A fallout among commissioners and other top officials is threatening to paralyse operations of the National Land Commission.

Tension was high yesterday after the High Court allowed chairman Muhammad Swazuri to return to the commission unconditionally.  

Sources told the Star yesterday that the court order ‘reinstating’ Swazuri had heightened anxiety as staff are divided by their loyalty to different bosses.

It remains to be seen how Swazuri will chair board meetings amid allegations that some of the commissioners are lined up to testify against him.

Justice Hedwig Ong'udi of the Anti-corruption Court ruled that unlike other public officers who are suspended upon being charged with corruption and economic crimes, constitutional office holders like Swazuri are exempted by virtue of section 62(6) of the ACECA laws.

Swazuri, an associate professor of Land Economics, had the last laugh after the High Court lifted stiff conditions imposed on him by the Magistrate’s court over two months ago.

The conditions followed his being charged with abuse of office over alleged dubious compensations for standard gauge railway land.

The chairman has had a frosty relationship with some staff, including Vice Chair Abigael Mbagaya Mukolwe, whom he has accused of orchestrating his trial and ouster from the helm of the commission.

Mbagaya swiftly assumed the position of acting chair after Swazuri, Kenya Railways MD Atanas Maina and 9 others were arraigned in court in connection with the payout of Sh222,375,000 for land acquired for the railway.

"The fact that the person reportedly taking over as chairperson of the NLC not only orchestrated my arrest but we have evidence of her corrupt acts as vice chair make it untenable to allow this state of affairs to continue," Swazuri explicitly stated in a letter to Head of Civil Service Joseph Kinyua on August 14.

Swazuri claimed that Mbagaya took advantage of his absence to stage a coup and gladly told the media that the commission was fully constituted even in his absence.

"All these are clear indications that the aim of the pending court case was to replace me through the back-door, outside constitutional and statutory provisions," he protested.

Swazuri also claimed that his woes were engineered by a commissioner he did not name but whom he said “has persistently been pursuing a negative agenda against the commission” and him.

The prosecution had indicated that at least 7 staff of NLC will testify against Swazuri.

NLC is racing against time to make key decisions before its term expires next year.

These include a determination of whether to revert the Weston Hotel Land owned by Deputy President William Ruto back to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, as well as compensation for other ongoing phases of the SGR.

Read: Swazuri narrates 50-hour ordeal in EACC police cell, cites rights violations

National Land Alliance chairman Odenda Lumumba told the Star NLC is virtually dysfunctional and some of its decision reek of “rent seeking”.

"There have also been petitions that I am at least privy to against Swazuri, Mukolwe and [Commissioner Abdulkadir] Khalif.  In that circumstance and given the fact that the commission has been more fractious than a working unit, we basically think that it does not really have anybody’s confidence in what it is doing," Lumumba said.

 INFIGHTING

Swazuri was charged alongside chief executive officer Tom Chavangi and directors Salome Munubi (valuation and taxation) and Francis Mugo (finance).

In a separate court duel, Munubi has accused Mbagaya and NLC legal officer Brian Ikol of giving a false statement that implicated them in the alleged theft.

She has asked the court to order the DPP to charge Ikol and Mbagaya with perjury.

According to Munubi, the criminal proceedings are meant to settle personal vendetta between Swazuri and Mbagaya.

Soon after prosecution began, NLC also appointed David Kuria as acting secretary/chief executive officer.

He was the director of land information management system.

Finance deputy director Bernard Cherutich was named acting director of finance and administration while Joash Oindo, the deputy director of valuation and taxation became the acting head of the department. 

Although he was allowed to go back to court, Justice Hedwig Ong’udi directed Swazuri not to interact with and interfere with the witnesses at his work place or any other witnesses.

More on this: How Swazuri authorised suspicious payout for SGR land

Swazuri is also required to make an undertaking not to interfere with the records and documents relevant to the case as that would lead to automatic cancellation of his bond.

Ong'undi ruled that according to that law, a constitutional office holder can only be removed from office if he resigns or is convicted of a criminal offence. Swazuri therefore remains NLC chairman as his case is ongoing in the anti-corruption magistrate’s court.

The judge set aside orders issued by anti-corruption court’s Senior Principal Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi barring Swazuri from accessing his office unless he had authorization from the chief executive of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

"From my analysis above and especially on the issue of operationalization of the order in respect to Swazuri, I am satisfied that the trial court did not assess the practical impact of the orders it gave in respect to him," Justice Ong’udi held.

The judge said that the purpose of setting aside the orders of the lower court was to make it practical for him to carry out his official duty and not earn a full salary for doing nothing.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Ong’udi said that there was a big conflict of interest in the operation of the order by the magistrate because the secretary or CEO of EACC could be seen to be controlling the affairs of the NLC yet both are independent commissions.

"Assuming for a minute that Swazuri wanted to be in his office everyday would it be practical for EACC to be consulting and issuing authorization on a daily basis?" the judge posed.

Also read: NLC split as Swazuri fights back over job

The judge said if any of the parties refused to authorise, it would mean that Swazuri does not go to the office.

But in a new affidavit filed in court in response to a case filed by three of his co-accused, EACC now claims that Swazuri single-handedly micromanaged the NLC and disregarded a critical committee in awarding millions to dubious firms in the SGR compensation.

EACC says Swazuri usurped the powers of CEO Tom Chavangi who ironically is his co-accused in the SGR compensation case.

"That in a further indication of the fraud, investigations established that by granting authority to process compensation the chairman was usurping the role of the CEO of the NLC," says Joel Alfred Mwendwa, the investigator in a sworn affidavit filed on October 26, 2018.

The affidavit is in response to an application by Peter Mburu, Caroline Kituyi, and Gladys Munyanga, seeking to be absolved of the charges.

The EACC says that on December 19, 2016, payments were made to the bank accounts of the owners of LR No 9085, LR. No 9086, LR. 9087 and LR. No 9088 after which a letter from the chairman of NLC to the MD-KRC was delivered.

"This marked the completion of the fraudulent scheme to defraud the taxpayer colossal sum in a dubious compensation process," Mwendwa states.

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Good Morning.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has broken his silence saying that he will have a strong influence on the 2022 polls. 

Speaking in Nyeri, the President told off those thinking his influence will fade, saying they will be in for a “rude shock”.

Here are the stories making headlines in the Star this first Friday of November.

Showdown looms as Swazuri resumes office

A fallout among commissioners and other top officials is threatening to paralyse operations of the National Land Commission.

Tension was high yesterday after the High Court allowed chairman Muhammad Swazuri to return to the commission unconditionally.  

Sources at the commission told the Star yesterday that the court order ‘reinstating’ Swazuri had heightened anxiety as staff are divided by their loyalty to different bosses.

_____________________________________________________

Too many arts, not enough science university students

Only 16 per cent of university students are pursuing courses that contribute to the Big Four, the Education ministry has said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four are universal health care, manufacturing, affordable housing and food security.

According to ministry statistics, at least 70 per cent of students are pursuing arts-related courses, while the rest are in science and business-related courses. 

_____________________________________________________

EACC restrained from valuating and searching Kidero's properties

THE Ethics and Anti-corruption commission has been temporarily barred from searching and valuating properties belonging to former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero.

Anti-corruption High court Judge Hedwig Ong’undi on Thursday said a ruling touching on the search warrants used by the EACC on Kidero’s properties was not ready thus the need to temporarily stop the commission pending the court’s final decision.

Kidero told the court that the anti-graft agency has been invading his properties and causing havoc and distress amongst tenants and occupants of properties he owns.

_____________________________________________________

Assembly leadership wrangles divide ODM party top brasses

The unending wrangles among ODM MCAs over Nairobi county assembly leadership has escalated the division to the party’s top brasses.

ODM chairman John Mbadi and Executive director Oduor Ong’wen are sharply divided over the replacement of the minority leader and chief whip at the assembly.

Whereas Mbadi maintains ODM has replaced Kileleshwa MCA Elias Okumu with Highrise MCA Kennedy Oyugi as minority leader and Makongeni’s Peter Imwatok with Lower Savannah’s Nicholas Okumu as whip, Ong’wen has suspended the changes.

