A voter wants Lands Secretary Charity Ngilu sacked. Clifford Keya yesterday told High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi that he wants Ngilu fired because she is incompetent. Through lawyer Andrew Kariu, Keya, said the Secretary does not carry out her duties in a way that maintains public confidence and integrity in her office. "The Secretary is openly practicing nepotism and favouritism in the appointment of public officers that in any event she has no legal capacity to appoint," Kariu said. Through a certificate of urgency Kariu said it is known that Parliament, which protects the public interest, has...
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Voter in court over Ngilu 'nepotism', wants her out
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Jubilee refurbishes Mombasa complex
Jubilee Insurance has renovated its complex in Mombasa situated on Moi Avenue. “Jubilee Arcade offers spacious retail shops and commercial offices with contemporary facilities,” Jubilee said in a statement. The complex has 34 retail shops, 76 offices and 112 parking bays. Jubilee said shoppers will enjoy spacious car park, secure shopping , an eating arcade, and panoramic lift connectivity to upper floors. The company said the arcade is part of its investment plan on real estate developments across the East African region. It already has the Jubilee Insurance Centre and Jubilee Exchange in...
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CMA's draft master plan out
CAPITAL Markets Authority is seeking public input into its 10-year draft master plan to guide development of the capital markets. The draft has been prepared by a 16-member steering committee chaired by chief executive of private equity fund Catalyst Principal Partners, Paul Kavuma. Through the plan, Kenya targets to be the market choice for domestic, regional and international issuers and investors looking for return-boosting opportunities in Africa by year 2023. CMA acting chief executive Paul Muthaura said in a statement the envisioned capital markets will facilitate development of...
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Impact of South Sudan war on Kenya low - analysts
UNRESOLVED political clashes in South Sudan, Kenya's increasingly growing trading partner, would have mild impact on domestic national economic output, analysts argued yesterday in Nairobi. Researchers at Pinebridge Investments East Africa quoted the last officially available export earnings of Sh18 billion in year 2012 to support their assessment. The volume compared to Uganda's Sh67 billion and Tanzania's 46 billion, they said, would have little shocks to the country's GDP. The cited the ongoing turmoil in Egypt which they said has been managed without significant impact on the Kenyan...
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Refinery workers go without pay as Essar sale stalls
THE fate of hundreds of employees at the closed Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd still hangs in balance as the government drags it feet on reaching an the exit agreement with its Indian partner, Essar Energy. Essar publicly declared on October 3 last year that it would relinquish its 50 per cent stake in the Mombasa-based facility to the state for Sh434.8 million ($5 million), but the two are yet to agree on exit terms. The two partners disagreed during a closed door meeting held on November 11 on who should absorb accumulated liabilities of the Mombasa-based facility whose operations have...
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Is Baby Madaha dating her manager?
TANZANIAN music artiste, actress and model Baby Madaha has remained non-committal to reports that she is dating her Kenyan manager, Candy n Candy CEO Joe Kariuki . The Squeeze Me Tight hit singer, however, admitted to have “fallen in love with a Kenyan man who loves and takes care of me”. But she failed to confirm whether that man was her married manager. She told Word Is in an interview: “Is it wrong that I am in love with a Kenyan? I believe that love knows no boundaries and I am also at liberty to love whoever I feel connected to. All I can say is that that man has been an inspiration,...
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Kenha stops collection of overload fines at Mariakani
KENYA National Highway Authority officials have denied claims by the police that they have been collecting illegal fines from overloaded trucks at the Mariakani weighbridge. The officials however accused Mariakani-based judicial officers and the police officers manning the weighbridge of benefitting from millions in corrupt deals. Kenha’s axle load control manager Muita Ngatia in response to a story filed by the Star on Tuesday accused a sacked magistrate and senior police officers of using the station as a conduit for accruing wealth. He said more than Sh16 million was misappropriated from...
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I was ignored and frustrated at Ogopa - Lenny
COMEBACK artiste Lenson Njuki popularly known as Mr Lenny has expressed his reasons behind his walk-out from music record stable Ogopa Deejays . The mellow-voiced singer cited constant frustrations at the label as being the major factor that led him to quit the record house seven years ago, and nearly gave up on his music career. Lenny, who last week – through Grandpa Records – marked his comeback with the release of a single titled Randa Randa , said that he felt neglected at Ogopa as many of his music projects stalled after the producers gave him a deaf ear. “There were a lot artistes by...
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AFC camp hit
AFC Leopards camp at Mumias Sugar Sports Complex suffered a setback yesterday with three more players joining the injury list. Goalkeeper Martin Musalia, Jackson Saleh and midfield maestro Paul Were are suffering from nagging injuries incurred during last season’s league. The three players join 2013 Player of the Year, Jacob Keli and prolific goal-getter Allan Wanga, who picked injuries during the Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar. Leopards head coach James Nandwa said Musalia and Saleh have knee injuries while Were has hamstring injury—which have condemned them to light training . Nandwa said the...
