Kenya Power seeks to raise Sh9.5 billion in a rights issue

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) on Friday said it expected to raise around Sh9.5 billion from its rights issue, which opens at the start of next month. The funds are to be pumped in the upgrading of its grid.

According to the country’s power distributor, the price for 488.6 million new ordinary shares on offer had been set at Sh19.5.

KPLC Managing Director Joseph Njoroge said the Capital Markets Authority had approved the rights issue following shareholders’ nod early this month.

The Government has since renounced all its rights under the offer, leaving it with a 50.1 per cent stake. It is now expected to sell its rights through the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

"We are glad to have received regulatory approval for our capital restructuring and rights issue, paving the way for trading in shareholders’ rights," Njoroge said.

"We believe the subscription price represents good value for shareholders wishing to exercise their rights. We are confident that this offer will be well-received."

Mr Njoroge said the step by the Government to relinquish its rights would mitigate "any short-term dilutive impact of the redemption of the rights" on the holders of ordinary shares in the firm.

He noted that the company had strong fundamentals that would support its future growth.

"Investing in KPLC would be a great decision for investors. As a company, the opportunities are enormous. We anticipate organic growth as the economy improves and as power demand appreciates."

Statistics show that only 25 per cent of Kenyans are connected to the power grids, leaving the national power utility company with close to 30 million Kenyans to serve.

"With the raised funds, KPLC says it will be investing in the refurbishment and a further development of the power delivery system, "in the endeavor to meet demands of an expanding economy."

"Some of the targeted projects will help KPLC reduce losses in the system as well as enhance quality and reliability of power supply to all categories of customers throughout the country," said Mr Njoroge.

The rights to subscribe for new ordinary shares are expected to commence on December 1 2010, and trading of the new ordinary shares paid in full at the NSE on January 24, 2011.

Standard

Nigerian officials find heroin in shipment from Iran

Nigerian officials say they have seized heroin worth nearly $10m (£6.25m), concealed in engine parts shipped from Iran.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said agents made the seizure at Apapa seaport in Lagos.

The haul comes just days after Nigeria reported Tehran to the UN Security Council over an illegal arms shipment from Iran that was intercepted.

West African ports are key transit hubs for drugs heading to Western markets.

NDLEA spokesman Mitchell Ofoyeju said the agency had received "strong intelligence" from "foreign collaborators" four months ago, so it had been monitoring the consignment before it arrived in Nigeria.

"The NDLEA... decided to get a welder to cut open the engine parts and behold, we found hidden inside them 130kg (20 stone) of heroin," said Mr Ofoyeju.

A customs spokesman told AFP the drugs were brought into Nigeria aboard a foreign vessel, the MV Montenegro.

Three Nigerians have been arrested in connection with the drugs shipment.

In October, Nigerian security forces found a shipment of weapons at the same port.

Rocket launchers, grenades, explosives and other weapons were found in containers labelled as building materials shipped from Iran.

Iran said the weapons were the subject of a "misunderstanding", which had been cleared up.

BBC

Kibaki decries high rate of alcoholism

President Kibaki has decried the growing culture of alcoholism among Kenyans, saying unless it is urgently addressed it could wipe out the country’s potential manpower.

He urged political and religious leaders to intervene to reverse the worrying trend, especially among the youth.

He said the country has been treated to ‘disturbing pictures’ of excessive drinking by those with the potential of national building.

"It has now (alcoholism) become too much and we leaders must act, and do so very quickly, otherwise in the days to come we will not have the production potential as a developing country," said Kibaki.

He added: " We have seen disturbing pictures of women going to drinking dens in search of their husbands who have abdicated their responsibilities and have indulged themselves in alcoholism neglecting their families."

The President, who was speaking in Karatina in Nyeri County yesterday, said the vice should be addressed before it destroys the future of the nation.

He said it is disturbing young men are wasting themselves away in brew dens.

"Let the challenge begin with us as leaders and agree on the best way to address this problem. It is very disturbing and we should not allow it to continue. It is not only here in Central but it is also a problem facing the entire country," he said.

The Head of State was reacting to calls by Mathira MP Ephraim Maina who had asked him to issue an executive order banning distribution of all second-generation brews.

Maina, who was hosting the President as he laid a foundation stone for construction of a modern open-air market at Karatina, said the brews had caused a major problem in the region.

He said alcoholism needs urgent State intervention as it has even affected population growth in the region.

But efforts by the leaders present to seek President Kibaki’s intervention on the contentious issue of distribution of the created constituencies were thwarted as heavy rains scuttled a rally at Karatina Stadium.

Maina, who is the Central Kenya MPs forum chairman, had at a leaders meeting expressed the region’s leaders dissatisfaction on the allocations given by the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission. He had complained that constituencies deserving to be split were overlooked.

Standard

Software to enable access to loans just by calling

Kenyans could soon be accessing loans from anywhere and at any time through their mobile phones.

This follows the launch of a mobile phone banking software by a local company, which allows one to apply for a loan and have it processed through a mobile phone.

The software referred to as Xtreme connect enables individuals to receive a notification on cheque maturity, and salary credit alerts from either a savings and credit co-operative society (Sacco) or any other financial institution via mobile phone.

Chief Executive Officer of Lanster Technologies Francis Mwangi says the software provides functionalities to transfer funds from individual mobile money accounts such as Zap, M-Pesa and Yu to a relevant loan account.

"We are aware that in the modern technological world, customers in various financial institutions are yearning for quick, efficient and transparent services from their institutions. The launch of the product comes in handy," he said.

Priority in investing

The launch comes at a time when financial institutions are fighting to retain or attract new clients.

The institutions, which include banks and cooperative societies, are putting a lot of priority in investing in mobile money transfer technology to ensure effective service delivery to their customers.

Statistics from the Communication Commission of Kenya estimates the country’s mobile subscription at about 17 million.

"By embracing emerging ICTs, financial deepening and inclusiveness will gradually become a reality and the country would edge closer to attaining its Vision 2030," he said.

The Xtreme connect software would enable Saccos and other financial institutions to integrate core banking systems with mobile money services.

Sacco members will be able to deposit and withdraw money from their accounts via mobile phones.

The system would also enable individuals to perform other services like money withdrawal, purchase of airtime and reception of SMS alerts on cheques maturity and salary credit.

Standard

Kenya imports wheat from US

More than 200,000 tonnes of wheat will be imported from the United States of America to Kenya in the next one year to meet growing demand locally as supply dwindles following Russia’s ban on exports three months ago.

A consignment of 50,000 tonnes has arrived at Mombasa port aboard Mv Stove Tradition and discharge of the grains was expected to start on Thursday.

Receiving the vessel, US Ambassador Michael Ranneberger said the wheat, which was being imported on commercial terms, would boost food security.

“It will help meet local demand for wheat flour and wheat-based products. This will be a record year for US wheat exports into the East African market and highlights the importance of using ‘food trade’ to help achieve food security,” he said.

