The Nation (Kenya) articles from February 2010, page 7

The Nation (Kenya) archives from February 2010

When Should a Leader Step aside If Called Upon to Do So by the Public?
February 12, 2010... Byline: Cabral Pinto Taking responsibility for our actions and those of the people we lead should be a culture we should nurture in our society. The realisation that what is in the national interest is always paramount is a value our leaders...

Toyota Recalls 570 Units.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Winfred Kagwe Toyota East Africa on Friday announced the recall of about 570 units of the New Generation Corolla model from the Kenyan market. Mr Hylton Bannon, the managing director of Toyota East Africa, said this would only...

Cabinet Must Share Blame in Maize Scandal.
February 12, 2010... One of the worst findings of the audit report into the country's worst maize scandal is that the Cabinet could be blamed partly for it. Auditors investigating the scandal poked many holes into the Cabinet's decision to endorse the maize...

Mariga's Sister Wants to Play in the Top League.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Ayumba Ayodi The garden has just started to blossom with flowers and if Noah and Mildred Wanyama thought they have had enough of its scent, then they are completely wrong. Their son, McDonald Mariga is arguably Kenya's most famous...

Did the Crew of This Van Steal Millions?
February 12, 2010... The G4S security company is in the news again... for all the wrong reasons. Its staff was on Friday evening being investigated for the theft of an undisclosed amount of money in Mombasa after duping police officers that they needed to...

Truth and Justice May Be Too Costly for Continent.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Tom Odhiambo The subject of memory, truth, justice and reconciliation haunts almost all African nations. Africa's colonial history bequeathed the continent a very troubled identity. From Algeria to South Africa, the societies that...

Country Misses Out on Aids Funds.
February 12, 2010... Kenya has missed out on crucial funding worth over $270 million (about Sh21 billion) that could cripple ongoing anti-malaria and HIV programmes. Late last year, Kenya's application for funding from the Global Fund on Aids, TB and malaria for...

Kaimuri, Komon in Action.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Chris Musumba Fridah Kaimuri has been absent from the local KCB cross country circuit and so has been the 2008 World silver medallist Leonard Komon. While Kaimuri has been focussing on her studies at the Meru's Kenya Methodist...

Forget Man City, Mariga Walking on Exalted Ground.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Charles Nyende Sport is sometimes baffling. Take the recent case of Kenya's football golden boy McDonald Mariga. Manchester City wanted to sign him last month but the British government declined to give him a work permit. Fair...

Nondies Dare Quins at Rfuea.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Ayumba Ayodi The Kenya Cup season, boasting a new and compact format, gets underway in earnest on Saturday when Nondescripts visit Kenya Harlequins at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa grounds. It's one of the four matches on...

AFC Leopards Plotting to Rob Ethiopian Banks.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Charles Nyende AFC Leopards have turned to the past to revive their fallen fortunes and it is to the past they can look on for inspiration as they re-enter continental football after an eight-year hiatus. The former glamour club of...

It's Destiny against Dynasty at Nyayo.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Sammy Kitula The 2009 runners-up in the Egyptian Premier League meet the champions of Kenya as Sofapaka take on Ismailia in the Champions League opening match on Saturday at the Nyayo National Stadium from 4pm. Sofapaka will be...

Alarm as Street Families Stream Back to the City Centre.
February 12, 2010... Is the city of Nairobi slowly reverting to its bad old ignominious days of street family colonies and vendors, unkempt lanes and garbage being strewn on the roadside at night? A cursory inventory of the city, especially in the evening and at...

Provincial Borders 'Flouted'.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Hassan Barisa and Elisha Otieno All encroached land along the Tana River basin must be returned to the rightful owners if peace is to be restored at the border of Coast and North Eastern provinces. The Interim Independent...

The Cutting Edge.
February 12, 2010... The really lucky Kenyans are those who complain about roads that only need repairs, says Ondiek Nyasudi, adding that if they ever visited some remote parts of western Kenya, especially those bordering Lake Victoria, they would be stunned into...

Anti-HIV Drive Fails to Reverse Trend in Province.
February 12, 2010... Nyanza Province continues to suffer from increased cases of HIV and Aids despite numerous interventions, a survey has shown. The Kenya Aids Indicator Survey 2003-2007 for the province - made public for the first time - shows that in 2003, HIV...

