Kenyatta’s other advisors in urging him to distance himself from his supposed ally Raila Odinga. Kameru, one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s most important advisors, is already concerned about which candidate the Kenyatta clan will endorse for the presidential election in August 2022. The head of state has not yet named his would-be successor but even though all eyes are on his former rival Raila Odinga.

    On the other hand, to resume his presidential campaign, Raila Odinga’s closest advisors are urging him to put an end to his alliance with President Uhuru Kenyatta. That’s all according to February’s intelligence cables.

    Incidentally, the rift between Uhuru and Raila has widened in the past weeks as more evident in the recent by elections where statehouse was seen to be supporting candidates not aligned to the handshake agreement. Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, outspoken ally of DP Ruto was the first to hint at the possible divorce between the handshake partners when he said that Raila was being blocked firing freely accessing the statehouse as he previously used to punting at a troubled marriage.

    While Raila and Uhuru previously used to be seen together in functions and praising each other in different functions, the frequency of the appearances has tremendously reduced just like in the case with DP Ruto. The two handshake partners were left seen in statehouse on 25th February in many read us a coerced meeting which brought together Raila’s former NASA coalition mates.

    In the latest outburst, ODM politicians allied to Raila have been alleging that former NASA principals; Mudavadi, MusyokaMusyoka, Wetangula and KANU’s Moi have been sneaked in by statehouse cabals to shortchange and replace Raila in the system’s 2022 succession equation.

    This would then be the basis of divorce ground in the imminent Raila/Uhuru rift. In the middle of the circus is also PS Kibicho a powerful civil servant in statehouse seen to be in top of business of the state after the president since DP is nothing but just a symbol of his office with no powers. ODM are disgruntled that BBI which is the only initiative holding the handshake by the G-String had been slid to the use by Kibicho who’s perceived to be part of the deep state hell bent not to see Raila ascend, taken over the operations of the secretariat of BBI.

    To stamp Kameru’s advice, it wasn’t surprising to keen eyes that Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata who comes from Uhuru’s backyard issued an early warning to Kenyatta that he risked being left with egg on his face. In a bold letter to the President obtained seen by this writer, the lawmaker said he came to the conclusion that BBI is unpopular in Mt Kenya.

    Senator Gideon Moi surprises revellers at a local joint in Banana Hills, Kiambu after he stopped for nyama choma and a little chat. He was joined by His Kiambu county colleague in the senate Hon. Kimani Wamatangi on 7th March.

    Kang’ata was consequently dethroned and replaced with Wamatangi as the Senate Majority Whip, he immediately joined Ruto’s camp which is a story for another day.

    While ODM brigades accused the cabals of 2022 underplaying, one thing has been consistent and it’s not accidental, that post referendum, succession politics will not be hanging out on handshake, Uhuru and Raila have reiterated this. “The president and Raila have always been clear about BBI that its not about 2022.” says David Murathe, Jubilee Party Deputy Chairman.

    Uhuru was facing a backlash in Mt. Kenya as Ruto’s allies had sold the hot cake that BBI was allied to Raila knowing well of the the sellable Railaphobia phenomenon in the area, it took Uhuru to hold Sagana convention where he personally talked to stakeholders in ant Kenya politics and it’s on NIS advise that Uhuru convinced them the BBI had nothing to do with 2022.

    To cut the long essay short, the two principals are fully briefed, Raila in the past weeks has embarked on consolidating his base support, last week he spent in the coast and expected to expand, he’s looking forward to contest, on Sunday in Kibra, Nairobi ODM leaders led by George Aladwa declared Raila the ODM’s candidate saying their won’t be a grassroot election thereby shoving away other hopefuls as Joho and Oparanya whom insiders view as planted by opponents to cause circus before storming out to standby alternative parties.

    Meanwhile, in Mt. Kenya, pro BBI campaigners led by PS Kibicho are boldly telling locals that the referendum and 2022 are distinct and should not be viewed as a Raila project. That alone tells the whole story.

