Strange Gun Drama!
Police seek to know who shot priest
By MARTIN MASAI POLICE is packaging details they have gathered over a bizarre shooting incident in the residence of Makueni Parish head Father John Makewa.
In the incident, It is reported that suspected gangsters raided the residence forcing Father Makewa to open fire in an effort to fight back at about 4.15 am on March 20,2010.
When gunshots rung out that night, a catholic Priest, Father Fidelis Nzuki was left injured and bleeding profusely. He sustained a shot on his arm and another between his legs.
Reports made to the Police in Wote, Makueni District that morning by Father Makewa indicated that the alleged gangsters fired at the house, injuring the visiting Father Nzuki and forcing Father Makewa to return fire. During the night of attack, Father Makewa had hosted four other priests in his house, among them Father Nzuki. The Priests allege that they were woken up by gunfire with Father Makewa shouting that the house was under attack.
They could not hear the attackers other than gunshots that made them believe that they were under attack. It could not have been that the fire was coming from the priest’s gun. While fully alert, it is alleged that Father Makewa called Father Nzuki and handed to him a gun and asked him to head towards the door of the sitting room and open it stealthily so that he(Makewa) could have a full view of the gangsters.
It is claimed that Father Makewa took a position along the corridor holding rifle, ostensibly to give cover to Father Nzuki as he opened the door. The other priests remained holed up in their rooms.
As Nzuki opened the door, a gunshot tore through his arm and he is reported to have yelled that he had been shot. As he wailed, a voice shouted “you can Die!” as another shot hit him, ripping through the flesh close to his genitals.
All this while, the other priests were shaking in fear of the unknown. It is alleged that Father Makewa eventually opened the door, and after a while, workers at the parish and the priests organised to take the injured priest to the hospital.
It was then assumed that Father Nzuki was hit by the alleged gangsters. Makewa narrated to The Anchor the story of the alleged raid and did not lock out the possibility that one of his shots may have ricocheted and hit Father Nzuki.
The matter turned nasty when police arrived at the home of Father Makewa and begun interviewing neighbours and the inhabitants of the house. On examining the scene of crime, they noticed that several windows had their glasses shattered and scattered on the outer side- meaning that shooting could only have taken place from inside the house.
Police sources say they combed the house and neighborhood for evidence that there were intruders and were convinced that the alleged attack may only have been a theory they found difficult to believe.
Police have interviewed close to 20 witnesses and the theory of attack has been narrowing down with each new statement.
Police then took away the two weapons- a rifle and a gun, all owned by Father Makewa- and begun an investigation that seems informed by both the fear of God, the risk of framing up a man of God or even tearing into turf wars that have seen priests position themselves to bid for the Bishop’s seat in the yet to be created Makueni Diocese of the Catholic Church.
Worse still, it may even be that the investigation is crippled by usual official red tape or outright inefficiency. Now a good three months after the attack, police are still lazing around with the shooting dominating conversation in many meetings in the parish.
Father Nzuki was eventually taken to Mater Hospital to begin a new life. He stayed at the ICU for two weeks and is currently recovering at a Catholic home in Mlolongo. Nzuki, now pursuing a Masters Degree in Business and Administration in Nairobi, interestingly was introduced to priesthood by Father Makewa and in fact comes from the same village in Kangundo.
The relationship between the pair has been such that they were seemingly inseparable. He was a constant visitor of Makewa and according to his own account; there has never been a known dis-agreement.
Nzuki’s account of the shooting tells how he reluctantly took hold of a gun thrust to him by his senior and instructed to crawl towards the door and open it. A police source says there is no doubt in Nzuki’s mind who was his assailant.
His statement is replete with exchanges that police are seeking to knit together and develop a motive for the shooting. Makewa was one of his regular visitors in hospital until the visits were abruptly stopped after the ailing priest was reported to have had nightmares and sleepless nights arising from the tragedy of the night of attack.
Shortly after, The Bishop of Machakos Catholic Diocese, the Most Rev Martin Kivuva instructed Father Makewa to step aside as head of the Parish to allow police carry out independent investigations. He was to report back to the bishop on May 22, 2010 for further deployment or instructions and that has not been possible due to the pace of the probe.
Makewa is an experienced priest who has come along way, clashing with the administration over various issues, the latest being a showdown with a former Makueni DC over alleged theft and sale of famine relief food.
Investigators are said to be approaching the matter carefully as they know that past clashes with the priest may be seen to have a hand in their probe.
Makewa was seen, along Father Kyule, and Father Mondiu as possible successors of the late Bishop Urbanus Kioko as Bishop of Machakos but the appointment of Bishop Kivuva, then based at Kwale sprung a surprise that may have send discomfort to some of the priests- key among them father Makewa who has bestrode the catholic scene in Machakos like a colossus. Sources in some sections of the church believe that the investigation may be swayed by a purported fight for who will be the new Bishop of the Makueni Diocese, a belief that may actually be far fetched.
Bishop Kivuva told The Anchor that it became necessary for Father Makewa to step aside given the nature of allegations and direction the investigation was taking. He said the church wanted the matter handled in the best manner possible so that all fears are put to rest “That is all there is to this matter in spite of the many stories that are doing rounds over it”
A new priest, Father Mutunga has since taken over from Father Makewa who remains away- mostly at his home in Kangundo where he is alleged to be under the escort of two armed Administration Police Officers.
They were attached to him after alleged incidents in Kangundo that seemed to have put his life in danger arising from family links with the injured priest.
The Anchor has been unable to reach any of the priests in Makewa’s house on the fateful night. However Police recorded statements from them, the injured priest and Father Makewa himself. Indeed they have taken two statements from Father Makewa.
Police sources say that finger prints and ballistic experts examined the guns recovered from the priest and confirmed that the bullet that hit Father Nzuki were fired from the Rifle Father Makewa held at the time of attack.
Now the biggest headache for the police is to append a motive for the shooting. Those privy to the probe say Police are investigating Father Makewa’s gun history- from the time he was licensed to carry weapons, his use of ammunition, incidents involving his use of the gun and storage in an attempt to decipher a motive for the shooting.
The Anchor also established that Police stopped probing the gangster theory in the attack and has been wondering why anyone would invent such a story in a case where a priest is shot with a gun being held by another who has been a mentor, friend and more of an elder brother.
