The Anchor April 2009. Seco ndPost

worse. From the skies, the sun is stinging hot and the clouds are without rain. Deep in April, a month or­di­narily wet, all sig­nals in­di­cate that the rains are failing.
On the farms, farmers are missing in action as they are not in­ter­ested in planting seeds that face all the probabil­ity of failure- af­ter all their crops have been failing for the last two years now.
At the markets, available food stuff is unaffordable. A Kilo of dry maize is re­tailing at Sh 34, while that of beans is un­available without Sh 70. Cow peas re­tail at Sh 70 a Kilo while Green grams sale at Sh 100 per kilo. The above prices are appli­cable in Macha­kos and the reality is that the prices are worse in the interior selling points as traders have to factor trans­port and profit lev­els as thy price the food.
What used to be Kenya’s poor man’s food- a mixture of boiled maize and beans has become a very impossible meal for the poor.
There is no let up on the pries of veg­etables whose prices are soaring by the day. For in­stance, many families now have to with­out tomatoes in their stew because four of them cost Sh 20- meaning a single tomato costs five shillings.
As we went to press, a bag of potatoes was selling at Sh 6,000 in Nairobi and it is expected that the price of popular potato chips could soon become unaffordable.
Reports reaching The Anchor from many part of the region indicate that human-wild­life conflict has escalated with wild­life migrating from their turf to secure survival by partaking in the resources hu­mans use. Lives, both human and wildlife are being lost daily out of the conflicts.
Residents living within large rivers have to contend with crocodiles and Hippos are leaving the drying rivers to seek food where Man lives.
Dams have dried and rivers are drying even as bore holes yields are shrinking due to the existing weather.
This has resulted in the water scarcity in towns, rendering many water com­pa­nies struggle to find alternative means of wa­ter in view of the un­folding realities.
Scientist say what is being witnessed now is as a result of Global Warming, a phe­nom­enon whose alert was issued many years ago and ignored by au­thorities and citizens alike.
What has aggravated the situation is wan­ton felling of trees for charcoal and wood needs. The region is as affected as it has the dubious distinction of pro­ducing all the charcoal used in Nairobi, with sta­tis­tics indicating that over two hundred Lorries drive into the city daily carrying charcoal.
Even as this is the situation, few farmers willing to plant seeds are facing the re­ality of soaring seed prices in Machakos town in spite of Gov­ernment guarantees to lower the commodities.
Speaking to reporters outside one of seed retail outlets in the town where they were purchasing the product, farmers said that compared to the last season the prices had gone up.
A farmer Mr. Samuel Kioko said 2kg of Hybrid maize seeds rose from Sh 270 last season to Sh 370 while a 50kg bag of fertilizer was retailing Sh. 3,500.
He said that the prices should slide down because due to the acute famine that has stricken the area many farmers can not afford basic farm inputs.
Last week Machakos Deputy District Ag­ri­cul­tural Officer (DAO) Mr. Fredrick Mutothia said that 50 tonnes of maize, millet, cassava and sorghum will be given to vulnerable farmers in the dis­trict.worse. From the skies, the sun is stinging hot and the clouds are without rain. Deep in April, a month or­di­narily wet, all sig­nals in­di­cate that the rains are failing.
On the farms, farmers are missing in action as they are not in­ter­ested in planting seeds that face all the probabil­ity of failure- af­ter all their crops have been failing for the last two years now.
At the markets, available food stuff is unaffordable. A Kilo of dry maize is re­tailing at Sh 34, while that of beans is un­available without Sh 70. Cow peas re­tail at Sh 70 a Kilo while Green grams sale at Sh 100 per kilo. The above prices are appli­cable in Macha­kos and the reality is that the prices are worse in the interior selling points as traders have to factor trans­port and profit lev­els as thy price the food.
What used to be Kenya’s poor man’s food- a mixture of boiled maize and beans has become a very impossible meal for the poor.
There is no let up on the pries of veg­etables whose prices are soaring by the day. For in­stance, many families now have to with­out tomatoes in their stew because four of them cost Sh 20- meaning a single tomato costs five shillings.
As we went to press, a bag of potatoes was selling at Sh 6,000 in Nairobi and it is expected that the price of popular potato chips could soon become unaffordable.
Reports reaching The Anchor from many part of the region indicate that human-wild­life conflict has escalated with wild­life migrating from their turf to secure survival by partaking in the resources hu­mans use. Lives, both human and wildlife are being lost daily out of the conflicts.
Residents living within large rivers have to contend with crocodiles and Hippos are leaving the drying rivers to seek food where Man lives.
Dams have dried and rivers are drying even as bore holes yields are shrinking due to the existing weather.
This has resulted in the water scarcity in towns, rendering many water com­pa­nies struggle to find alternative means of wa­ter in view of the un­folding realities.
Scientist say what is being witnessed now is as a result of Global Warming, a phe­nom­enon whose alert was issued many years ago and ignored by au­thorities and citizens alike.
What has aggravated the situation is wan­ton felling of trees for charcoal and wood needs. The region is as affected as it has the dubious distinction of pro­ducing all the charcoal used in Nairobi, with sta­tis­tics indicating that over two hundred Lorries drive into the city daily carrying charcoal.
Even as this is the situation, few farmers willing to plant seeds are facing the re­ality of soaring seed prices in Machakos town in spite of Gov­ernment guarantees to lower the commodities.
Speaking to reporters outside one of seed retail outlets in the town where they were purchasing the product, farmers said that compared to the last season the prices had gone up.
A farmer Mr. Samuel Kioko said 2kg of Hybrid maize seeds rose from Sh 270 last season to Sh 370 while a 50kg bag of fertilizer was retailing Sh. 3,500.
He said that the prices should slide down because due to the acute famine that has stricken the area many farmers can not afford basic farm inputs.
Last week Machakos Deputy District Ag­ri­cul­tural Officer (DAO) Mr. Fredrick Mutothia said that 50 tonnes of maize, millet, cassava and sorghum will be given to vulnerable farmers in the dis­trict.

VERBATIM: List of Teachers' Sacco debtors
The Ministry of Cooperative Development con ducted an inquiry into the activities of the Masaku Teachers Sacco Society and the findings have been hidden from members.
The Anchor has however been serializing the findings in the last two issues and in this issue brings out a verbatim account of those whose loans are in the negative and are driving the sacco to death.“YEAR 2008 INQUIRY LIST OF SHAME:

Preamble: The ministry of the co-operative development and marketing carried out an inquiry into the mal­prac­tices in the Masaku teachers Sacco Society Ltd. The following was un­earthed.

Overdrafts loans (Negatives).

NO. NAME AMOUNT (KSHS)

1. Mr. Albanus Mutisya 3,600,000 (3.6m)
2. Mr. Solomon Ngomo 4,200,000 (4.2m)
3. Mr. Stanley Kyelenzi 1,700,000 (1.7m)
4. Janet 315,000
5. Malila 630,000
6. Mbalya 402,000
7. Musembi 1.09m
8. Mutiso 126,000
9. Makeke 576,000
10. Mbithi 841,000
11. Muema 216,000
12. Ndeto 87,000
13. J. George 1,200,000
14. Musyoki 720,000
15. Mulandi 133,000
16. Soo 355,000
17. Ngumba 1,180,000 (1.18m)
18. P.Mutuku 600,000
19. Frida Musyoki 342,000
20. Susan Muia 144,000
21. Nzioki 465,000
22. Seva 217,000
23. Kioko Matheka 89,800
TOTAL 19,947,000

2. COMMITTEE MEMBERS

1. James Muia (former chairman) - 500,000/=
2. Rodgers Nzoka (fomer treasurer) - 600,000/=
3. Paul Kioko (current Honour Secretary) - 282,000/=
4. Julius Nzioka (current Chairman) - 493,000/=
5. Benjamin Isika (current Treasurer) - 336,000/=
For the above Treasurer, The sacco paid for
His University fees at Kampala International
University from 2005 – 2008 (4 years)
6. Mr. Nduta (Mbooni representative) - 50,000/= (imprest)
7. Mr. Kavuu (Plaza Treasurer) - 1,300,000/=
8. Mr. Josephat Kalonzo (V/Chairman) - 200,000/=
9. Mr. Edrick Ngunzi (Chairman supervisory) - 142,000/=
10. Mr. Daniel Nzioki (former chairman
Supervising committee) - 47,000/=
TOTAL 3,950,000/=

INQUIRY RECOMMENDATION
All the money must be paid and those holding office should quit immediately and pave way for fresh elections"

Mtito-Andei Town Council faces revolt

RESIDENTS of Mtito-Andei Town Coun­cil have launched a protest against high rates of taxation.
The residents are demanding the disso­lution of the council so that their issues are run by the County Council of Makueni.
A meeting held Mtito-Andei D.O’s office and chaired by Mtito-Andei Chairman of the business community Mr. George Mulei proposed to stop remitting levies to the council as it was not offering any­thing in return.
It emerged at the meeting that there is a problem of management of the Mtito-Andei town council on the way tax is collected and service is de­liv­ered.
Mr. Mulei said that since the di­version of the new Nairobi-Mombasa road around four years ago and which left out major towns, business went down forcing others to close while others had to relocate other towns which were not affected by the road di­version.
The road diversion affected towns like Machinery, Kambu and Hillside.
During the meeting, it transpired that a pro­test letter had been dispatched to the Ministry of Local Government to com­plain against he council.
The traders have listed 11 reasons of pro­test and have not hidden the fact that they want the council abolished.
Mtito-Andei Town Council is on of the coun­cils in Ukambani that is pro­posed for abolishment. The Town Council of Wote, Matuu Town Coun­cil and Mwingi Town Coun­cil are proposed for abol­ishment.
If abolished, the County Council of Makueni will run the areas of Wote and Mtito-Andei while the County Council f Masaku will administer the areas run by Matuu Town Council. The County Coun­cil of Mwingi would overlap ar­eas now cov­ered by the Mwingi Town Coun­cil.
Mtito-Andei town council is one of the smallest local authorities in the coun­try and facing a lot of financial challenges. The council also faces boundary dis­putes from Taita- Taveta County with threats to swallow it entirely.
That would go with losing the for­tunes of revenue collection from centers and tourists destinations especially hotels and lodges in the Tsavo East and West na­tional parks.
The council has four wards which in­clude Mtito-Andei town, Ivingoni-Mangelete ward, Darajani-Kathekani ward and Kambu ward.


