The Nation (Kenya) articles from June 2009

The Nation (Kenya) archives from June 2009

Insecurity Fears Over August Census.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Anthony Kitimo Senior officials from Ministry of Planning on Tuesday said the increasing state of insecurity in the country might jeopardise the planned August national census if security agencies do not act in good time. ...

Officers Were Shot 22 Times, Activists Say.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Amina Kibirige Twenty-two bullets were found in the bodies of the two police officers who were shot dead by their colleagues in Mombasa, the Nation has learnt. Reports by human rights activists indicated that Mr Badi...

Malindi MP Wants Airport Relocated.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Daniel Nyassy Malindi MP Mr Gideon Mung'aro is rooting for the relocation of Malindi airport from its current area to allow expansion. Mr Mung'aro said the current location near town cannot allow for expansion of the facility...

Music Festival Takes Off With a Bang.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Anthony Kitimo Makande primary school from Mombasa district on Tuesday morning took on stage a western style song as Coast Province nursery, primary and secondary schools music festival kicked off at Mombasa Polytechnic hall. ...

Music Fete Starts On High Note.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Anthony Kitimo The Coast provincial nursery, primary and secondary schools music festival kicked off Tuesday with Makande primary school being the first on stage at the Mombasa Polytechnic Hall. Schools from the region are...

Want Free Lunch? Not At Safaricom AGM.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Mwaniki Wahome There will be no free lunch for Safaricom shareholders when it holds its first annual general meeting on August 19 following listing last year. In a break from tradition, which has seen listed companies soak in...

Regulator to Probe Closure of Olympia Subsidiary.
June 30, 2009... The Capital Markets Authority is to investigate circumstances that led to closure of Olympia Capital Holdings subsidiary in South Africa. The market regulator says the move being material - expected to affect the company's financial...

Cheserem Now Resigns From the Kenya Airways Board.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Justus Ondari The Capital Markets Authority chairman Micah Cheserem has resigned from the board of Kenya Airways. The resignation of Mr Cheserem, who was elected to the KQ board on November 21, 2003, was communicated through...

Essar Telecom Gets Sh7.5 Billion Funding.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Jevans Nyabiage Mobile phone services operator Essar Telecom Kenya Holdings Ltd has received Sh7.5 billion from Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) to expand its African operations. "We are delighted to have...

10,000 Illegal Firearms in Country.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Fred Mukinda More than 10,000 firearms are in the hands of criminals in Kenya today, posing a big threat to security, a government body revealed on Tuesday. The National Focal Point on Small Arms has thus drafted a memo to...

Govt Hires 'Prophet' to Lead Nationwide Prayer Campaign.
June 30, 2009... The government Tuesday officially contracted the services of a self-proclaimed prophet to bring reconciliation after post-election violence. Special Programmes ministry will now engage Dr David Owuor in countrywide prayers and fasting to...

15,000 Need Food Relief.
June 30, 2009... Byline: George Omonso About 15,000 people in the larger West Pokot district are in dire need of relief food assistance, Kitale ACK Bishop Stephen Kewasis has said. Bishop Kewasis said that the three constituencies in the districts...

Malindi MP Seeks Airport's Relocation.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Daniel Nyassy Malindi MP Mr Gideon Mung'aro is rooting for the relocation of Malindi airport from its current area to allow expansion. Mr Mung'aro said the current location near town can not allow for expansion of the...

Missing Girl's Body Found Dumped in Plantation.
June 30, 2009... A seven-year-old girl who went missing from her home was on Tuesday found killed and her body dumped in a maize plantation in Kihingo area in Njoro district. Angry residents mounted a search for the suspect soon after the body was...

Masinga Dam Closed Over Drought.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Joseph Bonyo Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has closed down Masinga power dam due to prolonged drought in the country. In a statement to newsrooms on Tuesday, KenGen noted that despite the action that the...

KCB Launches Career Programme.
June 30, 2009... The Kenya Commercial Bank has launched a university-based programme aimed at inspiring students on career success and offering practical 'know how' to help them tackle challenges in the corporate world. Dubbed "The Youth and Enhancing...

Tighter Airport Screening Over Swine Flu.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Alphonce Shiundu Health officials have now enjoined their immigration counterparts to check the spread of the deadly H1N1 (swine) flu virus. No passenger is allowed into the country via Jomo Kenyatta International Airport...

