LIST OF SHAME - Source - The Standard

STANDARDTHE

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April 5, 2015

No. 478

I cheated death inside

wardrobe

I cheated death inside

wardrobe

LIST OF SHAME: Political careers on the line as probe on EACC graft report begins P. 21

WOMEN REPS: Number of MPs to hit 453 if proposed law is adopted P. 27

ESHIWANI PASSES ON: Former Kenyatta University VC Prof George Eshiwani dies at the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu P. 20

Cynthia Jerotich, 19, narrates her 48-hour ordeal inside a closet in the hostel where

142 of her colleagues were killed by Al Shabaab gunmen. She lived on body lotion

GARISSA TERROR ATTACK

STORIES AND PHOTOS ON PAGES 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 19

/ NATIONAL NEWS Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

This was not most callous but

also barbaric. The perpetrators must be perverts of sorts with dangerous minds.”

This is the saddest moment

in the history of Kenya. All leaders should join forces to fi ght this war on terror irrespective of political persuasion.

The judiciary will ensure justice is

served for victims and perpetrators in the terror cases brought to court.

Our Muslim brothers and

sisters must expose those who have been radicalised among them. The war on terror should be a joint e� ort.

This is a terrible thing. It is

horrible and goes beyond what anyone can comprehend. This new style of attack is worrying.

Muslim leaders should help the

government in dealing with terror. We are all Kenyans and should be in the forefront in fi ghting terrorism.

Muslim and Somali leaders must not

bury their heads in the sand and state their position in regards to Al-Shaabab. It is no longer business as usual on war on terror.

I’m sadenned the Al-Shabaab

killed many from my county. It’s unfortunate that security agents failed to act on intelligence reports.”

The country should now

establish an independent Homeland Security Agency unit to analyse intelligence reports

We have a duty to be vigilant

and help smoke out terrorists from our midst. Implement-ing police reforms will help to combat terrorism.”

Anxiety, fear and pain as parents and kin

dren. As we wait here for a solution, we pray that by the end of the day, you will gladden our hearts.”

After that, pin-drop silence de-scended on the terrace. Githongo told the gathered relatives that there’s a list with 514 survivors; that 124 bodies had already been deliv-ered to Nairobi’s Chiromo mortuary; and that there were 27 injured at the Kenyatta National Hospital. He said 104 other victims of the Al-Shabaab campus raid were at the Garissa Pro-vincial Hospital.

“All the bodies have now arrived. Shortly we will have a full list of the injured and those who are on the buses from Garissa coming back. If you miss a name in both lists, we’ll have to send you to Chiromo Mortu-ary. Today, those bodies are being

cleaned and once that is done, pictures will be taken and we’ll display those outside the morgue for you to identify. I kindly ask for your patience,” Githongo said.

Heads sink. Faces fall. Then the counsellor told them that they will be called in pairs to the coun-selling tent and warned them not to talk to the press. But these par-ents want to talk, it is part of ther-apy.

A few paces from Githongo is Lamwel Kituva, who is searching for his niece Monica Ngwasi, a second year Finance student.

“I heard the news of the terror attack on Thursday at 11am. I tried calling her, but her phone kept ringing. My brother, her dad, who is in Mombasa also tried, but

there was no response. Then the phone went off. It has been off since,” said Lamwel.

Lamwel has made trips to the morgue and the hospital and back to the morgue, there’s no mention of Monica. He was now at the sta-dium to check if Monica’s name was in the list of those on their way from Garissa in the NYS bus-es. Nothing. “I don’t know. We just have to wait. We are dealing with it as a family, I hope it will be well in the end. I hope she is alive and well,” Lamwel said. His phone rang; he picked it up and walked a few paces to have a private con-versation. When he returned, he sipped water from his bottle, sighed and sat down.

It’s the same story for Moses

Shikhonga who had to endure an eight-hour bus ride from Mom-basa together with his wife to come to Nairobi in search of his brother-in-law Milton Mukhwa-na. No word. No contact.

As The Standard on Sunday left the stadium after five hours, and as the rains started pounding the stadium, the relatives were still waiting. Expectantly.

Finally, the first bus checked in at the Stadium at 7.05pm fol-lowed five minutes later by the second bus. The 10 buses we were told had travelled to other parts of the country. Joy, apprehension and anxiety filled the stadium as parents and kin gathered courage to confirm if their children were on board.

manned the table on behalf of the Salvation Army corps.

“When most of these people got here, they were crying. We have of-fered the beverages for free as we try to keep them calm and counsel them,” Kasyoka said.

At this time the gathering is set-tled. The man in a purple shirt and a KCPA badge on his breast pocket in-troduces the meeting.

“My name is Kimani Githongo. I am a counsellor. I am one of you; I am not with the government. Please don’t ask me questions I can’t an-swer. But before I go into the details, let us pray!” he said. Captain Kasyoka rose to pray. He was the nearest churchman.

“Dear God, I know you love us as parents and you also love our chil-

We must confront the religion question in

war on terror

Reports from the recent Garissa University massacre indicate that Christians were a special target. In-deed, all 22 Christian Union members who had gathered in a hall for morning prayers were the first to be killed.

In the rest of the attack, non-Mus-lims had to prove their faith by reciting Shahada, a proclamation by new Mus-lim converts, failure to which they were shot dead. Meanwhile, Muslim students were spared.

Nearly a year ago, a Sunday service was brought to an abrupt end when terrorists stormed a church in Mom-basa and killed worshipers indiscrimi-nately. In the Westgate, Mpeketoni and Mandera attacks, non-Muslims were singled out for murder. Thus the key question is the religious motivation behind the terrorist attacks.

Though the matter has often been hushed for fear of stoking religious an-imosity, perpetrators of terrorism have never been afraid or cautious about identifying themselves with a specific religion. Unfortunately, the often re-peated line in such circumstances, es-pecially by government and Muslim leaders, is that the perpetrators of these evils are criminals out to tarnish the reputation of an otherwise peace-ful religion.

This argument unfortunately is sounding increasingly hollow and fast losing currency. Church leaders are hard put to explain to their followers why they appear so helpless in the face of persistent attacks. It is becoming in-creasingly difficult for families who have lost loved ones to be comforted by the same old rhetoric. It follows therefore that we can no longer bury our heads in the sand and not confront the religious question in the war on terror.

Writing in the Washington Times, General Michael Hayden — former di-rector of the CIA and the National Se-curity Agency — reasons that we must be careful not to unfairly brand or alienate all of Islam or all Muslims. He, however, argues that “we risk confus-ing ourselves if we ignore the religious and ideological roots that some [ter-rorists] use to justify their violence

against us.”According to General Hayden, the

current spate of global terrorism com-prises at least three struggles with roots in the Middle East. But the com-mon thread across all three is Islam. There is the intra-Sunni battle in which ISIS, a fundamentalists Suni group is intent on creating an Islamic caliphate to replace the current Muslim states.

Then there is the Sunni-Shia con-flict which pits the Shia states such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon against the Sunni monarchies and states like Egypt. The third is an ideological con-flict between Islam and the West.

Some believe this last battle is founded on deep hatred for all that is Western. It is a hatred primarily direct-ed at Israel and all their global allies — real or imagined. It has thus singled out America, Europe and almost all that is civilised. The battle is further premised on the false notion that Christianity is an arm of Western op-pression and prejudices. The Church is seen as an extension of Western ideol-ogy that must be conquered.

In this region, for example, Al-Sha-baab is our thorn in the flesh. It is be-lieved this group has links and financ-ing from Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda. It is believed Osama became deeply enraged when in 1991, King Fahd al-lowed American forces, with their rock music and Christian and Jewish troops, to wage the Gulf War from his home-land Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden thus con-figured the Al Qaeda network with one underlying purpose: launching and leading a holy war against Western in-fidels. Unfortunately, in this construc-tion, the Church is considered part of the Western ideological framework. This partly explains the targeting of the Church. What can we do?

In a recent speech by President Ab-del-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, he told Muslim scholars at Al-Azhar Univer-sity that they must work in concert to correct and discredit the gross misin-terpretations of Islamic scripture by the jihadists. We too need to seriously engage Muslim leaders, scholars, and the community at large to craft a nar-rative that can stem the radicalisation of our youth.

It is time Kenyan Muslims came out, not just in condemnation of at-tacks, but in a long term education of children and youth so that they do not fall easy prey to extremists. Because unless concerted efforts are taken, this nation is headed towards a religious war...a very frightening prospect in-deed.

Rev. Dr David Oginde is the Presid-ing Bishop of Christ is the Answer Min-istries @adangdo13

Tortuous wait: Relatives have to repeatedly scan the list of survivors to fi nd out if their missing loved ones are among

back: “Why do you want the press to leave before you tell us where our children are?” Then she walked to the Moi University tent, in the oppo-site direction, next to the tracks to check the list. Again.

The nameless officials, together with a man with a badge that identi-fied him as Dr Oscar Githua, and a counsellor in a purple shirt with an embroidered logo of the Kenya Counselling Psychologists Associa-tion (KCPA) on his breast pocket, herded the waiting relatives to the blue terrace to the left of the gate.

At the gate to the terraces, the Sal-vation Army had laid out a table with mugs of coffee and tea, bottles of wa-ter and boxes of biscuits and snacks. A man referred to as “Captain”, who said his name is Leonard Kasyoka,

After a night of heavy rains, the green grass on the football pitch in the middle of Nyayo National Stadi-um shone with freshness. A flock of eager swallows flew strategically close to the grass in their random graceful motion making those care-less sharp turns, as they chirped soft-ly, picking up unlucky insects.

If you were here for the birds, you’d forget the grief and anguish of hundreds of relatives standing in small groups, and talking in hushed tones, waiting for news of their kin. The stadium is the designated centre for families to trace their kin who were caught up in the terrorist attack at the Garissa University College.

Around that green football pitch — where early birds played as they hunted for a morning catch — is the athletics track where Kenya’s world-beating athletes test their mettle. It had been washed clean — thanks again to the night-long rains—and was now ample basking place for the multitude of worried parents, sib-lings and relatives of the hundreds of students caught in the terrorist at-tack in Garissa.

Kenya Red Cross personnel, pro-fessional counsellors, Moi University staff, and government officials wel-comed the flash of warmth from the rising sun as it chased away the morning chill. They had just erected a dozen tents with seats to handle the restless parents and relatives searching for their kin. The relatives had been told the buses ferrying sur-vivors would be arriving from Garis-sa at noon. They were there early, crossing their fingers and praying for the all-important reunion.

“I have checked all the lists. I haven’t seen her name. I was at Ke-nyatta National Hospital, at Chiromo mortuary and now here...the name is missing. I have no idea where she is,” Jane Nafula, the mother of Stella Namalwa, 19, a second year Educa-tion student at the Garissa Univer-sity College, told The Standard on Sunday.

The distraught parent had trav-elled from Bungoma to Nairobi on Friday as soon as news filtered in that 142 students had been killed. She had tried to call Stella, her last born, on her mobile phone, but it wasn’t answered.

“The last time we spoke was on Tuesday. I am a parent. If you don’t know where your child is, worry is inevitable,” Nafula said, as her son Benjamin Khaemba, 29, listened at-tentively. When the mother was done with the interview, the son took over with consolation.

“We have no way of finding out where she is. Let’s leave it to God!” Benjamin told his teary mother. She nodded her head. It’s all she could do.

Then she spoke, partly in re-sponse to her son, and in response

to a question we did not ask: “I know, it has already happened. We just want to know where she is; whatever the outcome, we will accept!”

At the gate, the National Youth Service personnel frisked everyone going into the stadium. Police offi-cers in full uniform carried their loaded guns as they watched every-one who approached the gate.

As the interview continues, gov-ernment functionaries shout that they don’t want journalists inter-viewing the waiting relatives. They say everyone with a camera and a notebook should be locked out of the stadium. The NYS servicemen ap-pear to act — there’s some move-ment, but no activity. Unclear orders.

A woman in a black leather jacket, blue jeans and white blouse shouted

await elusive reunionthem. If they are not, family members have to fear for the worst

y B ALPHONCE SHIUNDU

No 1: A relative celebrates after a bus ferrying a loved one arrives at the Nyayo National Stadium from Garissa yesterday. Nos 2,3,4,6,7: Family members leave Chiromo Mortuary, Nairobi yesterday after identifying the bodies of their kin.

No 5: An injured student of Garissa University College is carried to an ambulance after a bus ferrying survivors of the Garissa terror attack arrives at the Nyayo National Stadium yesterday. [PHOTOS: JENIPHER WACHIE, GOVEDI ASUTSA AND BEVERLYNE MUSILI/ STANDARD]

WAR ON TERRORON ON TERROR

David [email protected]


Justin Muturi Willy Mutunga Isaac Ruto Aden Duale Kithure Kindiki: Moses Wetangula Beatrice Elachi: Cornelius Korir Fathia Mahbub Martha Karua

COMMENT

Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

This was not most callous but

also barbaric. The perpetrators must be perverts of sorts with dangerous minds.”

This is the saddest moment

in the history of Kenya. All leaders should join forces to fi ght this war on terror irrespective of political persuasion.

The judiciary will ensure justice is

served for victims and perpetrators in the terror cases brought to court.

Our Muslim brothers and

sisters must expose those who have been radicalised among them. The war on terror should be a joint e� ort.

This is a terrible thing. It is

horrible and goes beyond what anyone can comprehend. This new style of attack is worrying.

Muslim leaders should help the

government in dealing with terror. We are all Kenyans and should be in the forefront in fi ghting terrorism.

Muslim and Somali leaders must not

bury their heads in the sand and state their position in regards to Al-Shaabab. It is no longer business as usual on war on terror.

I’m sadenned the Al-Shabaab

killed many from my county. It’s unfortunate that security agents failed to act on intelligence reports.”

The country should now

establish an independent Homeland Security Agency unit to analyse intelligence reports

We have a duty to be vigilant

and help smoke out terrorists from our midst. Implement-ing police reforms will help to combat terrorism.”

Anxiety, fear and pain as parents and kin

dren. As we wait here for a solution, we pray that by the end of the day, you will gladden our hearts.”

After that, pin-drop silence de-scended on the terrace. Githongo told the gathered relatives that there’s a list with 514 survivors; that 124 bodies had already been deliv-ered to Nairobi’s Chiromo mortuary; and that there were 27 injured at the Kenyatta National Hospital. He said 104 other victims of the Al-Shabaab campus raid were at the Garissa Pro-vincial Hospital.

“All the bodies have now arrived. Shortly we will have a full list of the injured and those who are on the buses from Garissa coming back. If you miss a name in both lists, we’ll have to send you to Chiromo Mortu-ary. Today, those bodies are being

cleaned and once that is done, pictures will be taken and we’ll display those outside the morgue for you to identify. I kindly ask for your patience,” Githongo said.

Heads sink. Faces fall. Then the counsellor told them that they will be called in pairs to the coun-selling tent and warned them not to talk to the press. But these par-ents want to talk, it is part of ther-apy.

A few paces from Githongo is Lamwel Kituva, who is searching for his niece Monica Ngwasi, a second year Finance student.

“I heard the news of the terror attack on Thursday at 11am. I tried calling her, but her phone kept ringing. My brother, her dad, who is in Mombasa also tried, but

there was no response. Then the phone went off. It has been off since,” said Lamwel.

Lamwel has made trips to the morgue and the hospital and back to the morgue, there’s no mention of Monica. He was now at the sta-dium to check if Monica’s name was in the list of those on their way from Garissa in the NYS bus-es. Nothing. “I don’t know. We just have to wait. We are dealing with it as a family, I hope it will be well in the end. I hope she is alive and well,” Lamwel said. His phone rang; he picked it up and walked a few paces to have a private con-versation. When he returned, he sipped water from his bottle, sighed and sat down.

It’s the same story for Moses

Shikhonga who had to endure an eight-hour bus ride from Mom-basa together with his wife to come to Nairobi in search of his brother-in-law Milton Mukhwa-na. No word. No contact.

As The Standard on Sunday left the stadium after five hours, and as the rains started pounding the stadium, the relatives were still waiting. Expectantly.

Finally, the first bus checked in at the Stadium at 7.05pm fol-lowed five minutes later by the second bus. The 10 buses we were told had travelled to other parts of the country. Joy, apprehension and anxiety filled the stadium as parents and kin gathered courage to confirm if their children were on board.

manned the table on behalf of the Salvation Army corps.

“When most of these people got here, they were crying. We have of-fered the beverages for free as we try to keep them calm and counsel them,” Kasyoka said.

At this time the gathering is set-tled. The man in a purple shirt and a KCPA badge on his breast pocket in-troduces the meeting.

“My name is Kimani Githongo. I am a counsellor. I am one of you; I am not with the government. Please don’t ask me questions I can’t an-swer. But before I go into the details, let us pray!” he said. Captain Kasyoka rose to pray. He was the nearest churchman.

“Dear God, I know you love us as parents and you also love our chil-

We must confront the religion question in

war on terror

Reports from the recent Garissa University massacre indicate that Christians were a special target. In-deed, all 22 Christian Union members who had gathered in a hall for morning prayers were the first to be killed.

In the rest of the attack, non-Mus-lims had to prove their faith by reciting Shahada, a proclamation by new Mus-lim converts, failure to which they were shot dead. Meanwhile, Muslim students were spared.

Nearly a year ago, a Sunday service was brought to an abrupt end when terrorists stormed a church in Mom-basa and killed worshipers indiscrimi-nately. In the Westgate, Mpeketoni and Mandera attacks, non-Muslims were singled out for murder. Thus the key question is the religious motivation behind the terrorist attacks.

Though the matter has often been hushed for fear of stoking religious an-imosity, perpetrators of terrorism have never been afraid or cautious about identifying themselves with a specific religion. Unfortunately, the often re-peated line in such circumstances, es-pecially by government and Muslim leaders, is that the perpetrators of these evils are criminals out to tarnish the reputation of an otherwise peace-ful religion.

This argument unfortunately is sounding increasingly hollow and fast losing currency. Church leaders are hard put to explain to their followers why they appear so helpless in the face of persistent attacks. It is becoming in-creasingly difficult for families who have lost loved ones to be comforted by the same old rhetoric. It follows therefore that we can no longer bury our heads in the sand and not confront the religious question in the war on terror.

Writing in the Washington Times, General Michael Hayden — former di-rector of the CIA and the National Se-curity Agency — reasons that we must be careful not to unfairly brand or alienate all of Islam or all Muslims. He, however, argues that “we risk confus-ing ourselves if we ignore the religious and ideological roots that some [ter-rorists] use to justify their violence

against us.”According to General Hayden, the

current spate of global terrorism com-prises at least three struggles with roots in the Middle East. But the com-mon thread across all three is Islam. There is the intra-Sunni battle in which ISIS, a fundamentalists Suni group is intent on creating an Islamic caliphate to replace the current Muslim states.

Then there is the Sunni-Shia con-flict which pits the Shia states such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon against the Sunni monarchies and states like Egypt. The third is an ideological con-flict between Islam and the West.

Some believe this last battle is founded on deep hatred for all that is Western. It is a hatred primarily direct-ed at Israel and all their global allies — real or imagined. It has thus singled out America, Europe and almost all that is civilised. The battle is further premised on the false notion that Christianity is an arm of Western op-pression and prejudices. The Church is seen as an extension of Western ideol-ogy that must be conquered.

In this region, for example, Al-Sha-baab is our thorn in the flesh. It is be-lieved this group has links and financ-ing from Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda. It is believed Osama became deeply enraged when in 1991, King Fahd al-lowed American forces, with their rock music and Christian and Jewish troops, to wage the Gulf War from his home-land Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden thus con-figured the Al Qaeda network with one underlying purpose: launching and leading a holy war against Western in-fidels. Unfortunately, in this construc-tion, the Church is considered part of the Western ideological framework. This partly explains the targeting of the Church. What can we do?

In a recent speech by President Ab-del-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt, he told Muslim scholars at Al-Azhar Univer-sity that they must work in concert to correct and discredit the gross misin-terpretations of Islamic scripture by the jihadists. We too need to seriously engage Muslim leaders, scholars, and the community at large to craft a nar-rative that can stem the radicalisation of our youth.

It is time Kenyan Muslims came out, not just in condemnation of at-tacks, but in a long term education of children and youth so that they do not fall easy prey to extremists. Because unless concerted efforts are taken, this nation is headed towards a religious war...a very frightening prospect in-deed.

Rev. Dr David Oginde is the Presid-ing Bishop of Christ is the Answer Min-istries @adangdo13

Tortuous wait: Relatives have to repeatedly scan the list of survivors to fi nd out if their missing loved ones are among

back: “Why do you want the press to leave before you tell us where our children are?” Then she walked to the Moi University tent, in the oppo-site direction, next to the tracks to check the list. Again.

The nameless officials, together with a man with a badge that identi-fied him as Dr Oscar Githua, and a counsellor in a purple shirt with an embroidered logo of the Kenya Counselling Psychologists Associa-tion (KCPA) on his breast pocket, herded the waiting relatives to the blue terrace to the left of the gate.

At the gate to the terraces, the Sal-vation Army had laid out a table with mugs of coffee and tea, bottles of wa-ter and boxes of biscuits and snacks. A man referred to as “Captain”, who said his name is Leonard Kasyoka,

After a night of heavy rains, the green grass on the football pitch in the middle of Nyayo National Stadi-um shone with freshness. A flock of eager swallows flew strategically close to the grass in their random graceful motion making those care-less sharp turns, as they chirped soft-ly, picking up unlucky insects.

If you were here for the birds, you’d forget the grief and anguish of hundreds of relatives standing in small groups, and talking in hushed tones, waiting for news of their kin. The stadium is the designated centre for families to trace their kin who were caught up in the terrorist attack at the Garissa University College.

Around that green football pitch — where early birds played as they hunted for a morning catch — is the athletics track where Kenya’s world-beating athletes test their mettle. It had been washed clean — thanks again to the night-long rains—and was now ample basking place for the multitude of worried parents, sib-lings and relatives of the hundreds of students caught in the terrorist at-tack in Garissa.

Kenya Red Cross personnel, pro-fessional counsellors, Moi University staff, and government officials wel-comed the flash of warmth from the rising sun as it chased away the morning chill. They had just erected a dozen tents with seats to handle the restless parents and relatives searching for their kin. The relatives had been told the buses ferrying sur-vivors would be arriving from Garis-sa at noon. They were there early, crossing their fingers and praying for the all-important reunion.

“I have checked all the lists. I haven’t seen her name. I was at Ke-nyatta National Hospital, at Chiromo mortuary and now here...the name is missing. I have no idea where she is,” Jane Nafula, the mother of Stella Namalwa, 19, a second year Educa-tion student at the Garissa Univer-sity College, told The Standard on Sunday.

The distraught parent had trav-elled from Bungoma to Nairobi on Friday as soon as news filtered in that 142 students had been killed. She had tried to call Stella, her last born, on her mobile phone, but it wasn’t answered.

“The last time we spoke was on Tuesday. I am a parent. If you don’t know where your child is, worry is inevitable,” Nafula said, as her son Benjamin Khaemba, 29, listened at-tentively. When the mother was done with the interview, the son took over with consolation.

“We have no way of finding out where she is. Let’s leave it to God!” Benjamin told his teary mother. She nodded her head. It’s all she could do.

Then she spoke, partly in re-sponse to her son, and in response

to a question we did not ask: “I know, it has already happened. We just want to know where she is; whatever the outcome, we will accept!”

At the gate, the National Youth Service personnel frisked everyone going into the stadium. Police offi-cers in full uniform carried their loaded guns as they watched every-one who approached the gate.

As the interview continues, gov-ernment functionaries shout that they don’t want journalists inter-viewing the waiting relatives. They say everyone with a camera and a notebook should be locked out of the stadium. The NYS servicemen ap-pear to act — there’s some move-ment, but no activity. Unclear orders.

A woman in a black leather jacket, blue jeans and white blouse shouted

await elusive reunionthem. If they are not, family members have to fear for the worst

y B ALPHONCE SHIUNDU

No 1: A relative celebrates after a bus ferrying a loved one arrives at the Nyayo National Stadium from Garissa yesterday. Nos 2,3,4,6,7: Family members leave Chiromo Mortuary, Nairobi yesterday after identifying the bodies of their kin.

No 5: An injured student of Garissa University College is carried to an ambulance after a bus ferrying survivors of the Garissa terror attack arrives at the Nyayo National Stadium yesterday. [PHOTOS: JENIPHER WACHIE, GOVEDI ASUTSA AND BEVERLYNE MUSILI/ STANDARD]




Justin Muturi Willy Mutunga Isaac Ruto Aden Duale Kithure Kindiki: Moses Wetangula Beatrice Elachi: Cornelius Korir Fathia Mahbub Martha Karua

COMMENT


Garissa County Governor: “With

the closure of the university following the heinous terror attack, many students from poor families are likely to drop out. ”

KNUT Secretary General:

“There will be no teaching in the entire Northern Kenya until there is security for our children and teachers.”

Garissa County Commissioner:

“Our enemies are desparate to create a wedge between communities of diverse faith and ethnicity, but they failed.”

Taita Taveta Governor: “The

students’ death is a devastating blow to not only the family but also to the country at large. It is a big blow to Kenyans.”

Sudan President: “I

received with great shock the sad news of the massacre. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Kenya in its time of grief.”

US envoy: Our deepest

condolences to all a� ected. We o� er profound appreciation to members of the security services risking their lives to end this attack

Africa Union (AU) chairperson:

“The attack on innocent university students in Garissa is an attack on us all. We won’t relent fi ghting terrorism.”

NCIC Chair: “We call for

patience and religious tolerance as authorities investigate the attack. NCIC is monitoring the social media.”

On the trail of suspected jihadi brides from Thika to El Wak through Garissahome in Malindi by bus on March 20 saying she was going to resume stud-ies at the university where she is studying for a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy.

“She was returning to school after the college was shut down on March 17 following riots,” said Amina. It was not clear if the campus ever closed af-ter any riots or if Khadija returned to Malindi immediately after the alleged riots and closure.

Amina says the family lost contact with her on Tuesday March 24 after her cellphone went dead.

Meanwhile, according to Salma Ahmed, Maryam’s mother, and Fatma, her sister, she left Malindi on March 22 this year and contact was lost on March 25.

“She asked for permission to go to Nairobi to sit an interview,” said Salma. But neither she nor Fatma knows what interview it was. Days lat-er, the two say they lost telephone contact with Maryam, a bachelor of commerce graduate from Kenyatta University (Mombasa campus).

Sadir claims he last met Ummul Khayr in Zanzibar last August and that she (Ummul) visited him in Oman in 2011.

Some police reports claim the three women joined Al Shabaab in September last year after meeting on the internet and were lured to join ji-had in Somalia by a Syrian female

contact with the promise of marrying Islamic fighters in Somalia and even-tually ending up as widows of Islamic holy fighters in Syria where they hoped to reach through Turkey after flying from Mogadishu.

A government report suggests that Umul Khayr was the mastermind of the alleged recruitment.

Although Maryam’s and Khadija’s relatives disclaim Ummul Khayr, po-lice allege the Kenyans could have met her earlier on an internet chatroom or real life five years ago.

In one document, police allege Maryam introduced Khadija to the Zanzibari woman four months ago. The document alleges Khadija con-fessed to being radicalised earlier by the video recordings of slain radical Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohamed.

Rogo’s infl uenceShe watched “Rogo’s CDs until her

parents warned her against watching them,” says a report quoting Khadija’s alleged confession that also indicates Maryam paid for the three bus tickets to Mandera.

Ummul Khayr disclosed she had contacts in Somalia, according to Khadija. There are reports to suggest the Zanzibari was a frequent visitor to Kenya for she travelled to Thika, alone, last month to join Maryam and Khad-ija after arriving by air from Sudan.

Meanwhile, interrogators allege

Ummul Khayr confessed she first met Maryam in a wedding in Zanzibar in 2009, a claim we could not confirm in-dependently.

Ummul Khayr also confessed she initiated the conversation introducing the Kenyans to a contact in Somalia through the internet. The contact in Somalia instructed the three women to hide the internet conversation from their families.

According to investigators, Khadija contemplated terminating her asso-ciation with her friends at one time when she ended association with the internet chatroom which had mem-bers in Mombasa, Somalia and Tanza-nia and was managed by a Kenyan woman based in Somalia together with other Kenyan fugitives in the war torn country.

Police claim to have stumbled on information that one of the Kenyans’ brother was a fugitive in Somalia, a matter that is suspected to have mo-tivated her to go to Somalia to search for him or join his alleged illegal ac-tivities.

Maryam and Khadija arrived sepa-rately in Thika on March 22 before Ummul Khayr joined them after flying from Sudan on March 24 this year. They began the bus journey to Man-dera on March 25 and it is suspected they slept in Garissa and resumed the trek on March 26 before they were ap-prehended on March 27.

taught her Islamic Religious Educa-tion (IRE).

“She was our student who left in 2012,” said Wahid who said Khadija scored a grade B in the 2012 KCSE. He added that the Khadija he knew is a “very social and happy student who loved sports and debate and never displayed any sense of griev-ance even to students of other reli-gions in a school that is 90 per cent Muslim”.

“We are shocked to hear she is be-ing associated with these things (ex-tremism),” said Wahid amid reports the two Kenyans were brainwashed on the Internet to support violent ex-tremism and accept the promise of splendid martyrdom, despite their education.

Fatma Said, Maryam’s sister said she (Maryam) displayed no extrem-ist tendencies or abnormal behavior but “had complained about low pay at the hospital where she worked [in Malindi] and expressed desire to look for a better job”.

The story line gets murkier when relatives explain their last encoun-ters with the women. According to colleagues at Mount Kenya Univer-sity in Thika, Khadija vanished from the campus about two months ago and many suspected she had fee problems.

But Amina Abdulla Aziz, who claims she is Khadija’s mother, told journalists her daughter left their

Terrorists’ main agenda is to breed inter-faith confl ictThe Almighty God reminds us in

the Holy Quran that: “And most cer-tainly shall we try you by means of danger, and hunger, and loss of worldly goods, of lives and of [la-bour’s] fruits. But give glad tidings unto those who are patient in adver-sity”. May Allah induce us with pa-tience in this trying moment.

We are saddened by the attack against university students that left 152 people dead and many others wounded. We deeply feel the pain of the loss of young lives to terrorist at-tacks.

The Al Shabaab attack has dem-onstrated the organisation’s agenda is to create religious conflict.

Aware of this strategy, Muslim leaders applaud the Kenyan people, especially the Christian leadership, for their patience and understanding of the enemy’s intentions. Kenya is at war, and we must all stand together united than before to defeat the ill intentions of those against us.

In the last two days, Muslim lead-ers joined the rest of Kenyans to con-demn terrorism; organised a demon-stration in Garissa to condemn terrorism and others in Nairobi joined relatives, friends and students

at Chiromo to receive bodies.Other planned activities by Mus-

lim leaders include fundraising to contribute towards burial and medi-cal costs, blood donations in various centres and calling for Imams to use the pulpit and other community in-frastructure to counter extremism.

Countering violent extremism is likely to be most effective when char-acterised by a partnership approach involving law enforcement, intelli-gence agencies, other statutory or-ganisations, and communities with grassroots credibility.

The principles of meaningful partnership in this domain must in-clude mutual respect, acknowledg-ment of respective strengths, skills, and expertise between agencies and community based organisations and leadership structures, and willing-ness, in appropriate circumstances, to take calculated risks to ensure that so-called hard-to�reach groups are approached by those with the re-quired local knowledge and techni-cal capacity.

Moving forward, the Muslim leadership underscored their com-mitment to countering terrorism as well as addressing drivers of violent

extremism. They stressed that vio-lent extremism or terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilisation, or ethnic group. They affirmed their commit-ment to support security apparatus, called for security personnel to be professional while discharging their duties. Among issues that require at-tention include the question of Ke-nyan returnees, extra judicial killings of preachers and activists, disap-pearances and unaccounted persons claimed to have been “picked” by State security agents. These issues if left unaddressed form a fertile ground for recruitment to terror or-ganisations.