Plan to shift Machakos Education Offices from County Hall

THE Ministry of Education is facing the re­ality of having to pay rent at market rates of quit the premises of the Masaku County Council al­to­gether.
The ministry, who’s District Education Officer Mr Abdikadir Ali, his deputy Mr Guracha and other top guns occupy the first floor of County Hall and half of the first floor of the Eastern Wing.
Investigations by The Anchor show they pay a paltry less than Sh 4,000 rent per month, making one of the most his­toric buildings one of the cheapest in Macha­kos Town. The ministry pays a cumulative fig­ure of Sh 40,000 annually.
The rates are ideally pre-his­toric; with virtually ev­ery official from both the county and the min­is­try remaining surprised how such rates could exist in modern day business.
County Hall has been the home of the DEO for many years since the building was opened by Colonial Governor Sir Evelyn Barring in 1959.
Our reporters verified that the issue of the offices featured at the District Edu­cation Board, with Mr Ali in­di­cating that he plans to renovate the former School Equipment Scheme offices that currently house the Teachers Service Commission and other offices so that he can move there with the other offi­cials.
At the DEB meeting, it is understood the Chairman of the Masaku County Council Mr Stanley Man’geli supported the ini­tiative and the DEB endorsed the plans.
Mr Ali told The Anchor that plans to move were mooted late last year after he re­ported in Machakos. “We need to work from one place and end this situation where we are scattered all over the town.”
He says officials are working on the Bill of Quantities to verify the funding re­quirement, which he says will be pro­vided by the ministry and well-wishers. Even then, The Anchor un­der­stood that the DEO was sending out letters of appeal drafted by his deputy to industries in Athi River to seek donations for the project whose cost he did not know by the time we went to press.
The Anchor was receiving reports that ver­bal messages had been sent to schools to the effect that Primary schools were required to pay Sh 3,000 and Sh 5,000 for Secondary School. So what will the project cost and who will fund it? That is an issue for an­other day
The development comes as the County Council endorsed a record budget of Sh 218m to finance its activities in the 2009/2010 financial year. The Bud­get was pre­sented for approval to the County’s Full Council Meeting by Fi­nance Committee Chairman Mr Charles Mutinda.
It entails a facility to renovate the County Hall at a cost of Sh 1.2m, a Sh 5m pro­vision for a new grader that will be pro­cured on Hire- Purchase, a news medical scheme for civic leaders and staff worth Sh 2.5m, among others.
It has also set aside some Sh 10m for debt resolution ahead of the 2010 dead­line set for Local Authorities to clear their debts or fail to get their allo­cations of the Local Authority Trans­fer Fund. Stay Anchored!

PICK rallies support behind ODM

The Party of Independent Candidate of Kenya(PICK) is opting to stand by the Or­ange Democratic Movement in the face of the current stand-off in Government.
Officials from five districts of Ukambani led by the party’s national organizing sec­re­tary Mr Julius Kilungu and a member of the steering committee Mr Davis Musau, faulted PNU in transacting government affairs be­hind the back of ODM.
At a press conference in Machakos town, the officials said that the PNU should honour the accord reached at the formation of the grand coa­lition government made up of two principals- Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki.
‘’PNU is now trying to plunge the coun­try into turmoil even before the first wounds of the post elections heal’’ said Mr Kilungu.
The officials warned that Kenyans are watching who is on the wrong and soon would give their verdict.
They said Martha Karua’s resignation from the PNU side of the government was an indication of bad things brewing within the PNU coalition and that this was an early warning to those still engaged in stirring up the country’s peace and unity to desist from the trend.
The officials supported Mr Raila Odinga’s sediments that the country was now being run in a Jua kali style (casual) without the proper procedures being followed.
They called upon leaders of all walks of life to rise up and protest against PNU’s re­fusal to reforms.
“As an old respected leader who has for long fought for democracy of the country in the past, the President should arrest the current political animosity before it gets out of hand’’ they said.
The officials blamed the current political cri­sis within the grand coalition government to intervention by some elements who lost in the just concluded general elections and joined PNU.
On creation of districts, the leaders supported the move but said they should be provided with the full set up of departmental heads.
“Otherwise it will be meaningless to create unviable districts which do not pro­vide ad­equate services to the people’’ they added.
Mr Kilungu said soon the party would con­vene a forum for all party offi­cials in the entire Ukambani re­gion to map up their po­litical way forward.
They urged the party leader Mr Haroun Mwau, to lead from the front as many MPs from the region had failed to deliver thus cre­ating leadership vacuum.

PNU youth wing tells off Raila, backs Kibaki

Party of National Unity (PNU) man­da­rins in the Grand Government Coa­lition continued with its bashing of Prime Min­is­ter Raila Odinga over his outbursts against President Kibaki.
The party’s youth wing criticized the PM for saying Kibaki’s lead­ership is primitive, saying this was dis­re­spect of the highest order to the Head of State by Raila.
Led by the PNU national Deputy Chairman for youth affairs Mr.Mwengi Mutuse, the party’s leaders in Eastern Province warned the PM to stop hurling insults to the President and told him to respect the oath of office he swore to abide with.
Addressing a press con­ference in Machakos town ,the leaders tore into Raila for allegedly publicly insulting Presi­dent Kibaki
“It is wrong for the PM to exhibit arro­gance and disrespect to the Presi­dent and the in­sti­tutions he is heading” ,said Mutuse.
Mr.Mutuse wondered whether Raila would stand someone to insult him in public forums as Head of State.
“Will the Prime Minister tolerate anyone to abuse him in public if he were the President” ?he posed.
Mr.Mutuse was accompanied by the party’s branch chairmen, Mr.Collins Kitaka (Machakos Town),Mr.Francis Kitonyo (Kitui Central),Eng.Edward Zam­bia (Kilome) and Ms.Jane Mwikali (women leader,Mwingi North)
Mutuse warned that the part’s youth wing will mobilize like minded Kenyans to paralyze all government activities under the Prime Minister’s office if he continued to insult President Kibaki.
“Wananchi in Eastern Province have full confidence in President Kibaki’s lead­ership and will stand by him at whatever cost”, Mutuse claimed, an allegation that is quite contestable as he lacks the basis to speak for them resolutely.
He challenged ODM leaders to stop bickering and instead direct their energies in addressing the pertinent issues facing the country, particularly the biting hunger, insecurity and un­em­ployment,
Mr.Mutuse said he was optimistic the Grand Coalition Government will last its full term adding “none of the sitting Mps is ready to face the electorate for fear of being voted out enmass”.

Judge faults Tribunals

District land tri­bu­nals suffer a standing guilt of over­stepping their man­date in the ad­min­is­tration of jus­tice on land matters.
That was a key finding shared at a rare judiciary fo­rum and the Machakos Resi­dent Judge Justice Isaac Lenaola added that in many in­stances the tri­bu­nals exceeded their mandate resulting in poor dispensation of justice.
The judge who was re­acting to remarks by Macha­kos DC Mr Bernard Kinyua who raised the problem of dis­trict land tribunals, he said in over 2000 cases he has heard in several stations in Eastern prov­ince the tri­bu­nals were found to have erred in law.
The Dc said the tribunals required proper training before they could handle the in­tri­cate land cases in their areas of jurisdiction.Judge Lenaola offered to be a resource person in the training of mem­bers of the District land Boards once they are put in place.
The Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya Macha­kos branch Mr Larry Wambua asked the Government to open more courts in the Machakos regions es­pe­cially in Athi River, Mwala and Donyo Sabuk order to ease the administration of justice.
He also called for the up­grading of the Macha­kos GK prison to the level of a Maximum security prison in order to reduce the costs and inconvenience of ferrying suspects from Kamiti prison every day.
Members of the public com­plained about the de­lay in determination of their cases and appealed for a faster dispensation of the cases before the courts.
Justice Lenaola promised to immediately examine specific cases mentioned by complainants and give direction on the appro­priate action.
He said his court served over 21 lower courts in the region that extended upto Loitoktok, Kajiado and the rest of Ukambani region resulting in an over­whelming number of cases, all cases would be handled with speed to en­sure faster dis­pen­sation of justice.
He however blamed some of the delay of cases on the litigants who postpone cases owing to petty prob­lems as well as non payment of lawyers.

Cholera kills four as water shortage bites

Four people have died and 172 others treated and dis­charged at the Macha­kos General hos­pi­tal since the out­break of chol­era in Athi River town in Kathiani district.
Machakos District Public Health Officer Mr Timothy Nzau said there were two cholera patients in the ward.
He said the cases came from Kanani-Bawani slum in Athi River town, Kathiani District.
However the Machakos branch chairman of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation Mrs Mary Muting’a has claimed that six people have already died after the outbreak of cholera in Athi River di­vision.
Mr Nzau said they had put a ban on hawking food and had closed several eating joints Machakos town which did not com­ply with hygiene and health safety regulations.
He added that there had been no cases of cholera out break in schools but the department was ensuring the students were taught health education in schools in addition to having treated the water and clean pit la­trines.
He said the Machakos Wa­ter and Sewerage Com­pany and the Macha­kos Municipal Coun­cil have been di­rected to repair broken water pipes and collect garbage to curb the spread of cholera.
He said that in residential areas members of the pub­lic have been advised to store enough water for use in flash toilets owing to water scarcity in the town while plot owners have been told to con­struct pit latrines which could be used in place of water clos­ets.
He advised the people to ensure they boil water for consumption and get their borehole water tested and declared safe for do­mes­tic use.
However, their efforts to control the spread of the disease have been com­pounded by the acute water shortage that has struck both the Mavoko and Machakos mu­nici­palities.
While the problem in Mavoko is recent, Macha­kos town has suffered perennial water shortage.
While expectations for a return to ample water supplies was expected with the rehabilitation of Maruba dam, the main water source for the town, no re­spite has been found and the town is ex­pe­ri­encing the worst water shortage in history.
Works are going on at the Dam, rising the em­bankment and spill-way for the dam to retain more water. But the failed rains in the last one year are threat­ening a shocking wa­ter scar­city level in the town.
The other water source for the town is the multi-million Nol Turesh pipeline. Supply to Machakos town, Kajiado and Kathiani districts ended two months ago af­ter pumps collapsed at Kiu Pumping Station.
Tanathi Water Services Board is in the process of installing stand-by pumps as it awaits delivery of four high powered pumps that are in the high seas.
Unscrupulous water ven­dors in Machakos town have also complicated the water shortage by drawing the water to big reservoirs and later sell to residents at exorbitant price of sh20 per 20-litre jerry can in­stead of the stipulated sh2.
Water minister Mrs Charity Ngilu has vowed to deal with the water shortage once and for all and has not spared greedy water ven­dors who are selling water at unauthorized rates.
In an unannounced strike, she raided water sales points, one of them being run by the Chief of Macha­kos Town where ven­dors are charging more than the authorized rates and ordered their closure.

