NASA on Sunday said it will reject government’s plan to hire doctors from Tanzania.

The opposition team was speaking at Kitengela during a joint political rally led by NASA co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula.

Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwawe’s was the first to raise the doctor's issue, saying NASA will contest the importation of doctors until the government settles out Kenyan doctors’ pay issues.

“We have a stake in this government and the Jubilee government cannot pretend to love the citizens of this country by importing doctors without settling what is ailing its doctors at home,” said Khalwale.

On Saturday, Tanzanian President John Magufuli said his country will send 500 doctors to Kenya to mitigate the effects of the 100-day doctor's strike.

Read:[VIDEO] Tanzania agrees to send 500 doctors to Kenya

Khalwale‘s sentiments were echoed by Makueni Senator, Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, who claimed that importing 500 doctors at the expense of so many unemployed medics is “mischief” on the part of the government.

But on Sunday, State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu denied claims that there are 1,400 jobless doctors in the country.

He said doctors are the only cadre of professionals that are posted directly to hospitals from college.

Read; State dismisses claim 1,400 doctors are jobless

KMPDU secretary general Ouma Oluga on Saturday criticised the government for bringing new doctors from Tanzania yet Kenya has many unemployed doctors.

"Kenya has about 1,400 doctors awaiting employment. It would be very costly and therefore a show of imprudent public finance management to have 500 Tanzania doctors at Sh20,000 per day," Oluga said.

Read: Hire 1,400 jobless Kenyans instead of bringing Tanzania doctors -Oluga

Khalwale told Kajiado people not to trust former Interior CS, Joseph ole Lenku, to succeed governor David Nkedianye in the August polls.

“That former CS is a complete failure and has no place to fit in Kajiado politics. He will plunder the county’s resources if elected the way the Jubilee government has messed up the economy of this country,” claimed Khalwale.

Wetangula disclosed that all the principals in NASA are quite aware that none of them can make it to the presidency without the support of the rest.

“No one should push us to name our presidential candidate at this time. There is no crisis in NASA as those in Jubilee want to tell Kenyans. We are aware that no one of us can make to the Presidency singlehanded without the support of the other,” said Wetangula.

Musyoka, who spoke first, said nothing will deter NASA from taking the leadership from Jubilee comes election time.

“This time round, we are determined more than before in this race to State House, come rain or sunshine,” said Musyoka.

Liquified petroleum gas marketers have increased the cost of refilling cooking gas cylinders amid rising cost of importing the commodity from the international markets.

This is the first time in two years the cost of LPG has been adjusted upwards, adding more pressure to household budgets.

Prices have increased by an average of Sh330, according to data by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

KNBS said refilling a 13-kg gas cylinder cost an average of Sh2318 in February from Sh1989.9 a month earlier and Sh1976.4 in December 2016.

Cooking gas prices dropped below Sh2000 last July after the Treasury removed the value added tax on LPG.

A spot check in the market showed the 13-kilogramme cylinder is retailing at Sh2,000 up from Sh1850 a month ago in the retail outlets owned by the major oil marketers like Total, Shell, Hashi and Oilibya.

However, estate cooking gas vendors are yet to increase prices.

Kenya sources LPG mainly from Saudi Arabia and imports an average of 14,000 tonnes per month.

The average price of LPG around the world is $790.80 per metric tonne.

The LPG market has become lucrative for investment in the past two years, driven by rising demand for the fuel.

KNBS data indicates the consumption of LPG increased by 188.93 per cent to 180.83 metric tonnes in 2016 from 62.65MT in 2015.

Estate vendors control over 70 per cent of the LPG market currently.

They have thrived by offering cutthroat prices, as low as Sh1650 for refilling the 13-kg cylinder since 2015.

This has allowed more poor households to adopt LPG an alternative fuel.

The increased uptake has also been boosted by the standardisation of the cooking gas cylinder valve and aggressive marketing of the LPG as a more cleaner energy than firewood and kerosene.

Higher prices could lower the demand for LPG as thousands of households struggle to survive due to a high cost of living triggered by a spike in food, fuel and electricity prices.

KNBS said inflation rose to a multi-year high of 9.04 per cent last month from 6.99 per cent in January.

This is the highest rise since June 2012 and surpassed the government's inflation target of between 2.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent for the first time since December 2015.

Throwing frequent glances over his shoulders, Dan Kariuki (not his real name) keeps asking this writer if he’s sure has not been followed as he ushers me into his hideout in the Mowlem area of Dandora.

When the Star visited the 16-year-old extrajudicial killings survivor, we soon found out what he has witnessed and gone through is a living nightmare.

“I had to flee Kitari, our home, and made this place my hideout,” he says, fidgeting, with the veins in his temples protruding and seeming to throb with tension and fear. In December, on separate occasions, he explains, the police gunned down all his seven closest friends, including his 14-year-old only brother.

“Every day we woke up and all we would do is collect the bodies of our friends. Little did I know we had been marked for execution. I had to flee for my life,” he says.

“I have been forced to live by the gun. I will still be branded and felled by the police: Ironically killed by guns we pay with our taxes to keep us safe and secure our future,” he adds, his voice rising with anger, eyes fixed on a makeshift door as he occasionally clutches at the butt of a gun tucked into the waistband of his trousers.

The execution of the seven is among the over 500 deaths of youngsters in Nairobi's slum areas in the last two years in what is now infamously known as “ghetto statistics”.

Why police must never be judge, jury and executioner

Eight suspected robbers gunned down in Industrial Area, weapons recovered

We didn’t kill innocent victims, say police

We reveal the story of ghetto statistics alongside other official and both documented and undocumented disturbing trends of police executions across the country as compiled by various human rights groups since the Jubilee regime came to power.

The data in our possession is extracted from multiple human rights organisation reports, including the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) and Haki Africa.

It shows there have been 612 cases of extrajudicial killings and about 1,300 cases of enforced disappearances during Jubilee’s first term.

These are cases documented after the families of victims complained to the groups and the respective rights bodies went ahead to investigate the cases, got accounts from victims and their families and even carried out postmortems on some of the bodies. The data on executed and missing persons in the last four years was meticulously compiled.

However, these statistics don't include those of the ghettos (slums), also known as informal settlements, where families have given up filing complaints and only pick up the bodies of their executed relatives and bury them without postmortem or officially recording the deaths.

“We only keep the memories and count the numbers of those downed. But, unfortunately, the majority of our fellow citizens think we deserve summary execution as our day in court to them is a waste of time. We have all been branded dogs,” Kariuki says.

This comes as Amnesty International has rated Kenya top in Africa for summarily executing its citizens.

Amnesty International’s 2016/17 report says that by October 2016, it documented 122 extrajudicial killings, but the number could be even higher as there were no official data on such cases.

A London-based human rights charity reveals in a report released on March 13 that Kenya National Police Service officers use extrajudicial killings as a matter of policy.

Privacy International’s report, entitled “Track, Capture, Kill: Inside Communications Surveillance and Counterterrorism in Kenya”, says the abuses are most rife in counterterrorism operations that further erode Kenyans’ already weak trust in the agencies responsible for protecting them.

Privacy International describes itself as investigators of “the secret world of government surveillance and expose the companies enabling it.

We litigate to ensure that surveillance is consistent with the rule of law. We advocate for strong national, regional, and international laws that protect privacy.

We conduct research to catalyse policy change. We raise awareness about technologies and laws that place privacy at risk, to ensure that the public is informed and engaged”.

In its report, Privacy International says, “Communications surveillance is being carried out by Kenyan state actors, essentially without oversight, outside of the procedures required by Kenyan laws”.

“Intercepted communications content and data are used to facilitate gross human rights abuses, to spy on, profile, locate, track – and ultimately arrest, torture, kill or disappear suspects,” it adds.

This happens despite constitutional guarantees of freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and the right to a fair trial as fundamental rights of Kenyan citizens.

However, the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, which is responsible for policy, could not respond to our inquiries on whether they had a policy to run execution squads among national police officers in security operations and on why they are reluctant to reprimand or put individuals officers accused of operating outside the law to account.

Interior spokesperson Mwenda Njoka, despite being briefed and instructing us to email the questions, did not respond for a week, despite many assurances that he would reply.

