The Star 08/30/2017

President Uhuru Kenyatta will this morning chair a Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting at State House Nairobi. He is expected to rally his troops ahead of the first sitting of Parliament tomorrow. The crucial meeting, which will also be attended by Deputy President William Ruto, will endorse the party’s favourite candidates for the speakers’ positions in the bicameral House. Garissa Township MP Aden Duale, who is tipped to retain his position as National Assembly Majority leader, yesterday said Uhuru will chair the meeting. “The President and the DP will be present at the meeting at State House,” Duale said. Jubilee MPs and those from friendly parties will set the party’s legislative agenda. “We will also look at the available leadership positions in the House and agree on how they will be…

CALL TO BAN COAL PLANT It’s an environmental hazard Conservationists and human rights groups in Lamu have warned that the plastic ban will not be effective if a coal plant will be put up. The Amu Power Company has proposed to set up a Sh200 billion coal fired plant at Kwasasi in Hindi. The conservationists, led by Save Lamu, said the ban will be one- sided if the state allows the coal plant project to proceed. See Page 31 HASSAN JOHO To share podium with Uhuru President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho are expected to share a podium tomorrow for the first time after the bitterly fought August 8 election campaign. Uhuru will officially open the Mombasa Agricultural Society of Kenya Show at Mkomani, Nyali. Joho has been…

The Green Belt Movement will train at least 200,000 women on alternatives to plastic bags in an ongoing programme. The movement will partner with the Ministry of Environment and the National Environment Management Authority. Chairperson Marion Kamau said they will first train-heads of women’s groups, who will pass the information to their members. “Through this partnership, we are sensitising communities and different stakeholders on the effects of open burning of waste and behavioral change in relation to use of polythene bags,” she said yesterday. The push to ban certain plastic bags was initiated by the late Prof Wangari Maathai, a former CEO of the movement, in 2003. Kamau said they have since been training women, and will intensify the activities this year. “GBM will continue raising awareness through community training…

KENYANS can be merciless at times. After Prof PLO Lumumba mesmerised Kenyans with pompous and technical law jargon, some Kenyans immediately began to censure him. They reminded the Director of the Kenya School of Law that he was caught red-handed in a plagiarism case. PLO apologised and admitted he indeed plagarised the work of human rights lawyer Wachira Maina. Ironically, the plagiarised work was a criticism of the 2013 Supreme Court ruling.“PLO warns that you shouldn’t quote yourself. That’s easy if all you do is plagiarise,” lawyer George Kegoro fired on Twitter. In his submissions in court, PLO had faulted law don Mutakha Kangu for quoting himself. STILL in the Supreme Court, what did President Uhuru Kenyatta’s lawyer Fred Ngatia mean when he said his client will form an all-inclusive…

‘HAVING DEMONS-TRATED THE ELECTIONS WERE HELD WITHIN THE EXPECTATION STIPULATED IN THE CONS-TITUTION, IT WOULD BE UNFAIR TO INVALIDATE THEM OVER INFRACTIONS WE HAVE DE-MONSTRATED DON’T EXIT’ President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday urged the Supreme Court to throw out Raila Odinga’s petition against his win, calling it “science fiction that Hollywood directors will love”. Through lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Kenyatta said the petition was devoid of significant evidence to overturn his reelection. In a three-hour blow-by-blow counter to Opposition chief’s case, Uhuru’s lawyers described the challenge as hollow, to be dismissed even without a rebuttal from respondents. “My Lords, this petition is like a science fiction that can only excite movie directors at Hollywood,” Abdullahi told the seven-judge bench. Raila said the election was riddled by irregularities, including hacking, forgeries, switched names,…

Unlike 2013, the conduct of the courtroom has been impressive. Supreme Court president David Maraga has managed to take control of the courtroom and the proceedings. That is not something that was witnessed in 2013, because the then Chief Justice Willy Mutunga failed to take control of counsel and the litigants before the court. In terms of the general conduct of the proceedings and the arguments that have been canvassed by both counsel, a complete departure from the 2013 proceedings has been witnessed. On notable things, unlike in the 2013 petition when the Supreme Court declined admission of 900 pages of evidence by Raila Odinga, the 2017 court appreciated provisions of Article 159(2) that talks about justice being delivered without due regard to procedural technicalities. A failure to comply with…