To rescue Islamic religion from “captivity” of self-seekers and self-righteous individuals and groups, the Supreme Council of Kenya Mus-lims (Supkem) is mobilising highly educated and respected scholars to develop a counter narrative strategy based on true Islamic teachings and classical traditions. This initiative follows the recent county focused dialogue forums that brought to-gether local and faith communities, county, and national governments as well religious leaders and opinion shapers aimed at bridging informa-tion gaps.

When the country was faced with the Mungiki menace, it was easy for the police to deal with it because Mungiki did not change tactics—they remained a network with a con-sistent chain of command character-ised by a stratified leadership structure, which made it easy for in-telligence operatives to infiltrate and destroy its leadership thus bringing the entire group tumbling down. On the other hand, when the terrorist networks that are known to operate in Kenya realised intelligence opera-tives were infiltrating them, they dis-banded or suspended their network

structures thus giving room for ex-ternal coordination and command.

For these reasons, the govern-ment needs to keep on reviewing and changing its strategy because the same old tactics cannot be ap-plied on terror networks. When deal-ing with a network, one can employ the approach of slaying the ser-pent—you cut off its head and the entire serpent is destroyed. But when dealing with “lone wolves” or “sleep-ers” under the command of interna-tional networks, a more diplomatic approach is required to detect and weed out the numerous lone wolves operating out there. And this is where the government needs a secu-rity strategy that constructively en-gages civilian institutions and indi-viduals.

The government should take seri-ously the approach prescribed by the UN Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001 which emphasises stronger national efforts, as well as bilateral and regional cooperation, to deny safe haven to terrorists through in-formation sharing.

—The writer is the Deputy Secretary General of Supkem

Youth radicalisation: Detectives probing reasons why well educated young women would travel to

name studied here and was admitted to Burhani Secondary School on February 2, 2005 after leaving Tahd-hib Muslim Primary School in Ma-lindi.

Kasili said the records indicate Maryam was admitted as the 19th student at the school that had just been launched, adding that Maryam was Index number 1 and scored grade B at KCSE in 2008. She went to study commerce at the university.

Khadija, whose father has been identified as Shebe, was born in Ma-lindi on May 22, 1994 and studied at Tawheed Secondary School in Ma-lindi after graduating from Tahdhib Muslim Primary School in the same town in 2012.

Extremist tendenciesUmmul Khayr from Zanzibar

studies medicine at International University of Africa in Khartoum, ac-cording to state documents and Sa-dir Abdalla Said, who turned up at the Mombasa Law Courts identifying himself as her father.

Khadija’s and Mayram’s relatives stringently denied their daughters and kin had shown any extremist tendencies and swore that they had never heard of or seen Ummul Khayr before the El Wak arrests.

When we traced Abdul Wahid, the deputy principal of Tawheed Sec-ondary School, he disclosed that he knew Khadija for many years having

What would compel three well-educated, young women to join a terrorist group in a lawless country?

This is the question detectives in-vestigating Malindi born Khadija Abubakar Abdulkadir, Maryam Said Aboud and Zanzibari Ummul Khayr Sadir Abdalla are trying to answer.

The official story since their ar-rest in El Wak by Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) on March 27 is that they were travelling to Somalia to join Al Shabaab and become “jihadi brides and suicide bombers,” ac-cording to Mombasa County Com-missioner Nelson Marwa. The three met in Thika and set off on their journey to Somalia.

The Standard on Sunday estab-lished that on Friday, Khadija and Maryam, who are being held in sep-arate police stations in Mombasa, were ferried to their houses in Ma-lindi by detectives searching for clues and motivations but, said an investigator, “we never found any-thing of evidential value in their houses”.

Surprised kinLack of clues could complicate an

already complex transnational in-vestigation police say will extend to Zanzibar and Sudan where Ummul Khayr hails and Uganda where some suspects are alleged to have visited between 2005 and 2009.

We established that 25 detectives descended on the two homes in search of clues after confiscating the three women’s cellphones and lap-top computers. On Monday last week, one of the women whispered to a relative at the Mombasa Law Courts to “go and delete that num-ber”, raising suspicion that she was trying to pressure kinsmen to delete any evidence linking her to contacts in Somalia and Al Shabaab.

Due to barriers associated with culture and history, journalists and detectives often find it difficult to get details among closed families and which appear to have adopted a cul-ture of systematic concealment of certain facts. Many relatives believe their kin have been framed although we established that one family has been under terrorist watch for years because a close relative is a fugitive in Somalia who might have linked the three women to a Mr Abdulla Zu-beir, the contact police say was to

pick the women from Mandera and deliver them in Somalia.

“We are all surprised by these al-legations,” is the standard answer relatives and friends declare to who-ever seeks answers about the three women’s past lives in high school in Malindi, Zanzibar and later in Sudan for the Zanzibari who, reports indi-cate, was the mastermind of the al-leged jihadi mission after recruiting the Kenyans on the internet.

The Standard on Sunday has pieced together information about the three women, showing they be-gan their unsuccessful journey to So-malia on March 25 from Eastleigh in Nairobi after meeting in Thika where they congregated after travelling separately from Sudan and Malindi.

For unexplained reasons, the women, abruptly, changed travel plans to March 25 and not March 24.

We established that Khadija and Maryam schooled together at Tahd-hib Muslim Primary School in Ma-lindi before joining separate schools.

Maryam, whose father died years ago, was born on December 4, 1990 in Shela, Malindi, according to gov-ernment records. She studied at Burhani Secondary School in Malin-di until 2005 then joined Kenyatta University (Mombasa Campus) in 2009.

School principal Luka Kasili told The Standard last week there are re-cords to show that a student by that

Somalia to join terror group and become suicide bombers and who could be behind their radicalisation

y B BY STANDARD TEAM

WAR ON TERRORON ON TERROR WAR ON TERRORON ON TERROR

Hassan Ole Naado

She was very social and happy student who loved sports and debate and never displayed any sense of grievance — Abdul Wahid, Khadija’s former teacher

Kenya National Congress party

leader: “The attack has brought great pain and loss, after a period of relative calm. The work of improving our security is not over.” Peter Kenneth Wilson Sossion Njenga Miiri Omar El – Bashir Dr Dlamini Zuma Nathi Jamah

Former President: “Kenyans deserve

to be told the truth about their security. Incidences of terror and insecurity have made their existence to be fi lled with fear.”Daniel arap Moi

John Mruttu Robert Godec Francis Kaparo

Suspected jihadi brides Ummul Khayr, Maryam Said and Khadijah Abubakar at the Mombasa Court on Monday. The three were arrested at Elwak in Mandera County on suspicion they were headed to Somalia to join the Al-Shabaab. [PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD] Bodies of terrorists killed at the Garissa University are taken round the

town for residents to identify them. [PHOTO: MBUGUA KIBERA/STANDARD]


Let us sit together

and talk. The government should tactically remove soldiers out of Somalia for our own national good.

The Jubilee government has

failed Kenyans. We wonder who they are leading if they cannot secure the country.”

Our main aim is to guard our

borders. If Uhuru will not recall our soldiers, we will remove him so we can bring back our soldiers.

Let us have national dialogue

on the security situation in the country and seek a way out.

We realise how serious a threat

to our society these people represent and we will step up e� orts to remove them and the evil they preach.

Tragedy: Some remains of those killed in the terror attack are so badly burnt that they cannot be recognised


Grief as relatives identify bodiesEmotions ran high at Chiromo mortu-

ary in Nairobi yesterday, when relatives and friends identified bodies of loved ones killed by terrorists at the Garissa University College on Thursday.

Counsellors were overwhelmed by the number of people who needed their ser-vices. Medical staff also had a tough time helping those who collapsed after view-ing the bodies.

Members of Parliament Emmanuel Wangwe (Navokholo), Joseph Manje (Ka-jiado North) and Samuel Moroto (Kapen-guria) were among those who visited the mortuary to console families of the vic-tims.

One man ,after failing to trace his brother at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and the disaster operation centre at Nyayo Stadium, breached procedure at the morgue by storming in, ignoring the queue at the entrance.

When security officers tried to make him join the queue, they were shouted down by mourners who demanded that the man be allowed to enter the morgue and look for his brother. He later came out wailing uncontrollably; his brother was among the dead.

Samuel Kamar from West Pokot Coun-ty was unable to find his younger brother. He had also visited KNH and the centre at Nyayo Stadium to no avail.

Message from brother“I received a message from my broth-

er, Philemon, on Thursday at 5.30 am, in-forming me that the Al-Shabaab had at-tacked the campus. I saw the message at 7am but when I tried to call him, his phone was off,” Kamar said.

On Friday, Kamar travelled to Garissa University College to search for Philemon but could not trace him.

“I asked his roommate who survived the attack about my brother’s where-abouts, but he told me he did not know where he was,” said a distraught Kamar.

He said he would not rest until he finds his relative, dead or alive.

Also missing was Alex Mwiiri, a sec-ond year student who sent his mother a text message when the attack started.

The message written in Kiswahili and English read, “Mum, aki tumeshikwa na Al shabab (Mum, we have been attacked by the Al Shabaab). Just pray for me... I love you all very much... You are every-thing in my life.”

When The Standard on Sunday caught up with Mwiiri’s uncle, Laban Nga’ng’a, at the morgue, he said the 21-year-old student could not be reached via phone, nor was his body one of those at the mor-tuary.

“His parents are casual labourers whose great hope is that their child will support them after completing his stud-ies. They are very worried about their on-ly son,” said Ng’ang’a.

Eliud Namisi from Bungoma travelled to Garissa to look for his nephew after failing to find him at KNH.

“I have not slept for three days and I will not sleep until I find him,” he said.

Unfortunately, Namisi later found his

y B BRIGID CHEMWENO

y B JECKONIA OTIENO

nephew’s mutilated body at the mortu-ary.

A source at the morgue said some families could not identify their loved ones because some bodies were burned beyond recognition.

“There are 16 mutilated bodies that have also been burnt beyond recognition. We will need to use other methods to identify them,” he said.

One family identified their son, whose body was partly mutilated and burnt, through his national identity card, which he had carried in his pocket.

Addressing the mourners, the Kajia-do North MP called on Kenyans to re-main united, terming terrorism as a global war that should not divide the country along religious lines.

“This country has lost young and dy-namic people. This act is inhuman and we should not allow something like this to happen in our country again,” Manje said.

He advised against recommenda-tions to erect a security wall on the So-malia border to enhance security in the wake of increased terror attacks, saying the plan was not viable.

Ancient styles“Walls were used in ancient times

but they are no longer viable. Let us put in place the measures used internation-ally and treat intelligence more profes-sionally to avoid further loss of lives,” said the MP.

He said that withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia would not stem the attacks. He said Kenya cannot be stable if Somalia is unstable, adding that the Kenya Defence Forces would not remain in Somalia forever. Mr Wan-gwe urged Kenyans to remain calm, but unite against terrorists. “We should not be cowed as a country by our enemies,” he said.

Mr Moroto, who is also a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Se-curity, said the country had been ne-glecting its intelligence.

“Americans used our intelligence to warn their people yet we are neglecting our own,” he said.

Moroto challenged the Government to improve its response to terror at-tacks.

By yesterday, the number of deaths remained at 147 and the casualties at 78 (50 male, 25 female and three policemen). There was no airlifting of bodies from Garissa as all had been transported to Nairobi by April 3.

At noon, the 552 student survivors left Garissa in 12 buses, headed for Nairobi and other counties. The Government set-up an information centre at the Nyayo National Stadium to o� er support to relatives and friends. At around 10am, a female student survivor was found alive at the Garissa University College and transferred to Garissa Provincial Hospital.

Kenya Red Cross continued to provide tracing and psychosocial support at Chiromo Mortuary and Kenyatta National Hospital, with 192 receiving psychological fi rst aid.

Some 48 bodies were positively identifi ed at Chiromo. O� cials say 114 bodies were photographed for identifi cation.

Kenya Red Cross has set up a material donation desk to receive and distribute donations to victims’ families.

Situation overview

Overwhelmed by emotions, this woman fainted after she Identi-fi ed the body of her relative at Chiromo Mortu-ary, Nairobi. BELOW: Godfrey Gitau. [PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE/STANDARD]

I’ve been to Garissa and back but can’t find my daughter“Had I known, I would have taken her

to Moi University’s Main Campus in El-doret, or any other.”

These were the words of Godfrey Gi-tau, the father of Bilha Njoki, a second year Business Management student at Garissa University College.

Gitau has been to Garissa and back but has not traced his third-born daugh-ter since Thursday’s attack .

He left Kikuyu in Kiambu County ear-ly Friday and headed to Garissa with the hope of finding his daughter alive. But he could not access the university, nor could he access the military camp, where the students were being sheltered. “I had no option but to come back to Nairobi. Luckily, I got a ride on a plane that had brought supplies to Garissa,” says Gitau.

Gitau has no idea whether his daugh-ter is alive or dead because there is no communication and her body is not among those that were brought to Chiro-mo Mortuary. At the Nyayo National Sta-dium in Nairobi, Gitau is one of hun-dreds of relatives waiting for news — any news – from the Government over the fate of their children.

Gitau regrets allowing his daughter to return to the campus after the December festivities. “Njoki told me me that they would be in Garissa until September so that they cover what they had missed last year during the period of insecurity. After this, they would join the third year of their studies,” he recalls.

Njoki studied at Karai Day Secondary School in Kikuyu before joining the uni-versity. The message from Gitau is clear: If his daughter is found alive, he will nev-er let her return to Garissa.

Also waiting is Jacob Mibei, a driver at a Nairobi firm. His third-born son’s phone had been ringing but has not been answered since Thursday.

“A Kenya Defence Forces officer, a friend, called me on the day of the attack and told me my son was among the first casualties. But I am yet to trace the body

and I believe he could be alive,” says Mibei, who hails from Turbo.

Mibei says it took a whole village to raise funds to send 22-year-old Gideon

Kirui to university to pursue an Educa-tion degree. He says he has never

been to Garissa and that his son found his own way to the cam-

pus.Gitau and Mibei back the

withdrawal of Kenyan forces from Somalia. “There is no way you can protect some-body else’s house yet your own is burning,” says Gi-tau.

They also urge the Gov-ernment to employ retired

officers to guard learning in-stitutions.

Raila Odinga Johnstone Muthama Hassan Omar Salim Mvurya Phylis Kandie

NATIONAL NEWS / Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

Let us keep praying for a

solution to be found soon for everyone to live peacefully. Let us hope the government will handle the crisis.

I call upon the international

community to help solve this problem because the challenge of terrorism has taken a global dimension.

I condemn the incident, it is

unfortunate that we have lost young and innocent souls in the hands of terrorists in the senseless attack.

In union with all people of good

will throughout the world, we condemns this act of senseless brutality and pray for change.


I cheated death by hiding inside a wardrobeAfter spending two and a half

days holed up in a drawer, hiding from merchants of death, a third year Garissa University student was yesterday rescued from the same dormitory where 142 of her colleagues were killed on Thurs-day morning.

Traumatised and trembling from the mental and emotional torture she endured for more than 50 hours, Cynthia Jerotich, 19, asked for water when she was res-cued by security officers as four bodies of the terrorists responsi-ble for the murder were displayed at Garissa Primary School for the public to help in identifying them.

Looking distraught and weak, Jerotich narrated how she sur-vived on body lotion since there was nothing to eat.

“I was frightened by any slight movement. I thank God I am alive,” she said.

She was the second-last per-son to be found inside the ill-fat-ed hostel after a suspect was ar-rested by security officers on Friday afternoon.

Narrating her ordeal to The Standard on Sunday at the Garis-sa Hospital where she was taken for treatment, the shocked stu-dent said she had woken up at around 4am on Thursday morn-ing to revise for exams but about an hour later, she was distracted by the sound of heavy gunfire

coming from the direction of the university gate.

“I was with my colleagues when we heard heavy gunfire and decided to check what was going on but we didn’t see anything. As the sound of gunfire intensified, we ran towards the hostel and I got into my room,” she said.

As the gunshots continued getting closer, some of her col-leagues hid under the bed where she joined them.

“They spoke in fluent Swahili and shouted that we move out. One said those who were under the bed should come out too. I was shocked. I knew they would get me when they came to check. It is God who directed me to the wardrobe otherwise I could be dead by now,” she said.

With her head stooping low in reflection, she murmured: “I think none of my friends who were under the bed survived.”

Cynthia Jerotich at Garissa Hospital yesterday after she was rescued from the dormitory. [PHOTO: MBUGUA KIBERA/STANDARD]

y B KIBIWOT KOROS robe,” she recalled. The gun shots stopped suddenly and when she thought it was over, the attackers broke into her room and pulled out two female students who were hiding under the bed.

They asked them to surrender their handbags and lessos (shawls) and assured them that they were safe. “Msiogope, Msijali kwa sababu tumepata nyinyi (Do not fear, do not worry because we have found you.)” They were then pushed outside. Cherotich does not know what happened to them.

“I found a tube of body lotion. Unajua lotion (do you know lo-tion)? That is what I drank. It was full and I was so hungry and de-hydrated,” she said.

Her mother, who had been searching for her for 24 hours since arriving in Garissa, was so emotional and could not even speak to journalists. She thanked God for saving her daughter.

It took one of the lecturers to convince her to come out of her hiding place as she could not trust anyone.

Jerotich was airlifted to Nairo-bi later in the afternoon.

Outside Garissa Primary School, the four bodies with bul-let wounds were dsiplayed to the public for identification.

Garissa CID boss Musa Yego said normalcy had returned but warned residents against habour-ing criminals.

Quick thinking made her re-move clothes inside the wardrobe which she used to cover herself and then placed tissue papers on top to fool the terrorists into be-lieving there was nobody inside it.

She said the attackers called all those who were inside the hos-tel to go out and started separat-ing Muslims from non-Muslims. The non-Muslims were asked to stand aside while the latter were asked to lie down.

Big shock“I was in great shock and fear.

I listened for long hours to try and establish their movements as I heard them repeatedly telling the Muslims to move to one side while non-Muslims were asked to go to the other,” she recalled.

She also recalled some female students pleading their allegiance to Islam but they were told to move aside and be questioned later. This was followed by heavy gun shots and she was sure her colleagues who were not Muslims were being killed.

Security officers at the scene said most of the victims had bul-let wounds on the back of their heads, a statement also corrobo-rated by humanitarian aid work-ers who were collecting the bod-ies.

She said the gun shots were so powerful that some bullets man-aged to get into her room. “But none hit me or close to the ward-

John Cardinal Njue Archbishop Wabukala Bishop Obanyi Pope Francis

It is regrettable the young

Kenyans have had to die that way. The threat of terror remains real and I urge the state to seek solutions.

Rev Samuel Mark


y B STANDARD REPORTER

US President Barack Obama will visit Kenya in July even in the wake of a terrorist attack at Garissa University College that left over 150 dead.

In a statement from the White House, the US Presi-dent said he will convey a special message to Kenyans during his visit.

“The future of Kenyans will not be defined by vio-lence and terror; it will be shaped by young people like those at Garissa University College - by their talents, their hopes and their achieve-ments. This is a message I will relay to the Kenyan people when I visit Kenya in July,” he said.

Obama will be making his first trip to his father’s home-land as president to attend the 2015 Global Entrepre-neurship Summit, an annual conference that connects en-trepreneurs with business leaders, international organ-isations and governments.

Yesterday, Obama said Kenyans should know they have an unwavering friend and ally in the US. He said

First Lady Michelle and the American people were horri-fied and saddened at the re-ports from Garissa.

“Words cannot adequate-ly condemn the terrorist atrocities that took place at Garissa University College, where innocent men and women were brazenly and brutally massacred. We join the world in mourning them, many of whom were students pursuing an education for a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” he said.

Obama further said the students represented a brighter future for a region that has seen too much vio-lence for far too long. “We al-so commend the heroism of the responders who lost their lives in the selfless protection of the students and faculty,” he added.

He expressed confidence that even with the terror, Kenyans are still determined to achieve a better and more secure country.

“We will stand hand-in-hand with the Kenyan Gov-ernment and people against the scourge of terrorism and in their efforts to bring com-munities together,” he said.

Obama reaffirms Kenya visity B STEPHEN MAKABILA

NEP’s education now uncertainThe future of education in the

three counties of the former North Eastern Province (NEP) - Garissa, Wajir and Mandera remains uncer-tain after the terror attack on Garis-sa University College (GUC), fol-lowed by its indefinite closure.

Primary and Secondary School education in the region, especially Mandera and Garissa counties, have suffered following terror attacks. And there are now calls to have the Garissa Teachers Training College (TTC) not to be re-opened in May. The institution hosts many trainee teachers from other parts of Kenya.

More than 1,089 teachers who do not hail from northern Kenya have already declined to go back to the region since January, citing insecu-rity and harassment from locals. Yesterday, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion again asked teachers working in NEP to leave if they feel unsafe.

Those who had refused to go back have demanded to be trans-ferred to safer places and since moved to court seeking to bar their employer Teacher Service Commis-sion (TSC) from sacking them, as threatened, for their failure to re-port back to work. Following the at-tack on the university college, Edu-cation CS Jacob Kaimenyi, while addressing survivors in Garissa, said the college was closed indefinitely

after wide consultations and that all the surviving students would transfer to Moi University’s main campus so that their learning calendar is not disrupted. The question, therefore, is whether the insti-tution will ever be re-opened and if not, whether NEP will ever have such an insti-tution of higher learning in coming years?

The Universities Academic Staff Union (Uasu) says it will not expect all its 85 members, who were lecturers at the university, to go back even if its re-opened. “Our counsel as Uasu is that the Government should close that university college permanently.

They have relocated students but we also want lecturers relocated on security grounds,” the National Chairman Sammy Kubasu told The Standard on Sunday. He said surviving students and even lectur-ers plus members of the non-teaching

North Eastern teachers match in Nairobi last month. They declined to return to their work stations over insecurity.

staff should also be offered psychologi-cal counselling to withstand the trauma. Before making the about-turn, Uasu had earlier only called on the Government to restore security in the region. And just like Uasu, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has asked the Govern-ment to permanently close down GUC and all surviving students to be trans-ferred to other universities in safer parts of the country to pursue their future.

Knut also wants the Government to turn the university college into a securi-ty installation and maybe hand it over to the police for purposes of their own training. According to Knut, the Garrissa TTC survived the attack because it had closed a day earlier and therefore the Government should not reopen the in-stitution come May.

They also want the TTC handed over to the military and transfer all students in the college. Sossion has urged the Government to set up a recovery strate-gy for learners and tutors working in the area.

Knut’s firm stand against teachers going back to Mandera has been sup-ported by the Kenya Union of Post-Pri-mary Education, whose national chair-man Omboko Milemba has been on the fore-front of maintaining unless securi-ty is restored in the region.

The union leadership has since Jan-uary remained adamant, despite accu-sations on incitement by some elected leaders from northern Kenya such as Mandera County Senator Billow Kerrow and National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale.

WAR ON TERROR

NEP’s education now uncertainON ON TERROR

Exhibition stands will be donated for free by the county government of Nandi on a

first come first served basis.

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBICOLLEGE OF BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES

SPECIAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS FOR SECOND YEAR

2014/2015 ACADEMIC YEAR

This is to notify all second year students of the May 2013 intake from School of Biological Sciences, School of Computing & Informatics, School of Mathematics, School of Physical Sciences and Kenya Science Campus, scheduled to do the Special/Supplementary examination for 2014/2015 academic year, that the examinations will be done from APRIL 13th to APRIL 24th 2015.

Kindly note that it is only after registering that you shall be allowed to do exams. Ensure that all your fees are fully paid and come along with your fee statement printout as evidence of payment.

For Module II students other than full fee payment ensure that supplementary examination fee is paid which is Kshs. 1000 per unit.

ACADEMIC REGISTRAR


y B ROSELYNE OBALA

President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses the nation from State House yesterday. With him is his deputy, William Ruto. [PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE/STANDARD]

Uhuru vows tough action on terroristsThe Government will pursue and ap-

prehend planners and financiers of ter-rorism, and ensure they face the full force of the law, President Uhuru Ken-yatta has vowed.

Addressing the nation from State House yesterday, the President also de-clared three days of national mourning following the Garissa University College massacre, which claimed 152 lives. He said the national flag would fly at half mast during that period.

The tough-talking President assured Kenyans that his government was work-ing on the matter, with security officers having killed four terrorists, arrested five and pursuing their accomplices.

“What else but corruption of the worst and most criminal kind is it for Kenyans to finance, hide and recruit on behalf of Al Shabaab? There is no form of legal penalty, social shaming and Godly condemnation that they do not deserve to the fullest extent,” he said.

The President warned that the Gov-ernment would not be deterred by the at-tacks, and would continue to secure the country from within and from across the borders in Somalia.

“It is a fact that our task of coun-tering terrorism has been made all the more difficult by the fact that the plan-ners and financiers of this brutality are deeply embedded in our communities,” he acknowledged.

Greater intensity“We will not allow them to continue

with their lives as normal. The full force of the law will be meted upon them with even greater intensity than has been the case in previous years.”

The President called for tolerance among leaders and challenged Kenyans to provide information on terror.

“I believe that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, tenets which the vast majority of Muslims uphold. Howev-er, the time has come for us to be honest with ourselves and each other,” he chal-lenged Kenyans.

“Radicalisation that breeds terrorism is not conducted in the bush at night. It occurs in the full glare of day, in madras-sas, in homes and in mosques with rogue Imams.

“We must ask where are the religious

leaders, the community leadership, and the par-ents and families of those who are radicalising our young people? The Government must get the infor-mation and cooperation of all these parties if we are to effectively combat the terrorists.”

The Head of State said he had held continuous deliberations to come up with a robust framework dealing with terror.

He confirmed that the Government would as-

sist the families of the victims and appealed to the surviving students to remain resolved to complete their studies.

“In doing so, you will demonstrate to your-selves, and to the world, that terror and evil can never prevail over the hard work and resilience that characterises the Kenyan spirit,” encouraged the President.

He also sought to reassure Kenyan Somalis: “It

is unfortunate that a false narrative is being prop-agated that Kenyan Somalis and Muslims are vic-tims of marginalisation and oppression by the rest of Kenya. They enjoy the full rights, privileges and duties of every Kenyan. A large amount of extra fi-nancial resources and services are being provid-ed, and Kenyan Somalis and Muslims form a vi-tal part of our national economic and political life. We are one.”

What else but corruption of the worst and most criminal kind is it for Kenyans to fi nance, hide and recruit on behalf of Al Shabaab?” — President Uhuru Kenyatta



y B OSCAR OBONYO

Students from Garrissa University are received at the Nyayo National Sta-dium by their relatives on arrival in Nairobi yester-day evening. [PHOTO: BEVERLYNE MUSILI/STANDARD]

Did authorities act on intelligence

briefs?While presiding over a public

function at Nairobi’s Windsor Hotel last Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta was asked to comment on United Kingdom’s travel advisories. He casually dismissed the travel warnings and hit out at the British Government for scaremongering.

“We want to send a clear message that they will not intimidate us with these threats,” the Command-er-In-Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), told his audience – a group of Kenyans living in the Dias-pora.

But a sobering reality followed the next day. Kenya, and indeed the whole world, woke up to shocking news that nearly 200 people, most of students at Garissa University Col-lege, had been killed in cold blood by Al Shabaab terrorists.

details of the security threat before-hand or whether he was simply be-ing cautious and reassuring follow-ing a series of terror attacks.

Intelligence reports with regard to terrorism have generally generat-ed a lot of interest. An alert on im-pending attack at a public universi-ty, for instance, had been circulating in social media for nearly two months.

This is probably what persuaded some institutions of higher learn-ing, including the University of Nai-robi, Kenyatta University and Unit-ed States International University (USIU), to issue a security alert to their students. And from northern Kenya, a female student at Garissa Teachers Training College told Reu-ters news agency that there had been warnings that an attack in the town was imminent.

“Some strangers had been spot-ted in Garissa town and were sus-pected to be terrorists,” she said. “Then on Monday, our college prin-cipal told us that strangers had been spotted in our college. On Tuesday, we were released to go home, and our college closed, but the campus remained in session, and then we were attacked.”

Indeed, the issue of the flow of intelligence reports has previously generated heated debate, particu-larly between the National Intelli-gence Service (NIS) and the execut-ing agencies, like the Police.

It is this kind of friction that part-ly formed enactment of a new set of security laws. The security bill, which was passed into law under

Early warnings: Questions abound on whether the police take action on terror warnings from foreign

Nearly three weeks ago, the UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond accused Kenya of not acting on intel-ligence information, thereby making it difficult to review security warn-ings. The UK Foreign and Common-wealth Office affirmed their updated advisory was a routine review based on “our objective assessment of the security position, an assessment shared with the Kenyan authorities.”

By virtue of his position as C-I-C, President Kenyatta is the destined primary and chief consumer of all intelligence reports. In issuing travel advisories, the David Cameron ad-ministration warned its nationals against visiting the Coast strip along the Indian Ocean and parts of north-ern Kenya near the border with So-malia.

Questions abound as to whether the President was aptly briefed on

chaotic circumstances in Parliament last November, sought among other things, to direct NIS to give more specific reports “that are actionable”.

“The most important thing for in-telligence to work is that information has to be intelligently collected, col-lated and analysed before it is shared. However, information must be actionable – you cannot, for in-stance, tell me to look for a needle in the ocean,” said Army Colonel (Rtd) Benjamin Muema.

The new law also sets a new Na-tional Counter Terrorism Centre that will coordinate response to terror at-tacks across the country.

“This law gives our security actors a firm institutional framework for coherent cooperation and synergy within the National Counter Terror-ism Centre. This synergy is cascaded from the highest to the lowest level through the national government se-curity structures,” said the President.

The new laws also lengthen the amount of time terror suspects can be detained, and impose harsh pun-ishments on media outlets, as well as individuals using social media, for distributing material deemed harm-ful to national security.

Centralised systemOfficers from the NIS can now ar-

rest suspected terrorists but they have to do it with a High Court order and hand over suspects to police im-mediately. Whether the security per-sonnel maximised on the new laws to confront the attack in Garissa re-mains a matter of debate.

“To some degree the new rules were utilised. However, I doubt that there was a centralised system with one command center in the Garissa operations. And this is not empty criticism at our soldiers but rather constructive engagement,” says Col Muema.

He says the police and military should take advantage of the new rules to synchronise their energies. If such was the situation, he says the fatalities in Garissa would have been minimised.

But Muema is not entirely cor-rect. At least Interior Cabinet Secre-tary Joseph Nkaissery succeeded to centralise and control the flow of in-formation. Journalists were denied access to the scene of crime and un-like the Westgate Mall attack in Sep-tember 2013, Kenyans, and indeed the world, monitored the happen-ings in Garissa through the prism of Mr Nkaissery.

INSIDE TODAY Fate of Eacc hangs by thread as daggers drawn over list of shameReview, P.22

Kenyans have been urged to preach peace and reconciliation as the country comes to term with the loss of 152 people following the Garissa University terror attack. Catholic Diocese of Eldoret Bishop Cornelius Korir stressed the need for all Kenyans to unite. “I urge every Christian to pray for peace in regions experiencing insecurity,” he said. Korir spoke on Friday at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Eldoret. He said all Muslim leaders should help the government solve insecurity puzzle in northern Kenya. “We are all Kenyans and should be at the forefront in fi ghting terrorism. All religious leaders must be at the fore front in fi ghting the vice,” he said.

NARC Kenya chairperson Martha Karua has condemned the killing of Garissa University College students, and linked the crime to graft. Speaking at the party’s o� ces in Nairobi, yesterday, Karua also blamed the government for laxity. “Despite numerous government assurances that the security of Kenyans is guaranteed and dismissing warnings from friendly governments, we were caught by surprise barely a day after,” said Karua in reference to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s dismissal of travel advisories while addressing the Diaspora conference on Wednesday. She said there was a direct link between corruption, insecurity and patriotism, adding that there was no way the government could have been caught unawares. She said NARC-Kenya believes the arms used in these attacks pass through borders and roadblocks manned by security o� cers while terrorists live among Kenyans who do not report them due to lack of patriotism.