    Analysts says that Uhuru is likely the key determinant to who’s going to be Kenya’s next President with him boring to retire, with Raila and Ruto out of the way, Uhuru promised a surprise candidate whom we’re yet to know all we know is it won’t be Wetangula in that equation but the president is fully briefed by the intelligence sources so we wait and see whom he’ll front to face Raila and Ruto.

  • Maize Worth Sh1.34B Stored In Food Reserve Was Left To Go Bad

    Maize Worth Sh1.34B Stored In Food Reserve Was Left To Go Bad

    Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has raised the red flag over contaminated maize worth Sh1.34 billion at the Strategic Food Reserve Trust Fund (SFRTF) after it was left to go bad.

    Gathungu has disclosed that a review of records of stocks at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) had shown that the Ministry of Health had ascertained that out of the 6 million bags of maize that was in stock as at June 30, 2019, maize in 176,265 bags valued at Sh342.5 million was found to contain high aflatoxin levels and was, therefore, not fit for human consumption.

    In addition, she said that maize stocks held in Kisumu and Moi’s Bridge silos were found to have been damaged by heat as a result of having been stored in the silos for more than two years.

    The silos in Kisumu had 39,905 bags while the Moi’s Bridge silos had 525,818 bags, all valued at Sh998.74 million.

    The report also reveals that though stock summary records at the Nakuru depot as at June 30, 2019, had indicated that there were 387 bags of imported maize valued at Sh626,940, physical verification disclosed that there was no stock of imported maize at the depot.

    “Though the Fund gave authority to NCPB to sell the maize at Sh780 per bag, the initial cost was Sh1,778 per bag thus resulting in a total loss of Sh560, 599,554, excluding storage and fumigation charges,” Gathungu says.

    The report comes at a time when farmers are complaining that their maize rots in stores for lack of space in the depots.

    In January, NCPB faced challenges buying maize from farmers after most growers opted to sell the crop to private millers and traders who offer better prices and make prompt payments.

    This is after the board offered Sh2,500 per 90 kg bag yet millers were buying the same at Sh2,700.

    Past scandals involving maize have seen top government officials prosecuted over loss of funds at the NCPB after they were accused of being part of the conspiracy.

    Former Agriculture PS Richard Lesiyampe and former NCPB managing director Newton Terer were among suspects charged in court over various graft allegations involving maize. The case is still pending in court after they denied the charges.

    Budget utilisation And in the report for the financial year that ended in June 2019, Gathungu also raises concern over storage costs, other general expenses as well as procurement of maize by the Fund worth billions of shillings which she says cannot be accounted for.

    On the procurement of maize, she says that although the Fund budgeted to purchase 2 million bags of maize from local farmers for the 2018/2019 crop season at a price of Sh2,500 per 90 kilogramme, all amounting to Sh5 billion, the Fund only purchased 417,951 bags of maize of 90 kilogramme each at a total of Sh1 billion which translated to a budget utilisation of only 20 per cent.

    Out of the Sh5 billion, an expenditure of Sh979.7 million was to be met from sales proceeds of old stocks of maize, while the balance of Sh4 billion was to be financed through exchequer issues.

    On storage costs, Gathungu noted that although the statement of financial performance reflects an expenditure of Sh432.77 million on fumigation and storage charges for the year ended June 30, 2019, invoices that were verified during the audit to support the transactions indicated a closing stock of 3,414,518 bags of 90kg each which is equivalent at 6,146,132 bags of 50kg each while supporting schedules to the financial statements disclosed a closing stock of 6,279,685 bags of 50kg each.

    “Although the management explained that the difference of 133,553 bags was the closing stock of the unsold imported maize, the accuracy of the reported expenditure on fumigation and storage costs could not be confirmed,” she added.

    With regards to the payment of arrears of farmers, Gathungu noted that although the fund received Sh2.1 billion to cater for payments of debt owed to maize farmers for earlier deliveries and was also given Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) of Sh1.4 billion making a total receipt of Sh3.6 billion, examination of records indicated that an amount of Sh2.6 billion was spent on farmers’ arrears for 2017/2018 crop season leaving a balance of Sh931 million that has not been accounted for.