In Kenya any time there is a contemporary security challenge, the authorities have been quick to establish new police units that carry out pervasive human rights violations, Abdullahi Boru, East Africa Researcher at Amnesty International, said.

“The highway robberies brought the Flying Squad, Mungiki came with the Kwe Kwe squad, and now terrorism has ATPU, all of which operate above the law, executing suspects and carrying out other violations. Instead of being reprimanded and taken to account they are mostly praised by the authorities. This explains why these cases of extrajudicial killings go on unabated,” Boru said.

“This undermines security sector reforms and complicates the security agencies’ ability to use communities in combat any form of crime. Human rights abuses by security agencies that are supposed to uphold the rule of law erode the public trust,” Boru added.

In its report “Death From Police Bullets from January to December 2015,” IMLU recorded 144 cases of summary executions. In Nairobi there were 66 executions, Machakos 14, Mombasa 11, with rest of the killings happening across other counties.

However, information we could not independently verify but followed through detailed multiple interviews with locals, victims and grassroots human rights defenders, indicated there were on average at least two deaths daily in slum areas, with higher death counts during weekends and holidays last year and unknown numbers of disappearances. The number adds up to about 730.

“Just in Mathare alone, a week barely ends without two to three incidences of summary executions. Interestingly, many rights organisations aren’t too enthusiastic to come out to document these cases. Even IPOA seems unmoved when it comes to following up on the cases, despite the identities of policemen committing these atrocities being known,” a source at Mathare Social Justice told the Star in an interview.

The organization said most of the killings are carried out by police from special crime divisions, not attached to respective police divisions, where they pick up and execute suspects of various crimes.

Our MSJ source lamented that documentation and follow-up of the cases was a tall order for them due to intimidation from police officers as well as failure by most national rights bodies to stand up in solidarity with grassroots activists.

“When we complain to the police divisions at times even the local police don’t know as the victims are never booked in the occurrence books. Where they know the culprits they tell us that the police executing the youths are their bosses sent from headquarters, making it difficult to follow-up and even hold these rogue police to account. They come back and taunt the locals as they mark their next targets,” the other added.

In 2015 IMLU documented 126 cases of summary executions by police and Kenya Wildlife Service officers; in 2014 there were 199 executions and 142 in 2013.

“The cases are rampant and on the increase, therefore our documentation isn't conclusive. But all cases we have reported point to a police [service] that has turned into an investigator, prosecutor, jury and executioner,” Hilda Nyatete, Imlu Programme Officer, Psychological Support, said.

“Police can only be justified to use firearms in self-defence and in protection of life, but in the cases we have received and documented, triggerhappy officers execute suspects at close range and even those who have surrendered. In violation of the constitutional right to life guarantee,” she added.

In “The Error of Fighting Terror with Terror”, published in September 2015, KNCHR reported over 120 cases of what it termed egregious human rights violations, including 25 extrajudicial killings and eight enforced disappearances were recorded between 2014-2015 in Mombasa, Garissa, Mandera, and Wajir.

There were also 31 cases of missing persons and seven deaths that the Commission was investigating, saying the violations were widespread, systematic and coordinated.

Moses Kuria walked out of a radio interview on Monday after a brief squabble with Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati.

The Gatundu South legislator stormed off the show on KTN's Radio Maisha after Arati criticised Jubilee for "lying to Kenyans".

Arati touched on corruption and the Standard Gauge Railway claiming it stretches all the way to the the Kenyattas' property.

"....ile railway ingetoka Mombasa na ifike Nairobi...[President Uhuru Kenyatta] anatuambia ati railway inatoka Nairobi pia na inafika Naivasha, Inafika kwa shamba lake," he continued.

This loosely translates to: "The President says the railways stretches from Mombasa to Nairobi and them from Nairobi to Naivasha but it goes up to his family's shamba."

Kuria interjected saying: "Hiyo ni ujinga wacha tuongee ukweli (That is stupid. Let us tell the truth).

But Arati persisted compelling his counterpart to remove his head phones, bang the table and walk out of the studio.

Arati carried on with his criticism of the government.

"Na huo ndio ukweli na ukweli lazima usemwe. Hakuna siku tutakubali ifike kwa shamba la Kenyattas. Hakuna siku sisi tutabembelezana na Jubilee...ukweli hawataki kusikia," he said. (That is the truth and it must be told. We will never allow the railway to reach the Kenyattas' property. We will never go easy on Jubilee...they don't want the truth".

Kenya Railways engineer Maxwell Mengich said last September that the SGR route starts from the west end of the Nairobi south hub, where the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR ends.

He said it turns south-westward through Nairobi National Park and then westward, past Twala and Ongata Rongai towns.

More on the route: SGR route to open up towns for growth

Also read: Nairobi-Naivasha SGR construction to cost Sh2 billion more

The Gatundu South MP has gotten into the habit of walking out of interviews that get heated.

In 2015, he stormed out of a session on Citizen TV before a clip of him allegedly inciting youths in his constituency was played.

Mike Sonko has apologised for his behaviour on national TV on Sunday, when he referred to Peter Kenneth as "an albino or whatever" and a criminal.

In an interview with Citizen TV, the Nairobi lashed out at the former Gatanga MP saying their feud was personal.

"I'm not ready for consensus with this person (Kenneth). We know what he did in 2013...he refused to step down for my boss," he said.

"Let him feel what we felt at that time...I will not accept it even if he steps down to become my running mate."

More on this: Feud with Peter Kenneth personal, Sonko says, demands apology from JP rival

Also read: Sonko dismisses Peter Kenneth running mate report as 'joke of the year'

The Senator accused various people of frustrating his Nairobi governor bid and used abusive words against fellow politicians.

He barely allowed host Hussein Mohamed to ask questions as he took control of the session.

But he apologised via Twitter on Monday saying he was angry.

"Kama niliwajamisha interview ya jana poleni nilikuwa na hasira...my opponent aliniita hooligan in public...wenzake wakaniita mbwa ndani ya kanisa," he said.

This loosely translates to: "I am sorry if I angered you in yesterday's interview. I was angry. My opponent called me a hooligan in public and the others he was with called me a dog in church."

Kenyans on social media scolded Sonko for his behaviour some saying it was uncalled for.

Allan Paton‏ said: "It is unfortunate that Mike Sonko could refer to Peter Kenneth as an albino. This shows his contempt for albinos."

Edward Meeme said the Senator made so much noise that he could hear him on TV station K24.

"Our beloved Hussein Mohamed, Sonko is disgrace to Sunday Live. Next time, spare your time by inviting Miguna Miguna, the people's choice," a user identified as Jeff Miguna Koinange said.

Miguna, who will also vie for governor, wrote: "I've just watched the most disgraceful TV interview between the primitive Mike Sonko and Mohamed. How low can the cartel media go?"

Other users jokingly told the presenter to take painkillers after the drama that unfolded during the interview.

"You'll need it more than Sonko with his [chewing] gum," Mercy Pheona said, while Monicah Wambua‏ said the host should get an allowance for the "tough" interview.

Sonko has been opposed to Kenneth's entry to the race to take over from Governor Evans Kidero.

He said during the interview that the politician should apologise to him, Mama Ngina Kenyatta and his wife "for the tears we shed".

"I am not going to accept Kenneth as my running mate or to be his deputy. Let him feel our pain in 2013 when he did not support President Uhuru Kenyatta," he said.

Also read: Peter Kenneth wanted Uhuru jailed at ICC, must apologise to Kenyans - Sonko

Also read: Jubilee's Team Nairobi in turmoil after Sakaja, Sonko hit hurdles

When drought began in October 2016, most herders in the North Rift hoped it would end sooner. They believed their indigenous livestock would endure the long, dry spell and continue fetching high prices.

But the skies remained blue, animals became emaciated and several died. Desperate farmers sold cows for as low as Sh1,500 — the same price as two hens.

Pasture was completely depleted. Even the shrubs and thorny branches herders relied on to feed animals were no more.

The semi-arid areas of Keiyo South, Keiyo North, Marakwet East and West in Elgeyo Marakwet county, as well as Tiaty, Baringo North and South in Baringo county, experienced a ravaging drought local elders say was last witnessed in the 1950s.

As major rivers and streams dried up in December last year, herders in Kabargoi, Keiyo North, held on to their cows, banking on the state’s promise to buy livestock at better prices so the farmers could re-stock in April.