Let us help State fi ght rising insecurity, bishop urges

Karua links killing of 152 Kenyans to corruptiom

Briefl y


COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS

CONDOLENCES MESSAGEThe Council of Governors expresses our sincere condolences to the families of the 147 victims of the terrorist attack on Moi University Garissa in Garissa County. Our thoughts are with them at this very trying moment of their lives.

Our prayers are also with those who are seriously wounded and who are fighting for their lives. We pray earnestly to God that they are healed. We condemn this heinous and cowardly act and urge the National Government to ensure that these perpetrators are brought to book. As County Governments, we wish to reiterate our commitment to support in ensuring Security is maintained if called upon to do so.

We specifically ask the New Cabinet Secretary for Interior Coordination to call an urgent meeting with The Council to seek ways and means of addressing this since County Governments are the first line of response to the civilians.

H.E HON. ISAAC K. RUTTO (EGH)CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF GOVERNORS


y B KIBIWOTT KOROSS

The day before terrorists stormed the Garissa University College, there had been celebrations at the institution. The college had just unveiled a new bus, bringing ex-citement among students, who jostled to take a maiden ride in it to Garissa town.

The strong ones got in, others just posed for photos near or against the bus, hoping to get a ride next time. Most of those who got in were senior students.

“They told us we still had four years to use the bus. We gave them the opportunity,” said David Mbugua, a first year stu-dent from Murang’a.

Students sang and chanted happily as the bus made rounds in town. They were happy with their new acquisition, with some saying it would make other institu-tions like the nearby Garissa Teachers Col-lege green with envy.

“Everyone was happy as the driver made several trips to town to celebrate the arrival of the new bus,” says Mbugua.

Having been a busy day, says Fredrick Mwithatine, who works in the college, some of the students were exhausted and were deep asleep when the terrorists struck.

“I lost a lot of friends. They were my cus-tomers too. It is painful,” said Mwithatine, who also operates a kiosk outside the uni-versity’s gate.

Mbugua spoke to The Standard on Sun-day on Friday while awaiting a National Youth Service (NYS) bus that was to ferry survivors of the deadly attack to Nairobi.

Awoken by the gunshots, Mbugua joined a group of his colleagues who escaped by running and crawling through a fence to the safety of a nearby house.

He was happy to be alive, but also very sad that he lost many friends in the attack. “I am told Mwende died. I was with her when jostling to get into the bus. When we couldn’t, we decided to try our luck anoth-er day. She was from Mwingi and her phone was off from Thursday evening,” said the first year Education student.

Tom Mwanzia said students were in high spirit and most of them went to bed early following the day’s celebrations.

Mwanzia, a second year student, said he

Celebrations for new bus cut short by terrorTired but happy: Many students slept tired as the day before attack they had been busy, enjoying ride around town

did chose not to attend the morning prayers so he could do some washing.

“When I came out of the hostel, I heard gun-shots at the main gate. There had been mur-murs that terrorists were planning to hit some parts of the town. But these rumours had been peddled around so much they were no longer

a threat. But this time, it was real,” he told The Standard on Sunday.

Mwanzia rushed back inside immediately, shouting that the university was under attack. He took off towards the southern part of the college, where some 23 other students who had been woken up by the gunshots ran to, jump-

ing over the fence and disappearing into near-by villages. “Some were in their underwear while some ladies were barely dressed. They were given clothes by the locals,” said Mwan-zia.

All students who ran in this direction sur-vived.

y B KIBIWOTT KOROSSMore than 500 students

and staff of Garissa Universi-ty College yesterday left for Nairobi following the closure of the institution.

The students were ferried to the capital in 10 National Youth Service buses, a university bus and another from a neighbouring teachers college.

The 12 buses were flagged off by Garissa Governor Nathif Jama.

Many students vowed never to return to Garissa. “Bye bye Garissa,” they chanted as they got into the buses. “We came here to learn but we have lost many of our colleagues. It is only by God’s grace that we are alive,” said Joram Kipchum-ba, a third year education student. Some of the

students said they had not talked to their parents since the attack occurred and hoped they would meet them in Nairobi.

A student told The Standard on Sunday locals had let them down by hoarding the terrorists.

“The terrorists seemed to know the place so well. How did they manage to move all over the place locating where most students were?” posed one of the male students as the convoy exited the barracks. Although they spent two nights in the open, the students said they were glad to be alive and well.

Two Administration Police vehicles escorted the buses. The students were not allowed to pick their bags following reports that the terrorists could have left bombs behind.

Survivors ferried to Nairobi under tight security

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ODM leader Raila Odinga (right) and Senator Moses Wetang’ula at the funeral of Ms Lilian Koli, sis-ter to Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka (center) in Kwale, yesterday. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD]

You have failed the country, CORD tells Uhuru over deaths

CORD has criticised the Jubilee government over its alleged inabili-ty to secure Kenya and tame runaway corruption.

Coalition principals Raila Odin-ga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to own up because he had failed in his cardinal responsibility of protecting Kenyans.

Speaking in Kwale yesterday during the burial of Kalonzo’s sis-ter Lilian Koli Mutui, the Opposition leaders also demanded withdrawal of Kenya’s military from Somalia.

Kalonzo said Kenya and Soma-lia’s neighbours should never have deployed soldiers there to fight Al

Shabaab. Raila accused Uhuru of dis-missing Western intelligence preced-ing Thursday’s terrorist attack which Al Shabaab has claimed responsibili-ty. More than 150 people were killed in the dawn attack.

“Let us sit together and talk. Pride will not solve anything when the country is bleeding. The government should tactically remove soldiers out of Somalia for our own nation-al good,” said Raila. He accused the President of chest-thumping when Britain and Australia issued travel advisories days to the Garrissa attack.

“The rain started beating us when we insisted on sending troops to So-malia. This is not a safe country any-more,” said Kalonzo.

Wetang’ula asked the government to cut military budget by 50 per cent so that the police department can be better equipped.

The Bungoma Senator said Uhu-ru should take responsibility for cor-ruption ailing the country because the buck stops with him.

“On matters corruption the buck ends on his desk. If your Cabinet is tainted then you may also be taint-ed,” Wetang’ula argued.

Machakos Senator Johnstone

Muthama and Embakassi MP Irshad Sumra said the Jubilee government had failed Kenyans.

“Jubilee has failed to lead. We won-der who they are leading if they can-not secure the country,” said Mutha-ma. Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar was categorical that KDF should pull out of Somalia and secure Kenyan borders. He added that Jubilee lacks the capacity to lead the nation going by the many attacks witnessed in the recent past.

“Our aim was to guard our board-ers and not go to Somalia,” said Omar.

He said blunders within Jubilee government did not reflect its claims of being a ‘digital’ regime.

On Friday’s order by Uhuru requir-ing 10,000 police recruits enlisted last year to report to Kiganjo for training despite a court order, Omar faulted Raila for supporting the decision, say-ing it would be a recipe for disobedi-ence against courts.

“If you give Uhuru a chance to vio-late a part of the Constitution, he will do it a million times,” he added.

On corruption, Raila said there was no need for those named in the so-called ‘list of shame’ to resign be-cause the credibility of some Jubilee bigwigs is also questionable.

Raila claimed Uhuru and his dep-uty William Ruto doctored the list.

Kwale Senator Boy Juma Boy said though he does not support anyone who made it to the list, any fight on graft should be credible.

List of shame“No one from CORD should step

aside because we know the list was edited according to EACC,” said Boy.

Kwale Governor and vice-chair of the Council of Governors Salim Mvurya said the law was clear on how to remove graft suspects from office without witchhunt.

“On security, let us hold a nation-al dialogue and see a way out,” said Mvurya.

Mama Lillian Koli Mutui who had been battling with cancer since 2009 was born in 1949 to Peter Musyoka and Sarah Malia.

Described as very protective of her only brother Kalonzo, she attended Tseikuru Full Primary school in Kitui County between 1961-1968.

She also delayed school for four years to allow Kalonzo proceed with education. Mutui was married in 1969 to John Mutui whom they stayed to-gether for 46 years after moving to Mombasa in 1976.

Attacks: Opposition accuses President of talking tough when Britain, Australia issued travel advisories days to raid

y B TOBIAS CHANJI

Police in Njoro, Nakuru County, are holding two Egerton University students over a social media post that sought to inform the public of an impending terror attack at the institution.

Njoro OCPD Fredrick Lai said the two were arrested Friday night in their hostels at the university’s main campus. He said police confiscated their mobile phones after they were confirmed to have been used to circulate the message that sparked anxiety at the institution.

Detectives spent the better part of yesterday grilling the students, with the authorities divulging scanty details on the progress of the interrogations headed by senior police officers.

Mr Lai said officers acting on a tip off pounced on the two in their rooms at the Njoro main campus at 11pm, about four hours after they re-posted the message on their whatsupp accounts.

“We are still interrogating them to get to the bottom of the messages. We are treating the messages with a lot of seri-ousness bearing in mind the events that took place in Garissa on Thursday,” he said.

Police said they were still hunting for a man identified as Robert Mungai aka Robert Muhammed Blues who is said to be the originator of the message first posted on the university’s Facebook group.

“Our officers are on the ground fol-lowing crucial leads,” he said.

Lai said police had reports that Mu-hammed had been changing names on his social media accounts. “We are not yet sure whether he (Muhammed) is a stu-dent at Egerton. Reports that he was ex-pelled can only be verified by the school’s relevant department. That is what we are seeking to know next,” he said.

A senior security officer at the insti-tution said the arrested two were second

year students. “We are not joking and if you think we are then wait for us. Garissa is nothing compared to what will hap-pen in Egerton University. Allah is to be worship(sic). We have spies and maps of whole Egerton,” read the message post-ed on a Facebook group called Egerton Campus Life yesterday at about 7.30pm by Robert Muahammed Blues, the man police say is being sought.

By the time of going to press, the post had been pulled down. Yesterday, police officers beefed up security at the institu-tion. Numerous patrol vehicles could be seen around the school throughout the day.

Guards conducted thorough searches at the university’s main gate, while police mounted a roadblock near the campus and checked vehicles.

“We pray that the information be-comes a hoax because most of us stayed awake the whole night yesterday,” said a student who declined to be named.

y B LEONARD KULEI

Varsity students seized over terror texts

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“The government should tactically remove soldiers out of Somalia for our own national good,”-Raila Odinga


UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBISCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS

2ND YEAR STUDENTS 2014/2015 (2011 K.C.S.E.)

This is to inform all 2nd year 2014/2015 (2011 K.C.S.E.) students who are required to sit supplementary examinations that the examinations will be done during the period 13th April, 2015 to 24th April, 2015.

The students are advised to make further clarifications on the same from their respective Chairmen of Departments.

ACADEMIC REGISTRAR


Retired President Daniel arap Moi yester-day called on the Jubilee government to tackle growing insecurity.

Moi said the Government had not provid-ed answers to crucial questions concerning the rising levels of terrorism and insecurity in the country, causing Kenyans to live in fear.

“Kenyans deserve to be told what is hap-pening; incidents of terror and insecurity have made them fearful. They lack the confidence to go about their daily business in their own coun-try,” said the retired president.

Moi condoled with the families of students of Garissa University College after the college was attacked by gunmen last Thursday, lead-ing to 152 deaths.

“Why would someone slaughter and kill such young people? They died for no reason. They were just young people trying to get an education,” he noted.

Moi further called on the Jubilee govern-ment to prioritise security, and said govern-ments ought to be able to provide security to their citizens.

“A government must be able to provide suf-ficient security to its people. Without that, gov-ernance would be pointless,” he said.

Saying the prosperity of a nation goes hand in hand with security, Moi called for a quick solution to insecurity to allow investors of Ken-yan and non-Kenyan origin to go about their business without fear.

“Every aspect of the economy and service provision depend heavily on safety and secu-rity. To improve services to wananchi, the gov-ernment must be able to provide security,” he said.

He also urged the government to ensure that the perpetrators of the Garissa Univeristy Col-lege massacre were brought to book.

The former Head of State spoke at Kapsa-bet High School where he officiated over the school’s thanksgiving and prize giving day.

Also present were Nandi Governor Cleophas Lagat, Uasin Gishu Deputy Governor Daniel Chemnor and MPs Alfred Keter (Nandi-Hills), Julius Melly (Tinderet) and Elijah Lagat (Chesu-mei).

Assure Kenyans of security, says Moi

y B RAEL JELIMO

Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phylis Kandie has urged Ken-yans to stand together, stay united and pray following the Garissa massacre.

Ms Kandie sent her condo-lences to families of the vic-tims of Garissa University Col-lege attack, and said the nation was also grieving the loss of its sons and daughters.

“We stand together as one in condemning the attack on innocent young students studying for a better future. There could be no more sav-age a display of evil than an attack on a university campus filled with our cherished future

generation,” Kandie said.The CS said Kenyans must

stand together unbowed and not allow the terrorists to win. As a government, she said, they realised how serious ter-rorism is a threat to the society.

Serious threat“As individuals and as a

country, we reject such an at-tack on our ideals and our way of life. As a government, we re-alise just how serious a threat to our society these people represent and we will step up the efforts to remove them and the evil that they preach,” she added.

Kandie also applauded all the people who had decided

to carry on with their planned holidays in different parts of Kenya.

“As this Easter weekend is upon us, and while we keep our grieving brothers and sis-ters foremost in our hearts and prayers, we appreciate all who have made the decision to car-ry on with their planned holi-day across the country. These are the very freedoms we are now fighting for,” she added.

The Cabinet Secretary said across Kenya, from Mombasa to the Mara, Kenyans and in-ternational visitors alike were supporting Kenya’s economy by continuing with their Eas-ter plans.

Moi University students have threatened to paralyse learning in their main campus and sat-ellite colleges if the Government does not set up police posts to bolster security in these institu-tions.

The students issued a ten-day ultimatum for the Government to implement the propos-al after a terror attack at the university’s satel-lite campus, Garissa University College, that left

148 people dead.“It did not require us to suffer such a huge

and painful loss to prioritise lasting security measures. It is time for the Government to get practical in securing learning institutions,” said Geoffrey Omondi, the students’ union chairper-son at the Main Campus.

He was speaking when student leaders from the Main Campus, School of Law, town campus-es and School of Health Sciences spoke to the press in Eldoret town yesterday.

Kandie: We mourn but stand fi rm

University students give State ten days to secure campuses

y B BRIGID CHEMWENO

y B MICHAEL OLLINGA

Former President Daniel Moi (left) admires a certifi cate of appreciation presented to him by Kapsa-bet Boys High School during a thanksgiving and prize giving ceremony at the school yesterday. With him are Nandi Governor Cleophas Lagat (centre) and school principal Kipchumba Maiyo. [PHOTO: PE-TER OCHIENG/STANDARD]


UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBICOLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND EXTERNAL STUDIES

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

REPORTING DATES SCHOOL OF EDUCATIONSCHOOL-BASED PROGRAMME

This is to inform all Continuing and New students registered in or joining the School of Education Programmes that the April, 2015 session will commence as follows:

MASTER OF EDUCATION

M.Ed. in Educational Administration & Planning New/Continuing 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Educational Foundations New/Continuing 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education New/Continuing 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Measurement and Evaluation New/Continuing 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Higher Education (M.Ed. Higher Ed.) New 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Business Education New 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in English Education New 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Religious Education New 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Physics Education New 13/4/2015

Master of Education Technology New 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Pedagogy of Physical Education New 13/4/2015

M.Ed. in Physical Educ. & Sport New 13/4/2015

Postgraduate Diploma in Training

(PGD-Training) of Trainers New 13/4/2015

Doctor of Education (Ed.D) New/Continuing 13/4/2015

UNDERGRADUATE

Diploma in Early Childhood Education New/Continuing 13/4/2015

Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood New/Continuing 13/4/2015

Bachelor of Education (Arts) New/Continuing 13/4/2015

Bachelor of Education (Arts)

Enhancement Programme New/Continuing 13/4/2015

Registration will take place on Monday 13/4/2015 and 14/4/2015 from 8.00 a.m. at the Main Campus Coordinating office located at the 8-4-4 building.

All fees due MUST be cleared on the first day.

ACADEMIC REGISTRAR

/ EDITORIAL Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

The world is united in support of President Uhu-ru Kenyatta’s war on corruption. The latest en-dorsement of the President’s drive came from the United States of America, the United King-dom and Switzerland with calls on the govern-ment to follow through on efforts to confront high level graft. The ambassadors of the three

countries, speaking on behalf of their respective govern-ments, noted in a joint statement that the indictment of key suspects in the Anglo Leasing scandal had sent a strong sig-nal in the fight against corruption.

Their sentiments could not have come at a better time as investigations into allegations of graft levelled against senior government officials and elected leaders begin in earnest. There is cautious optimism across the country that the fight against corruption is finally gaining some traction. This became manifestly apparent with the step-ping aside of senior public officers, among them five Cabi-net Secretaries in the last one week.

The President has remained firm that public officers under investigations over corruption allegations must step aside from their respective offices to allow proper probe. He has given the assurance that those found innocent would resume their duties.

And as the investigations continue, we hold the view that the process must be seen to be above board so as to get the public backing it needs to avoid a backlash. The war on corruption can only be won within an environment of good faith and justice for all parties. In their support for the steps taken by the President, the three envoys — US, UK and Switzerland — called for independent and vigor-ous investigations into all reports of corruption. Corrup-tion is a national scourge and for it to be effectively tackled there is need for speedy investigations and conclusion of cases.

In the minds of many Kenyans, the process would fail if there are no convictions and jail terms for culprits. Due process and adherence to the rule of law must underline such convictions and sen-tencing.

There is also the debate over whether elected leaders named in the corruption report should al-

so step aside to allow free and fair investigations.The moral compass would seem to suggest that all

those under investigations should step aside to allow for claims made against them to be investigated. The count-er argument is that elected leaders should only step aside after they have been charged with corruption in a court of law as this assumes a prima facie case has been es-tablished against them. The argument here is that such leaders should be protected from politically motivated charges.

Whereas there is merit in both arguments, State House should not be detracted from pushing forward the agenda of riding public offices of corruption. That is why constitu-tional offices established to tackle graft must be strength-ened and independent commissions such as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission supported to establish a legitimate prosecutorial process free from political in-fluence.

We have made great progress in the war on corruption in so far as debunking the myth of the infallibility of senior public officers. Kenyans would want to see thorough in-vestigations to avoid the shame of suspects escaping con-viction on account of technicalities arising from shoddy investigations.

Political interference for or against the suspects must also be avoided at all costs to give the much needed legiti-macy to the process. That is why the EACC must continue to be seen as independent and its commissioners immune to manipulation of any kind, from any quarter.

Anything short of this, the war on corruption would be lost even before it starts. Let us take this battle to its logical conclusion and convict corrupt senior public officers.

The recent tragedy at Ga-rissa University College has saddened us. The horror, shock and tears are unparalleled in our history. The indiscrimi-nate, gruesome slaugh-

ter of dozens of young, innocent stu-dents was barbaric, and deserving of our utmost condemnation. Our heart goes out to the families, relatives and friends of these Kenyans. I saw the pain and fear on the faces of survivors I met at Garissa airstrip, shocked and traumatised beyond imagination. Equally devastated were residents of Garissa, unable to hide their shock, frustration, helplessness and anger.

As I looked at the frightened, grieving faces of the survivors follow-ing the horrific events of that day, my mind raced on to the coming days that will be disturbing as we ponder whether these terrorists will strike again.

Al-Shabaab is a network of death, a societal Ebola that poses a grave danger to our nation. We are, and have been at war with them ever since we became combatants in So-malia in 2010. They are in our midst too; as the old adage goes, we didn’t notice the barbarians were at the gate until they were through it!

Terrorism is not about religious intolerance by Muslims in Kenya. It is a political ideology that uses reli-gion to divide Kenyans and set our country aflame. President Obama refused to categorise ISIS as ‘Islamic’

The new war on corruption must be above board

terrorists as doing so would grant them ‘religious legitimacy’ and embolden ‘the lie that the West is at war with Islam’. He told the West that ‘we are at war with people who have perverted Islam’. It matters not that they are beheading people in the name of Islam. Some may not share that view but that’s the reality in our situation too.

Others would argue that in our case we have sympathisers — the Kenya Somalis. Nothing could be further from the truth. In every so-ciety, there are criminals abetted and aided by individuals in society.

Christians have paid the price individually with their lives in this bar-baric attacks. The Ken-yan Somalis have paid a collective price of stigmatisation, suspi-

cion, mistrust, condemnation and humiliating police crackdown, and many deaths too.

Their region has suffered eco-nomically; schools have no teach-ers, health centres have shut down, youth cannot access identity cards,

mobility into and out of the area is constrained, residents live in cur-few; in short, it is under an emer-gency rule. Yet, the vast majority are innocent, law abiding Kenyans struggling to make a living like all other Kenyans.

In the past decade, violent ex-tremism has spiked dramatically, from Taliban, to Boko Haram to ISIS and Al-Shabaab. And they are becoming more daring and deadly; the brazen attack on Karachi Inter-national Airport by the Taliban is a livid example.

The US State Department re-cently noted that military solutions to these terrorism has yielded a steady increase in extremist vio-lence. Many analysts share the view that overly militarised approach isn’t working and called for a stra-tegic shift from ‘isolate and kill’ to ‘engage and transform’.

We must invest in intelligence in the Somali community. Getting information from the community is not enough; we must engage and empower local civil society and religious groups to help in derad-icalising the youth in a long term campaign to change attitudes. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We must all act as our brothers’ keepers, and team up as a nation in cohesion, devoid of emotion to face this challenge.

We need a paradigm shift in the fight against the Al-Shabaab

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The Standard is printed and published by the proprietors, The STandard group

Managing Editor: Enoch Wambuaregistered at the the g.p.o as a newspaper.

In every society, there are criminal elements

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The writer is the Mandera Coun-ty Senator.

OPINION / Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

while killing people indiscriminately. Fear is therefore threatening to over-whelm the nation, and especially those who are non-Muslims.

Despair because, the terrorists seem uncontainable. They strike at will and accomplish their mission with a great measure of success. There is despair when the ordinary person be-lieves there is no one to look up to on this matter. Our intelligence and secu-rity services seem hopelessly lost and always playing catch up. We hear many voices of condemnation and see a lot of finger pointing but few messages of hope and even fewer hands of help. Many are, therefore, slowly resigning to their fate in apparent belief that this Al-Shabbab thing is the curse of the na-tion that we must simply adjust to.

While this is but a cursory review of the impact of terror, it paints a dis-turbing picture indeed. It gives the im-pression that the terror groups could be winning the war and achieving their objectives. It is a situation that must not be allowed to persist. No people or army has ever won a battle while gripped with anger, fear or despair.

These emotions have the unnerv-ing tendency to blur the vision, sap en-ergy, and cripple action. When steeped in emotions, critical thinking is imped-ed and wisdom becomes elusive. That

is why we must trust God to help us rise above our otherwise legitimate emo-tions. We must endeavour to think so-berly as we consider how to deal with the fact and reality of global terrorism.

The men and women we are deal-ing with in terrorism are a people who not only find great satisfaction in in-flicting pain, but have themselves giv-en up on life and hence have no diffi-culty undertaking suicidal missions. Therefore, if we are to win this war, we must first and foremost stand strong

and confident, and refuse to be driven to despair — which is the goal of the terrorist. We must stop blame games and finger pointing and work collab-oratively as one people. Various de-partments of governments must work in concert with common purpose and strategy, and with the support of wa-nanchi.

There is particularly serious need for collaborative action between Ken-ya and her international allies. Instead of fighting over such matters as trav-el advisories, let us share intelligence and collective strategies to counter any threats facing the nation. It is clear that terrorists are long term planners. They do not simply wake up one day and hit a target. This means our strategies must be equally long term.

From a church perspective, we need to wake up to the sad reality that there is a new and almost unprece-dented global surge in the persecution of the church. This is especially so in North Africa, Middle East, Pakistan, North Korea, Indonesia, China, and such other nations. Reports from these nations are deeply troubling, well be-yond anything we have experienced in Kenya. Questions definitely abound, but this being the Easter week, we have a unique opportunity to learn from the Master and Founder of the Church.

On that last week of His journey to the cross, when Jesus was confronted with the reality of the murderous ha-tred of His betrayer and accusers, He remained unnervingly calm. Accord-ingly, though Judas had sold his Master for a few pieces of silver, when hit by the love of the man he had betrayed, conviction led Judas to commit sui-cide. On his part, Pilate found himself twiddling in the valley of indecision, struck by the confidence of the man that stood accused before him.

Similarly, the men that finally hang Him upon the cross listened in won-der as the man they had just nailed to the tree prayed for their forgiveness. And as Jesus breathed His last, the sol-diers standing guard involuntarily ac-knowledged, “Surely, this was the Son of God.”

It is this unusual response to dif-ficult moments, and the ultimate tri-umph over evil that makes Jesus the Lord of the universe. His followers must of necessity follow in His foot-steps with the same confident assur-ance — that the gates of Hell cannot triumph against the Church.

ments. Nyet – it’s a reality check. The kind that I might pen to an incorrigible public servant who has forgotten where power comes from – the people. The hoi polloi – and leaders in the West – like to fantasize that North Korea’s “Dear Leader” Kim Jong Un is an errat-ic “madman.” I don’t subscribe to that hogwash fed to the masses. Mr Kim, the “Little Emperor,” is like his father and grandfather be-fore him, a calculating brute.

He might be the mascot of a tyrannical dynasty, but a fool he isn’t. Which brings me to you – what’s your excuse for acting like a graduate of North Korea? The im-mediate impetus for this column is your recent brain-scratching out-burst about Al Shabaab, the rag-tag medieval Somali terror group. Like Mr Kim’s extravagant threats against the US, your Al-Shabaab head-scratcher came from no-where – out of the blue. Let me repeat what you were reported as saying on BBC. You said the Jubilee regime was ready to negotiate with Al-Shabaab if that would stop the terror attacks on Mother Kenya.

Wow – not even your friends could pretend to know you af-ter that comment. They ran as far away from you as possible. I don’t blame them. I’ve never heard any-body – high or low – from Jubilee make such a boneheaded sugges-tion. I support Jubilee’s policy of

Duale misrepresented Jubilee’s position on handling Al-Shabaab

Claims that the State was ready to negotiate with jihadists to stop terror attacks were irresponsible

I’ve got to give to you Ma-jority Leader Aden Duale. You are truly colorful and flamboyant. Very. So much so that you are threatening to eclipse those of your ilk from

years past. You make the likes of Kariuki Chotara, Joseph Kamotho, Shariff Nassir, GG Kariuki, Mulu Mutisya, William Odongo Oma-mo – among a galaxy of assorted sycophants – look like amateurs. You’ve raised the bar. Even among this “elite” group, you stand out. You are truly the first among a rare species. That’s because unlike your fellow travelers, you’ve the rare gift of engaging your mouth and con-sulting your noggin later. Even so, everything that escapes your vocal cords is unorthodox and jarring. You flummox friend and foe alike.

Today’s open letter isn’t meant to reciprocate your one-line zing-ers, or mind-bending pronounce-

The writer is Dean and SUNY Distin-guished Professor at SUNY Buffalo Law School

Even among this “elite” group, you stand out. You are truly the first among a rare species. That’s because unlike your fellow travelers, you’ve the rare gift of engaging your mouth and consulting your noggin later. Even so, everything that escapes your vocal cords is unorthodox and jarring. You flummox friend and foe alike.

TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Twitter@makaumutua

annihilating Al Shabaab. This is why your doozy of a statement on Al-Shabaab was such a puzzler.

Perhaps you weren’t being your usual self – speaking first and thinking later. Perhaps there was method in your madness, as the expression goes. I’ve two theories. The first isn’t seductive, but may have some purchase. You may feel it’s your duty to lead in find-ing solutions to Al-Shabaab as the

most senior politician of Somali ethnicity in Kenya. This may be understandable since many Ken-yan Somalis are routinely deprived of their constitutional rights on account of Al-Shabaab’s attacks on Kenya. Many ethnic Kenyan Somalis are frequently profiled as Al-Shabaab terrorists or sym-pathisers. I strongly condemn the profiling of Somalis and demand its cessation.

If this was your motive – to engage Al-Shabaab in or-der to stop terror attacks and end the unlawful discrimination and ha-rassment of law-abiding Kenyan Somalis – then

I suggest you went about it the wrong way.

There’s nary a scintilla of evi-dence to suggest that the public is in the mood to negotiate with Al- Shabaab. You risk being branded an Al-Shabaab sympathiser if you go there. In fact, many charlatans on social media did just that – and even worse. I, for one, believe you are a true patriot, however mis-guided you might be. I don’t be-lieve there’s any quarter in your heart for Al-Shabaab. But there’s a lot of fog in your mind about how to deal with Al-Shabaab.

The second theory offers more red meat for Jubilee detractors and opponents of the state’s Al-Shabaab policy. I’ve a sneaking

suspicion – which I won’t ask my readers to take to the bank – that you were floating a balloon for your Jubilee masters. It’s incon-ceivable that the Jubilee executive could itself suggest negotiations with Al-Shabaab as a strategy to end attacks on Kenya. But – and this is why sacrificial lambs exist – there’s no reason the state couldn’t float such a balloon to test public opinion, and prepare the ground for such an eventuality. And who’s better to be sent on this fool’s er-rand? Methinks your reliably loose tongue makes you perfect foil for testing such dangerous and murky waters.

Think about it – I even saw a comment on social media sug-gesting that if the Americans and the Afghan government could negotiate with the Taliban, why couldn’t Kenya do the same with Al- Shabaab? This is a narrative that can emerge from your explo-sive and seemingly inexplicable suggestion. Like the matter of the International Criminal Court, it attacks the “hypocrisy” of double standards. Bingo – it delegitimis-es any attack on Kenya for nego-tiating with Al-Shabaab because Americans are doing the same with the more deadly Taliban.

Dr Oginde holds a PhD in Organisational Leadership and is the Presiding Bishop of Christ is the Answer Ministries (CITAM)

Why we must not despair in fight against terror

As would be expected, the Garissa massacre has once again left the na-tion reeling with anger, fear and a sense of de-spair. Anger because we all naturally feel the pain

of such merciless killing of innocent Kenyans. Families have been robbed of promising young sons and daugh-ters for whom they have sacrificed much to educate.

Fear, because the attacks have taken a worrying pattern aimed at mass murder that draws the highest public attention. The Garissa mas-sacre has followed the same strate-gy used at the Westgate Mall and in Mpeketoni. A few terrorists move in-to their selected target and lay siege


Makau Mutua

There is particularly serious need for collaborative action between Kenya and her international allies. Instead of fighting over such matters as travel advisories, let us share intelligence and collective strategies to counter any threats facing the nation.


OPINION

and peaceful transitions in Africa in which incumbents have handed over power after facing electoral defeat.

Whether it is in parliamenta-ry systems like South Africa where Mbeki lost and handed over to Zu-ma, or in outright universal suffrage elections in Malawi, Madagascar, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and many other countries, incumbents have lost and handed over power peacefully. In-deed in Senegal this kind of hando-ver has happened thrice! With a light touch it also happened in Kenya in 2013, for technically, Raila Odinga as Prime Minister was the incumbent in the last elections!

What shocks me is the intellec-tual laziness of our African political commentators and our media who continue to parrot this false narra-tive to a gullible public leaving the impression that Africa is still a con-tinent that needs saving from autoc-racy. While this story is repeated ad nauseum, there is a missing aspect in Africa’s democratic development that I wish we would interrogate fur-ther. This relates to the increasing takeover of African governments by military strongmen through demo-cratic processes.

In Egypt, Rwanda, Algeria, South Africa, Uganda, and now Nigeria, African State Houses are increas-ingly occupied by Generals or per-sons who were engaged in libera-tion struggles as active combatants. Rwanda’s Kagame and South Africa’s “bring back my machine gun” Zuma served inter alia in the military intel-

ligence of their respective liberation movements. Uganda and Algeria’s presidents retain power courtesy of their liberation war credentials. Formal Generals who now sit in State Houses after elections include Egypt’s El-Sisi and now Nigeria’s Bu-hari. Do these developments dis-close a shift in Africa’s conception of democracy or are they inconsequen-tial coincidences? How does one ex-plain fairly progressive populations in Nigeria and Algeria opting for age-ing Generals against “digital” civilian leadership? Read together with the oft spoken desire for “ benevolent dictators” is it an indication of Afri-ca’s skepticism about the capacity of democracy as defined by the West to be the sole resolver of Africa’s prob-lems and a call for more strongmen in leadership?