    2,500 What the board offered per 90kg bag yet millers were buying the same at Sh2,700.

    (PD)

  • Businessman In CRB Listing Suit Against Ecobank Loses

    Businessman In CRB Listing Suit Against Ecobank Loses

    A businessman whose company was listed in the Credit Reference Bureau (CBR) as a defaulter over a debt of Sh24 has lost the bid to have Ecobank pay him damages for alleged defamation.

    Charles Gitundu Mwangi’s Rural Technology Enterprises Ltd was listed on the CRB in December 2013 after he failed to persuade the High Court that the information provided by Ecobank to CRB was defamatory and caused his firm substantial losses.

    He testified that the false information relayed by the lender to CRB was calculated to depict Rural Technology as lacking in financial integrity, incapable of meeting its financial obligations and not credit-worthy.

    Justice Maureen Odero, however, faulted him for opening the corporate account and leaving it dormant for three years, attracting bank charges.

    The judge said the bank was fully entitled to debit the company’s account with the usual bank charges and in the event that the account went into debit, then the bank was entitled to charge interest at the normal bank rates.

    “I find that although it may have been petty for the bank to forward the company’s name to CRB for a debt of only Sh24, it was certainly not illegal or unprocedural for the lender to do so,” observed Justice Odero.

    Loan facility

    The judge noted that the fact Rural Technology did not take out a loan facility with the bank “is neither here nor there.

    “The account was in debit and no matter how small the amount, the money was owed to the bank.”

    How did the company incur Sh24 debt? Evidence presented in court shows that Mr Gitundu, the firm’s managing director, opened the account in 2010 and deposited Sh3,000 and a cheque of Sh10,000. He then went quiet with the account until the company’s name was listed on the CRB in December 2013

    Mr Gitundu argued that he never borrowed a loan or credit facility from the bank and indicated it was wrong for them to forward information about the company to CRB on alleged default.

    But justice Odero had a different view on the matter. She said that given the very minute the debt was incurred, the bank ought to have contacted the company to settle the peanuts.

    On the other hand, the judge said Mr Gitundu equally had a duty to check on the status of the company’s account and make good any arrears due to the bank.

    “To open an account and just abandon it is not good business practice,” observed justice Odero.

    The businessman claimed that Ecobank informed CRB that the company had defaulted in repayment of a loan facility advanced to it and owed the lender Sh24.

    Credit facility

    He complained that the company was never officially notified about the debt by the bank nor was he granted an opportunity to pay it.

    He maintained that the company never borrowed a loan or advanced any credit facility by the bank.

    Mr Gitundu further argued that in view of the fact that the company’s account was not operational (dormant), no bank charges ought to have been levied against the account.

    “In any case, the account was in credit when I opened it and the statements issued by the bank show that no withdrawals were made. In fact, the lender was the sole beneficiary of the company’s money by charging maintenance fees,” he stated.

    He told the court that the report lodged by the Ecobank with CRB made Co-operative Bank reject his application for an overdraft facility, a move that occasioned huge losses to the company.

    Ecobank Relationship Officer Maweu Syovo opposed the suit saying the account was in debit due to banking charges which had remained unpaid. The witness said the bank had an obligation to refer names of defaulters to CRB.

    Dismissing the case, Justice Odero said Mr Gitundu never called an accountant to testify on behalf of Rural Technology or even attach audited accounts to prove the firm’s financial losses.

    (Nation)

  • Harry And Meghan Opens To Oprah About The Evils Of The Royal Family In An Exclusive Interview

    Harry And Meghan Opens To Oprah About The Evils Of The Royal Family In An Exclusive Interview

    LONDON (Reuters) – Meghan, the wife of Prince Harry, accused the British royal family of racism, lying and pushing her to the brink of suicide, in an explosive televised interview that looks set to shake the monarchy to its core.

    The 39-year-old, whose mother is Black and father is white, said she had been naive before she married into the family in 2018, but that she ended up having suicidal thoughts and considering self harm after pleading for help but getting none.

