The Nation (Kenya) articles from July 2008

The Nation (Kenya) archives from July 2008

Cutting Edge.
July 31, 2008... Those calling for the reintroduction of the cane in secondary schools ought to be caned themselves, says Muchiri Karanja, dismissing the knee-jerk reactions to the rising student unrest. The politicians, he proposes, should get 12 strokes...

Health Cover for Poor Women.
July 31, 2008... A few years ago in the US, a man was accused of throwing his seriously ill wife from the balcony because he could not afford to pay for her medical care. The woman died as she fell down a four-storey building. Though the act was...

Govt Clears Officers of Mount Elgon Abuse Charges.
July 31, 2008... Byline: Fred Mukinda A new report has absolved the police and military from claims of torture, rape and other human rights abuses in Mt Elgon District. The findings of the probe conducted by a team of police officers were released on...

Schools Take Tough Measures After Riots.
July 31, 2008... Byline: Benjamin Muindi and John Ngirachu Tough conditions have been imposed on students seeking re-admission in schools affected by the recent wave of strikes. Parents will have to pay between Sh2,000 and Sh6,500 per student to...

Let's Go for Gold, Country, Let's Go!
July 31, 2008... After months, and for some, years, of anxious preparations, Kenya's sportsmen and women finally head to Beijing on Friday for the 29th Olympic Games. Never before has the country's expectations for medals been as high as this year, with...

The Cutting Edge.
July 30, 2008... Byline: The Watchman There was plenty of excitement when Local Government minister Musalia Mudavadi accused his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, of irregularly nominating 100 or so councillors, ignoring lists given to him by the political...

Cutting Edge.
July 30, 2008... Kenya Airways sincerely apologises to sales manager Jerry Muriuki who was greatly inconvenienced following the cancellation of Flight KQ 480 from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam on July 16. Corporate communications manager Victoria Kaigai says the...

The Cutting Edge.
July 27, 2008... The chickens are coming home to roost, is how Ngigo Nyuguoto sees the current wave of school strikes in which one student has died and property worth millions of shillings destroyed. He poses: "Why are some people feigning surprise about the...

How Mock Exams Ignited Violence.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Maurice K'aluoch Last Friday, students of Kuoyo Kochia Secondary School in Homa Bay District damaged their school after objecting to being frisked before entering the examination room. They told their teachers that there was...

Amend Law, Plead Parents.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Ouma Wanzala and Abiud Ochieng Parents have appealed to lawmakers to amend the Children Act, which they blamed for indiscipline among students. Kenya National Parents Association secretary-general Musau Ndunda said the law...

A Hospital That is an Oasis of Hope for Many.
July 23, 2008... Driving past Limuru on the Nakuru-Nairobi highway, the road opens up to a viewpoint of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. The remains of a church which was torched in Rurigi in Eldoret during the post-election violence early this year....

Move Over Contractors, Cowboy Architects Are Now Kings.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Jaindi Kisero It was Prime Minister Raila Odinga who popularised the phrase "cowboy contractors" in reference to a group well-connected contractors who had at that time come up with clever schemes of making money from the...

Presiding Officer Disowns Forms.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Sam Kiplagat and Caroline Rwenji A presiding officer Tuesday disowned some Forms 16A purportedly signed by him during last year's election. Mr Bernard Wainaina, who was a presiding officer at Joseph Kang'ethe polling station...

Bamburi to Invest Sh500 Million In System.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Justus Ondari Bamburi Cement has announced that it is investing 4.9 million Euros (about Sh514.5 million) in a fleet management programme. The programme aims to boost safety in the transportation of the company's products...

We Will Never Go Back to Violent Ways, Vows PM.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Julius Mbaluto Prime Minister Raila Odinga has vowed that never again shall Kenya descend into the orgy of violence that rocked the country after the disputed presidential election results. "We have been to hell and back, and...

PNU Shelves Proposal to Absorb Affiliates.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Muchemi Wachira Dissenting parties within PNU scored a major victory Tuesday after a proposal to dissolve affiliate parties and merge them into one was shelved. Narc Kenya, Ford Kenya and the Democratic Party of Kenya had...

New Settlers Moving Into Mau, Warn MPs.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Lucas Barasa and Jami Makan Thousands of people are trooping into Mau forest with the hope of benefiting from the planned Government resettlement of illegal farmers, Maasai leaders claimed Tuesday. Heritage and Culture...