Throwaway prices

It is noon in Rokocho, Kabargoi location, and herders are braving the searing heat in search of some branches for their remaining cattle. They helplessly witnessed many of the cows die.

Herder Joseph Yego explains how he and his Rokocho neighbours lost their cows after failing to find pasture for them.

“I have already lost 10 cows and the remaining cows are facing death. We have exhausted all shrubs that animals feed on during droughts,” Yego says.

A distraught Yego appeals to the state to buy the remaining livestock at better prices after they sunk to their lowest.

“I can’t even take my remaining cows to our animal market for auctioning because a cow is now selling at Sh1,500. We will have no livestock by the end of March since it may not rain anytime soon,” he adds.

He recalls how the state promised to buy cattle from farmers in January as effects of the lingering drought became a reality.

Yego says the low prices of livestock have mean herders can’t afford foodstuff, including maize, from the Elgeyo Marakwet highlands and Uasin Gishu county.

He says: “Cows are so emaciated that we can’t slaughter them. The only remaining animals here are goats but lack of water remains our biggest challenge.”

Yego’s neighbour Victor Korir is visibly agonised as he sits under a withering tree, counting his losses. He has already lost eight cows to the severe drought. His neighbour Chebaino is worse off, having lost 40 cows with the rest facing death.

Korir says on average, a cow fetched Sh50,000 at animal auctions in Kaptara and Cheptem animal auctions on the scenic yet drought-prone area before the prices plummeted.

He yearns for the day the skies will open up and enable them to resume green grams and watermelon farming – a new venture that earned them good cash before the ravaging drought began.

Famine consequence

Emsoo MCA Christopher Cheboiboch accused the state of not implementing the drought mitigation programme.

“The national government said it will buy livestock in an animal off-take programme but there has been no action since January,” he said.

On January 12, the meteorological department urged livestock farmers in North Rift to brace themselves for massive losses of livestock and increased human-wildlife conflict, warning that the drought will continue until April.

Elgeyo Marakwet meteorological services director Simon Cheptot said the county and neighbouring ones would continue to experience a long, dry spell.

He said herders in drier areas of the Kerio Valley are counting losses as several animals have died following the long drought.

The weatherman says delay of short rains that are usually experienced in March will result in an acute shortage of food in the country’s grain basket counties of Elgeyo Marakwet, Nandi, Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu.

He adds: “Education of residents has been ongoing. It is unfortunate that they have not been heeding our calls to sell their livestock.”

By February, herders in parts of West Pokot and Turkana were crossing over to neighbouring Uganda after the drought became unbearable.

Erastus Ewoi, a resident of Lopii village in Turkana South, says he has seen his 70 goats and 10 cows die one after another because of the drought.

“We move long distances in search of water and pasture. Even the wells that have never dried during the frequent droughts that affect this area have since dried,” he said.

Ewoi says women and children are the worst hit, since they are left without any food as men move long distances to save their remaining livestock from the scourge of drought.

In parts of the county, the effect of the drought that has now degenerated into a famine has led to the death of two people. They starved to death as the only source of food — relief food from the state and humanitarian organisations — could not reach them in time.

In Elgeyo Marakwet, one person in Soy North has already died due to starvation. The county is mobilising resources from its budget to supply some relief food to avert further deaths.

The county has supplied Sh6 million relief food as the drought persists.

A consignment of 2,500 bags of maize and beans were dispatched to seven wards worst hit by the drought.

Deputy Governor Gabriel Lagat says the food has been distributed to Endo, Sambirir, Arror, Emsoo, Tambach, Soy North and Soy South wards.

He urged the national government to fast-track the animal off-take programme to buy the remaining animals and avert further losses.

The county assembly, while seeking Sh60 million to mitigate the drought in February, said at least 10,000 families were starving due to the drought.

Bleak future

Marakwet traditional astrologers, who mainly observe stars to predict rain patterns, says light rains will be experienced in the better part of this year, painting a bleak future for the North Rift ahead of the March-April planting season.

John Kwambai, a Marakwet elder and traditional astrologer, says rain patterns change in a four-year cycle.

Kwambai said the current cycle ends this year, paving way for another four years of heavy rains from next year.

The 2018 heavy rains, the elders say, may present other disasters, including landslides and flooding.

Marakwet astrologers’ weather predictions are so accurate that the meteorological department often compares notes with them.

“We are now in the last year of a season and we expect heavy rains from next year,” Kwambai says.

Keiyo traditional astrologer Kiprop Toroitich from Kocholwo, Keiyo South, said both the Stars and stomach contents of animals slaughtered in traditional ceremonies, which have traditionally been used to predict rains, have indicated that light rains will occur this year.

In Tiaty in Baringo county, area MP Asman Kamama describes the drought as the worst in history.

“Camels, donkeys and goats survive the longest in droughts, but they have died in this drought as well. We have also lost several people,” Kamama says.

Latest reports by Unicef indicate that at least 2.7 million Kenyans, 1.1 million among them children, are facing starvation in 23 counties in Kenya.

Other counties worst hit include Tana River, Kilifi, Kwale, West Pokot, Tharaka-Nithi, and all the counties in Northeastern.

According to Unicef, 174,000 children are out of school due the severe drought.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday launched a scathing attack on President Uhuru Kenyatta, accusing the head of state of abusing power by abusing ODM governors.

In an exclusive telephone interview with the Star, Raila said the President was using his office to insult, intimidate and harass opposition governors.

“This behavior by the President needs prayers from Kenyans. He is not just abusing his powers but he is demeaning the institution of the presidency,” Raila said.

The former prime minister said the President should be censured for not behaving like a head of state.

“Something is very wrong,” Raila said, speaking on a stopover in Amsterdam.

The ODM leader arrived last evening from the US where he, among other engagements, delivered a lecture at Harvard University. Earlier he had visited his daughter Rosemary in South Africa. She is recovering from a benign head tumour.

Today Raila is expected to make a statement about the opposition alliance, NASA, after meeting his principals Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper, Moses Wetang’ula of Ford Kenya and Musalia Mudavadi of ANC.

Losing one’s temper is not abuse of office, but sending KRA after Joho is

President Uhuru Kenyatta is interviewed by Citizen's Nipashe news anchors, Kanze Dena and Lulu Hassan at State House, Nairobi on Monday night. Photo/PSCU

Panic has gripped NASA after Kalonzo presented his presidential nomination papers to Wiper and was cleared to run. Despite many denials, it is widely believed Kalonzo will go it alone if NASA does not give him the joint presidential ticket.

While Raila was away, the President went on the war path, attacking ODM Governors Hassan Joho of Mombasa, Amason Kingi of Kilifi and Turkana’s Josephat Nanok.

The President started his attacks on the opposition leaders in Turkana where he referred to Nanok as a fool and a devil after the governor demanded a higher allocation of oil cash.

Before the exchange, Nanok, the ODM point man in the region, told the President oil proceeds to community had been capped to "nothing useful".

But a seemingly angry Kenyatta hit back, accusing Nanok of having little to show for the more than Sh50 billion of devolved funds over four years.

Uhuru accused the governor of peddling falsehoods that he was only interested in the region's oil, not development.

Yesterday Raila said the President was out of order when he insulted Nanok.

“These governors are elected by the people. They hold constitutional offices just like the President. There must be mutual respect between levels of government,” Raila said.

Later, in Mombasa the President took on Joho and Kingi dismissing the two as failures who were only interested in drama and not development.

He said Mombasa has received Sh40 billion and has nothing to show for it — Joho says it's about Sh17 billion. CRA says Sh21 billion.

Last Monday, he the head of state told Joho to stop following him around as though he were Joho’s wife. He warned Joho that he would "sort him out" and "teach him a lesson". Joho interpreted this as a threat and dared Joho to make good on it.

That followed Joho's arrest — 'office arrest'— ordered by the presidency so that Joho would not disrupt the President's event, commissioning Mtongwe Ferry service. Joho was physically blocked by GSU officers who ordered to stay away from the public function.

No sooner had the President returned to Nairobi than KRA launched an investigation into Joho’s Bank accounts. It is understood the taxman wants to know if Joho has been paying taxes.

In a rejoinder, Joho publicly told President to take all the money in his accounts if he wants.