Needless to say, there have been increasing concerns that whereas democracy has expanded politi-cal and civil rights, socio-economic rights have lagged behind. On the contrary, it is argued, countries like Ethiopia and Rwanda where strong-men reign and democratic space

is limited, sensational economic growth is being recorded. Coupled with this is the fear that expansion of political and civil rights has expand-ed the risks of insecurity including from terrorists. Faced with these re-alities, African voters appear to be looking for Presidents who are ac-countable to the people, since they are voted into power, but who can rule with a stronger hand thus guar-anteeing security, which is closely related to prosperity.

In a sense, African voters are not rejecting democracy; they want democratic dividends on the securi-ty and economic front. Progressive African leadership cannot ignore this trend. They must therefore en-sure that they organise their gov-ernments in a manner that balances human rights protections with guar-antees on security.

On the economic front, African leadership must target inclusive growth, not mere GDP growth. Peace and prosperity for all is achieved, the yearning for strongmen may produce a few strongmen with dem-ocratic ideals but more often than not the strong angels we elect today will be ogres tomorrow, governing the only way they know how, taking our much valued civil rights with-out guaranteeing economic devel-opment or even security! More ex-amples of these abound than do the Rwandas and Ethiopias!

of contention started after a decision was made by the Society at a Special General Meeting in September 2014. The decision was carried by a major-ity vote through acclamation.

At that meeting, an additional fi-nancial condition was imposed for every advocate who wished to con-tinue practising in 2015. Among oth-er requirements, it was mandatory for any advocate who applied for a licence to practise in 2015 to pay a sum of Sh39,000 towards the con-struction of an International Arbitra-tion Centre.

There are those in the profession who viewed this mandatory fee as justified by the eventual benefits of the project.

For others, this financial impo-sition was not only high but also punitive. The latter group meta-morphosed into Okoa LSK; and they started querying the financials of the project and filed a case in court for suspension of the mandatory finan-cial contributions. The preliminary result of their queries, and the court case, was an audit they commis-sioned that raises questions on the projected costs of the construction.

The scenes at the AGM are blamed on a group of about 80 un-known, so called State operatives, young disrespectful lawyers, and

sponsored drunk young lawyers.According to the Council the

meeting ended when it was ad-journed and the members of the Council walked out.

Other members state that they legitimately continued the meeting and it was decided by the members present to abandon the conten-tious project. The fight

continues in print, electronic, and social media. And going by the con-tinued exchange of correspondence from the warring sides, the worst is far from over.

In this fight, and in the contin-ued digging in of heels by members of both combatant groups, LSK has lost its noble role of institutional ad-vocatus.

In times when the nation is al-ready fractious and torn between tribal, political and social class inter-ests, the public and the international community desperately need LSK

to stand, tall, and be the voice of rea-son, a neutral arbiter in contentious public matters, a warrior for public interest, and a relentless defender of the rule of law. Even in the best of times, LSK finds it difficult to fit into these roles seamlessly.

To outsiders it doesn’t matter who among the combatants is right. It doesn’t matter who the combatants are. It doesn’t matter what interests are being fronted or protected. It doesn’t matter what the dispute is. What matters to them is that a legal fraternity incapable of internal de-mocracy and to defend its own in-stitutional character, cannot defend the defenceless.

It is the seniors lawyers who ought to be beasts of burden. They bear the responsibility of passing down the gauntlet of nobility of the profession.

They are obligated to train and mentor young lawyers in theory, practice, ethics, etiquette, conduct, leadership, responsible citizenry and dispute resolution. A fractious legal fraternity in a divided nation and community bodes ill for all.

LSK must unite to gain support of others

Advocatus, the Lat-in word for advocate, means “someone called in to help”. If events of the recent Annual Gen-eral Meeting of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK)

are anything to go by, the society it-self needs such advocatus.

The debate rages on in print, electronic and social media, for and against actions of the Council of LSK and those of the Okoa LSK group. Both combatants are deeply convicted of their hard-line posi-tions. Both are determined to see the war to the finish line with their side victorious, and opponents van-quished to the dustbins of history.

To some, the rift is seen as an off-shoot of political intrigues — “Jubi-lee vs ODM”. No more needs to be said of such a theory. The first bone

What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly. These words by Lao Tzu, the Chi-nese philosopher, have al-ways driven home the pow-er of water. Despite being

the most precious liquid ever, we often take it for granted and this often hinges on percep-tion. We must stop perceiving water as the ever-present liquid, infinitely cheaper than oil and start regarding it as a liquid more valu-able than oil.

According to the World Health Organi-sation, water-borne diseases are a leading cause of death globally. They cause nearly two million deaths annually. All these deaths are tragic examples that although water is life, it can also cause death through water-borne diseases.

Indeed, water contributes significantly to health and wealth. One of its low hanging fruits is irrigation. With less than Sh100,000, it is possible to transform your farm into a bread basket for your family and ultimately your country. Remember, famine is almost always caused by delayed or insufficient rainfall. You would think irrigation is such a straightforward solution that it would be widespread in Kenya. Wrong. Less than one per cent of medium and high yield land in Kenya is under irrigation.

But away from irrigation, there is another low hanging fruit lately taking root in Africa although there is still vast potential – bottled drinking water! Although there are numerous water bottling companies, there is still a measure of con-fusion when it comes to bottled drinking water. For starters, bottled water is not nec-essarily mineral water. Only water from very few companies like Aquamist and Keringet is actually bottled mineral water. This is nat-ural spring water that is often bottled at the source, and contains natural minerals like salts and sulphur compounds.

Most other bottled water in the market is really just treated tap or borehole water. Such is the water that offers a massive business opportunity for enterprising Kenyans. Given the fact that few Kenyans, in urban and rural areas can regularly access safe drinking wa-ter, they constitute a huge market for bottled drinking water. But for this market to be fully activated, it is important for the price of bot-tled water to reduce so drastically that bot-tled water becomes easily available to major-ity of Kenyans, not just a chosen few.

Bottled drinking water is subject to VAT and excise duty. For the prices to reduce radically, this taxation should be revised or scrapped altogether. As this is done, it is im-portant for thousands of Kenyans to step and set up bottled water treatment plants.

They cost anywhere from Sh80,000 to Sh2 million depending on features and function-alities. If there is ample supply of safe drink-ing water, everyone will benefit. But the pic-ture will be even brighter if a new tax regime for bottled water is rolled out.

Think green, act green.

The writer is the founder and chairperson, Green Africa Foundation and and runs a blog on con-servation—www.isaackalua.com

The writer is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya


Could Africans be opting for strongmen as leaders?

Let’s harness water for health

and wealth

The prevalent narrative on the election of Nige-ria’s General Muham-madu Buhari has been touted as a sign of “de-mocracy settling in Afri-ca”. Goodluck’s conces-

sion is presented as earth shattering breaking news, a welcome departure from the “autocratic tendencies of African incumbents”. This narra-tive, which is part of the uninformed chronicle about the continent, fits Western perspectives about Africa as a place where only poverty, disease and autocrats thrive.

Nothing could further from re-ality. Firstly, there is no necessary connection between defeat of in-cumbents and democracy. Many in-cumbents win in free and fair polls. If re-election of incumbents was an indication of assault on democ-racy, the United States of America, that bastion of democracy, would be patently non-democratic seeing as one term Presidents are a rarity. Secondly, in the last 20 years, there have been numerous democratic

the public needs the LSK to stand tall

SUNDAY HARDBALL

Isaac Kalua

Kethi Kilonzo

Kamotho Waiganjo

Incumbents have often handed over power to rivals despite reports stating the opposite

In times when the nation is divided,

[email protected]

There have been increasing concerns

that whereas democracy has expanded political and civil rights have lagged behind

GREEN MONEY


booth area. There is a lot Kenyans and Nigerians can learn from each other to deepen democratisation and democracy through competi-tive elections.

In Nigeria, just like in Kenya, votes are counted at the polling station openly and in front of all party agents and voters, appro-priate result forms filled and final results sheet pasted on the door or wall of polling station: signed by all party agents and presiding officers.

The voting documents are then transferred to the Local Govern-ment Area (LGA) where all polling station results are collated and LGA results transmitted to the dis-trict headquarters of INEC. The district headquarters does its own collation and transmits its results to the state headquarters of INEC. Here collation is done and results of elections relevant only to the state announced.

In this particular election, re-sults regarding representatives to the House of Representatives were announced at the state level while those of the presidency were, of course, transmitted to Abuja so that Prof Jaga, chairman of INEC and his team, would collate and officially announce the results, which he finally did on Wednesday April 1.

By that time, however, Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan had al-ready conceded to General Bu-hari as early as Monday, showing clearly that figures from the states received by all parties had shown quite clearly who the winner was.

President Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

Key lessons from Nigeria and the need to deepen democracy through credible polls

There is a lot that Kenyans and Nigerians can learn from each other on how to deepen democratisation and democracy through competitive elections

mutable nature. Their re-election is a matter of certainty and that even in 2022, the only question is who will be running mate.

Assuming these false prophets have been paying attention, they may have noticed that Nigeria has just concluded a peaceful, free and fair election in which a youthful in-cumbent Goodluck Jonathan lost to a much older “analogue” opponent.

They might also have been star-tled that the BVR machines and oth-er e-voting equipment remained functional throughout the process. One-term presidents are a rarified sort in Africa. Most not only run but ensure they win re-election at all costs. They also run for all the terms legally permissible and frequently seek to extend term limits to allow them run and win more re-elec-tions. The instances of incumbents loosing re-election bids remain ex-ceptional.

An observant and thoughtful mind will draw a few clear parallels between the situation in Nigeria and that in Kenya. Youthful first term

Jubilee should worry more about next poll, not 2022

STRAIGHT TALK

Last week, I discussed the situation in Nig-aria before the elec-tions. I also explained why we, as the Com-monwealth Observa-

tion Team, were there under the chairmanship of former Malawi President Bakili Muluzi.

When voting was over and votes counted, we concluded that the election had, in general, been free and fair except in certain states like Rivers where violence and unnecessary political med-dling marred fairness and freedom in voting.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) al-so needed to improve in the man-agement of the electoral process in terms of early distribution of Permanent Voting Cards (PVCs), timely arrival of voting material in polling stations and ability of elec-tion managers to cast their votes on election day.

In my opinion, I thought the vetting of voters in the morning before they vote in the afternoon from 1.30pm to 4pm should be a combined process. One should be vetted, vote and leave the voting

The common wag is a particular type of political jack of all trades found in Ken-ya. These types of fel-lows are well known

for, among many other things, exercising their power of proph-esy. Unlike ordinary wananchi, the wags can predict future events with one hundred per cent con-fidence. One prophesy the wags have been incessantly preaching is that the fortune of a certain po-litical duo is of an eternal and im-

Anyang‘ Nyong‘[email protected]

The writer is Kisumu County Senator

Kenya’s Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), as was demonstrated during the Supreme Court presidential election petition hearing of 2013, has always failed to demonstrate requisite independence, professionalism and institutional decorum

must be congratulated for respecting the independence of INEC in man-aging the elections, notwithstanding the volume of criticism they leveled at INEC during the campaigns. IN-EC, in return, remained independent and professional, treating all parties professionally and with appropriate decorum.

Kenya’s Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), as was demonstrated during the Su-preme Court presidential election petition hearing of 2013, has always failed to demonstrate requisite inde-pendence, professionalism and insti-tutional decorum. If INEC and Jon-athan had both behaved otherwise, the efforts of Nigerians to generally vote so peacefully would have come to nought and Buhari would not have been heading to Aso Rock ( the presi-dential palace) today.

In a democratic election, the management of the electoral process is important for providing an envi-ronment for free and fair competition and respect for the voters’ choices.

Buhari benefitted from this when INEC and the incumbent President went a long way to ensure this. At certain state levels, however, politi-cal party zealots still have a long way to go before they accept and respect the democratic electoral process, especially in a place like Rivers State.

Buhari further won because the opposition political parties which came together to form All Progres-sives Congress (APC) learnt the importance of how to gather ma-jority voters on your side and how to charge them with the mission to vote without engaging in vitriolic di-visive politics.

Scanning through news-paper campaign ad-vertisements and TV campaign skits, the PDP zealots erred in vitriolic divisive campaign tac-

tics more than the APC. The latter concentrated on drumming its mes-sage of change, “change that Nigeri-ans could believe in” as they put it, rather than painting the opponent in Satanic collies. Jonathan, on the other hand, had to bear the unfortu-nate burden of incumbency which always entails the difficult task of rationalising government failures by omission or commission too little too late.

One of such failures is corrup-tion. In Kenya, as in Nigeria, bu-reaucratic corruption always eats at the soul of government and renders it guilty, divided, ineffective and rudderless as it, at the same time, becomes increasingly defensive of its faults and sensitive to criticism. Powerful individuals quite often end up taking the law into their hands, alienating the citizens and creating

fear and despondency among eco-nomic actors, from the peasantry to the industrial moguls.

The increase in politics of re-pression, as well as in militia gangs and excesses expressing them-selves in Boko Haramism and Al Shababism, go hand in hand with corruption and the primitive har-vesting from state resources and the wealth of the people.

That Nigerians have expressed confidence in Buhari that he will liberate them from this predica-ment puts a big responsibility on his shoulders, and he must deliver within two years of his rule if he is to remain relevant in Nigerian pol-itics. Otherwise the typhoon of ris-ing expectations and unmet needs will sweep him from power in four years’ time with the speed with which it propelled him there.

This is mainly because the pol-itics of ethnic divide and rule may be progressively losing its foothold in critical sectors of society, partic-ularly among what I may choose to call “political mobilisers.”

Here the media and intellectu-als have an important role to play: they all need to concentrate on the task of demystifying the politics of tribalism within political parties and among all political actors. In this regard, Kenyans and Nigerians need to benefit from each other on competitive politics in the build-ing of democratic processes and institutions.

presidents across the world cannot take anything for granted now. The arrogant postulations of some wags on events as distant as the 2022 pres-idential election are misplaced hu-bris. Pride indeed does come before a fall. Instead of vain predictions of the 2022 dynamics, they should be more concerned about the more im-mediate battle in 2017.

By many accounts, two evils soured Goodluck’s chance; insecu-rity and corruption. Since 2002, the north east of the country has seen sectarian violence by Islamist Boko Haram, a movement that seeks to establish Sharia law in the country. Goodluck himself claimed in May 2014 that Boko Haram attacks had left at least 12,000 people dead and 8,000 people crippled.

The Nigerian military has prov-en ineffective, hampered by an en-trenched culture of official corrup-tion.

Much like Kenya, political cor-ruption is a persistent phenomenon that pervades the Nigerian state. A Nigerian political leader, Obafemi

Awolowo, captured it well when he said: “Since independence, our governments have been a mat-ter of few holding the cow for the strongest and most cunning to milk. Under those circumstances, everybody runs over everybody to make good at the expense of oth-ers.”

Incredibly, despite Nigeria being 12th largest pro-ducer of petroleum in the world and the 8th largest exporter, it is not unusual for fuel shortages to hit

occasionally, thanks to a dearth of local refineries. Electricity black-outs are regular. These paradoxes have arisen because the resources that could have solved them have instead been used to keep the cor-ruption dragon well nourished.

Things are not that different in Kenya. With Al Shabaab running rings around our security forc-es and corruption alive and well, the discontent among those who hire and fire presidents is palpa-ble. They may crack the whip. The

self serving irrelevant allusions by Jubilee wags that some potential presidential candidates are too old or have run too many times has been neutered by the Nigerian ex-ample.

Muhammadu Buhari, the pres-ident-elect of Nigeria is aged 72 and had previously ran for the top seat three times unsuccessfully. As recently as 2011, he lost to Good-luck by a margin in excess of 10 million votes. This time round, he made the difference.

The world has taken notice. Whatever happens in 2017, and it is far from a concluded matter, we hope that Kenya will not again become a reference point of how not to run elections. A free and fair election can leave the loser with only two honourable actions. Con-cede and congratulate.

OPINION

Edwin [email protected]


/ READER’S DIALOGUE Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

Events in History

The election of Muhammadu Buhari as the new President of Nigeria confirms that Nigerians have not only confidence and trust in him but they were increasingly becoming fed up with Goodluck Jonathan’s regime.

His miserable failure to contain the Boko Haram militia gang that has killed thousands of innocent Nigerians and unleashed untold suffering and mayhem in this oil-rich country was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

As Major Buhari prepares to form his Government, he must realise there is an enormous task ahead of him - to unite and rec-oncile this vast country and deal ruthlessly with the Boko Haram.

Meanwhile, the world congrat-ulates Nigerians for conducting peaceful and democratic elec-tions thus, shaming the prophets of doom who had predicted that a civil war was certain to erupt.

Focus now shifts to Burundi and DRC Congo, who are about to conduct their general elections. We appeal to the countries to emulate Nigerians and conduct democratic and peaceful general elections.

African leaders must respect and adhere to their constitutions and save their citizens from un-necessary warfare. Once again, bravo Nigerians for playing ma-ture politics and for stopping your motherland from falling apart.

{Enock Onsando, Mombasa}

Politicians, stop misleading studentsThe University of Nairobi’s elec-

tions are scheduled to take place a few days from now. Sadly, what we have been seeing in their campaigns is a ‘copy and paste’ process entirely borrowed from the our politicians.

Firstly, how can somebody who has been in power at the university for two terms still want to hold onto power, and when asked he says “my people want me back”. This is the ex-cuse Africans leaders use to remain in power forever.

It is honourable to hand over the instruments of power, not because you are old or sick or a bad leader but because you want somebody else to also enjoy that chance.

And true to form, politicians,’ or rather major political outfits have wormed their way into the universi-

ties, funding certain selfish interests, something that is slowly consuming true student leadership, and slowly changing it into a completely politi-cal leadership.

In fact, with the money politi-cians hand out to young university leaders, students are automatical-ly transformed to mere puppets for politicians, making it easy to commit atrocities. They find that their goals are compromised for the politician’s gain due to political sponsorship.

When student leadership came to the fore, it was meant to serve the interests of these senior learners and not borrow tired ideas from politi-cians. What is happening today is a big blow to the true aims of student leadership.

{Chriss Akali, Kakamega}

Let’s shun corruption, it’s real and ugly

Nigerians did Africa proud after fair polls

Corruption is ugly and real and has largely manifested itself in most of our institutions, including reli-gion where it is least expected.

The recently released list of shame containing 175 names of individuals alleged to have been in-volved in malpractices ranging from financial misappropriation, misuse of public resources and sale of pub-lic property among others is unfor-tunate to say the least.

So far, some Cabinet Secretaries have complied with the President’s direction to step aside.

Yet another class of leaders is showing little commitment to step aside. They include senators and governors whose names appeared on the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission list of corrupt officials.

They seem to be hiding behind the Constitution that has not pro-vided any provision for the Presi-dent to dismiss elected leaders or mandate him tell them to step aside.

Even though the Constitution has no such provision, should the elected leaders take advantage of the virtue that the Constitution de-fends them?

Let the mentioned do the right thing if they are to be leaders of vir-tue.

{Phinehas Onyango, Migori}

Letters should be sent to: The Editor, P.O. Box 30080 - 00100, Nairobi; or e-mailed to: [email protected]. The views expressed on this page are not necessarily those of The Standard. The Editor reserves the right to edit the letters. Correspondents should give their names and addresses as a sign of good faith.

Quotes on Ambition

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings. Salvador Dali

Our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, and be more, and do more. Oscar Wilde

A garden requires patient labour and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. Liberty Hyde Bailey

We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own. Cesar Chavez

2014: Afghans show up at the polls in spite of potential violence to vote for their next president; this is the third such election since the 2001 removal of the Taliban from power2014: Lupita Nyong’o, Oscar winner for best supporting actress in ‘12 Years a Slave’, will join Lancome as its newest brand ambassador2013: Queen Elizabeth of the UK is named ‘the most memorable Bond girl’ for her appearance at the London Olympics. BAFTA, gave her the honorary award for her support of British film and television2013: In Japan, optimism for economic revival sparked Bank of Japan’s stimulus plan, impacts Japan’s stock market index; following its release, the Nikkei 225 hits its highest level in nearly five years2012: As part of a continued tightening on world sanctions on Iran, a Chinese company that insures ships will stop indemnifying tankers carrying Iranian oil2012: SkyNews admits it illegally hacked emails that belonged to members of the public on two separate occasions2011: The US Democratic National Committee appoints Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz Chairwoman2010: 60 countries are invited to participate in Iran’s two-day nuclear disarmament conference in Tehran April 17 - 18; China says it will attend1993: Republican Guard kills 64 in Chad

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s sec-ond State of the Nation address to the joint sitting of Parliament is probably the most important speech by any Kenyan president or any other polit-ical leader in recent times.

The speech was beautifully deliv-ered - with unmatched eloquence, clarity and confidence.

The President’s message served to rescue our motherland from the cancer of corruption and the ghost of ethnicity.

By apologising for historical in-justices perpetuated by successive regimes, including post-election vi-olence, demonstrating practical and courageous steps to fight corruption, and the earnest call for national uni-ty, he gave a message of hope that reclaimed Kenya from the children of the night and returned the country back to its people.

The standing ovations that he re-ceived from the political conclave by both sides of the political divide suc-cinctly attests to the timeliness of the message.

Even the most belligerent cynics and critics of the Government were not only emotional but unanimous in their praise for the President’s message. His outline of economic and developmental blueprint and achievements so far, brought out the visionary statesman - a Joshua who can ably lead our country to the

Bravo President Kenyatta for an inspiring and visionary speech

Promised Land. Since his days in Par-liament, including as a leader of of-ficial Opposition, Uhuru has carried himself with patriotic comportment, humility, honesty and charisma of a visionary.

He has always operated above the hybrid product of decay, mixture of zero, corruption, ethnic demagogu-ery, political chicanery and contra-dictions that mostly characterise Kenyan politics - practices in which all the instincts of moral decadence and deceit find their sanction.

Indeed, to slay the dragon of cor-ruption and negative ethnicity the President needs the support of all of us now more than ever before.

In the last few decades, nu-merous changes have taken place in regards to our environment. Technology, infrastructure, edu-cation and communication have greatly improved, thus raising living standards for many.

However, the environment has been depleted, with pollution - the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment causing adverse change. The constant air, water and noise pollution does nothing for survival. This is because the environment is at the centre of everything.

When it is in order, plants and an-imals and man co-exist peacefully. When the climate changes, every-one is affected. When ozone layer is depleted all are impacted. This calls for combined efforts to protect the environment.

Most human activities impact the environment in one way or another; people should therefore, evaluate what they do to ascertain the environmental effects of their activities and take necessary pre-caution. Everyone has the responsi-bility to conserve the environment. After all, the environment belongs to all of us.

{Tychicus Ogoti, Via Email}

Children are helpless and should always be protected. Even when some look older than they should and even when caretakers opt to break the law, children still need protection.

According to the Children’s Act, no child shall be subjected to an early marriage.

A child shall be protected from sexual exploitation and prostitution, inducement or coercion to engage in any sexual activity.

Lately though, there has been rise in early pregnancies in children bare-ly in their teens.

Can the stakeholders refer to the law so that young girls can enjoy their childhood even as they study for a better future?

{Veronica Onjoro, Mount Kenya Universi-ty}

Once more, the Easter season is here. Easter is a time Christians the world over mark the death and res-urrection of Jesus Christ. Interest-ingly, only a handful of faithful will truly mark this somber season that is actually the root of Christianity.

Most will be seen partying all weekend long, drinking and eating and making merry, all for the wrong reasons.

While it would be prudent to observe the tenets of Christianity, it would also be a good thing to en-sure peace among all Kenyans is observed. A happy Easter to all Ken-yans.

{Elvis Mandela, Nairobi}

Everyone must conserve environment

Protect girls from sexual

abuseLet Christians remain prudent

President Uhuru Kenyatta makes his State of the Nation address at Parliament Buildings, Nairobi on Thursday. [PHOTO: PSCU]

Only a few self-appointed social media analysts, who think oppos-ing everything from the Government makes one appear informed and deep may still be mouthing pious irrelevan-cies, mostly for purposes of visibility. I have one message for them.

It takes courage to point out wrongs and offer genuine criticism; similarly, it takes even more courage and objectivity to acknowledge good deeds and give credit where it is due.

It is with high expectation that the country awaits unequivocal action from Parliament, the Judiciary and all constitutional commissions in supporting the Government fight this battle.

{Lawrence Ndegwa, Nairobi}


Leaders call for urgent withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia

War on terror: They say strategy on Somalia must change following Garissa massacre

Opposition leaders have re-newed their calls for the withdraw-al of Kenyan troops from Somalia as a measure of deflecting terrorist attacks.

They said Al-Shabaab had made it clear that the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia was the reason the country was often tar-geted by jihadist groups.

Speaking at Moi University’s Odera Akango campus in Yala during the burial of writer and pol-itician Grace Ogot, the leaders asked the government to reassess Kenya’s involvement in Somalia’s civil war.

Intelligence briefsSiaya Senator James Orengo

noted that the US had withdrawn it troops from Afghanistan be-cause occupation was ultimately unsustainable.

“We know very well the conse-quences of a war of occupation. We must withdraw our troops from Somalia to end this. We must re-think our strategy and have a tar-geted and principled way of en-gaging Somalia rather than put our people at risk,” said Orengo. “

Condemning the Garissa terror attack that resulted in 152 deaths, Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo said

Four people who were arrested on Friday on suspicion that they were carrying out surveillance on some parts of Mombasa have been released.

Their car, which had been im-pounded, was also released.

Reports indicate police have apologised for holding them for 24 hours on false information collect-ed from Internet chat-rooms.

Yesterday, Coast Regional Police Commander Robert Kitur said they were released after Anti-Terrorist Police found they were not linked to terrorism.

“We have released them because there is nothing to link them with terrorism. These are innocent Ken-yans who were just going about their business,” said Kitur.

Kitur, however, appealed to res-idents to volunteer information which can lead to the arrest of eight suspected members of the Al-Shabaab who photographs were published the media yesterday.

The suspects are believed to have returned to the country from Somalia where they underwent training in Al-Shabaab camps.

Abdifatah Abubakar Abdi alias Musa, believed to be commander of the Al Qaeda cell in Coast region, is also reported to be working closely with Mohamed Kuno alias Gamad-here, who is linked to the Thursday massacre at Garissa University col-lege which left 152 dead.

Sulieman Mohamed Awadh is believed to be based in Malindi while Ismael Shosi Mohamed, Abu-bakar Majani, Hamisi Mwacheti alias Bilal alias Rasta and Mahir Riziki are based in Kwale.

Mwacheti aka Rasta is among the suspects who escaped from Mu-sa mosque in Mombasa last year when police sought him over ter-rorism claims. Others sought by po-lice are Muumin Abdala Muuminin and Abdalla Salim Marumu.

Police release suspects after terror scare

y B WILLIS OKETCH

y B RUSHDIE OUDIA AND OLIVIA ODHIAMBO

CORD leader Raila Odinga’s wife Ida, Siaya Senator James Orengo, Seme MP James Nyikal and Rarieda’s Nicholas Gumbo at the burial of educationist and former Gem MP Grace Ogot at Odera Akang’o Campus in Yala, Siaya County, yesterday. [PHOTO: TITUS MUNALA/STANDARD]

Kenya should draw key lessons from Ethiopia which has a longer border with Somalia but is hardly a target of attacks.

To stem further attacks, Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo challenged President Uhuru Kenyatta to iron out prob-lems in the police service. “The Pres-ident should organise the chain of command in the force to more effec-tively engage with the Al-Shabaab,” he said.,Seme’s Dr James Nyikal said the Government should utilise the intelligence reports it receives to avert attacks. “We have on many oc-casions failed to prevent attacks be-cause we ignore intelligence reports,” he said.

Others who attended the funeral paid tribute to Ogot. Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s wife Ida de-scribed Ogot as a great African who

should be emulated. Ogot was my mentor. Nominated women leaders should emulate her achievements and seek elective positions like she did,” said Mrs Odinga.

Former Karachuonyo MP Phoebe Asiyo asked women not to only de-pend on affirmative action to prog-ress.

Great leader“We went through a great deal in

the past but stood firm. This should emulated by other women leaders,” said Asiyo.

Grace Onyango, Kisumu’s first fe-male MP, described Ogot as a selfless leader who improved the lives of women using the Maendeleo ya Wa-nawake movement.

“Young and upcoming women leaders should be like this fallen icon

who introduced coffee farming in Nyanza and ensured women diversi-fied agricultural produce,” said On-yango.

Nominated Senator Elizabeth On-goro described Ogot as a great Afri-can leader who overcame gender prejudices. The director of Kenya Kit-erature Bureau, Eve Obara said Ogot donated a Sh50 million land parcel for construction of the Moi Universi-ty campus in Yala because of her commitment to improve education.

“She was a mirror to the society and the literature books she wrote contributed to the improvement of education,” said Maseno University Vice Chancellor Prof Dominic Makawiti. Former University of Nai-robi Vice Chancellor George Magoha eulogised Ogot as an inspiration to both the young and old.

Legislators from Western have condemned the Al-shabaab terror attacks that left at least 142 students dead at Garissa University College on Thursday.

Speaking in Busia yesterday, 33 MPs who at-tended the launch of the Western Parliamenta-ry Caucus (WPC) told the Government to beef up security across the country to avert similar attacks.

The lawmakers dismissed demands by the Al-shabaab militia that Kenya pulls out KDF troops from Somalia, saying terrorist attacks started long before deployment of KDF in the war torn country.

“We are outraged by the senseless killings of young innocent Kenyans in Garissa; measures must be put in place to end these attacks meted on people especially from outside the region,”

said John Bunyasi, Nambale MP and chairman of the forum. They called upon the Government to foot burial expenses for all victims of the massacre.

“We pray for those recuperating in hospi-tals and declare our support for all bereaved families. It was a cowardly act that should not have been allowed to happen,” stated Malulu Injendi, Malava lawmaker and Secretary of the caucus.

The caucus was formed to promote social, economic and political aspirations of five coun-ties in the area, namely Bungoma, Busia, Ka-kamega, Vihiga and Trans Nzoia.

According to Mr Namwamba, the legislators have the responsibility to initiate changes in the area for the benefit of the people.

“The past leadership failed this region by fronting selfish gains at the expense of econom-ic growth and we are out to correct those mis-

takes,’’ said the Budalangi MP.He said the issue is not who from the area

has to fly the Luhya community flag but how to emancipate the region from poverty through promotion of economic growth and better lead-ership.

Political aspirationsHe said politics should not infiltrate issues

to do with the revival of the collapsed Webuye Pan Paper and revamping Mumias Sugar as has been the case in the past.

“We should not be obsessed with who will become the region’s spokesperson, but focus on real issues that matter to the people,” he said, adding that politics was secondary.

The MPs steered clear of the region’s politi-cal future, saying their concern was to address urgent needs for the people.

Bumula MP Boniface Otsula said the legis-

lators will be meeting more often to review the progress and engage other players in spear-heading the initiative.

Lugari MP Ayub Savula said the push to en-list at list six million voters in the area must con-tinue. “It is the responsibility of each one of the MPs to ensure the drive is a success,” he said.

According to him, putting in place mecha-nisms to develop the region without addressing voter apathy could be an effort in futility.

The launch of the WPC was a clear indicator that they are ready to chart the way forward for the region irrespective of their political affilia-tions.