 _____________________________________________________

Hunter becomes prey in Kisii as war on land grabbers heats up

About a month ago, 15 anti-graft officers arrested Kisii lands registrar Steve Mokaya and all staff of the lands office on allegations of corruption. 

Mokaya’s arrest came soon after he rejected 40 letters of grant suspected to have been fraudulently obtained from the High Court in Kisii and presented to his office for title deeds to be issued.  

Speaking for the first time since his arrest by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission officers, Mokaya told the Star he was a victim of malicious witch-hunt.

_____________________________________________________

For more on these stories and others, keep browsing the Star website for the latest news making headlines across Kenya and around the world.

To get the Breakfast Briefing right into your inbox every morning, click here for a free subscription.

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It will be a race against time for Gor Mahia forward, Jacques Tuyisenge, as he arrives in the United Kingdom today for their SportPesa trohy match against English Premier League side Everton at Goodison Park.

Tuyisenge was forced to detach himself from the rest of the team, who traveled to Liverpool on Friday, due to a visa hitch.

Gor coach Dylan Kerr was concerned about the player’s late arrival saying he is a reliable player who ought to have been with team but was quick to note that, hopefully, he will shake off the jet well ahead of the clash.

“It’s unfortunate Tuyisenge will join his fellow players hours to the match but I hope that he comes around and actually perform well,” said Kerr.

“Well aware that scouts will be on look-out, I will be fielding a strong side with the intention of one or two players being picked by the European clubs. I have talked to some of the scouts and I know at least a player will be scouted, as to who and from which department, only time will tell.”

Kerr at the same time took a jibe at the government and football authorities back at home for not investing on training and playing facilities. Gor are training at Everton’s base at the Finch Farm, which has more The development came after he watched his side train at the Finch Farm training ground that has more than five grounds.

 He said: “This is not Goodison but look at the facilities. Camp Toyoyo, where we train is not even a quarter match up to  this facility and really if the sports industry has to grow then county and national governments should invest in facilities.”

“We are not asking for a lot but at least something to work with and I know it can be done if only they put their mind to it. See how the boys are enjoying the facilities — they can’t even remember it’s cold out here and this is good.”

Meanwhile, Gor Mahia attacker George ‘BlackBerry’ Odhiambo and captain Harun Shakava have revealed that training under England physical performance trainer, David Tivey, was tough but worth it the trouble.

Kerr’s players were put through the paces by the England official in their first training session at the Finch Farm training ground on Saturday.

“It was one of a kind. Very draining but I must admit it was not easy. But the good thing about it is that I got to do it under one of the England official and Everton consultant Tivey who I believe has our best interest at heart. The regime was meant to improve our speed,” said Odhiambo.

“The training was hard but classy,” said Shakava. “Basically it was a good session but very demanding and we hope it will help us on speed going forward.”

The Kenyan contingent had the privilege to watch their hosts beat Brighton 3-1 on Saturday.

Michael Kunyuga clinched the Hangzhou Marathon in China yesterday.

He upset a quality field to clock 2:10:37, just four seconds shy of the course record set by Azmeraw Bekele of Ethiopia last year.

Running under cool and wet conditions, a crowded leading group paced the race in the early stages.

When they hit the 30-kilometre mark in 1:33:03, the leaders were cut to only 10 men.

After another three kilometres, Kenya’s Douglass Kimeli first pulled away but was soon caught up by Kunyuga.

After a five-kilometre see-saw battle between Kimeli and Kunyuga, the latter finally pulled clear after 38 kilometres.

The 31-year-old was well on track to assault on the course record when he passed 39 kilometres in 2:00:53.

But it seemed his target was only on the victory, as Kunyuga apparently slowed down in front of the line, waving hands to celebrate his win instead of keeping pushing ahead.

Kunyuga’s winning mark is 21 seconds slower than his career best time set from his second-place finish in Hannover seven months ago.

But it’s already the third title claimed by the efficient Kenyan, who debuted over the classic distance just last year and was competing in his fourth ever international road race.

Kimeli finished second in a PB of 2:11:06, followed by compatriot Mike Kiprotich Mutai, six seconds in arrears.

In the women’s category, Ethiopia’s pre-event favourite Hirut Tibedu lived up to the expectations as she trimmed nearly three minutes off the course record to take the victory.

She clocked 2:25:10 to win the race. Compatriot Tsehay Desalegn finished second in 2:27:35, cutting one minute off the PB she set when finishing third in last year’s edition of this race.

Sifan Melaku crossed the line in 2:31:47 as the remote third finisher to complete a sweep of podium for Ethiopia.

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam starts today amid tight security and new directives to curb cheating.

The 664,585 candidates will start with a mathematics paper in the morning before they tackle chemistry in the afternoon, two days after rehearsals on Friday.

The test is being done across 10,077 centres.

Education CS Amina Mohamed yesterday directed documentation of each process from collection of papers to when they are returned to the safety container at subcounty headquarters.

The documentation will be filed as a report and forwarded to a ministry official stationed at the headquarters at the Kenya National Examinations Council.

Center managers will be required to indicate the number of extra scripts issued during collection of the papers and the time papers are collected.

"This will provide data that can be used to verify any issues of shortage or missing scripts," Amina's directive says.

Read: No phones, school visits during KCSE and KCPE, teachers warned

The CS is the only person authorised to give a go-ahead on duplication of any exam material. Invigilators, supervisors or principals are not allowed to photocopy the exam papers.

Knec yesterday warned against purchase and circulation of fake exam papers

Knec chairman George Magoha asked officials to pay special attention on early exposure of the exams and communication within and outside the centers that could lead to leakage.

Directives to ensure early exposure is put to rest include strict timelines on opening of the exam papers and stoppage time.

Supervisors will have to explain if the exams begin later or before the scheduled time. They will be answerable to delayed stoppage and return of the examination material to the safety containers.

Centre managers will be escorted by police to collect the papers and return them in the evening.

The containers will be under 24-hour guard during the exam period.

Schools will also be required to leave the gates open during the exam hours to to allow impromptu inspection.

Last year, the council canceled results for 1,205 candidates.

There 10,078 centre managers and 10,460 supervisors. The exam will be invigilated by 37,978 teachers. A total of 20,156 officers have been deployed to provide security and 5,039 drivers tasked with delivery of exam materials. They will all be paid Sh705 million.

Amina said the KNEC data show that the examinations are currently stored in 459 containers across the country.

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Cherogony Ruto, 75, vividly recalls when he ventured into coffee farming in 1970 in his rural village of Sokom, Baringo North subcounty.

Ruto, who is from the sleepy Ossen-Kabartonjo ward, said he was barely 27 when the idea struck to plant some 200 coffee bushes in his father’s five-acre farm, hoping to shape his future.

“A few years later, my farm blossomed with green leaves and white flowers. I knew my dream had come true and I could supply coffee like my agemates,” he says.

Ruto is among at least 2,000 pioneer farmers from Baringo North and Baringo Central subcounties who used to supply over 45,000kg of coffee berries annually to Tugen Hills Farmers’ Cooperative Society Limited, established in 1969.

“Although old age no longer allows me to manage my coffee farm well, passion drives me to supply however little to the society, despite the mounting challenges, coupled with meagre market prices,” Ruto says.

Nothing, including fluctuating market prices, has dimmed his love for his coffee farm.

In the 1980s, discouraged by lack of markets, farmers in Eldama Ravine subcounty in one accord cut down their coffee bushes to plant subsistence crops such as maize, beans and fruits.

Tugen cooperative is located in the thickest part of Katimok Forest. It is chaired by Mike Yatich, with Nicolas Chemelil as the manager.

Yatich says the current leading coffee producers are Bartabwa, Bartolimo, Isaas, Kabarnet, Kabartonjo, Kapsoo, Kaptere, Kipsaraman, Kituro,  Ossen, Poi, Tenges and Tunoiwo.

The chairman says 26 societies from these regions used to supply coffee berries amounting to an annual income of Sh7.3 million.

“We are yet to receive a single coffee berry from Eldama Ravine and Mogotio subcounties,” he says, adding that plans are underway to groom farmers in Baringo South.

CHANGE OF PLANS

To reward farmers for their loyalty in April 2014 then Governor Benjamin Cheboi came up with a plan to build a Sh200 million coffee factory on the 2.5-acre Tugen Hills Society Farm, through a Korean World Best Friends investor. 