Raging famine ravages families

HUNGER continues to ravage families in Ukambani despite spirited efforts by the government and other agencies to feed the hungry.
Although the government has increased relief food rations in the region, many families are going without food for days.
And as officials of the Mutui Museo (good neighbour) ini­tiative that has stepped in to sub­si­dize the gov­ernment relief food found out recently, some families in Makueni are worse off and need attention to avert a ca­tas­tro­phe.
Led by the initiative’s chairman Mr.Issac Kalua, the officials stumbled on a 18 member family which they found pre­paring porridge that was not even enough for half of them.
Touched by their plight, Mr.Kalua dug into his pock­ets and bought the family a bale of maize flour, cooking fat, sugar and other goodies.
The chairman who was accom­pa­nied by Mutui Museo deputy treasurer Mr.Tom Luusa and Red cross society chairman Macha­kos branch Mr. Pe­ter Kamba broke down when 70 year old widow, Chris­tine Nzioka Mulau told them they did not know where the next meal would come from.
“Kwaiwa ni kuthuku” (to have nothing is bad) were the moving words that mama Mulau greeted Kalua with when the team arrived at her home in Muaani village, Wote division.
We found her and the chil­dren waiting for the porridge being prepared by her sister in law at about 4.00pm.
The woman shed tears of joy as Mr.Kalua presented her with the food which she said would go along way in easing their sufferings.
“Mwaetwe kuu nuu?.Mwa Ngai niamuathime muno syana syakwa” (who has brought you here;let God bless you abundantly my children) exclaimed Mama Mulau as she spat on her chest to bless the visitor for the food.
Mr.Kalua is calling upon those with a heart to help to come forward and offer assistance to the starving Kenyans.
“The situation on the ground is bad. People are suffering all over”, re­gretted the Mutui Museo chairman.
Meanwhile more than 600 residents of Kitise location in Kathonzweni district have received relief food.
The food donated by Mutui Museo and Machakos Sports Club golfers was dis­trib­uted by the newly elected Chairman of the Machakos Water Company Mr. Munyao Kamba on be­half of the two groups.
Munyao described the hun­ger as threatening and urged the government and the international commu­nities to increase the relief food to avert fam­ine related deaths.

EDITORIAL
KMC's Off-Take project could not
have come at a better time

THE outbreak of cholera in some parts of Machakos and Kathiani districts is one even­tu­ality that must provide food for thought for the au­thorities- both civic and central gov­ernment.
Coming at a time of a rav­aging famine, crippling poverty and alarming water scar­city, it must be clear in the minds of those con­cerned that the situation is likely to get out of hand and become a very tragic mater in­deed.
At a time like this, when the lead­ership of the coun­try is busy fighting at the top, it may be useful for those in the districts to consider repositioning themselves in readiness for a possi­bility that famine, drought, chol­era and poverty may very easily collude and make this country ex­tremely un­gov­ernable.
In the case of cholera out­break, it may be needless for emphasize that it may have a direct relationship to lack of water. Looked it from another perspective, it is not hard to link the disease to ravaging poverty because the scarce water available is too costly for the ordinary citizen.
There still is another way of looking at the scenario. Given the desperation citi­zens find themselves in, they could easily dip their mouths in any water they are able to access.
The situation this country is getting into is one that may require that water be in­cluded as famine relief so as to assuage suffering brought about by the drought that is running into the second year, with­out sig­nals that matters will improve.
Sadly, as residents with the tragic effects of the out­break of cholera which has so far claimed sev­eral lives and left scores of vic­tims hospitalized, reports indicate that public Health officials have found it as harvest time.
A survey revealed that both genuine and quack pub­lic health officials have been extorting money from eateries ,bars restaurants and en­ter­tainment joints in the area for failure to maintain hygienic standards including pro­vision of clean pu­rified water, toilets, soap and hot water for hand washing among other requirements.
The predicament of both real and potential victims is a compounded by scarcity of water in the area which has seen a boost in water hawking by use of water bowzer by affluent business people, bi­cycle and hand cart water vendors for the or­di­nary folk.
However their merchandise, though life saving is also life threatening as the water they sell is raw and untreated making another source of calamity.
As the public health officials and water vendors ex­ploit the imminent human tragedy, the reality is that already five people are dead due to highly con­ta­gious water- related disease
It is in line with this that we recognize the initiative taken by the Government to remove the emaciated cattle in the country by providing some Sh 500m through the Kenya Meat Commission to buy the oth­er­wise dying cattle and convert them to famine relief for citizens. The project- named Off Take has taken off smoothly with KMC giving out a time table and quota allocation to show how farmers will de­liver their cattle to KMC from their respective districts.
This is the nature of a hands on mentality that is required of those managing the affairs of the nation so that Kenyans do not suffer any further when such suffering could have been avoided.
We wish therefore to urge organizations that help define life in the region to activate their emergency mechanisms geared towards warding off any even­tu­ality that can upstage humanitarian efforts being carried out by the State, Para-state and other humanitarian organizations like Red- Cross, Churches and initiatives like Mutui Museo
Editor: MARTIN MASAI
Published by Anchor Media Services.
P.O. Box 1468-90100, Machakos, Kenya.
Tel 0734-822-959, 020-2103380
E-mail: anchormedia@yahoo.com

MP's tax shame: It is not mere
re­fusal to pay up. It is official fraud

THE centre for Law and Research International (CLARION) and the Kenyans for Justice and Development (KEJUDEV) on has demanded that Members of Parliament must pay taxes just like any ordinary Kenyan. This was said during the conference organized by the dual organizations at Panafric Hotel attended also by Kisumu Town East MP, Mr Shakeel Shabbir.
On his keynote address on the theme: Peoples Conference on Taxation of Members of Parliament, Mr Martin Oloo, Advocate of the High Court and Governance Consultant, while quoting Thomas Hobbes, the 17th Century famous English philosopher said Kenyan Mps were egocentric oriented, that is why they are greedy and do not care about their electorates.
It is against this background that the Kenyan basic constitutional principle was quietly ousted in 1999 with the coming into force of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Act that created the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC). This gave MPs power to design the 1999 Amendment Act to disable many important constitutional provisions that created an institutional framework of democratic controls, checks and balances anchored on the principle of separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary. That law states categorically that it is superior to the Constitution, and where there is inconsistency between the two, it prevails.
In its effect, that 1999 amendment overthrows the Constitution and elevates the PSC to the Fourth arm of government, or worse still, to a parallel government. Thus the PSC operates outside all counterbalancing constitutional controls.
It explains why under the guise of catering for the welfare of parliamentarians, the PSC has used its vast powers to pay parliamentarians unreasonable salaries and allowances, which it charges directly to the Consolidated Fund, unchallenged.
Unless this Act is amended MPs will still have powers of the Executive to determine their salaries and allowances. That is why for proper checks and balances, the Executive must set the salaries and allowances of MPs as it used to do.
In light of the above, a group of Kenyans led by Okiya Omtatah Okoiti (pictured below with chains), member of KEJUDEV have optioned the High Court in Nairobi, seeking orders to have the PSC declared unconstitutional along with the law that created it. Further they want the High Court to recover the following money and resources the PSC has squandered on parliaments since 2003.
Members of parliament are paid a sitting allowance of Kshs. 5, 000 purportedly as an incentive to attend parliamentary sessions. The National Assembly sits four times in a week (once on Tuesdays and Thursdays and twice on Wednesdays). Each MP therefore earns Kshs. 20, 000 per week, translating to Kshs. 80, 000 per month, for doing what s/ he already paid a salary to do. Further, MPs earn hefty allowances every time they participate in sessions of Standing or ad-hoc Committees; every time they travel on a national business; and whenever they work over-time, or when Parliament is not in session.
Since the mandates of MPs require them to transact their business in the Houses, this payment the group say is both immoral and illegal. That is why these petitioners are seeking High Court orders to stop this anomaly and, further, to recover all moneys paid out as sitting allowances to all MPs since 2003.
Apart from sitting allowances, the PSC also approved and paid Kshs. 1.5 million “Winding- Up” allowances to each MP in the 9th Parliament, calculated at the rate of Kshs. 300, 000 per year for the 5 -year term served. This group says is illegal since the contract term of the Mps was expiring not being terminated.
Further more; about 35 percent of the MPs were elected back into 10th Parliament from the 9th Parliament. Does it mean re-elected MPs will keep being paid to “wind-up” every time their terms end? Are MPs being bribed here, too, so that they go home?
Again that is why the petitioners are seeking the High Court to stop these allowances to all members of the 9th Parliament. As if that is not enough, at the beginning of each five-year Parliamentary term, the PSC gives a Kshs. 3.3 million motor vehicle purchase grant to each MP, as well as the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Vice President, Ministers and Assistant Ministers.
The PSC also gives each MP a car maintenance allowance of Kshs. 900, 000 per year despite the fact that these cars are being used for the benefit of the MPs. There is evidence that not all MPs use the money to purchase vehicles. Some Mps divert it to other purposes, but still claim the money. This group says this is fraud, a crime in Kenyan law.
That is why the petitioners are asking the High Court to order that the motor vehicles be identified as public/ Government property by being fitted with Gk number plates as is required by law. It should also order the MPs surrender the vehicles at the end of each parliamentary each since they are public property.
The group also wants about 5million signatures from Kenyans to force MPs to pay taxes on the hefty allowances they receive every month.
This is not the first time Omtatah has refuted the hefty salaries of the MPs. The first one was in August 2007 when he joined a group of civil rights activists calling themselves the “Yellow Movement” who were arrested and later released by the high court after marching to Parliament to protest against a move by MPs of the 9th parliament to increase their own allowances and pay themselves a hefty gratuity.
During the incident, the arrested activists were injured in a road accident involving the police car that was ferrying them to various police stations and a matatu. According to Omtatah that was a sign of God that what the activists were demanding was justified.
The MPs hefty payment includes a basic salary of Sh 300,000 and a minimum commuted mileage (Sh 75,000), entertainment allowance (Sh 60,000), extraneous allowance (Sh 30,000), house allowance (Sh 70,000) and monthly car maintenance allowance (Sh 247,000).
At the time the activists were demonstrating against the hefty pay the PSC had also approved the MPs to get as part of January remuneration, mileage calculated at sh 115 per kilometre and gym membership allowance of sh 2,000, including fixed vehicles cost allowance (Sh 336,000), monthly committee meeting attendance allowance (Sh 40,000) and constituency allowance (sh 50,000).These include Sh 3.3 million car loan and sh 10 million loan to buy a house, both of which are interest-free.
Like in most other countries, where an independent committee sets salaries for MPs, the lobby group wants such independent body to be formed to replace PSC.