Funyula MP Paul Otuoma, Navakholo’s Emanuel Wangwe, Tim Wetang’ula (West-Lands), David Were (Matungu), Aurthur Oder-a(Teso North), Florence Mutua (Busia), Chris Wamalwa (Kiminini) and David Wekesa(Saboti) sent their apologies.

y B GRACE WEKESA

Western MPs condemn Garissa attack, ask State to up security

NUMBER KILLED IN GARISSA

152YEAR KENYA ENTERED SOMALIA

2012

/ WEEK IN REVIEW Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

The Muslim community leadership has said it has no control over radicalisation tendencies, but has offered to support Government’s efforts to combat terrorism.

The officials said radicalisation is an interna-tional phenomenon and not unique to Kenya, and noted that all clerics have been advised to ‘preach the correct position of Islam’.

“Radicalisation is global. This is beyond our control as Kenyans and as Muslims we are rush-ing to do as much as possible to ensure our mosques are devoid of these,” said Adan Wachu, Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) secretary general.

Extremist followersHe said just like any other religion, Islam has

followers who are extremists. “We do have peo-ple who read from different scripture. What they are doing is not the teaching of the Quran. We are however doing all that is possible to make sure

our youth don’t stray,” he said.Mr Wachu said Kenyan Muslim youth are just

like others. “Our youth are no different. If there are no jobs it cuts across. But we try to assist the Government. We are regaining all mosques at the Kenyan Coast.

All youths in Mombasa are coming back to the fold. We have also called upon them to strength-en the ‘nyumba kumi’ initiative,” he said.

Wachu spoke yesterday during a media brief-ing on the Garissa University College terrorist at-tack that left at least 142 students dead. The ter-rorists also killed three police officers and three Kenya Defense Forces officers.

The Muslim officials condemned the killings and noted they were not perpetuated by Muslim faithful but by criminals.

“Those were criminals and we should call them as such. They don’t speak for Muslims and neither do they act for us,” said Amina Mo-hamed, the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary.

She termed it wrong to refer to the attackers as ‘militant Islamists’. “Stop using the word ‘Is-

lamists’ to refer to them. They are not Muslims. They should be arrested. What they did can nev-er and is not tolerable. Call them what they are. Not Muslims,” she said.

The CS however said the Government is doing all it can to keep Kenyans safe. “Everything that can be done and is humanly possible is being do-ne to ensure Kenyan is safe,” she said.

Ms Mohamed said so much has been done already to protect Kenyans. “We have deterred many incidents. We shall not tire. We shall stand firm and will not succumb to threats of intimi-dation,” she said.

Raise funds“We are in mourning. None of us ever thought

it would happen - attacking depositories of our knowledge-schools, universities and items we consider of value to us as Kenyans,” she added.

Ibrahim Lethome, the Supkem legal advisor, said Muslims have organised initiatives to raise funds to assist in the burial arrangements and also cater for medical services for the injured.

“We have erected several points of blood dona-tions across the country,” he said.

He said the Muslim leadership has been called to ensure proper messages on Islam are propagated.

“We are embarking on a serious campaign to give a counter narrative. All Muslims and Imams who have forums must propagate true Islam and tell people what Islam is about,” said Mr Leth-ome.” “We are studying to know the genesis of such inclinations,” he added.

Lethome said all main Muslim leaders must not remain quiet any more on matters terrorism.

“Leaders or ordinary Muslims, you have a re-sponsibility to take action. No more room for keeping quiet in the face of terror,” he said.

He said the intention of the terrorists is to di-vide Kenyans along religious lines. “All peace-lov-ing Kenyans must stand together and defeat the intention of those who want to destroy Kenyans.

No religion can justify such acts. This calam-ity has befallen our country and we are all sad-dened,” said Lethome.

Human Rights Activist Ken Wafula displays cartridges and bullets recovered at the scene where Marko Senge was alleged shot dead at his employer’s com-pound on Thursday night in Uasin Gishu. [PHOTO: SILAH KOSKEI/STANDARD]

Police at Langas Police Station in Uasin Gishu County have come un-der heated criticism following their alleged involvement in the murder of a watchman in Elgon View area on Thursday night.

Residents narrated to the press how the Thursday midnight incident took place in the homestead where Marko Senge, 57 was working as a night watchman, accusing drunken police officers on patrol for shooting at an innocent citizen.

“We were in the house sleeping when we heard individuals convers-ing outside the compound; I woke up my colleague and decided to alert Senge who is in charge of security.

He came out with a panga and ad-vanced to the scene to verify who it was, just to find out they were police-men,” said Samuel Kemboi a worker at the homestead.

According to Mr Kemboi, who also rushed out of the house, the officers who had been drinking hard liquor just outside the homestead wielded their guns and ordered him to kneel despite his attempts to identify him-self as a worker at the compound.

“After he was told to kneel by three police officers adorned in uniform I ran back to the house to bring a lamp but heard three gunshots although I

Fury as drunk officers shoot security guard in cold blood

was not sure if it was Senge who was shot or they had shot in the air,” said Mr Cornelius Kiprop, also an employ-ee at the farm.

Kiprop and Kemboi said after the gunshots, the officers advanced to the tin houses where they had taken ref-uge and ordered them to open but they refused before they forced their way inside.

“Three officers pursued us and forced us out of the house, ordering us to lie flat on the ground before they locked us inside the houses. It is then that I texted my boss that we were un-der siege and our colleague had been arrested,” said Kiprop.

Police incapacitatedA shaken Carol Maina, the owner

of the land in the Prime Elgon View ar-ea said she received a message from Kiprop saying the security man had been arrested by police officers and immediately rushed to the scene where she found a police car and a private car with the OCS of Langas together with police officers in her compound.

“I found police officers including the OCS and realised two of my work-ers had been locked in their houses. When I opened for them, it is when I realised that Senge, my security man had been shot. The police took crime scene photos and left with the body and asked me to report the matter

ity and terminate the involved reck-less officers,” he said. However, in a twist of events, area OCPD Esther Muhoro had a rough time explaining to family and friends of the deceased who thronged the station on what ex-actly happened, she too insisting he was part of the gang that attacked of-ficers in patrol.

Night patrolMs Muhoro said the officers were

on a night patrol when they were am-bushed by seven alleged thugs from a thicket.

“They were seven thugs wielding crude weapons and our officers am-bushed them. One was shot but suc-cumbed to injuries, the other man-aged to escape uninjured. We will accompany the relatives to the scene to get in-depth details,” she added.

The OCPD declined to visit the scene despite calls by relatives and friends who had thronged the police station to compel her to do so, after commenting on the matter without visiting the scene.

at Langas in the morning,” she said. She says her efforts to inquire why the old man who had worked for her for a long time had been shot and killed failed to bear fruits as the police left, saying the area had become an inse-cure spot.

“The police killed my employee simply because they were incapaci-tated. It was evident from the liquor cans that they were not sober when they came to my house and shot him. I wonder what I will tell his family whom we have stayed for more than 20 years peacefully,” she said.

Speaking at the murder scene on Friday morning, Ken Wafula, a human rights activist who found two bullet cartridges and one unused bullet said there is need for an independent in-vestigation into the matter.

“I called the OCS and he told me the killed person was among a group of thugs who had attacked officers on patrol and wondered how that could happen within a compound, yet two other workers were locked in the house. Police should take responsibil-

We are determined to help State fight terror, Muslim leaders say

ByB SILAH KOSKEI AND MICHAEL OLLINGA

ByB AuGuStINE OduOr

It’s murder: Man killed despite identifying himself as a watchman at Elgon View

Prof George Eshiwani (pictured below), formerly Vice Chancellor (VC) of Kenyatta University (KU) has passed on. The celebrated scholar died yesterday evening at Agan Hospital in Kisumu. The respected Mathematics professor rose from humble beginnings in Khwisero to head Jomo Kenyatta University College of Agriculture and Technology (now JKUAT) before being appointed VC at KU. Prof Egara Kabaji, Deputy VC Masinde Muliro University said on phone that Eshiwani’s loss was great. “I was first employed at JKUAT as a lecturer when Eshiwani served as principal; he was welcoming and a good man to work with. He eventually transformed the college to the university to what is KU today,” he said. He said the professor was instrumental at campaigning that the Western University College (WECO) be allied to Moi University. “He pushed for WECO to be a constituent of Moi; WECO has since grown to become Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology,” he said. Bishop Oketch of the Anglican Church in Maseno north Diocese said he is celebrating the life of the professor who he worked well with while still a vicar in Mulwanda. “Professor has gone to be with the Lord at an appropriate time, Easter. A time when the Messiah is about to conquer hell. He is for sure resting with the Lord.” Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale remembered the professor as a man who struck a perfect balance between politics and academics. “We laud him as the first professor who neutered the political temperatures between universities and reigning governments. Eshiwani was the only professor to head a key university that was pro-establishment,” he said.

Prof Eshiwani takes final bow in Kisumu

Briefly

WEEK IN REVIEW / Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

have previously jumped to her sup-port over a move to eject her from the anti-graft agency.

The confession by Matemu that the list to the President was edited has elicited claims that Waqo may have done so to selectively implicate and favour certain individuals. That Waqo has admitted crafting the list, while the President’s advisor on Con-stitutional Affairs Abdikadir Mu-hammed is believed to have been consulted over the document that Leader of Majority Aden Duale ta-bled in the National Assembly last week, is a reality that has raised eye-brows in some quarters.

Doctored documentDeputy Leader of Minority Jakoyo

Midiwo believes the President was given an amended document that sought to shield among others some National Social Security Fund (NS-SF) officials from graft charges as well as Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Isaack Hassan. The IEBC boss had indicated he would step aside if his name was in the list.

Waqo maintained his list to the President was not meant for public consumption – it was a “blind copy” hurriedly done to keep him posted on the graft probe status.

Asked whether he is culpable, the CoG boss dismisses the EACC list as a “malicious document”: “The graft allegations against me are a replica of propaganda papers circulated in the county some time back by indi-

y B OSCAR OBONYO

The infamous “list of shame” that President Uhuru Kenyatta handed over to the National Assembly and the Senate Speakers Justin Muturi and Ekwe Ethuro recently is a hot potato that could consume political careers of several big shots.

Chairman of the Council of Gov-ernors Isaac Ruto, for instance, is among those who believe the whole exercise has been staged-managed to fix certain politicians.

“How come, all except two, of the governors listed are from the Oppo-sition. And those of us allied to Jubi-lee (including Meru County Gover-nor, Peter Munya) who are named are regarded as rebels?” queries Ru-to.

The governor believes the two of them have been fixed because they give the strongest face and defence for devolution, “which my Jubilee Coalition is determined to kill.”

And while he believes the courts remain fair and that they will acquit him of any wrongdoing, Ruto cannot rule out political mischief: “I believe the courts are fair, although we are disturbed by the President’s recent overruling of the courts (over a peti-tion challenging police recruitment of 10,000 people) in the face of the Garissa attacks.”

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Com-mission (EACC) chairman Mumo Matemu and his deputy Irene Keino have since distanced themselves from the controversial list crafted by the commission’s CEO Halakhe Waqo. Appearing before the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Keino further claimed she and Jane Onsongo had been summoned to Solicitor General Njee Muturi’s office and compelled to resign. Onsongo obliged, while Keino declined.

The Standard On Sunday was not able to independently verify these claims, as efforts to get a comment from Muturi were fruitless. The So-licitor General, a childhood friend of the President, previously served as his private secretary. Pundits howev-er doubt that Keino would have, on her own volition, defied Muturi’s or-der, if any, as she claims. The deputy EACC boss is believed to enjoy sup-port of Rift Valley legislators, who

WeekCorruption dossier: Some officials say the whole exercise has been staged-managed to fix certain politicians

EACC ‘list of shame’ puts

political careers on the line

Re viewPolitics, Opinion, Analyses & Special Reports

on SundaySTANDARDTHE

Groups seek gender equity formula p27

Land dispute delays man's burial for nine years, p29

EXCLUSIVETODAY

Governor Kidero

Senator Muthama

CS Ngilu

Governor Ruto

Governor Mutua

Governor Munya

Senator Sonko

PS Muli

How come most governors listed are from Opposition. And those of us allied to Jubilee (including Munya) who are named are seen as rebels? — Isaac Ruto

named by EACC, are also listed.Noting that this number is huge,

Mwangangi says new political play-ers, including the President’s Jubilee coalition, could find a foothold in the region, if those named are found guilty and once the graft shakeup takes effect.

And in Nairobi, where both Gov-ernor Evans Kidero and Senator Mike Sonko have been fingered for alleged corrupt deals, the situation is getting interesting. For a moment Dr Kidero was on the receiving end from Mr Sonko, who has declared he would be challenging the incumbent in 2017, when the EACC list was made public. Terming him an un-clean leader who does not deserve to lead residents of Nairobi, Sonko challenged Kidero to resign over al-leged financial malpractices during his tenure as Managing Director of Mumias Sugar Company.

But Kidero momentarily got his chance of laughter when Sonko was separately mentioned for allegedly influencing the award of a Kenya Pipeline Company tender for a share of a Sh1.35 billion kickback.

Writing on his Facebook account, Sonko said he had stepped aside as the Senator for Nairobi, Majority deputy chief whip Senate, member

viduals allied to the Deputy Presi-dent (William Ruto). Now tell me whether this is not politics?”

In Ukambani, the political home turf of former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, a host of senior figures have been fingered, especially from Machakos County. Some of the lead-ers reached by The Standard On Sun-day say the political landscape in the region could change significantly if those named are not cleared in time for the 2017 polls.

High profi le“We are concerned as a commu-

nity (Kamba) that Machakos County, right from its governor and senator, has the largest number of high pro-file suspects on the EACC list. While neither the community nor the county is guilty of anything, but the law on graft should cut across the country,” says Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi.

Besides Governor Alfred Mutua and Senator Johnstone Muthama, other bigwigs affected from Macha-kos include Transport Principal Sec-retary Nduva Muli and Lands Cabi-net Secretary Charity Ngilu. MPs Victor Munyaka (Machakos Town) and Katatha Maweu (Kangundo), who belong to House committees

Roads and transport; National Secu-rity & Foreign Relations, and Joint Committee on National Cohesion & Equal Opportunity committees. But this was after chiding his would-be rival in 2017, Kidero, to equally va-cate office, because “Kenya is bigger than Sonko, Kidero and all those mentioned (in economic scan-dals) elected leaders.”

Genuine as he may be, it is obvi-ous that Sonko is also playing poli-tics because there is no provision un-der existing laws for elected leaders to “step aside” and “resume office” upon being cleared of any wrong do-ing. There is an even bigger risk of Sonko losing his senatorial seat if he misses out on eight consecutive par-liamentary sittings. Alternatively, both Sonko and Kidero could be trapped in the lengthy legal process of clearing their names, and in the event give a chance to other players.

And although he does not appear on the EACC “list of shame”, Mu-rang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria’s at-tributes his recent drama at the hands of the anti-graft detectives to politics.

On Wednesday, Iria was arrested over information he provided to the commission ahead of being cleared to run for office in the 2013 General Election. He apparently lied about a Sh400,000 cheque that he issued to a supplier of animal feed, but which bounced. Iria believes the EACC list has muddied the environment to the extent where political players are taking advantage of the situation to fix rivals. Alternatively, the Murang’a Governor claims the “real” graft per-petrators are (mis)using the list to fight back.

“Because a number of my col-leagues (governors) have been named, someone wants to cheapen the investigations by dragging in ev-erybody with all manner of frivolous charges,” claims Iria.


KISUMU COUNTY

ByB KIpChUMBa SOMe

TOP: Ethics and Anti-corruption chairperson Mumo Matemu (right) and his deputy Irene Keino. ABOVE: President Uhuru Kenyatta with Speakers Justin Muturi and Ekwe Ethuro after his special address to Parliament.

Fate of EACC hangs by a thread as daggers drawn over ‘list of shame’

The fate of the Ethics and An-ti-Corruption Commission hangs on by a thread after the crisis at the agency deepened with the resigna-tion of a commissioner.

At the same time, more details have also emerged of a deal that the Executive offered the three com-missioners a week ago for their res-ignation from office.

On Monday, EACC vice-chair-person Jane Onsongo dramatically resigned amidst claims by the other two commissioners that the State was employing strong-arm tactics to force them out of office.

Members of Parliament’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee have also signalled their displeasure with the answers given to them by the commissioners when they ap-peared before them this week.

On Thursday, EACC chair Mumo Matemu and commissioner Irene Keino appeared before committee over a petition challenging their suitability to serve.

“Of course they defended them-selves because it is their right to do so,” said a member of the commit-tee who did not wish to be named to avoid prejudicing the commit-tee’s on-going hearings.

“However in my opinion, the question of whether they should go has long been settled. It is now clear that the committee of the last Par-liament was correct in rejecting them,” he said.

His last sentence was in refer-ence to the recommendation of the last Parliament’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee which opposed the nomination of the three com-missioners on the grounds that they lacked “passion and drive” to fight graft. Meanwhile, the work of a special committee formed to in-vestigate allegations of impropriety against a suspended senior EACC official is in disarray after one of its members resigned.

Lawyer Ken Akide tendered his resignation on Sunday last week from the committee formed to in-vestigate EACC Deputy CEO Mi-chael Mubea.

Akide, a former chairman of the Law Society of Kenya, questioned the legitimacy of the committee.

“The Special Committee is of doubtful legitimacy under the EACC Act and does not have the competence or authority required or necessary to successfully execute its work,” he wrote.

Mr Matemu formed the com-

mittee to investigate Mr Mubea over allegations of improper con-duct over the transfer of Integrity Centre where the EACC is based.

The iconic building is being claimed by Tegus Limited and it has informed EACC that it will not re-new its lease which expires in June this year. Mr Matemu claims the building was improperly trans-ferred to Tegus and accuses Mr Mubea of working in cohorts with the company to defraud EACC.

The committee he formed to in-vestigate Mr Mubea was dubbed “Interagency Investigative Team” and was also to investigate whether Mr Mubea acted improperly in han-dling the Anglo Leasing cases.

However, Mr Akide, in his resig-nation letter, queries whether the committee has powers to investi-gate the alleged criminal acts and indeed whether it has powers to in-vestigate private property and to summon witnesses.

He also said certain vital docu-ments have been deliberately with-held from the committee in order to achieve a predetermined out-come. Impeccable sources at high levels of government disclosed that last Friday, three emissaries from the President met the three com-missioners individually with one message: Resign immediately.

President’s messageThe President’s adviser on Con-

stitutional Affairs Abdikadir Mo-hammed met with Prof Onsongo; Solicitor General Njee Muturi met with Matemu while Justice and Le-gal Affairs Committee chairman Samwel Chepkonga met with Ms Keino. The President’s message to the three was that they had failed dismally in the fight against graft and therefore they must take the dignified route of resigning without being pushed.

The three emissaries told the commissioners that the President did not wish to form a tribunal to investigate them for it was likely to be a drawn-out and expensive pro-cess which would be even more detrimental to their careers.

The emissaries told the three commissioners that the dignified way out was to resign and then be considered for other state jobs when they were out. Prof Onsongo

the crisis-ridden commission dis-banded and reconstituted afresh to effectively fight graft which is per-ceived to be getting out of hand.

More than a week ago, the Pres-ident released a list of public ser-vants and politicians who are un-der investigation by EACC. The list was handed over to the President by EACC chief executive officer Hal-akhe Waqo without the knowledge of the commissioners.

As a result the mentioned civil servants, including five cabinet sec-retaries, stepped aside.

Oriaro petition On March 10, the President re-

ceived a petition from lawyer Geof-frey Oriaro requesting him (the President) to form a tribunal to in-vestigate the conduct of Matemu and Ms Keino. The President hand-ed over the petition to the Parlia-ment. If the two commissioners are eventually sent home, then they will go out in a dramatic manner as they came in.

The last Parliament pushed through the nomination of the three commissioners, disregarding the recommendations of its Justice and Legal Affairs Committee.

The Committee recommended against the appointment of the three saying they lacked passion and drive for the job, but Parlia-ment approved their nomination.

However, a Nakuru lobby group went to court to block Matemu from assuming office, accusing him of being involved in shady deals while he was a legal officer at the Agricultural Finance Corporation.

He was accused of deliberately failing to collect Sh2.4billion in tax arrears from a Nairobi-based com-pany, Kingsway Motors during his time at Kenya Revenue Authority.

The High Court in Nakuru ruled in favour of lobby group but the Ap-peals Court overturned the deci-sion, thus allowing Matemu to as-sume in August 2013.

But the lobby group, Trusted So-ciety of Human Rights Alliance, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court and the case started being heard in March this year.

asked to talk candidly off record since they are not to authorised to speak to press about committee matters still under deliberation, in-dicated that the most committee members were not happy with the answers the two commissioners gave. “They claimed that they were the main drivers of the fight against graft and mostly blamed their prob-lems on a hostile and uncoopera-tive secretariat, but when we pinned Ms Keino down on the letter she and Prof Onsongo wrote to the President over Matemu, she could not give us good answers,” said one of the committee members.

In September 2014, Prof Onson-go and Ms Keino wrote a letter to President Kenyatta alleging that Matemu lacked the desire to fight graft. They later tried to disown the letter but a member of the Justice and Legal Affairs committee said the commissioners cannot take back their words.

“Some of the issues they raised are beyond them. They are criminal in nature and cannot be taken back by merely disowning their own let-ter. These things have to be deeply investigated,” said the member.

A senior government official said the Executive is keen on having

conceded that the commission had been hamstrung by incessant inter-nal wrangling and had consequent-ly lost the public goodwill.

She offered to resign uncondi-tionally. Ms Keino also offered to re-sign but asked to be given another government job, a proposition that the Executive did not object to.

On Monday, Prof Onsongo re-signed as she had promised. Ms Keino came with a proposition that she be appointed the deputy am-bassador to Brazil.

She, however, demanded that she be offered the ambassadorial job first before resigning, a propo-sition that the Executive declined.

She later called a press confer-ence and said that the government had tried to force her out of EACC with the promise of a job in Brazil. On the other hand, Mr Matemu is said to have accepted to resign on two conditions: that he be compen-sated financially and that the case facing him at the Supreme Court be ended.

The Executive is said to have termed the demands as “insulting”. The matter was therefore left in the hands of the Justice and Legal Af-fairs Committee. Interviews with several committee members, who

Graft: Details have emerged of a deal the Executive made to commissioners regarding their resignation

ONSONGO QUITSOn Monday, Prof Onsongo resigned

as she had promised. Ms Keino came with a proposition that she be appointed the deputy ambassador to Brazil.

She however demanded that she be offered the ambassadorial job first before resigning, a proposition that the Executive declined.

She later called a press conference and said that the government had tried to force her out of EACC with the promise of a job in Brazil.

DAY ONSONGO RESIGNED

MondayWHEN MPS GRILLED TEAM

Thurs


y B SILAH KOSKEI AND MICHAEL OLLINGA

Rift Valley leaders claim Ruto targeted in corruption purge

Unease: Political allies of Deputy President claim the motive is to tarnish his image and destroy his political career

Deputy President Wil-liam Ruto (second right) with Chief of De-fence Forces Julius Ka-rangi at the Parlia-ment Buildings before President Uhuru Ken-yatta’s the State of the Nation address on March 26. [PHOTO: MBU-GUA KIBERA/STANDARD]

INSIDE TODAY New guidelines will make it harder to deny suspects bail.Week in Review, P.24

to speed up the payments ahead of the planting season.

He further called on the EACC team to probe those mentioned so that convictions can be made while those innocent can be given a chance to continue serving Kenyans.

Menjo took issue with a number of leaders from the Rift who are crit-icising Uhuru for releasing the list, saying corruption should not be treated as a political parties’ affair.

“If anyone has been named in the list, they should be patient and let the anti-graft commission prove them wrong or right,” he added.

Phillip Chebunet, the chairper-son of the Department of Communi-cation at University of Eldoret said the graft list has made Rift Valley res-idents foresee a ‘bleak future’ under the Jubilee coalition.

He noted that the list has changed the recent political re-alignments and given many people the reason to support Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi. Al-lies of the DP have recently claimed Governor Ruto and Gideon want to wrestle the Rift Valley voting block from the DP.

“I doubt whether there was an agreement between Uhuru and Ruto in the drafting of the list. The latest development has hurt the DP’s am-bitions to become President in 2022,” he said.

Chebunet, in reference to the mentioning of Keitany, said Ruto was targeted. “Chinua Achebe, a novelist, said that when somebody kicks your dog, they are in real sense looking for you, Keitany’s name in the list speaks volumes,” he added.

Members of Deputy President Wil-liam Ruto’s United Republican Party (URP) are reading mischief in the ‘list of shame’ by the Ethics and Anti-cor-ruption Commission (EACC).

At the weekend, the Rift Valley lead-ers claimed 35 officials named in the list are Ruto allies and the end game is to tarnish the Deputy President’s im-age.

Speaking at a fundraiser in Aldai, Nandi Senator Stephen Sang, MPs Silas Tiren (Moiben), Jackson Kiptanui (Kei-yo South), Kangogo Bowen (Marakwet East), William Kisang (Marakwet West), Cornelly Serem (Aldai), Alfred Keter (Nandi-Hills), Julius Melly (Tinderet) and Zipporah Kerring (Nandi Women Rep) claimed there was a conspiracy to finish URP before 2017.

Three of the five Cabinet Secretaries and a number of parastatal managing directors named in the graft list re-leased by President Uhuru Kenyatta last week are allied to Ruto. They are Energy CS Davis Chirchir, Agriculture CS Felix Koskei and Labour CS Kazun-gu Kambi. Other officials adversely mentioned are Kenya pipeline Manag-ing Director Charles Tanui and Nation-al Social Security Fund managing Trustee Richard Langat.

The mention of Maryanne Keitany, Chief of Staff in the Office of the Dep-uty President, has also rattled Ruto al-lies, with some saying the move by President Kenyatta is meant to politi-cally expose the DP.

Ms Keitany, according to the EACC report, is accused of abuse of office and misappropriation of Sh200 million in

“This is a targeted attack at the reputation of URP, a planned conspiracy to publicly deface hardworking public o� cials for political reasons,”—Julius Melly

the office of the DP. “This is a targeted attack at the reputation of URP, a planned conspiracy to publicly de-face hardworking public officials for political reasons,” said Melly.

The leaders threatened that the process would backfire on Uhuru and his government and accused him of politicising the fight against corrup-tion.

“This is not a fight against corrup-tion, but a personal, political move meant to hurt URP, its leaders and their reputation,” said Sang.

Delayed payAt the same time, farmers in the

region are worried that without a substantive Agriculture Cabinet Sec-retary, some of their issues, including delay in payments for maize deliv-ered to the National Cereals and Pro-duce Board, will be affected.

Koskei, the Agriculture CS, stepped aside over allegations that he allowed secret importation of sugar.

Kenya Farmers Association (KFA) Director Kipkorir Menjo said a num-ber of farmers are likely to suffer if of-ficials at the ministry do not step in

y B BRIGID CHEMWENO

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s purge on corruption has won the praise of Britain, the US and Switzerland.

The British High Commission and the embassies of the US and Switzer-land said the fight against corruption was on track.

The countries’ envoys said the re-cent steps, including the charges and arrests in the Anglo Leasing scandal, had sent a strong signal.

Head of Communication at the British High Commission Stephen Burns said tackling corruption will al-low Kenya’s private sector to thrive and attract investments.

“This will ensure that benefits of economic growth are shared among all Kenyan citizens. Our governments have provided significant support and assistance to the government of Kenya to address corruption,” Burns said in a statement.

To win the fight against corruption, he said, Kenya will need sustained ac-tion and follow-through, which in-clude independent, vigorous investi-gations into all reports of corruption regardless of whom may be involved.

Burns called for appropriate sen-tences for those convicted of crimes. He also appealed to authorities to en-sure speedy trials conducted in full ac-cord with the rule of law and with equal treatment for all accused.

“As committed partners, we stand with Kenya as it seeks to stop this scourge and make progress on ensur-ing prosperity, security, and good gov-ernance for all citizens,” he said.

Envoys back Uhuru move on graft war


The Judiciary has asserted the constitutional right of suspects to be granted bail against the wishes of the Executive which wants some of the freedoms granted to suspects curtailed.

Through the new bail and bond policy guidelines launched a fortnight ago by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, the Judiciary raised the threshold for suspects’ to be denied or granted bail or bond by police and the courts.

The guidelines have adopted six general principles which will guide the police and judicial officers when deciding to grant bail or bond. These principles are pre-mised on Article 49 and 50 of the Constitution on the right to bond or bail and presumption of innocence.

The principles are the right of person to be presumed innocent; accused persons right to liberty; obligation to attend trial; right to reasonable bail and bond terms; balance or rights of accused persons; and interests of justice and consideration for rights of victims.

“The Constitution itself provides for right to bail or bond. The onus is on the prosecution to compel-lingly demonstrate why this right should be denied. Our taskforce set to offer guidelines for clearer application of this right in order to achieve the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” Law Society of Kenya Vice-Chair Renee Omondi, a member of the task force, said.

Lenient courtsThe Executive has often accused

the Judiciary of being lenient, especially on terror suspects, when considering bail or bond applica-tions. Both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have publicly taken issue with this matter.

The guidelines have taken into account whether or not reasons advanced by prosecution in opposing bail or bond for suspects is compelling. Previously, the criteria was not clear and judicial officers exercised their discretion as to what they considered compel-ling.

For example, in a terror case against Sheikh Aboud Rogo, the court held that mere suspicion that he was likely to abscond was not compelling a reason to deny him bail.

In the Abdikadir Aden Alias Tullu case, again on terror charges, the court held that gravity of charges was not compelling enough, yet in the case against Mahadi Swaleh on the Mpeketoni killings, the court cited gravity of charges to deny him bail.

In the Hassan Mahati Omar case where the pair were accused of being in possession of grenades used in Eastleigh attacks, the court granted bail to one of the accused because it was the first time he was

y B NZAU MUSAU

Iranians Ahmed Mohamed and Sayed Mousavi at the Milimani Law Courts where they were found guilty of plotting ter-ror attacks in Kenya. The two were granted bail by a court of law only for the decision to be overturned by a higher court. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

facing terror related charges but denied it to the other who had previously been charged with a terror offence.

In the case of the two Iranians accused of smuggling explosive material into Kenya, a lower court denied them bail on two occasions on account that the suspects had no fixed abode, no known hosts in Kenya and were a flight risk.

However, when they made the third application, the lower court granted them bail despite the fact that circumstances which had compelled the court to deny them bail in the first place had remained unchanged. The High Court, however, reversed the decision citing the prosecution argument that they still posed a danger to society.

“I also note that the recovery of the 15kg of explosive material was made possible by the respondents, and their arrest was as a result of intelligence reports which showed that 100kg of dangerous explosive material had been shipped into the country from Iran through the Port of Mombasa.

“This lends credence to the intelligence report which indicates

Constitutional rights: Executive has said in the past that terror suspects to be denied bail because they pose a fl ight risk

New guidelines will make it harder for courts to deny suspected criminals bail

ONLINE To coment or blog on this and other stories, Go to www.standardmedia.co.ke

that a consignment of 85kg of explosives remains unrecovered and may be accessed and used by the respondents to harm innocent Kenyans,” Judge Lydia Achode said while denying the pair bail.

Bail hearingsAchode chaired the taskforce on

the bail and bond policy. The guidelines prepared by her task-force require that courts will hold bail hearings where prosecution is opposed to a bail application and where they deem it fit, regardless of whether the prosecutor is opposed or not.

The court may also request for a bail report from probation officers where it considers it does not have sufficient information to make a fair and appropriate bail decision. The

guidelines say the reports should be processed “as soon as practicable but not later than two weeks.”

“The accused person shall be en-titled to the disclosure of any information relied upon by the prosecution in objecting to bail, provided that there is no good reason for withholding such information, such as the protection of witnesses or the preservation of national security,” it says.

Once the reports are provided to the courts, the prosecution and defence will have equal opportunity to contest the findings.

The guidelines have scored a first by restoring the concerns of victims of crimes in a pre-trial process. They require courts to give victims of crime an opportunity to submit any information that in their view the court should consider in making its bail decision.

“The views and concerns of victims are particularly important in the case of offences against the person, such as sexual offences, murder and domestic violence. However, the views and concerns of the victim or victims shall be presented in a manner that is not prejudicial to the rights of the accused person,” it says.