“After successful talks with the investor, we signed an agreement with the community that gave the Korean investor the go-ahead to establish the mill on the sizeable land,” Cheboi says.

However, there was a sudden change of plans when Governor Stanley Kiptis took office in August last year. Kiptis, through his departmental officers, is pushing to have the factory relocated to Koibatek ATC, Eldama Ravine subcounty.

On July 9, coffee farmers from 22 cooperative societies were called to a meeting at the Kerio Valley Development Authority hall in Kabarnet town.

Present were Agriculture executive Richard Rotich, chief officer William Kurere and director Kibet Maina. “They wanted to convince the farmers to accept moving the factory to Eldama Ravine,” Yatich says.

One of the main reasons given was the cold climate at Katimok Forest, which is unfavorable for sun-drying coffee berries. 

Farmers were also told that the designated land, owned by the Kenya Forest Service, had no title deed, “scaring away the Korean investor”.

They were told that the 2.5 acres would not be enough for drying the berries, which need a lot of room for spacing.

Other issues raised were accessibility to infrastructure, market and proximity to large coffee-growing counties such as Nakuru, Laikipia and Uasin Gishu.

DEMONSTRATION

However, agitated by their exclusion from the consultations, residents of Baringo North have threatened to stage demos to reclaim the factory.

“We had thought the mill would be fast-tracked at Katimok so we could have over 3,000 of our jobless youth get opportunities, but what is this we hear happening?” Baringo North resident Eric Bett asks.

He says Kiptis would be digging his own political grave if he moves the coffee factory to his Eldama Ravine home.

Bett further accused Kiptis’s junior officers of convening illegal meetings with cartels as the governor buries his head in the sand.

“We cannot accept this. It is either the factory remains in Katimok or we look for a more spacious place within Baringo North. We cannot allow it to be taken away just like that,” coffee farmer Benjamin Kipkorir says. 

Another elderly farmer, Walter Komen from Ossen, recalls the early 1980s, when farmers in Eldama Ravine decided to uproot their coffee bushes, citing lack of a ready market.

“We the people of Baringo North and Central stayed loyal despite myriad challenges, until recently, we felt our efforts have been recognised with the installation of the coffee factory, only [for it] to be taken away,” Komen says.

Farmer Benjamin Kipkorir says: “We applauded the idea but why is Governor Kiptis trying to bulldoze an already established project, instead of initiating his own?” 

The residents say they will hold protests against the county government if the relocation plan is not dropped.

Kiptis, however, denies being part of the deal, adding that his administration is committed to expanding production of coffee to meet the local and foreign market needs.

“Whichever place the factory is located, we are ready to produce enough coffee for the sustainable operation of this mill, to meet the needs of Korea and other markets, because as county we have the potential,” he says.

Once complete, the project will have a coffee-processing and packaging plant, complete with a business information centre that will support marketing of coffee products in the global market.

Cheboi says he placed the factory in Baringo North to balance resources equitably across all parts of the county.

He says he located a milk cooling plant in Eldama Ravine, livestock hides and a skin factory in Baringo South, and a fruits factory in Kerio Valley, Baringo Central. 

KFS FALLOUT

Another reason given by the county government for relocating the coffee factory is a disagreement with the Kenya Forest Service.

“We recently wrote to the KFS but they refused to expand the Katimok forest land to 10 acres to accommodate the new demands by the investor to build on it,” Agriculture executive Rotich says.

He says that they are left with no option but to build the mill at ATC in Eldama Ravine subcounty.

Rotich says he wrote a letter to Monicah Kalenda, KFS senior deputy chief conservator of forests. However, she turned down the request citing the Forest Conservation and Management ACT of 2016, which indicates that indigenous forests must be protected and conserved.

It was either ignorant or irresponsible for those campaigning for Brexit (British exit from the European Union) two years ago to claim that the Irish border would not be a problem. In fact, it may lead to a catastrophic ‘no deal’ Brexit in which the United Kingdom crashes out of the EU without an agreement of any kind.

Both the British negotiators and their EU counterparts say that the deal is “95 per cent agreed”, but the other five per cent is the border between the Republic of Ireland (an EU member) and Northern Ireland (part of the UK and therefore soon NOT part of the EU). Time is running out, and agreement on that last five percent is far from certain.

The border has been invisible since the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998 ended 30 years of bloody conflict between the Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland. Three thousand people had been killed, but the situation had reached stalemate. The Good Friday deal let both sides accept that fact.

For the (Catholic) nationalists in Northern Ireland, a completely open border with the (Catholic) Republic was a vital part of the deal. It implicitly acknowledged that the two parts of the island might one day be reunited, although not now.

As the 1998 agreement plainly said, people born in Northern Ireland have the right to be “Irish or British or both as they may so choose.” And it worked, sort of: The only way you can tell you have crossed the border now is that the speed signs change from miles to kilometres or vice versa.

It was a brave, imaginative deal that has given Northern Ireland 20 years of peace, but it is now at risk. When the ‘Leave’ side narrowly won the Brexit referendum in the UK and Theresa May replaced David Cameron as prime minister in 2016, she had a credibility problem. Like Cameron, she had supported ‘Remain’, but the Conservative Party she now led was dominated by triumphant Brexiters.

So she became an enthusiastic Brexiter herself. The English nationalists who ran the Brexit campaign had said nothing about leaving the EU’s ‘single market’ and customs union, but within weeks of taking office May declared that Britain must leave both of them.

She even made this demand part of her famous ‘red lines’, the non-negotiable minimum that the British government would accept in the divorce settlement. Unfortunately, ending the customs union would mean re-creating a ‘hard’ border between Northern Ireland and the Republic – and that might lead to a renewal of the sectarian civil war between Catholics and Protestants in the North.

It’s not clear when the Conservative government in London realised that the Irish border was going to be the biggest stumbling block on the road to Brexit, and the party’s more extreme Brexiters are still in denial about it. But the Republic will stay in the EU, and it insists that there must be no hard border after Brexit. Ireland has seen enough killing.

No hard border is therefore an EU red line, and it’s impossible to square that with May’s decision to leave the EU customs union. If there is no customs union, then there have to be border checks. And maybe a new war in the North.

So the EU suggested a ‘backstop’. If London and Brussels can’t come up with a free-trade deal to keep the border soft (ie invisible), then Northern Ireland could stay in the customs union, and the rest of the UK could leave. The real border, for customs purposes, could run down the middle of the Irish Sea.

Theresa May actually signed up to this solution last December, because the only real alternative is a hostile Brexit that simply ignores the EU’s position. But no sooner had she agreed the ‘backstop’ with the EU than rebels in her own camp – extreme Brexiters and members of a small Northern Ireland-based Protestant party whose votes are all that keeps the Conservatives in power – forced her to repudiate it.

Now May’s position is pure fantasy: No customs border with the EU either on land or in the Irish Sea. Which is why the probability of a chaotic ‘no deal’ Brexit is growing daily, and the prospect of renewed war in the North is creeping closer.

Is renewed war really possible? Last year Sinn Fein, the leading Catholic party in Northern Ireland, withdrew from the ‘power-sharing’ government mandated by the Good Friday agreement. That could be seen as clearing the decks for action once it became clear that Brexit would undermine all existing arrangements in Ireland.

And if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, the ratings agency Standard and Poor’s predicted on Tuesday, unemployment in the UK will almost double, house prices will fall by 10 per cent in two years, and the British pound will fall even further. First impoverishment for the British, then war for the Irish.

Essential medicines save lives and improve health when they are of assured quality, available, affordable and promptly used. Quality is the key word here.

Substandard and falsified medical products can lead to devastating consequences on families, health systems and the economy. When medicines do not work the way they should, they can prolong illness and in the worst case scenario people die. Substandard medicines are now a threat to global security and threaten to undermine progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

It is in this regard that Kenya has made a deliberate and pro-active decision to forge a solid defence mechanism to contain this threat. Since no country can fight this problem alone, our defence mechanism must act in unison at national, regional and global levels.

Recognition of this interconnectedness is the foundation of Kenya’s three-pronged approach to contain substandard and falsified medical products. Kenya’s broad reform agenda has triggered structural realignment across all sectors, through policy, legal and institutional reforms.