Russia, the largest exporter of wheat in the world, imposed a temporary ban of the commodity following drought in the country and wild fires that destroyed farms, sending a worldwide panic that led to wheat price increases.

Nation

'I sold my baby because I could not feed him'

She sat forlornly in her prison cell, waiting for her turn to be escorted to Nakuru Children's Courts.

Risper Kemuma, 19, had no apology for the child trafficking offence she had been charged with, after being busted attempting to sell off her month-old baby to an undercover policewoman for Sh12,000.

Abject poverty, illiteracy and desperation, she said, had conspired to erode her ability to raise her second baby, and so chose to sell it.

Kemuma grew up without her parents; the only memory of them being stories rendered by her elder siblings, said the seventh born in a family of eight.

"I was told that they died a long time ago," she recalled. "I have no idea when that was, since all I remember is living with my aunt," she says.

The teenager dropped out of Rianyemo Primary School in Kisii after Standard Two, as her aunt could no longer afford to educate her. Then she started doing menial jobs around Isoge Village in Kisii.

Kemuma gave birth to her first-born in 2008, and her aunt was kind enough to take her in as well.

When she got pregnant with her second child, Kemuma grew more desperate. Things worsened when her aunt threw her out in May this year. By this time, she had lost contact with all but one sibling.

"The last time I saw them (her siblings) was in 2000 when we attended my sister’s burial in our rural home. I do not know what happened to them, or where they live ever since," she told The Standard.

Better than nothing

Left with few options, Kemuma moved to Nakuru with her cousin.

"She told me she would help me find employment in Nakuru town, so I agreed to go with her," she says.

The young mother was lucky to secure a job as a househelp at Ponda Mali Estate in Nakuru at a ‘glorious’ wage of Sh1,000 per month. But it was better than nothing.

"It was not much but I had a place to stay, food to eat and I could manage to save for my maternity needs," she says.

Kemuma said she performed her chores dutifully until September when she delivered a baby boy.

Her employer, however, would not allow her to continue working for her and she was homeless once again, this time, with a three-day-old baby nestled in her lap.

Once again, she turned to the cousin who had brought her to Nakuru who agreed to house her, but only for a week. When her aunt received news that she had given birth again, she gave orders that Kemuma should never to return to Kisii.

She then went looking for the only sibling she was still in touch with – a sister also living in Nakuru.

Good upbringing

It was while there that the idea of selling her baby dawned on her. She also contemplated killing the baby, she adds, but couldn’t quite bring herself to doing it.

When she found out that she could sell her baby to someone who was in a position to give him a good upbringing, Kemuma had no second or dissenting thought.

"I love my baby very much and if I had a choice I would not have sold him but I’m helpless as I cannot even afford food to be able to breastfeed him," she wept. "I only asked for the money because my neighbour, who told me he would find me a buyer, insisted I had to receive money from him," she said, adding she was ready to give the baby away for nothing.

Nakuru Resident magistrate Hezron Baraza sentenced the teenager to serve three years probation at Nakuru Probation Girls’ Hostel.

Standard

GM says prices common shares at $33 each in IPO

DETROIT — General Motors says its common stock will sell for $33 per share when its initial public offering takes place Thursday.

The IPO brings the U.S. government closer to getting back part of the $50 billion it gave GM to help it through bankruptcy protection last year.

The government will sell 412 million shares and get $13.6 billion. It will still have about 500 million shares, or about 33 percent of GM. It would have to sell them for $53 a share, or $26.4 billion, for taxpayers to get back their $50 billion back.

The government and other GM owners will sell 550 million shares starting Thursday. The IPO will be worth up to $18.2 billion, making it one of the largest in U.S. history

By Associated Press

Kenya Airways sued for libel

The battle for passengers in the domestic airline market has gone to courts with Jetlink Express suing Kenya Airways for defamation.

In the suit filed at the High Court last month, Jetlink has accused the national carrier of sending out communication with the intent of defaming and undermining it.

Also sued is KQ’s country manager for Southern Sudan Emmanuel Chepkong’a, who is said to have sent an email to travel agents saying that: “JO (Jetlink Express) and B5 (East African Safari Air Express) (am told) will not be operating.”

Jetlink terms the action “defamatory and without fairness and justification,” as it implied the airline was incapable of carrying passengers or was pulling out of the Juba route.

Jetlink also identified a Kenya Airways internal memo of January 4, which identifies Jetlink as its main competitor.

“We need to finish this competitor even if we sustain some losses on the route to move customers back,” the memo says.

In the internal memo, Kenya Airways said low fares introduced on the Kisumu route had helped increase passenger numbers but not to the extent required to break even.

Jetlink is asking for a permanent injunction restraining Kenya Airways, its employees, agents and directors from publishing any libelous words on Jetlink or negatively attacking it in addition to general damages for libel and defamation. It is also seeking punitive and aggravated damages.

Jetlink was the first Kenyan airline to offer direct flights to Juba.

The fight for market share on domestic routes has been intense as smaller airlines like Jetlink, Fly 540, Air Kenya and Safarilink expand their wings.

As of September, Kenya Airways domestic passenger fell by 2.7 per cent as other airlines returned positive growth.

Kenya Airways has increased flights to Mombasa from 42 to 59 a week as well as Kisumu and is set to launch flights to Malindi in December.

Two weeks ago, Kenya Airways introduced the Mombasa shuttle of two dedicated planes and reduced fares.

Nation

Google Maps border dispute in Central America may go to court

Officials from the Organization of American States (OAS) will meet Wednesday in an attempt to stop a border dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica ending up before the International Court of Justice.

The dispute between the two Central American nations began last month when Nicaraguan security forces moved into disputed territory on the northern bank of the San Juan River.

An official in charge of the troops told a local newspaper at the time that he used Google Maps to determine that the territory was Nicaraguan.

Costa Rica, however, responded with anger, describing the arrival of Nicaraguan troops in the area as an invasion.

Google said that it mistakenly apportioned the territory to Nicaragua and apologized for the error.

President Jose Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua rejected Saturday a resolution passed almost unanimously by the OAS calling for forces to be withdrawn from the area.

Saul Weisleder, the Costa Rican ambassador to the United Nations, said that he expected Nicaragua to bring the matter before the International Court of Justice.

"We do believe they are going to take that path. They are still claiming that it's a border dispute. We don't think it is. The border was settled a year ago by the International Court of Justice itself," he said.

Disagreements over the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica have continued for more than a century.

Ambassadors of OAS members will meet Wednesday to agree a further meeting by foreign ministers of their respective nations.

Nicaragua, however, looks likely to ignore the findings of the meetings.

NYPOST

X-Ray Body Scanner Hubbub: The Naked Truth

This week's uproar over the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) use of full-body scanners in U.S. airports shows no signs of easing, as privacy advocates, airline pilots, and grass-roots groups are up in arms over new security-screening measures that opponents find far too intrusive.