Why community police
will fail in Yatta

A row has erupted between the Matuu police, the local community policing ini­tiative officials and the Matuu town business community following the re­lease of a suspect who was involved in a robbery and instead two watchmen arrested.
The traders who were backed by the offi­cials of the local community policing initiative accused the police of trying to cover up the robbery which took place in Matuu town at a shop guarded by the two watchmen who managed to counter the criminals.
The two watchmen who were guarding the ‘’ZAC Electronic shop’ attacked and seriously injured the suspected robber who had entered the shop at mid­night to steal with others who es­caped.
On pouncing on him, the watchmen slashed the suspect with a panga he was carrying leaving him for dead.
But on reporting the matter to the police in the morning, the police instead turned against the watchmen and arrested them leaving free the suspect who was later admitted to the Thika district hospital.
As a result the business community flanked by the community policing offi­cials protested against the action demanding the unconditional release of the watchmen.
The owner of the shop Mr Michael Matheka, accused the police of con­doning crime by protecting criminals at the ex­pense of the innocent.
’’The suspect was caught red-handed in action and that the watchemn did what they did in self defence’’ said the shop owner.
”Does it mean the police wanted the crimi­nals to kill the watchmen and me for a good job to be commended’’ he asked.
Mr Matheka said his shop had been the target of criminals for the last few months, who broke into it, overpowered the watchmen and stole property but when he reported to the police no action was taken.
The business community threatened to close down their businesses if the trend of defending criminals at their expense continued.
The Eastern Provincial chairman of the community policing initiative Mr Solo Mutua and his Matuu town counterpart Mr Elija Mbaka, condemned the incident saying the arrest of the watchmen who were carrying out their re­spon­si­bility was in bad taste and meant to derail the war against crime.
They said the trend by the Matuu police had reached an alarming point such that the initiative was about to collapse.
”We cannot continue working with the officers who release criminals and later turn against us and the business victims’’ they said adding that they would now work hand in hand with the provincial ad­min­is­tration who are more transparent in the war against crime.
But contacted, the OCS M/s Elizabeth Murage, denied the claims saying the in­jured man was just a desperate poor street boy who was trying to seek shelter at the shop not knowing it was guarded.
She said the watchmen would nev­er­theless be charged with the offence of assault.

Growing desperation: Read the story of one Mumbua

Angry residents of Mjini estate in Macha­kos town had to lock up a woman in her house after she re­turned home, more than a month after abandoning her three children.
Even then, that is the best they could do. After all, the woman is one of the many single mothers dotting this part of the world who wallow in poverty and can hardly bring a meal to the table on daily basis. Besides, there are worse cases where beaten par­ents commit homicide, at times wiping off a family of father, mother and up to six children.
Neighbours said the woman in her late thirties allegedly left the children, Mbithe, 19, Mutile, 13 and Muendo, 7 years old to fend for them­selves and dis­appeared to the un­known.
When she resurfaced the angry neighbours refused to give her a second chance to escape and locked her up in her house for the whole day. So for how long can they do this?
Pressed by her neighbours to explain why she aban­doned the children during the time of a crippling famine, the woman named Mumbua explained her inability to feed the children and her preference to leave them to leave them to fend for them­selves, rather than harm them. Does this make sense? Well, may be.
Though Mumbua is depriving the chil­dren of parental care, she is probably one of the cases already known. Many residents of the township languish in poverty and long abandoned their children and their neighbours are too busy fending off pov­erty to notice it.
Neighbours said the woman had turned to drinking at Kyumbi Township and other towns along the Mombasa-Nairobi high­way. It is what many such women are doing in the hope of finding quick cash to prop up their families.
Mbithe said that she worked as a bar maid in one of bars in the town to pro­vide food to her younger siblings while Mutile said she and her younger brother had never been to school. This admission also confirms that child labour is in use in Macha­kos Town, even as it is prohibited within the law pro­tecting children.
Speaking to reporters outside her house the landlord who sought anonymity said she provided food to the children and made sure that there was security at night adding that Mutile, only 13 years old, had escaped being defiled.
Asked by why she abandoned her children, the mother said she was not able to cater for her children and was willing to give them to the government for care.
Area chief Mr Fidelis Muli said he would forward the woman to the children’s de­partment to face charges of child ne­glect.
So what is the role of government in this case and what will eventually happen to the children when Chief Muli takes Mumbua to court and she is eventually jailed?

Machakos Council lights up its Streets

STREET Lighting project in Macha­kos Municipality has surely changed the land­scape of the 100 year plus city that never was.
European Union officials led by project consultant Mr Kioko wa Luka concluded a field audit visit on the Public Street Lighting project on March 10-11 and expressed satisfaction with the scope and quality of work done so far.
The project involves the installation of 125 poles that are 8meters high street lights and six 10m high (but later modified to 13m high) flood lights on various sites within Machakos Mu­nici­pal Council. Four of the Flood lights are located within the Majengo and Kariobangi es­tates that mark the ‘old town’ while the rest two are in Kathemboni area of East Leigh.

Location of street lights

NAME OF ROAD LENGTH NO. OF COVERED POLES
1. Konza road
(from Hospital
gate to Machakos
Technical) 1000m 25
2. Mwatu Wa
Ngoma road 500m 12
3. Mbolu Malu road
(from Kido road
to Syokima
road) 400m 10
4. Kangundo road
(from Susu Centre
towards St.
Valentine) 1160m 29
5. Kitui road
(from Konza road
towards Machakos
Girls Sch) 1400m 35
6. Road in Eastleigh
(from Konza road
towards
Kathemboni) 500m 14
TOTAL 4,960M 125

This is in addition to earlier street lighting project that saw the illu­mi­nation of Syokimau Street last year. This means that over 50 percent of Macha­kos Town streets are lit and safety levels have been enhanced tremendously.

Municipal Council Engineering de­partment, under the direction of Town Engineer Mr Morris Aluanga lead the design and supervision team while Quality Assurance work is being undertaken by Electromag Engineering Co. Ltd.

Supply and delivery of the eight meter long 125 poles and the flood lights was done by Maury Enterprises Ltd. At a cost of Kshs. 2,992, 189.65 and Sh 280,206.90 respectively. (Ex VAT)

Supply and delivery of accessories for lighting poles was done by Thames Electrical Ltd. At Sh. 3,202,439.50 (Ex VAT).

Consultancy was undertaken by Electromag Engineering Co. Ltd at a cost of Kshs. 490,400. To date, M/S Ngewa has been paid Kshs. 169,300. for provision of extension of additional arms and pole.

M/S First Makas was award a con­tract to supply 550. 16mm di­am­eter, 400mm long J-bolts at a cost of Kshs. 1,500 per bolt.

All the street lighting poles and flood lights were supplied, erected into position and the installation of elec­tronic accessories is ongoing but almost virtually complete.
Street lighting along Kangundo road, Mwatu Wa Ngoma road, Mulu Mutisya road and Konza road were switched on during the site inspection. Three Flood lights were already also in use at the time of inspection although all are now lit.

OBSERVATIONS and FINDINGS:
The consultant inspected the lighting poles and accessories before they were supplied and certified//approved their quality. All the street lighting poles are made using Galvanised Class B steel.
The council has used 150W sodium lights and a 4mm2 core PVC cable in the works.The council had to order additional 4mm2 cable and sodium lights due to the additional excavation lengths and the double arms, re­spec­tively.
The council is in the process of fi­naliz­ing the installation of KPLC power meters.
The council purchased the following materials from other suppliers;- Cement, sand and aggregate. It also supervised the work and local labourers were hired and paid accordingly.

Based on bills of quantities, data collected on site and the interview with the Council Officer, the costs, to date, for the major items in the project are:

Account Cost Remark

1. Electromag
Engineering Co. Ltd. 245,000 Consultancy
2. Municipal Council
of Machakos 688,529 Labour cost
3. Municipal Council
of Machakos 321,501 Material cost – sand,
cement etc
4. First Makas 825,000 Supply of
550 no.
J-bolts
5. Thames Electrical
Ltd. 3,601,576 Supply of
Accessories
6. Maury Enterprises
Ltd. 3,474,900 Supply of
Poles

7. KPLC 402,770 Variou
charges

8. M/S Muneve Building
Con­tractor 15,519 Building
material

9. Tropical Networks 546,207 Supply of
metal control
pillar
10. M/S Henry Kisinga
Ngewa 169,300 Extension of
additional
arm & pole.
TOTAL (to date) 10,290,802


The Town Clerk Mr Stephen Mbondo, The Town Treasurer Mr. Joseph Mbatha, Mr Aluanga, the Council’s Buildings Inspector Mr. James Musyimi and Council Elec­trician Mr Leny Nzomo formed the council’s core team in the in­spection and panel analyzing the project with EU.
It was noted that a major savings on the project had been done, resulting in a decision to erect 18 more poles in the Market area and along the road outside the District Headquarters.