“Nakwambia mheshimiwa Uhuru nina account tatu — Barclays, Stanbic na Diamond Trust. Nakupa ruhusa kuanzia leo, kuchukua hizo pesa mpaka ndururu. Msimamo wangu hautabadilika leo wala kesho,” he said.

This loosely translates, “President Uhuru, I have three accounts in Barclays, Stanbic and Diamond Trust banks. I am giving you permission to raid the accounts and take the cash you find there, to the last cent. My stand on issues will never change.”

Cord leader Raila Odinga, his wife Ida and daughter Rosemary pose for a picture in South Africa where the latter is receiving treatment for a brain tumor. /COURTESY

Yesterday Raila said he ODM will stand by Joho, who is ODM's deputy leader, because he was a loyal member of the party and NASA.

“These bad manners will not be entertained. We will stand with Joho come rain or shine. Joho is not just any ordinary person. He is a leader elected by his people,” Raila said.

VIDEO] Joho barred from attending Uhuru's Mtongwe ferry launch

Take all my money, Joho dares Uhuru after KRA requested for accounts

The ODM boss said Raila said Joho was a victim of a campaign against the opposition because he retained the region in the opposition, despite Jubilee's efforts.

The former PM discounted claims that the Coast was shifting to JP.

“The purported defections you are being told are laughable. Some people who were paraded in Tononoka have been defecting for months. Others have just been bought. How does that translate to votes? Our people remain with us and will they teach the defectors painful political lessons in August,” Raila said.

Coast residents voted overwhelmingly for the opposition in 2013.

Governor Hussein Dado of Tana River was the latest county boss to join Jubilee. He followed Salim Mvurya of Kwale, deputy governors Hazel Katana (Mombasa), Kenneth Kamto (Kilifi) and Fatuma Achani (Kwale).

Others were women representatives Zainab Chidzuga (Kwale), Joyce Lay (Taita Taveta) and Halima Ware (Tana River).

The region's lawmakers who have ditched the Opposition include Senators Dan Mwazo (Taita Taveta) an, Gideon Mung'aro (Kilifi North) and MPs Mustafa Idd (Kilifi South), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga), Peter Shehe (Ganze) and Masood Mwahima (Likoni). A host of MCAs from the six Coast counties also defected.

“Most of this people know they have lost elections. We are not bothered at all by their departure. We have very strong candidates who will shortly replace them,” Raila said.

Everyone is supposed to be annoyed if the situation calls for annoyance, and everyone is human and therefore they are allowed to throw a tantrum every once in a while.

The throwing of a tantrum, in and of itself, does not necessarily amount to abuse of office.

Main story: Uhuru abuses power, needs our prayers, declares Raila

It only amounts to opening up oneself to ridicule, because people look at you and they say, “Where is the dignity, where is the decorum that we would expect to go with the office?”

You bring the office into indignity. Indignity in the sense that such an office should be emblematic of national unity but is reduced to an institution that can become a laughing stock and the subject of public ridicule alongside the holder of that office.

So I think we can correctly say that the President invites indignity into the Presidency. That does not necessarily mean the same thing as abuse of office. He falls short of the provisions of Article 10 of the Constitution, not because he has abused the office, but because he has brought opprobrium to the office.

We could say it starts gravitating towards abuse of office when he says “tutakunyorosha” (we will sort you out). And he then doesn’t stop at that. We see that, a few days later, the KRA is beginning to follow up someone like Ali Hassan Joho, writing to his bank asking for his bank statements from 2011, six years ago, in what is clearly an act of witch-hunting.

It is witch-hunting because here is one person who has engaged in a mudslinging match with the President and the Head of State decides that if you think you can beat me in mudslinging, let us try the exercise of power and let us see if you can still beat me. So the President, from completely out of the blue, instructs his officers and tells the Kenya Revenue Authority to go for this man – then that is abuse of office.

And it can only be said to be happening at the behest of the President and that, I think, is tragic.

I had thought after 2002, when the Kanu regime went home, that we would never witness such a thing in this country again. I think this should worry everybody. After they are done with Joho, they will move on to someone else.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed reports he was angry with Governor Hassan Joho during his Mombasa tour on March 13.

The two leaders have been embroiled in a tussle over development projects in the region, the latest being the relaunched Mtongwe ferry.

Their exchange culminated into Uhuru asking Joho to stop following him as though he was his wife.

More on this: [VIDEO] Joho barred from attending Uhuru's Mtongwe ferry launch

Also see: [AUDIO] Stop following me like I'm your wife, Uhuru tells Joho at Mtongwe ferry launch

But in an interview on Citizen TV on Monday, the President said he was just doing his job as the head of state.

"I have a right to visit any part of the country without seeking permission from anyone," he said.

Regarding what has been termed an outburst of anger, he said: "Hiyo si ukweli. Mimi sina hasira hata kidogo. Mimi sikuwa na hasira Mombasa. Lakini inafika wakati lazima useme ukweli wako (It is not true. I am not angry. I was not angry in Mombasa. But a time comes when one has to tell the truth)."

Uhuru saidJoho is answerable to the people of Mombasa but that he also has his responsibilities as Kenya's leader.

"Ukiwa na mwelekeo au lengo, na mwingine aje na yake ambayo huhusiani nayo, lazima watu waelezane ukweli (If two people have unrelated visions, the people must be told the truth)," he said.

The President defended the government’s decision to bar Joho from attending the reopening of Mtongwe ferry that he presided over.

The Governor claimed at that time that he had been put under house arrest pending Uhuru's departure from Mombasa.

Read: Uhuru and Joho: Who is lying about Sh40 billion Mombasa allocation?

But Uhuru said: "Mtu amekuja akasema lazima aje function yangu na mimi nimesema 'hii haikuhusu, wewe kaa kando, mimi wache nipate nafasi yangu ya kueleza wananchi vile nimewatendea. Wewe baadaye utapata nafasi yako uje uwaeleze'."

(Someone comes and says he must attend your function and you say 'it does not concern you, step aside and allow me the chance to tell the people what I can do for them. You will get your chance to speak to them later'."

"Lakini kama unafikiria eti lengo lako ni kujigamba eti unaweza kusisimama mbele ya rais na matusi, siwezi kubali (But if your mission is to chest-thump and oppose the President...I cannot allow that)."

Uhuru further said relaunching Mtongwe ferry was the mandate of the national government.

"Jamani, ni nini hapo nimeenda kuzindua ambayo si shughuli ya kitaifa (For goodness sake, what did I do that was not the responsibility of the national government)?" he asked.

Part two of the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution states that counties are in charge of ferries and harbours but this does not include the regulation of local and international shipping.

Following the ferry services launch and Uhuru's criticism, Joho hit back saying he will follow his people "whether Uhuru Kenyatta likes it or not".

"Mimi najua pale unaishi...siwezi kuja, sitaki kuja ... mimi najua penye kuna ikulu...siwezi kuja, sitaki kuja ... lakini mahali penye kuna wanainchi wanaonipigia kura kama governor wao nitawatumikiwa (I know where you live but I don't want to go there... I know where State House is but I don't want to go there...but I will be of service where people who voted for me are)," he said.

He said this was how he would operate and that he did not care about those who did not agree with him.

[AUDIO] I will follow my people whether you like it or not, Joho tells Uhuru

Four opposition MPs later criticised the President for his latest display of “anger, emotion and ignorance” in handling crucial national matters.

Busia woman representative Florence Mutua and MPs Timothy Bosire (Kitutu Masaba), Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja) and Geoffrey Odanga (Matayos) are among those who defended the Governor against the outbursts.

More on this: President’s anger outburst shows he is weak – MPs

IEBC has terminated a tender for the installation of an Integrated Elections Management System for the August 8 polls.

Last Thursday, the electoral agency was in the process of concluding the Sh3 billion tender with French firm Gemalto SA.

The system is meant to integrate the existing biometric voter registration, the biometric voter identification, the electronic results transmission and the political party and candidate registration systems.

But in a letter to the firm on Tuesday, IEBC's Ezra Chiloba noted that the firm's bid was "significantly above the budgetary provision".

The CEO also said litigation was a reason for the cancellation.

"Given the remaining legal steps to conclude the tender, it will be almost impossible for the commission to execute its mandate within the statutory timelines," the latter states.