Kidnappers Demand Sh1 Million As They Seize Schoolboy.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Dominic Wabala No longer the preserve of movies, Tuesday's kidnap of Eastleigh student Eugene Nelson Mandela Ochieng' is the latest in a new wave of crime taking root in Kenya. The 15-year-old St Teresa Secondary School...

Sungu Tells of Death Threats Over Ouko Probe.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Abiud Ochieng' A former MP told a court that he received death threats during the inquiry into the murder of former Foreign Affairs minister Robert Ouko. Mr Gor Sungu told a Kisumu magistrate that he was the MP for Kisumu...

Census Needs Sh1 Billion More.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Samwel Kumba The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics will have to shelve some of its core activities to channel funds to next month's census, the director-general has said. Mr Anthony Kilele said they need to top up the...

MP Paralyses Bursary Fund.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Bernard Kwalia Over 800 students in Mt Elgon are at home after area MP Fred Kapondi paralysed the constituency bursary committee over his difference with an education officer. But the chairman of Mt Elgon Secondary School...

Cemetery Site is 'Grabbed Land'.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Casper Waithaka The saga of the site bought by City Hall for a cemetery in Athi River took a new twist on Tuesday when a widow claimed the land had been grabbed from her. Ms Agnes Maline sobbed uncontrollably when Nairobi...

The Cutting Edge.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Watchman With the recent kidnap scare involving an assistant minister's daughter in Nairobi, it's high time Parliament passed a law to make it mandatory for mobile phone companies to register the owners of telephone lines, BM...

Invest in Food Crops to End Starvation, States Told.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Oliver Mathenge Kenya is one of the many African countries that are yet to increase their spending on agriculture, thereby stagnating the fight against poverty. A new report released on Tuesday by Oxfam International calls on...

Pig Looks Guilty But is Innocent.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Dagi Kimani It's not porky's fault. Despite the name, swine flu is not passed on from pigs to people; it is actually transmitted from one person to another. So you can still hug your pet pig and enjoy your pork -- if it is...

Ministers Walk Out of ODM Meeting.
June 30, 2009... A meeting designed to forge ODM's unity ended in disarray when ministers sharply differed with party leader Raila Odinga on the handling of post-election violence suspects. Ministers and their assistants walked out of the meeting convened...

Voters to Get New Electors Cards.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Jackline Moraa Voters in the Bomachoge and Shinyalu by-elections will use new electors cards. The Independent Electoral Commission of Kenya said the new IIEC cards have security features to prevent fraud. Led by...

Shock for Teachers As KNUT Pension Talks Fail.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Benjamin Muindi Efforts to salvage a new pension scheme for teachers hit a dead end on Tuesday after their umbrella union put its foot down and rejected it. If the scheme had been accepted, it would have come into effect on...

Kipyego Gets Wild Card for 10,000 Million Race.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Chris Musumba Berlin Half Marathon champion Bernard Kipyego is the lucky beneficiary of the coach's wild card, having been named to join Sammy Kitwara and Gedion Ngatunyi in Kenya's 10,000m squad for the World Athletics...

Top-Notch Lawyers to Salvage Judiciary From Rot, Says Report.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Jillo Kadida Fixing the rot in the country's court system will require the hiring of better educated and more experienced lawyers as judges, according to a Judiciary reform panel. For one to qualify fore appointment as a High...

Govt Orders Tight Border Watch Against H1N1 Flu.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Mike Mwaniki And Gatonye Gathura Three more suspected cases of swine flu were being tested on Tuesday, a day after a British student was found to be suffering from the potentially fatal influenza. Samples are being tested at...

Make the Combatant Forces Talk.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Ngovi Kitau IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, SOME Kenyans have been advocating that our military should buttress Somalia's Transitional Federal Government which is under siege from militant Islamist insurgents led by Al-Shabaab. Our...

Police Bosses to Be Evicted From Junior Quarters.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Galgalo Bocha Senior police officers will be evicted from houses meant for their juniors in Mombasa, newly-appointed Coast provincial police officer Leo Nyongesa said on Tuesday He promised to personally investigate why the...