    She added that her son Archie, now aged one, had been denied the title of prince because there were concerns within the royal family about how dark his skin might be.

    “They didn’t want him to be a prince,” Meghan said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey aired on CBS late on Sunday.

    She said there had been “conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

    Meghan declined to say who had aired such concerns, as did Harry, who said his family had cut them off financially and that his father Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, had let him down and refused to take his calls at one point.

    Buckingham Palace has yet to comment publicly on the interview, which aired in the early hours of Monday morning in Britain.

    Meghan cast the British royal family as uncaring and mendacious, and accused Kate – the wife of her husband’s brother Prince William – of making her cry before her wedding.

    While the family including Prince Charles came in for open criticism, neither Harry nor Meghan attacked Queen Elizabeth directly.

    Still, Meghan said she had been silenced by “the Firm” – which Elizabeth heads – and that her pleas for help while in distress at racist reporting and her predicament had fallen on deaf ears.

    “I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember how he (Harry) just cradled me,” Meghan said, wiping away tears.

    REALLY LET DOWN

    Harry and Meghan’s announcement in January, 2020, that they intended to step down from their royal roles plunged the family into crisis. Last month, Buckingham Palace confirmed the split would be permanent, as the couple looks to forge an independent life in the United States.

    Harry, 36, said they had stepped back from royal duties because of a lack of understanding and that he was worried about history repeating itself – a reference to the 1997 death of his mother Diana.

    “I feel really let down,” Harry said of his father. “My family literally cut me off financially.”

    Harry denied blindsiding Queen Elizabeth, his grandmother, with his decision to shun life within the monarchy, but added that his father stopped taking his calls at one point.

    “I had three conversations with my grandmother, and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, can you put this all in writing?”

    Their detractors say the couple want the glamour of their privileged positions without the dedication it requires or scrutiny it brings.

    To their supporters, their treatment shows how an outdated British institution has lashed out against a modern, biracial woman, with undertones of racism.

    LIES AND TEARS

    There have also been allegations of bullying against Meghan which first appeared in The Times newspaper in the buildup to the couple’s appearance.

    Buckingham Palace said it would investigate the claims, adding it was “very concerned.”

    In response to the report, a spokeswoman for Meghan said she was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself.”

    Meghan told Winfrey that people within the royal institution not only failed to protect her against malicious claims but lied to protect others.

    “It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to understand that not only was I not being protected but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family,” Meghan said.

    “There’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution, those are two separate things and it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that because the queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me.”

    Meghan denied a newspaper story that she had made Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, cry before the wedding and said it was a turning point in her relations with the media.

    Asked if she made Kate cry, Meghan replied: “The reverse happened.

    “A few days before the wedding she (Kate) was upset about something, pertaining to yes the issue was correct about the flower girl dresses, and it made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings.”

    Meghan said she had not realised what she was marrying into when she joined the British monarchy.

    “I will say I went into it naively, because I didn’t grow up knowing much about the royal family,” Meghan said.

    She explained she was not being paid for the interview.

  • Kenya’s Mobius Motors In Serious Cash Crunch

    Kenya’s Mobius Motors In Serious Cash Crunch

    Kenya’s only home-grown automaker, Mobius Motors, is facing financial difficulties that has seen it seek court protection from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) tax demands that may force it to shut down.

    The High Court has stopped KRA from demanding a Sh73 million tax from the firm due to the its financial constraints.

    Since its launch in 2014, Mobius Motors has only produced less than 80 test vehicles and is among a number of African firms hoping for a slice of the continent’s largely underdeveloped market for new cars.

    Justice Francis Tuiyott said the taxman should not execute decision of the Tax Appeals Tribunal dated July 30, 2020 that allowed KRA to demand the debt from the company, which is a subsidiary of the Mobius Motors Limited UK.

    However, the suspension of the tribunal’s decision is on condition that Mobius provides a bank guarantee of Sh40 million within 60 days, pending the determination of its appeal against the Tribunal’s ruling.