Succession Could Spell Death of PNU.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Bernard Namunane The rebellion among PNU's affiliate parties is being linked to a plot within party ranks to groom President Kibaki's successor for 2012. Leaders from Narc Kenya, Ford Kenya and the Democratic Party (DP)...

Ignore Warmongers On the Mau.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Josephine Kuluo I had the privillege of attending the Stakeholders Forum on the Mau Forest at the KICC and like every right thinking participant, I was appalled by the destruction of the Mau Forest. The importance of the Mau...

Tusker Up Against Rayon Sport On Wednesday.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Gishinga Njoroge It is knock-out time! All experimentation will be put aside and the sole plan will be to win when the second batch of the Cecafa Kagame Cup Club Championship quarter-finals are played this afternoon at Dar es...

Another Team Sweep Expected in Steeplechase.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Sammy Kitula The team of Ezekiel Kemboi, Richard Mateelong and Brimin Kipruto hope for another show like the one they put on at the World Championships in Osaka where they took all the three top medals on offer. The men's...

MPs Differ Over Mau Evictions.
July 23, 2008... Byline: George Sayagie and Sollo Kiragu Two MPs Tuesday differed in public over the Government's decision to evict squatters from Mau Forest by the end of October this year. Kuresoi's Zakayo Cheruiyot and his Molo counterpart Joseph...

Nakumatt Invests Sh20 Million in New Bill Payment System.
July 23, 2008... Nakumatt Supermarket, the retail chain has invested Sh20 million in a new information technology switching system. The switch, integrated on the chain's Oracle Retail IT mainframe will enable Nakumatt to interconnect with local and...

Students Give Their Side of the Story.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Peter Mwai and John Ngirachu Students from schools affected by unrest have given a wide range of reasons for their actions, most of which resulted in losses running into millions of shillings. Discontent with the school...

Cut Lending Rates, Says Kosgey.
July 23, 2008... Banks and other credit facilities should lower the lending rates for small and medium scale enterprises in the industry sector. According to the Industrialization minister Mr Henry Kosgey, the higher lending rates have denied many an...

Boys Defy Cardinal Njue And Riot.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Nation Team A school affiliated to the Catholic church was yesterday closed after riots. Students at Queen of Apostles Seminary in Kasarani were ordered out of the school after a dormitory was razed during the lunch break....

Human Rights Team - Evictions Pre-Planned.
July 23, 2008... The violent evictions in Rift Valley Province were well-coordinated and heavily funded, a human rights body has said. The Kenya Human Rights Commission executive director, Ms Muthoni Wanyeki, Tuesday told the Waki commission of inquiry...

Pact Must Benefit Zimbabweans.
July 23, 2008... The agreement reached on Monday between Dr Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai should hopefully deliver the people of Zimbabwe from misery. But there should be no illusions about the complexity of the problem. The rival...

Millions of People in Dire Need of Food Aid.
July 23, 2008... Kenyans are part of 14.6 million people in need of emergency food aid in the Horn of Africa. According to UN agencies, 1.2 million people in the country are in dire need of food aid due to the drought and effects of the post-election...

Lekalaile Wins Silver for Country in UK Shooting.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Eric Odanga Kenya's Mike Lekalaile won a silver medal on Monday as the 2008 United Kingdom Bisley reached the halfway stage. This was in the Police category, which is the total over two distances - Daily Mail (500 yards) and...

Tough New Rules to Curb School Strikes.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Owino Opondo The Government Tuesday imposed tough rules aimed at ending the ongoing riots and destruction of property in schools. Education minister Sam Ongeri banned the use of mobile phones in schools by students and...

The Cutting Edge.
July 23, 2008... How come no bank has seen the great potential in the sprawling Kangemi shopping centre in Nairobi? Paul Tikima asks. With the area being home to numerous small-scale businesses and hordes of bankable people, he adds, he would have expected...

Pregnancy Alarm in School.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Mike Mwaniki Up to ten pupils became pregnant in one school last year. And residents of one area in Nyanza are angry, with a local councillor saying this was the cause of the high drop out rates. "My conscience cannot allow...