Coalition Rift Threatens Govt Reforms.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Dave Opiyo The ongoing conflicts and divisions in the Grand Coalition Government could scuttle the reform process. The revelations were made as members of the National Dialogue and Reconciliation team met on Tuesday for the...

Tusker Opener At Rivals' Home.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Charles Nyende Defending champions Tusker could not have asked for a trickier Cecafa opener when they step out at 8pm on Wednesday night at the Port Sudan Stadium to face home side Hey Al-Arab. "It is very important that we...

Wrong Drugs Pull Back Malaria War.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Gatonye Gathura And Sammy Cheboi The government is concerned about the continued use of wrong malaria drugs in the market, including in its own health facilities. Only a third of people seeking malaria treatment are getting...

Al-Shabaab is Government's Headache, Not Kenya's.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Collins Wanderi MANY JOURNALISTS SEEM to support the idea of Kenya sending its armed forces to Somalia to fight the Al-Shabaab. Go to war over what and why? What dispute does Kenya have with the militia or the Somali citizens...

Schools Music Fete Kicks Off in Coast.
June 30, 2009... Byline: Anthony Kitimo Makande primary school from Mombasa district onn Tuesday morning took on stage a western style song as Coast Province nursery, primary and secondary schools music festival kicked off at Mombasa Polytechnic hall....

Local Investors Worried.
June 30, 2009... Buoyed by favourable macroeconomic policies and signs of the global meltdown bottoming out, the Nairobi Stock Exchange has shown signs of recovery. That is good news for many investors who have lost billions in the bear market. However,...

This 'Swine Flu' Not As Fatal As Thought.
June 30, 2009... Confirmation of the country's first case of H1N1, or swine flu, has elicited understandable apprehension among Kenyans. This reaction is not unexpected, given that the variant of swine flu is essentially a new disease which is not fully...

Heed the Headteachers.
June 29, 2009... There is no doubt that the 4,000 secondary school headteachers currently meeting in Mombasa will come up with more suggestions than those already leaked to the media, but whether their ideas will be taken seriously by education authorities is...

State of Insecurity Must Be Checked.
June 29, 2009... The killing of five security officers in separate incidents at the weekend underlines the rising levels of insecurity. In one case, three officers were shot dead by gangsters at Athi River, while in the second, two Administration Police...

Govt Urges Calm Over Flu Case.
June 29, 2009... A British medical student on Sunday became the first person to test positive for the deadly swine flu virus in Kenya. Doctors and health authorities said the case is not severe and he is not in any immediate danger. They also said...

Optic Cable Arrival Stirs ICT Sector.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Jevans Nyabiage Arrival of the submarine fibre optic cable has sparked off the release of new products and consolidation as the information communication and technology sector gears up for the mass market. Last year telecom...

End Round of Trade Talks, Urges WTO.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Kaburu Mugambi The World Trade Organisation has asked African countries to push for the conclusion of the current round of negotiations so that they can benefit from international trade. The organisation's Institute for...

Allow Banks to Sell Cover, State Urged.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Justus Ondari The government has been urged to amend the Banking Act to allow banks to directly sell insurance products in what is known as bancassurance. Currently, banks act as agents of insurance companies because the...

Hotels Upbeat As 4,000 Teachers Descend On Mombasa.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Mazera Ndurya & Samuel Siringi Struggling to beat the economic hardships and the low tourist season, hotels in Mombasa have been doing a booming business following the arrival of more than 4,000 teachers and several other groups...

Captain Gives Evidence in Pirates Case.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Philip Muyanga Suspected Somali pirates did not look as if they were lost at sea, a magistrate's court was told on Monday. A captain of the ship allegedly attacked by suspected pirates told the court that neither did the...

CJ Appoints New Judges in Election Courts.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Eunice Machuhi Chief Justice Evan Gicheru has reconstituted the election courts and appointed new judges to hear all the pending petitions in the country. Following the transfer of some of the judges, the CJ has consequently...

Constable Denies Killing Othaya CID Chief.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Muchiri Gitonga A police constable Monday denied robbing and killing former Othaya Criminal Investigations Department boss Jonah Kimanzi Nzau two weeks ago. Mr Peter Mundia Murigo, who is based at Chinga police station in...