DFO's curious plan to fell trees in Iveti Forest

The Machakos District Forest Officer(DFO) Ms.Jennifer Sifuna says aging trees within Iveti forest will be felled to pave way for new plantations.
The plan, she said, will incorporate both exotic and indigenous trees on the hilly forest which was last year a the­atre of battle as officials subjected it to en­vi­ron­men­tal degradation.
This announcement is likely to create tension between the DFO and resi­dents of Iveti Hills who have been fighting for the protection of Iveti Forest from greedy government officers.
Three years ago, residents fought off plans by the Belgian Technical Co­op­eration and a group of civil ser­vants led y the then DFO who wanted to cut down the trees that the locals have protected for years.
It remains unknown how consultative the decision announced by Ms Sifuna has been. She would better be pre­pared for a show down with the local commu­nity, if a proper plan, in­volving the communities has not been laid out.
Iveti Hills Conservation Committee, a local Commu­nity Based or­ga­ni­zation chaired by Major Charles Masai has been at the fore front to fend ff attempts to cut down trees on the hill until a proper plan is in place that shows a direct benefit to the locals. In the past, trees have been cut and pro­ceeds used by local traders and gov­ernment offi­cials.
Ms.Sifuna expressed the departments in­tention to afforest the once green hill with species of trees which are en­vi­ron­men­tal friendly and income gen­er­ating to the local community who will replicate the same in their shamba’s.
The forester, however said that culling of aging trees would not be haphazard but would be done by licensed people who would be identified by the district en­vi­ron­men­tal committee.
The forester expressed her concern on the environmental destruction caused by human activities in Iveti, Kiima Kimwe and Mua hills which are the main water catchments areas of rivers servicing Macha­kos district adding that the effects of destroying the forest cover is already having its impact in Machakos town and surrounding ar­eas as water shortage takes its toll.
She advised the people to take ad­van­tage of the county council and the forestry tree planting nurseries to buy young trees.
Meanwhile Manza, Miwongoni, Kyondu, Kethese streams that supply water to Maruba dam are facing a threat of drying up due to massive environmental degradation due to the activities of the people living around them.
The chairman of the Machakos Water Users Association Mr. Charles Masai who held a meeting with the local leaders on how to conserve the tribu­taries ex­pressed the need of con­certed efforts in en­vi­ron­men­tal con­ser­vation.
He said residents must embrace tree planting along river banks in order to arrest the situation which he said was alarming as Maruba dam was the ma­jor source of water in Machakos district.
He advised the leaders to sensitize area residents on the need to harvest rain wa­ter by constructing tanks so that the water can be used during drought season in the area.

Industrialist makes a mark for Athi-River's poor folk

For quite a long period Asian in­vestors are know to exploit Africans by offering low wages in their com­pa­nies and lack of proper working guide-lines. That is not the case with the Man­aging Director of Devki Steel Mills Mr. Nahendra Raval alias “Guru”. True, he may be as shrewd as tycoons can be. But that shrewdness is tempered with a rare concern for the ordinary slum dwellers of Mavoko whose families produce the labour that works at his factories.
As the world is advancing and companies adopting corporate social responsibilities (CSR) GURU has decided to give back to the commu­nity by starting a housing project for Bawazir slums just few yards from his Devki Steel Company Athiriver.
Ironically, Bawazir is a fabulously rich tycoon of Mombasa whose closed tannery is located nearby and who is the opposite of everything that comes with the slum world- yet the slum bears his name due to its proximity to the tannery.
Guru has also started an education program which has seen nearly over 70 orphaned children access the pre-primary- paying the teachers and meeting general expenses which include feeding and clothing.
The slum has a general population of close to one thousand residents’ majority who live below poverty line. “Its barely illogical for us to invest here make money and ignore the plight of the poor around us.” Guru said during an interview with The Anchor.
Residents express gratitude for the work he is doing and challenged the numerous investors in the town to follow suit. “It’s a rare gesture and we thank Guru for this generosity” a resident, Mukulu Kioko said. The residents have erected shanty houses in the land where the owner is not yet known. They may soon face eviction a situation the Guru is cautious with. He has already set a fund for re-setting the residents who refer him as their father and is appealing for the Municipal Council of Mavoko to set aside land for the settlement “ I am dedicated to helping the poor as a gesture and also give back to the commu­nity” he said.
Apart from the program he has also initiated an environmental concern program which has seen him partner with semi-arid and regions environmental services (SARES) to plant trees in the area already devastated by pollution from companies.
Guru mixes determination, tact and re­sources to come out as humane as possible, his massive wealth not­with­standing.
In more that a dozen times, he has offered his Range Rover House to be used for ambulatory services by taking the sick children to hospital when the dispensary of his Devki Steel Mills is not able to cope with the magnitude of an emergency.

KKV project shakes Yatta village

THE Kazi Kwa Vijana programme has taken off in Yatta with growing enthusiasm.
At Miwani Earth Pan, hundreds of agile men and women toil daily since Presi­dent Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga launched the programme that is being managed by the Tanathi water Ser­vices Board under the Ministry of Wa­ter and Irrigation.
The Earthpan is located in Kakumini sub location, Matuu Location of Yatta Dis­trict. It is accessible via the Thika-Garissa road about 5km from Matuu town towards Thika. The earthpan was constructed during colonial times.

Currently averages of 500 youths are being engaged daily in manual work. With this number a total of 500m3 of soil has been excavated within a period of 2 weeks.
The excavated soil is placed on the em­bankment where it is spread and com­pacted manually.
About 10,000m3 of more soil will be ex­ca­vated to form a good basin for the reservoir.
To date 1,.503,720.00 Kshs. has been utilized in paying for casual labour where Tanathi officers, the provincial ad­min­is­tration and the District Water Officer Yatta have ensured smooth man­agement of the activities as they un­fold.
The remaining excavation of soil is ex­pected to be complete in 3 weeks time.

Once complete, the dam is expected to serve seven villages, namely Mwaani, Kikwa, Kilango, Kakuumini, Masewani, Matuu and Mukalala.
All these villages are within Kakumini Sub-location. These villages bare a to­tal popu­lation of 4,800 people and 8000 live­stock.
An average of 1000 both youth and the elderly have benefited through gainful employment at the dam site. The money gained is utilized to purchased food during this time of drought.
The water impounded is expected to be utilized by the villagers for small scale agricultural farming and domestic use.
Reduced crime rate is also projected as most of the idle youth is engaged in money making works.The community will set up three nurseries which will in turn lead to an improved environment.


Tanathi boss assures Kaiti residents of
equitable allocation of water funding

TANATHI Water Services Board is to ensure equity in the development of water resources within its jurisdiction.
The Chairman of Tanathi Board Mr Godfrey Parsaoti said the board is seeking to improve water availability within the 20 districts that make up the Tanathi turf. He was speaking in Kaiti constituency in Makueni District after a tour of water projects initiated under Kaiti’s Constituency Development Fund under the leadership of area MP Gideon Ndambuki.
The constituency has spend up to 60 percent of its allocations in the last Financial Year to address water issues.
Mr Parsaoti said the board was im­pressed with the efforts that Kaiti MP Gideon Ndambuki had made towards availing water to his con­stitu­ents.
He said the board with finance the construction of sand dams along Kaiti and Kola rivers and at the same time sink six boreholes in areas that had already been identified.
The Boards Chief Executive Officer Engineer Joseph Nzesya said the board would spend up to Sh 35 million in Kaiti to provide water for both domestic and livestock use. He said the board would in the long run identify how to avail water for irri­gation along Kaiti River, which, he said, is part of Tanathi’s mandate. “This will help in attaining food suffi­ciency and attempt to reverse the strides made by poverty among the common man” Engineer Nzesya said.
H e echoed Mr Parsaoti’s remarks that Kaiti Constituency had shown specific focus towards providing water and added that Tanathi would do its part to support the initiative.
Tanathi will fund a borehole at Nunguni Market, extend water supply at Ilovoto water project and erect sand dams along Kaiti and Kola rivers.
Three dams will also be excavated under the recently launched Kazi Kwa Vijana (KKV) initiative that entails the employment of local youth in the villages to excavate dams manually and be paid Sh 250 daily instead of using mechanised equipment.
Tanathi will alsom provide 600 half inch pipes to help pipe water to Ukia Market. Mr Ndambuki said Kaiti has 41 CDF projects that are under construction and added that help from Tanathi would place the constituency at a level where water availability would be assured for residents.
The tour took the party to Kitandi Sand Dam, Nthonzweni Dam, Kikondeni Dam, Kivani Dam, Ndivuni Dam, Kithoni/ Mukuyuni water storage, Isuoni River Water intake and Kyaka Springs, a site at Kaiti River among other areas
They also visited Mwaani Area where the ACK church is to put up a fruit processing plant and are keen to sink a borehole.