The TSA began using advanced imaging technology scanners in 2007, and it currently has 385 of the units at 68 airports. In March 2010, Boston Logan International was one of the first U.S. airports to receive new full-body scanners, which help TSA agents detect concealed weapons and explosives. The TSA insists the X-ray units are safe for all individuals being screened, including children.

The security scanners project an ionizing X-ray beam over the body's surface, which creates an image of the passenger--sans clothes--that's viewed by a remote TSA officer. The technology allows security workers to look under a person's clothing without resorting to a hands-on, pat-down inspection. The process takes seconds versus 2 to 4 minutes for a pat-down. One of the scanner methodologies used--millimeter wave technology--blurs facial features to protect the passenger's privacy.

Flyers who refuse a scan can opt for a pat-down instead. John Tyner, a California software engineer, became an instant Web celebrity this week when he declined both a body scan and the alternative--a groin check-and then used his iPhone's video camera to record the event.

Tyner famously told security agents: "If you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested." (He evaded the junk-groping but wasn't allowed to fly.)

pcworld

Top officials linked to drugs banned from US, says envoy

Four top government officials and a prominent businessman have been banned from setting foot in the US over suspected drug trafficking.

US ambassador Michael Ranneberger announced that the US government had taken the decision based on “reliable and corroborative” reports that the five were involved in drug trafficking.

“Today I am announcing that... we have taken steps to ensure that four senior government officials and one prominent businessman will be permanently prevented from entering the US for business or tourism,” Mr Ranneberger said in his address to members of the Rotary Club, Coast chapter in Mombasa on Tuesday.

He, however, refused to reveal the identities of the five people.

In a hard-hitting speech, Mr Ranneberger warned that the US had intensified its efforts against narcotics trafficking in and through Kenya, including revoking US visas held by suspected drug traffickers.

“Very importantly, we will ensure that those engaged in narcotics trafficking are permanently ineligible to travel to the US,” he said.

“If that person already has a visa, we will revoke it,” he said. Those suspected to aid drug traffickers will also suffer similar fate, he further warned.

Mr Ranneberger said that the US government was coordinating with Kenyan authorities to crack down on narcotics trafficking and to help communities deal with its consequences.

He decried a growing trend in which drug barons were using drug money to contribute to political campaigns or even buy their way to leadership. The drug barons were also using their ill-gotten money to buy influence from politicians and the media, the envoy stated.

He called on the Interim Independent Electoral Commission and the yet-to-be-formed Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission to make it a requirement that all candidates seeking elective positions publicly disclose the source of their campaign money.

“Officials must be forced to turn over any funds given to their campaigns, even after the fact, if those individuals are found to be traffickers,” he demanded.

He referred to chapter 76 of the new Constitution, which requires public officials to declare any personal interests that may conflict with public duties.

“Specifically, a state officer cannot even maintain a bank account outside Kenya except in accordance with an Act of Parliament,” he noted.

Mr Ranneberger suggested that in order to enforce this requirement, full financial disclosure should be an integral part of the public vetting process for all senior government officials, both appointed and elected.

“It is a time to isolate individuals engaged in drug trafficking as well as those engaged in political alliances with drug traffickers,” he said.

He also called on the electorate to reject politicians who protect drug traffickers during general elections.

The ambassador said the US would soon support a new effort to develop treatment programmes for drug addicts.

This will entail experts from the US conducting an assessment visit, followed by courses for treatment professionals in Mombasa.

The American embassy is also seeking funding from Washington to host an international symposium for Islamic leaders on drug prevention and treatment in Mombasa, said the envoy.

Nation

Royal wedding: Prince William gives Kate Diana's ring

Prince William has spoken of his and fiancee Kate Middleton's happiness, as the newly-engaged couple faced the cameras for the first time.

The couple, both 28, will marry next spring or summer after he proposed while on holiday in Kenya in October.

The prince said: "The timing is right now." His brother Harry said he would be gaining a sister.

William gave Kate his mother's engagement ring, saying: "It was right to put the two together."

Speaking as they stood arm-in-arm before photographers, and later as they gave a TV interview, Prince William said giving Kate his mother Diana's distinctive sapphire and diamond engagement ring was "my way of making sure my mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement".

He stressed that no-one was "trying to fill my mother's shoes". Miss Middleton paid tribute to the princess as an "inspirational woman".

She admitted joining the Royal Family was a "daunting prospect" but she added: "Hopefully I'll take it in my stride."

BBC

Haiti cholera protests target UN

There have been violent protests in Haiti against UN peacekeepers, amid a continuing cholera epidemic that has killed more than 900 people.

UN troops fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing stones and blocking roads in Cap Haitien.

Some Haitians have accused peacekeepers from Nepal of introducing cholera to Haiti for the first time in a century.

The UN says it has found no evidence to justify the accusation, but the cholera strain has been matched to South Asia.

Hundreds of protesters threw stones at UN peacekeepers, set up burning barricades and torched a police station in Cap Haitien, Haiti's second city.

Unconfirmed reports said shots were fired during the clashes, and at least 10 people were injured.

As well as calling for UN peacekeepers to leave Haiti, demonstrators accused the government of "leaving the people to die", the AFP news agency reported.

Protesters also clashed with UN troops from Nepal in the central town of Hinche.

'National security'

There have also been protests against the location of cholera treatment centres, which some people fear will bring the disease into their neighbourhoods.

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Haiti, Nigel Fisher, said the demonstrations showed the cholera outbreak had gone beyond a health crisis to become "an issue of national security".

BBC

The Washington Punch List

With the economy front and center, we're keeping a close eye on Congress and Obama. Stay tuned for updates on what they get done – and what gets punted.

CNN Money

Alcohol dealers have nine months to play by the new strict law

The new law on alcoholic drinks, expected to come into effect next weekend, will be implemented in nine months but some aspects take immediate effect.

The National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (Nacada) says the renewal or issuance of new liquor licences has been put on hold until the new Act comes into effect.

Reacting to media reports last week claiming there was uncertainty and confusion on effecting of the new law, Nacada — in a Sunday advertisement — says the government will give the sector a transition period of nine months to adapt to the new law.

But even Nacada, which will be overseeing the implementation of the new law, is not clear on what happens on November 27 when the law takes effect.

The law will become effective as soon as the implementation date is gazetted by the Minister for Internal Security.

Even without being gazetted, the Act will still become operational. The Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010 states that the new regulations come into force within 90 days of publication. The period expires on November 27.

Come the date and the whole sector could be thrown into a crisis with over 30,000 bars and a number of distributors and manufacturers requiring licences under the new law.

According to the law, licensing will be done by the yet to be constituted District Alcoholic Drinks Regulation Committees under stringent regulations that target reducing accessibility to alcohol.