Punish Theft of Public Funds, Orders Kibaki.
February 12, 2010... Those found to have misappropriated public funds should be punished in accordance with the law, President Kibaki said on Friday. The Head of State restated the government's commitment to the fight against corruption and called on all arms of...

Robert Ouko - Widow Speaks Out 20 Years Later.
February 12, 2010... Twenty years since the murder of Foreign Affairs minister Robert Ouko, his widow has broken her silence about the tragedy and spoken about life with her husband. Mrs Christabel Ouko has vivid memories of the events just before his death and...

Rape Suspects Have a Field Day.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Tamba Jean-Matthew Rapists and men committing gender violence are still having a field day in Sierra Leone. According to statistics, not a single suspect was convicted for 927 crimes in the country in 2009. Figures provided by...

House Team to Vet Lumumba.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Samwel Kumba The search for a replacement of Aaron Ringera as the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director resurfaces this week. Opinion is divided on Dr Patrick Lumumba as director and lawyer Pravin Bowry as assistant director....

Valentine - Why African Women Wear Hair That God Did Not Give Them.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Peter Mwaura Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and the modern African woman is thinking, among other things, how she will do her hair on that supposedly very romantic day. She will almost certainly opt for "good hair", as opposed to...

City Council is Getting Back on Its Feet, Says Kisia.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Samwel Kumba Not long after he took over Nairobi's most challenging job, Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia had a conversation with the City Council's top technocrats. "So how many vehicles do we own?" Mr Kisia asked. After some...

Graft is Safest Way to Get Rich in Kenya.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Wambua Sammy If you are not the type to vomit, keep your hands filthy for there is a compelling need to thrust fingers down your throat to induce a throw-up. What else can one do in the wake of all the ugly media reports about our...

Team to Question Raila on Scandal.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Wanjiru Macharia and Samuel Siringi The Parliamentary Select Committee on Agriculture will soon summon Prime Minister Raila Odinga over the maize scandal. Committee chairman John Mututho on Friday said his committee would issue...

Activist Accuses Police of Threats.
February 12, 2010... A human rights activist who organised a demonstration to protest against the killing of a social worker in Bungoma on Friday accused the police of threatening him. Mr Martin Wanyonyi said in Eldoret that he fled after he heard that four...

Cabinet Blamed for Scandal.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Samuel Siringi The Grand Coalition's first Cabinet meeting passed a highly defective scheme whose massive loopholes are behind the country's worst ever maize scandal, according to audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Fresh from the...

Ministers Are Equal but Raila is More Equal Than Others.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Kwamchetsi Makokha As a German-trained engineer, Prime Minister Raila Odinga is not so foolish as to live in a glasshouse. People would throw stones at it and then it would come down as shards of sheet, thus rendering it unfit for...

Speculation Rife as Kingmaker Dies.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Wene Owino The death of prominent Botswana businessman Louis Goodwill Nchindo has left more questions than answers. Mr Nchindo's decomposing remains were reportedly discovered by a police search party on Thursday morning though the...

Geothermal Plan Steams Ahead.
February 12, 2010... Geothermal Development Company will begin drilling steam wells for power generation in Menengai, Nakuru in October. The state company has acquired the two rigs to be used in the project from China. The GDC managing director, Silas Simiyu,...

Regions Now Seek Sh250 Billion Funding.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Jevans Nyabiage The ministry of Regional Development Authorities has unveiled a Sh250 billion strategic plan in a bid to breathe life to its dormant mandate. Formed to promote balanced and equitable regional development, the six...

Kimunya Pitches for Product Diversification.
February 12, 2010... Trade minister Amos Kimunya has urged local firms to diversify and innovate as a shield against competition. "Broad initiatives from the core products will soon be the hallmark for company innovations," said the minister during the launch of...

Court Allows KRA to Demand Sh50 Million Tax.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Sam Kiplagat A business management consultancy firm has lost its bid to stop Kenya Revenue Authority from demanding Sh50 million from it in taxes. The money stems from taxes KRA says Pili Management Consultants should have paid in...

Let's Focus on Greenhouse Gases.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Macharia Kamau As the dust settles in Copenhagen and negotiators strategise over their next course of action, it's important for us to think through our way forward. There is fear that climate change talks are taking the ominous...