Battle over Knut house rages

By ANCHOR WRITER

MIXED signals are emerging over the fate of the Knut Building following its mortgaging for a loan of Sh 30 million.
Even as parties claiming in­ter­ests in the building locked their horns in court, The An­chor reveals that both parties have had an en­gagement that may lead to the sale of the prop­erty and ren­der nugatory any court pleadings currently before Machakos Resi­dent Judge Mr Isaac Lenaola.
In civil suit num­ber 32 of 2009 in the matter of Macha­kos Mu­nici­pality Block 1/59, Gibson Ngondu, Francis Mainga, George Ndolo and Isaac Wambua Nzioka are listed as lead plaintiffs along with another 121 unlisted pe­ti­tioners.
They list Alexander Mutinda Mwini, Albanus Paul Mutisya, Ber­nard Mutuku Ndungi who have been sued as the Chairman, Sec­re­tary and Treasurer re­spec­tively of The Kenya Na­tional Union Of Teachers Macha­kos Branch .
When the matter came before Judge Lenaola, the plaintiffs prayed for Grant of injunctory orders to stop the defendants from encumbering the Plaintiffs’ property known as Machakos Municipality Block 1/59 whether by charging, appropriating the loan advanced to them by In­dus­trial Development Bank or doing any other thing adverse to the interests of the Plaintiffs un­til such time that the Origi­nating Summons herein is heard and determined.
They also sought and obtained a temporary injunction freezing the account Number 0102066215600 in which the proceeds of the con­tentious loan is held until the matter is heard and determined.
They based their application on the grounds that unless the or­ders are granted immediately the suit property will be ex­posed into a real danger of being lost as the unauthorized loan is unlikely to be serviced.
They also contend that the per­sons who negotiated the loan which led to the reg­is­tration of a charge against the suit property were not authorized and had no legal or other capacity to do what they did.
They are represented by veteran advocate Mr F. M. MULWA. The suit is the re­placement of an ear­lier one (1062 0f 2008) that the plain­tiffs had withdrawn upon the advise of their lawyer Mr L.N Ngolya to enable the parties seek an out of court settlement.
However the plaintiffs dashed back to court and filed the current suit. The suit was listed for hearing on March 31 but when the parties met before Judge Lenaola, it transpired that the respondents had not responded to averments of the plaintiffs owing to the a claim that their lawyer, this time Mr Sila was served with suit papers the pre­vious day.
He pleaded for time to take in­structions and file a replying affidavit. Mr F Mulwa, appearing for the plaintiffs said he had no ob­jection as long as the court extended its earlier injunction preventing the use of the proceeds of the IDB loan of Sh 30m.
The case comes up again April 24. Even then, The Anchor has seen a letter to the Knut group from Mr Mulwa where he is asking the officials for give an offer to buy the constious property and save the parties from engaging in a lengthy court battle.
By the time of going to press, there were no indications that an offer had been made. If that was to happen and the trans­action is made good, it would surely end this court show.
It is likely that the plaintiffs are also eying the Sh 30m, in as much as the Knut branch des­per­ately wants the cash to resuscitate its dying programmes- the Burial and Benevolent Fund as well as the Education Scheme that is currently indebted to the tune of nearly Sh 40m.
However given the desperation afflicting the management of Knut affairs in Machakos, it is unlikely that they would want to use the cash to pay off the plaintiffs, who are retired teachers and may not raise much hell in the daily man­agement of Knut as the active membership would, other than seeking justice over the building.

Kalonzo: Post principals out of home ar­eas

VICE President Kalonzo Musyoka wants school heads posted to work outside their districts of birth.
Kalonzo said he would talk to the min­is­ter for education Prof.Sam Ongeri over the possibility of posting sec­ondary schools head teachers out­side their home areas as a way of promoting nationhood.
“Secondary school Principals should be able to work in any part of the coun­try just like other public ser­vants”, he said adding he was pleased to learn that Coast Province has head teachers from across the country.
The VP urged Kenyans to embrace the spirit of dialogue adding “we must up­hold the ability to live together as one people”.
He decried the culture of impunity saying he was worried that the unity and stability of the country will be at stake if we failed to uphold the rule of law.
Mr Musyoka faulted the quarter system of admission in secondary schools and said the system where secondary schools ad­mitted 85 per­cent of stu­dents from their regions has pro­moted tribalism.
“We must revert to the old system where students were admitted in schools away from their home areas to enable them mingle at an early stage as one way of fighting negative ethnicity”, said Kalonzo.
He was speaking at Technology De­vel­opment Centre institute, Athi River in Kathiani district where he offi­cially opened a seminar for Kenya Sec­ondary Schools Heads Association for Coast Prov­ince chapter.
The VP was reacting to sentiments ex­pressed by the association’s Coast Pro­vin­cial chairman Mr.Enos Mwaruka over the negative effects of the quar­ter sys­tem.
“If we do away with the quarter sys­tem, we shall definitely be moving the right di­rection in promoting national co­hesion”, he added.
The Coast Provincial Director of Edu­cation Mr.Tom Majali called on the government to put elaborate measures in place to help fight the rampant drug abuse in schools.
He moved the VP when he said some stu­dents left school soon after they are registered as candidates for the KCSE only to return to sit for the ex­ami­nation.
“Our youths continue to get socked in drugs at the expense of the future. The gov­ernment should deal de­ci­sively with those behind the drugs menace”. said Majali.
He called on the government to review the terms and conditions of service for sec­ondary schools Prin­ci­pals saying their posting letters indicated they were de­ployment and not to appointment to the positions.

Why SEUCO is a welcome idea

South Eastern University College. Any ben­efits?
The clamour for having public uni­ver­sities in every region is almost stopped when we see the kind of havoc that K.U stu­dents wretched on their very hostels and the harassment method on innocent mo­torists on Thika road. One is tempted to ward off any benefits we knew of after seeing this destruction. However having a uni­ver­sity college has a myriad of ben­efits.
How is the Ukambani region, for ex­ample, is likely to benefit from the recent up­grading of Ukambani Ag­ri­cul­tural In­sti­tute (UKAI) to the South Eastern Uni­ver­sity College (SEUCO)?
One and a very immediate benefit is the development of infrastructure in the re­gion. The road network, water and sani­tation, electricity and commu­ni­cation network will be im­proved because a vis­iting professor, say from the John Hopkins medical school will not drive on a rough road or have to wait to move to a urban centre to make an important ur­gent call. As the university is served, the commu­nity will also gain.
The setting up of the campus is a business opportunity created for the locals. The community in the university will need housing, they will need to be supplied with this and that, any business oriented per­son who for example puts up residential houses for the junior staff, starts a simple grocery to sell vegetables and fruits, the one to supply hardware materials, those to offer services of servicing of computers and so on will be in business.
Since the college will need to cater and unskilled vis a vis semiskilled staff, the community will stand to gain. Young men and women will be hired as masons, grounds men, cleaners, tea girls etc and this will go a long way in tackling un­em­ployment and poverty which are al­most a integral part of the community in this area. The university’s degree programmes will also directly benefit the area. On offer in the proposed university is mining, arid area Agriculture and water sciences which is of direct and actual use to the society, they will work towards transforming the so­ci­ety for the better.
The Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology offers a sugar tech­nology degree which has helped transform the sugar industry immensely. There is hope that SEUCO will help us turn the vast Kwa-Vonza area into something useful, find a way of harvesting the waters of Athi and Tana rivers to benefit the society and help in the useful exploitation of the minerals in the main basin region.
Lastly iT will be easier for those our stu­dents studying there, it will reduce trav­eling cost and offer an haven for many school based programmes where the teachers and other professionals go far.
Let us open heatedly welcome the SEUCO, support it and dare partake of the ben­efits it caries with it.

Understanding how DEOs trigger teacher transfers

HE may not know it.
But the Machakos District Edu­cation Officer Abdikadir Ali has plunged headlog into the politics of the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) with a rec­ommen­dation to transfer one of the players.
Ali sat and drafted a letter to the Eastern provincial Di­rector of Edu­cation, listing falsehoods upon which he based a rec­ommen­dation to move Mr SP Mutua from Katumani Sec­ondary School to Kabaa High School.
Mutua, commonly known as SP was key player of the Road to Change Team and un­successfully sought to be elected as Chairman of the Machakos Knut Branch. Team leader Mr Nicholas Musyoka was elected Deputy Branch Executive Secretary.
Some other members of the team won their seats and others lost- with two of them being sub­jected to the transfer schemes that the ministry of Edu­cation has mooted with a secret MoU with some Knut officials eager to stifle oppo­sition within the branch.
Investigations by The Anchor show Mrs Aduma Sigu, a non indigenous teacher was moved from the headship of Muthini Primary in the town and taken to rural Kivandini Primary where Kamba is the crucial language of in­struction. She had sought to be elected as Branch Executive Member for Central division.
Another teacher, Cosmas Kieti, who sought election as Vice Chairman has since been moved from Kathiani High School to Kaiani Scondary. He is hardly settled at Ngoleni Secondary where he was ordered to move through a phone call and is awaiting a letter to formalize the trans­fer. SP himself hs been moving from one school to another. He was moved from Kithangaini Sec­ondary to Mwala Girls, then Matungulu in Kangundo and then to Katumani where he has hardly served for eight months.
But is the transfer to Kabaa that is fraught with intrigue, indicating that there could have been such schemes at play in the past. Mr Ali, purporting to be writing a confidential report on Mr Mutua- Tsc No 261483- told the Eastern Provincial Director of Education Mrs Beatrice Adu that upon his defeat, SP has “ Since then deserted duties and involved himself in local politics”.
Which politics? Ali continues: “To cite an example, he discredited the current political leadership in the district when he was given an opportunity to greet a congregation at Mutituni Pentecostal Church on 19.10.2008. On the material day, he uttered in­flammatory remarks against the seating Member of Parliament”.
Observers see Mr Ali’s Charge Sheet against SP as being an attempt to find again old Kanu ways. There is no specification on which MP was dis­paraged since the district, at the time the letter was written, (October 29, 2008 ) had two MPs -Wavinya Ndeti and Dr Victor Munyaka. Neither does an MP represent an entire district political lead­ership in an era when politics have gone pluralistic.
It is not even the duty of the DEO to protect any MP. Not when his in- tray is teaming with un­re­solved issues that require urgent and undivided attention of the DEO.
Using unexplained parameters, Mr Ali went on “His relationship with the local community is strained”. He then drove home his point: “To avoid a possibility of physical confrontation, I rec­ommend for his transfer from the district.”
There was no attempt to ask Mr Mutua to account for his actions, if at all and going by the rules of natural justice is fair to conclude that he was condemned unheard. This is not to say that SP is a flawless teacher.
Be that as it may, there was no return of casualty from Katumani Principal Mrs Harriet Katuku to the effect that SP had de­serted duty as alleged by the DEO.So what was the basis of Mr Ali’s written claim? Astute op­eratives, the DEO should know, even go out of their way to falsify a casualty return. Once a teacher deserts duty, the station head files a Ca­su­alty Return with 72 hours and the TSC con­se­quently stops his salary as the matter is in­ves­ti­gated as per regu­lations.
There is not a single provision requiring a DEO to write the mumbo jumbo Ali engraved to the PDE unless there is an ex­tremely malevolent motive for such a letter.
Nevertheless, the PDE re­sponded swiftly by moving the teacher to Kabaa High school. It was the fourth time Mrs Adu was deploying Mr Mutua- seemingly without a query why it had become necessary to keep on moving him. This comes even as some teachers have served in one school for over 20 years like in the case with Machakos Girls High School, yet nothing is done about it.As we went to press, we were unable to establish what had happened with the transfer as Mr Mutua was still teaching at Katumani Secondary, an indication that he was hot going to Kabaa after all. So what is his fate? Stay Anchored.