    Judge Tuiyott made the order while ruling on an application lodged by the automobile firm saying it will suffer substantial loss if Tribunal’s ruling is not suspended.

    The firm demonstrated its financial vulnerability by producing its audited financial report to convince court that it is in dire financial strain and if the taxman invades its bank accounts, it may collapse and shut down its operations in Kenya by reasons of insolvency.

    The financial report was for the year ended December 31, 2019 and showed that the company had a liability of Sh434.3 million and a shareholders deficit of Sh204.8 million.

    It said as at August 30, 2020, this position had deteriorated to a sum of Sh649.2 million in liability and shareholders deficit of Sh389.1 million.

    “Looking at the audited reports produced, Mobius has made out a strong case that a payment of Sh73,235,647 from its resources would most probably have an adverse effect on its operations. That would be substantial loss,” said justice Tuiyott.

    Mobius produces a boxy, no-frills SUV designed for both the challenges of Africa’s rugged driving conditions and the modest budgets of African consumers. The entry-level version is priced at Sh1.3 million, half the going rate for a second-hand SUV model imported from Japan. The firms is raising financing for a full production launch that is years behind schedule.

    (BD)

  • Israeli-US Firm Accused Of Involvement In Human Rights Abuse In South Sudan

    Israeli-US Firm Accused Of Involvement In Human Rights Abuse In South Sudan

    The Israeli branch of U.S.-based Verint Systems Inc. provided the South Sudanese government with surveillance equipment to intercept communications devices, although the country has a long history of human rights violations, and despite the high risk that it posed to continuing those abuses, said a report published by Amnesty International on Tuesday.

    The human rights monitoring organization’s report revealed new information about South Sudan’s surveillance capabilities as well as the role of companies whose technologies can intercept communications such as citizens’ telephone lines without legal permission.

    South Sudan, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011, radically limits freedom of expression, and is considered by the United Nations to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. According to experts, the South Sudanese government exercises fear tactics, as well as harassment, arbitrary detentions, torture, kidnapping and extrajudicial executions in order to silence the regime’s opposition, human rights activists, and journalists. South Sudan’s National Security Service (NSS) is used as the government’s main operational arm.

    Amnesty’s report is based on a two-year investigation, which included interviews with 63 people, among them activists, journalists, and attorneys from South Sudan, which uncovered the country’s extensive physical and technological surveillance network that the country had created, and the extent of the systematic harassment that accompanies it in order to create an atmosphere of constant fear and sow doubt in the regime’s opponents and dissidents. The infiltrated bodies include nonprofits, news outlets, private companies, security and hotel chains, and an extensive telephone surveillance network. According to the report, many who were interviewed felt that “the surveillance, harassment and looming risk of arbitrary arrest, detention and possible death does not stop them from speaking out, but that they carefully measure and regulate what they say, where they say it and to whom., with one activist saying, ‘You cannot speak without thinking twice.’”

    As for Vernit’s activity in the country, the Amnesty report uncovered documents that prove that between March 2015 and February 2017, the South Sudanese government paid Vernit $762,000 for “providing technical services.”

    “The ex-Vivacell employee said that the South Sudanese government required all telecommunication companies operational in South Sudan to pay Verint Systems Ltd, the Israeli subsidiary of U.S. Verint Systems Inc. for this equipment and annual service provision…between the years of 2015 – 2017 despite the high risk that the equipment could contribute to human rights violations,” the report read. The fact that Verint supplied surveillance equipment to South Sudan is worrying because of the country’s long history of human rights abuses and freedom of expression. “South Sudanese authorities must rein in the NSS and put an end to the security service’s practice of operating outside the law. The intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and illegal detention of government critics must end,” the report read.

    The report also quoted previous publications where Israeli companies were involved in South Sudan’s surveillance network, and in a UN report from 2016, it noted that Israeli-made communications interception equipment were believed to have aided in the identification and illegal arrest of citizens, according to an AP report from that year. “Amnesty International believes that such activity is contrary to Israel’s obligation to protect human rights,” another report read.

