President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday went on a full campaign mode and drummed up support for Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga in several areas in Nairobi as he launched several government projects.
In other news, Senator Johnson Sakaja won another round after a court threw out a petition seeking to stop his governor bid for Nairobi County.
In Nyanza, an ODM governor aspirant in Nyanza received a major boost after thousands of county government workers pledged to support his bid in the upcoming General Election.
Uhuru: I was soft but Karua will jail thieves
President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday admitted to having been soft in dealing with the perennial issues arising from land grabbing and the individuals involved in the saga.
However, he said he was sure that with regards to his failure in this particular area, he was sure that Martha Karua, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition running mate would deal squarely with the menace.
This he said while addressing residents in Nairobi after launching several development projects in different estates in the capital city. He hailed the famous March 9, 2018 handshake with his erstwhile political nemesis, who is the current Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, saying the act had brought peace to the country.
The Head of State then went on to express his approval of Mr Odinga’s choice of running mate, Ms Karua and vouched for her as a woman of integrity who would deal with the land grabbing problem in the country.
“I am pleased by how he has partnered with a non-nonsense woman, Martha Karua who will not tolerate any words for the land grabbers,”
“These (Mr Odinga and Karua) are the people who will continue with the development projects and serve you with justice, truth and come up with solutions to the plights of the citizens. I took over from Mzee KIbaki, pushed where I could. I could not solve all the problems, I cannot stand here and say so. But I want to establish a path so that these two will come and push until where they can and after them, there will still be others who will come and continue with the work,” he said.
Speaker Muturi cancels special Parliament sitting
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi yesterday called off a special sitting that was planned for today, saying the Government Printer declined and failed to gazette it.
Without a gazette notice, it was not possible to have a special sitting as standing orders stipulate that there has to be such a notice clearly stating the agenda and the time of the sitting.
“It is worth noting that the Government Printer has declined and failed to gazette the special sitting for reasons not explained to us despite the requisite documentation being forwarded to his office in good time last week,” Mr Muturi said.
“In the circumstances I am compelled to call off the special sitting to allow consultations by the executive. In the light of the foregoing, this is to notify you that the special sitting of the House scheduled on Wednesday stands cancelled.”
The House standing orders stipulate that its calendar, once approved, should be published in the Kenya Gazette, parliamentary website and at least two newspapers of national circulation.
A special sitting is held at the request of the leader of the majority party or the leader of the minority party. In this case, Mr Muturi said he acted on a request by Majority Leader Amos Kimunya, the Kipipiri MP.
On Friday, Speaker Muturi recalled MPs for a special sitting to consider the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill 2021 to unlock the disbursement of conditional grants to the 47 counties following a court order.
Lawmakers were scheduled to discuss the County Governments Additional Allocations Bill 2022 and the Ratification of Defence Cooperation Agreement between the Kenyan and United Kingdom governments.
MPs were also to consider the Huduma Bill 2021, which was coming up in the committee of the whole House where various proposed amendments were set to be considered.
The bill seeks to establish the National Integration Identity Management System (Niims), a central database that government agencies and other entities can access in providing services to the people.
The bill also proposes changes to the Elections Act, where the electoral commission will be mandated to use the Niims database to come up with a voters’ register.
Blow to Wanjigi as court nullifies his appeal
Businessman Jimi Wanjigi’s bid to vie for the presidency in the August 9 polls yesterday hit a snag after the Court of Appeal upheld his disqualification from the contest.
The appellate judges dismissed Mr Wanjigi’s appeal and upheld a decision of the High Court to dismiss his case that sought to quash the decision by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati to eliminate him from the polls.
Justices Asike Makhandia, Kathurima M’Inoti and Hellen Omondi rendered the decision Tuesday evening after hearing the appeal in the morning.
But the judges did not reveal the reasons for their decision to dismiss the appeal, saying they will give the main judgment on July 29, 2022.
“We order that this appeal be and is hereby dismissed with costs to the respondents (Mr Chebukati, IEBC and IEBC disputes resolution committee). We shall render the reasons for our Judgment on July 29, 2022,” said the judges.
They said they heard the appeal on expedited basis because the printing of ballot papers for the presidential election is scheduled to begin on July 15, 2022. In addition, the judges said, the date for the election is strict, set expressly by Article 136(2) (a) of the Constitution.
In the appeal, Mr Wanjigi wanted the appellate court to overturn the decision of High Court judge Jairus Ngaah to dismiss his case against the IEBC disputes resolution committee.
He moved to court after the committee upheld Mr Chebukati’s refusal to register him as a presidential candidate.
He told the appellate court that the High Court judge erred in failing to find the decision of the IEBC chairman was unreasonable and irrational.