Peter Ngumbi Mulei
Tribute to an achiever of our time
By Anchor Reporters
His story is an account of hard work. So Peter Ngumbi Mulei lived to be the prime mover of the economy of Machakos Town and beyond.
From the humble beginnings of a hotel hand, a farm hand in the coffee plantations of Kiambu, Mulei left this world a reasonably endowed. Even then his humility, in spite of who he was or what he owned will remain an all time trade mark.
On his final journey, this humility was the cornerstone of attendance, speeches , and demeanor as speakers, including Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Water and Irrigation Minister chose his burial as the venue to underscore their new found unity in the service of the Akamba people. In attendance were both the rich and the poor from the community- who Peter resonated with, with soothing ease.
So fitting was the choice of words by those who spoke-careful not to arouse the spirit of Peter Mulei, the man who served his community conscientiously and with a forceful humility- a clear testimony of the stuff that loving memories ought to be made of.
The late Peter Mulei came to this world some 86 years ago as son of Mulei Itwiku and Martha Mbithe Mulei. This was in 1924, at Masii location in what was then ,Macha-kos District.
His Step mother was Maria Ndindi Mulei. Together, they were ten siblings: Peter Ngumbi, Nyingi, Moses Muthengi, Serah Mukethe,Rose Nthenya, Muthike Nyenge,George Kisivo ,Nelson Nzila, Muendo and Kamene.His sisters-law are Tabitha ,Bernice, Grace Kalili,Rose,Beth,monica and Ruth. In 1962 he got betrothed to Beatrice Nyiva Ngumbi Mulei, with whom they begot their eight children: Francis Kamalizah ,Jenni-fer Muthue, Kevin Mulei, Deborah Itumbi Guturo, Stephen Kyalo ,Josephine Wausi, Susan Wavinya and Eric Ndonye. His daughters-in –law are Robin, Faith, Emily and Nduku.
Mulei left behind eight grand-children:Ian,Hamad,Nyiva,Maya,Nguta,liz,Mumbe,and ngumbi. The late Mulei was nephew to Musyimi Kolo,Nzw(ii,Munyia,Mbunga,Mbiwa,Kyalo,Mbaa Ngundo and Martha Kamweli Muathe)the –mother of Philip and Geoffrey Muathe He was also son-in law to Syelenge, Muthue, Ndonye Nzioka(Kulinga)and Daniel Mutisya Ndonye. Peter Mulei was twin father to Heganow,Stone Kathuli,Gregory Kanyange and Munyao Kamba. Twin fathers are those that have given his sons their wives.
Early education
The late Peter Mulei attended Masii D.E.B Primary School in the late1930s where he received early instruction in literacy and numeracy. Unfortunately , he was forced to drop out of school because of the extreme poverty faced by his family and indeed by most of his community at the time. Following this apparent set-back in life, Peter did what he could in the circumstances and put himself up for hire as a labourer, accepting menial jobs in order to eke out a living.
In 1943, he found his way to a coffee farm in Kibubuti, Kiambu where he worked long, hard hours as a farm hand. Upon his return home from Kiambu, he found employment in an eatery in Masii market which was owned by one Makau Kilelo in partnership with a MrMwololo Nzau.
The pair later moved the headquarters of their business to Wamunyu market taking their reliable employee, the late Mulei, with them.
Within a short time the hard working, industrious and highly reliable Peter Mulei had proven his worth and his efforts were rewarded by his employers with a place among the Board of Directors as a fully fledged shareholder in this eatery business.
During the life of his business in a rural setting, the late Peter Mulei had the honour of serving meals to His Majesty the King of England’s servicemen on recess from the Second World War campaigns in the years 1943 and 1944.
These humble beginnings, however, were only an indication of greater things to come! He later worked for an Indian family in Mombasa.
In 1949 Mulei, equipped with a sharp nose for business opportunities discerned that there was a higher return on capital employed in another field of business. He quickly shifted gears and became a live-stock trader plying the Ikalaasa-Kiambu-Githunguri sector using his business acumen and considerable skill to good advantage.
It was at this time that the late Peter Mulei met the Nations Founding Father ;the Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta as well as Mbiyu Koinange both of whom took warmly to him and consequently held him in high esteem. Peter’s networking led him to expand his goat trade so that he also plied the Mwala to Gatundu trade route.
All the while peter Mulei had the welfare of his extended family at heart. He involved his brother George Kisivo trade and the pair formed a winning team with George Kisivo looking after the supply side while Peter Mulei brought in the sales.
Peter Mulei was a disciplined trader whom retained a huge portion of the profits for business growth. Always looking ahead ,Peter Mulei soon iden-tified a new and better opportunity in the Grains and pulsate business. He also added value to his livestock trade by producing and selling ghee.
This merchandise was graciously transported by one Mungala Kaloki (Patrick Mungala’s father)to Machakos town for delivery to Asian merchants. Not one to be discourage by potential disasters, Peter Mulei always spotted opportunity in the least likely of places and times.
For instance, during the extreme and severe drought of 1950,the late Mulei got into the nascent sisal fiber business in association with other colleagues such as Kasovo Ndavi,his brother G.K Mulei and Mbatha Kieti.
In 1953, he had enough resources to lease a shop in Masii, from a family known as Mbaa Kitulya.In1958 the young and enterprising G.K Mulei made a debut into woodcarving with his brother Peter Mulei as a bankroller in this venture which later became a successful foreign trading arm of their joint business.
The late Mulei made his first business trip outside of his native country in 1958-ideed he often re-counted how he met one Peter Mwania Mutie at the Northern Rhodesia border crossing on 28th of April,1958.
The two Peters were later to become lifelong friends. He travelled all the way to Salisbury (Harare) promoting this wood-carving business. In 1959, Mulei started a chain of corner shops and grocery stores in Nairobi with the assistance of one Gideon Mutilangi.
This new line of business proved to be very successful and he incorporated his brothers and friends to set the basis for what was to become his core engagement moving forwards .
The chain of stores was later expanded to include branches in Kahawa Garrison, Manyani prison and the Nairobi City Market. In 1969 Peter Mulei Moved to Machakos Town and, together with Benson Kiiti Kamba, founded the Akamba Store.
This business recorded great success and they each developed separate, equally successful commercial enterprises in 1975.
And as people often say –from then on the rest is history. The late peter Mulei was also a legendary success in crop farming and in livestock husbandry. He played a leading role in church planting, hosting and working with several Gospel missionaries in his home These include Rev.Mbithi, Stanley Muli, Daniel Nzyoki and Pastor Ikunga from Tharaka-all of whom became life long friends of the deceased in a true testimony to his unwavering loyalty to friends.