Kyanguli: Fresh lessons emerge as fire anniversary is marked

FURIOUS parents gathered at Kyanguli Memorial School where their 67 sons were consumed by fire and spend time to ad­monish the gov­ernment.
Its is a confirmation of the stark reality in Kenyan schools that pu­pils attend schools at their own risk. It ex­plains why some eight long years down the line, the state is yet to com­pen­sate the families of victims tragedy at Kyanguli .
During this year’s memorial ser­vice held at the school on March 25 par­ents ex­pressed fury over government’s re­luc­tance in com­pen­sating the be­reaved families.Yet there are no in­di­cations that it ever will.
At 1.40am on March 26 2001 , petrol fu­elled fire swept through a dor­mitory of the Kyanguli Sec­ondary School in Macha­kos spinning the rusty school into history books of stu­dent to stu­dent bru­tality.
67 male students between the ages of 15 and 19 were burnt beyond rec­og­nition. They all are buried at the school com­pound that was later renamed Kyanguli me­morial.
Parents who lost their children gather at the school ev­ery March 25 to mourn and admonish the state. Last month, the par­ents. Led by their chairman Mr.Ben Mutune, they demanded to know why the gov­ernment is quick to com­pen­sate the Schachagwan petrol tank vic­tims and has kept mum on their loss at the school’s tragedy.
The issue has been dragging in court for 8 years now and any hope for com­pen­sation might be a pipe dream.
They see interference by a pow­erful man in the case since the judge handling the case was sus­pended before making the judgment, hence exposing the case to mis-trials. The two suspected arsonist boys were convicted and later re­leased from prison.
“We demand that the vice presi­dent visit this area and talk to the be­reaved fami­lies”, said a BOG mem­ber. Kalonzo Musyoka was the Min­is­ter for edu­cation during the time of tragedy and promised that the Government will fully com­pen­sate the families.
“Four parents have so far died due to shock and a cry for jus­tice may not bear fruits since the Government is not listening to us “ the chairman said.
No government official- not even the Dis­trict Education Officer Mr Abdul Kadir attended the service to present even a remote sense of concern from the state and mollify the vengeful parents.
The area DC Bernand Kinyua to­gether with area DEO Mr. Abdul Kadir sent apologies saying they wre held up elsewhere. Worse still, they were too busy that they failed to sent representatives.
The area Mp Victor Munyaka was said to be in Turkey for official duty. Nevertheless, the absence of government officials spoke louder than words. It con­firmed fears that families expecting what­ever form of compensation may have to wait for a lifetime.
The tragedy again brought to light the terrible living conditions of Kenyan stu­dents and the dis­re­gard of the government and its institutions for their safety. In 1998 at least 25 female stu­dents died in Bombolulu, near Mombasa , when their dormitory caught fire while they were locked inside.
The Kyanguli boarding school is gov­ernment run and has up to 600 stu­dents. All of those who died during the tragedy were in a poorly maintained and over­crowded mili­tary style dor­mitory. The dormitory housed over 130 students, but was de­signed to hold half that num­ber. One of the two doors to the dormitory was locked from the out­side and all of its ten win­dows were barred. There were no fire ex­tin­guishers.
That was the case then and similar cir­cum­stances exist in many more schools where students are crammed into dor­mi­to­ries as school heads squeeze stu­dents to make money for themselves and education officials.
Safety rules in schools only exist on paper and are never quite enforced, making Kenyan schools, especially those run by the State.

Why State decided to buy weak cattle

I feel greatly honored to officiate during the emergency livestock off-take and processing of the off take cattle into canned beef. It is a major step in sal­vaging part of our economic base in response to disaster in the livestock sector.
Parts of the country are experiencing severe drought starting from last year. This is as a result of rain failures starting with the long rains of 2008. In the months of November and De­cem­ber the short rains were far be­low normal ex­ac­er­bating the situation. Sub­se­quently, President Mwai Kibaki declared the drought a national disaster.
Consequently, treasury released Sh. 700 Million to the Ministry of Live­stock De­vel­opment for emergency in­ter­ventions to mitigate the effects of the drought.
The interventions being implemented are emergency livestock off-take; pro­vision of emergency livestock feeds and live­stock disease control. These in­ter­ventions are complementing what is being undertaken by other gov­ernment departments and relief agencies.
The Ministry of Livestock Development will be distributing some livestock feeds worth Shs.150 Million. The re­lief hay and feed supplements will be dis­trib­uted to maintain the breeding herds that remain with the pastoralists.
This intervention is a token compared to the need for this intervention in the current situation. However, this as an opportunity to emphasize the im­por­tance of feed conservation and supplementary feeding.
The hay that being supplied to the drought affected areas is coming from those livestock keepers who have em­braced feed conservation. This should be a good lesson on what live­stock feed conservation can do in disaster situation in both the high rain­fall and ASAL districts.
Severe drought ignites massive live­stock movement from the drought affected areas to areas perceived to be relatively better. This poses a great risk of livestock disease outbreak.
The ministry will spend Sh 50 million for livestock vaccinations, tick control and other livestock disease control activities. While doing this disease control intervention, it is recognized that the resources may not be ad­equate. As such livestock keepers should ad­here to messages passed through by the ministry staff on preventive mea­sures to curb spread of diseases.
Livelihoods in ASALS areas are currently threatened by the prevailing drought. These areas depend on live­stock for socio-economic security .Assessment reports indicate that 10 percent of livestock in the ASALS are at the risk of death due to the current drought situation.
This would be a major blow to the country’s economy and particularly to the pastoral livelihoods. To salvage them from this loss, the ministry has conceived the livestock off-take and to process the animals into corned beef to be part of the human relief foods supplies.
Ideally, all the 10 percent of the live­stock population at the risk of death should be purchased. However, this magnitude of off take would require enormous resources that are hard to come by.
This ministry has made appeals to help to at least attain 3 percent off-take of the affected livestock. The appeals has been circulated widely both locally and internationally.
Towards this end, the government has allocated Sh.500 million to Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) for the purchase and processing of cattle from all the affected districts. It is expected that 33,000 heads of cattle will be purchased with this funding. With this intervention it will be possible to save part of the losses that would otherwise be incurred by the economy in general and livestock keepers in particular.
This Off Take project is a major step in implementing appropriate in­ter­ventions in drought response. This facility will make an indelible mark in the livelihoods of many livestock keepers.

Job is well cut out for you, Minister tells new KMC Board

By Anchor Writer

The government has challenged the man­agement of the giant meat pro­cessing plant the Kenya Meat Commission to live to its billing.
An assistant minister for Live­stock De­vel­opment Mr Aden Bare Duale said the plant which was revived in 2003 through an in­ter­vention by the Narc gov­ernment was yet to fully exploit its potential that would see it emerge as a leading meat processing factory in the re­gion.
“The story about the op­erations of KMC since the revival mission according to a probe report with the gov­ernment is not juicy, but we believe all is not lost and the firm can still rejuvenate itself and fo­cus its eyes on making huge prof­its since the goodwill is there”, Mr Duale said.
He gave the top management of the plant a dressing down, telling them that a re­port cir­cu­lating on the state of the plant showed that the right things and attitudes are not in place at KMC.
Meanwhile the Department of Defence (DOD) leads the pack of government in­sti­tutions that owe cash strapped Kenya Meat Commission(KMC) close to kshs.30m for delivered meat products.
A source at the Ministry of Livestock De­vel­opment said DOD has an out­standing debt of about Sh. 20m followed by public universities with Sh.10m.
This high debt, the source said was im­pacting negatively to the operations at the plant something that has led to loss of jobs.
Mr Duale expressed shock at the failure by the debtors to pay the institution.
He lamented that no one from KMC ever approached him or the minister Mohammed Kuti for assis­tance in re­cov­ering the debts, es­pe­cially from DOD.
“Nobody has walked into my office or the ministers to ask us to take them to De­fence minister mr.Yusuf Haji’s office to seek his in­ter­vention over the out­standing debt”, argued the stunned minister.
He said a whole reform plan awaits KMC once a new board was in place. The re­form will follow a path already crafted by a fo­ren­sic audit report of a consultant that will see far reaching changes that will put virtually all staff on their toes, complete with a per­for­mance contract to ensure maximum productivity.
He cited the marketing de­partments and questioned what it was doing at Athi River while the market remained un­attended in Nairobi.
He said the marketing trends by big corporates had seen them establish their own sections in su­per­mar­ket chains. “What about KMC? Why are we waiting for the market to come to us instead of us going to mar­kets?”, asked the assistant minister , who added that the new board of KMC would have to put staff on per­for­mance con­tracts so as to produce the desired results. He added “You will have no business in KMC if you will not meet your targets”.


Facts about KMC's
livestock Off take
project

By Anchor Reporters

Currents drought which started in 2008 has ravaged livestock in most ASAL districts.
ASAL districts keep over 60 percent of the livestock which pastoralists de­pend on for their livelihood. The impact of the drought directly causes adverse eco­nomic results to pastoralists.
Thus, the Ministry of Livestock De­vel­opment and Kenya Meat Commission explored and embarked on the process of offloading the drought stricken cattle from farmers. The project, dubbed Off Take, animals are bought at salvage rates, slaugh­tered and canned into corn beef for feeding as relief food to affected communities.
The beef is to sold to the Ministry of Spe­cial Programmes which will in turn supply the beef for famine stricken fami­lies.
The off take targets about 33,000 cattle in the drought stricken districts and es­ti­mates to get 4.8 million cans at a to­tal cost of Kshs 735,528,000.Sale of cans will bring about Kshs 825,856,000.
The government is exploring mo­dalities on how corned beef could be in­sti­tu­tion­alized as part of National Strategic Food Re­serve through K.M.C and as a drought miti­gation measure to cushion the country against food shortage. NGO’s, Ministry of special Programmes and other relief agencies are expected to buy the corned beef and dis­trib­ute as famine relief since corned beef is rich in protein
KMC takes cognizance of the mag­ni­tude of the off-take project which is tailored to address the emergency situation and at the same time cush­ion farmers from the possi­bility of carrying the burden of failing weather trends.
KMC has personnel capacity limi­tations especially field officers. Thus a strat­egy of involving ministry of livestock De­vel­opment field officers to or­ga­nize deserving drought stricken pastoralists and livestock traders to supply the ema­ciated cattle to KMC was developed.The field officers form Dis­trict Steering Group (DSG’s) who know de­serving cases and commu­ni­cate to KMC.
DSG’s inform suppliers to select those animals that are strong enough to with­stand transport stress to KMC
KMC prepares documentation to suppliers, complete with Orders and No Objection Certificates according to the reports from DSG’s. Coordination of delivery schedules is done by KMC’s Livestock Manager on a pre-arranged timetable with KMC for the quota allocated to each district.
Suppliers are organised livestock traders, registered livestock trading groups or in­di­vidual cattle owners.
Payment will be at the carcass weight in tandem with KMC mode of payment i.e Hot Standard Carcass weight ( HSCW), within four days after slaugh­ter.
Funds given to this project is a soft loan to KMC, therefore pricing of the off-take animals must be on cost re­cov­ery basis .In this regard KMC will pay Kshs 95/kg carcass weight and Kshs 5/kg as a trans­port rebate. KMC thinks this price is fare since are animals which could have otherwise died of starvation.

