The Star 12/17/2016

Former Lands CS Charity Ngilu yesterday escaped death, as former Kitui Mayor Martha Mwangangi was killed by a fire engine during protests by traders in Kitui town. The two had joined the traders who were protesting against Thursday night demolition of kiosks. They were marching on Kalundu–Kitui town road when the speeding county fire engine crushed Mwangangi to death. Ngilu’s bodyguard shoved her out of the vehicle’s way. The traders woke up to find their kiosks flattened. This stirred outrage and the traders caused mayhem all over Kitui town. They disrupted transport and business for more than three hours. In a statement to newsrooms yesterday, the Kitui government urged residents to shun violence. RUSHING TO PUT OUT FIRE It said it removed illegally constructed structures and acted based on “widespread…

FRED SEGOR Wants Yatta Dam completed President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered the completion of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Sh2.2 billion Yatta Dam by the end of this month. Water PS Fred Segor yesterday visited the project to communicate the presidential directive and told the contractor to comply, failing which there will be dire consequences. See page 18 RAILA ODINGA Heads to Western Cord leader Raila Odinga and his ANC counterpart Musalia Mudavadi head to Western this weekend, a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta wound up his 48-hour visit. Uhuru completed his tour of the vote-rich region yesterday by commissioning projects in Mumias, Kakamega county, and two roads and medical equipment at the Busia County Hospital. See page 22 MWANGI WAIRIA SMS service suspended Governor Mwangi Wairia’s bulk messaging service…

The High Court has quashed a decision by chief licensing officer Samuel Kimaru revoking Mombassa Governor Ali Joho’s firearm licence. This means Joho will not be required to surrender his firearm certificate, rifle or ammunition. Justice George Odunga also prohibited Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery from harassing Joho on the basis of a decision by the firearms licensing officer, communicated through a letter dated March 10. He said besides a statement that Joho is unfit to handle firearms, no evidence was given to justify it. “The respondents did not reveal information on how they arrived at the decision that he was unfit to manage the firearm,” Odunga said. Kimaru had urged the court to throw out the case filed by Joho on grounds it was within his powers, as provided by…

PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta is said to be unhappy with one of his Cabinet Secretaries over delayed construction of roads in his backyard of Central Kenya. On his recent trip to Central Kenya, the President is said to have put Transport CS James Macharia (pictured) on the spot over delays, especially in Murang’a county. The bone of contention is that there is one specific construction company that seems to win all tenders in the region, but has been delaying completion of roads for years. The President is said to have given the CS instructions to crack the whip on the contractors as the delay could have dire consequences for his reelection chances. AN ambassador currently serving in one of the Arab countries and who wants to become governor in his home…

THE MPS CLAIMED THAT THE BANK PAID SH40 MILLION NOT TO BE FOUND CULPABLE IN THE PROBE OVER THE LOSS OF SH1.8 BILLION YESTERDAY, MURKOMEN MAINTAINED SOME MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WERE ENGAGING IN EXTORTION, TARGETING INDIVIDUALS AND INSTITUTIONS NAMED IN THE MULTI-BILLION-SHILLING NYS SCAM A number of MPs have sensationally claimed a close senior relative of a top leader in the Executive arm of government and a commercial bank gave money to MPs to dilute the NYS probe report. But the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee has denied the allegation. When asked about the claims, PAC chairman Nicholas Gumbo said: “You must understand this scandal touches a lot of people, some of whom hold positions of influence. There’s nothing they would love more than to make…

THE most interesting thing about this NYS scandal is the brutal fact that no government agency seems to be interested in investigating it. Efforts towards getting to the bottom of this scandal seem to have been frozen at very high levels of the government. The EACC is saying nothing, the DCI is not interested and it really doesn’t look as if anybody out there is interested in this matter. And that is why the investigations being conducted by the Public Accounts Committee were the only hope for a public tired of this sustained charade. Now the allegations surrounding these parliamentary investigations in which it is being alleged that some members of the PAC are beneficiaries of this money are probably the last straw of a big lie that has been…