Some of the churches he played a key role in pioneering are AIC Masii ,Muthei,Yikiatine,Kawaa, Nzevea, Kivandani and Mbaani. Peter was very sensitive to other people’s needs and he has helped countless people in Kingatuani, Masii, Machakos ,Makueni and Kenya in general.
He was a man of extreme generosity- always considerate and consistently conciliatory. Peter was a father figure and mentor to many, always giving helpful advise that was well thought through and constantly seeking to follow through in spite of his own busy schedule in a manner that surprised and impressed many. His family vividly and lovingly recall their father, Peter Mulei ,telling them about travelling long distance to sell Carvings at a time when, so he said ,the only word he knew was “curios “ but his ‘bidii’ helped him along.
When Peter Mulei advised his children at family gatherings just before schools opened, his main encouraging words were “Ikia vitii, vitii”. A man who traveled far, despite being uneducated and unable to speak the language later became his family’s best teacher on the importance of diligence and hard work and he did so by clear example.
He often liked to joke about having to go to school to find it closed, giving that as the reason why he was not learned .Nevertheless, he gave us all the highest level of education by inspiring us to do our best always and never to rest on our laurels. Peter Mulei was, without a shadow of doubt, a model to be emulated in our society. He shall be sorely missed by his loving family, loyal legion of friends, the church, the business community and by all men and women of goodwill.
Praise and Glory be to God on high for giving us this precious gift of a man.
Auctioneers raid
Machakos Knut office
By Jonathan Mutiso
Machakos KNUT office is faced with difficult options after the branch failed to sign a cheque for the education scheme one week after the lease period had expired.
The education scheme was to receive over Shs.57,000 from the office which failed to comply thus forcing the education scheme committee to take action on the matter.
The Knut branch is undergoing turmoil over the management of all techers’ schemes after years of untamed theft of teachers funds, forcing some retired teachers to go to court to force the union to pay up.
The Yatta treasurer Mr. Munyao Mbondo who was supposed to sign the cheque failed to do so and on the expiry date he went on and switched off his phone. Failure of signing the cheque which was for the education scheme joint account of the four districts Kangundo, Machakos, Mwala and the Yatta itself forced the Education scheme office to come forth with auctioneers who moved out Knut property from the Machakos office to recover the money.
After the offices were swept clean of all equipment Mr. Mbondo appeared before the vehicle had left, signed the cheque and auctioneers returned the facilities to the office and left the office.
Efforts to get the executive secretary Mr. Urbanus Mutisya of Machakos branch did not bear fruits.
Kathonzweni residents
Protest against police
By Daniel Kituku
Residents of Kathonzweni trading centre stormed Kathonzweni district headquarters compound at midnight last Saturday in protest of administration police harassment.
The irate trading centre residents marched to the offices in a convey of over ten vehicles and demanded a release of a motorcyclist who had being arrested by the police. Tension was high as the convoy of vehicles hooting with full lights on entered into the heavily guarded com-pound.
Administration police officers who had arrested the cyclist were forced to free him to ease the tension as the Protestants threatened to break into the office, where the cyclist was being held. Administration police officers in night patrol walked into a local pub and ordered the cyclist to accompany them to their offices at the district headquarters.
Reports of his arrest were immediately communicated to residents of the trading centre resulting to unrest which lasted for one hour.
Meanwhile, a 24 year old John Mutinda Kioko has been sentenced to death by Makueni principal magistrate Fridah Nyakundi for robbing Moses Mutuku cash 10,000 shillings.
The magistrate while delivering judgment noted that the accused armed with a knife and jointly with others not before court also assaulted Moses Mutuku, who is a teacher at a local school.
John Mutinda Kioko had denied robbing the teacher on November 16 last year at Mbama market in Wote division of Makueni district. The court heard that the accused way-laid the teacher a kilometer away from the trading centre on his way home from the trading centre at around 8.30 pm and robbed him.
The accused asked for leniency saying that it was his first offence and he was he too young with no family. However the magistrate noted that her hands were tied since only death sentence was provided for this type of offence. Several town residents were caught un-aware as they were awaken by un-usual night commotion which left many of them panicking.
The protesters alleged that the ad-ministration police officers have being harassing innocent residents demanding bribes from them. The cyclist finally released after the ad-ministration police officers at the night duty consulted their seniors.
The residents are calling for transfer of the entire administration police officers at the district headquarters Following the incidents area district commissioner Mr. John Otieno convened a security meeting in which some businessmen at the trading centre were invited.
2.3 million Bags of
Maize poisoned
APPROXIMATELY 2.3 million bags of poisonous maize are targeted for destruction within some 29 districts. Consequently, the government has started enforcing a ban on the transportation of the contaminated maize within and outside affected districts. “The government wishes to announce that we are facing a health threat as a result of high levels of aflatoxin contaminated maize in Eastern Province and parts of Coast Province,”
Agriculture Minister Dr Sally Kosgey announced. “The contaminated maize “is not suitable for human or animal consumption,” Dr Kosgey said. Aflatoxin is a fungus that affects some food crops under certain environmental conditions.
The fungus can be found on planted and harvested crops growing or stored in high temperature and moisture content. Only 700,000 bags of the country’s staple grain harvested from the affected areas passed the test out of three million bags. Parts of the country witnessed high amounts of rainfall late last year and early this year resulting in bumper harvest including in traditionally dry areas like Ukambani.
Local farmers however complained of lack of storage facilities and markets for the cereals. Affected districts The government is to use Sh3 billion to buy the grains from the affected districts which include Meru Central, Imenti North, Isiolo, Tigania West, Igembe South, Buuri, Kitui, Migwani, Kibwezi, Makueni, Yatta, Machakos, Mwala, Mwingi and Kathiani. Others are Embu West, Mbeere North, Embu East, Runyenjes, Meru South, Mara, Imenti South Kitui West, Kathonzweni, Mutomo, Masinga and Mwala.
Only Tana River and Bura districts are affected in the Coast Province. Dr Kosgey assured Kenyans that maize in other parts of the country is safe and that Kenyans had no cause for alarm. Nobody has died of aflatoxin which the minister said was first detected six weeks ago.