According to the Election Laws, IEBC should have the technology in place by the end of March for use on May 10.

Top Jubilee officials have been accused of influencing the award of the tender to a firm some termed as having "questionable capacity".

It also emerged that Gemalto SA lacks technical capacity to deliver the complex integrated technology required for the general election.

More on this: Top Jubilee leaders in Sh3bn IEBC tender row

The firm has no history of dealing with elections and in fact, specialises in mobile telephony and banking. However, it would supply Integrated Elections Management Systems, the fulcrum of the polls.

The opposition has long been saying the election will be rigged, especially through manipulated and compromised technology.

The award is being pushed by two influential Jubilee leaders — one in the executive and the other in the Parliament, sources have told the Star.

Fresh details have emerged of how senior officials in the Kibaki regime plotted but failed to block Uhuru Kenyatta from running for President in 2013.

It's a tale of back-stabbing and double-cross or triple-cross.

What transpired in the first 18 days of that December shaped Kenya's destiny and drove a permanent wedge between Uhuru and his Co-Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi.

It persists today.

Most events went unrecorded but last Sunday Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko last Sunday lifted the lid on behind-the-scenes machinations.

"A very powerful delegation brought a very powerful message from so-called Kibaki handlers. They said , 'Mr President, listen, these guys have packaged you as a criminal. Kindly you are supposed to step down, you are not supposed to vie, Kenyans are not ready to elect another Kikuyu President. Kindly stop down'," Sonko said on Citizen TV.

His sketchy account of how Kibaki's players almost killed Uhuru's election chances has been fleshed-out and corroborated by other sources.

Key players in the dump-Uhuru scheme were former NIS director Michael Gichangi, Interior PS Mutea Iringo, former head of civil service Francis Kimemia and adviser to Uhuru Nick Wanjohi.

Comment: Thieves have no honour, but statesmen must

It all started on Monday, December 3, 2012, in the midst of a sea of humanity in red and yellow caps at Jevanjee Gardens in Nairobi. TNA and URP signed a deal whereby Uhuru would be the presidential flagbearer, Ruto his running mate.

TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja and URP counterpart Francis ole Kaparo signed the pact.

But that evening, Uhuru was called to a meeting by the "Kibaki men" and told he would not be the candidate with Ruto as running mate.

They met at Uhuru's residence at Caledonia Estate, next to State House, and the power players said they had been sent by President Mwai Kibaki.

They explained Kenya was not ready for a Kikuyu President to succeed another Kikuyu President. Further, they said Uhuru and Ruto's ICC cases were a major obstacle.

They said Mudavadi had been identified as the compromise candidate and he and Ruto should meet him the following day.

At the time, Mudavadi was with United Democratic Forum, a creation of players in OP.

UDF was formed from scratch under supervision of Kibaki's private secretary Wanjohi and Laikipia West MP Nderitu Muriithi and Kibaki’s nephew.

Uhuru would push them out between 2013 and 2015.

On December 4, Uhuru and Ruto met Mudavadi at his house and later at Uhuru's home. The three did not expect their new deal to face such ferocious opposition.

Mudavadi confirmed meeting details at a press conference on December 18, 2012 — the same day Uhuru declared he had been forced by "mademoni" (demons) to withdraw his candidacy.

“Yes, I signed the agreement after being compelled to do so by dark forces who claimed a Kikuyu can’t be elected and foreigners will suspend aid to Kenya," Uhuru said.

Mudavadi said that on December 4 at Uhuru’s residence — a meeting witnessed by MPs Ali Mwakwere, Najib Balala, Ruto and their lawyers — Uhuru agreed to step down and back him.

“Before UDF submitted the addendum to the TNA-URP coalition, Uhuru and I signed a second agreement at his residence, witnessed by my brother Ruto and two lawyers, by which he withdrew his candidature for President in my favour,” Mudavadi disclosed.

The meetings agreed a new deal be signed by attaching an addendum to the previous agreement between URP and TNA, to accommodate Mudavadi's UDF.

Meantime, technical teams were ironing out details so the deal would be announced that day.

They signed the pre-poll agreement at a hurriedly convened nighttime press conference at the entrance of the Laico Regency. Uhuru, Mudavadi and Ruto announced coalition nominations in 14 days.

This pact required Uhuru and Mudavadi to compete for the nomination. In the informal, now public deal, Mudavadi was promised the presidential ticket and 25 per cent of top appointments.

Uhuru would get 41 per cent for ceding candidacy, Ruto would become deputy presidency and 33 per cent of the jobs.

The new deal requiring Uhuru and Mudavadi to compete for the nomination was deposited that night with the Registrar of Political Parties. this preceded the press conference, by chairmen of the three parties Sakaja (TNA), Kaparo (URP) and Hassan Osman (UDF).

UDF later insisted it would not have Mudavadi subjected to a nomination process but Uhuru had promised him the ticket.

However, UDF was facing a legal hurdle, as the only recognised pact was the one deposited with the Registrar.

With Uhuru and Ruto having said this deal now would not work, Mudavadi was left with the option of leaving the coalition or participating in joint nominations as demanded by TNA.

But as Kibaki's power players were finally having their say on who would be President by insisting Mudavadi play ball, Uhuru's base was getting agitated.

By agreeing to the nominations, as advised by power brokers, to appease Uhuru supporters, the three parties were to share appointments 33:33:33.

Whoever lost, Uhuru or Mudavadi, would become majority leader.

However, Ruto threw another spanner into the works when the three principals met on December 5, 2012, at Mudavadi's house.

Ruto said since URP and TNA had a 50:50 sharing agreement, Mudavadi would have to share Uhuru’s portion.

Meantime, Uhuru’s side complicated matters by writing to the parties registrar, seeking to revert to the original agreement with Ruto.

Alternatively, TNA also suggested a clause requiring a party serve three-month notice before quitting be amended to give Mudavadi an easier way out, if he chose to quit.

At the Laico Regency that evening, Uhuru, Ruto and Mudavadi displayed a united front — stealing the thunder from Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, who had earlier signed the Cord agreement.

But details of the secret MoU emerged two days later and Uhuru was pressured by his troops. It was back to the negotiating table.

On December 6, when Uhuru finally told confidants, TNA-allied MPs mobilised at the Boulevard Hotel and declared their candidate was not stepping down for a "State House Project".

“There are a lot of rumours circulating Uhuru is to step down for Mudavadi. We dismiss this notion and categorically state we will not allow intimidation or coercion from any quarters or address," then Gachoka MP Mutava Musyimi declared.

Then nominated MP Rachel Shebesh added, "Uhuru has to realise it is not his decision to dish out any candidacy, including that of the presidency. These positions belong to the party and its supporters and only they can decide who they want on the ballot."

The term “address” was perceived to mean State House, where top officials were said to be behind Mudavadi’s presidential bid.

Under immense pressure, Uhuru was forced to reconsider his decision to give Mudavadi the Jubilee coalition presidential ticket — and retreat to his Gatundu backyard to register as a voter and reassure his supporters.

Then on December 18, 2012, Uhuru waited until Mudavadi had finished his press conference and addressed TNA delegates mobilised by TNA MPs and officials.

As the strain became intolerable, Uhuru decided to reveal details of his secret MoU and how he came to sign it.

He declared at Multi-Media University, "You saw us showcase our unity at the Afraha in Nakuru but thereafter, a devil who does not know where we started came saying that if we continued in our quest, Kenya would not get foreign aid; we would not sell our tea abroad and we would cause war in Kenya since Kenyans are not ready for another Kikuyu presidency. So I decided instead of involving Ruto in it, I would make the decision myself, due to my love for the country and peace.”

Residents of Kiamigwi in Mathira, Nyeri county, are anxious after a 300-year-old mugumo tree fell.

The tree, which is holy and sacred among the Kikuyu community, fell last weekend, causing unease and nervousness. According to Kikuyu traditions and beliefs, the falling of a mugumo tree is considered bad omen.

Residents, who have been trooping to the area, have urged the Kikuyu Council of Elders to speedily conduct a cleansing ceremony to cast out evil spirits.

Resident Simon Kariuki said the unanticipated falling of the tree might signify the need to change political leadership.

He said in the past, Kikuyus believed the community’s leadership would rotate between Maina and Mwangi – two different age groups that produced its leaders.