These reforms are anchored in the 2010 Constitution, which confers fundamental rights, including the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and the right of consumers to goods and services of acceptable standards.

These rights cannot be attained without availability and access to safe, effective and quality medical devices. Therefore, fighting substandard and falsified medical products is a constitutional duty of the government.

The government has prioritised universal health coverage in the Big Four plan and committed to progressively increase the health budgetary allocation at national and county levels.

The restructuring of the medicines regulatory system to integrate standard-setting and enforcement for food, medicines, vaccines, devices, diagnostics and other health technologies has begun. This model is designed to enhance efficiency and collaboration in mitigating risks that include substandard and falsified medical products informed by sound science and evidence.

Indeed, a multi-agency team involving the health and trade sectors, anti-counterfeit, customs as well as security agencies is conducting a crackdown on this menace and I am confident that we shall overcome this serious public health problem.

Additionally, Kenya is committed to supporting the work of regional, international and multilateral organisations in finding lasting solutions for a free and secure world. Kenya has, therefore, reiterated its support and commitment to the establishment of the Africa Medicines Agency (AMA) by the African Union.

Our hope is that AMA will provide a coordinated regional and Pan-African approach to containing substandard and falsified medical products, and promoting local pharmaceutical manufacturing to ensure access to quality assured essential medicines.

My ministry has also focused on strengthening internal capacities for regulation, including the utilisation of digital technologies to improve efficiency and transparency, formal training of regulatory experts locally and abroad, and exposure to key learning platforms and networks.

Mechanisms will be put in place to guarantee continuous compliance to acceptable quality standards. This requires that information on these standards is readily available to assist regulatory authorities in ensuring the data is available publicly.

Capacity building of the health sector, including realigning the focus of our tertiary education and training programmes to support reforms of the regulatory systems to combat substandard and falsified medical products, will be required.

Strengthening of the national supply chain of pharmaceuticals and non-pharmaceuticals through Kemsa is our priority and very much part of our roadmap to attaining UHC while addressing the challenge of poor quality products.

The international community on its part should consider making the needed resources available, to facilitate efforts in fostering technical and political convergence in the fight against substandard and falsified medical products in Africa.

The write is Health Cabinet Secretary

MPs allied to Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday warned that Deputy President William Ruto’s Nyanza 'development tour' could ignite tension and undermine the handshake.

The tour begins today.

The politicians led by ODM chairman John Mbadi and his Suna East counterpart Junet Mohamed said Ruto was exploiting the tranquility created by the handshake pact to further his political agenda — a run for State House in 2022.

Nyanza is Raila's backyard.

But with peace prevailing, the DP is making his debut tour of Migori and Homa Bay counties to launch projects and market his candidacy.

The MPs urged the DP to stop subjecting the country to a perpetual campaign mode through his ‘tangatanga’ tours couched as visits to promote the Big Four. President Uhuru Kenyatta has repeatedly called for an end to politicking and a focus on development.

"The handshake between Raila and Uhuru was meant to quell tension after the divisive general election. Those exploiting this calm to push their agenda are against the direction of peace," Mbadi warned.

Read: DP Ruto intensifies 2022 campaign in drives disguised as official duties

The MP said some of the projects Ruto will be launching today, were commissioned by President Mwai Kibaki's Grand Coalition government.

The Kanyadhiang ring road and Kehancha-Muhuru road were started by the coalition between Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, he said.

"DP Ruto is welcome in Nyanza but I can't attend the function because I don't know his agenda," Mbadi said.

Junet, a close Raila ally and strategist, said ODM leaders in the county have not been invited on the tour that he said was all about 2022.

The March 9 unity handshake has brought about stability essential for Ruto's tour of Nyanza.

Ordinarily, Ruto — Raila's nemesis — would not set foot there because of bitter rivalry extending to Raila's supporters. 

On Friday, Ruto held a symbolic meeting with Raila at the DP's official Karen residence, apparently to send signals of unity to supporters.

The meeting, which was attended by President Kenyatta, was billed as a lunchtime catch-up but analysts called it a calculated move to cement the Raila-Uhuru handshake with Ruto.

The optics of the landmark luncheon — the first by the trio since Raila was named AU High Representative for Infrastructure in Africa — would also project camaraderie and presumably tone down antagonism.

A tenacious and strategic politician, Ruto is keen to leverage the handshake deal to penetrate Raila's Nyanza bedrock. Ruto and Raila have often been bitterly at odds since Ruto's his dramatic exit from ODM in 2011.

Read: Politicians queue up to get Ruto’s attention before 2022

Today, the DP will hosted by Migori governor Okoth Obado — one of Raila's fiercest critics — in his Nyanza foray.

In Migori, Ruto will commission the Kehancha-Muhuru road that had stalled from Masara to Muhuru Bay and street lighting at the Masara Trading Centre. He will launch Last Mile Connectivity at Muhuru market.

In Homa Bay, the Deputy President will commission the 45km Kanyadhiang-Kadel ring road and electricity connectivity. The DP will be accompanied by Ketraco chairman and former Karachuonyo MP James Rege.

Ruto will hold a major fundraiser in Homa Bay town, in an attempt to woo South Nyanza region only a week after Baringo senator Gideon Moi visited the area and held harambees.

On Saturday, Ruto is expected to return to Migori to launch the road linking Narok county and the Kuria region from Isibania through Kehancha-Kegonga to Lolgorian.

Yesterday, Obado held rallies in Nyabisawa, Masara and elsewhere to prepare the ground for Ruto’s visit, calling on residents to turn out in large numbers to receive the Deputy President.

"This will be a very important tour by the Deputy President to launch development projects. I ask our people to come out and receive him," Obado said.

Last week on Wednesday, Obado held his first rally after being released on Sh5 million bail over the murder of his lover Sharon Otieno and their unborn baby.

An ODM renege, Obado has become a disrupter in Raila’s own turf and has stirred the waters with his friendship with Ruto.

The Nyanza tour comes a month after a bitterly contested Migori senatorial by-election in which ODM accused Ruto of supporting Federal Party of Kenya’s Eddy Oketch who came second to Ochillo Ayacko of the Orange party.

Before his detention, Obado had been at loggerheads with the Orange party after he opposed its move to hand Ayacko a direct ticket.

He pledged to campaign against Ayacko, a move that angered Orange party luminaries when he threw his weight behind Oketch.

ODM secretary for political affairs and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi told the Star not to read too much into Ruto’s Nyanza visit, as this was not the time for politics.

More: House united against MP's bid to block Ruto in 2022 as Uhuru's succession debate erupts

"He has the freedom to visit any part of the country, it doesn’t really matter. We want to embrace everybody and people in government should be allowed to visit any place," the MP in an apparent change of heart.

"There is nothing much in this small-time visit," he said, apparently not wanting to appear antagonistic to the fruits of the handshake.

Initially, a section of MPs from the region have complained that while the DP has been launching development projects in other parts of the country, the government has turned a blind eye to Nyanza.

They had also accused Ruto of hiding behind 'development tours' to campaign for 2022 after the President branded the DP "mtu wa kutangatanga".

But Kuria East MP Marwa Maisori of Jubilee defended the DP’s forays into Migori county, maintaining that he is marketing the government's development agenda.

"The DP’s visit to Migori county is purely for development, not 2022 politics. He is on record that politicians should shun the 2022 talk and deliver on the promises they made to the people. There is nothing strange in the DP visiting Migori as he is serving all the Kenyans regardless of their political affiliations," Maisori said.

Suna West MP Peter Masara will play host to the DP in Migori while Karachuonyo MP Adipo Okuome will host him in Homa Bay.

Speaking to journalists in Kendu Bay yesterday, Okuome said commissioning of the Kanyadhiang-Kadel ring road would open up the area for economic development.

He said the ring road will help tourists to access Lake Simbi and hot springs at Homa hills. "Tarmacking the road will revitalise these spots for economic tourism," he said.

The road will also facilitate transport of fish caught along beaches. 

"It will also be easy to transport sorghum produced in the area to the EABL industry in Kisumu,” he said.

Homa Bay Jubilee party coordinator Odhiambo Markowiti said residents hope Ruto's visit will promote economic transformation of the region.

"The majority of residents are focussing on development and commissioning of the projects will stir economic growth,” Markowiti said.