The National Cereals and Produce Board will buy the contaminated maize for destruction at Sh1,000 per 90 kg bag, while the good harvest will fetch Sh1,500No maize millers or traders will also be allowed to buy maize directly from farmers in the affected areas. All millers countrywide will be required to test all maize earmarked for milling to ensure safety from aflatoxin, Dr Kosgey said.
“District committees have also been constituted, overseen by the respective regional and provincial commissioners, for purposes of mopping up the contaminated maize which is currently being held by farmers and some traders. The exercise starts immediately,” Dr Kosgey said.
Rebellion mounts
over Rev. Makau's
leadership in Kangundo
Open Letter to Bishop Rev. Benard Nguyo
RE: A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE TO A.I.C KANGUNDO
REGIONAL CHAIRMAN REV. JAMES K. MAKAU AND COUNCIL OFFICERS.
“Greetings in the Name of our soon coming Jesus Christ. We wish to elaborate our subject matter as follows – that on diverse dates ranging from last year (2009) to –date our DCC C held meetings with RCC Council Officers in pursuance of solving a DCC problem affecting AIC Tala Local Church Elders.
During these meetings it came out clear that RCC Council Officer were set to ridicule the Christian and constitutional way applied by ourselves (DCC) simply be-cause of they had a vested interest.
Despite all that our DCC embraced the values of tolerance, respect, enormous restraint, dignity and respect. When we as DCC realized that our DCC is in the verge of fragmentation. Consequently, Elders held a meeting, unanimously resolving to pass a vote of no confidence in Rev Makau.
Here below we explain as follows:-
1. Whereas numbers and or external expansion are beneficial to the church, spiritual depth is of greater importance in A.I.C. The greatest challenge for the Church today is to equip the church with spiritual direction!
2. We reject the unconstitutional ruling by RCC Officers to split our DCC and main-tain that AIC Tala is not RCC project.
3. We read malice when RCC Council Officers all along did not correct the way-ward elders and a dismissed pastor but instead expunged DCC Council Officers and co-operated with them.
4. We see mockery of DCC Leadership when RCC Council Officers call a meeting with DCC without consulting with DCC Council Officers. This was possibly meant to create deliberate confusion amongst ourselves.
5. RCC Council Officers have been receiving AIC Tala budgetary remittances in contravention of AIC constitution. With-out doubt Jan, Feb, Mar and April2010 remittances (by the time of writing this letter) are with RCC Chairman /Treasurer for reasons Known better to them.
6. Rev. James K. Makau destabilized our youth camps by allowing AIC Tala campers in December 2009 to go to Sengani DCC camp. This caused us to incur a debt of ksh .2,500/=plus. He repeated the same in April this year causing us to incur a debt of Ksh.3,000/.In both occasions we complained but he (Rev. Makau)meant his business.
7. The media coverage we hear and read about Rev. James K. Makau leaves a lot to be desired considering the expected integrity of the church positions he is occupying. 8. DCC Officers have overwhelming evidence that Rev .James. K Makau is slanderous, undoubtedly for the purpose of divide and rule.
Considering the foregoing information we (AIC Kyamulendu DCC Elders have re-solved and de-clared that:
i. We are herein passing A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE TO AIC KANGUNDO /RE-GION AL CHAIRMAN REV.JAMES K. MAKAU AND RCC COUNCIL OFFICERS.
ii. From the date of this letter hence-forth we are withholding all remittances until Are Church Council Bishop intervenes and solves the subject issues. Likewise apportionments from RCC office to our DCC should be suspended fourth with.
iii. A meeting between our DCC and Bishop ACC to hear our grievances and to restore the peace and spiritual progress we have enjoyed over the years ,will be an absolute necessity.Secondly the Bishop is expected to return dignity and respect to AIC Kangundo Regional office.
iv We shall neither host Regional Mens Conference (Umbano wa Aume)this year nor host RCC Meetings.
v. AIC Kyamulendu DCC rulings on AIC Tala still stand .
vi. Finally we state our position and declare that;
a). We have confidence in our DCC administration
b). We have faith in AIC Kenya and the presiding Bishop.
May the Peace, Love and Joy of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you as you pray and consider us as your spiritual subjects .We need your urgent action.
Yours in service for Christ Jesus.
FOR AND ON BEHALVED OF AIC KYAMULENDU DCC.
Pastor Isaiah M. Mutungi
Excommunication is our badge
of honour, say Married Priests
By Archbishop Kasomo Daniel
We Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature in Kenya are honoured with a badge of excommunication for not only advocating for res-to-ration of Married Priesthood left by Jesus Christ in the Latin Rite but for taking a wife and following the command of St. Paul to Timothy: According to 1 Timothy 3:2, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife” (not “of no wife”!).We are honoured with a badge of ex-communication for being truthful to scriptures.
However, excommunication isn’t that something you get at supermarket. It is reserved to the Holy See and administered carefully to the selected few who like Galilee Galileo and Fr. Martin Luther have articulated a certain truth against all odds. To us married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature, the badge of excommunication is a step towards sainthood in the eyes of God who sees our hearts.
We feel that our declaration that we are married Priests has brought us closer to God. We have confessed to the world that we have kicked out hypocrisy and have become consecrated in the truth and the Truth has set us free. Excommunication has automatically put us in the fact file book of records in the History of the world and of the Roman Catholic Church. It has been communicated to all Catholics in Kenya but that may have been punitive and vindictive but may be it has made us famous and you never know popular for our ministry. What makes our excommunication important for us is the reasons behind it. We have confessed to the whole world that we are married and we received a call and a gift to Episcopate and answered affirmatively: Here I am Lord I come to do your will. That has earned us the badge of excommunication.
Nevertheless, the fact that our consecration was prohibited by the law of the Church and that the penalty of excommunication applied does not affect the sacramental validity of the consecration.
Therefore, we were and we are validly ordained priests and bishop. That means, the bishops of the married Priests Now! International Catholic Prelature who have received all their orders from the Roman Catholic Church are in fact bish-ops with Episcopal powers, meaning they can validly ordain, confirm, celebrate Mass, and validly perform any other Episcopal function.
The validity of a catholic sacrament depends on matter, form and apostolic succession. Our Apostolic Succession comes from Pope Paul VI and that automatically makes us Roman Catholic Bishops.