We Wish Our Clubs Well.
February 12, 2010... Kenya's two representatives in this year's African club football competition, Sofapaka and AFC Leopards, are in action this weekend right here at home. National champions Sofapaka host Egypt's Ismailia at Nyayo National Stadium in an African...

Be Realistic, Raila Tells Ministries.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Dave Opiyo and Macharia Mwangi Prime Minister Raila Odinga has asked government ministries to stop presenting unrealistic budgets for their development projects. Citing the country's blueprint for universal healthcare as an...

Relocation of Police Station Stirs Row.
February 12, 2010... A row is brewing between the government and a local authority over plans to move a police station. The Kerugoya-Kutus Municipal council, which wants the Kerugoya Police Station in Kirinyaga Central District relocated to pave way for the...

Country Cannot Afford to Gamble in Vegas.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Ayumba Ayodi Many consider it an easy affair but Kenya sevens team is taking no chances as they tackle minnows Chile on Saturday night in their opening match of the Las Vegas Sevens. Their two remaining matches against Scotland at...

Three Deny Sh14 Million Graft Charges.
February 12, 2010... Byline: Maureen Onyango Three officials in the Ministry of Education were on Friday arraigned in court over the embezzlement of millions of shillings meant for the free education programme. Mr Enos Meshack Magwa, the assistant director of...

Parties Set to Attend Raila Rally.
February 11, 2010... Several parties have expressed interest in attending a political rally to be addressed by Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Nakuru on Saturday. Organisers of the rally to be held at the Afraha Stadium said politicians and supporters of other...

New Rules to Check Shoddy Structures.
February 11, 2010... The City Council has published guidelines on the construction of buildings in the capital. The move, which comes in the wake of increased cases of buildings collapsing in the metropolis and other parts of the country, aims to control...

Case to Stop Kiplagat Team Put on Hold.
February 11, 2010... A case seeking to stop the Kiplagat commission from doing its work failed to get a hearing date on Thursday after only one of the parties showed up at the High Court in Nairobi. The parties will now wait until next Friday to know what the...

Six Chaos Suspects Identified for ICC Trial.
February 11, 2010... Six prominent Kenyans could be charged at the International Criminal Court at the Hague for their involvement in the 2007 post-election violence, President Obama's ambassador-at-large on war crimes said on Thursday. Amb Stephen Rapp said the...

School Scam Suspects to Face Charges.
February 11, 2010... Seven senior education officials linked to the loss of Sh103 million will be charged in court on Friday. Attorney General Amos Wako ordered their arrest following investigations by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, which handed over its...

Maize Scandal - Don't Sacrifice the Innocent, Says PM.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Eric Shimoli and Jeff Otieno Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Thursday defended civil servants in his office named in the maize scandal by an audit report. He said public servants should not be sacrificed before investigations were...

Gay Wedding Here? No Way, Vow Preachers.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Galgalo Bocha The small town of Mtwapa in the coastal town of Kilifi may make history if it hosts Kenya's first gay wedding planned for Friday. Two men are said to have announced the wedding, to be held at a hotel. News of the...

Number of Voting Regions 'To Remain 290'.
February 11, 2010... Byline: John Ngirachu Constituencies are unlikely to be reduced from the 290 agreed in Naivasha two weeks ago, the Constitutional Affairs minister has said. Speaking after a meeting with the Federation of Kenya Employers on Thursday, Mr...

Trader to Face New Arms Charges.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Maureen Onyango A businessmen accused of illegal possession of ammunition is to face more charges. Mr Muneer Ismail was on Thursday charged in connection with 30,258 bullets that were found at his premises in Narok on February 1. ...

Fresh Row Erupts in Migingo.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Elisha Otieno A fresh row has erupted on the disputed Migingo island in Lake Victoria after Ugandan authorities introduced a patrol levy. Kenyan fishermen, who have refused to pay the Sh500 per day have been threatened with...

Minister Asks Country to Return Cattle.
February 11, 2010... A Cabinet minister on Thursday asked Uganda to return 5,000 head of cattle allegedly impounded by its army. The animals were taken during a security operation to mop up illegal weapons held by pastoralist communities along the Kenya-Uganda...

Scores Hurt in Police Swoop on Protesters.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Daniel Nyassy Scores of residents were injured during a police crackdown in Magarini District on Thursday. This followed clashes between security forces and residents the previous day in Marereni. Twenty six people were arrested in...