How sleepy MPs lost road project
Official explains why dual carriage won't reach Makutano

By Anchor writers

An explanation is finally forth­coming to explain why a dual carriage road will not be built up to the Machakos turn-off of the Nairobi – Mombasa highway.
It transpires that a Cabinet Min­is­ter took advantage of sleeping Kamba MPs of the 9th Parliament to divert over Sh 2.5 billion from the Nairobi – Mombasa road and sus­pended the construction of the 18Km portion from Athi River to the Machakos –Turn off.
These revelations were part of de­liv­ery by Government Spokesman Dr. Alfred Mutua to a forum in Macha­kos Garden Hotel whose pur­pose was not well de­fined but went on well anyway.
Nevertheless, Dr. Mutua used the fo­rum to deliver this message of the road – which has been a thorny issue to the region, given the fact that the Gov­ernment had prom­ised to con­struct a dual carriage road to Kyumbi trading center all the way from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Dr. Mutua told residents that upon in­quiry; leaders were in­formed that the dual carriage section would be built under a concession arrangement where users would have to pay to use the road.
“Why would the Akamba have to pay to use a road as they go home” Dr. Mutua asked. “Why would the con­cession plan be introduced first in our area when money had been set aside to construct the road in the first place”? The gov­ernment spokesman asked as a resident of the region.
He explained that since the dis­cov­ery, ini­tiatives had al­ready been made to seek to have the money to build the dual part of the road. And he told the locals that such money will have to be found with their help. “You must be willing to support your leaders as we demand this to happen” Dr. Mutua said.
His talk touched on many issues in­cluding the need for the youth to come up with actions to change their lives without ex­pecting change to be brought by the state.
He constantly chided grum­bling cabi­net minister and members of the coalition Government in veiled phrase­ology and idioms. Dr. Mutua maneuvered his speech to sound like a perfect public relations exercise for the government but at the same time delivered open barbs to those who think, rightly or wrongly, that Presi­dent Kibaki is not fully in charge of Gov­ernment.
Dr. Mutua’s speech that lasted one hour also quoted favorable conversations he’s had with Water and Irrigation Min­is­ter Mrs. Charity Ngilu but his head remained bur­ied in the sand as to whom he supports be­tween Mrs. Ngilu and Vice President Mr. Kalonzo Musyoka although through out his speech he never divulged any quotable incident between him and the VP.
Residents question the Government Spokesman over pressing local issues that included water, roads, the Women En­ter­prise Fund, the Youth Enterprise De­vel­opment Fund (YEDF), famine re­lief and governance concerns.

Kitui County rejects Red Cross project in Katoteni

By BONIFACE MULU

THE Battle for Katoteni Trust Land has taken a new di­rection with the Kitui County Council approving a lease that run contra to the interests of local MPs.
Consequently,the Kitui Nguamuka Community Based Organisation has won some 68 years lease by the Kitui County Council to conduct en­vi­ron­men­tal conservation activities at the 30,200 acre controversial Katoteni trust land in Mutonguni division, Kitui District.
The CBO won the lease after defeating the Kenya Red Cross Society in a vote conducted by the Kitui County Council’s Education, Housing and Social Services Committee at the County Hall under the committee chairman, Councillor David Mutuku Mutinda.
MPs and the local District Development Committee had allocated the Kenya Red Cross Society the land in a resolution- even when they (DDC) did not own the land. DDCs are con­tinuously facing the challenge of being talking shops and being bereft of the power to claw or enforce the reso­lutions they make
The CBO garnered 13 of the 20 votes cast, with the Kenya Red Cross Society scooping seven votes. The council granted the CBO some 20,000 acres for en­vi­ron­men­tal conservation activities. The education, housing and social services committee resolution was taken to the Full Council session where it was approved resoundingly, setting the stage for confrontation with the DDC and its membership.
Kitui County Council’s Full Council Meeting was chaired by council chairman, Councillor Nzyoni Mang’uye. All the council’s 39 civic leaders voted under the watch of the County Clerk George Wambua.
Many other groups had also applied to use the Katoteni trust land. Among them are Safaricom, the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, the Kenya Ag­ri­cul­tural Reasearch Institute, the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Administration Police for AP training camps, the Beta Global Industries, the Global Investment Data Bank, the International Evangelistic Church Kenya and the Nzunguni/Katoteni Farmers Group.
The Katoteni trust land’s remaining acres are 5,000 for conservancy and 5,200 for tree planting by the Kitui Country Council. The vote for the lease was conducted after a lot of pressure among the councillors. But the education, housing and social services committee chairman reacted bitterly over the councillors’ move to deny the Kenya Red Cross Society the lease.
The KRCS wanted the lease for farming activities at the trust land. The committee chairman complained: “The Red Cross is an international organization and they have great funding sources. We the people of Kitui and Mutomo Districts have lost a very big thing. The Red Cross could have helped us a lot by farming at the trust land.”
Councillor Mutinda complained that they did not know the Nguamuka( which means ‘ I shall wake up’) and he vowed: “We have to fight until we get the right investor.”
He added: “Our Members of Parliament Charity Kaluki Ngilu (Kitui Central), Julius Kiema Kilonzo (Mutitu), Isaac Muoki (Kitui South) and Charles Mutisya Nyamai (Kitui West) like the Red Cross.”
During the Full Council Meeting, the 39 Kitui County Councillors resolved to talk to the people who are illegally inside the Mwakini Settlement Scheme in Yatta division, Kitui District. They formed a sub-committee to visit the settlement scheme to try to solve the squatters’ problem there.
The civic leaders further gave members of the B2 Yatta Ranching Cooperative Society Limited in Kitui District a three months notice to respond to them (the councillors). They said that they (the council) know the Kanyonyoo ranchers and not the B2 Yatta.


Just what could have gone wrong at Ngelani?
FOUR prefects at Ngelani secondary school have been suspended for criminal ac­tivities that sparked unrest at the school.
The unrest led to the pre­ma­ture closure of the school as tension rose considerably, with some of the violence victims seeking police intervention.
The Prefects are accused of beating and injuring students at the school. There had not been action from the school until the matter got out of hand and was reported to the police as students became restless in seeking to have the school administration take action.
It is alleged that the prefects assaulted the boys at the behest of the school ad­min­is­tration or at least with their knowledge, an indication that the man­agement had left a critical role of discipline in the school in the hands of prefects.
The school Principal Mr.Bernard Malonza said the four form four students will know their fate when they appear before the school’s Board at a date to be de­cided.
Machakos District Education Officer Mr Abdi Hussein says thorough investigations have been launched in the school to uncover the alleged systematic battering.
He said unspecified stiff penalties would be meted on either students or teachers found to be involved in the heinous crime that has ridiculed the school ad­min­is­tration. The worst it can get for the boys is ex­pulsion and possible pros­ecution. Teachers found culpable may face demotion and transfers, although action on the lines of der­eliction of duty could well land one in a court of law.
10 other students were sus­pended after they were alleged to have been planning to set the school on fire barely a fortnight after a dormitory in the school was torched by suspected ar­sonists who the principal alleged at the time were outsiders.
But events arising from the battering and its aftermath now suggest that the arson may have been a statement of protest from within the school. It could also be that the principal may be far removed from the events unfolding in the school he heads and questions must be asked if indeed he is up to the job of discharging the re­spon­si­bilities of Principal.
The systematic battering of students came into the lime­light when one of the battered and injured students Stephen Muendo escaped the beating and sought refuge at the Machakos Police Station as the school had become un­bearable. Police took him to the Machakos General hospital where he was treated and discharged.
Another student Anthony Munguti bore the pain and humiliation but did not report the matter to either the police or the school ad­min­is­tration until the press appeared in the school where he showed the bruises sus­tained during the beating at the prefects special cu­bicle.
According to Muendo an­other student Morris Mbatha with whom the trio were receiving corporal punishment was seriously wounded and fled to the safety of his home.
Mr.Malonza said he regretted the incident which he termed unfortunate, adding he had instituted investigations into the matter.
“I wish to confirm the four bullied the students, causing them bodily harm. The nec­essary action will be taken against the culprits by the school Board”, he said.
Even as they await board action, the mother to one of the victims Master Moses Mbithi, Ms.Rose Mbula was obtaining a P3 form from the Police with a view to seeking the State to commence criminal pro­ceedings to defend her son’s right to safety.
She said the best way to end criminal traits in schools was the due process of the law to be applied, adding that even as she was not averse to the need to cane boys, that role should never be ceded to other boys in the school unless the school ad­min­is­tration did not know what it was doing.
“It is totally unacceptable for prefects to beat other stu­dents”, said the mother who was accompanied by the son and his uncle, Mr. Peter Mutua.
Police confirmed the case had been reported to them and said investigations had been launched.
The boy claimed the prefects frog matched him into one their cubicles where they stripped him naked before pouncing on him with whips.
The boys who has scars all over his body said his attackers accused him of inciting other students against them.