Boost for Arati as 2,000 county employees pledge support
Over 2,000 employees of the Kisii County government threw their weight behind Mr Simba Arati, who is running for governor on an Orange Democratic Movement ticket.
They said Mr Arati is the most qualified and promising candidate to take over from Mr James Ongwae, who has, on the other hand, asked residents not to elect the outgoing Dagoretti North MP.
The endorsement is a huge political boost for Mr Arati, who is facing stiff resistance from Mr Ongwae, who has dismissed him as an immature goon-like leader who should be rejected by the people of Kisii County.
The employees presented a memorandum to Mr Arati and pleaded with him to “emancipate” them from the yoke of alleged corruption and nepotism they had allegedly suffered for the past 10 years.
Speaking during the meeting, the employees informed Mr Arati that the rot in Kisii County was allegedly entrenched from the top to the bottom and vowed to help him, if he is elected, to “drain the swamp”.
Mr Arati, who was with his running mate, Dr Robert Monda, and Senate candidate Richard Onyonka, expressed outrage at the alleged looting of public resources.
“With the memorandum you have given me, you should be assured that your scheme of service will be implemented as soon as we form the next government, God willing,” said Mr Arati.
Big win for Sakaja in court case
The High Court dismissed a petition to disqualify Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja from the gubernatorial race over the validity of his university academic papers.
Justice Anthony Mrima has said the electoral commission did not commit any mistake in clearing the senator since there was no evidence he was not qualified to contest for the seat.
Upholding decision of the Commission’s dispute resolution committee to throw out the complaint lodged against Mr Sakaja’s candidature, the judge ruled that the petitioner, Dennis Gakuu Wahome, failed to discharge the burden of proving the senator’s Team University certificate was fake.
“The evidential burden shifted to the petitioner. Even by considering the evidence in the affidavit that was struck out by the tribunal, there was no evidence to support allegations leveled against Mr Sakaja. The tribunal did not err in dismissing the complaint for lack of proof,” said the judge.
He also threw out petitioner’s claims that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) abdicated its duty to verify academic document submitted by Mr Sakaja.
The petitioner, through lawyers Paula Nyamodi and Njoki Mboce, had argued that IEBC has a statutory mandate and obligation to verify authenticity of documents presented by political aspirants.
“By taking no steps to verify the authenticity of the degree certificate purportedly issued to Mr Sakaja by Team University on October 21, 2016 the IEBC and the returning officer were complicit to a fraud perpetrated by Mr Sakaja, contrary to the IEBC’s obligations as established by Article 88(4) of the Constitution,” they said.
But Justice Mrima ruled that the IEBC does not have legal powers or mandate to verify authenticity of documents submitted by aspirants. He emphasised that IEBC did not have constitutional or statutory obligation to verify the authenticity of Mr Sakaja’s degree certificate.
“There is no legal provision requiring the elections returning officer to verify authenticity of documents availed by aspirants, no law or constitution places such a duty on the IEBC and returning officers…There is no reason for this court to add other duties on IEBC which are not provided for in the law,” said Justice Mrima.
The judge also noted that it was not the first time a court was been confronted with claims of an aspirant possessing bogus education qualifications.
He asked the investigative agencies and the director of public prosecutions to be carrying out probe on such illegalities since they are criminal in nature and it is unfair for someone to benefit from such
Senator Maina campaigns for Raila
Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina rooted for the election of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga in the August 9 polls.
Mr Maina, who is eyeing the Nyeri governor’s seat, said Mt Kenya leaders had met, discussed and agreed that only Mr Odinga’s coalition would serve the interests of Mt Kenya residents.
“As leaders, we noted that the Mt Kenya region stands to benefit more from Mr Odinga’s political side,” he said.
Addressing hundreds of boda boda riders at Mt Kenya Anglican Church of Kenya Guest House in Nyeri town, Mr Maina urged them to comb the villages and campaign for Mr Odinga.
Mr Maina’s remarks came after Mr Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua received a warm welcome in Nyeri during their campaigns last week, with analysts saying the Azimio’s popularity in the perceived UDA zone was rising after the Narc-Kenya boss was named the ODM leader’s deputy.
Mr Maina also donated a motorbike to the riders and promised to establish a Sh1 billion revolving fund for micro, small and medium enterprises to boost the local economy if elected in August 9 polls.
He was with ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru and said the revolving fund would help uplift businesses operated by youth, women and people with disabilities.
His government, he added, would set aside Sh300 million to issue loans to boda boda operators at subsidised rates.
The loans, he said, would help operators own their own motorcycles as opposed to hiring and remitting payments to owners on a daily basis.
"The effect of this will enable the flow of earning spread across the whole community as opposed to a few individuals or institutions. This will enable the boda boda industry to triple their earnings, raising the daily returns to Sh100 million and close to Sh3 billion a month,” Mr Maina said.