Kariuki, however, said the tree may have been poisoned by a snake that used its vents as a burrow for some time.

“The area under a mugumo tree was sacred because this is where Kikuyu elders conducted their prayers and offered sacrifices. Presence of snakes therefore makes the place unclean,” he said.

When President Uhuru Kenyatta declared a war on drugs last month, Mabruk Hussein, a drug user commonly known as “mateja”, welcomed his pledge to crack down on barons instead of peddlers.

Hussein, who says he joined the sniffing gang after finishing his primary education, wishes it was easy to drop the drug-sniffing habits.

He reveals that the drugs are distributed by “big men with tinted cars” and they are well known to them and the society.

In 2015 at Mombasa court, Joseph Marwa, who was accused of having Sh100 drugs, confessed to the magistrate that politicians supplied them with the narcotics.

The magistrate was forced to cut him short to stop him from giving out names of their “supplier” in a packed court and ordered Marwa be taken for a mental check-up.

“When they arrest the barons we would not have the product. What remains is for us to drop the habit because if they arrest us, we are of no importance,” Hussein says.

“Drugs have destroyed my life. I’m the black sheep in my family as all my siblings are working.”

Read: We will not hunt ‘small fish’: Uhuru’s tough talk on drug barons

Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa, governor Hassan Joho and Senator Omar Hassan with one of the Old Town drug addicts who surrendered on May 7, 2016. Joho donated Sh1 million to help in rehabilitating drug addicts. Photo file

Withdrawal symptoms

Hussein, who is tired of being isolated by his family, hopes to join a rehabilitation centre soon.

However, Mombasa has one rehab centre at the Coast General Hospital, which is partially operational as it has been deserted due to their high cost of treatment.

The national government has been working hard on converting the Miritini NYS Centre to a rehab that will serve as the biggest rehab in the Coast region.

Mombasa also has two private rehabs: Mewa hospital and ReachOut Centre. A private rehab centre charges at least Sh15,000 per month for the treatment.

Hussein has previously served a prison sentence after being charged with having Sh200 heroine. He was sentenced to two years in prison but was released during pardoning by the President.

A prison warder who sought anonymity for fear of victimisation said the government cannot wipe out the drugs at once.

He said they have seen the pain addicts undergo imprisoned over narcotics.

“They cannot access drugs while in jail. They are always in pain and some lose their mind due to lack of drugs,” he said.

He revealed that some prison officers have been forced to sneak in narcotic drugs to the addicts to ensure lives are not lost.

“We know it is illegal to sneak such stuff to prisons, but you have to weigh between the law and humanity. We mostly pick saving a life by supplying them with the drugs,” he said.

“Sometimes they give us a small amount of money but in most situations, we just save them from their madness situation.”

Some of the muggers and drug-addicts arrested at old town Mombasa on April 9,2015, when county security chiefs held a swoop. Photo Elkana Jacob

Demand, crime to soar

Mewa Rehab Centre director Abdalla Badusi says the government should stop the tough talk and get real with the war on drugs.

“They cannot sit in boardrooms and decide that they should eliminate drug abuse now. It must start from somewhere,” Badusi said.

He said the government should come up with a work plan on how to curb and eliminate drug abuse in the Coast region, especially Mombasa.

Badusi said demand for drugs is expected to go higher as the supply will be low. This will make the prices to shoot up compared to when the product is readily available.

“Once they do away with the drug barons, there will be no supply. What happens to the addicts who highly depend on it and their lives come to a standstill whenever they miss a shot?” he said.

Badusi says this will increase crime as the addicts will go the extra mile to attain the extra shilling charged to acquire the dose.

He said demand is also likely to rise for alternative drugs like illicit brews, such as changaa and muratina.

Badusi said there will also be high usage of caffeine products not categorised as narcotics.

“The addicts will now turn to drugs used in hospitals, which when correctly combined can make something more stimulating than cocaine or heroin,” he said.

He urged the government to open more rehab centres and support the ones that are already operating.

Badusa said the only way to fight drugs is to treat addicts rather than jailing them.

“Drug barons have been there for a longest time but they cannot be jailed. Once you deny them client-base, it will kill their business,” he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has accused NASA co-principal Raila Odinga of being at the centre of 2007/8 post-election violence.

The violence that followed a disputed poll left at least 1,300 dead and more than 600,000 homeless.

"Raila has again started inciting Kenyans as he did in 2007 thus framing DP William Ruto. Yeye ndiyo aliwasha moto (He is the one who ignited the fire," Uhuru said.

"Kenyans are not ready to enter into chaos again because of politics. Raila and NASA are taking Kenya back."

Uhuru said the Opposition chief promoted politics of tribal antagonism and had returned to this in the run up to the August poll.

“He promoted politics of what he called '40 tribes against one'. Now, he is talking about '40 against two',” he said during a tour of Kisii town on Wednesday.

He issued the remarks after addressing Abagusii leaders in a meeting where he laid out plans to improve infrastructure in Kisii and Nyamira counties.

Uhuru dismissed claims that Jubilee has left some communities out of government.

"We need to catch up and fill the 25-year gap this country lost due to negative politics,” he said.

He said Kenya would have been at the same economic level as Asian Tigers "were it not for the 25 years of bad politics fronted by Raila".

“They are part of the lost years when politics and government yielded nothing for the people,’’ he said. 

Uhuru further said the development challenges Kenya has faced are not as result of lack of money but divisive politics.

He asked the public to embrace unity and reject those who continue dividing them.

“Let us ensure we do not slide back into problems. Do not let anyone tell you that Kenyans cannot forgive each other,” said the President.

Regarding his bid for re-election, Uhuru said he won the presidency in 2013 despite not being in government. 

“If we defeated them easily the last time when they were big people in government, we will defeat them easily again this time round,” he said.

Among leaders who attended the meeting included Ruto, MPs Joel Onyancha (Bomachoge Borabu), Jimmy Angwenyi (Kitutu Chache North) and Mary Otara,

Others were legislators Stephen Manoti (Bobasi), Elijah Moindi (Nyaribari Masaba) and Zebedeo Opore (Bonchari), and members of the Abagusii Council of Elders.

Read: Don't let Kenya burn again after poll, Uhuru asks police at GSU passing out parade

During the chaos, retired president Mwai Kibaki's PNU and Raila's ODM traded accusations of genocide.

The standoff shocked world leaders who had long viewed Kenya as a peacemaker, rather than a problem, on a volatile continent.

Official results showed Kibaki narrowly won the election but Raila said victory was stolen from him by rigging. International observers said the poll was flawed.

The two signed a peace deal following mediation by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

More on this: Kenya peace deal was toughest to broker, Annan says 9 years after 2007 chaos

Uhuru and the Deputy President faced crimes against humanity charges at the ICC over the chaos. Uhuru was then deputy PM while Ruto was Eldoret North MP.

Their cases were dropped in 2014 and 2015 respectively for lack of sufficient evidence.

Read: Uhuru hints at plans to pull Kenya out of ICC as country marks 53 years of independence

Also read: Annan report says Kenyans support the Hague process

Last year, In his strongest condemnation yet, Raila said Uhuru should have been jailed during his trial by the ICC for crimes against humanity in the 2007-08 post-election violence.

The former Prime Minister said all other major ICC suspects have been detained at The Hague before and during their trials.

He cited former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, former DRC Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, former LRA chief Dominic Ongwen, among others.

Eric Lonye from Samburu county says he has no time to celebrate World Water Day since he has to trek long distances in search of the commodity.

He says it is a shame to celebrate the day in a county where people rely on rationed salty water at a higher cost and thousands migrate to other counties with livestock in search of water.

“Nowadays we are using salty water, we are drinking dirty water and I don’t see significance of this day’s celebrations,” says Solomon Wanyeki, a resident of Maralal town.

Joseph Erupe says he spends half of his daily income purchasing "unsafe" water for his family.

“I must hire someone to transport a jerrican of water to my home at a cost Sh30 and I need like five jerricans a day from my Sh300 daily wage,” he told the Star on Wednesday.

These are among more than 17.3 million people in Kenya using unimproved water sources according to water.org

More than 663 million people around the world living without a safe water supply close to home, according to the latest figures from the United Nations.

