CORD TAKES A SWIPE AT JUBILEE FOR INTIMIDATING JOHO THROUGH CLOSURE OF BUSINESS.

Government’s decision to close two firms at the Port of Mombasa related to Governor Ali Hassan Joho’s family has continued to draw divergent views between the ruling coalition and Cord, the latest being sentiments from the ODM chairman John Mbadi who insists the move is politically instigated.

  

Speaking in Seme constituency, Kisumu county during the handing over of school buses to four schools, Mbadi said the move by the government to clump down Joho’s business is enough prove that the Jubilee administration is committed to take the country back to the oppressive KANU regime ways.

Mbadi alleged that they have information that the closure of the business was a directive from the president because governor Joho refused to join and support the Jubilee coalition during the president’s one month tour of the Coast region.  

Seme legislator Dr. James Nyikal and his Nyando counterpart Fred Outa on their part maintained that the Jubilee government has already started rigging 2017 presidential elections in the CORD strongholds through the bio-metric registration of NYS cohorts.

The host, Dr. Nyikal expressed his discontent in the IEBC’s 

decision to register new voters per word arguing that most Kenyans will be left out since very few people would be reached.

He said the commission should agree to the formula proposing registration by polling stations which he said will give unregistered Kenyans equal chance of registration.

Ruaraka legislator TJ Kajwang discredited the Supreme Court’s decision that saw Uhuru Kenyatta win an election petition filed by the CORD coalition following allegations of election irregularities in the presidential poll, saying that the recent corruption allegations against the Supreme court judge Philip Tunoi is prove enough that the court did not have a free hand in the delivery of its ruling.

ENDS

CORD MPS' LED BY THEIR PRINCIPLES VOW TO PUSH THROUGH WITH THE ELECTORAL REFORMS BEFORE 2017 ELECTIONS

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is an institution that will continue to remain on the spot with barely 19 months to go into the next general elections owing to the magnitude of the work it’s expected to undertake.

Kenyans have lost faith in the commission with renewed calls to reconstitute it after a majority of the population raised concerns in the manner in which it conducted the 2013 polls.

Leaders from across the political divide and various stakeholders in the field have supported suggestions to adopt the famous IPPG system where political parties were required to nominate persons to the commission according to their strength in Parliament.

Before the disbandment of the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), the Inter-Parties Parliamentary Group (IPPG) nominated commissioners that conducted the 2002 elections that was considered the most credible then and oversaw a peaceful transition of power from the then ruling party KANU to NAR-C.

The CORD fraternity has always maintained that a democratic election is a process and not an event thus it involves institutions, rules and regulations that must be strengthened within an applicable framework of law.

Following what was seen as not a more credible process by the Isaac Hassan led team, Cord will continue to push for reforms of IEBC so that we go into the elections on a level playing ground.

Kisumu County Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o noted in one of his Sunday columns in the local dailies that the key arbiter or referee (The IEBC) was not fully prepared to run the game and even if it were, it was determined to run the same under other rules manufactured outside the framework of law.

The good Prof went on to elaborate that “When one player was dissatisfied and sort the interpretation of the Supreme Court, the case was thrown out/dismissed on technical grounds and those are the technicalities we want to look into”

Just last week a strong team of ODM legislators led by National chair John Mbadi, Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o, Homabay Women Representative Gladys Wanga and Kabondo-Kasipul MP Silvance Osele vowed that they will continue to mount pressure so that IEBC is overhauled before 2017 elections.

Senior counsel Hon Olago Aluoch of Kisumu West questioned the credibility of the current commissioners, since the last election in 2013 arguing that they will not be partisan in future processes and instead of forcing Parliament to amend the electoral laws to throw them out of office they should just resign and give way to afresh team that everybody has confidence in.

We are all privy to the fact that a mismanaged electoral process has tremendous negative consequences on the political economy of a developing country just like Kenya.

If our like minded leaders can agree to reason and come to a consensus on issues of national interest like the IEBC, then our country can desist from producing “Hand to Mouth” regimes that inspire little or no confidence in their people locally and in the globalized world.

ENDS……

POLICE AND THE HOTEL MANAGEMENT MOVES IN FAST TO DISPEL RUMORS ON THE DEATH OF A FOREIGNER AT ACACIA HOTEL LAST NIGHT

Police in Kisumu and the management of the Acacia Premier Hotel have dispelled rumors that a guest at the hotel died following a shoot out drama last night. 

Regional Police Commander Willy Lugusa said preliminary investigation into this incident established that the deceased could have succumbed to a health condition after assorted drugs were found in his room clearly indicating that he could have been under medication.

According to the police, the guests, one diplomat from one of Asian Countries and a Ugandan citizen checked into the hotel yesterday and had documentations indicating they were scheduled to travel abroad to seek further medication for the diseased. 

The diplomat is said to have left the hotel shortly to run some errands but when he came back, he found his colleague lying unconsciously in the bath tab, he immediately called the front office who called in a doctor, unfortunately by the time the doctor arrived, the diseased had passed on.

The Regional Command confirmed that the body of the diseased was found with blood oozing from his mouth and nose, but there was no sign that an altercation had occurred neither were there signs that a firearm had been used in the 10pm incident.

The body of the diseased was rushed to Kisumu District hospital mortuary for further autopsy as police pursue diplomatic procedures that will help them get deeper into this matter.

Earlier during a press briefing at the Hotel, the General Manager Mr. Duncan Mwangi re-emphasized that the hotel followed the right procedure in quickly responding to the matter and he further refuted claims of laxity on the party of the hotel.

 

 

ENDS......

HEAD TEACHERS WARNED AGAINST CHARGING EXTRA LEVIES THAT ARE NOT APPROVED BY THE GOVERNMENT GUIDELINES

Kenya secondary schools heads association officials will tomorrow 5^th meet the cabinet secretary in charge of education Fred Matiang’i for a consultative meeting over the controversy emerging from school fees being charged by a section of public schools.

As schools reopen, parents and a section of education stake holders have raised concerns over exorbitant fees being charged by a number of schools in total disregard of the government fees guidelines that were gazette last year.

Speaking in Kisumu today, the Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association chairman John Awiti cautioned head teachers who have gone against the stipulated guidelines saying that their actions amounts to criminal offence.

“I acknowledge that a number of aspects were not put into consideration when the new guidelines were issued by the government but that does not give our members the right to go contrary to the law” said Awiti.

Awiti said the consultative meeting scheduled for tomorrow is aimed at addressing these anomalies but in the mean time schools, must respect the law since the ministry of education would want all schools to abide by the new fees guidelines.

He however expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which the ministry of education carried out the review on the fees saying that some of the important aspects were not captured.

“The fees guidelines left out a key component of our involvement as schools in infrastructure development, there are projects some of our schools were carrying out before the fees guidelines came into effect and they were not captured in the new fees guideline” lamented Awiti 

   

He said a number of schools are experiencing a shortage of teachers thus have sourced for teachers paid by the boards yet all these were not considered while reviewing the fees structure for public schools.

 While expressing optimism that the meeting will come up with a favorable decision on this pressing matter he did not fail to point out that the guidelines failed to factor in lunch programs for the day schools, which has partly contributed to the public outcry.

ENDS.