Before deciding whether or not to grant or deny the accused person bail, the guidelines say, courts must now give accused person an opportunity to rebut the claims of the prosecution and victims of the crime.

Other factors to be considered by the court before making the decision include the period the accused person has already spent in custody since arrest, probable period of detention until the conclusion of the trial if the

accused is not released on bail, and reasons for any delay in the conclusion of the trial.

The court must also consider the question of change of circumstanc-es during the trial if any, the maximum custodial sentence in case the accused person is convict-ed “provided that the courts should not deny an accused person bail if the gravity of the charge is the only consideration before it.”

“In other words, the seriousness of the alleged crime is not suffi-cient, by itself and in the absence of any other relevant factor or factors, to justify the denial of bail,” the guidelines state.

In the case of Mahadi, accused of 60 counts of murder in the Lamu attack, the court said the grave nature of the charges and the capital punishment they attracted was enough to compel it to believe that the accused was likely to abscond trial if granted bail.

The guidelines call for public awareness on bail and bonds including to police officers who are accused of detaining people of misdemeanours, including offences which are not known in law. An example is given of crime of “city planning” in respect of which several persons have been arrested and detained at the Kamukunji Police Station in Nairobi.

The guidelines state that sometimes the public confuses cash bails or fines for bribes.

They provide for anticipatory bail where suspects can apply for bail pending arrest and after they demonstrates that their right to liberty is likely to be compromised. To get that bail, applicants must demonstrate that their apprehen-sion is “real and not imagined or speculative.”

This kind of bail is most popular with politicians and prominent people.

On bail pending appeal, applicants must now demonstrate that there is an overwhelming probability that their appeals will succeed.

Conditions to be attached to bail range from the usual appearance in court and surrender of documents to novel ones like restraining suspects from contacting victims or “behaving in a manner that would distress them.” Another novel condition to a bail application would be the requirement that suspects vacate their residence and reside elsewhere for the duration of the trial

In case of transnational crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking and piracy, the guidelines say courts should consider the conditions requiring the accused to appear in specific places for trial or to assist police with their investigations. By and large, the guidelines discourage pre-deten-tion of suspects and say it results in over-crowding of prisons, radicali-sation and abuse of Kenyans’ rights.

It says only female officers should attend to female detainees. Every police station should have a female officer on duty at all times and every police station should keep a register of all persons detained therein.

The constitution itself provides for right to bail or bond. The onus is on the

prosecution to compellingly demonstrate why this right should be denied,”

— Renee Omondi, LSK Vice-Chair


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Leaders oppose JAP’s search for county coordinatorsJubilee Alliance Party’s preparations to

spread its network have gone a notch higher with the party searching for coordinators in the 47 counties.

However, the party headquarters’ move to recruit coordinators who will manage JAP af-fairs in the counties has faced stiff resistance from grassroots party officials, who say it is a plot to impose county party leaders.

According to the headquarters, the coordi-nators will act as liaisons between the county and national office, coordinate party matters, and spearhead membership recruitment and the opening of party offices.

But Nakuru JAP chairman James Karimi has insisted that those based at the branches should be allowed to pick their leaders.

“We are better placed to run the party at the branch, as we know the party supporters and the dynamics involved, unlike officials

imposed from Nairobi,” Karimi said.Branch leaders have instead called for the

resignation of some of the national officials, whom they accused of messing up the party campaigns, leading to the loss in the March 16 Kajiado Central by-election.

A meeting of JAP party leaders from the 47 counties in Naivasha last weekend called for the resignation of some interim party officials, whom they blamed for the loss.

“The loss in Kajiado Central should serve as an eye-opener, and some of the national officials should resign to allow for the party’s rebranding,” Karimi said.

And Nyanza region Jubilee coordinator Zu-beri Odhiambo said party members had lost faith in some of the national officials and they should pave the way for fresh blood following the loss to the Opposition.

It was not clear if the meeting or the offi-cials who met in Naivasha was recognised by the party’s national office as senior officials have been insisting that JAP has no branch

officials. An advert placed by JAP secretary general Veronica Maina (pictured below) in the local dailies invited qualified candidates to apply for the coordinator position, which is voluntary, and submit their applications by April 7.

The recruitment of coordinators is aimed at healing rifts in county branches, where rival factions have been fighting to take control of party affairs, especially in Jubilee strongholds.

Big brotherJAP is already facing resistance in parts of

Rift Valley from United Republican Party members, who fear their party will be swal-lowed by the new outfit, leaving them without a fallback should the ‘marriage’ between their party and The National Alliance (TNA) not hold. Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto and Kuresoi South MP Zakayo Cheruiyot are among lead-ers from the region who have opposed the new party.

Some URP officials, especially in Rift Val-

ley, are already grumbling that TNA officials are behaving like ‘big brother’ in JAP, especial-ly in areas where the two main Jubilee affili-ates enjoy significant support.

Plans to establish structures in the branch-es could heal rifts witnessed in Nyeri, Nakuru and Laikipia counties, where JAP leaders have been fighting for the control of the branches.

The rush to realign with the party intensi-fied after President Uhuru Kenyatta gave it his nod and personally presented Patrick Tutui the party ticket to contest the Kajiado Central seat.

Aspirants looking forward to the next elec-tion have aligned themselves with the new party, causing jitters among elected leaders who have to wait until 2017 to formally join JAP.

Karimi, however, denied that they were at-tempting to hijack the party, saying they only wanted to strengthen it ahead of the 2017 elections as it would be the re-election vehicle used by President Uhuru and his deputy.

ByB Karanja njoroge

City PAC findings indict top officials over audit queries

Funds: Report wants five senior officers who previously served in the defunct city council to be held accountable

were not properly maintained and fi-nancial statements did not comply with the Local Government Act, Cap 265.

The PAC report says the validity of the financial statements given for the period ended February 28, 2013 could not be confirmed.

One sitting“The committee held one sitting

during which it interrogated the ac-counting officer, various chief officers and departmental heads on audit que-ries raised by the Auditor General. Oral and documentary evidence was ob-tained during the interrogation,” reads the report. The PAC report recommends that the County Secretary furnishes the assembly with the missing reports with-in 14 days from the day of adoption (last Thursday).

The report, however, says the county secretary admitted to the audit findings and submitted that the cash books and

Billions of shillings in public funds were not accounted for at the defunct Nairobi City Council between 2010 and 2013, a report by the County Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) shows.

The report wants five senior officers who served in the defunct council and who are now holding key positions in Governor Evans Kidero’s county govern-ment dismissed for failing to provide cru-cial accounting records.

The PAC document, tabled by chair-man Robert Mbatia and adopted by the assembly last Thursday during a sitting chaired by Speaker Alex ole Magelo, is based on the Auditor-General’s report on the defunct city council.

It recommends that the accounting of-ficer, who is the County Secretary Lillian Ndegwa, be dismissed for gross incompe-tence, dereliction of duties and gross vi-olation of the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act 2012 of the county government.

Ndegwa was on Wednesday ques-tioned by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for alleged abuse of office. Others recommended for dismiss-al include Jimmy Kiamba (the former city treasurer who is the current County Chief Finance Officer); Stephen Osiro (former deputy treasurer, who is the current Head of Treasury); Luke Gatimu (former chief accountant, who is the current Head of County Revenue), and Nancy Kiruri (for-

The executive should explore ways of collaborating with other key service providers to ensure defaulters are denied services — Audit report

bank reconciliation had not been prop-erly updated and reconciled at the time of the audit, but the cashbooks were now updated and properly reconciled.

The PAC report further recommend-ed the county secretary should compile a comprehensive asset schedule for all asset types and develop an asset man-agement policy.

On the County Executive member for finance and economic planning, the re-port recommends that the person in charge should operate within the bud-get, formulate a clear debt management policy and strategies for rate collection.

On service delivery, the report recom-mends that outstanding rates be collect-ed and appropriate legal action taken against defaulters. “The county execu-tive should explore ways of collaborating with other key service providers to en-sure defaulters are denied services be-fore clearance of their rate arrears,” states the report.

mer Deputy Chief Accountant, who is currently head of County Budgeting).

The county PAC report says: “The ac-counting officer for Nairobi City county government has consistently failed to produce crucial account records to the Office of the Auditor General. This was evidenced in the audit reports prepared by the Kenya National Audit Office for the Financial years 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.”

Information withheld from auditing include a general ledger and trial bal-ance for audit verification, accounting records including the cash books, bank reconciliation statements and bank cer-tificates for some of the bank accounts.

The report quotes the Auditor Gen-eral’s adverse opinion thus: “In the Au-ditor General’s opinion, the financial statements did not fairly present the po-sition of the council as at February 28, 2013 and its financial performance and its cash flows in accordance with Inter-national Public Sector Accounting Stan-dards and the Public Audit Act 2003.”

Three reasons are offered for the ad-verse opinion; that not all information and explanations required for the pur-pose of audit were received, accounts

ByB Stephen MaKaBila

Nairobi County staff on duty. The county assembly’s Public Accounts Committee says money spent between 2010 and 2013 is yet to be fully accounted for. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

in figuresAccording to the report, the total amount of debts stood at Sh 18, 389,976,000 as per February 28, 2013, while propriety of the contingent liabilities balances of Sh 24,125,715,000 could not be ascertained.Among other recommendations is conduct-ing an immediate valuation of all county property in line with the prevailing market rates and completion of the valuation roll for the county.


y B STEPHEN MAKABILAy B STEPHEN MAKABILA

Participants pray during last month’s National Women Prayer Banquet in Nairobi. Women representation is yet to meet the constitutional threshold of two-thirds. [PHOTO:JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Quest to anchor two-thirds gender rule in law on course

Stakeholders are under pressure to de-velop a formula which will ensure that the country meets a constitutional threshold that no single gender holds more than two-thirds of seats in Parliament.

The Supreme Court set August 2015 as the deadline in which this formula should be anchored in law. And with this deadline fast approaching, a sense of urgency has gripped the government, the political class and the civil society to deliver a workable formula.

Last year, the court called for the enact-ment of legislation on the implementation of the gender rule in Parliament and Sen-ate before the deadline, but little progress was made.

However, recently the leadership of 59 political parties converged on Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos County and agreed on a working formula, set to be refined.

“There were multiple proposals, but there is now a common stand by all polit-ical parties on one proposal which will be refined in our next meeting before it is made public,” the Registrar of Political Par-ties, Ms Lucy Ndungu, said.

Ndungu, however, said that an amend-ment to the current Political Parties Act to realise the gender equity formula was an option.

The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) chairperson, Winfred Lichuma, showed The Standard on Sun-day a report on what was agreed on at the meeting. Among the issues discussed was a proposal to double the number of coun-ty women’s seats in the National Assembly from 47 to 94, excluding the Senate, while retaining the 290 elected from the constit-uencies and the 12 nominated from the party lists.

The group agreed that the alternative was to increase the number of women elected under Article 98(1)(b), which pro-vides for the filling of special seats after the declaration of elected members from each county and increasing from 16 to 23 wom-en picked by political parties in the Senate.

Another proposal is to increase the number of county women representatives in the National Assembly from 47 to 144.

Before the August deadline, Parliament has to speed up the establishment of a le-gal framework to anchor the gender equal-ity formula in law as envisaged in the Con-stitution.

And with five months before the dead-line, there seems to be time pressure to de-liver. Even as leaders of political parties were holding talks at Maanzoni, a gender forum convened by German human rights group Heinrich Böll Stiftung was also ex-ploring ways of arriving at a workable for-mula, with suggestions that the deadline be extended.

Devolution and Planning CS Ann Waig-uru had during the launch of the Women Charter in February observed: “We are working hard in collaboration with part-ners to find a formula for the realisation of the two-thirds gender rule as per the Su-preme Court deadline of August 2015.”

The Maanzoni meeting held on March 26 and March 27 brought together chair-men and secretary generals of registered political parties, National Gender and Equality Commission commissioners, Nd-ung’u and officials from the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC).

Ruling: Formula to decide representation must be anchored by August

Kenya’s next Parliament could have 453 or 444 MPs if a proposal to increase county women seats is forwarded and adopted by the National Assembly.

The assembly is expected to receive the recommendation by the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) within the next five months.

The aim of the proposals, already discussed by the leadership of 59 registered political parties, is to provide a road map towards the realisa-tion of a constitutional provision which requires that no single gender occupies more than two-thirds of the parliamentary seats.

Increasing the number of county women seats from 47 to 94, while retaining the 290 elective positions from the constituencies and the 12 nominated from the parties’ lists is among the proposals.

In a scenario where all the 290 elective and 12 nominated seats are held by men, the proposal, if implemented, would result in 453 members of the National Assembly, including 151 women mem-bers to achieve the one-third gender requirement.

But where all the 290 elective and six out of the 12 nominated seats are held by men and six by women, this would give a total of 444 members of the National Assembly with 148 women members to achieve the one-third gender requirement.

And if women’s seats are doubled, not all counties may have an equal number of women representatives, going by the proposed formula seen by The Standard on Sunday. The slots will be distributed proportionate to the existing number of constituencies in each county.

For example, Nairobi County, which has the highest number of constituencies at 17, will have an additional six women representative slots, followed by Kiambu, Nakuru and Kakamega counties with four additional slots each.

Bungoma, Homa Bay, Meru, Kitui, Machakos, Migori and Kisii counties will each have an additional three slots. Those proposed to have two slots are Mombasa, Kilifi, Wajir, Garissa, Mandera, Makueni, Nyan-darua, Nyeri, Muranga, Turkana, Trans-Nzoia, Ua-sin-Gishu, Nandi, Baringo, Narok, Kajiado, Kericho, Bomet, Vihiga, Busia, Siaya and Kisumu counties. Those which will get a slot each are Nyami-ra, Laikipia, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Samburu, West-Pokot, Kirinya-ga, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi,

Marsabit, Isiolo, Taita-Taveta, Lamu, Tana-River and Kwale.

This proposal is from a group formed by the Attorney General’s office following a Supreme Court Advisory Opinion 2 of 2012, with a mandate to develop a frame-work that would lead to the realisation of the two-thirds gender formula as per Article 27 (6) and (8) as read together with Article 81 (b) of the Constitution.

The working group included representatives from the office of the Attorney General, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and Office of the Registrar of Political Parties.

Others were Parliament’s Committee on the Implemen-tation of the Constitution, Committee on Legal Affairs), Kenya Women’s Parliamentary Association, Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya) and the Commission on the Administration of Justice.

The proposal does not require a referendum. The amendment would be by parliamentary initiative and would require a two-third majority in Parliament to pass.

Additional seats“The advantage is that the

proposal guarantees to secure the two-third gender threshold, an objective criterion is used to distribute additional women representatives to all counties, while the increase in the number of women is propor-tionate to constituencies in the respective county, which will reflect the density of the population. However, it might raise a debate on the wage bill and the criteria suggested for the allocation of the number of seats to the respective coun-ties,” says the NGEC in its recommendations.

It goes on: “The minimum gender ratio in the Senate that will meet the two-third constitutional threshold on the other hand ought to be 49 men against 25 women, bringing the total to 74. However, we already have 18 women senators that are guaranteed, the balance being seven women.”

The report puts emphasis on the need to safeguard the constitutional principle of equality. It also targets the Executive in order to pressurise it to support efforts towards implementing the formula and the legislature to be account-able in fulfilling and protecting the Constitution.

Number of MPs to hit 453 if law

is amended

The IEBC was represented by the vice-chair, Lilian Mahiri-Zaja. Another propos-al at Maanzoni was that instead of meet-ing the formula through the elective route, the deficit be dealt with after an election, with the under represented gender being given nomination slots.

Currently women in Parliament form 25 per cent of elected representatives up from 9.9 per cent in 2007. In the public service, out of the 18 ministerial portfoli-os, women make up 33.3 per cent of Cab-inet appointees.

While the Senate and County Assem-blies use the nomination formula to sort out the gender equation, the National As-sembly remains a male-dominated House where women won only 16 out of the 290 elective constituencies.

Tough choice“We reasoned that its not possible to

set aside exclusive constituencies for women because Kenyans have their dem-ocratic right to elect leaders of their choice, hence the proposal to go for post-election nominations. The final de-cision would, however, be made at the next meeting,” United Democratic Forum Secretary General Kizito Mugali, who at-tended the Maanzoni meeting, said.

At the launch of the women charter, Waiguru spoke of need to continue ex-panding the space for women to lead and that such efforts require nurturing young women.

“If you are an MCA, aspire to run for MP for your constituency and mentor a young woman to succeed you in the MCA role. Nominated MCAs and MPs work with constituents to support your election and that of other women and run for elective office. We will not make it alone, we must move forward together.” she said.

And even as the political parties toyed with the proposals, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung meeting explored the idea of seeking the extension of the deadline.

Kibra MP Ken Okoth said if it is impos-sible to settle on a formula, then the best way out would be for the National Assem-bly to seek the extension of the deadline by the Supreme Court. “It is practically not possible to have the formula in place be-fore the deadline and the way out is to seek for an extension by going back to the court,” Okoth told the forum.

Ndung’u

Waiguru

INSIDE TODAY Protracted land dispute delays man’s burial for nine years.Week in Review, P.29


Despite the Government’s deployment of more than 200 security officers to curb cattle rustling in Baringo, it has emerged that logistical issues and poor terrain are hindering the officers’ mission.

Security officers working in Tiaty, an area where livestock have been stolen for decades, are not equipped to fight the armed criminals.

A spot check by The Standard on Sunday established Tiaty Sub-county has no police vehicles that the officers can use to trail livestock when an attack is reported. “I do not have a vehicle. The one I was allocated broke down and is at the garage. It is an old vehicle that can no longer be serviced,” says area Deputy Commissioner Daniel Kirui.

In addition, the sub-county has only one police station, at Nginyang. But even as this security team grapples with logistical problems, those deployed to flush out bandits in Arabal — following Security Secretary Jospeh Nkaiserry’s directive in February — have made no progress due to the rugged terrain and poor commu-

nication network.The officers who have set a

camp at Kapindasum, an aban-doned settlement in Baringo South, have to travel for two days across Baringo, Nakuru and Laikipia counties to access Ngelecha, a valley just about ten kilometres from their camp. Armed herders, who fled after the officers arrived in Arabal, are currently grazing in the valley.

A junior officer who is part of the contingent told this reporter they have to travel 200 kilometres across the three counties to reach Ngelecha. “But we cannot do anything. This place also has a poor phone network. We can only watch the herders through binoculars,” said the officer.

A road linking Chemorongyon and Arabal and another one passing through Kiserian to Mukutani are in a sorry state. Rocks and treacherous valleys make travel almost impossible.

Regardless of the heavy police presence and a series of ultima-tums issued by Nkaiserry and Inspector General of Police Jospeh Boinett, raids and killings contin-ue unabated.

y B LEONARD KULEI

Ill-equipped security

personnel face uphill battle

No police carsThe vehicle

allocated to Deputy Commissioner Daniel Kirui (pictured) is old and has broken down.

Banditry continues in parts of Baringo County because the rugged terrain has frustrated security offi-cers for decades.

Police officers deployed to the lawless regions between Baringo South and Tiaty sub-counties say the rocky valleys are deadly dens in-to which they dare not enter.

The imposing valleys of Chesirim and Silale, surrounded by expansive plains that extend at the foot of Kuki Gallmann Ranch in Laikipia, form what has been described as a perfect hideout for criminals who strike vil-lages and make away with thou-sands of herds of livestock. In their wake, the raiders have left a trail of death, maimed souls and displaced thousands from their homes.

The rustlers, many of whom have been traced to Tiaty in Pokot East, drive the stolen animals into the val-leys of Kasarani in Kapedo, a rugged wilderness.

Recovery missions led by securi-ty officers have often resulted in death.

The varied landscape of Baringo is cruel to the inexperienced. The plains, approximately five to six ki-lometres from the escarpment, are littered with volcanic rocks and thorny scrubs. Only a few red-robed herders and their livestock are found here.

Victims of banditry accuse the State of playing politics with the se-curity operation.

Last week, participants at a secu-rity conference sponsored by Kerio Valley Development Authority and held at Lake Bogoria Spa Resort were shocked when Rift Valley Re-gional Coordinator Osman Warfa

y B VINCENT MABATUK

O� cers des-patched to Baringo County can only watch as the herders they are after graze thousands of stolen livestock in valleys. [PHO-TOS:KIPSANG JOSEPH/STANDARD]

They are used to the harsh terrain and once inside the valleys, even the police cannot pursue them.

— Chief William Koech of Arabal Location

said the Government had no plans to disarm communities in Baringo and parts of North Rift.

Warfa said more than 200,000 firearms were in the hands of pasto-ral communities illegally, but said the operation in Baringo was meant to push back Pokot raiders, describ-ing disarmament as “very expen-sive”.

However, a week ahead of the conference, Interior Cabinet Secre-tary Joseph Nkaissery had issued a one-week ultimatum to Pokot herd-ers to vacate Arabal area in Baringo South where hundreds of families had been displaced.

Shocked“I was shocked by what I saw in

Ngelecha Primary School, which has been turned into a cowshed after books were burnt ,” said Nkaissery. “Nobody will infringe on the rights of the Pokots but they will also not be allowed to trample on the rights of their neighbours”.

Shortly after this, hundreds of se-curity officers from the General Ser-vice Unit (GSU), Administration Po-lice, regular police, Anti-Stock theft Unit and Rapid Deployment Unit were dispatched to Baringo and Laikipia counties to flush out herders who had invaded neighbouring ter-ritories.

But the officers who spoke to The Standard on Sunday condition of an-onymity said the mission was impos-sible. “The operation could not pro-ceed because it is impractical to go into the treacherous valley without air cover,” said one officer.

He says the team of security offi-cers “who are ill-equipped to tackle the bandits” have been monitoring the herders’ movements using pow-

erful binoculars. “We can see about 3,000 herders in the valleys but we can do nothing. They have a lot of firearms. The terrain is treacherous and the place is also infested with poisonous snakes. We have not been provided with proper operation gear.For now, there is little we can do,” said the officers.

The rugged valleys can only be accessed on foot, a nightmare for those unfamiliar with the rocks and depressions. Arrison Otieno of the Administration Police’s Rural Border Patrol Unit from the National Police Service and Rift Valley Police region-al Co-ordinator Gideon Amala, tasked with the responsibility to flush out hundreds of illegally-armed Pokot herders from Arabal, Chebiny-iny and Rugus locations in Baringo, admit that the harsh terrain has compromised security missions.

The senior officers also state that aerial surveillance is the best solu-tion, and say their team is in the pro-

Cattle rustling: Troops in Baringo say their orders are to push back, not disarm, raiders

Officers keep off deadly dens as bandits exploit rugged terrain

cess of securing a helicopter.“But understand this clearly, our

mandate here is to push back these herders and not to engage in any as-sault. We are not disarming any-body,” said Otieno.

The police officers have to trek many kilometres in the heat, but are unable to access the valley. Once in the escarpment, they can only watch the rustlers’ animals enjoy plenty of pasture along the river bank.

Chief William Koech of Arabal Lo-cation says after cattle raids, the ban-dits, who always outnumber the poorly-equipped Kenya Police Re-servists, capitalise on delays as the police await orders from their supe-riors and the difficulty in accessing the valley.

“They are used to the harsh ter-rain and once inside the valleys, even the police cannot pursue them. The bandits lay an ambush at the entry points,” he says.

The bandits here are armed to the teeth with illegally acquired AK-47 and M-16 rifles.

In Baringo, hardly a month hard-ly passes by without reports of kill-ings in areas such as Ngelecha, Lo-moiwe, Kapindasum and Kasiela. It is in Baringo where 21 Administra-tion Police were massacred by sus-pected Pokot bandits in October last year, at Kasarani area near Kapedo and their weapons stolen.

Baringo Speaker William Kamket, alongside two Members of the Coun-ty Assembly, are also facing murder charges due to the frequent attacks.

Surprisingly, the stolen rifles that included G3 and AK 47 rifles were re-turned but thousands of bullets are still in the hands of the bandits and now blamed for the current state of insecurity in the region.


Protracted land dispute delays man’s

burial for nine years

Bone of contention: Step brothers have been embroiled in a court battle over ownership of five-acre piece of land

transfer of the suit land to Mbeu. He also directed Kirinyaga District Land Registrar to dispense with the pro-duction of the land’s title deed during the transfer. Muchiri’s application to have the directive set aside was dis-missed by Justice Makhandia’s ruling dated February 26, 2009. While dis-missing the application, the Judge highlighted that Muchiri had been served with a hearing notice and that he knew the case was coming up for hearing.

“No useful purpose will be served in setting aside the orders made on October 17, 2008, as the appellant’s application has been spent and can-not be revived,” stated Justice Makhandia and ordered Muchiri to pay the suit costs amounting to over Sh 100,000. Muchiri, after being un-able to pay the costs, was committed to civil jail at Nyeri G K prison be-tween May 2009 and March 2010.

In pursuant to the judge’s orders, Mbeu obtained the consent of the Land Control Board and transferred the suit property to himself and was issued with a title deed in his name. It was after securing freedom that Muchiri followed up with the appeal.

In his submissions before the Court of Appeal, he reiterated that Mbeu’s new title deed was invalid and that Justice Makhandia erred in dealing with the matter as if all the parties were alive. “The respondent’s title deed of the suit property is null and void as it was obtained through a court order issued without the plaintiff being heard,” Muchiri told the court. As the court battle raged on between Muchiri, 68, and his 80-year-old step father, Mugo’s body continued lying at the mortuary during which bills amounting to

A protracted land dispute be-tween members of two related fam-ilies in Kirinyaga County has de-layed, for nine years, the burial of a man who died at 90. The families of Mugo Kithakwa, who died in 2006, and his step brother Mbeu Kithakwa have been tussling over land their fa-thers left them in the 1980s. The land in dispute is part of a five-acre par-cel, namely Inoi/Kerugoya/113, in-herited by Mbeu’s father, Kithakwa Njeru in 1983 under the Kikuyu cus-tomary law.

On the other hand, Mugo’s father, Muchiri Njeru, had land parcels In-oi/Kerugoya/49 and Inoi/Keru-goya/104 which were inherited by Mugo and his brother Ndonga Kithakwa respectively.

Later on however, an ownership dispute over land parcel Inoi/Keru-goya/113 arose between Mugo and Mbeu. When they went to court, Mu-go lost but soon after appealed the ruling. Nyeri Resident Magistrate Patrick O’Connor allowed Mugo’s ap-peal and ordered that the land be subdivided equally between Mugo and Mbeu.

The order is dated July 5, 1982. Af-ter the subdivision, Mbeu got land parcel Inoi/Kerugoya/768 and Mugo Inoi/Kerugoya/769 which is current-ly in dispute. Mbeu, however, re-turned to court and the matter was concluded by consent orders issued by Lady Justice Mary Ang’awa of the High Court in 1995. In the consent, Mugo agreed to transfer the land to Mbeu.

“However, he later declined to sign the papers and passed on with-out doing so,” said Mbeu. A few days after Mugo passed away, Mbeu ob-tained a court order restraining the deceased’s family from burying him in the disputed land.

Reversing orderThe order, dated August 29, 2006,

was issued by Principal Magistrate Margaret Gitonga. Not long after Mu-go’s son, Philip Muchiri, went to court seeking to reverse the order. However, he did not seek to be sub-stituted as a party in the place of his deceased father.

Mbeu told the court that Muchiri flatly refused to be substituted and that being the case, he remained a stranger to the suit.

Sh954,800 were incurred.While Muchiri fought to retain the

two and a half-acre piece of land and bury his father therein, Mbeu wanted to claim it as his own. Mbeu won-dered in court why Muchiri insisted on burying his father in the disputed land and yet his family had never re-sided in it. “They have always lived on land parcel Inoi/Kerugoya/104. Why would they want to bury their father on this land and yet their late mother was buried where they live?” Mbeu posed

In his submissions before appel-late judges Alnasir Visram, Martha Koome, and Otieno Odek, he op-posed Muchiri’s appeal to have the land transfer order revoked.

“Based on his own admission that he was never substituted as the per-sonal representative of the deceased plaintiff, the appellant has no capa-bility to institute this appeal,” said Mbeu.

He further stated that Muchiri’s letters of administration over the es-tate of the deceased, which he ob-tained from a Nairobi court after a Nyeri court turned him down, could not substitute him as a party in place of the deceased.

“Although I am sorry that the ap-pellant has never given his father a decent burial, I urge the court not to be swayed by sympathetic consider-ations but to take into account that there is another land parcel regis-tered under the name of the de-ceased wherein he can be buried,” added Mbeu, through his lawyer Da-vidson Warutere.

Disclosure of deathAfter reviewing submissions from

both parties, the judges set aside the High Court ruling and in a ruling dat-ed June 30, last year, declared that more than 12 months had lapsed since the death of the plaintiff on May 18, 2005, to the date the High Court issued its orders on October 17, 2008 and therefore by virtue of operation of law, the suit filed by the plaintiff had abated.

“However, we are convinced that had the fact of the plaintiff’s death been disclosed to the High Court judge, he would have arrived at a dif-ferent decision and not conducted an ex-parte hearing without a legal representative for the estate of the deceased,” they stated. After the rul-ing, Muchiri started making prepara-tions to bury his father in the former-ly disputed land.

Through his negotiations with the County Government of Kirinyaga, the mortuary bill was waived to Sh10,000, a move that Mbeu disap-proved.

When Muchiri requested the po-lice to provide security during the burial, the police commandant told him that they could only be involved in the matter if there was a court or-der specifically addressed to them. The burial, therefore did not take place on February 25, this year, as the family of the deceased had planned.

Last week when Muchiri was in the High Court after making a formal application to be provided with secu-rity, he got emotional on learning that the earliest date the court could give its ruling was May 15, three days just before the ninth anniversary of his father’s death.

Already, Mbeu has filed an appli-cation to have appellate judges’ rul-ing reviewed, contending that the matter could not have abated be-cause it had already been concluded by the time Mugo died in 2006.

In his appeal, Muchiri particular-ly challenged the manner in which his step-father approached the court and managed to get the order.

According to him, the application for injunction was made under the wrong provisions of the law and in the wrong form and therefore, it ought to have been dismissed. “The suit was improperly instituted by a Notice of Motion which is not per-missible in law. Furthermore, the ap-plication seeking the orders was not based on a plaint as is required by law,” read his grounds for appeal in part.

Court faultedIn addition, Muchiri faulted the

lower court Magistrate for holding that there was no evidence tendered to show that the deceased was the registered proprietor of the disputed land parcel namely Inoi/Keru-goya/769. Lady Justice Mary Kasango set aside the ruling and order made on August 29, 2006, by Principal Magistrate M.R. Gitonga and allowed the appeal to proceed.

Aggrieved by the quashing of the restraint order, Mbeu returned to court and sought to transfer the suit land to his name. His request was granted on October 17, 2008, by Jus-tice Milton Makhandia in Muchiri’s absence. Muchiri would later con-tend that he had not been served with a hearing notice of that day.

But a court process server by the name Julius Mundia, stated in his af-fidavit that he actually served Muchi-ri with the hearing notice. In the or-der, Justice Makhandia authorised the Deputy Registrar to sign on be-half of the deceased plaintiff, all the documents required to effect the

ByB Dennis MBae

Philip Mugo (left) and his son Nicholas Mwangi peruse court documents at the Nyeri Law Courts. A land dispute between Mugo and his step father has delayed his deceased father’s burial for nine years. [PHOTO: MOSE SAMMY/STANDARD]

April 5, 2015STANDARD ON SUNDAYFINANCE: Why

Shari’ah scholars are key to Islamic banking growth Page 32

NBK taps into cashless matatu

paymentNational Bank of Kenya has unveiled

a new cashless payment card as it moves to tap into the matatu billions. The Matatu cashlite fare collection solution dubbed ‘Na3card’ empowers matatu operators to accept fare via different payment methods ranging from cash, mobile money and card.

NBK Managing Director Munir Ahmed said the solution provides oper-ators with the ability to monitor their fleet through route management mod-ule. While unveiling the card Mr Ahmed said the solution will allow matatu own-ers collect and account for fares from commuters according to the National transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) requirements.