As the world celebrates World Water day today, UN said people spend countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water.

In a statement on Wednesday, UN said people need to improve the collection and treatment of wastewater and safely reuse it.

"Reducing the quantity and pollution load of wastewater, we produce will help protect the environment and water resources," UN said.

UN said over 80 per cent of the world’s wastewater and over 95 per cent in some least developed countries is released to the environment without treatment.

Once discharged into water bodies, wastewater is either diluted or transported downstream or it infiltrates into aquifers, where it can affect the quality,

According to the World Water,there are still over 3 billion people who lack basic access to clean water and proper sanitation with 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation.

"1.1 billion still practice open defecation and spreading disease, it said in a statement.

Kenya marks World Water day

Kenya's Water CS Eugene Wamalwa urged counties to increase their budgetary allocations towards sanitation facilities as "World Water day" is marked.

Kenya joined the world to mark its Day at Mecheo Secondary School in Nyamira county with the theme of this year being "Water and Wastewater."

This year, the focus is on ways to reduce and reuse as over 80 per cent of all the wastewater.

This is from homes, cities, industry and agriculture where the wastewater flows back to nature polluting the environment.

Wamalwa said cities are growing fast and current water management systems cannot keep up with the growing demand.

"The systems should provide opportunities for improved urban waste water management using multi purpose technologies for water re-use and recovery of useful by products," he said.

Wamalwa said water supply coverage improved by 1.1 per cent nationally from 56.9 per cent to 58 per cent.

On March 16, the government released Sh7.4 billion to mitigate effects of the drought that has affected three million hungry people.

The number of those facing starvation could rise if there are no rains by the end of April.

Special Programmes PS Josephta Mukobe said the fund will be disbursed to buy and distribute food, water, livestock, and agriculture, health, education, security, environment and coordination services.

The water sector will get Sh1 billion, Sh3 billion for food and Sh1.4 billion for livestock.

More on this: Sh7 billion released for food, water, livestock in drought

According to the Jubilee manifesto, the president was to introduce a system of flat rate water charges on an area basis, with informal settlements receiving services for free.

A study on Kenya Food security released in February indicates that most households are relying on rivers, boreholes, streams, Shallow wells, springs and piped water.

With Pastoral areas suffering the most. According to the report, people wait for more than 30 minutes at water resource station.

"Waiting time at the sources increased from 15-30 minutes to the current 1-6 hours in Kilifi and livestock zone in Taita Taveta.

In Kieni, Laikipia, Narok and Baringo, the people waited for 30 minutes at the sources.

According to HURUmap Kenya statistics in 2009, Kenya is still far behind in reaching its goal for a safer and cleaner water for use.

Disposing human waste using bucket

In Kenya, 29.96 per cent of the population have piped water, 35.4 per cent use spring water or water from the bore hole while 21.6 per cent use stream water.

In Kisumu, majority of the population use the stream as their main source of water with 61 per cent of the population using buckets as a way of disposing their human waste.

This was rated at 61 per cent followed 24 per cent who uses the main sewer and 12 per cent using septic tanks.

In Homa Bay county, almost the whole population uses buckets to dispose their waste this is rated at 96 per cent.

Thirty-one percent of the population uses stream water, 32 bore hole and 29 per cent use lake water.

In Kitui, 97 per cent of the population also use buckets as human disposal tool with 42 per cent of the population using water from the springs or borehole.

But Nairobi with a population of 3,138,369 has more than double the rate of people using piped water rated at 76 per cent.

16.5 per cent use water from the vendors and 7.2 per cent use spring water or water from the bore hole.

But the data also shows that 11.1 per cent of Kenyans have access to a sewer or septic tank. Nairobi has more than double the rate in Kenya rated at 57.4 per cent.

Most people in Nairobi user main sewer rated at 80 per cent followed by septic tank at 16 per cent, 2 per cent use Cess pools, one per cent use buckets and another percent use the bush.

Nairobi

In Mombasa, 53 per cent of the population use piped water, 24 per cent use water from vendors.

Forty-four per cent of the population have access to main sewer and 41 per cent to septic tank, 7 per cent defecate on the bushes.

Politicians are forming militias to protect themselves, ensure victory and cause trouble for opponents, reports the National Security Council headed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The NSC also warns of the reemergence of outlawed criminal gangs in the campaign period.

Uhuru, who attends all NSC meetings and presides, on Wednesday last week tabled in Parliament the 43-page report saying candidates are mobilising gangs ahead of the August 8 polls.

“The heightening political temperature in view of the 2017 general elections has seen the resurgence of criminal gangs, political goons and militias,” the 4th Annual State of National Security Report says.

It was tabled during Uhuru's State of the Nation address.

A brief section of the report is devoted to organised criminal groups. It says they are believed take advantage of the campaign to offer services, such as protection, to aspirants.

"Some politicians form militias to advance their own interests. These criminal groups have continued to hamper security efforts in some parts of the country, thereby slowing economic development," the report says.

It then outlines steps the state is taking to combat political violence.

Expert comment: Cut off supply of bullets and then disarm communities

Elsewhere, the report says political incitement is one factor driving land invasions and deadly violence in central and northern Kenya.

It also cites a proliferation of illegal small arms and light weapons contributing to banditry and crime in general.

Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery has warned that police and security agents will arrest members of 90 outlawed gangs gazetted in December last year. He promised prosecution.

The organised gangs have been linked to disruption of political events, robberies, beatings, assassinations and shootings.

Kenyan political campaigns have always been marred by chaos.

The gazetted gangs include Gaza, Superpower, 42 Brothers, American Marines, Acrobatic, Young Turks, Young Killers, Wakali Wao, Chapa Ilale and Akili Za Usiku.

Others include Taliban Boys, Seven Lions, Spanish Boys, Boston Boys, Sixty Four, Smarter, Tiacha Group, Rounder Seniors and Quick Response Group. The Eminants gang is believed to be renamed incarnation of the Mungiki.

Senators and MPs have expressed concern over the resurgence of vicious groups in counties. Some are alleged to be working as county askaris and taking orders from governors.

Nominated Senator and Senate Chief Whip Beatrice Elachi last year asked Nkaissery to bar governors from training county askaris, raising fears the young men could be turned into campaign goons.

“Each governor will have an army of people who can be used as militia. Such training should be restricted to the national government or else governors will be untouchable,” Elachi said.

The National Assembly Administration and National Security Committee was to probe Kiambu Governor William Kabogo over claims he was sponsoring a private militia to harass county MPs.

He denied the allegations.

The committee chaired by Tiaty MP Asman Kamama was hearing a petition by Kimani Ichung’wa (Kikuyu).

Ichung’wa accompanied by other Kiambu lawmakers, including Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika Town), told the committee their governor was using Mungiki intimidate them.

During the inquiry, the committee said the regrouping of gangs was an emerging problem not only in Kiambu but also in Murang’a, Mombasa, Malindi, Turkana, Meru, Kakamega and elsewhere.

Despite the problems posed by these gangs, the NSC report says many measures and intelligence sharing among agencies have have been put in place to combat them.

Police and other law enforcement agencies have stepped up detection, disruption of activities and arrest of criminals.

“The government continues to proscribe organised criminal gangs, groups and militias that emerge in order to suppress their activities from threatening national security,” it says.

Former Electoral Commission of Kenya commissioner Jack Tumwa has urged the state to tackle lawlessness, including violence caused by goons attacking rivals' supporters.

“It appears we have not learnt any lessons from the 2007-08 post-election chaos," he said.

Tumwa cited the attack in Ruaraka where two people died when rival groups clashed. One supported sitting MP Tom Kajwang, the other nominated Senator Elizabeth Ongoro.

"Such incidents are not good when we are heading to an election,” Tumwa said.

“The system seems not to be working because we don’t see any prosecutions of key suspects. Top leaders are also engaging in hate speech contrary to citizens' expectations,” he says.

The NSC report says the state has increased logical support to security officers to deal with politicians and gangs plotting chaos during campaigns.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission chaired by Francis Kaparo has trained more than 1,200 police officers deal with hate mongers and anyone causing violence.

Last Thursday, NCIC announced that it has procured audio and video recording devices for the officers in all counties. They will be monitoring political events.

The government has also recommended the arrest of any politician who calls for mass action after rejecting results of the August polls.