The indelible character of a priest cannot be excommunicated or defrocked. According to sacramental theology, Theo-logically and ontologically sacred ordination once validly received never becomes invalid. Anything else that contradicts that is a pure lie. An excommunication does not put one outside the Catholic Church, it is an archaic and anachronistic, punitive, vindictive and medicinal remedy applied to a member of the Catholic Church who is called to greater obedience.
An excommunication shows the weakness of the church and shows that the church is incapable of negotiation. Excommunication will not stop us from listening to the voice of the Lord neither will it separate us from the Love of Christ. That is why we hope one day Pope Benedict XVI will lift our excommunication.
One of the Catholic Parish council members in Machakos Catholic Diocese told me he read the Letter to Christians about our excommunication but he himself did not understand what he was reading! The Catholics today are in many ways much more in-formed of the realities of things in the Catholic Church.
The reasoning gift is very high in the mind of many Catholics today. The Catholics are no more a simple flock of sheep to be lead by the nose. They are by far informed about the world situation. They know that Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature will lead them to the right path.
We married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature is a voice in the wilderness like John the Baptist who was beheaded for more or less the same issues we are raising in the Roman Catholic. We are being crucified and crowned like Jesus this time not with thorns but with a budge of excommunication for speaking out by example against the Hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
Paul decisively contradicted those contemporaries who were of the opinion that “it is good for a man not to touch a woman.” As he wrote, “to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband” (1 Corinthians 7: 1-2). We married priests like Paul say, to avoid clergy sex scandal, abuse, molestation, rape and sodomy let every clergy have a choice before or after ordination to marry or to remain celibate. As pointed out by Pope Benedict XVI, the sin in the church is a sin from within the church caused by priests themselves.
Excommunication for us Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature makes us living Martyrs of today in the Roman Catholic Church. The Blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians. The seed of Married Priests is increasing day by day by celibate priests getting married and by Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature Ordinations.
We have married Priests all over Kenya. Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature is an International Prelature spread over the five continents with Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Seminarians and faithful. We will continue our efforts to develop mission communities globally. There is a growing call for our presence in the world. We Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature in Kenya are not Reformers. We are just restoring what Jesus Left, Married Priesthood.
Further, statements that we are a breakaway/schismatic, sect, renegades, rebels, church are false. We are and we will remain in the Catholic Church with or without the Blessings of the Vatican but Blessings from God. We shall continue to listen more to the voice of the Lord. It is a David and Goliath story but this time David is the Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature.
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye.Matt7:3-5.We urge Brother Roman Catholic Bishops in Kenya: let all of us be still, Listen to the Voice of The Lord and be shepherds. We were given Shepherd’s staff as a sign of our office not judge’s gavel.
Excommunication, suspension, threats, penalties, Laicization and defrocking will not work. What will work is for Pope Benedict XVI to erect an Ordinariate for the Married Priests Now! International Catholic Prelature. Or a similar structure within the Roman Catholic Church that will make him and the Married Priests. Now! Catholic prelature happy. Jesus called married Men to be priests.
Bishops in the early church and the popes were married. St. Peter the first Pope was a married priest. Rome’s rule of mandatory celibacy contradicts the gospel and ancient Catholic tradition. Jesus advocates voluntary abstinence. Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature in Kenya is not a passing cloud. Our prelature is designed to meet distinct pastoral needs according to code of canon law 294-297.
Jesus Christ’s will to have married priests cannot be wished away. We want to declare publicly that deep down in our hearts WE Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature in Kenya have no intention to drift further from the Church.
We articulate our atonement and absolution and aspiration to be in full communion with his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. We do recognize in principle the Pope and His authority as Pastor, with no reservations in the area of obedience to his doctrinal authority as successor of Peter and The Prince of the Apostles. We accept the doctrines of the Catholic Church with filial spirit.
The fact that we do not possess a canonical status in the Roman Catholic Church is in the end, based on disciplinary but not on doctrinal reasons. Hence, it is the prayer of Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature in Kenya, and we ask you to join us that the arms of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will be opened and he will be gracious and magnanimous as Holy Mother church should be and lift our excommunication and to that end canonically erect an ordinariate for us to worship God in Spirit and Truth.
We would like to see our excommunication lifted so that we continue our pastoral work in the Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature. We are open for dialogue. Plans are under way to put a state of the Art Married Priests Now! Cathedral and National Secretariat in Machakos Town. Time is of essence.
We leave everything in the hands of God. Archbishop Dr Kasomo Daniel is a Roman Catholic Bishop and the leader of Married Priests Now! Catholic Prelature in Kenya.
Beware: Facebook’s fresh
assault on your child
By Fr. JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO
As one girl was quoted saying, what goes on at them is "mostly just drugs, sex and alcohol and then a lot of partying until they just drop" (a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger- May 28, 2010). Boys give them alcohol and drugs so that they can lose sight of reality and the ability to function so that they can easily lure them to sex which according to the report girls seem to be enjoying. While countries like Kenya Facebbok may not be of a big threat to our children, sexual exploitation of children between 12 to 16 years old along the coast and pornography is.
Children as young as 9 years have already known to get access to pornography, either through computers, cell-phones. Last week report that one primary school in Ndiwa district in South Nyanza, alone had 11 girls ages between 13 to 15 years pregnant can tell a lot. According to KBC reported (written by KNA May 16, 2010) cases of teenage pregnancies continue to rise day by day. Six of the affected girls in Ndere primary school in Kobodo division of the district have already dropped out of school while five others are still learning.
Despite the fact that area District Education Officer, Benjamin Mauko who told KNA that the Ministry of Education, the police and the provincial administration are working with the school's head teacher to ensure those responsible are brought to book, no arrest has been made since then. The head teacher Moses Adoyo thinks if parents in the district are to work more closely with teachers they will curb the vice.
Many head teachers like Adoyo had expressed similar idea, but instead pregnancies continue to increase alarminglyAccording to Mauko while confirming that when they carried out pregnancy tests eleven girls tested positive, one shocking report is that some of these girls did admit that apart from teachers most of the girls were being lured with money by their close relatives for sex.
While close relatives include cousins, uncles among others, the latest teenage pregnancy cases in Ndhiwa came hot on the heels of another one two months ago, where a 14-year-old girl gave birth to triplets. What a shame! Yet still, Facebook is becoming more of a social nightmare, instead of network for many parents of young teens. Despite growing privacy concern most young people still use Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg Facebook chief executive/ Photo courtesy New York Times Facebook was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg at the age of 20 years-now he is 26 years and he is its chief executive. On Wednesday this week he became under heavy criticism over its privacy. Time and again, users have pushed back, complaining that some new feature or setting on the site violated their privacy. Facebook is the fastest growing online users. It now has nearly 500 million users around the world.