“Multiple channels will be provided to load the card. These include NBK agent network, ATMs, mobile money transfer and mobile banking,’’ Ahmed said.

He said the card’s payment applica-tion will be installed on devices de-ployed in each matatu to acquire card payment transactions, record fare col-lections and track the location of the de-vice. —Philip Mwakio

Expert: Invest more in research to up

agricultureKenya could make great economic

strides by investing in research to come up with innovations to improve agricul-tural production.

Dr Joseph Shivel, an economist and president of Galilee International Man-agement Institute said while Kenya has seen tremendous growth in information, communications and technology (ICT), agriculture still lags behind.

“Statistics show Kenya’s net exports in the past 10 years being negligible. Agri-culture practised in the country is mostly subsistence and not mechanised. It is im-possible for a country to develop when it is a net importer,” said Dr Shivel.

Dr Shivel was the keynote speaker during the launch of Global Leadership Roundtable, a leadership and network-ing forum aimed at linking local profes-sionals with counterparts in Israel.

He gave example of Israel which has realised development despite being lo-cated in the middle of a desert and with-out mineral wealth and crude oil. “The fact that Israel does not have fertile land has made it invest heavily in education and research. Today, the country is a top exporter of skilled manpower. Its invest-ment in research is paying off with export of agricultural produce,” said Dr Shivel.

Global Leadership Roundtable aims at linking farmers, architects and other professionals with counterparts in Israel. “GLR aims at nurturing leadership qual-ities as well as train participants on grow-ing networks,” said Jomo Kenyatta Uni-versity of Agriculture and Technology Director Dr Fred Mugambi, who is also the GLR director. — Mwangi Muraguri

MCAs blow billions in sitting allowances

“Turkana County had the highest expenditure on domestic and foreign travel at Sh183.94 million and Nairobi County at Sh173.67 million,” the re-port says. Conversely, Lamu County, Elgeyo Marakwet County and Mom-basa County had the least expendi-ture on travel, the report adds.

Wajir had the highest proportion of expenditure on travel at 86.5 per cent and Bomet at 81.4 per cent. Ac-cording to the report, the counties with the lowest proportion of expen-diture on domestic and foreign travels to annual budgetary allocation were Marsabit (20.9 per cent), Kisumu (18.8 per cent), Mombasa (4.9 per cent).

Murang’a and Nakuru counties ex-ceeded their annual allocation for do-mestic and foreign travel by 135 per cent and 104.6 per cent, respectively. “This implies that funds meant for other activities were diverted to pay expenditure on domestic and foreign travel,” the report signed by Mrs Ag-nes Odhiambo (pictured), the Con-troller of Budget, says.

But as this happens, the report shows that only three counties have

yB PAUL WAFULA

been able to meet their revenue col-lection targets from local sources in the same period. This promises the remaining counties a difficult second half in which they would struggle to meet their budgets and may be forced to cut down on development expen-diture even as they overpay their MCAs. The report dated February 2015 covers the six months between July and December 2014.

How MCAs are minting moneyCommittees are the main cash

cows for MCAs. A chairman of a com-mittee earns Sh6,500 per sitting. In a week made of five working days, they are allowed eight sittings every week which translates to Sh208,000 per month.

A vice chairperson earns Sh5,200 per sitting and in similar number of sittings a week, they earn about Sh166,400 at the end of the month. On their part, a member of the commit-tee will earn Sh3,900 per sitting and this would translate to Sh154,000 per month.

Huge perks: On top of their basic pay, this means that an MCA in Uasin Gishu comfortably made more than Sh500,000 per month on average in the six months.

Turkana County had the highest

expenditure on domes-tic and foreign travel at Sh183.94 million and Nairobi County at Sh173.67 million,” -the report says

Most MCAs are in more than one committees and this pushes their al-lowances higher. In Machakos County for instance, there are MCAs who are in five committees and some cannot even catch up with the meetings. That’s not all.

There is also a kitty for special as-sembly duty allowances from where MCAs with some extra responsibili-ties draw some additional funds. For instance, the leaders of majority and minority earn Sh32,000 per month and the chief whips, deputy leaders of minority and majority each draw an extra Sh29,000 per month.

Chairpersons of committees, dep-uty chief whip and other whips earn Sh26,000. Vice chairpersons and members of the speakers panels each earn an additional Sh23,000 and Sh20,000 every month.

On top of that, they also get be-tween Sh5,000 and Sh10,000 in air-time allowances every month. MCAs are also entitled to a car loan of Sh2 million and a mortgage of Sh3 million both of which are payable at an inter-est of 3 per cent.

At that rate, they compare favour-ably with what banks give their staff and several blue chip companies as a benefit to lock in their best staff. But the loan must be repaid within their five-year term.

Kenya has about 2,500 MCAs who came to office following promulga-tion of the new Constitution that scrapped the former county, munici-pal and city councils.

Speakers of the 47 national assem-blies are chauffeur driven and have public vehicles. MCAs are entitled to huge mileage allowances.

—[email protected]

Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) in 13 counties defied the sal-aries commission guidelines and gob-bled up millions of shillings in illegal sitting allowances, a new report has shown.

Uasin Gishu County was the high-est offender after each MCA on aver-age received Sh312,339 a month in the first six months of the year. This is nearly three times more than the monthly ceilings of Sh124,800 set by the Salaries and Remuneration Com-mission (SRC).

On top of their basic pay, this means an MCA in Uasin Gishu com-fortably made more than Sh500,000 a month on average in the six months.

This makes them better paid than university professors in public insti-tutions, doctors, teachers and major-ity of employees in the civil service.

Second on the list of offenders is Migori where their ward representa-tives took home Sh185,792 a month in sitting allowances, followed by Trans Nzoia (Sh178,168), Homa Bay (Sh165,120) and Bungoma (Sh154,700), closing the list of the top five.

The controller of budget now wants theses 13 counties investigated. “Office of Controller of Budget recom-mends that an audit of this expense item be conducted to ascertain valid-ity of the expenditure,” the report reads in part.

The other counties that could face investigations include Kisii, Nyeri, Turkana, Siaya, Kirinyaga, Nyan-darua, Kakamega and Wajir. These counties paid their MCAs between Sh126,000 and Sh146,000 on average per month between July and Decem-ber according to the latest report by the Controller of Budget.

The excess expenditure is making MCAs the new lords of opulence at the counties, that has seen them af-ford lavish lifestyles. Many of them have been lifted from virtual oblivion and menial jobs and catapulted to life on the fast lane.

But the difference between the top and bottom spenders is ten times apart. MCAs in Vihiga, Kajiado, Nan-di, Baringo and Laikipia counties earned the least amounts in sitting al-lowances than their counterparts. At Sh12,225 per MCA in Vihiga, the ward representatives earned more than ten times less money than their col-leagues in Uasin Gishu.

The ward representatives are now driving fuel guzzlers, building palatial homes, own fat bank accounts and now take luxurious trips at home and abroad - a far cry from traveling in congested matatus and jalopies.

Domestic and foreign travelMCAs spent 32 per cent more on

domestic and foreign travel in the six months to December last year. In the reporting period, counties spent Sh3.7 billion on domestic and foreign travel against an annual budget of Sh8.52 billion, representing a 43.7 per cent of the annual budget.

13 counties where MCAs spend more than the SRC ceilings of Sh124,800 in allowances per month

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WEEKEND BUSINESS / Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

ByB Moses Michira

Employers want workers’ pay pegged on value of job done

Workers’ pay could soon be pegged on the value of their contri-bution rather than hours spent at work, in a new proposal by employ-ers that will have wide implications in the labour market.

Kenya Private Sector Alliance chairman Vimal Shah said the group had successfully lobbied State House to adopt the proposal. “Our produc-tivity must increase and the way to achieve that is to tie remuneration to productivity and not the body time spent at the office,” Shah said, term-ing the proposed approach to em-

WEEKEND IN BUSINESS

ployee compensation as ‘productivi-ty pay’.

It is, however, not exactly clear how employers will gauge productiv-ity in a given month, and hence how the fair compensation will be deter-mined. In theory however, workforce productivity is measured as the value of goods or services produced in a specific period. In the prevailing sit-uation, employers compensate their workers at an hourly rate that is not tied to their output.

He said other countries much higher on the productivity index like China pegged the pay for their em-ployees to the amount of work that has actually been done. “That is how China has been able to beat the world in manufacturing.” Mr Shah, who is the managing director of multi-billion shilling oil processor Bidco, was addressing members of the private sector lobby group on the country’s manufacturing environ-ment.

“That is what we have agreed on today and moving towards as em-ployers,” he said. Manufactured ex-ports, he said, have remained flat over the past decade with an increase in cross-border services helping the regional trade to grow by only 6 per cent on the region. Among Kenya’s processed exports are edible oils, a market that significantly shrunk after new investments in the neighbour-ing countries helped them cut reli-ance on imports.

Shah said declining cost of energy and less bureaucracy should help lower the overall operational expens-es and enhance the country’s profile as a manufacturing hub, a develop-

labour market studies have shown that the rise in wage compensation has trailed the rate at which produc-tivity has been climbing in devel-oped nations.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who entered office on an economic growth agenda, had promised the business leaders several goodies in the meeting that would help slash their cost and ease of doing business as a drive for job creation.

Industrialisation minister Adan Mohammed said the shrinking re-gional exports would serve as a wake-up call for the local manufac-turers, who should now reduce the cost of their products to remain competitive.

Afrioil International, a petroleum import and export firm, plans to list on the Nairobi bourse’s growth enterprise market segment (GEMS) early next year. The company, which has been in operation for about two years now says it plans to tap into the stock market to expand its business.

The oil firm’s size of balance sheet—the total of assets or liabilities stands at Sh500 million. Dennis Makori, the firm’s Chief Executive Officer says part of this funding is from lenders. “We plan to list this company in the GEMS segment next year,” said Makori (pic-tured).

The firm’s appetite to list follows in-troduction of a trading board on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) opening new funding opportunities for the growing pool of small and medium sized businesses. Small businesses not only find it difficult to access finance, but also have to deal with the higher cost of finance relative to the charges larger firms face.

Mr Makori admits that oil market-ing is a highly capital intensive busi-ness and their entry has not been rosy. “For you to grow you need a lot of cap-ital, and we believe if we tap into the stock market we can get the resources so that in the next few years we can catch up with the big boys in oil busi-

ByB JaMes Wanzala

ness,” Makori explained.Some of the critical market entry

barriers of oil marketing companies in-clude the high initial investment capi-tal requirement, which is made worse by the high cost of credit in the domes-tic financial market. For instance, all oil marketing firms must contribute a mil-lion litres of oil to the pipeline, which cannot be sold.

Independent retailers “When you join Kenya Pipeline

there is something called line-fill, which is basically debt stock. The pipe-line at any given time is full of products, this is because there are minimum stocks that cannot be pulled out,” he told Weekend Business.

“So each time a new firm enters the oil business, has to contribute to the line-fill. And this is a million litres.

That’s a contribution you make, which you can’t use until you exit the busi-ness.”

For instance, when Afrioil Interna-tional, which currently has presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, entered the business in April 2013, the products were going for about Sh100 a litre. That’s a cool Sh100 million.

The oil firm’s main clientele are the independent oil retailers. “We realized that independent retailers were mis-treated by big oil marketing compa-nies. We saw an opportunity here,” Ma-kori said. “For instance, when large oil marketing firms import their products they only sell to independent retailers after their own service stations have been supplied.”

From about a half a million litres when it started, the firm now handles three million litres a month.

Mr Makori also runs a multi-million company—Onfon Media ltd, a value added telecommunications services provider, which he started in 2007. One of the opportunities the company has captured is linking mobile operators with local TV and radio stations.

During prime time news for in-stance, Kenyan TV stations ask viewers to send in comments on a particular issue via a given shortcode. The firm is also involved in mobile phone adver-tisements and provides mobile bank-ing services linking banks with their customers.

SME oil marketer plans to list on Nairobi bourse

Contribution: It is, however, not clear how the employers will gauge productivity in a given month

Celebrating Easter with the needy

Uplands Premium Dairy and Foods Limited General Manager Felix Wanjohi (right) and Brand Manger Eva Mwangi (left) present assorted foodstuffs to Sis-ter Esther Wanjuki Kihara of Divine Mercy Children‘s Home in Ikinu, Kiambu County when the company visited the home to share Easter celebration with the children. [PHOTO.FIDELIS KABUNYI/STANDArD]

Farmers could soon have a digital TV channel fully dedicated to their issues. Kenya National Farmers Federation (KE-NAFF) CEO John Mutunga said having a TV channel dedicated to farming will mark an important milestone for Ken-yan farmers because it will air agricultur-al content well packaged and dissemi-nated using appropriate methods.

“We have the content for the farmers’ TV and are already doing test transmis-sions. We have a fully equipped studio and staff are already working as we wait to go on air fully,” he said.

At the same time, farmers are calling on the national and county govern-ments to involve then when developing policies and laws touching on agricul-ture. They say as key stakeholders, they want to have their voice heard whenev-er critical decisions touching on agricul-ture are being made in the spirit of stake-holder engagement and public participation.

Dr Mutunga said farmers are import-ant players along the entire agricultural value chain and their input is critical in the success of any policy. “As represen-tatives of farmers we need to understand how policies are made, when, by whom and where to intervene as key stake-holders. We need to be strategic in policy formulation before they are signed by relevant authorities,” he said.

Mutunga said it was important for farmers to ensure that the correct mes-sage falls in to the correct ears. He said farmers would like to be involved to come up with county development plans and called on County govern-ments to provide a platform and mech-anisms for farmers and the general pub-lic to participate.

He said KENAFF, the Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federation (EAFF) and the Eu-ropean Union (EU) are strengthening the capacities, engagement and effec-tiveness of Eastern Africa Farmers’ Or-ganisations in policy-making processes that have an impact on food security and nutrition. Mutunga said the project is being implemented in Burundi, Ken-ya, Tanzania and Uganda under the food security thematic area.

ByB standard reporter

Farmers’ TV channel on the way

Vimal Shah, the chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance says said the group had successfully lobbied State House to adopt the proposal of pegging employee pay on the value of their contribution rather than hours spent at work [PHOTO: FILE/STANDArD]

Our labour costs are relatively

high compared to other markets, but it does not paint the whole picture due to low productivity,” -Vimal Shah said.

ment that should be capped by checking the labour costs. “Our la-bour costs are relatively high com-pared to other markets, but it does not paint the whole picture due to low productivity,” Shah said.

His sentiments are at variance with developments in the interna-tional markets where new technolo-gies and equipment are enabling workers to produce a lot more, at a much shorter time. In fact, different

/ WEEKEND BUSINESS Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

With the uptake of Islamic financial services going up by day, governments and financial institu-tions are increasingly tightening the opera-tional environments to

seal loopholes and guarantee seamless products and services.

Focus has been on structuring the op-erational architecture, by setting up sev-eral gate-keeping organs and systems. Is-lamic banking operates on the basis of the Shari’ah principles that promote sharing of risks and rewards between parties, pro-hibition of interest, abhors financing ac-tivities that contradicts the Shari’ah rules and regulations and forbids transactions clouded in uncertainties.

One of the distinctive features in the provision of Islamic financial services is existence of a Shari’ah Supervisory Board

Why Shari’ah scholars are key to Islamic banking growth

ByB JAAFAR SHEIKH ABDULKADIR

(SSB) that comprises independent reli-gious scholars and other experts in Islam-ic jurisprudence or Islamic commercial law. The directors or shareholders of the Islamic financial institutions cannot be members of the Shari’ah supervisory boards as dictated by Shari’ah governance standards.

Providers of Islamic banking solutions have been keen to develop an operational infrastructure to meet regulatory proce-dures set by the Central Bank of Kenya. In October for example, KCB Group picked three Islamic banking experts to run the Bank’s Shari’ah Advisory Committee, ahead of the lender’s official launch of Is-lamic banking services in Kenya on Thurs-day this week.

The practice of charging penalties on late payments by the Islamic financial institutions was a ruling arrived at by the scholars for the purpose of instilling dis-cipline in customers who are negligent and fail to honour their financial commit-ments as expected. However, the penalties cannot be factored into the books of the fi-nancial institutions but should be diverted to charitable causes under the guidance of the Shari’ah supervisory boards.

There are two broad categories of cor-porate governance roles exclusive to Is-lamic financial institutions. Firstly, there is need to re-assure stakeholders that their activities are fully compliant with Shari’ah standards and principles.

Secondly, the stakeholders have to be assured that the institution maintains

WEEKEND IN BUSINESS

Kencom Building. KCB is set to launch Islamic banking services in Kenya this Thursday [Photo: file/standard]

and improves sustainable growth. The corporate governance in Islamic financial institutions hence includes harmonising these two functions to promote Shari’ah compliance and the objectives of business growth and the realisation of profit. The philosophical foundation of corporate governance in Islam requires an addition-al layer of governance for the purpose of Shari’ah compliance and that justifies the existence of Supervisory Boards to oversee compliance aspect of business.

Shari’ah tenets The Shari’ah Supervisory Board focus-

es on compliance of financial structures that includes documentations, contracts, product development and the transac-tional processes. The board is entrusted with the duty of directing, reviewing, su-pervising, advising and guiding the activ-ities of the Islamic financial institutions in a manner that enhances the compliance with the Islamic Shari’ah rules and prin-ciples.

No financial institution can introduce a new product without the prior approval of their Shari’ah scholars who can deter-mine the success or failure of the product with its target customers.

Owing to the existence of different schools of thought in Islam, there are bound to be inconsistencies in the inter-pretation of Shari’ah by different scholars without conflicting with the board guide-lines contained in the Holy Quran and the teachings of Prophet Mohamed. For the

purpose of harmonizing Shari’ah inter-pretations and avoiding inconsistencies at the global level, stakeholders in the Islam-ic finance industry should collaborate and share insights and invest adequately in re-search and development.

There is need for jurisdictions to for-mulate a responsive and accountable standards in regulating their appoint-ment, composition and reporting ap-proaches in line with best global practices and guidelines outlined in the Accounting and Auditing Organisation of Islamic Fi-nancial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the Is-lamic Financial Services Board (IFSB).

A widely adopted approach by the players in the Islamic finance industry is to have an internal and independent Shari’ah entities that certify their com-pliance with the Shari’ah tenets. Some jurisdictions like Malaysia, Indonesia, Pa-

kistan and Sudan have central Shari’ah supervisory boards at the financial regu-lator’s level to play the significant role in the harmonisation and standardisation of Shari’ah scholars’ rulings and edicts (fat-was) and exercising oversight over the in-ternal SSB of the industry players.

One of the challenges facing the Is-lamic finance industry is the shortage of skilled manpower that includes the Shari’ah scholars who have a good grasp of both the Islamic jurisprudence and the dynamics of financial and commercial ac-tivities. The institutions of higher learning and other relevant agencies need to devel-op appropriate curriculum to address the capacity gaps in the provision of Islamic finance in a bid to make Kenya the Islamic financial hub in East and Central Africa.

—The writer is the head of Islamic Banking at KCB Group

COMMENT

A growth of over 280% in less than two years!

ASANTENI!MALINDI...106.3 | WEBUYE...95.9 | GARISSA…88.7 | TAITA/ VOI…107.4 | NAROK…102.3 | NAIROBI…102.7 | NYERI…105.7

MERU… 105.1 | NAKURU… 104.5 | KISII… 91.3 | KISUMU…105.3 | MOMBASA 105.1 | KERICHO… 90.5 | ELDORET… 91.1

UTAFITIUSHASEMA

Pope Francis prays face down, on the floor of St Peter’s Basilica during the Celebration of Lord’s Passion on Good Friday at the Vatican. [PHOTO: /AFP]

Pope Francis has condemned the “complicit silence” about the killing of Christians during a Good Friday ser-vice in Rome.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims joined him for the Way of the Cross ceremony, recalling Jesus’ crucifixion. Among the cross bearers were Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and Nigerians who had escaped Boko Haram persecution.

The service came a day after al-most 150 people were killed in an Al-Shabaab attack on a Kenyan universi-ty. “We still see today our persecuted brothers, decapitated and crucified for their faith in you [Jesus], before our eyes and often with our complicit si-lence,” Pope Francis said, presiding over the ceremony at the Colosseum.

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BrieflyRoundUp

Invaluable lessons Uhuru, Raila can take from Nigeria’s elections

The just concluded General Elec-tion in Nigeria offered many key les-sons for both the ruling Jubilee Coa-lition and the Opposition, midway to Kenya’s next elections.

For CORD and its leader, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, it was a moment to savour a rare victory of an Opposition leader over a sitting Presi-dent. The world over, dislodging a sit-ting President is an arduous task, but in Africa where presidents employ all tricks in the book to stay on, an Oppo-sition victory is something worth cel-ebrating.

For the Government, it was a lesson on how a president can be defeated under the weight of corruption, inse-curity and tribalism. This week, Gen-eral Muhamadu Buhari made history by becoming the first ever opposition leader to win the presidency in Nigeria after defeating the incumbent, Good-luck Jonathan.

It came as no surprise really to ob-servers who have been keenly follow-ing the campaigns with critics terming Jonathan as one of the most disastrous presidents Nigeria has ever had since it returned to multi-party democra-cy 16 years ago. But it is the main fac-tors that contributed to his defeat that pundits say could also influence the outcome of the 2017 polls in Kenya.

Failing to governAlthough there were other un-

der-reported issues at play in the elec-tion-such as the low voter in Jona-than’s stronghold - his main undoing was his inability to contain the cancer of corruption that festered under his rule and his utter inability to contain the rise of Boko Haram militants.

Although Boko Haram was not a new phenomenon when he took of-fice, it flourished under his rule. It kidnapped school children and vis-ited untold torment on its victims.

In April last year, the group attracted international media attention after it abducted nearly 300 girls in a second-ary school in Chibok, Borno State. To date, most of them are still missing.

In January this year, most Nigeri-ans were angered after their president traveled to France to commiserate over the killing of cartoonists of a sa-tirical magazine, just a few days after the militants killed more than 2,000 of his countrymen.

Under his rule, corruption hit new levels; when the highly regarded Gov-ernor of Central Bank Lamido Sanu-si claimed that billions of dollars of oil revenues were missing, Jonathan sacked him for running off his mouth too much. “Much of the same prob-lems that beset Jonathan’s rule and ul-

Pope Francis decries persecution of Christians

Kipchumba Some, nairobi, Saturday

rome, bbc

IN THE NEWS“100 year-old teenager” dies aged 17. P.34

In November and December last year the group staged two deadly attacks in Mandera County in which it killed 65 people. “Whichever way you look at it, these attacks do not speak well of Uhuru’s performance on security mat-ters. In some quarters, there is a feeling the Government is late to act or is not concerned at all, given the less than assuring messages from the President in the case of the attacks in Mandera and now Garissa,” said security analyst Richard Tuta.

There is a also a general feeling that corruption has got out of hand during President Kenyatta’s watch, given the many scandals that came to the fore during his two-year period in power. Under mounting pressure to act, Pres-ident Kenyatta last week dramatically handed over to Parliament a secret list of government officials and politicians under probe by Ethics and Anti-Cor-ruption Commission.

Although the move has been large-ly hailed as a step in the right direc-tion, the public remains skeptical un-til convictions are secured.

Jonathan was also accused of trib-alism by favouring his ethnic group in appointments. “There was a per-ception that Jonathan gave slices of the cake largely to members of his own community,” wrote the Guardian newspaper of the United Kingdom.

President Kenyatta has been ac-cused by the Opposition of the same. “A good number of his appointments are not reflective of the face of Kenya as demanded by the Constitution,” said Kakamega County Senator Boni Khalwale.

Buhari won the seat at his fourth attempt and at the age of 72, the same age Raila will be should he contest the next General Election in 2018 as he has announced.

This fact will perhaps silence Rai-la’s critics who have been urging him to retire from national politics on grounds of age. If he contests in 2017, it will be his fourth attempt too.

timately led to his defeat, are in many ways similar to the ones facing Presi-dent Kenyatta,” said Dr Adams Oloo, a lecturer of political science at the Uni-versity of Nairobi.

The Jubilee Government’s failure to get a grip on run-away insecurity has given fodder to the Opposition, which accuses it of failing to govern.

Since Uhuru came to power in 2013, Al Shabaab has carried out sig-nature strikes in the country, the worst being Thursday’s attack at Garissa University College which claimed 147 lives.

In 2013, the group killed 67 people during a two-day siege at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi and last year, it staged more attacks in Lamu and Tana River counties, killing a total of 94 people.

Earlier, he condemned the attack in Kenya, where Christians were singled out and shot, as an act of “senseless brutality”.

In another Good Friday ceremony, Pope Francis listened as the Vatican’s official preacher Raniero Cantalames-sa denounced the “disturbing indiffer-ence of world institutions in the face of all this killing of Christians”.

He too mentioned the Kenya at-tack, as well as the beheading of 22 Egyptian Coptic Christians by Islam-ic State (IS) militants in Libya in Feb-ruary. Pope Francis has spoken out against the persecution of Christians before, saying that the world would be justified using military force to com-bat the “unjust aggression” by IS.

— BBC

Raila Odinga Uhuru Kenyatta

Muhamadu Buhari Jonathan Goodluck

two bombs explode near cairo police station, no casualties CAIRO: Two bombs exploded in Cairo’s residential Imbaba district on Saturday, causing no casualties, Egypt’s state-run Al Ahram newspaper said on its website. Ahram said the bombs exploded in front of the Ahmed Oraby school near the Imbaba police station. It said bomb experts had cordoned off the area and were searching for anymore explosives in the area. Most of the worst in a campaign of bomb attacks in Egypt have hit the Sinai peninsula, a remote but strategic region bordering Gaza, Israel and the Suez Canal. But smaller blasts have become increasingly common in Cairo and other cities. Imbaba has been hit by similar incidents before. In February, a bomb exploded outside an Imbaba restaurant, killing one. An Egyptian militant group allied with Islamic State claimed responsibility on Friday for attacks on military checkpoints which killed 15 soldiers and two civilians in the Sinai. (Reuters)

explosion in mali capital bamako kills one, injures two BAMAKO: An explosion at a house in the Malian capital Bamako has killed a security guard and injured at least two other people, officials say. Police said the explosives detonated after being mishandled, and there are conflicting accounts of the blast. A source told the AFP news agency that they had uncovered plans for a “major attack” at the property. Mali has seen sporadic attacks from Islamist militants despite a French military intervention in 2013. Violence is usually concentrated in the north, but last month five people were killed in an attack on a bar in Bamako. Friday’s blast badly damaged the property. Security and UN officials have surrounded the house. {BBC)

yemen crisis: houthi rebels pushed back in aden ADEN: Loyalists of ousted Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi have pushed back Shia Houthi rebels in the southern city of Aden, officials say. The Hadi loyalists have been aided by air drops of arms and communications equipment from a Saudi-led coalition that is also carrying out air strikes. In the south-east another port city, Mukalla, fell to al-Qaeda militants, who seized a military base. Meanwhile, two Saudi soldiers have been killed guarding the border with Yemen. Over the past two weeks, fighting in Yemen has left more than 500 people dead and some 1,700 wounded, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos has said. (BBC)

philadelphia woman arrested for trying to support islamic State WASHINGTON: US authorities arrested a Philadelphia woman on Friday and charged her with attempting to provide support to the Islamic State militant group by planning to travel overseas to join the organisation, the US Justice Department said. Thirty-year-old Keonna Thomas, also known as Fatayat Al Khilafah and YoungLioness, was charged with trying to provide material support and resources, including herself as a fighter, to a foreign terrorist organisation, the department said. (BBC)

/ NEWS OF THE WORLD Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

Tunisia says it plans to re-es-tablish diplomatic ties with Syria in order to track its citizens who have gone to fight alongside Islamist militants. Some 3,000 Tunisian jihadists are thought to have gone to Syria and Iraq. Tunisian concerns about home-grown militants have been heightened by last month’s attack on a Tunis museum.

The country — birthplace of the Arab Spring protests — cut ties with Syria in 2011, where similar unrest had provoked a government crackdown.

Demonstrations in Syria spi-ralled into a civil conflict, with Is-lamist factions drawing in jihadists from across the Middle East and Europe. After the emergence of Islamic State as the most powerful of the jihadist groups, several European countries re-opened channels of

communication with Syrian Presi-dent Bashar al-Assad. Assad had earlier been criticised by Western governments for his re-sponse to the uprising against his rule.

Tunisian FM Taieb Baccouche told reporters on Friday that his country would not have an ambas-sador in Syria but would open a consulate or “put in place a charge d’affaires” there.

He said a consular presence in Syria would help Tunisia keep track of its citizens fighting alongside the Islamist militants. He added that Syria was welcome to send an am-bassador to Tunisia if it so wished.

Baccouche also said his country would restore diplomatic ties with Libya, which has been racked by in-security since the violent overthrow of Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011

At least two of the Tunisian men who carried out a deadly attack on the Bardo museum in Tunis last month had trained in Libya.

— BBC

Hard-liners in Iran and the Israe-li Government both condemned the framework deal on curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme on Friday, from opposite directions but for the same reason: The agreement, they said, gives away too much.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the understand-ings fail to outright shut down any of Iran’s nuclear facilities, while le-gitimizing its uranium enrichment program and leaving it with an infra-structure that could eventually be ca-pable of producing a bomb.

He warned the deal “threatens the very survival” of Israel, and put for-ward a new demand, that any final deal include Iran’s recognition of Is-rael’s right to exist.

Iran’s powerful hard-liners, meanwhile, pointed to the heavy re-strictions that would effectively lock

From both Iran’s hard-liners and Israel: No to nuclear deal

Tunisia to revive Syria ties to track jihadists

CAIRO, AP

TUNIS, SATURDAY

A girl with a rare genetic condi-tion which made her body age eight times faster than normal has died aged 17. Hayley Okines, from Bexhill, East Sussex, became known as the 100-year-old teenager through her efforts to raise awareness of progeria. Her mother, Kerry, announced Hay-ley’s death on Thursday evening. “My baby has gone somewhere bet-ter. She took her last breath in my arms at 9.39pm,” she wrote.

Her father Mark said Hayley was being treated for pneumonia, and had briefly returned home from hos-pital on the day she died.

“She came home for an hour and she saw her puppies, little brother Louie and her sister Ruby,” he said. “I think she wanted to come home to say goodbye to everybody. “I think she knew that yesterday was going to be the time.”

Hayley, who published an auto-biography at the age of 14, had made a number of appearances where she spoke about her condition.

The teenager had been told she would not live past the age of 13, but she went on to undergo a pioneering drug treatment in the US. Hutchin-son-Gilford Progeria Syndrome caus-es accelerated ageing in those affect-

Girl with rare genetic condition,

progeria, dies aged 17WASHINGTON, SATURDAY

The writer, a thin young man who

fears the growing interweaving of religion and politics in Bangladesh, knows his turn could come next.

What happened earlier this week, when the second secularist blogger in less than a month was hacked to death in the streets of the capital, made it clear he wasn’t safe.

“Anytime they can hit me or my like-minded friends,” said Ananya Azad, a 25-year-old blogger who has written pieces that were critical of Is-lamic fundamentalism and politics driven by religion.

He quit his job as a newspaper columnist and stopped writing blogs in recent months after receiving nu-merous threats, but still posts critical

comments on Facebook. Ananya says he’s thinking about fleeing the coun-try and spends much of his time in-doors these days.

“They don’t hesitate to kill in the name of their beliefs,” he said. “I’m an easy target for the fanatics.”

Bangladesh, a majority Muslim nation long seen as insulated from the most fervent strains of militant Islam, has seen that reputation crack amid an increasingly bloody divide between secular bloggers and con-servative Islamist groups.

In many ways, the divide is clear: the bloggers want authorities to ban religion-based politics while the Is-lamists are pressing for blasphemy laws so that nobody can undermine Islam’s holy book, the prophet or ba-sic pillars of being a Muslim.