    “Unchecked and unlawful surveillance by the NSS is having a chilling effect on civil society and peaceful activism. The threat of surveillance is a weapon in itself – government critics and human rights activists told us they live in constant fear of being spied on,” Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa said in the report.

    “Despite this, many courageous South Sudanese activists continue to stand up for their and others’ rights, braving surveillance, intimidation and harassment. It is time for the South Sudanese authorities to halt the unlawful practices of the NSS and enable people to exercise their freedom of expression without fear of reprisals,” he added.

    Verint Systems did not respond to a request for comment, but the Amnesty report came out a day after the company announced that it was splitting off its defense-focused activities into a separate company .

  • We Will Abandon BBI, ODM’s Junet Mohamed Threatens

    We Will Abandon BBI, ODM’s Junet Mohamed Threatens

    Trouble wave has hit the shores of handshake shore with ODM leaders coming out gun blazing in what has now become apparent as an internal fight within the BBI secretariat and president Uhuru Kenyatta succession politics.

    What started as a rumor on social media on Saturday, was amplified by Dr. Oburu Odinga during an interview with KTN where he said ODM was not going to table Ruto’s impeachment motion and more startling was when he said there were possibilities of Raila working with Ruto a sworn event ahead of 2022, during the interview, Odinga’s brother had nice things to say about the DP like ‘Raila and Ruto are great friends they just differe on a few fundamentals that can be ironed, they’ve worked together before as you know.”

    Later in the day, Raila’s confidant Senator James Orengo fired his shot at a function in Siaya where he pointed at the core of their disgruntlement in handshake with unnamed civil servants in statehouse.

    “In this country, as President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga are busy with the Building Bridges, there is a cabal inside government who are busy chatting the way how Kenya will be ruled after the 2022 election,” Orengo said.

    “Civil servants have no business to discuss and debate on political matters. I urge them to be compliant and obedient to the political institution,” he added.

    And to put a blade to his words, Orengo warned, “As a person who has witnessed how governments are run I want to say without fear of contradiction that whenever civil servants chat the future, there can never be any peace. This is a warning shot,”

    Unamused by the turn of events, Orengo pointed fingers at the statehouse cabals for conspiring to shortchange Raila while bringing on board ‘strangers’ to the table. “”They are simply reaping where they have not sowed. Without Raila Odinga, they would not be planning of those successions and therefore they must listen to the two BBI principals,” Orengo said.

    Separately, in an interview with Sunday Nation, it was the Minority Whip in the National Assembly Junet Mohamed who let the dog out. He mentioned and accused powerful PS Kibicho of hijacking, sabotaging and micromanaging the BBI Secretariat of which Junet together with Dennis Waweru are also members.

    It appears that Junet and ODM could’ve exhausted all avenues to resolve the matter internally and let it out to the public. “For the last three to four months there has been great sabotage in the process.” Orengo said to give an hint on how long this has been on going.

    PS Kibicho is said to have been tasked to take control of the BBI secretariat to the displeasure of the ODM side.

    “If he must continue meddling in the work of the secretariat, if he must continue dictating how we do our work, if he’s that indispensable, we will be left with no choice but to abandon BBI, Kibicho is causing political constipation and we’re not afraid of telling him that.” Junet who’s also BBI Co-Chair told Sunday Nation.

    Junet say that continued influence on the secretariat by Kibicho would complicate the outcome of the referendum and make the referendum appear as a statehouse project. “Remember Uhuru had to pitch tent in Mt Kenya to save BBI in the county assemblies therefore Kibicho bungled it. He can’t be playing politics and he’s a civil servant. We do not want him anywhere next to the secretariat’s work. He has to take a back seat.” He said.

    “Our position is clear, if he wants to continue being part of the process, we will leave it to him. He has created a separate command structure through which he thinks he can bulldoze us around.” Junet shot the ultimatum.