Although the sector will get a transition period of up to nine months, regulations governing accessibility and quality will have to be complied with immediately.

According to a legal officer with Nacada, who said she is not authorised to talk to the media, requirements restricting access to alcohol by minors take immediate effect.

This will mean that Kenyans who enjoy a family outing at the numerous nyama choma-cum-beer joints, may have to plan a different Christmas next month or risk spending it in prison or parting with a fine of Sh150,000.

Such people may have to decide to spend the festive days with their families, visit no-alcohol selling joints or abandon the family for the drink because the new law does not allow children in outlets where they can access alcohol.

“The primary objective is to protect children by limiting access to alcohol products and related information. However, requirements such as labelling has a grace period of six months,” the officer told the Nation on Monday.

The new law is very clear that no bar or alcohol outlet will be licensed to operate within a distance of about three football fields from a learning institution anywhere in the country.

This could mean, for example, shutting down numerous popular bars in the Ngara area of Nairobi which are located literally at the gate of Jamhuri High School.

But for chang’aa, Nacada is very clear that it remains illegal until the law becomes effective, but even after then, distillers of this product will have to meet stringent quality standards.

The government, according to the Nacada statement, is still developing rules and regulations that will guide the implementation of the new Act.But Naivasha MP John Mututho, who championed the Bill, says the slow speed at which the government is moving to implement the laws is suspect.

On Thursday, Mr Mututho, Nacada officials and the alcohol industry will meet at the Strathmore Business School to chart the way forward.

Nation

Kenya Plans to Start The Sale of $149 Million of Five-Year Bonds November 12

Kenya will start the sale of 12 billion shillings of five-year bonds tomorrow, Sterling Investment Bank Ltd. fixed-income trader Fred Moturi said.

“It’s going to be oversubscribed because there are expectations that rates are going up,” he said by phone from Nairobi today. “People are dumping their bonds and then buying new ones in the primary market hoping for a better yield.” He didn’t know when the sale ends.

Bloomberg

Dandora dumpsite to be turned into leisure park

Dandora dumpsite will be turned into a recreation park at a cost of Sh600 million, the City Council of Nairobi has said.

An international tender has been placed to invite bidders for the historic makeover of the biggest dumpsite in the country.

The councils’ spokesman, Mr Wilfred Marube, in a statement said:

“The site will be relocated to Ruai, after a three-year decommissioning. The makeover and the decommissioning is expected to cost about Sh600 million.”

The council has also invited companies to help in the decommissioning, which begins in January.

Mr Isaac Muraya, director of the environment at the council, said: “Indiscriminate waste disposal practices take place at the site at the moment.

“All types of waste are disposed without proper separation which is a health hazard to residents.”

Mr Muraya added that the decommissioning of the 30 hectares, include building a drainage system, extraction of harmful gases such as methane, beautification and landscaping.

Dandora dumpsite was set up in 1981, and since then, garbage has been burnt in the open, which is environment unfriendly. The work is expected to create about 2,000 jobs, according to the council.

Meanwhile, the council will also establish a multimedia contact centre, which will be a one-stop centre for all basic council services such as customer care.

Nation

Annan team warns of meddling in ICC

The Kofi Annan team that brokered the peace pact after the 2007 elections is worried that powerful forces are regrouping to frustrate the prosecution of post-election violence suspects.

The team monitoring and evaluating progress in reconciling Kenyans and pushing reforms, says communities are being mobilised to defend possible suspects.

“Impunity is re-organising and is fighting back through mobilisation of ethnic constituencies against International Criminal Court intervention,” said the report commissioned by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities.

The survey revealed that senior politicians were determined to terminate or delay investigations and eventual prosecution of key suspects because of its potential to end their political careers.

“It is only the pre-trial chamber that can stop the ICC process. The court can decide to terminate the case or send the prosecutor back to find more evidence,” said the report.

The report prepared by South Consulting from a survey done between July and October warns: “Individual politicians and other influential people have been behind the post-election violence and not communities.”

It is because such individuals have never been put on trial, the report shows, that impunity has thrived and continues to threaten the life of the very communities they claim to represent.

The Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation monitoring project draft report, which was to be launched on Wednesday, is of the view that divisions in the Grand Coalition Government continues to hinder ICC’s work.

The report will be discussed by members of the Serena group next week. The report accuses some national leaders of intimidating witnesses.

They had also caused the disappearance of witnesses lined up to give evidence at The Hague if criminal prosecutions are filed. The audit notes that allegations that witnesses had been compromised, coached or intimidated is a threat to justice.

The report comes in the wake of allegations by Eldoret North MP William Ruto that a human rights watchdog had bribed people to testify against him. Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo said that if Mr Ruto does not provide proof, his allegations amount to intimidation of witnesses.

In a letter to the Kenyan government last month, the ICC’s head of International cooperation Amady Ba raised concern over reports that some witnesses had been offered bribes by people who feel threatened by the ICC.

Further, it is alleged that some politicians persuaded key witnesses against participating in the investigations, with promises of land, money and scholarships.

It has been reported that at least six potential witnesses have been flown by the ICC to Europe for their own protection. Another 70 potential witnesses are being protected by human rights groups within and outside the country.

According to the report, some of these witnesses have allegedly been approached and may have been compromised. The ICC has not been depending on government witness protection programmes.

However, the report says that some of those who left the country early are losing interest in the prosecution, citing fatigue and lack commitment to address the violence cases.

There are also allegations that some of the human rights organisations have sabotaged the ICC by releasing important confidential information to alleged perpetrators to help them prepare their evidence and identify key witnesses for harassment, intimidation or even elimination.

The survey indicates, some people in the Rift Valley and Central provinces regard the possible indictment of their leaders as unjustified on the argument of ‘who bears the greatest responsibility’ for the violence.

In spite of that, public confidence in the ICC remains high. Most people expect the prosecutions at The Hague to change Kenya’s political culture of tolerating and celebrating impunity, especially with regard to influential politicians.

The ICC’s Pre-trial chamber II approved investigations into the Kenyan situation about March this year.

Nation

Economic Boost Or Bad Policy? GOP Denounces New Fed Plan

The Federal Reserve's new $600 billion monetary stimulus plan is designed to spur the country's sluggish economic recovery. But the central bank's program is now encountering a growing backlash both at home and abroad.

China and Russia have criticized Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's plan, while prominent Republicans are starting to voice concerns of their own.

"I would say that Bernanke is fundamentally wrong, that he is running -- he is fundamentally misreading the economy. This economy lacks confidence in the government. It doesn't lack cash," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told ABC's George Stephanopoulos Tuesday on "Good Morning America."

Under the plan dubbed QE2 -- which stands for quantitative easing -- the Fed will buy $600 billion worth of government bonds in a bid to make loans cheaper and get Americans to spend more. Doing so is designed help the economy and prompt companies to boost hiring.