Homa Bay county Bunge la Wananchi speaker Walter Opiyo said they want DP Ruto to visit the area frequently for development.

"There is total peace and we appeal for the DP to bring development to the region. Ruto is a leader for all Kenyans and he is free to tour anywhere," Opiyo said.

Read: Ruto senses betrayal, claws back

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The anti-graft agency has extended the corruption probe against beleaguered Migori governor Okoth Obado and his alleged proxies beyond Kenyan borders.

In documents seen by the Star, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission says that months to last polls, Obado and his children travelled to Australia carrying Sh450 million.

In Australia, Obado laundered the money at a high-end casino, the agency says.  Immigration rules re1quire travellers in possession of currency exceeding Sh1 million to declare it at customs office before departure.

EACC says Obado changed the cash allegedly looted from the county coffers into Australian dolars at Crown Towers Casino.

"The commission has sufficient information that on  February 19, 2017, the governor and his children travelled to Australia while in possession of USD45,000 believed to have been fraudulently acquired from the county and laundered the money into AUD57,646 at Crown Towers Casino, Perth Western Australia," EACC says

"The commission is in contact with the law enforcement agencies in Australia for related investigations."

Read: EACC freezes Obado accounts over graft

Details of how the EACC got the information remain scant. It also does not make it clear whether the governor was gambling at Crown Towers Casino, a facility that prides itself in, among other things, VIP gaming.

"The action never stops at Crown Casino Perth — 24/7 gaming in a vibrant and luxurious environment unrivalled in Western Australia. With an exciting variety of table and electronic games, bars, lounges and more, Crown is where Perth comes to play," the Hotel that hosts the Casino says on its website.

It goes on: "Staying at Crown Towers Perth is an indulgent experience, with its expansive lagoon pools, unparalleled city views, luxurious spa facilities, state-of-the-art fitness centre and high-end boutiques."

Perth is one of Australia’s eight capital cities and the fourth-most populous city in Australia.

The Eliud Wabukhala-led agency says Obado and his associates registered about 30 firms soon after he became governor — through which they pocketed Sh2.5 billion in “fictitious” contracts.

In separate documents, the EACC says it’s pursuing millions stashed abroad by Obado’s alleged proxy Jared Peter Odoyo Oluoch Kwaga.

In a bid to conceal cash corruptly acquired from the county government of Migori through fictitious tenders, Kwaga transferred Sh55,224,977 to offshore financial institutions in China and HongKong, it says.

Read: Obado’s proxies received Sh2.5bn in tender scams

Kwaga, his wife, two brothers, mother and sister in-law are among seven individuals, alongside 16 firms, the EACC is pursuing to refund Sh2 billion allegedly obtained through fictitious deals.

On Tuesday last week, the High Court issued orders barring the seven from selling or transferring 65 properties, including four maisonettes, two apartments and land — all valued at more than Sh382 million.

The four maisonettes and two apartments, all in Kwaga’s name, are in Nairobi.

In what the EACC believes is irrefutable proof linking Obado to the dubious firms, proceeds from the contentious tender awards were wired to his children’s accounts.

The commission says Obado benefitted to the tune of Sh38,949,376 sent to his children believed to be studying abroad. They are Dan Ochola Okoth, Jerry Zachary Okoth and Susan Scarlet Okoth.

More: From graft accusations to murder charge: This man Okoth Obado

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Good Morning.

MPs allied to Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday warned that Deputy President William Ruto’s Nyanza 'development tour' starting today could ignite tension and undermine the handshake.

The politicians led by ODM chairman John Mbadi and his Suna East counterpart Junet Mohamed said Ruto was exploiting the tranquillity created by the handshake pact to further his political agenda — a run for State House in 2022.

Here are the stories making headlines in the Star this Saturday.

EACC: Obado laundered millions in Australian casino

The anti-graft agency has extended the corruption probe against beleaguered Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his alleged proxies beyond Kenyan borders.

In documents exclusively seen by the Star, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission says months to the 2017 polls, the governor and his children travelled to Australia carrying Sh4.5 million in US dollars.

According to the sleuth, once in Australia, the Governor laundered the money at one of the high end casinos.

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Uhuru demands more market access from China

In his latest trip to China, President Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday led his administration in pushing for greater access to Chinese market for Kenya’s produce.

Kenya has already secured a commitment from President Xi Jinping that China will fast-track trade negotiations to open up its market for Kenya’s produce.

Uhuru and Xi held bilateral talks in Shanghai in Kenya's latest charm offensive on the Asian giant.

_____________________________________________________

Flower farm workers now put on contract

Flower farmers in Naivasha are now employing workers on contract in a bid to address the rising wage bill according to the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU).

The move has attracted the wrath of the union with fears that more workers could lose their jobs in the coming year.

Early in the year, Oserian limited which is one of the largest flower farms in Naivasha laid off over 2,000 workers and put them on contract.

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NCPB meets this week to raise maize prices to stabilise market

The National Cereals and Produce Board will meet this week with the board of the Strategic Grain Reserve to set new maize prices to stabilise the market.

Maize prices have fallen to as low as Sh800 for a 90kg bag. Deputy President William Ruto on Saturday said farmers will know the new prices this week.

Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri and his Devolution counterpart Eugene Wamalwa are expected to be present at the meeting on Wednesday.

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Coffee farmers in Baringo North angered by plan to move mill in Eldama Ravine

Cherogony Ruto, 75, vividly recalls when he ventured into coffee farming in 1970 in his rural village of Sokom, Baringo North subcounty.

Ruto, who is from the sleepy Ossen-Kabartonjo ward, said he was barely 27 when the idea struck to plant some 200 coffee bushes in his father’s five-acre farm, hoping to shape his future.

“A few years later, my farm blossomed with green leaves and white flowers. I knew my dream had come true and I could supply coffee like my agemates,” he says.

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For more on these stories and others, keep browsing the Star website for the latest news making headlines across Kenya and around the world.

To get the Breakfast Briefing right into your inbox every morning, click here for a free subscription.

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Gor Mahia’s new Ugandan signing, Shafik Batambuze, does not want to be compared with the departed countryman, Godfrey Walusimbi.

The Ugandan international, who spoke on Sunday after a training session at the Finch Farm, Liverpool in United Kingdom, said he is his own man and doesn’t want to be compared with Walusimbi.

His sentiments comes after it was assumed, he would fill the void left by Walusimbi who is away in South Africa attached club Kaizer Chiefs.

The 23-year-old player said he brings on table his own class and will go all out to prove to the K’Ogalo management that they made the right choice by signing him.

He said: “It’s not about filling the big shoes left by Walusimbi. I have my own shoes which fits perfectly well and I am encouraged by the face that Gor opted for me despite being spoilt for choice.”

He added: “If given an opportunity, I will give my best shot in a bid to help them achieve their set out targets. Gor are a good team that creates opportunities for players and I know many would love to play for them. I am glad I signed up for them and justy see where I am now!”

The former Tusker and Singida FC player is among the four players, who put pen on paper for the 17-time Kenya Premier League champions.

Others are Kariobangi Sharks’ Pascal Ogweno, Zoo Kericho’s Nicholas Kipkirui and returnee Kenneth Muguna, who had signed for Albanian side, KF Tirana.

Batambuze is the only new player included in the Gor team that will play against Everton today at the Goodison Park.

“Four new players came on board ahead of next season and I am the only one among them who got the chance to be in UK. In reciprocation and given a chance in Tuesday (today) match, I intend to give my best because you never know who will be watching. Remember we are in Europe, where all the doors for football are always open,” noted Batambuze.

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All formal and informal short term money lending entities will soon be under control of the Central Bank of Kenya if MPs approve a Bill by Kesses MP Swarup Mishra.

The first time MP has already written to Speaker of the National Assembly of his intention to introduce a Bill to cap interests that are charged by micro finance or other money lending set-ups.

The proposal – according to Kesses – will bring sanity to the informal set-ups which he claimed charges way above the recommended CBK rates.

Read: Mobi cash: Borrow now, cry later

In July this year, Kenyans had reprieve after Central Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee revised downwards the lending rate by 50 basis points to nine percent from 9.50 percent.

The development means Kenyans can access loans at cheaper rates as the maximum interest rate banks will charge on loans dropped to 13 per cent from the previous 13.5 per cent set in March in line with the interest rate cap law.