Somalia Hits at Eritrea over Sanctions Claims.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Paul Juma Somalia has criticised Eritrea over the move by the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on the country. Somalia's ambassador Mohamed Ali Nur was reacting to claims by Eritrea's ambassador to Kenya, Mr...

Planned 'Goat Cleansing' Raises Friction in Church.
February 11, 2010... A ceremony to cleanse a church using a goat is causing friction among the faithful. Bungoma Anglican bishop George Mechumo is set to cleanse St Matthew's Church in Webuye after skirmishes there early last month, but Christians opposed to the...

Raila - Govt Team to Propose Action on Maize.
February 11, 2010... Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said a technical committee will be formed to study the report on the maize scandal before any action is taken. The report, which was made public on Tuesday, puts the maize deals at the time at Sh2 billion, out...

Ministers Reveal Countrywide Land-Grabbing Schemes.
February 11, 2010... Three cabinet ministers on Thursday recounted how private developers grabbed public land and attempted to sell it to the government for billions of shillings. Ministers James Orengo (Lands), Soita Shitanda (Housing) and Otieno Kajwang...

Firm Frowns at Privatisation.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Joseph Bonyo The Numerical Machining Complex, a state agency, is yet to reach its potential to warrant privatisation in the on-going government process, managing director of the complex Mr George Onyango, has said, adding that the...

Impala Begin Title Defence Against Strathmore.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Ayumba Ayodi Defending champions Impala are brimming with confidence as they prepare to begin their title defence starting Saturday against the unpredictable Strathmore University at home. Despite retaining the Resolution Impala...

Ngigi Moves to Driving Seat.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Larry Ngala Home professional Simon Ngigi jumped to the front of the field at half way stage of the KCB Biashara Club Invitational after an impressive six under par at the par 72 Thika Sports Club on Thursday. Ngigi made two quick...

Country May Face Sanctions over Kabuga.
February 11, 2010... Kenya could face international sanctions over failure to arrest genocide fugitive Felicien Kabuga, a senior United States official has warned. The US ambassador-at-large for War Crimes Stephen Rapp delivered the message to the government in...

A Permanent Pause to Kill.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Clay Muganda For the past five weeks that I have been in bed mode, my companions have been newspapers, television, internet, and Tony Mochama's The Road To Eldoret and Other Stories which has the "longest introduction to the shortest...

Truth Commission - Heat Over Indemnity Act Unnecessary.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Godfrey Musila The Indemnity Act has emerged as one of the most contentious issues touching on the work of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. Victims and various civil society organisations have voiced concern that the...

Better Deal for Premier Golf Event.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Larry Ngala Sports Journalists covering this year's Kenya Open at Muthaiga Golf Club will be operating at a state-of-the-art Media Centre with internet connectivity to enhance local and international communication in real time. ...

Country Set for Las Vegas Sevens.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Ayumba Ayodi National Sevens team coach Benjamin Ayimba will keep faith with his starting line-up at this weekend's Las Vegas Sevens in the US. Ayimba told the Nation on Thursday that he had rectified the mistakes that cost them...

Dutch Shatter National Twenty20 World Cup Dream.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Richard Mwangi The Netherlands shattered Kenya's hopes of appearing in the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean when they beat them by seven wickets in the qualifiers in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Put in to bat first Kenya failed to...

The Days of Rose-Tinted Glasses Are Truly Over.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Lucy Oriang' The Disappearance of Sh103 million from the free primary school education coffers would be an open-and-shut case in normal circumstances. But this being Kenya, we have somehow contrived to turn it into yet another...

Public Officials, Firms Benefit from Maize Scheme.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Njeri Rugene and Gekara Mayaka Public officials assisted companies in which they had an interest to make a quick shilling, according to an audit report made public this week. Take the case of former MP Barre Shill, also a board...

Former MP Admits Connections Used to Buy Cheap Grain.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Walter Menya Mr Elias Barre Shill, a National Cereals and Produce Board director and a former MP, is a frank man. PricewaterhouseCoopers in its report says he confessed to using his connections and briefcase companies to buy at...

House Team Targets Fake Drugs.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Mike Mwaniki A parliamentary committee on Thursday ordered the Ministry of Medical Services to stop the sale of a number of "controversial" drugs. The drugs, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline -- and which include a brand used to...