    However, critics are not reading from the same page with Junet and ODM with others like lawyer Ahmednasir Abdulahi accusing the orange party of dishonesty. “Odm must be told to stop attack PS KIBICHO. He is doing his job and his BOSS to whom he is ANSWERABLE isn’t complaining. More IMPORTANTLY, H.E UHURU TRUSTS him with BBI MONEY.” Ahmednasir tweeted.

    “ODM’s RAGE and RANTING is all about having their hand in the bbi cookie jar. H.E UHURU and PS KIBICHO will have none of that…thus the fire and brimstone, blackmail and the cheap polemic and pontification.” He added.

    Jubilee party’s co-chairman who lately has been a friend of Raila and ODM threw in a subliminal in reaction to the new developments. “It’s not about the HANDSHAKE literally, it’s about the fruits of it.”

    ODM is now accusing the statehouse cabals of bringing in ‘strangers’ into the house including Gideon Moi, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula and Kalonzo Musyoka whom they say are the team being assembled to succeed president Uhuru.

    Fresh fears have now hit the ODM camp that the President could use and dump their leader after the BBI is passed hence his recent comeback to revive his political bases, Raila just concluded a week long tour in coast a region considered his base but has also been invaded by the DP. For ODM they’re in the race to the end and not stopping.

    “ODM will form the next government, alone or with like minded strong parties/individuals.” Said Hon George Kaluma, ODM MP.

    Affirming the assertions by Oburu, Kaluma said, “Now they are discussing the prospect of Raila and Ruto coming together as if it’s impossible!
    In politics, nothing is impossible. Lest you forget, the 2 came from the Nile Valley. ODM will work with anyone who enables the party to capture power to transform Kenya.”

    The abrupt turn of events now leaves many options dangling with uncertainties about which way the BBI goes. And with the referendum scheduled for May or June, the bigger questions remain, Will Kibicho succumb to ODM pressure and bow out? Will ODM abandon the BBI should Kibicho stand his foot? And more importantly Will ODM and Tanga Tanga form the team against statehouse cabals?

  • South Sudan Minister Infected With COVID-19 Who Bulldozed Himself Through Airport For Nairobi Got Pushed Off KQ Plane

    South Sudan Minister Infected With COVID-19 Who Bulldozed Himself Through Airport For Nairobi Got Pushed Off KQ Plane

    South Sudan’s minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management Peter Mayen was forcefully pushed off a plane on Saturday by passengers after he forced himself through airport with a positive COVID-19 test results, one passenger and an airport staffer told Sudans Post on Saturday evening.

    According to a humanitarian affairs ministry official, the minister was heading to Kenya when he surprisingly returned to the ministry. He had an appointment with his Kenyan counterpart to discuss and sign a humanitarian response plane on Sunday, according to the official.

    “The minister was going to Nairobi, Kenya because he was set for a meeting with the minister of humanitarian affairs of Kenya to discuss and sign a humanitarian response agreement,” the ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “But we were surprised that he returned to the ministry and we didn’t know that he has COVID-19 because these things are confidential.”

    A passenger who said he was among the people who pushed him out of the plane said airport staff seems to have compromised that he get into plane with the passengers because the crew members informed them that they couldn’t do anything as security officers failed to prevent the minister from boarding the plane.

    “What happened is that the minister was positive with coronavirus, but the security officials didn’t want to prevent him from boarding the plane and the plane staff told us about the matter and because we are concerned with our own health, we pushed him out of the plane because it is against the law and out health,” the passenger said.

    Mayen is a controversial figure who has in the past been involved in a quarrel with a businessman over four vehicles that Mayen had borrowed.

    The report from South Sudan is alarming given how easily it was easy for the minister to breach the security, ignoring all the COVID-19 safety protocols and more alarming how the KQ crew appeared helpless to the situation that it had to take the passengers to handle the matter by themselves.

    Sudan-Kenya route is busy since the two countries by mutual relations sees many travel and one would only wonder and worry if in the past such incidences could’ve gone unreported thereby putting many at risk.