Team Told of Mungiki Visit to State House.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Samwel Kumba Members of the outlawed Mungiki sect are said to have visited State House in the wake of post-election violence, the Waki Commission heard Tuesday. Lawyer Muriuki Mugambi, for the police, asked Ms Muthoni...

Pastor Defied All the Odds to Protect Families.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Peter Chepkonga On December 27, 2007, Pastor Robert Birgen of the African Inland Church, Chepsiria, stood patiently in line at Kapkuis Primary School polling station in Kuinet, a few kilometres north of Eldoret Town. When he...

Overhaul KPCU Now.
July 23, 2008... The corporate world was last week treated to the bizarre spectacle of the mass "resignation" of almost all the top managers of the Kenya Planters' Co-operative Union. Days after this melodrama which appears to have revolved around the...

Ministry Set to Go Hi-Tech.
July 23, 2008... The Ministry of Lands is set to computerise its systems to improve service delivery. Mr James Orengo told Parliament that his ministry had already started scanning, indexing and archiving some of its records. He said the ministry had...

TB And Asthma Fight Stepped Up.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Mike Mwaniki Kenya is stepping up the fight against tuberculosis, other lung diseases and leprosy as infections continue to rise. A specialist division dealing with these diseases has been set up within the Ministry of Public...

Now Man of Peace Leads Eight Schools in Saying No to Chaos.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Lorraine Anyango It's a warm, humid afternoon, and hundreds of students are gathered at Flamingo Secondary School Hall, chatting animatedly in small groups. Mr Mark Sala with Menengai High School students during a training...

Insurance Industry Profit Records Dip.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Mwaniki Wahome The insurance industry's profit before taxation declined by 31.5 per cent for the year 2007 compared to 2006. The combined profit before taxation was Sh4.1 billion compared to Sh5.85 billion in 2006. Briefing...

Young Mitchell Aims Higher.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Chris Musumba Finishing the Safari rally has inspired 22-year-old Limuru-based driver, Quentin Mitchell, to focus on edging closer to a podium finish in the remaining five rounds of the Kenya National Rally Championship. ...

Diversify Into New Markets, Traders Urged.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Kaburu Mugambi Although Kenya has increased its share of trade within east Africa and Comesa, its trade levels with the world have reduced by half in the last two decades. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka has said this poses a...

Let's Seek Ways to Fight the Social Cancer In Governance.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Habel J. Nyamu Since before independence, both the government and the servants lived in mutual suspicion and mistrust. After 40 or so years of independence, we have not made any great strides to improve on this relationship. ...

AU Targets Diaspora in Growth Bid.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Philip Wahome The African Union is now turning to the Diaspora in a bid to boost its development capacity. Earlier this week, the AU Commission and the World Bank signed an agreement under which the bank will provide Sh32.3...

Athletes Fight Over Olympics Slots.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Chris Musumba The Olympic Games don't come around every other year and it is every athlete's dream to win a medal on the world's biggest sporting stage. It, therefore, hardly comes as a surprise that in Addis Ababa, the heat...

Ngilu Cancels Launch of Board.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Mathias Ringa Water minister Charity Ngilu Tuesday cancelled the inauguration of the board of directors of the Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company after protests marred the occasion. When the minister arrived at the company,...

AG Loses Six-Year War to Scrap Case.
July 23, 2008... Byline: Richard Munguti The Attorney-General Tuesday lost a six-year spirited legal battle to terminate a criminal case against a suspect charged with malicious damage to property and theft of Sh150,000. A three-judge bench ordered a...

Sh15 Billion Bid for Hotel 'Was Blocked'.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Jillo Kadida The controversy over the sale of the Grand Regency Hotel is far from over. This time round a man has come out claiming he had been denied the chance to place his Sh15 billion bid for the five-star hotel. Mr...

Coastals Shun Varsities.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Abdulsamad Ali Although several universities have set up campuses at the Coast, only a few local students have enrolled for degree courses. "It is a shame that only about five per cent of the total enrolment are Coast people...

Shooting - Lekalaile the Only Rated Kenyan in UK Shoot.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Eric Odanga Michael Lekalaile was the only Kenyan shooter rated amongst the best 50 in the Grand Aggregate on Sunday as the United Kingdom Bisley entered the third day. He was 34th in a strong field of 988 that had past...

