The Star 04/13/2017

A Court of Appeal in Juba has ordered the retrial of four Kenyans who had been jailed for 72 years. They were among 16 people who in June last year were imprisoned over allegations of forgery and money laundering, resulting in the loss of $14 million (Sh1.8 billion) from President Salva Kiir’s office. They were held at a military detention facility for nine months. Then they went on trial for five months and were subjected to what many legal experts call a further miscarriage of justice. The four worked for Click Technologies Company, with Ravi Ghaghda serving as a Business Development manager, Boniface Muriuki as Sales and Development manager, while Anthony Keya and Anthony Mwadime were employees. Their families have lobbied to have them provided with legal aid through the…

STANLEY KAMAU Donates ambulance in Garissa Ahadi Kenya and the Lotto Foundation donated an ambulance to Garissa county to support maternal health and reduce deaths in childbirth. The Mashinani Ambulance will be stationed at the Shantaabaq Health Centre in Lagdera. It will reduce runaway maternal deaths, which stand at 1,000 for every 100,000 live births. See Page 35 147 BODA BODA DEATHS Three counties top list Bungoma, Nairobi and Nakuru have been named as the counties with the highest number of motorcycle accidents. The NTSA yesterday said the high number of accidents is mainly caused by operators who are not trained. By the end of last week, 147 motorcyclists had died in road accidents this year. See Page 14 ARMYWORM Farmers use kerosene to kill it Bungoma maize farmers are…

Give us the money to pay doctors for the 100 days they were on strike, the governors have told the national government. Last week the President ordered the doctors paid as agreed in a return-to-work formula. Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya yesterday said the counties do not have money to pay doctors for the three months they boycotted work. “The money that we would have paid the doctors was used to buy medicine and support faith-based institutions in the counties. We do not have extra money to pay the doctors as soon as possible,” he said. Munya said the national government had promised to help the counties pay the doctors. “We seek the government to meet its promise because we have not refused to pay the doctors. All we…

HAS Education CS Fred Matiang’i (pictured) learnt some bad manners all of sudden and developed a foul mouth? The no-nonsense but always civil staunch SDA believer lauded for his radical policies that have excited the Education sector, launched a verbal missile at Kisii Governor James Ongwae last weekend and accused the county boss of stalking him even into church functions. They had coincidentally met in the same church for a pre-planned donation. While this habit is characteristic of the minister’s superiors whom he serves with zeal, some Gusii leaders were heard saying Matiang’i should be cautious when confronted with high-octane political challenges. A powerful and influential figure working in cahoots with a senior Nairobi county official is the chief beneficiary of several stalled road projects within the capital city. The…

‘IT’S A GAME OF GIANTS AT A CERTAIN LEVEL AND SOME WILL COME DOWN TUMBLING DOWN LIKE A HOUSE OF CARDS’ It’s do or die for key allies of opposition chief Raila Odinga as big names dominating Kenyan politics face off in primaries starting today. The seven-day, staggered ODM primaries will propel, hobble or extinguish careers. They could trigger many defections. The stakes are high in the secret-ballot vote. “It will be a do-or-die duel, political analyst Barrack Muluka yesterday told the Star in an interview. “It’s a game of giants at a certain level and some will come down tumbling down like a house of cards.” The battle for coveted ODM tickets is ferocious in traditional strongholds of Western, Nyanza and Coast where heavyweights are staring at political oblivion…

IT IS A GAME OF FAVOURITES. THERE ARE ALWAYS FAVOURITES, AND THIS PREFERMENT MIGHT BE PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSE TO THE PARTY LEADER, WHO IS ALSO THE PARTY OWNER, OR EVEN WEALTHY FRIENDS WHO FUND PARTY ACTIVITIES FIRST of all, primaries generally are an exercise in electoral mockery of sorts. Primaries in Kenya are never democratic at all, not even among political parties that carry the tag of democracy such as ODM. It is a game of favourites. There are always favourites, and this preferment might be people who are close to the party leader, who is also the party owner, or even wealthy friends who fund party activities. In our context, the Party Owner owns the party like I own a pair of shoes. I can decide what to…