Despite the controversy, Facebook has raised more than $600 million since 2004. It explains why there are financial motives behind the company's moves. This is not the first time Facebook has been accused of crossing the line over privacy issues. In 2008 and 2009 there have been similar accusations, yet still many people still use it. Out of 500 million users, 7 million live in the UK. Apart from Facebook, parents have also the challenge of cell-phone users among their teenagers.
Recent report that school administrators in Santa Fe, Texas, confiscated dozens of cell phones from students May this year after nude photos of two junior high girls began circulating is just one of such few cases. The girls had sent the photos to their boyfriends, who forwarded them to others according to officials. This is not to mention a case in La Crosse, where a 17-year-old boy recently was charged with child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and defamation for allegedly posting nude photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend on his MySpace page.
The girl had taken the pictures with her cell phone at her mother's home and e-mailed them to the boyfriend according to the authorities. It was about the same time that in Utah, a 16-year-old boy was charged with a felony for sending nude photos of himself over a cell phone to several girls.
This was again about the same time a central Ohio high school teen made a sexual cell phone video of himself and sent it to female classmates. One of the girls forward the Westerville South High School's video to at least 30 other people, while three girls ages 14 or 15 in Greensburg, Pa., were charged with disseminating child pornography for sexting their boyfriends.
Yet still, nearly one-sixth of teens who own cell phones have received nude or nearly nude images via text message from someone they know, according to a new survey on "sexting" from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. It found out that 15 percent of cell-phone-owning teens ages 12 to 17 had received nude or nearly nude photos by phone. This is not to mention four percent of 12-year-olds reported sending sexually suggestive images by text message, while 8 percent of 17-year-olds reported texting nude or partially nude photos.
Even Yahoo which has built a collection of Web sites that serves more than 500 million people, doing business in more than 20 countries is no longer private. People can just hook your line and pass word and use it. Yet Yahoo is the No. 2 provider of search. Yahoo came in second place after Facebook, with 490 million unique visitors, 31.8 percent of the world's Internet-connected population, and 70 billion page views. Next was Microsoft's Live.com, with 370 million unique visitors and 39 billion page views.
The most popular sites after Live.com were Wikipedia, MSN.com, Microsoft.com, Blogspot.com, Baidu.com, GG.com and Mozilla.com. Founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1994 while they were Stanford graduate students, Yahoo was at first a handmade directory of interesting Web sites.
The site quickly evolved into the first and biggest Web portal. It offered pages on a range of topics, news, sports, music and so on. It was shortly followed by Hotmail, a free web-based email service operated by Microsoft as part of its Windows Live group. It was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith in 1996, formerly known as HoTMail.
It was one of the first web-based e-mail for free services before it was subsequently acquired by Microsoft in 1997 for an estimated $400 million, and shortly after it was rebranded as "MSN Hotmail". Although the current version, "Windows Live Hotmail", was officially announced in 2005 and released worldwide in 2007, like other online users Hotmail is also not a grantee for privacy.
Even the latest Gmail, a free advertising-supported webmail, POP3, and IMAP service provided by Google you cannot trust its privacy. Launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and becoming available to the general public on February 7, 2007, as of December 2009[update], it Gmail had 176 million users monthly.
With an initial storage capacity offer of 1 GB per user, Gmail has not only significantly increased the webmail standard for free storage from the 2 to 4 MB its competitors offered at that time, most people are sifting from other e-mail users to Gmail given that it has search-oriented interface and a "conversation view" similar to an Internet forum Since the Gmail service currently provides more than 7450 MB of free storage, users can not only rent additional storage (shared between Picasa Web Albums, Google Dcks and Gmail) from 20 GB (US$5/year) to 16 TB (US$4096/year) but has also added support for SMS Messaging through its integrated On April 3, 2010, Google announced a new two-pane layout designed specifically for the iPad. As such it advertises for mobile companies.
This is because if you'd like to sign up for a Gmail address, you need to have a mobile phone that has text-messaging capabilities. So you will be forced to buy such mobiles. The Gmail has also made it easier for those who cannot acquire mobiles since you can ask a friend if you can use his or her number to receive a code. One of the reasons it is offering this new way to sign up for Gmail is to help protect their users and combat abuse. No wonder why like Facebook some young people are slowly attracted to Gmail services.
I am also on Gmail and those who want to reach me can do so at omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Awaiting Athi River's
time Bomb
A health hazard is looming in Athi River and its environs following the discharge of untreated sewage into the rivers and streams. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the municipality has only one sewer line which is limited to the in-dus-trial section of the town, which was formerly the main residential area for the colonial Government functionaries.
Each time there is a sewer blockage business is interrupted, with irate resi-dents accusing Mavoko Water and Sewerage Company directors and the council for failing to deliver. In Mavoko municipality, waste of all sorts scatters all over the place, and the acids from it degenerates the value of the land.
The loam soil covering the town becomes a cloud of dust once wind blows through the streets, com-pounding the situation further. Wind indeed provides the acidic ingredient. It ensures that waste including papers and corrosive gases are scattered allover the municipality. Indeed, waste occupies much space which could be used for more productive things ,like agriculture and construction.
The waste has affected many lives of the people in the area. This is evident owing to the comments we received from some of the respondents we approached.
They claimed that most of their children in Mlolongo, Syokimau and Kwa Mbemba, Bondeni and Jua Kali suffered from dysentery and also malaria due to the presence of the household solid waste plant that offered breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Kathiani Member of Parliament Wavinya Ndeti said Stagnant waters in the drainages also provided a risk that can lead to the outbreak of cholera. Since the site is ex-posed to all the living, feeding on animals, like cows that feed on it becomes very dangerous because of the diseases they spread from the toxin they eat.
The Anchor found that poor waste management in the Athi River risks many lives of the people living around the dumping site. This is because of its hazardous effects like pollution, diseases, and injuries. Negligence from the municipality and the surrounding discordant political climate hardly does anything to reduce the risks faced. “One of the provoking encounters is the filthy smell that emerges from it.