Maize Scandal - Gravy Train for Greedy Few.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Jaindi Kisero It was a gravy train that turned influence peddlers into overnight millionaires. And the National Cereals and Produce Board, according to Mr Philip Kinisu, PricewaterhouseCoopers' lead investigator, was the heart and...

Grabbers' Title Deeds to Be Revoked.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Peter Leftie Private developers grabbed public land and attempted to sell it to the government for billions of shillings, three Cabinet ministers have said. The ministers cited the plot next to the Prisons headquarters in Nairobi's...

Ex-MP Put to Task over Ballot Boxes.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Sam Kiplagat The mystery surrounding the disappearance of official results and Forms 16A and 17A for Juja constituency resurfaced on Thursday with a lawyer indicting former MP William Kabogo. Lawyer Githu Muigai, representing Juja...

Lead Export Ban Sparks Controversy.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Mwaniki Wahome A plan by the government to ban the export of scrap metal and used car batteries to protect local industries has touched off a storm, with scrap metal dealers threatening to go court to block the move. Kenya Iron...

Fresh Row Erupts over Migingo Levy.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Elisha Otieno A fresh row has erupted on the disputed Migingo island in Lake Victoria after Ugandan authorities introduced a patrol levy. Kenyan fishermen, who have refused to pay the Sh500 per day the Ugandan marine police are...

Govt Faces Court Action to Stop Mau Payouts.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Lucas Barasa The Government may be sued to stop it from compensating big land-owners in Mau Forest Complex. Civil society on Thursday said they could collect signatures and mobilise Kenyans to oppose the compensation. This would...

Minister Accuses New KCC of Sabotage.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Alphonce Shiundu The milk glut among the country's dairy farmers is due to "sabotage and deliberate incompetence" of the managers of the New Kenya Cooperative Creameries, a Cabinet minister said Thursday. Speaking at a meeting with...

KDN Starts E-Payment System.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Jevans Nyabiage With Kenya connected to the broadband superhighway after the landing of the undersea fibre optic cables and internet costs slowly coming down, an explosion of innovations are now emerging. The latest launch,...

Yes, Never Protect Graft Suspects.
February 11, 2010... Prime Minister Raila Odinga yesterday promised two things - that he will not shield anyone in his office or elsewhere found guilty of corruption, and two, that a technical committee will be formed to study the report on those implicated in the...

Hungry Leopards Will Tear Ethiopians Apart - Makokha.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Charles Nyende AFC Leopards coach Chris Makokha on Thursday said his side was looking forward to success in the Confederation Cup and just needed to get over the anxiety experienced over the past few days when their participation...

Sacked Chippo Hits Back at KPA.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Philip Onyango Yusuf Chippo, who has been sacked as Bandari FC coach a week before the expiry of his contract on February 17, has hit at the Kenya Ports Authority management for wrong timing saying it would be difficult to get a...

Technology the Key.
February 11, 2010... The current crisis at Sheria House where parents are jostling for their children's birth certificates is an example of how not to do business in the 21st century. If the time wasted by the applicants queuing for hours, the travel expenses and...

The Cutting Edge.
February 11, 2010... Declaring he would never condone corruption, John Mutongah says he finds Prime Minister Raila Odinga's relentless public calls for the resignation of Education minister Sam Ongeri over stolen school funds rather insincere. "When ODM ministers...

Blunt Attack is Ismailia's Worry.
February 11, 2010... Byline: Sammy Kitula The 2010 African Champions League gets under way on Saturday with preliminary round matches across the continent. Holders TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo are in the first round as are Egyptian giants Al...

Choge Outsprints Koech to Claim Swedish Title.
February 11, 2010... World Indoor Championship 3,000m silver medallist, Paul Kipsiele Koech, was outsprinted by compatriot Augustine Choge over the distance in Stockholm's GE Galan meeting, the fifth of nine in the IAAF Indoor Permit series for 2010. With both...

Is Vision 2030 Another Mirage?
February 11, 2010... Byline: Allan Ngugi After wasting a good 20 years or so seeking a constitution wrongly thought to be a panacea for all the country's problems, why should Kenyans not now swiftly move to what would really steer the country forward? The...

Hague Court to Charge Up to Six Leaders With Polls Violence - Envoy.
February 11, 2010... Six prominent Kenyans could be charged at the International Criminal Court at the Hague for their involvement in the 2007 post-election violence, President Obama's ambassador-at-large on war crimes said on Thursday. Amb Stephen Rapp said the...