The top Republican on the Senate Banking panel told ABC News that he is "worried" about the Fed's plan.

ABC

San Francisco bans Happy Meals with toys

The San Francisco, California, Board of Supervisors on Tuesday banned most McDonald's Happy Meals with toys, as they're now served.

The ordinance, which requires McDonald's and other fast-food servings with toys to meet new nutritional standards, now goes to Mayor Gavin Newsom, who indicated before his election last week to California lieutenant governor that he would veto the law.

That veto would be meaningless because the board approved the ordinance 8-3, a veto-proof margin. With eight votes, the board could override the veto.

The new law, which San Francisco officials hope other cities will adopt in battling a child obesity epidemic, was a defeat for McDonald's, which led the fight against the measure.

"As previously stated, we are extremely disappointed with this decision. It's not what our customers want, nor is it something they asked for," said McDonald's spokeswoman Danya Proud.

Proud said public opinion is against such government intervention.

"Any fair and objective review of our menu and the actions we've taken will demonstrate we've added multiple options for parents to choose. This includes Apple Dippers (bagged, sliced, pre-peeled apples), low-fat one percent milk, 100 percent apple juice and Chicken McNuggets made with white meat," Proud said in a statement. "And, as we have stated all along, we are committed to doing even more."

The new law addresses how toys and other marketing freebies entice kids to buy fast-food meals that are high in fat and calories, said Supervisor Eric Mar. He initiated the proposal because his fifth-grade daughter is in the 6-to-11 age group that has seen obesity rates quadruple over the past 30 years, the same time that the Happy Meal has been on the market.

"This is a simple and modest policy that holds fast food accountable," Mar said.

CNN

Race against time to effect law

MPs are brainstorming on ways to meet crucial deadlines in the implementation of the new Constitution given a heavily loaded schedule.

Among them is having a new Chief Justice, Attorney General and Auditor General in office as soon as possible and vetting of judges during the recess period.

Parliament needs to tackle a number of issues by the August 25 deadline leaving MPs with just about six months to conclude the business and beat the timeline.

The current Chief Justice is required to vacate office within six months bringing this to a deadline of January 27, 2011 following which a new CJ shall be appointed.

However, the Judicial Service Commission must be in place for this to happen.

Since Parliament goes on recess in December to resume in March, it means it must deal with the CJ’s position before it takes the break. Alternatively, it must resume earlier for the purpose of approval.

These are among issues being discussed at a two-day brainstorming session of MPs organised by Parliament at the Kenya Institute of Administration.

Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo said tackling the JSC issue before going on recess will allow for vetting of magistrates during the recess period and MPs would resume in March to find the process complete.

The present holders of the AG’s and Auditor General’s positions are required to vacate by August 26, 2011 but it is the view of MPs that they can vacate before this date, ‘even tomorrow if possible,’’ as stated by some.

The AG and the CJ are members of the JSC and according to Gichugu MP Martha Karua, Kenya cannot have a fresh start if the current office holders are retained, hence Parliament should make a decision on what should happen if they are the same persons who will be nominated for the same positions.

“We must remember the reasons we wanted a new Constitution, it was a new dawn we wanted, the question is if the President brings back the current AG and CJ, shall we have a fresh start?” posed Ms Martha Karua.

She said the country needs new faces in the two positions.

Nation

US officials ban cargo aircraft from Somalia and Yemen

The US has extended an air cargo ban to cover Somalia as well as Yemen and banned ink and toner cartridges from passenger flights, in the wake of last month's failed bomb plot.

High risk cargo will receive extra screening and parcels must be certified to have come via established shippers.

The strictures come after bombs hidden in cartridges were intercepted on route from Yemen to the US in cargo planes.

Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano said US security was the top priority.

"The threats of terrorism we face are serious and evolving, and these security measures reflect our commitment to using current intelligence to stay ahead of adversaries-working closely with our international, federal, state, local and private sector partners every step of the way," she said.

Ms Napolitano said US Transportation Security Administration officials had met in Yemen with officials there, in an effort to enhance Yemeni security enhancements so the cargo ban eventually could be lifted.

The printer cartridge ban affects cartridges over 16 ounces (453g).

The US had already halted all cargo from Yemen. On Monday, Ms Napolitano announced the ban would be extended to include Somalia, a haven for al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamist militants.

BBC

Orange to launch money transfer service

Telkom Kenya’s Orange will today unveil a mobile money transfer service, a move expected to add to the growing rivalry in the telecoms industry at a time when revenues from the voice segment has taken a hit.

When contacted, the Telkom Kenya management was unwilling to reveal more details of the service before the launch, although chief executive officer Mickael Ghossein in an earlier interview, said it will be ‘unique’.

“We have taken long to launch it because we didn’t want to replicate what is already in the market,” he said.

The service was initially set for launching in June this year, but had not received the necessary approvals.

Mr Peter Wanyonyi, a telecoms consultant, says the Kenyan voice market has largely flattened in terms of revenues and the money is going to be in value-added services and data.

“In the former, Safaricom is the clear leader with M-Pesa. In the latter, Kenya still suffers through bogus data services as a result of poor focus by the telecom giants,” he adds.

Orange becomes the fourth operator to offer mobile money transfer services.

Nation

'World's tallest' Jesus statue erected in Poland

A gigantic statue of Jesus - claimed to be the world's tallest - has been erected in a western Polish town.

Christ the King in Swiebodzin rises 33m (108ft) - one metre for every year that Jesus lived, said Sylwester Zawadzki, the priest who created the statue.

But other local officials said the statue was 51m-high (167ft), if one included a mound it sat on and the golden crown on the head.

They said it was higher than famous Christ figures in Bolivia and Brazil.

The total height of Cristo de la Concordia in Cochabamba, Bolivia, is 40.4m (133ft), while Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer rises 38m (125ft).

'Culmination'

Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday to watch a giant crane lift the the statue's arms and shoulders and slowly place them onto the figure's lower body.

The crowd broke into applause and some prayed as construction workers finally hoisted on the head - crowned with a golden king's crown.

"I have never been as happy as I am today," Rev Zawadzki, aged 78, said. "This is the culmination of my life's work as a priest."

The statue was financed by private donations from around the world, although Rev Zawadzki declined to say how much it cost.

Town officials now hope that the statue will promote the town, bringing in tourists from around the world.

However, some local residents have dismissed the statue as tacky, saying the money would have been better spent on social projects in the town.

BBC

Kenyan AP goes on killing spree

A crazed administration police officer killed 10 people in Siakago town on Saturday night in a horrific killing spree. He emptied his G3 on patrons having a drink in various bars in the quiet town before turning himself in at Siakago police station, apparently after an attempt at suicide failed.

The AP, who guarded the local district commissioner, was said to be angry at his girlfriend, whom he suspected to have been unfaithful. She is lucky to be alive, he couldn’t find her during his rampage. He also shot and killed his two colleagues who rushed to restrain him on hearing shots.