Angry Love Bird Killed in Kirinyaga.
June 29, 2009... A jealous lover was Monday lynched moments after he burnt down his girlfriend's house at Riakiania village in Kirinyaga West District. Mr Murimi Mutange, 34, had visited his girlfriend but on finding her not at home, he became angry and...

Govt to Launch Tourism Marketing Website in Russian.
June 29, 2009... Kenya will launch a destination marketing website in the Russian language to reach potential tourists among the 140 million population of Russians. The launch is part of the ongoing Source Market Diversification Programme that begun this...

Russian-Language Website for Tourism.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Lucas Barasa Kenya will launch a destination marketing website in the Russian language to reach potential tourists among the 140 million population Russians. Russia is being targeted by many countries as the new tourists'...

Alert Over First Case of H1N1 Flu.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Mike Mwaniki Kenya's health officials have stepped-up surveillance at airports and other points of entry following the confirmation of the first H1N1 flu case in the country. On Monday, Public Health and Sanitation minister...

Unusual Migration to Somalia.
June 29, 2009... Hundreds of herders in North Eastern province are crossing the Somali border in search of water and pasture for their livestock, even as the security situation in the war-torn country worsens. The unusual migration to Somalia is coming at...

Country Confirms First Case of H1N1 Flu.
June 29, 2009... The first case of H1N1 (swine) flu in Kenya has been confirmed. Kenya's minister for Public Health and Sanitation Mrs Beth Mugo held a press conference Monday morning in Nairobi to confirm the case. The new case is different from a false...

Global Rights Body Accuses Security Forces of Abuses.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Kenneth Ogosia An international human rights organisation has stepped up demands for the resignation and dismissal of top security officials who sanctioned military operations in Kenya's North Eastern Province last year. The...

Push for EAC Fund for Gender Equality.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Bornice Biomndo A regional body is calling on the East African Community to allocate funds for gender programmes in its budget. East African Sub-regional Support Initiative for the Advancement of Women (EASSI) said lack of...

Consolidated Bank Privatisation Plans Underway.
June 29, 2009... Byline: Mwaniki Wahome The government on Monday announced the start of the process for the privatisation of Consolidated Bank of Kenya. This brings to two, the number of banks that the government has commenced plans to privatise. The...

Safaricom in New Brand Campaign.
June 28, 2009... Listed telecom's operator, Safaricom, on Monday launches a new brand campaign. The campaign, with the tagline Niko na Safaricom, underlines the firm's rich Kenyan heritage and resonance with its over 13 million subscribers across the...

Country's Islamic Investment Banker.
June 28, 2009... The Capital Markets Authority has licensed FCB Capital Investment Bank as Kenya's first Islamic investment bank. A fully-owned subsidiary of First Community Bank, FCB Capital will be the first of its kind in Kenya and the region to offer...

Kisumu Roads Set for Facelift.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Abiud Ochieng' The road network in Kisumu is set for a major facelift when the approximately Sh20 billion road project to be implemented under the northern corridor infrastructure project and funded by the World Bank is complete....

Where Our Public Universities Fail.
June 28, 2009... Higher Education assistant minister Kilemi Mwiria raised three pertinent questions last week when he presided over a graduation ceremony at Kenyatta University. These concerned management, discipline and funding. University management...

Finally, Sh1.2 Billion to Pay KCC Debt to Farmers.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Barnabas Bii Milk Farmers who have been awaiting payment for milk deliveries to the defunct Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC) must be a happy lot, following plans by the government to pay them. The farmers, who have waited...

It is Not Democracy.
June 28, 2009... The proposal by some MPs to empower Parliament to elect the president and prime minister is one of the most absurd suggestions to come from the mouths of people who pretend to be democrats. How can anybody seriously think that you can...

Ruto Defiant On Local Tribunal.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Ouma Wanzala And PMPS Agriculture minister William Ruto on Sunday defied President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on the local tribunal to try poll chaos suspects. Parliament will once again reject the Bills on the...

KNUT Faulted Over Contract Teachers.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Tom Matoke And Peter Ng'etich Kenya National Union of Teachers has been accused of frustrating efforts to improve education by hiring more teachers on contract. Cabinet ministers William Ruto and Sally Kosgei said Knut was...