Banks are normally not allowed by law to charge more than 4 per cent interest above Central Banks lending rate.

According to Mishra the informal set-ups levy up to 20 percent monthly translating to 240 percent per annum.

“I believe such legislation would protect our citizens who result to seeking this short term solutions because of dire need for financial assistance and are unable the much needed loans from banks or other institutions that offer loans within the bracket of the CBK guided lending rates which are currently oscillating between 12 to 14 percent per annum,” argued the Kesses lawmaker.

The MP noted Kenyans have suffered over the fluctuating interest rates charged by informal institutions adding it is time the mess is rectified through legislation.

“It’s our Government constitutional obligation to protect our citizen from being exploited by these institutions which end up attaching and auctioning the security offered by these needy citizens and disposing them at a fraction of their value,” he says.

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There was once a joke in Meru that miraa farmers do not wash their clothes; they buy new ones and throw away the old ones.

However, times have changed ever since two previously huge markets, the Netherlands and the UK,  banned miraa imports, citing health and social effects.

The ban took a toll on many businesses in the country. Many miraa pick-ups that were sold to transporters by Toyota Kenya can rarely be seen on the roads any more.

In July last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta formed a task force to look into miraa farmers' problems. 

Meanwhile, funds were allocated to cushion the farmers from the adverse effects of the two bans. The money came in two batches of Sh1 billion and Sh1.2 billion in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 financial years.

However, Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri dropped a bombshell in September, when he said there are plans to use Sh2.2 billion bailout to buy avocado and macadamia seedlings instead.

The aim was diversification to increase income, a plan he said Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi was on board with. However, the idea incensed miraa farmers. 

Titus Kimechu, a miraa trader in Meru, said: "Miraa cannot be compared to avocados or macadamia. One bunch of miraa can fetch a good amount of money than sacks of avocado and macadamia.

"A pick-up of miraa can fetch Sh500,000 comfortably, while a lorry of avocado or macadamia can barely fetch Sh100,000."

BETTER DAYS

The backlash adds to Kiunjuri's troubles after he was publicly rebuked by the President on Mashujaa Day last month over the Sh1.9 scandal at the NCPB. The National Assembly Agriculture Committee sought answers from the CS on Tuesday last week, but he skipped their summons for the fourth time running.  

Kiunjuri was expected to respond to among other things the crisis facing maize farmers, the status of maize at the National Cereals and Produce Board, delayed payment of farmers, audit report of the maize imported from Mexico and South Africa, and the threats by some millers to increase the prices of unga.

In Meru, though, miraa is the bone of contention. A green plant with dark tan leaves and sometimes dark tan stems, it was not considered as a cash crop until 1947, when an Arab, perhaps having tasted the stem and identified it as a soft stimulant, started buying it.

The returns from the stranger were so huge that many people began planting the crop, which at the time had no use and grew on its own in farms around Kangeta, Igembe South constituency. Khat, as it is commonly referred to, started being transported to Mombasa, Nairobi and even Kampala in Uganda.

The plant earned many farmers millions of shillings in Nyambene, a miraa hub with about 70,000ha of the crop. In fact, in the 21st century, miraa was classified as one of the crops whose returns were high.

Fortunes changed in 2013, when the Netherlands, one of the biggest markets for miraa, banned the commodity, prompting an outcry from traders and farmers in Kenya.

Before the dust could even settle, the UK also banned it on June 24, 2014. One can be sentenced to up to 14 years in jail if found with khat in the UK.

Before the two bans, farmers and traders had earned an estimated Sh7 billion in 2012 from exports of the commodity.

There has been a lot of politics and research about whether miraa is a drug or not. In 1975, then Attorney General Charles Njonjo classified it as a drug. However, the motion failed after most MPs opposed it.

GOVERNOR COMPLICIT? 

Kiunjuri dealt a fresh blow to farmers when he called for diversification on September 28, as he attended a Meru dairy farmers' field day at Gitoro showground.

The CS said he had spoken with Kiraitu and agreed on the diversion of the Sh2 billion bailout. This saw Kiraitu threatened with being voted out in 2022.

The governor, however, disowned the agreement. He said the county has not received or spent a coin from the national government's miraa funds.

"I have met with CS Kiunjuri several times, but we have never agreed on how the cash will be used," Kiraitu said.

"If the government wants to issue avocado and macadamia seedlings using miraa funds or any other kitty, they will then do it as the national government, not the Meru county government."

He asked MPs from Meru to summon Kiunjuri in Parliament to shed light on whereabouts of the miraa cash.

"I never told anyone to uproot miraa to plant macadamia or avocado. I encourage intercropping," Kiraitu said.

However, farmers are not yet convinced that indeed he is not in agreement with Kiunjuri. More so after he gave out 200,000 macadamia and 200,000 avocado seedlings to farmers on October 5.

The governor said the crops have a ready market in China and European countries. "The budget is Sh90 million. I want to distribute 1 million seedlings each for avocado and macadamia. No one is coerced to plant," Kiraitu said.

LEADERS REACT

Tigania East MP Gichunge Kabeabea, his Igembe North counterpart Maoka Maore and East Africa Assembly MP Mpuru Aburi said it would be wrong to divert the miraa cash.

Maore said the money was set aside to improve miraa, water provision, build sheds for miraa, seek markets for the crops and to boost research.

"The county government has its own budget for agriculture, which can be used for avocado and macadamia seedlings. Let them keep off the miraa cash," he said.

"CS Kiunjuri has been a stumbling block to the implementation of the task force's recommendations."

Kabeabea said the funds should be used to develop miraa and do market research.

Aburi said the cash is meant to cushion farmers from the adverse effects of the miraa ban in European markets.

A Nyambene resident said: "We want to tell Kiraitu that let him do whatever he wants, but in 2022 we will teach him a political lesson he will never forget."

Adding, "You cannot joke with miraa and get away with it. Let him know as Nyambene we are watching his steps closely."

 Nyambene MCAs urged CS Kiunjuri to come clean on the issue or they will convene a meeting with all elected leaders in Nyambene on miraa to chart the way forward. They accused the CS of not consulting them before coming up with the decision. 

However, some leaders and residents defended Kiraitu. Meru Senator Mithika Linturi said Kiunjuri should carry his own cross on the issue and not involve the governor. He said all MPs in Nyambene have representatives in the implementation committee, and hence Kiraitu cannot interfere with the committee's undertakings. 

Aburi said Kiunjuri should also avoid mud-slinging the governor and should entirely take blame for his remarks.

 There are also questions about the exact figure given to cushion miraa farmers. The Treasury slashed the allocation by Sh94 million due to the lack of absorption in the last financial year. 

Currently only Sh906 million is available, raising questions on where the other funds went to, as farmers say they are yet to see anything tangible on the ground. This comes amid a government directive that the money be shared with Embu and Tharaka Nithi.

The latter counties are more famous for muguka, a crop that was not affected by the ban in Europe.

Amwathi MCA John Ntongai said when Uhuru met Meru leaders in April 2016, he was clear that Sh1 billion was for miraa farmers.

“The President should intervene on which county should get the money,” he said.

Antubetwe Kikongo MCA George Kaliunga said miraa farmers will hold a rally to chart the way forward.

“We want our MPs to stop being silent while money meant for miraa goes to other counties. We will not take this matter lightly,” he said.

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At a dusty village in Meru county, a group of women gather around a solar-powered borehole. It is yet to be completed, but the glittering faces tell you they are very optimistic, even before Governor Kiraitu Murungi arrives to commission the borehole.

The semi-arid Ngaremara village in Tigania East constituency is prone to banditry. The Meru government aims to drill 100 boreholes each year for five years. 

The Turkana community are the majority among residents. To access the area, one has to pass Isiolo town from Meru and, due to the isolation, most residents vote in Isiolo, although they are in Meru county.

"During election time I did not campaign here. I thought Ngaremara was in Isiolo county, but I later realised it was in Meru and decided to do development goodies," Kiraitu said when he commissioned the borehole.

Residents could not believe as water flowed from a solar-powered borehole. They cheered and came to quench their thirst. The livestock were not left out. Women even cheered as they washed their faces and drunk the water.

On his arrival, the county boss was welcomed like a hero and dressed in traditional regalia.