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Vehicle dealers want KRA and Kebs rules harmonised
MOTOR vehicle importers want a harmonised standard on the age limit of imported second hand cars. The Car Importers Association of Kenya wants the dates used by the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Kenya Revenue Authority streamlined to end confusion on used vehicles. According to the association national chairman Peter Otieno, Kebs who are mandated to inspect the vehicle’s road worthiness grade the vehicles as per the year of their first registration while KRA uses the month system to impose taxes. Kebs amendment published in July, 2008 stipulates that all vehicles which are more than eight...
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Ministry keeps Base Titanium in suspense
THE Mining Ministry has remained tight lipped over the export licence for Base Titanium as the company increasingly gets worried over the delay in the issuance. Efforts by the Star to get a status update on the pending export licence over the last two days bore no fruit as the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Mining Najib Balala could not be reached on phone. The principal secretary for the ministry Richard Ekai did not respond to our text messages nor calls as the Kenya Chamber of Mines on its part called for dialogue between the government and Base Titanium. The ministry's public relations...
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Corridors of Power
Does President Uhuru’s office want to interfere with the results of the vetting of senior police officers? We are told that some higher ups in the Office of the President have told the Johnston Kavuludi-led vetting board that it must “clear” with them before announcing the next round of results. The question is: why does the Office of the President want to the results before they are announced? === John Muthutho is an interesting man. After it was reported in the media that he has been behaving like an executive chairman, the man called a board meeting to rant that the management “must go”...
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EAC to build market in Busia county
BUSIA will benefit from a modern market to be financed by the East African Community member states. The East African Affairs PS Mwanamaka Mabruki spoke yesterday when she made a courtesy call on Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong'. Mabruki said EAC wants to build three modern markets along its common borders and besides Busia being in a strategic location, it is growing faster compared to Malaba. However, Mabruki said construction works will begin once the county government avails 100-acre land for the market. Ojaamong' said the county will utilise its 130 acres along the border with Uganda.
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Pharmacists appear in court
Two pharmacists appeared in Mwingi court yesterday for disobeying pharmacy and poisons act. Bennered Mutua of Jeddy chemist and Alfred Okoko of Nunguni chemist appeared yesterday before the senior resident magistrate in mwingi court Victor Otieno and were charged for the said offence. The two were arrested on January 20 2014 at Mwingi market by inspectors from pharmacy and poisons board. They were set to be released on a bond of sh 100,000 with same surety amount. They however paid a cash bail of sh 20,000 each. Alfred's hearing will be on March 3 2014 while Bennerds will be on February 7...
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Kuppet faults demotions
SIAYA Kuppet secretary Wilson Odhiambo has condemned the demotion and transfer of headteachers in Nyanza. Speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday, Odhiambo said about 69 headteachers were transferred and 17 others demoted over last year’s KCPE exams. He said the the right procedure was not followed in effecting the demotions.
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Rapist saved in Gatundu
A 53-year-old man has been rescued from being lynched after residents stormed his home and beat him up. Police arrived as the mob was beating him at Kimunyu village in Gatundu South, Kiambu county. The man is accused of sodomising seven boys. The boys, aged between six and 10 years, said the man has been luring them with sugarcane, sweets, biscuits and Sh5. Their parents noticed the children had difficulty walking and complained of pain when they answer the call of nature. After being drilled by their parents, the boys revealed how they were sodomised. Doctors at Gatundu District Hospital...
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New park entry fees cut profits
The Domestic Tourism Association and the Tsavo East Stakeholders Association (TESHA) have reported a decline in business since the single park entry fees were introduced last week through a gazette notice by Kenya Wildlife Services. Hotels outside the Tsavo East are the most affected. Domestic Tourism Association National chairperson Anastanzia Wakesho said the move is unacceptable. "This is not the time to raise the park entry fees and introduce the draconian single park entry fees. This will kill tourism since the industry is not stable in the country following terrorism threats and the...
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Sh10 million set for needy students
Gatanga Mp Humphrey Njuguna has said his CDF has set aside Sh10 million for bursaries to needy students. Njuguna was speaking at the refurbished Gituamba Primary School yesterday. So far, three primary schools—Gituamba, Nyaga and Kiunyu—have been refurbished. The MP cautioned contractors against conspiring with head teachers, principals, PTA and BOG to siphon school money through dubious construction arrangements.
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Pkosing slams stalls removal eviction notice
Pokot South MP David Pkosing has protested against a 21-day eviction notice issued yesterday to squatters living in forest reserves. The notice was issued by county ecosystem conservator Gabriel Kariuki. Kariuki asked more than 2,500 squatters living in Sondany, Tapach, Kapsangar, Kapsait, Chepkono, Mwino, Cheprogo and Mosop forest reserves to vacate voluntarily to avoid forceful eviction, which might lead to loss of property. Pkosing accused Kariuki of making important decisions single-handedly without involving local leaders.
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10 years for man found with drugs
A 29-year-old man has been jailed for 20 years for trafficking drugs. Ali Omar Keah was found guilty of being having 186 grams of heroine worth Sh372,000 in street value. He appeared before the Mombasa senior principal magistrate Richard Odenyo. Odenyo gave him an option of paying a Sh1 million fine or serving a 10-year jail term.
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