Mau Saga Proves Kenyans Do Not Care About Environment.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Jackson Mwalulu THOSE RIOTING OVER THE Government's plan to comprehensively restore the Mau complex should be understood within the context of the typical Kenyan's contempt for environmental conservation. This contempt is...

Trading of Bonds Set to Change.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Justus Ondari Selling and buying of debt securities is set to undergo a major makeover if a proposal by the two capital market regulators goes through. The Central Bank of Kenya, the banking industry regulator and government...

Dockworkers Start Go-Slow.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Gitonga Marete Dockworkers Monday embarked on a go-slow that has delayed a ship and threatens to cause a cargo pile-up at the Mombasa port. They also gave the management of the Kenya Ports Authority a seven-day strike notice....

Thousands Can't Reach Their Own Houses.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Ken Opala Hundreds of property owners in areas scarred by post-election violence can hardly access their own homes and farms because individuals seized them - and do not want to leave. In Huruma, Kibera, and Ngomongo Ngunyumu...

Leaders Have Failed Test.
July 22, 2008... African leaders have remained largely silent since the indictment for genocide and crimes against humanity against Sudanese president Hassan al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court. The few who have spoken have expressed discomfort...

Ongeri Should Spare Us the Trouble of Forming Taskforce.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Macharia Gaitho Yet another season of discontent in our high schools, and yet another taskforce to find out the causes. They should save the time and money by asking me because I can tell with near certainty what they will...

Soccer - Ouma's Brace Keeps Mathare United On Top.
July 22, 2008... Francis Ouma kept Mathare's quest for their first Premier League title alive with a brace that sunk Sher Karuturi at the weekend. Mathare stayed at the top of the league with a one-point advantage over Sony Sugar after their 2-0 win at...

Idols - Shock As Trinah Bundled Out.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Tim Kamuzu Banda The MNET Idols talent search produced yet another shock after Trinah Chisanga - the clear favourite to win - was bundled out of the reality TV show last night having received the least votes of the three...

Senior Officer Says He Rescued Poll Official.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Sam Kiplagat A senior police officer Monday said he rescued a returning officer from a mob during last year's General Election. Mr Herbert Khaemba, who was then the Kilimani head of police in Nairobi, said he rescued...

'Opposition' Watchdog Set Up By Five Parties.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Muchemi Wachira Five political parties not affiliated to the Grand coalition Government Monday launched their own parliamentary watchdog. Dr Dan Alila, chairman of the Grand Parliamentary Watch, said its role would be to...

Books Theft Cartel Busted.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Waikwa Maina Police on Monday arrested a businessman and impounded two lorryfuls of school textbooks after they uncovered a cartel involved in raiding schools and stealing the books. Two other suspects were also arrested...

Help Country Find Answer to Darfur Crisis - Kibaki.
July 22, 2008... The international community must help the Government of Sudan find an amicable solution to the Darfur crisis, President Kibaki said Monday. President Kibaki also cautioned that any isolationist policy against the sitting Government of...

City Slum Where Landlords Have Become Refugees.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Ken Opala Despite owning residential houses in Nairobi, Mr Francis Kinyati is still an internal refugee. Fortunes changed on December 29, 2007, when youths on a revenge mission raided Ngomongo Ngunyumu village, where he lived...

Protect Regional Markets, Urges Speaker.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Oliver Mathenge African countries were Monday asked to bargain hard before signing away access to their markets to foreigners. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Kenneth Marende told a pan african conference that this...

Athletics - Jelimo to Face Russian Threat in Beijing.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Chris Musumba Africa 800m champion Pamela Jelimo's biggest test at the Beijing Olympic Games next month will come from Russia. The 18-year-old Jelimo has a new world junior record of 1 minute, 54.97 seconds, set in the Paris...

Food Aid No Solution to Hunger.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Alphayo Otieno US PRESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush has announced about $200 million in emergency food aid. This is in addition to his call on Congress to make another $770 million available for food aid. In total, the emergency food aid...

Raila Orders Stop to Mau Ruin.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Lucas Barasa And Julienne Lauler The fate of thousands of people living in Mau Forest will be determined by a task force launched by Prime Minister Raila Odinga . However, the 21-member team was directed to ensure any further...