Indeed, it is now obvious that Athi River stinks recklessly, with the stench filling the air across the main Mombasa Nairobi High-way with unrivalled impunity. Near the dumpsite, and in many other places, the scattered polythene papers, human waste are the ominous features that capture your eye like a sore toe.
This provokes a lot and makes one to feel very uncomfortable being at the place” said Wavinya. With the increasing population, the volume of solid waste in the municipality is in-creasing at a very fast rate.
Increasingly it is going beyond the capacity of the municipality to adequately handle. Businessman Japeth Munguti says waste generated in the municipality comprises organic material mainly from house-holds, industrial toxic waste as well as raw vegetable matter from markets. In addition there is commercial/industrial waste from offices, retail shops, ware houses and hotels.
The latter includes packaging material, food wastes, metal, plastics, textiles and fuel ash, street waste (sweeping like sand, litter, drain cleanings and animal matter), and special waste from hospitals and the central medical store, slaughter houses and the cesspool waste is another form of waste that the municipality has to con-tend with.
Faced with this predicament the majority of the population (about 80%) use pit la-trines. In some parts of the Municipality households that can not afford to construct own pit latrines share with neighbors or resort to unsafe methods of human waste disposal such as using polythene bags that end up in refuse skips or bushes.
The consequences of such practices are definitely disastrous for the health of the residents. The sanitation situation is further exacerbated by poor disposal of solid waste including plastic bags and ingress of foreign matter such as stones into the sewer which clog them. One un tested alternative waste management technique is the urban poor’s re-use of refuse.
Waste recycling is often undertaken as a survival strategy when the urban poor are unable to obtain for-mal employment, and when non-waste re-sources are scarce or unaffordable. Waste re-use also plays a role in improving the urban physical environment. By reducing the total amount of solid waste headed for the landfill, recycling and composting are land-saving and pollution-reducing strategies.
Waste re-use also plays a valuable resource conserving role: by recycling materials, further exploitation of scarce natural resources is minimized, thus containing the spreading ecological footprint of the city.
Despite these environmentally and socially beneficial aspects of waste recycling, it is not without its negative impacts, which include exploitation by waste buyers and poor health and living conditions for the urban poor who deal in waste picking.
Even the, perhaps the most sickening reality is the fact that no one, virtually no one is set to face the time bomb posed by the disposal of waste materials in Athi River.
Enduring class work amid the
HIV Aids stigma in schools
HIV/AIDS teacher in Machakos district has urged positive ukambani teachers to join the Kenya Network of Hiv+ Teachers (KENEPOTE) so as to de-crease the stigma that has literally killed HIV-positive teachers by depriving them or their livelihood, the support from colleagues, and kept them out of the clinics where they could have obtained lifesaving drugs.
Lonzi, a teacher from Kyanzasu primary school said that he begun smoking and drinking while in form 2 and while in that situation he started seeing prostitutes at a price of sh 2.00 and would occasionally sneak from school to the brothels and then back to school. ”The worst part is the stigma comes from the fellow teachers. For them we are ‘past tense,’ or ‘walking corpses,’” explains Lonzi.
Lonzi completed Form Four in 1975 in Masii Secondary School and became a tout where he would spend a lot of money on women. In 1978 he went to Mombasa where he worked as a Matatu driver. Mwembe Kuku area was his area of prey- socializing with at least 12 prostitutes per day, according to his accounts. “In 2006 I was admitted in Shalom hospital with severe herpes. Later after tests I was found positive and joined KENEPOTE in order to get support” he said.
He says that he was born in a rich family and despite that he was genius he endeavored to enjoy life to the fullest. Lonzi said the Kenya Network of HIV-Positive Teachers (KENEPOTE is a net-work of HIV-positive teachers, founded in 2003 by two HIV-positive teachers and aspires to create an environment where teachers with HIV and AIDS will be free from fear, shame, denial, stigma, and discrimination.
He said many pupils would refuse to give their notebooks with home work assignments to be corrected by infected teachers, for fear that they would contaminate their notebooks. Their fellow teachers weren’t any better. They can refuse to take tea with their HIV-positive colleagues, again out of fear.
KENEPOTE’s mission is to build the capacity of it’s members in advocacy for the reduction of stigma and discrimination, protection of rights of HIV-positive teachers, orphans and vulnerable children; increase access to psychosocial support services and skills to teachers; prevent further spread of HIV and AIDS in collaboration with other stakeholders by bringing positive change in attitude and behavior of communities to HIV and AIDS.
Mr. Lonzi said protecting the rights of teachers and students living with HIV is as much a part of the programme as education to prevent HIV infection. Certainly teachers living with HIV face challenges above and beyond those con-fronting their colleagues. “Making treatment affordable is one of many issues to be tackled to ensure that teachers get the support they need to work successfully and live positively” he said.
He said the KENEPOTE Programme promotes not only their right to have access to HIV prevention, treatment and care, but equally their right to work free from discrimination. Teachers have a right to continue to work and to share their knowledge and experience, regardless of their HIV status.
Lonzi an official of KENEPOTE said developing a comprehensive response for HIV-positive teachers is crucial not simply for the wellbeing of those particular teachers, but for the good of the education sector as a whole.
The goals of Education for All (EFA) will continue to elude us as long as the impact of HIV and AIDS on the education sector is not adequately addressed. Networks of HIV-positive teachers are a powerful ally in responding to HIV and AIDS. The Kenya Association of Positive Teachers (KENEPOTE) was started by two HIV-positive teachers more than five years ago. Now it is a flourishing organisation with more than 3,000 members. “Working with and through these net-works can be an effective way for unions to en-hance their support to HIV-positive teachers.
In the same way, networks that are integrated within the union structure can mobilise union members and re-sources for their activities” he said. Lonzi said the network has been active and successful. The teachers who are joining are ‘coming out,’ feeling more secure as stigmatization in many schools is diminishing.
Muoki struggles to sell
the Red Card in Mwala
Five councilors in Mwala district have declared support for the new constitution and vowed to spearhead the yes vote in the region. They claimed that MPs opposed to the new constitution were jittery about recall clause because it empowered the electorate to sack the non performing ones.
“They [MPs] are uncomfortable because the article will put them in a fix once the new laws are passed at the referendum,’’ councilor Thomas Kasoa of Mbiuni ward noted during a function at Makutano DEB primary school.