Team Queries Use of NHIF Kitty.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Alphonce Shiundu A new Parliamentary report seeks to aid the many Kenyans lacking access to medical services. The report by the Public Investment Committee accuses the National Hospital Insurance Fund of spending health money...

Make No Mistake, You Are What You Drive.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Rasna Warah THE STIFF RESISTANCE BY Cabinet ministers and top government officials to Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta's directive that they give up their expensive gas-guzzlers in favour of cheaper cars with an engine capacity of...

Tears Flow Over Post-Poll Killings.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Dennis Odunga Tears flowed freely as community representatives narrated how they killed and looted property during the post-election violence. Old wounds were opened at an interdenominational crusade in Eldoret as people...

Eritrea Backing Rebels - President.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Abdulkadir Khalif President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed today blamed Eritrea for backing Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the leader of Hizbu Islam. The President said the Islamists, he once worked with, were keeping pressure on the...

Letter to the Committee of Experts On Law Review.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Habel J. Nyamu DEAR VENERABLE MEMBERS, Some of the most important issues involving the current constitutional review process might be forgotten because of their apparent non-constitutionality. For instance, have you...

UN Urges More Cooperation Among States.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Argaw Ashine A UN agency has advised African states to go for deeper integration to ease the impact of the global economic crisis. The United Nation Trade and Development wing (UNCTAD), in its annual report, says regional...

Why Cholera is Killing Kenyans.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Bernard Olayo AS THE DEATH TOLL FROM cholera continues to rise, we need to ask ourselves why the disease continues to kill Kenyans so late in our development history. Our health experts know how to prevent the disease, and...

Lifting Girls Out of Despair is Her Calling.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Dave Opiyo It all started four years ago as a simple idea. But today, it has developed beyond her wildest dreams. But for Linda Lockhart, work has only just began. And she is prepared to see it through, till the very end. ...

Rate Defaulters to Lose Property.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Mathias Ringa Rate defaulters in Mombasa will have their property auctioned when the interest waiver deadline ends on Tuesday. Two weeks ago, the council gave the 30,000 defaulters an interest waiver of Sh1.5 billion as an...

DC Moved As Kuria Clashes Continue.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Elisha Otieno Besieged Kuria East district commissioner Herman Shambi has been moved. The administrator has been transferred to Tetu in Central Province in the same capacity in a move aimed at improving security in the...

Giddie Wins At Karen to Retain Matchplay Title.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Larry Ngala Sigona Golf Club's Ganeev Giddie displayed his 2008 form as he beat the plus one handicap Collins Omondi of Muthaiga Golf Club 5-4 in the 36-hole final match of this year's Kenya Amateur golf Championship to retain...

Armed Gangsters Now Target Leafy Suburbs.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Dominic Wabala Violent crime used to be largely seen as a problem of the poor, more so in Nairobi. The rich could get better security by hiring private security firms to bolster police patrols. But now violent crime is...

Kanu Laws Change to Clip Uhuru's Powers.
June 28, 2009... Kanu Chairman Uhuru Kenyatta is likely to be locked out of the presidential race in 2012 if a bid to change the party constitution is successful, three top officials hinted over the weekend. Mr Gideon Moi, Mr Nick Salat and Mr Marsden...

Sirma Hints At Possible Fallout in ODM.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Walter Menya and Cosmas Butunyi A hint of possible split in ODM was raised at the weekend, with fingers pointing at a likely breakaway of MPs from the Rift Valley. Nominated MP Musa Sirma, who brought to the open the issue,...

School Heads Root for Change.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Samuel Siringi More than 4,000 secondary school head teachers are in Mombasa for a forum that could herald a shake-up of the country's education system. A confidential document obtained by the Nation on Sunday spells out the...

ICC Are First to Cross Century.
June 28, 2009... Byline: Caxton Apollo International Christian Centre became the first team to cross the century mark in the basketball premier league this season when they whitewashed University of Nairobi's Terrorists 101-45 in a one-sided encounter at...

Mudavadi and Jirongo to Face Off in By-Election.
June 27, 2009... Byline: Patrick Mayoyo The Shinyalu by-election has set the stage for a supremacy war between deputy prime minister Musalia Mudavadi and Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo as they drum up support for candidates from their respective parties. ...