It wants to criminalise zoning of political areas as strongholds of particular candidates or parties; being part of an organised criminal gang to intimidate opponents, bribing voters and disrupting opponent’s campaigns.

There are also plans to recruit and deploy as many as 100,000 armed officers and conduct digital surveillance of key towns and cities before, during and after the polls.

ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi and other opposition leaders have criticised the recommendations on grounds they undermine democracy.

Former Mungiki leader Maina Njenga yesterday ditched the Jubilee Party for Kanu but four hours later was back in JP.

Njenga had at around noon presented his papers for the Laikipia senator race on a Kanu ticket.

He changed his mind later in the afternoon after the Political Parties Tribunal ordered JP to allow him to participate in the primaries.

Njenga sued JP and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for “acting illegally and infringing [on] his political rights”.

Read: Maina Njenga decamps to Kanu, says party will be in State House in 2022

This is after the secretariat rejected his nomination papers on grounds that he had integrity issues to settle.

Njenga accused immediate former JP secretary general Veronica Maina of frustrating his senatorial bid.

He said the secretariat told him President Uhuru Kenyatta had directed they reject his papers until he (the President) and Deputy President William Ruto say otherwise.

This did not augur well with Njenga so he decided to seek refuge in the Independence party.

He was received by Kanu leader Gideon Moi. Njenga said, “I wish Jubilee well. Tuju is of a brighter mind. He can help turn around their image than those who were there before.”

Secretary general Nick Salat was present. The event was at the party’s headquarters in Hurligham, Nairobi.

Moi vs Ruto in 2022?

Njenga said Kanu will rule in 2022. Moi is said to be preparing to run for the presidency in 2022, but Ruto is also eyeing the seat.

“This party belongs to everyone...it is the father and mother party, unlike Jubilee, where they looked at my papers and told me to wait for someone to be called. Does the party belong to one person?” Njenga asked.

He said Kanu will open offices in Laikipia and advised those who are interested in becoming President to wait until 2022.

For now, all we know is Uhuru’s reelection, Njenga said.

Grief–stricken friends and relatives of murdered human rights lawyer Willie Kimani struggled to hold back tears yesterday as family members described the moment his body was identified.

One by one, the family members told the court of how their lives were shattered when they saw Kimani, his client Josephat Mwenda and taxi driver Joseph Muiruri at the City Mortuary.

Muiruri’s sister, Grace Wanjira’s voice cracked with emotion as she described the last time she saw her brother.

A call from the International Justice Mission office dashed her hopes of finding Muiruri alive.

“They told us to go to the City Mortuary. We went and the first body at the table was my brother’s,” a tearful Wanjira said. The bodies of the three men were retrieved from Oldonyo Sabuk River on July 1 last year, a week after they went missing.

“Although his face was disfigured, when I went near his body, I could tell it was Muiruri. I saw a scar on his chin that he got when we were young,” Wanjira said.

Pausing at some point to wipe away tears, Wanjira told trial judge Jesse Lesiit that Muiruri’s hands were swollen and it’s like they had been tied up.

“I told the attendant to let me see his legs. You see my brother was a very jovial person. He was named after my uncle. When we were young, he would tell me – cut your uncles nail – and I would do that,” she said.

Wanjira was sure the nails would certainly confirm his identity.

Edward Mugambi, an older brother to Mwenda, told the judge that his lasting memory was at the hospital after he was shot by a police officer.

Although Mugambi maintained his composure throughout most of his testimony, he told the judge that it was an emotional and distressful process.

“We were very close. People used to confuse us, because they said we looked alike,” he said.

Mugambi said all his siblings have a unique feature on the upper part of the ear that looks like a hole, which he used to identify his brother. “He also had marks on his hand, which he got when he was young, I also noticed another cut on his chest, and hands where he was shot,” he said.

Jimnah Njoroge, a brother of the slain lawyer, said although he recognised Kimani’s jacket, he did not have the courage to look at his face. “He was badly disfigured and he had changed a lot,” he said.

AP officers Fredrick Leliman, Leonard Maina, Stephen Chebulet, Silvia Wanjiku and informer Peter Ngugi have denied murdering the three men.

An ODM rally in Kwale aborted on Thursday after GSU officers chased supporters away and lobbed tear gas canisters.

Party leaders led by Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho were just about to land at the venue in Kinango town.

Supporter Juma Omar claimed the officers arrived in three Land Rovers and used loud speakers to warn them against being at the venue.

“They clobbered us making most of us scamper for safety. Some of us have been slightly injured while others have gone to wash the tear gas effect off their faces,” he said.

Politicians who were already at the venue helped contain the situation. Joho and his Kilifi counterpart Amason Kingi arrived about five minutes after the chaos.

The Governor's personal assistant Idris Abdirahman said police told them the meeting had not been authorised and that the ground was to be used for a public baraza.

The supporters went to Kinango market but there were reports that the ODM team would proceed to Mswambweni - their next stop - after recording statements with police.

Ben Tayari, ODM's Kinango MP aspirant, said he took the notification to police on Friday and that they acknowledged receiving it.

“We were in the final stages of preparations. Some supporters had already settled when the officers descended on us. They used their sirens to scare us from the venue,” he said.

But Kinango OCPD Lawrence Charo insisted that the venue had been booked for the baraza and that the party's meeting had not been approved.

“They presented their request late. Other people (Kenya Medical Training Centre) had already booked the venue for a sensitisation campaign," he said.

Charo noted that the officers were on the ground to do their job and that no arrests were made.

“We don't know why ODM was trying to force its way to the venue. The officers had to do their job. The law must be followed. The government has its mechanism of going about its duties,” he said.

Ben Tayari, ODM's Kinango MP aspirant, speaks to police in Kinango town, Kwale county, where a rally aborted, March 23, 2017. /MAUREEN MUDI

President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party has raided the Coast region and won several politicians to its side, forcing Opposition leaders to do the same.

Last week, Joho's team took rallies to Taita Taveta and Lamu but they were pelted with mangoes and stones by irate residents who demanded that Joho respects the President.

Uhuru barred Joho from attending the Mtongwe ferry re-launch and told him to stop following him around as he is not his wife.

But Joho said he will continue pushing for his people's rights and will go wherever he pleases.

[AUDIO] Stop following me like I'm your wife, Uhuru tells Joho at Mtongwe ferry launch

The party said it will return to Lamu for a major rally at Tononoka grounds this Sunday.

ODM's plan to hold a rally parallel to Jubilee’s in Mombasa on March 12 went into disarray after police reportedly declined to offer security.

Mohamed Hatimy, the party's Mombasa chairman, claimed on Saturday that police refused to take their notification letter.

Hatimy said the officers told them they would only guard Uhuru’s rally at Tononoka grounds. He said the ruling Jubilee Party was behind the hurdle.

More on this: ODM’s Mombasa rally in limbo, Hatimy claims police will only guard Uhuru's

Council of Governors chairman Peter Munya has said doctors will not be paid for the 100 days they were on strike.

There is no law stating that someone should be paid for work they have not done. Munya on Wednesday said governors will be held accountable if the doctors are paid.

He reiterated that doctors should not pressure governors to pay for the days they did not work, saying it is against the law.

“If they did not work, how will we pay them? Doctors were on strike for 100 days and people died. If I pay, I will be accountable to the Senate Public Accounts Committee,” Munya said.

“I have no means on how to pay them, because the money to pay them is public’s, not mine. The law says do not allow payments to someone who has not done their job.” The governor spoke in Muthara, Tigania East, after opening a livestock market.

They will only be paid from the time they returned to work.

“They should not say we refused to pay. In the return to work agreement, we said there will be no payments for the days they were on strike,” Munya said.

He said they have sourced for more doctors from Tanzania who are willing to work in Kenya. “We are still looking for more doctors to be employed according to specialisation. We are bringing 500 doctors from Tanzania,” Munya said.

The order comes days after CoG, the Health ministry and the doctors’ union officials signed a return to work formula. The doctors signed the agreement and called off their strike on Tuesday last week.

The deal brought to an end the strike that had crippled the health sector in public hospitals nationwide.

The health workers agreed to return to work and were to get allowances backdated to January 1, 2017. The agreement stated that the allowances will be paid to all practicing doctors, pharmacists and dentists.