Lawyers Hired to Speed Up Cases.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Dave Opiyo The Government will recruit more lawyers to improve the prosecution of cases in court. Solicitor-general Wanjuki Muchemi Monday said he had asked the Treasury and the Directorate of Personnel Management to give the...

TSC Set to Fill 14,000 Vacancies in Schools.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Kibiwott Koross The Teachers Service Commission will recruit 10,307 primary school teachers to replace those who have died or retired. Another 3,957 teachers will be hired to address staff shortages in post-primary...

Cutting Edge.
July 22, 2008... The increasing number of schools whose students have gone on the rampage lately should be a matter of national concern, says Ruth Gituma. According to Ruth, it's not only the Ministry of Education that should be keen to find out the root...

Don Faults Law On Children.
July 22, 2008... Egerton University Vice-Chancellor James Tuitoek has faulted the Children's Act, saying it was an impediment to enforcing discipline in learning institutions. Prof Tuitoek criticised aspects of the law for shielding errant students from...

Sh85 Million Marine Centre Planned for Coast.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Amina Kibirige A marine and ocean services centre worth Sh85 million is to be built at the Coast by the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute. The institute's executive director, Dr Johnson Kazungu, Monday said the...

Naivasha MP Still Leads in Poll Recount.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Noah Cheploen And Josephine Njoki A vote recount for Naivasha constituency shows a discrepancy of more than 600 ballots cast. The difference between the leading parliamentary contenders for the seat has also narrowed down to...

Athletics - Focus Now On 1,500 Meter Runners.
July 22, 2008... Once in a while, Kenya produces a 1500 metres runner who takes the world by storm. It has been an eight-year-long search for an heir to Noah Ng'eny, who won a gold at the 2000 Sydney Games. Ng'eny faded out of the limelight in part due to...

Games - Waa Retain Girls' Soccer Title in Coast.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Abdulrahman Sheriff Waa Girls followed in the footsteps of their boys' namesakes in retaining the Coast Province secondary schools soccer title. Waa defeated Kombeni 1-0 in the final at Shimo la Tewa at the weekend. Waa,...

It Was Disaster in Waiting As Floods Kill Two Children.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Simon Siele And Michael Njuguna Death came swiftly for seven-year-old Francis Otieno when furious floods rushing down the Menengai Hill swept through Kwa Ronda Estate in Nakuru Town on Sunday evening. The boy and a...

Parties Launch Own House Watchdog.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Muchemi Wachira Members of five political parties not affiliated to the grand coalition Government Monday launched their own parliamentary watchdog. Dr Dan Alila, who is the chairman of the Grand Parliamentary Watch, said its...

Council Unveils New Code of Ethics.
July 22, 2008... The East African Business Council has issued a code of conduct for its members. The new rules seek to eliminate corruption and wastage within the East African Community. The council's chief executive Charles Mbogori Monday said the...

NSIS Letters Warning of Crisis Tabled.
July 22, 2008... Letters by the NSIS to the Electoral Commission of Kenya, predicting the eruption of violence, were tabled before the Waki Commission Monday. "As the country enters the final phase of the electioneering period, cases of impunity,...

Ministry Blamed for Deadlock.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Peter Ngare The Government was complicating the issue of performance contracts for teachers by failing to reveal the contents of the document, unions have said. The teachers' bodies complained that despite their request to...

Country Accused of Unfair Regional Trade.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Walter Menya A Ugandan poultry exporter is accusing the Kenyan Government of betraying the spirit of East Africa Community by imposing unwarranted restrictions on cross-border trade. Mr James Semakadde, a business consultant...

All Students to Get Loans.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Jeff Otienoand Julienne Lauler All Kenyan students in university are now eligible for government loans. This means self-sponsored students in both public and private universities can now apply for the loans. The...

BAT Half Year Profit Rises to Sh790 Million.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Kennedy Senelwa British American Tobacco Kenya Ltd has announced Sh790 million pre-tax profit for the six months ended June 30, 2008. This is a five per cent rise over the same period last year. BAT's trading results sent to...

Golf - Orwako Wins UAP Event At Muthaiga.
July 22, 2008... Byline: Larry Ngala Middle handicaper Benny Orwako beat large field of over 200 players at the par 71 Muthaiga Golf Club course to emerge the overall winner of this year's UAP Provincial tournament sponsored by UAP Provincial Insurance...