Those killed were AP constables Wilfred Gitonga and Fredrick Owako and civilians George Ng’ang’a, Kenwin Muthoni, Augostino Kinyua, Anthony Mwaniki and Fridah Ng’endo. Others were identified only as Rachel, Muchila and Muthini.

Local police said AP constable Peter Karanja was taken into custody and is helping with investigations. Witnesses said the shooter was sentry duty at the office and residence of the DC on Saturday night. After the DC went to bed, he excused himself, saying he was taking a toilet break.

Mbeere North DC John Chelimo said the officer is suspected to have gone looking for his girlfriend at New Coconut Bar, a short distance from the town’s police station. Once there, the AP cocked his rifle and opened fire, killing three patrons.

Then he walked over to Waiyaki Bar. He knocked on the door and when the barman came to answer, he killed him on the spot. From Waiyaki Bar he walked to Club Tha Shrek, where six people were drinking. He killed two women and two men then walked out.

He met two of his colleagues who had come to investigate the shooting. When they asked what the shooting was all about, he is reported to have told them to go and find and out. He shot both in the back before turning his weapon on himself... but he had run out of bullets.

“The officer came to Siakago police station and told the officers on the Occurence Book (OB) desk that he had shot and killed 10 people and that he had emptied the magazine,” said the area OCPD Jecinta Wesonga.

Wesonga confirmed that the shooter was transferred to Eastern police headquarters in Embu where he was being questioned. The bodies were taken to Siakago district hospital.

On Sunday morning, residents of Siakago, a town in the shadow of Kiang’ombe hill, woke up to blood on the streets and they protested in anger at the offices of the DC and the officer in charge of the police division.

“My twenty five year old daughter did not deserve to die like that. She has left a young boy and girl in my care in old age,” said Nyaga Manunga, with tears in his eyes.

His daughter, Ms Ng’endo, was a local shopkeeper and had gone for a drink with friends. She is among those killed.

Rashid Kinyua, 32, said they only saved themselves by hiding in the toilet where they ran to on hearing gunshots outside the bar.
Some in the crowd were in mourning, others were angry with the AP.

“They should ensure that those they entrust weapons with are of sound mind to avoid this kind of disaster ever happening again,” said David Njeru, a local resident.

Police spokesman Erick Kiraithe said: “It is the first incident of its kind and we are shocked. It is a matter of serious concern.

The Commissioner of Police (Mathew Iteere) is investigating and we are trying to see how this can be prevented in future.”

A team of senior administration police officers led by Commandant Kinuthia Mbugua left Nairobi on Sunday morning for Siakago.
Nairobi Metropolitan Development minister Mr Njeru Githae and said the officer involved should treated as a criminal.

Nation

Obama seeks tax deal, Republicans warn of 'ruin'

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Saturday assured angry US voters who routed his Democratic allies this week that he got their message and urged jubilant Republicans to work with him on a tax-cut deal.

"Your message was clear," the president told Americans in his weekly radio address. "You're rightly frustrated with the pace of our economic recovery. So am I. You're fed up with partisan politics and want results. I do too."

Obama vowed to target stubbornly high joblessness that spelled Democratic disaster in Tuesday's elections and urged Republicans to agree to a deal on middle-class tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 but set to expire come January.

The president said he hoped to extend the cuts for all but the top two percent of earners, declaring: "I believe we can?t afford to borrow and spend another 700 billion on permanent tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires."

Republicans have said they will fight to make all of the cuts permanent during a "lame-duck" session due to start the week of November 15, and Obama's words left open the prospect of a temporary extension for those at the top.

"Something?s got to be done. And I believe there?s room for us to compromise and get it done together," said Obama, who admonished his fired-up foes "the campaign season is over."

"This a great opportunity to show everyone that we got the message and that we're willing, in this post-election season, to come together and do what's best for the country we all love," he said.

Senator-elect Marco Rubio, a Republican rising star, charged in his party's radio rebuttal that Obama had set the United States on "nothing short of a path to ruin, a path that threatens to diminish us as a nation and a people."

"The challenges are too great, too generational in scope for us to be merely opponents of bad policies. Instead, we will put forward bold ideas and have the courage to fight for them," said Rubio, a darling of the archconservative "Tea Party" movement.

Where Obama vowed to extend tax cuts on families making 250,000 dollars or less, Rubio said Republicans were committed to "preventing a massive tax increase scheduled to hit every American taxpayer at the end of the year."

And Republicans will set about "repealing and replacing the disastrous health care bill," a signature Obama achievement loathed by the "Tea Party," according to the senator-elect.

The White House's opponents will also be "tackling a debt that is pushing us to the brink of our own Greece-like day of reckoning," he said, a common Republican warning against a crisis-hit European nation battling runaway debt.

Rubio's remarks made no reference to compromising with the Democrats or the White House in the wake of the elections, which saw the Republicans retake the House of Representatives and slice deep into the Democratic Senate majority.

Tanzania election: Jakaya Kikwete re-elected president

Tanzania's incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete has been returned to office following last weekend's elections, officials say.

The election commission said Mr Kikwete won just over 61% of the votes, beating candidates from opposition parties.

The commission dismissed claims of irregularities in the count.

Mr Kikwete has been credited with boosting the nation's economy, but his opponents say he has failed to tackle widespread poverty.

Tanzania boasts east Africa's second-biggest economy, although more than 50% of Tanzanians still live below the poverty line, according to the IMF.

The main opposition leader, Willibrod Slaa, had called for a vote recount, but the commission said there were not enough irregularities to change the final result.

The president, who is 60, will serve a second and final term.

BBC

Burial feud rocks US family kin

Two Kenyan families are fighting over the burial place for a woman and her two children murdered three weeks ago in the US.

The woman’s husband, Mr Justus Kebabe, has admitted in court to killing his wife, son and daughter in New Jersey on October 11 in their apartment.

According to the US-based family of Bilha Kwamboka Omare, 32, who was murdered along with her son, Kinley Ogendi, 12, and daughter, Ivyn Ogendi, nine, they will be buried on November 15 at a public cemetery in New Jersey.

The prosecutor has asked the court to jail Mr Kebabe for 76 years, 25 years and four months for each count. Should that be granted, he will be eligible for parole after 50 years.

The Omare family spokesman Shem Onditi, said from New Jersey, they had claimed the three bodies as next of kin as provided by Minnesota law.

But Mr Kebabe’s family, also in the US, says it has the right to bury them in Kisii, Kenya, under the Abagusii customs on marriage.

A brother of the accused, Mr Evans Kebabe, said on Thursday the Abagusii customary laws should take precedence over the Minnesota law in the burial dispute.

“I know my brother committed a horrific crime but the customs are in place and they should be upheld,” Evans said.

