The Star 01/20/2017

Talks between the government and the striking doctors have stopped after Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu visited State House on Wednesday. The talks have been running smoothly since Monday, until Wednesday when Mailu received a call at 1pm inviting him to State House to present an update. “We have not been invited to any other meeting for today or tomorrow. We are waiting because we do not know what transpired at State House,” said an official of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union. The union and the ministry were yesterday expected to discuss the contentious Article Four of the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement which details the salaries and allowances of doctors. All parties had hoped the strike would be called off this week, also in time to stop…

WILLIAM ODUOL Cheered at voter listing drive A crowd went wild when Cord leader Raila Odinga invited Siaya governor aspirant William Oduol to speak. Oduol is seeking the ODM ticket. He is seeking to remove incumbent Cornel Rasanga. Oduol told the crowd he wants to ensure Raila wins and has even provided his truck for the campaign to encourage residents to register as voters. See Page 38 UHURU KENYATTA His schedule was changed State House yesterday amended Uhuru’s schedule for county visits to give them a “national look” after criticism that the tours were concentrated in his backyard. The schedule, which initially concentrated on Mt Kenya, was expanded to cover Northeastern, Lower Eastern and Samburu. Uhuru and Ruto are urging supporters to register as voters. See Page 11 MOSES WETANG’ULA…

Devolution CS Mwangi Kiunjuri has dared former Jubilee Party secretary general Onyango Oloo to spill the beans about President Uhuru Kenyatta. Speaking at the Ministry of Agriculture during a joint update on the ongoing drought, Kiunjuri said Oloo has forgotten that there is “a secret file” he left in the ministry that will soon land him in jail. “I heard Oloo saying he has a secret dossier about the President. Politicians run to their villages for community protection. I want to remind Oloo that I have a secret dossier as he created a mess in the ministry,” he said. The Devolution CS said investigations into the huge file belonging to Oloo were at an advanced stage. “Soon, he will answer questions,” he said, adding that Oloo knows that, after investigations,…

WORD has it that Goldenberg scam architect Kamlesh Pattni (pictured) is being groomed by a section of ODM leaders in Nairobi’s Embakasi East to vie for MP. Those in the know say the ODM leaders fear the Orange Party may lose the seat since youthful aspirant Francis Mureithi, who is rumoured to have been part of the NYS scam, is spending a lot of money. It’s said that only Pattni can match Mureithi and that’s why Kamlesh is being persuaded to join the Orange Party and also fund his own campaign. DOES the opposition have a hand in the ongoing strikes in the country? An outspoken Jubilee MP from Mt Kenya strongly believes the opposition is behind the doctors and lecturers’ strike to gain political mileage ahead of the August…

Behind-the-scenes struggles are threatening to spoil Jubilee’s Nairobi game plan as claims emerge DP William Ruto is secretly bankrolling a faction opposed to Peter Kenneth. Kenneth has announced he’s running for Nairobi governor and seeking the Jubilee ticket. The office could be a springboard to the presidency in 2022, when Ruto aims to ascend to power. Kenneth says he won’t challenge the DP. The Deputy President is said to be behind Team Nairobi, which includes Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, TNA nominated MP Johnson Sakaja, former Starehe MP Bishop Margaret Wanjiru and Dagoretti South MP Denis Waweru. Kenneth’s run is backed by Starehe MP Maina Kamanda, Nairobi woman representative Rachel Shebesh and a number of city MPs. Yesterday sources close to Team Nairobi told the Star it has been receiving “support…

THERE are those who want to supplant Evans Kidero because the Nairobi governor perch is among the most prestigious elected positions in Kenya. That is the glory part of it. In general, being governor is very powerful nowadays. And Nairobi is the richest and most powerful county in Kenya. So being governor of Nairobi is not a small job. There are those who want Nairobi to be a proving ground for higher things. And it is in this category that I would put Peter Kenneth. He desires to be governor of Nairobi in order to prove his mettle. The idea here is to do a pretty good job of this, so that if in future people look for “presidential timber”, they can look at you and say, “Yes. We have…