    In May last year, South Sudan’s First Vice President Dr Riek Machar and his wife Angelina Teny, the Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs, were the first top government officials to publicly admit that they had contracted Covid-19.

    Days after their announcement, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth and former minister for National Security, Dr Majak Agoot, also confirmed they had contracted the virus.

    Weeks after his appointment, the chairman of the National Committee on Covid-19 and Fifth Vice President, Hussein Abdelbagi, confirmed that he too had also tested positive. That very week, Second Vice President James Wani Igga revealed that he had contracted the virus.

    In December last year, former South Sudan Ambassador to Russia and former Presidential Legal Advisor, Telar Ring Deng, passed on at an Aspen medical facility days after declaring on social media that he had tested positive for Covid-19.

    Earlier this week, the South Sudanese military announced the death of three generals, David Manyot Barach, Elijah Alier Ayom and Mabior Maket. Over the last two weeks, two prominent scholars at the University of Juba succumbed to Covid-19 – raising the number of deaths from the pandemic to 95.

    Most of the cabinet members have now either contracted the virus from reports or are potentially infectious as the case of Mayen who almost slipped through the wire and wouldn’t have not only infected fellow passengers and KQ crew but his Kenyan counterpart he was scheduled to meet.

    A number of South Sudanese dignitaries have also been airlifted to Nairobi hospital for coronavirus treatment in Nairobi as most hospitals in Juba are below standard to contain the virus. A number of S.S officials are expected to travel to Nairobi from next week as peace talks between warring factions have been shifted from Rome to Naivasha hence need for more vigilance in the airports and more so the airline staff must ensure not to admit any infected passenger to safeguard the health of everyone onboard.

  • South Sudan’s Peace Talks Moved From Rome To Naivasha

    South Sudan’s Peace Talks Moved From Rome To Naivasha

    Peace negotiations between the government of South Sudan and holdout opposition alliance faction, SSOMA’ led by General Paul Malong Awan and Pagan Amum will start in Naivasha Kenya on Monday, Radio Tamazuj reports quoting government and opposition officials.

    The talks between the two parties was supposed to begin last January, but Kenyan authorities did not approve at the time a request by Sant Egidio Community for venue of talks.

    The talks were then returned to Rome where they were initially started, but none of the representatives of the parties travelled there as several members of government team tested positive for coronavirus.

    However, that would only appear as a convenient excuse, the new move to transfer the talks to Kenya comes only a month after Kenya Insights, blew the whistle that some corrupt elements in Kenya’s foreign ministry in conspiracy with stooges in South Sudan’s government, were hell bent to keep the talks in Italy for the purpose of prolonging the talks while benefiting from the blood money.

    It was after this that our report caused waves in the two countries with President Uhuru giving orders for the immediate relocation of the mediating parties to Kenya. Naivasha has since been chosen as the ideal place for the talks.

    Barnaba Marial Benjamin, a spokesman and deputy chief negotiator for the government team confirmed that the talks will begin in Naivasha next week and would focus on addressing the root causes of the conflict.

    “We have the agenda for the new round of talks,” said Dr. Barnaba Marial is quoted by Radio Tamazuj as saying. “Paul Malong and Pagan Amum said we should discuss the root cause[s] of the conflict, so we will listen to them. The talks will take place from the 8th to the 12th of March.”

    Marial who is a presidential envoy said government team “will also discuss the root cause of the conflict with the other faction led by General Thomas Cirillo after our meeting with the group led by Gen. Malong and Pagan.”

    Separate, the spokeswoman for General Paul Malong’s South Sudan United Front/Army Nyamach Nyang Chuol confirmed that the talks will begin next week in the Kenyan town.

    “The talks will begin from the 8th to the 12th of March, so it will last for five days. A delegation representing the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) will come to Kenya,” she said.

    The government is in a hurry to move forward on the process. It wants to be able to prove itself to US President Joe Biden‘s new administration, which has been quickly restoring US relations with the new authorities in Khartoum. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir hopes that the US will lift its sanctions on the country but this decision could be conditional to the success of the talks with the SSOMA.