Esther Lomula from Epidim said they came to witness the historic moment. She said they had to trek for several kilometres for hours to get water at Lagani area.

"We could get water-borne diseases and some have even succumbed, but things will now change," she said.

Veronica Nasuru said they have been having problems with water for domestic use and for their livestock.

"We have seen our livestock being stolen because we had to take our animals several kilometres to get water and pasture. But we will not engage is such conflicts as we now have water, a vital commodity to us," she said.

Fransisca Nasieko said they will now venture into farming using the water. 

Kiraitu said they should use water prudently to transform the area to have food security and avoid reliance on relief food. "We will also address the problem of insecurity," he promised. 

He said Ngaremara is a special ward and will receive Sh10 million extra in the ward development fund, where each ward receives Sh20 million.

Deputy Governor Titus Ntochiu, who was also present, said residents should use water well. 

BENCHMARK TERRITORY

Earlier in September, Kakamega officials, led by Water executive Barasa Wangwe, visited Meru to benchmark on devolution success in the water sector.

"Water plays a lot in the devolution scorecard. That is why we came to benchmark how Meru has developed a masterplan it is implementing," he said.

He said despite having better drainage than Meru, Kakamega has low water coverage, far below the global desire of 60 and above percentage.

He said Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya aims to have at least 85 per cent by the time he leaves office in 2022.

His Meru counterpart Mishek Mutuma said they are drilling solar powered boreholes.

“After sinking boreholes, we hand them to community to manage. We want to empower our community to own the project so they cater for maintenance themselves,” he said.

Mutuma said they had pilot studies before the start of the project in one of the areas where there is a borehole serving over 300 families.

Villagers in places like Ngaremara, which solely depended on livestock, have started to change their perceptions and take up farming. 

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Somewhere in a scarcely populated village tucked on the foot of the picturesque Tugen Hills, Baringo county, lives a middle-aged man with his two wives. Cheptikiit is his name. He lives by the biblical commandment: Go ye and fill the world.

Consequently, he has a brood of 17 children ranging between two and 28 years old to show for his obedience to God.

Cheptikiit lives on his own terms. He cares not what his children do or not do. But once in a while — when the truancy in his household threatens to burst the seams of his head, he lectures the children of dire consequences; no punishment. The children know that their father is incapable of turning their world upside down because of their waywardness.

Juxtapose this scenario with our government: President Uhuru Kenyatta whom I duly compare with Cheptikiit has a knack of always warning and counter-warning his sleazy, lazy and rudderless senior officers. In his characteristic behaviour in the face of frustrations, Uhuru usually takes refuge in his warning cocoon, not that he is a coward but because he believes his warnings are enough to rein in the officials.

During the official opening of the Nairobi International Show a few weeks ago, a visibly angry head of state wagged a finger at Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri, warning him and others not present at the time of dire consequences. The bone of contention was the failure of Kiunjuri to navigate the Agriculture docket and ensure maize farmers are paid on time.

What was the President doing issuing warnings to a CS who looked lost in a jungle of rocks? For allowing himself to be turned around and round like a belt, Kiunjuri should have earned a summary dismissal, not mere warnings.

The CS was smiling sheepishly as the President harangued him. Kiunjuri knows that Uhuru only blows hot and cold because he is a gentleman. Uhuru hates to sow discord in his government. This does not bode well for the welfare of the people of this beautiful country. He cannot afford to run the country with sympathies and niceties. Kenya is going down the drain on his watch yet the best he can do is lecture and issue warnings.

The President has Kenya’s best interests at heart but he should change his robe of helplessness and wear one of action. It is weeks since Uhuru ordered Kiunjuri to ensure farmers are paid but that was just that; mere hot air. Farmers are yet to be paid.

Last year, the President shocked the nation when he lamented on national TV that he is frustrated by the corrupt in his government. “Sasa mnataka nifanye nini (Now what do you want me to do?)”

This was another episode of helplessness digging in as the country goes to the dogs thanks to inept Cabinet secretaries and Chief Administrative Secretaries who spend the entire day staring at that purple hole in Saturn, wondering why it is there and not in Kenya. Who bewitched us?

Uhuru wants to leave a legacy for generations to come. This is why he has come up with the Big Four agenda. If the President continues his business-as-usual leadership style, these Big Four will disappear into a sinkhole.

We can never achieve these pillars of a strong economy when all those given the responsibility to ensure their success are busy stealing resources meant for these projects. The President is serious about leaving a legacy worth being printed in bold in the annals of history, but he must be ready to take the bull by the horns.

There should be no more getting cosy with the usual suspects of ineptness. We have ministers who have displayed pure sloppiness since their appointment in 2013. Uhuru must show who is boss. Fire them! There are more than 44 million competent Kenyans ready to serve their country diligently.

Uhuru Kenyatta doesn’t like newspapers. He once said they are only good for wrapping meat. Apparently, Uhuru would never dream of owning one — but he is associated with a certain media house.

Last Thursday, Uhuru hit out at the media — again — accusing journalists of negative reporting of the country.

“Someone will call you and tell you, ‘But I read this in your newspaper’... and you say... ‘Oh well, let me give you what the true facts are.’ ‘Why don’t you people just find out the truth and represent the true facts?” he told journalists at a State House briefing.

Uhuru has previously chastised the media for misinforming the public about all sorts of things. His deputy William Ruto has levelled similar accusations.

Since coming to power in 2013, Uhuru and Ruto have consistently expressed their contempt for the Fourth Estate. Yet the UhuRuto juggernaut invested heavily in traditional and new media in the election campaigns. One of Uhuru’s first tasks upon arrival at State House was to overhaul presidential communications. There is even a government newspaper, MyGov. But his regime remains inexplicably hostile to the media.

The words of a president ought to be taken seriously. But what are citizens to think when he repeatedly disparages and tries to delegitimise such an important institution in a supposedly democratic nation? It is not just Uhuru and Ruto. None of Jubilee’s top guns seems to have anything good to say about the media.

In February, Jubilee secretary general Raphael Tuju dismissed the media as “an extension of the Opposition propaganda”. He was attempting to justify the government’s tyrannical shutdown of TV and radio stations to prevent live coverage of Raila’s swearing-in as the ‘People’s President’ on January 30.

Attacks on the media by powerful persons — whether verbal, physical or in any other form — are not about the media per se. They have been long recognised as attacks against what the media champions, namely, a free, just and open society. They are warning shots against speaking truth to power; attempts to silence dissent and drive the citizenry to sheepish acquiescence.

Now, nearly everyone knows about Uhuru’s Big Four agenda: Food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare.

But, as the Good Book says, man (and woman) do not live on bread alone. Agenda Five would be about guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of citizens.

Government’s talk about ‘development’ has almost nothing to day about fundamental rights and freedoms; zero connection between media freedom and development. Once the people have the Big Four, they won’t need anything else ­—not even freedom.

But this is not just false. It is dangerous. The deepest human desire is for freedom. Weeks after Mwai Kibaki was voted overwhelmingly in 2002 to end Daniel arap Moi’s 24-year kleptocracy, a survey found Kenyans to be among the happiest people in the world. Kibaki had not yet done anything. Citizens were happy because they had hope.

Today, Kenya is mired in the filth of corruption. Nobody seems to know how to clean up the mess. Even the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission says we need a miracle. The AG is working on a Bill to pay whistle-blowers who report corruption. Isn’t that a bit like paying citizens to love their country? Reporting corruption or anything unlawful ought to be the duty of every citizen.

We live in a dysfunctional country that is deeply divided, ridden with all manner of scandals, plundered by greed, a country where millions of people (especially the youth) have lost hope. Uhuru doesn’t want the media pointing out any of this. Journalists should be reciting the Big Four from morning to night ­— even when it is obvious nothing much will be achieved.

Restoring hope to Kenyans requires more than material ‘development’ — whose benefits most people don’t see anyway. Citizens build their country. But how will they do this when Kenya has been captured by a few and mortgaged to ‘investors’? Most people have given up and don’t care anymore.

Agenda Five would be about reviving the dream of a free, just and open society owned by citizens, not elites. Media freedom is a major component of that revival. On this, Uhuru scores a D.

The search for Mt Kenya’s kingpin has left the region divided into three groups as they seek to find a new leader after President Uhuru Kenyatta exits the political scene.