British police said yesterday they had arrested six people at the southern English port of Dover on suspicion of terrorism offences related to the ongoing conflict in Syria. The five men and one woman, all in their 20s, were detained on Friday morning in the departure zone of the port, West Midlands police said. The group was now in custody in central England and searches were underway in Birmingham where the men lived. The suspects did not pose any immediate risk to the public, police added. British security services estimate some 600 Britons have gone to Syria or Iraq to join militant groups, including the man known as “Jihadi John” who has appeared in several Islamic State beheading videos. About half are thought to have returned. — Reuters

UK police arrest six at port on Syria-related offences

Iranian Shiite Muslim worship-

pers attend the weekly Friday

prayer in the Iranian capital

Tehran. Iran vowed to stand

by a nuclear deal with world

powers as President

Hassan Rouhani promised it

would open a “new page” in the country’s

global ties. [PHOTO/AFP]

Hayley became known as the “100-year-old teenager”. [PHOTO: COURTESY]

Blogger Qyasiqur Rahman Babu 27, was hacked to death by three men in Ban-gladesh’s capital on Monday. [PHOTO: AP]

ed. People with the condition also suffer heart problems, lack of growth and loss of body fat and hair.

It affects just 124 children world-wide. The Progeria Research Foun-dation posted on its Facebook page: “The entire Progeria family mourns together with many as we say good-bye to Hayley Okines, our smart, beautiful and spirited English rose, who passed away today at age 17.”

Phoebe Smith, whose 11-year-old daughter Ashanti also has the condi-tion, said Hayley had inspired a lot of people. — BBC

those facilities and enrichment into a slow, low gear for at least a decade.

They accused the government of moderate President Hassan Rou-hani of surrendering a nuclear pro-gram that Iran has boasted for years demonstrates its technological prow-ess, self-sufficiency and defiance of the West.

“We gave up a race-ready horse and we got in return a broken bridle,” Hossein Shariatmadari, an advis-er to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and editor of the hard-line Kayhan newspaper, told the semi-of-ficial Fars news agency.

The reactions underscore the pressures that will weigh on Western and Iranian negotiators as they now work to turn the broad understand-ings into a detailed accord by June 30 - and raise questions about how far detractors on both sides will go to try to prevent a final agreement. Or if they can.

The framework won praise from Western governments and from ma-ny in Iran who want its provisions for the lifting of sanctions that have long crippled the economy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mo-hammad Javad Zarif, who signed the agreement on Thursday, received a hero’s welcome upon his return to Tehran from the latest round of talks in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Crowds of cheering supporters surrounded Zarif’s vehicle on Friday as he stood out of its sun-roof shak-ing hands with them.

Some chanted sarcastic con-dolences to both Israel and Iranian hard-liners. Celebrations contin-ued into the night, with hundreds of flag-waving supporters singing and dancing in Tehran’s main squares. In a speech to the nation, Rouhani vowed that Iranians will “remain loy-al and stand by the promises” they made. — BBC

Bangladesh writers fearful after bloggers’ slaying

DHAKA, SATURDAY

— Reuters


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Fasttrack

SQUASH: Magotsi shines at Diani Easter tournament

CRICKET: Guptill named in NZ squad for England series

Experienced Kelvin Magotsi of Mwapa’s Kipepeo County Club stamped his authority in the inaugural Diani Beach Invitational Easter Squash tournament at the Flamboyant Beach Hotel in Kwale County. Magotsi, who has represented Kenya in several international competitions, had little respect for Saraha Myle, after he handed him a quick drubbing to advance to the quarter-fi nals. Magotsi applied his experience to wrap up the game 2-0 (11-5, 11-5). In another match, Benson Rono of Kengen made it to the quarters after beating Nicholas Abel 2-0 (11-7, 11-4). —Ernest Ndunda

An outstanding World Cup campaign has earned opening batsman Martin Guptill a recall to the New Zealand Test side for its two-Test series in England next month. Guptill played the most-recent of his 31 Test on New Zealand’s last tour to England in 2013. He has two Test centuries, including a highest score of 189, but inconsistent form which has left him with an average of 29.62 led to his recent omission from the New Zealand Test squad. Guptill scored two centuries and a half century as New Zealand reached the fi nal of the World Cup, making an unbeaten 237 in a quarterfi nal against the West Indies — the highest score by a New Zealander in a One-Day Internationals. —AP

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5 Pages of Sizzling Sports Coverage!

Sunday, April 5, 2015

GOLF: Bold Masters decision by golfer Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods’ decision to return to competition at next week’s Masters after a two-month break is unquestionably a bold one, but it could very well end up being foolhardy. The former world Number One has been woefully out of form in his only two tournament appearances this year and, though he feels he is now ready to compete again, he will face a daunting test on the fast, sloping greens at Augusta National. Yes, Woods is a four-times champion at the Masters and he knows the famed par-72 course as well as anyone else in the fi eld, but on the downside, though, his short game has been pathetic in his last two competitive starts. —Reuters

It was yet another sad outing for the national Sevens Rugby team as they once again dropped to the Bowl Competition of seventh leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series in Tokyo.

In this outing, Kenya only won one game and lost two from Pool C, where they were eliminated from the Main Cup competition. Kenya beat USA 27-5 then lost 0-26 to South Af-rica and went down 10-26 to Canada in their third fixture.

It all seemed to be going well on the first day, when Kenya opened their campaign with a resounding win over Mike Friday’s side, in a match where the home boys domi-nated and played with flair that has earned them the tag of crowd favou-rites.

But the party was short-lived as

their second game against South Af-rica was a complete opposite of their first. The Blitzbokkes kept posses-sion and Kenya seemed to be chas-ing shadows through-out.

Not only was South Africa sharp in offense, but they also restricted Kenya from playing, when they had possession.

Further to the loss to South Afri-ca, Kenya’s only chance of qualifying for the Main Cup quarterfinals lay squarely on beating Canada, a task that looked possible given how they had played against USA, but this was not to be as Kenyans once again fal-tered against the Canadians for the second consecutive weekend.

Canada was the reason Kenya failed to qualify for the quarterfinals in Hong Kong when they beat them 21-10 and once again hindered them from the Tokyo quarterfinals with a

margin of 26-10.To make matters worse, had Ken-

ya lost to Canada by a lower margin, they could have qualified given that all three teams in the pool had lost two games and won only once, hence the second place was deter-mined by use of aggregate points.

South Africans were the obvious leaders, after they defeated all the other teams in the pool.

Kenya in yet another poor show

Kenya’s Collins Injera in action against Cook Islands during the 2014 Common-wealth Games in Glasgow on July 26, 2014. INSET: Kenya’s Bush Mwale in past action. [PHOTOS: AFP]

IN A LEAGUE

OF THEIR OWN

y B BS MULAVI

Defending champions Kenya Commercial Bank won their first two preliminary matches to make their intention known and stay on course of retaining the title as the Top Fry Great Rift 10-Aside Championships entered Day Two at Nakuru Ath-letic Club yesterday.

The bankers, coached by Curtis Olago, defeat-ed United States International University (USIU) 38-0 and smashed Masaku RFC 27-0 to stay on top of Pool A with maximum six points and qualified for the Main Cup quarter-finals to be played today.

The bankers were set to play Egerton Universi-ty last evening in their last preliminary match. On their part, Egerton defeated Masaku 10-8, but lost 10-0 to USIU to throw fight for the second quar-terfinal slot wide open.

Hosts Top Fry Nakuru RFC also made a positive start by blanking University of Eldoret 24-0 in the opening match and thereafter defeated Comras 45-0 to lead in Pool E with maximum six points ahead of Harlequins, who also defeated Comras 26-0.

In Pool B, previous winners Strathmore Leos walloped Kisumu RFC 38-0 and followed it up with another 33-5 win over KCA University to stay on

course for the title with six points.KCA University made a good account of them-

selves in their second match against Catholic Monks, but narrowly lost 24-21. Catholic Monks defeated Kisumu RFC 15-7 in their second match to tie with Leos at the top with six points, but lost on inferior goals aggregate.

Resurgent Homeboyz clobbered Jomo Kenyat-ta University of Agriculture Technology (JKUAT) 21-0 in Pool C that had also Mwamba and Eldoret RFC.

Mwamba dismissed Eldoret RFC 19-5 and ran over JKUAT 21-7, as Homeboyz hit Eldoret RFC 36-5 to share top spot with the black shirts at six points. In Pool D, vastly improved Kabras Sugar defeated stubborn Kenyatta University’s Blak Blad 29-5 and followed it with a 29-0 victory over Sharks to remain perched at the top of the table standings with six points from two matches.

Sharks made a comeback by walloping Univer-sity of Nairobi’s Mean Machine 20-0. On their part,

Blak Blad avenged their earlier loss by dismissing Mean Machine 7-5. Western Bulls made a good a start with a 15-3 triumph over Technical Universi-ty of Kenya (TUK), before Impala lost 10-12 to Bungoma RFC in Pool F matches.

In the tournament’s secondary schools catego-ry, Nakuru County 15s champions Menengai High School defeated Coulson 22-0. Samuel Were touched down twice, while Joseph Owino and Sammy Oduor scored a try each for the winners with a conversion from Anthony Mwangi.

In another match, Nakuru Day Secondary wal-loped Gilgil’s Chimbalambala 14-0. Steve Ochieng scored four tries and Edwin Iayachi made his con-version good. A total of 20 schools are taking part in the round-robin matches.

JM Memorial School lost 22-0 to Langa Langa with Umoja Academy of Nairobi forcing Kirobon Secondary of Rongai to a 5-5 draw. In the Under 12 Mini-Rugby Championships, Top Fry Nakuru RFC defeated Tumaini 30-0.

Defending champs KCB, Nakuru in comfortable wins at Great Rift tourney

BY BEN AHENDA

Nelson Oyoo of Nakuru Top Fry (with the ball) make a pass past Uni-versity of Eldoret players during the ongoing Great Rift 10-Aside tournament in Nakuru yesterday. [PHOTO:BONIFACE THUKU]

FEVER PITCH / Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

Benjamin Kipkoech Limo, the 2005 world 5,000m champion, has quit his position as Athletics Kenya Central Rift secretary over internal wrangles.

Limo, who is an International Association of Ath-letics Federations (IAAF) Athletes’ Representative, said he tendered his resignation to AK CEO Isaac Ka-mande Mwangi.

He has headed AK Uasin Gishu branch since 2013. Limo quit last week citing poor working relationship with the national office, doping and a “defective AK Constitution, which provides little representation of athletes, who should be key stakeholders.”

“I could not tolerate the poor leadership of AK. I should protect my name from being sucked into bad books,” Limo said yesterday in Eldoret.

The decision to resign, Limo said, was arrived at after wide consultations locally and internationally. “They advised me that my name was bigger than the federation that’s led by individuals who have no agen-

da for athletes and only pursue personal gains.“I have extensively consulted people within and

outside the country to ensure that I don’t hurt anyone in the process. Many times when I was in IAAF meet-ings, officials ask me hard questions about doping in Kenya, which I fail to answer and AK is not ready to deal with the scourge,” said Limo.

Citing doping among key issues that pushed him to exit, Limo faulted AK for protecting some foreign agents suspected to abet the sordid business.

“AK is not ready to fight doping, which is tainting the Kenyan athletes’ image. We have not seen any ac-tion taken against the perpetrators,” he said.

“I have been in athletics for 20 years and AK Con-stitution does not favour athletes at all. World record holders like David Rudisha will never be in the ath-letes’ management. In this constitution, anybody is allowed to join so long as you have Sh500. There are no athletes in the current leadership,” he said.

The AK Chief Executive said he has not received the resignation letter.

SPORTROUNDUP

ByB JONATHAN KOMEN

ByB BY DENNIS OKEYO

Benjamin Limo address the press in El-doret yesterday. [PHOTO: PETER OCHIENG’]

Stephen Arita wins 10,000m men’s final during the Athletics Kenya Thika Meeting at Thika Municipal Stadium yesterday.[PHOTO: DENNIS OKEYO]

Limo quits as AK official, citing wrangles and doping scandals

STAR OF THE MOMENT

World junior 800m champion Margaret Nyairera easily won her specialty with a brilliant run despite a strong challenge from upstart Egla Nalianya as the Athletics Kenya weekend meeting ended in Thika yesterday.

Individual runner Nyairera clocked 2:06.5 with Nalianya of West-ern hot on her heels in a 2:07.4 dis-play.

Charity Wandia of Kenya Defence Forces was third in 2:09.3 as Prisons’ Sylvia Jerop (2:11.7) and Naakai Hali-ma of Uganda (2:12.4) and Tabitha Mwalili of Kenya Defence Forces (2:14.0) followed.

The Azpeitia Half marathon silver medallist Stephen Arita won the 10,000m race. Arita of Kenya Defence Forces, clocked 29:52.1 to win the race ahead of Raphael Kiplagat of Na-tional Police Service (29:55.0) and Si-las Likong of Mfae Club (29:55.3).

opening performAnceSilas Kirui of Kenya Defence Forc-

es finished fourth in 30:00.0 followed by Gideon Kurgat (30:18.2) and Hen-ry Kimani (30:21.5).

Arita was buoyant following the win which comes just a week after his Azpeitia race in Spain.

“I am happy with this season’s opening performance,” said Arita. “I will now work on my speed ahead of my forthcoming road races.”

Elijah Manang’oi, a 1,500m run-ner, dropped to a lower discipline to win the 800m in an impressive time of 1:48.3. Manang’oi of Prisons was followed by Daniel Karwen of Kasa-rani (1:48) and Timothy Sein of Na-tional Police Service in 1:48.6.

Arita and Nyairera light up Thika AK weekend meeting with top positions

Boniface Mweresa, Boniface Kagai and Collins Omae ruled the sprints races in what they said is a dress rehearsal for the national trials to the second World Relays set for Nyayo National Stadium on April 10.

Omae, a former Sevens Rugby player said he is eyeing a ticket in the 4x200 team to Nassau, Bahamas.

“The going has been good so far and I am optimistic of making the team,” said Omae after falling to Pe-ter Mwai in a photo finish display. He clocked 21.8 behind Mwai’s 21.7.

The third edition will be held at the Afraha Stadium, Nakuru, on April 17 and 18.

Selected results: 5,000m (wom-en): Alice Kamunya 16:28.6, Anne Wanjiru 16:31.7, Jane Murage 16:36.6

1,500m (women): Judith Kiyeng 4:20.6, Penina Wangari 4:21.6, Beth Njeri 4:21.6 5,000m (men): John Maina 14:18.3, Meshack Leting 14:22.8, Francis Kamau 14:23.5

3,000m S/C (women): Joan Chep-kemoi 10:18.2, Marion Kibor 10:18.4, Elizabeth Mueni 10:53.3

Fasttrack

Kenya 15s rugby team head coach, Jerome Paarwater (top), has named a 51-man provisional squad for the upcoming international fix-tures.

The team, which will play inter-national matches in Nairobi, begin a three-day training camp at the Kasa-rani Stadium, on April 10.

Kenya will start their 2015 season with a clash against Portugal on May 30, then play against Zimbabwe away in the revamped Rugby Af-rique Division 1A Championship, which has reverted to a round-robin format, on June 13.

They will then play Tunisia in a Rugby Afrique Division 1A match on June 28 and on July 18 host Spain in an international friendly. They will wrap-up their continental assign-ments with an away clash against Namibia on August 8.

In the Elgon Cup, the Kenya ‘A’ men’s and women’s teams will start their regional title on June 20.

Loose-head props: Moses Amusa-la (KCB), Giles Littlewood (Top Fry), Francis Akatu (Mwamba), Joseph Maina (Nakuru); Tight-head props: Curtis Lilako (KCB), I Nyariki (Naku-ru), D Mwangi (Kabras), Brian Otie-no (Mwamba); Hookers: S Warui (Nakuru), P Kaaria (KCB), Mugambi Kithamba (Strathmore); Locks: W Kopondo (Harlequin), R Mwenesi (Nondies), E Mavala (Homeboyz), D Makori (Impala), M Gitau (Strath-more), O Mangeni (KCB), Martin Owila (Nakuru), G Nyambua (Kabras); Back rows: M Okombe, D Chituyi, Lawrence Buyachi (Naku-ru), C Omondi (Strathmore), B Nyikuli (Strathmore), D Chenge (Western Bulls), Max Adaka (KCB), J Chisanga (Homeboyz); Scrum-halves: E Achayo (Kabras), L Asiligwa (Harlequin), F Wayodi (Mwamba), K Masai (Homeboyz), R Aringo (Impa-la); Fly-halves: K Andola (Strath-more), Isaac Adimo (Harlequin), H Lubisia (Homeboyz), B Beckham (Nondies); Centres: N Barasa (Kabras), Kelvin Omiyo (Nakuru), B Owako (Mwamba), F Olando (KCB), E Okemwa (Nakuru), S Motari (Strathmore), D Muhanji (Harle-quin); Back-threes: C Wanjala, D Mukidza, J Ojee, Allan Omuka (KCB), A Otieno (Homeboyz), Alex Olaba, T Onyango (Strathmore), V Mose (Im-pala)

Paarwater names teams for upcoming

fixtures

ByB RODgERS ESHITEMI

/ FEVER PITCH Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

LAUKKANEN IN FLYING FORM

As Kenya prepares for the Kenya Open Golf Championships next week, one of the young golfers to watch is Frank Mati-lo.

The 32-year-old rookie professional qualified for this year’s Kenya Open at the just concluded Jamii Telecom PGK Master at Muthaiga after tying in sixth overall spot with Steve Anderson, JW Karanja and Tonny Omuli.

He recorded one over par 72 on the first day, a level score 71 on the second , one over par 72 on the third day and three over par 74 on the last day to make the Kenya Open cut with 289 strokes.

Making a cut for the Kenya Open for the second year in a row now has boosted Matilo’s morale. He has changed his train-ing schedule to daily, unlike before when he used to practice twice a week.

“Practising daily has given me great

form currently. I have a target to make in this year’s Kenya Open which is to finish in top five so I can qualify for next year’s Sunshine Tour tournament in South Afri-ca,” he says.

He always admired golfers taking part in the lush green Kenyan golf courses as they engage in the battle for top honours in the lucrative Kenya Open.As a child, Matilo vowed to one day take part in the tournament after he was intro-duced to golf by his father who was then

an employee at the Kitale Golf Club in the early 90s.

“I started engaging in golf when I was a Standard Three pupil in Kitale. I used to accompany my father to the course every weekend and I admired golfers hitting the small white ball with their irons,” Matilo recalls.

He grew up in Kitale practising and playing golf until four years ago when he decided to move to Nairobi where he turned pro last year.

“I realised I was too big for Kitale. There were no major competitions there. So I decided to come to Nairobi to look for challenging opportunities in the game.”

“I chose Muthaiga as my home club. Since then, I have engaged and interacted with other like-minded golfers who have sharpened and prepared me for the game,” the father of one says.

Nairobi has proved great for Matilo who has climbed to the ranks of a nation-al team player. Last year, he helped Kenya to bag top spot at the East Africa Champi-onship in Kampala and runners up spot at the East and Southern Africa champi-onship in Malawi.

Nairobi also offered him the opportu-nity to turn into a commercial golf in-structor, apart from playing in champion-ships.

Matilo: Man to watch in Kenya OpenBY ERICK OCHIENG’

Fin champion extends lead as Kenya’s Jassi, Duncan surge on

Tapio Laukkanen in action being navigated by Pasi Torma. [PHOTO: COURTESY]

Frank Matilo at the Muthaiga Golf Club.[PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO]

Ngare Ndare, Nkunga and in-to Meru, proved quite tough and unforgiving to some crews.

Day One in Konza and Machakos had already claimed five cars including Mombasa-based Harpreet Sagoo, who rolled on Lisa Ranch stage.

The early moments of Day Two claimed Alfir Khan’s Sub-aru on transport road section around Sagana with clutch gremlins.

Raaji Bharij, who was ly-ing second on Day One, was the first major casualty when

he hit a tree on the 29.75km CS4 Lengetia stage causing the stage to be stopped tem-porarily.

As at the 44km CS5 Loldai-ga, Tapio clung atop the lead-er-board with a 3:39 minutes margin from Duncan, who finished 8th on the first day, to set the fastest time of 23:50 on Lengetia to assume sec-ond place.

Apart from Raaji, Onkar Rai’s EVOX came limping on three wheels on Lengetia af-ter damaging the rear left trailing arm. Tejveer Rai’s Mitsubishi EVOX had the rear

bumper hanging, while Jas-meet Chana was out with transmission failure.

Last year’s Safari winner Baldev Chager was happy with fifth place considering the scares he had to contend with on Lengtia stage.

“Just before the first stage, we changed the rear diff. Len-getia looked quite dry on the surface, but the bottom was somewhat slosh. Loldaiga was okay though with lots of animals. On the last two stag-es, the car had mysterious misfires,” said Chager.

Tapio Laukkanen in action being navigated by Pasi Torma.

Ngare Ndare, Nkunga and in-

Former British and Finnish Champion Tapio Laukkanen nav-igated by Pasi Torma in a R4 Sub-aru Impreza was again a hard nut to crack as Day Two’s Leg 1B came to a dramatic end on the 1.7km CS8 ASK Meru Showground su-per-special.

Tapio, who is the current KNRC leader, went to bed with a massive 5:49 minutes lead and admitted candidly in service at Meru Teach-ers Training Institute that he will need to tread carefully on the last day today.

“It was quite a good day. We picked up a puncture on the first stage and lost a bit of time; luckily it was in the 5kms before the end so we drove on it. In the second last stage at Nkunga, we encoun-tered gearbox problems and took it easy in the last stage at Meru ASK,” said Tapio.

Jassi Chatthe from Kisumu is lying second with Duncan in third. Yesterday’s marathon run, which rolled off from KICC Nairobi at the crack of dawn, saw crews cover a gruelling cumulative total of 404km, of which 107km was com-petitive.

Day Two of the rally, which tra-versed Lengetia in Naro Moru, Loldaiga past Nanyuki town,

BY CORRESPONDENT

FEVER PITCH / Sunday, April 5, 2015 / The Standard

Gor Mahia coach Frank Nuttall believes his side can turn the tide when they take on AC Leopards of Congo Brazzaville in today’s return leg match of the CAF Champions League.

The Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champi-ons finally jetted out on Friday after a period of uncertainty due to lack of funds, a situation that caused the players to go on a go slow for two days.

But a positive Nuttall, speaking a day before the team jetted out down-played the impact of the go slow and believes it will not affect their performance.

“I don’t think the off-pitch issues will really affect the team in this match. These are very focused and determined players who are itch-ing to do well. Furthermore, they only missed training once and have already recovered the lost time.

“Mentally, they look settled and ready to do well away. For us, the match is still wide open. Our opponents scored one goal in Nairobi and believe we are capable of returning the favour

away,” he said.Nuttall said they will try and score an early

goal to get back into the match and then fight to make it to the next round.

“If we are able to score one goal, I believe we can push for it to the end and this is not difficult for us.”

He regretted the absence of midfielder Kha-lid Aucho who is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.

“He brought a lot into the team and would have loved to have him. However, on a positive note, this gives us a chance to try out someone else in his position,” said Nuttal.

For goals, Gor Mahia have the required per-sonnel upfront. Here, George “Blackberry” Odhiambo will come in handy.

The former KPL Player of the Year is fast re-gaining his form with some crucial goals. He helped Gor Mahia make it to the first round of this competition with a crucial goal against CNaPS of Madagascar in the preliminary round.

Gor Mahia also have midfielder Ali Abondo to look upto. Abondo has so far scored six goals including two in this competition.

By GilBert Wandera

FeverBriefs

TUSKER: Striker Were motivated by armband

With the armband tightly around his biceps, Jesse Were has proven to be a man behind Tusker’s resurgence after a shaky start to the 2015 Kenyan Premier League. After garnering a point in their first two matches, the former Mathare United striker scored three times to help Tusker secure two wins on the trot; 2-1 against Ulinzi Stars and Nairobi City Stars. A goal against Ulinzi and a brace against City Stars is a culmination of an excellent run of form for the player who has become an integral part of the team he joined in 2013 from Mathare United. With his incredible ability to hold up play and bringing others into attacks, he could be the man to reclaim the title for Tusker. Were was unanimously elected skipper at start of the season. — rodgers eshitemi

ULINZI: duo back from peace-keeping mission

FKF-LEAGUE: ligi ndogo win as Shabana, Sharks held

Ulinzi Stars’ custodian Jacktone Odhiambo and striker Allan Muhati are back in the country after a 16-month peace-keeping mission in Sudan. The team has confirmed the development in their official online portal. However, the duo will not rejoin the team immediately. “We are happy to announce that goalkeeper Jacktone Odhiambo and striker Allan Muhati have today returned to the country after a 16-month peace keeping mission in Sudan. The two will however not immediately return to the team, but will serve their recess period.”

— Supersport.com

Ligi Ndogo continued with their winning ways in the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League after stopping Moyas 2-0 at Kasarani Stadium yesterday. After a barren first half, the winners came back more strongly and were rewarded with goals in the 55th minute and 64th minute through Ken Maritim who netted a brace. The win comes hardly a week after Ligi Ndogo had beaten Nakumatt 1-0 at Nyayo Stadium to continue with a good run. In Kakamega, Homeboyz and Kariobangi Sharks shared the spoils in a barren draw during a match played at Bukhungu Stadium. Visiting Shabana drew 1-1 with Nzoia Sugar in Bungoma. Nzoia were the first to score through Valen Maero. — Gilbert Wandera

Gor Mahia coach Frank Nuttall during a CAF Champions League match against CNaPs of Madagascar at the Nyayo National Stadium in February. [PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO]

Nuttall remains hopeful as Gor face AC Leopards

TUSKER HELD AS STARS SIGN TV DEAL

Former KPL champs forced to come from behind to get point

Chemelil Sugar squandered 2-0 lead as they allowed Tusker to steal a point in a match played at the Chemelil Sports Complex, yesterday.

The tie was played under a heavy downpour which at one time threat-ened to wash it away and players were also not helped by the poor condition of the pitch.

Incessant pressure by Chemelil Sugar players, urged on by home fans who thronged the stadium saw the miller’s net the opener in the 18th minute through Hassan Mwinyi who connected a corner taken by David Oriki to slot it past Tusker custodian Faru Shikalo.

Bouyed by the lead, Chemelil Sugar players piled more pressure with lanky attacking midfielder Dan-iel Murage rifling in the second goal at the stroke of half-time.

Tusker counter-attacked fero-ciously with long volleys aimed at Chemelil goalkeeper Fredrick On-yango who successfully parried a dangerous Jesse Were shot.

Tusker enhanced their goal hunt with Were scoring in the 46th minute to reduce the bottlers’ goal deficit af-ter capitalising on a mistake by Chemelil Sugar custodan Onyango.

Were scored the equaliser for Tusker in the 87th minute following another lapse by Chemelil Sugar de-fenders Charles Odero, James Omino and Jonathan Mwaniki .

Meanwhile, Football Kenya Fed-eration (FKF) has signed a five-year Sh270-million television rights deal for the national team Harambee Stars, Feverpitch can reveal.

The deal which starts this year,

By BoSco MaGare and GilBert Wandera

Tusker FC’s Humphrey Mieno shields the ball from Ulinzi’s Brian Birgen during a KPL Match at Ruaraka grounds last month. Tusker were held 2-2 by Chemelil, yesterday. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

has been signed with StarTimes who will now take over all television rights for the team until 2019.

SH44 M FOR STARSThe deal was initiated by MP Silva

the broadcast rights partners of the federation. Silva were also responsi-ble for the Sh202-million three-year deal signed between FKF and Azam Tv three weeks ago.

The deal will see Harambee Stars receive Sh44,681,000 this year.

The figure will jump to Sh47,138,000 in 2016 and go up to

Sh54,600,000 in 2017. In 2018, the team will receive Sh59,605,000 and another Sh64,519,000 in the last year.Speaking to Feverpitch, FKF chair Sam Nyamweya said he was delight-ed with the deal which he says will bring to an end the perennial finan-cial problems the national team has been facing.

“The deal is only for the television rights for the team. There is still room for more sponsors and there-fore more money for the team,” he said. The problems we have had in the past will be no more and now we

can concentrate on taking part in up-coming international tourna-ments.”

Harambee Stars will this year take part in the Africa Nations Champion-ships (CHAN) and Africa Cup of Na-tions qualifiers.

The draw for CHAN will be held today in Cairo and the Nations Cup draw will be held on April 8, also in Cairo. The national team has been operating without a sponsor for the last two years since the Sh210-mil-lion three-year deal signed with East Africa Breweries Limited lapsed.

www.standardmedia.co.ke

STANDARDTHE FEVERPITCHSTANDARDTHE

on Sunday

Published and printed at The Standard Group Centre, Mombasa Road Nairobi - Kenya, by The Standard Group, P.O. Box 30080, Nairobi 00100, Kenya. Switch Board Tel. 3222111. Fax: 322027, 2229218, 2218965. News Desk Tel: 3222200, Fax: 0719012027. [email protected] MOMBASA: Tel: 2230884, 2230897, 2228204, 2228098. Fax: 2230814. NAKURU: Tel: 2214289, 2212914. Fax: 2217348. KISUMU: Tel: 2022820, 2021866. Fax: 2023451. ELDORET: 2030482,

2060292, 2060760 Fax: 2033438. NYERI: Tel: 2030068, 2030740. E-mail: [email protected] CIRCULATION: Tel: 3222701/03. Registered at the G.P.O as a newspaper.

January, 11, 2015Tusker come from two goals down to draw against Chemelil, P.39Another poor show for Kenya Sevens team as they exit Main Cup in Tokyo, P.36

April 5, 2015

5 Pages of Sizzling Sports Coverage!

GUNNERS FIREPOWER TOO MUCH FOR REDS

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud celebrates

scoring the fourth goal against Liverpool with Alexis Sanchez at the

Emirates, yesterday. [PHOTO: REUTERS]

Download free QR Readers from the web and scan this QR (Quick Response) code with your smart phone for pictures, videos and more stories.

——

Arsenal delivered a brutal lesson in fast-paced Pre-mier League football to beat Liverpool 4-1 yesterday, maintaining their faint title aspirations and almost cer-tainly dashing their opponents’ hopes of a top-four fin-ish.

While Liverpool’s defending was catastrophic at times, Arsenal fizzed with intent and three goals in eight first-half minutes from Hector Bellerin, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez and a late curler from Olivier Giroud secured a 10th Premier League win in 11 match-es.

That moved them above Manchester City into sec-ond place on 63 points, four behind leaders Chelsea, who will be looking over their shoulders at their in-form London rivals even though Jose Mourinho’s side have two games in hand.

Fifth-placed Liverpool, who netted a penalty through Jordan Henderson before Giroud’s effort, now look out of the running in the battle for Champions League qualification after a second consecutive defeat.

A miserable afternoon for the visitors was capped off by a late red card for Emre Can.

While much of the pre-match debate had focused on Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling’s on-going con-

tract impasse, within minutes of kickoff it was clear that more pressing issues lay with the visitors’ defence.

Liverpool’s back-three spent the opening minutes regularly gifting the ball to the hosts in dangerous areas and their only chance of the half was inexplicably wast-ed by Lazar Markovic, who tried and failed to pass to Sterling when through on goal.

The breakthrough came after 37 minutes when Bel-lerin was allowed time to cut inside the Liverpool box before curling a superb finish past Simon Mignolet.

Given their defending on the day it seemed remark-able that it was the first goal Liverpool had conceded on the road in more than nine hours after keeping six successive clean sheets. Arsenal doubled the lead two minutes later when Ozil stepped up to curl a free kick around the wall and into the net and Sanchez smashed home from outside the box to make it 3-0.

Elsewhere, Manchester United defeated Aston Villa 3-1 to move above Manchester City and into third place. Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan tipped over Marcos Rojo’s powerful 25-yard effort, but was beaten by Ander Herrera’s low shot after good work from Daley Blind.

Wayne Rooney added a second goal when he spun and fired into the top corner before Christian Benteke pulled one back. Herrera scored the third for Man Unit-ed in added time. — Agencies

Arsenal turn on the style as Man U hit Aston VillaLONDON

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