The Star 12/20/2016

Candidates seeking to replace outgoing IEBC chairman Issack Hassan yesterday challenged petitions blocking their hiring on claims of unsuitability and lack of integrity to oversee the August 2017 polls. The IEBC selection panel, chaired by Bernadette Musundi, received petitions challenging the hiring of the candidates on grounds of alleged unethical conduct. Former Mombasa Mayor Taib Ali Taib was the first to be interviewed. He challenged a petition from his former client, demanding Sh229,000 awarded to him in an assault case in 1991. Mohamed Baishe, a resident of Lamu county, said he did not receive the money because Taib “abandoned me” after winning the case. Taib said he represented Baishe and his wife after being assaulted by a police officer. He told the panel the money has not been released since…

MANNO Rescued from Iraq A cigarette-smoking chimpanzee that was separated from his mother in Africa and smuggled to war-torn Iraq is recuperating in Nanyuki. The chimp, named Manno, spent his days smoking cigarettes to impress visitors, who would then dole out food to him in a private zoo in Dohuk, close to the hotspots of the ISIS war. See Page 12 KIPCHUMBA MURKOMEN Forward NYS scandal evidence The Elgeyo Marakwet senator told Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter and Kapseret’s Oscar Sudi to present their evidence to the EACC or police. The two said the senator should explain under what circumstances he received cash from NYS. They told him to carry his cross in the Sh1.6 billion scandal. Murkomen told them to be “careful”. See Page 30 RAILA ODINGA No nusu…

Specialists in private hospitals have given the government two days to honour the 2013 CBA or they will withdraw their services. Addressing journalists at the Kenyatta National Hospital, the specialists said they are giving the government up to Thursday to fulfil the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This comes 10 days after the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board chairman warned the striking health workers against disrupting services in private hospitals. Prof Emily Rogena, a pathologist at the KNH private wing, said the government has been reluctant in previous negotiations. The specialists said the government requires them to devote at least 50 per cent of their time in public service. “We have come to this decision in a show of solidarity with our colleagues in the public sector,” Rogena said. The…

WHY has Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet (pictured) not attended NPSC meetings for three months? Moles say his deputy and other commissioners attend in his place. This has apparently raised concerns among some commissioners. The IG is supposed to attend the meetings meant to chart the way forward on the human resource arm of the service. Fellow officers say the IG is digging his own grave and when things go wrong, he will only have himself to blame. A senior officer said it will not be long before the IG is abandoned, just like retired IG Kimaiyo was. UN-HABITAT Ambassador Sam Ongeri has come under attack from Jubilee honchos in Kisii county over his questionable political stand. The former minister, who in 2013 lost the Kisii senator race to…

MPS PUSHING THE LATEST PLAN SAY SINCE THEY WERE ELECTED IN MARCH 2013, THEIR TERMS, AND THOSE OF PRESIDENT UHURU KENYATTA AND DP WILLIAM RUTO, DO NOT END UNTIL MARCH 2018 A fresh plan has been hatched to delay the general election to 2018. MPs are eager to extend their terms, salaries and perquisites. They also say the country is far from prepared. They cite delayed appointment of electoral commissioners and numerous issues with timelines, procurement, technology and the voter’s register. This time round, MPs from both Jubilee and Cord are involved, however, it is not clear if they have the blessings of their principals. Kenya traditionally holds elections every five years. Although the IEBC has affirmed the general election — presidential, Senate, National Assembly, governor and county assembly polls…

IN any sporting contest, you know that you have a problem on your hands when the event starts with a prolonged argument over who is — and who is not — qualified to be the referee. And yet, politically speaking, that is where we are now. It would seem that our most influential political players cannot agree on who is to audit the voters’ lists; what electronic devices are to be used to record the actual votes; and who should serve as the commissioners of the IEBC. In some ways, this is not a particularly special problem. Right now in the US, there is a bitter debate taking place on their unique institution of the “electoral college”, a collection of “electors” from the various states, who are (oddly enough) the…