One group, however, feels the President is too ‘young’ to retire. They are pushing for a referendum to change the Constitution for an inclusive government that accommodates a prime minister.

The group, backed by powerful political establishments, wants Uhuru to remain powerful in the government that will be formed after the 2022 polls.

"We only have one defacto leader - Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta - the rest are wannabes," nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura told the Star on the phone.

RUTO'S ALLY

The second group oscillates around Deputy President William Ruto, who is likely to be Uhuru’s successor after the President announced last month in Nandi that he will support Ruto’s presidential bid.

Uhuru was touring development projects in the region. 

"We were told in Nyeri to focus on development. Agenda one, development, agenda two, development and agenda three, development," nominated MP MP Cecily Mbarire said.

Read: The battle to be Central kingpin after Uhuru exit

More: Ruto’s 2022 bid in doubt as he faces mutiny in Mt Kenya

PRO-CHANGE

However, the third group wants a change of the status quo. They argue that Uhuru’s support for Ruto was personal.

"During the change of guard (after completion of the term of a sitting president) the incoming President must come from outside to get to power," former Kiambu governor William Kabogo said.

"To climb to power from within (VP/DP) happened only once when Mzee Moi succeeded Hayati Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Hustler, think."

Apart from the first team of the political establishment, the two teams want a change of the status quo in the region.

The groups fighting to hold the grip on the region want to have a stake in the next government where they can influence policies at the national level.

"Uhuru caught them unawares when he said he is not interested in any other post after he serves his last term. But politics is constant and a contest. People will continue to jostle,” historian Macharia Munene told the Star on the phone.

Observers told the Star the status quo has only favoured a few elites within the region.

"The fight is to protect economic and political interests. It is all about interests," International Center for Policy and Conflict director Ndung’u Wainana said.

The groups against the establishment argue that Uhuru is not accessible and the area lags in development, despite voting for him overwhelmingly in the last polls.

"Our focus now is development and we are determined to see the people have a better life," Mwaura said.

Despite politicians being the face of the tough succession battle, sources privy to the developments in the regions told the Star the business community, the clergy and professionals are heavily involved. Some are said to be ready to fund in a bid to push for their agenda.

Many politicians refused to comment.

"People are trying to create their own independent identity to shift their own negotiations. They are coming up with their own plans and jostling for their interests," Wainaina said.

ABORTED ENDORSEMENT

With the fast shaping political landscape in the region, those who trust in the DP say Ruto is accessible and has helped them grow both economically and politically. 

On March 29, plans by the group to endorse Ruto in Naivasha aborted after an MP called State House and other power brokers to raise the alarm. 

The Enashipae meeting was convened by Gatundu MP Moses Kuria - Ruto’s close ally. 

Read: Renewed unease in Mt Kenya over Uhuru's 2022 exit

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ANC Leader Musalia Mudavadi is targeting President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Central Kenya backyard as he plots his 2022 presidential bid.

Known as cautious and mild-mannered, the former Vice President has quietly been meeting leaders from the populous region in hopes of convincing them to back him.

"Our eyes are on the prize and we believe we are on course to win the next election,” Mudavadi told the Star in a telephone interview yesterday.

Ethnic and regional affiliations have long been central to Kenya's politics and the former Deputy Prime Minister is hoping to make inroads in the region with almost eight million voters.

In the last two elections, the region voted as bloc for Uhuru, but with the head of state retiring in four years, the fight for the region's allegiance is intensifying.

There is even talk in Mudavadi's camp that he may pick his running mate from Uhuru's Mt Kenya bastion.

The President shocked the region, and much of the nation, last week when he told local leaders that his pick for the presidency will shock some of them them.

There was once a pact that Deputy President William Ruto was the heir apparent and would be backed for the top job.

Read: I'll be on the ballot in 2022, Mudavadi says

Ruto has made numerous trips to Central where he has been giving generously at harambees for churches, schools and other worthy causes.

Mudavadi, nicknamed 'MaDVD', is building his reputation as a moderate leader, a steady pair of hands and the most credible opposition voice in the post-handshake era.

His former Nasa co-principals Raila Odinga of ODM and Kalonzo Musyoka of Wiper have decided to work with President Kenyatta, so the ANC leader is positioning himself as the the most trustworthy figure to succeed Uhuru.

Mudavadi is understood to be planning an extensive tour of Mt Kenya from January next year when he will court leaders from all the counties.

"We believe the people of Mt Kenya are looking for a credible person they can trust," Mudavadi said in the Star interview.

Two months ago Mudavadi held a meeting in Nakuru, which was attended by former TNA grassroots officials from Central Kenya and parts of Rift Valley. They endorsed Mudavadi for 2022.

Since then he has met former Kiambu governor William Kabogo and former Nyeri senator Mutahi Kagwe, among others. Mudavadi is also planning to meet Nyeri governor Mutahi Kahiga, Kirinyaga's Anne Waiguru, Muranga's Mwangi wa Iria, Embu's Nyagah Wambora and Meru's Kiraitu Murungi in the coming weeks.

See also: Signs Raila will run in 2022, NASA co-principals back to drawing board

Central Kenya leaders have been feuding over who should be Deputy President Ruto’s running mate.

Sources close to Mudavadi yesterday told the Star that the former Finance minister would dangle the same carrot to the region’s leaders — who from Central would be his running mate.

Leaders from Meru, Isiolo, Tharaka Nithi and Embu regions have made it clear that it’s their turn to produce the next deputy president and Trade minister Peter Munya is one of the people Mudavadi is hoping to bring onboard.

But their cousins from Kiambu, Murang'a, Laikpia and Nyeri are also positioning themselves to serve as Deputy President once Uhuru leaves office. Waiguru has asked Ruto to pick her. But she is facing a tough challenge from Wa Iria and Senate Deputy Speaker Kithure Kindiki.

Jeremiah Kioni, who was Mudavadi's running mate in 2013, says the region is now ready for him.

"At that time, all they wanted was Uhuru. The next election seems to be presenting a great opportunity for Mudavadi to get significant votes from the Kikuyu. It is up to him," Kioni said.

Meanwhile, merger talks between Mudavadi’s ANC and Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya were shaky yesterday after  ANC threatened to abandon them.

ANC is concerned Ford Kenya leaders were sending mixed signals about their agenda.

"Wetang’ula should come clean on this matter. We can’t have a situation where his party officials are advancing interests that are contrary to what we have agreed," Mudavadi said.

Ford Kenya deputy party leader Boni Khalwale has been appearing in public meetings in Western Kenya and telling residents to support Deputy President Ruto in 2022.

In his weekend remarks, he asked Ruto to pick either Mudavadi or Wetang’ula as his running mate.

"Khalwale is a self-confessed Ruto convert and supporter. He does not speak for the Luhya or me. He speak for himself,” Mudavadi said in the interview.

More: [VIDEO] Back me in 2022, Ruto tells Mudavadi

The ANC boss also told off Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka for urging Luhya leaders to support Ruto.

"He has become Ruto’s speaker and abdicated his role as Senate speaker,” Mudavadi added.

But in a swift rejoinder, Ford Kenya insisted that all was well with the merger plans but promised to address ANC's concerns.

Secretary general Eseli Simiyu said Khalwale remarks reflected his personal opinion.

"Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetang'ula is out of the country but we will meet once he comes back so we can iron out any issues ANC could be having," he said.

National Assembly Deputy Minority Whip Chris Wamalwa told the Star the technical team formed by ANC and Ford Kenya to work out the merger instruments had completed its work and handed over the report.

"The report awaits ratification by party organs as required by the party constitutions before being submitted to the Registrar of Political Parties to effect the same," the Kiminini MP said.

Regarding Khalwale's support for the DP, Ford Kenya 's Simiyu said ex-senator was expressing a personal opinion and was not speaking for the party.

"Ford Kenya has not taken a position on supporting Ruto in 2022. As Ford Kenya we can't sell our people to Jubilee," the Tongaren MP said.

The lawmaker accused Ruto of lacking a clear agenda for the Luyha community in his frenetic forays into the region.

"We have never heard Ruto talk about development projects for the region. He is always in Western for harambees but not launching any development projects," Simiyu said.

He said the region will advance its political future without Jubilee, saying the ruling party had neglected the region.

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