He said he had sought a court injunction to stop the Omare family from taking the bodies to New Jersey for burial.

A member of the Kebabe family, Joseph Lister Nyaringo, said in an email, that despite the pain the late Bilha’s family is in, they need to cooperate with the Kebabe family and have the burials in Kenya.

But Ms Omare’s brother, Danvas Omare said in New Jersey: “You cannot kill someone and then say you will bury them. Bilha was my sister and the family here in the US is involved. It’s nothing against our customs.”

“There is no custom that permits a man to murder his family and later claim culture,” Mr Onditi said. “There is no such culture.”

Asked what will become of the couple’s four-year old girl, Pascali, currently in the custody of child welfare services, Mr Onditi said the family would adopt her.

“That’s why the family wants the burial in the US where the father would be and she will be able to visit the burial site when she grows up.”

A fundraiser by the Omare family is scheduled for the weekend in Minnesota for the burial arrangements. Mr Kebabe said he would not attend, as he “had not been invited.”

Nation

Kenyan minister William Ruto in The Hague to meet ICC

One of Kenya's best known politicians, William Ruto, accused of links to post-election violence in 2008, has flown to The Hague.

He says he has asked to meet the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo to "set the record straight".

The ICC is investigating the clashes which left some 1,300 people dead.

Mr Ruto has denied any links to the violence, which were most deadly in his home province of the Rift Valley.

Mr Ruto is a controversial figure in the coalition government that took power in 2008 to end the violence.

He is deputy leader of Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement but the pair have fallen out.

The ICC has not published the names of those it wants to question in connection with the violence.

But the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has accused Mr Ruto of responsibility.

He was suspended last month as higher education minister, after a court ruled he must stand trial over corruption allegations - he denies any wrongdoing.

BBC

Johnny Rodrigues of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force blamed a spate of wild animal killings on poaching.

"Usually you hardly hear of anything like this, but these animals are being traumatised," he told BBC News.

Peter Evershed was on a fishing trip in the remote Mana Pools area with three people, including his brother-in-law, when he was attacked.

"These fishing camps don't have security fences, but that's why people go there - and you go there at your own risk because it's a wildlife area and they're trying to keep it as natural as possible," Mr Rodrigues said.

Eight villagers were attacked by lions earlier in the year - but 200km to 300km (125 to 185 miles) further down the river, he said.

Last month, a South African tourist was killed by an elephant who attacked him as he approached a houseboat on Lake Kariba.

"There's been a lot of snaring and shooting of animals in the area so it's upset the animals," he said.

'Hogwash'

He dismissed reports that lions were being lured into camps with meat by tour operators.

"You're going into a wildlife area, you should be aware that it is risky but no hunter or anybody entices lions to come near the camps - that's a lot of hogwash."

Zimbabwe's wildlife has been severely affected by the country's economic decline over the last decade as people turn to poaching and illegal hunting for food.

"When there is no food, people resort to snaring the wildlife," Mr Rodrigues said.

The coalition government that came to power 20 months ago with the promise of turning around the economy has not eased the situation, nor has tourism picked up, he said.

"We don't have the tourists - if we had the tourists it would actually work."

BBC

ELECTION CENTER

Tanzanians elect first albino to parliament

An albino has been elected as an MP in Tanzania for the first time.

"This win is a victory not only for me but also for all the albinos in this country," Salum Khalfani Bar'wani, from the opposition Cuf party, told the BBC.

Albinos have suffered widespread persecution in Tanzania, where witch doctors say magic potions made with albino body parts can bring good luck.

The government has been campaigning against the discrimination, and an albino MP was appointed two years ago.

But Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer was nominated by the president who is able to appoint 10 unelected members of parliament.

Over the past few years dozens of albinos have been killed in Tanzania, targets of body-snatchers, and the killings have spread to neighbouring Burundi.

In August a court in Tanzania sentenced a Kenyan to 17 years in jail on charges of trying to sell an albino person.

'Joy'

Mr Bar'wani said he was grateful to the constituents in Lindi Urban, in the remote south-east of the country, for electing him.

"My joy has no end," he told the BBC Swahili Service.

"The people of Lindi have used their wisdom and have appreciated clearly that albinos are capable.

"I am so touched that this is the first time in the electoral history of this country for an albino to be elected by the people in a popular contest to be their representative in parliament - and not through sympathy votes or decisions."

He said his success also showed people in Lindi where tired of the leadership of the ruling CCM party.

So far five cabinet ministers from the ruling party have lost their seats to the opposition in the elections.

Incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to win the presidential poll, although he faces a strong challenge from former priest Willibrod Slaa and university professor Ibrahim Lipumba, among six opposition candidates.

On Monday, opposition supporters held protests in several parts of the country at the slow pace of announcing the result of Sunday's general election.

BBC

University offers Lady Gaga sociology course

The University of South Carolina has developed a sociology course dedicated to the life, work and rise to fame of pop star Lady Gaga.

Lady Gaga and the Sociology of the Fame is to be taught by Professor Mathieu Deflem, a fan of the singer.

Course documents said students would learn to "engage in sound and substantiated scholarly thinking" on issues related to her fame.

The course, which has its own blog, is due to start in spring 2011.

The Belgian born sociologist, whose research interests also include counter-terrorism, international policing, crime control and internet technology, says he has seen Lady Gaga in concert 30 times.

'Sociological dimensions'

"We're going to look at Lady Gaga as a social event," Prof Deflem told the USC student newspaper, the Daily Gamecock.

"So it's not the person, and it's not the music. It's more this thing out there in society that has 10 million followers on Facebook and six million on Twitter. I mean, that's a social phenomenon."

The course description says it aims to "unravel some of the sociologically relevant dimensions of the fame of Lady Gaga with respect to her music, videos, fashion, and other artistic endeavours".

It will look at business and marketing strategies, the role of old and new media, fans and live concerts, gay culture, religious and political themes, sex and sexuality, and the cities of New York and Hollywood, it says.

Prof Deflem said he initially planned to call the course the Sociology of Fame or the Sociology of Celebrity, and to use Lady Gaga as an example.

"Then I thought, 'Oh, what the hell? Let's make the whole freaking course about Lady Gaga and her rise to fame.'

Also a fan of Frank Zappa, Prince, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Status Quo and Ritchie Blackmore, Prof Deflem says his interest in Lady Gaga began when he first saw her perform on television on 9 January 2009.

"I hope that [prospective students] are at least somewhat fans of Gaga," he told the student newspaper.

"They don't have to be hardcore fans. The better fan will not necessarily be the better student. But you have to have some interest in the topic. So if you really don't like her, you probably shouldn't take the course."

Speaking to the BBC, he said the media reaction to the launch of the course has been "simply staggering", and the academic endeavour has become caught up in the very phenomenon it is exploring.

"The story has gone viral... My work on terrorism got a lot of attention as well, but that is dwarfed by the Gaga course!", he said.

BBC

Ex-diplomat, church official, resigns as head of Kenya truth body

Nairobi, November 2 (ENI)--Bethuel Kiplagat, the head of Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission and a former national church figure, has resigned after mounting pressure on him to step down following allegations of corruption against him.

"In order to allow the tribunal to carry out its mandate, I am, therefore, as of today, stepping aside from my day to day responsibilities at the TJRC," Kiplagat said in a statement issued in Nairobi on 2 November.

Kiplagat's statement came two days after the chief justice named a tribunal to investigate corruption allegations levelled against him.

The truth commission was set up to investigate factors that led to fierce inter-ethnic fighting and the deaths of about 1300 people after disputed election results in December 2007.

A former deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, Kiplagat has been involved in World Council of Churches peace efforts in Africa. He served as Kenya's ambassador to France in 1978, and was envoy to Britain from 1981 to 1983.

Kiplagat was appointed by President Mwai Kibaki in July 2009 to lead the commission, which was tasked with uncovering responsibilities for historical injustices, political assassinations and the plundering of national resources since Kenya's independence in 1963.

Civil society groups then started calling for his resignation alleging he was tainted by the same injustices he was supposed to investigate.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, the former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town and chairperson of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, had in February urged Kiplagat to stand down.

Civil society groups said Kiplagat was a top foreign ministry official during the rule of former president Daniel arap Moi, when the army massacred Somali Muslims in northern Kenya in 1984. He was also an official there when his superior, the then foreign minister Robert Ouko was killed.

"I still believe that we must uphold the constitutional right of every Kenyan to be considered innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law," Kiplagat said his statement.

Church leaders had prayed with Kiplagat as the pressure grew on the former diplomat.

"I visited him. He was a deeply troubled man, but his conscience was very clean," the Rev. David Gathanju, the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa told ENInews. Gathanju had earlier in the year also called on Kiplagat to stand down.

christiancentury.org

We’ll not lift rule on car imports, says Kebs

The Kenya Bureau of Standards on Monday maintained that vehicles which were imported into the country without conforming to the eight-year rule would either be destroyed or shipped back to the country of origin.

The Kenya Revenue Authority recently raised issue with importation of about 500 over-age vehicles, which were cleared to enter into the local market after allegedly being exempted from the rule by the Industrialisation ministry.

The case has since been taken up by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, which is investigating possible collusion between importers, customs officers and officials of the standards agency.

“The rules are clear that such vehicles are either shipped back or destroyed. There will be no discrimination in the application of this law,” Kebs managing director Joseph Koskei told journalists in Mombasa.

He was speaking when he opened a five-day capacity building seminar for laboratory testing officers from Kebs and various firms accredited by the agency to offer testing services.
He warned firms that collude with unscrupulous traders to tamper with laboratory results to favour certain individuals that stern measures would be taken against them.

The MD also said fake Kebs quality stamps that were circulating in the manufacturing sector might have been obtained through the aid of the agency’s employees.

Corrupt officials

“In the past we have had incidents where a laboratory technician tampers with the results of a sample and provides wrong results knowing too well that the results are incorrect,” he noted.

He added: “The moment you provide such results you should know that they will harm consumers including yourself. Those charged with the responsibility should exercise proper ethics and high integrity.”

Kebs is in the process of accrediting more agencies to offer testing laboratory services in the region to increase capacity in tandem with growing business within the East Africa Community, according to Mr Joel Gikubu, chief manager and head of testing.

“After the coming into effect of the EAC common market protocol we anticipate that demand for laboratory testing services will shoot up,” he said.

Nation

Delay in Tanzania poll results sparks chaos

Chaos erupted in Mwanza city and some other lake zone districts as youths protested at the delay in the announcement of election results.

Two vehicles belonging to the Ilemela deputy returning officer Paulo Masangu were burnt using a petrol bomb on Monday. Ten other cars had their windows smashed with stones as thousands of opposition supporters in Ilemela and Nyamagana constituencies demanded immediate release of results.

Anti-riot police were forced to lob tear gas canisters to disperse the crowds that, however, overwhelmed them. This led to nearly 40 minutes of a cat-and-mouse chase along the streets. A section of the chanting opposition supporters attempted to break a gate to gain entry into the Mwanza municipal offices, where the National Electoral Commission (NEC) officials were counting and tallying the results.

No NEC official released any results, even to waiting journalists, with reports saying the delay was being attributed to errors in the tallying. Chadema party candidates Ezekiel Wenje (Nyamagana) and Highness Simon (Ilemela) were also locked up in the offices. Efforts to cool their supporters had earlier been unsuccessful.

The rioters claim they have won the two seats formerly held by Home Affairs minister Laurence Masha and CCM lawmaker for Ilemela and former Trade minister Anthony Diallo.

Reports of clashes with the police were also reported in areas like Tandale in Dar es Salaam, Kahama, Arusha, Busanda, Tarime and Zanzibar for the better part of the morning and late afternoon on Monday.

In Busanda, the supervisor for Butundwe polling centre in Nyakagomba ward, Mr Frank Mgeta, 26, and his assistant were seriously beaten, allegedly by political hooligans who were celebrating their party’s win of the seat.

In Dar es Salaam, the Tandika bus stand and street were turned into a battlefield as baton-wielding policemen clashed with Civic United Front (CUF) supporters who rejected the win by CCM’s Zena Mgaya.

Nation

Kenya leaders root for more action against those named in graft

Individuals implicated in corruption should be treated the same, former Defence minister Njenga Karume said on Sunday.

“Anyone who looted government wealth should be investigated and if found guilty appropriate action should be taken against them,” Mr Karume said.

In Mukurweini, Assistant minister Kabando wa Kabando said politicians were contravening the new constitution by spreading ethnic hate to undermine integrity and anti graft efforts.

Speaking in Kirinyaga, Gichugu MP Martha Karua asked President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to sack ministers involved in corruption.

“What the President and the Prime Minister have done is not enough as there are more ministers who need to be sacked and investigated,” Ms Karua said.

Ikolomani MP Boni Khalwale reminded Mr Odinga that he was a product of the reform agenda and should not be seen to defend ministers linked to corruption.

“For the PM to swear on camera that he will defend corruption, it is a big disappointment. We fear that institutions under him such as the Efficiency Monitoring Unit could be stifled in their work if this is the trend,” he said.

MPs Mithika Linturi and Luka Kigen said the PM should instead have used instruments of government to verify the allegations.

“If I were the PM I would have instituted investigations instead of just shouting and answering back,” Mr Kigen said.

At the same time, MPs from Nyanza supported the crackdown by Kacc on corrupt individuals in the country.

In Nyeri, Mathira MP Ephraim Maina called on all public officers with pending corruption cases to step down as required by the new laws.

“We are not only talking about ministers stepping down but all public officials with pending corruption cases in court,” he said.

Nation