Local MP Mr. Muoki is spearheading the NO vote while his predecessor Mr. Mutua Katuku is for YES. This position by Mr Muoki found him placed in a tight corner when he shared a platform with Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo. Kilonzo, a seasoned lawyer who has had a hand in the process challenged Mr Muoki to tell his constituents what exactly was offensive in the draft laws.
“Tell these people what is exactly wrong with the draft constitution. You can begin with telling them if you have read it at all or if you are opposing it just for the sake of appearing to be talking”, Mr Kilonzo said amid wild cheers from the crowd that seemed opposed to the MP’s stand.
Thereafter, Mutula led the crowd in chants calling for the rejection of MPs opposed to the Draft Constitution in the next General Election Kasoa urged the locals to rally behind the draft for it will provide for massive allocation of resources to the masses through the de-volved units. “15 percent of the national budget will trickle down to the masses through the devolved units,’’ the civic leader said, adding the massive injection of re-sources will help spur development in marginalized areas.
He took issue with former President Moi for asking Kenyans to reject the document yet he failed to deliver the same in his 24 year tenure. He told the Akamba to show enthusiasm in the approval of the document because its drafting was spearheaded by key personalities from the community.
“They are sure it is good for us, remarked Patrick Ngalama of Wamunyu ward referring to Committee of Experts chairman Mr. Nzamba Kitoga and Mr. Mutula Kilonzo whose docket was coordinating the exercise. Besides, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Water and Irrigation Minister Mrs Charity Ngilu are among the 10 local MPs who are in support of it.
Councilor Charles Mutinda said the new constitution is set to minimize political rivalry at the constituency. This, he said will be possible through the ushering of the posts of senators and governors in addition to the parliamentary one where contesters will be free to go for either.
"Although Muoki has failed as an MP, he will still have a chance to contest as senator or governor under the new constitutional dispensation,’’ he said in a light touch provoking laughter from the crowd.
The residents received 10,000 copies of the draft distributed by Committee of Experts representative in the district Mr. Mutua Kimote. He said proponents of the yes or no vote ought to refer to the specific clauses when telling the public about the strengths or weakness of the document to demonstrate they were sure of what they talked of.
The provincial administration, he reiterated, will not be disbanded but restructured to fit in the modern era. “The fact is, during the former government, the provincial administration was misused making people to fear it. Some people dreaded going to chief’s office because they thought they would be arrested,’’
Other councilors championing YES are Ndolo and Morris Mwanzi of kibauni of Muthetheni and wards respectively.
Masaku Teachers Sacco fights
Effects of historic theft of cash
MACHAKOS Teachers Sacco has contracted a forensic auditor to verify the current financial position of the Sacco, currently on its death bed.
The auditor is investigating the levels of indebtedness to its members and outsiders to determine its whether it is insolvent or not. The issue came up at the recent Annual Delegates Meeting when a member questioned the manner of contracting the unnamed auditor.
Sacco Chairman reported that the auditor was identified by the Provincial Cooperatives officer Mr Obonyo. He said once the report is ready, it would be tabled before the members. If that happens, it will be yet another oppor-tu-nity for Sacco members to have their dirty linen displayed in public. It remains to be seen what will be the use of the audit since another report that listed all the thieves of the Sacco has not been acted on. The report listed top officials of the Sacco led by former General Manager Solomon Ngomo and Knut Machakos Branch Boss Albanus Mutisya- having between them nearly Sh 10m in known debts.
The list contained scores of their loyalists, friends, relatives and hirelings- all owing more than Sh 300m to the teachers Sacco. The Chairman Mr. Julius Nzioka said that a staff member in the name Judith Mutindi who was dealing with fixed deposits was called before the board and Ministry’s officials to tell how she deposited millions of shillings in Fixed Deposits, money that eventually van-ished.
This is the story “Mutindi could not explain herself. Mutindi told board that the funds brought by mem-bers as fixed deposit were put in box where later in the evening she took the money to the then General Manager(Mr Ngomo). Mr. Nzioka Mutindi’s predecessor a Mr. David who worked in that department went away with a lot of money and the funds are seen in a huge building he has con-structed on the way to Mbumbuni which is known by members”.
The Chairman said the board removed Mutindi from office and she will be surcharged for the funds she defrauded. But when will this be done and who will do it? Sources close to The Anchor say the Sacco is putting pressure on members to repay their loans owing to the de-mand to repay millions they owe the Co-operative Bank of Kenya.
Those in the know say the Sacco has become a slave of the bank since all they work for is the Co-op Bank to avoid being auctioned. Stay Anchored!
Deputy Mayor leads
protest over toilet
The raging internal wars among coun-cil-ors and se-nior officers at Macha-kos municipal hall spilt to the streets of the town on Tues-day.
The deputy mayor Timothy Wambua led eight fellow councilors in de-mol-ishing an iron sheet fencing for a proposed public toilet. Speaking at Mulu gardens in the mu-nici-pality, the scene of the intended pub-lic utility, councillor Kilonzo said the project which is adjacent to another dilapidated old toilet did not get approval from a full council meeting held by the civic body last week.
Other councilors who addressed the bewildered on lookers on the rare act blamed the mayor Mr. Fidelis Kimuyu and the town engineer Morris Alwanga for allegedly awarding and signing the contract while minutes of the previous full council meeting specifically states rehabilitation of the near by toilets which are only 5 metres away.
The Anchor understood that the toilet under construction is part of the Iko Toilet projects under the Private-Public Partnerships(PPPs). This plan has seen the construction of two toilets-one outside Kenyatta Sta-dium and the other at the main Bus Park. They are used at a cost and resi-dents find in them clean facilities as opposed to public toilets that are hardly cleaned. According to past arrangement, the investor Builds, Op-erates and Trans-fers the facility after recovering his costs. What is raising questions is why they are constructing toilets next to old, filthy toilets, instead of maintaining them to good levels of public use. Vowing to root out what they alleged to be corruption cartels by the civic body, the councilors, claimed many unprioritised and unbudgeted projects have in the past been hatched and implemented by the councilors and senior officers to line their pockets.
As their unexpected spectacle played itself in the eyes of the public some of them in the crowd took advantage of the melee to cart away the demolished iron sheets and poles to make better use of them in reselling or put up structures. Wrangles in the council among coun-cil-ors and senior officers have of late taken a centre stage both in the cham-bers and public galleries cul-mi-nating in the transfer of the long serving town clerk Mr. Stephen Mbondo to another station.
At the epicenter of thewars, are alle-gations of corruption in award of development projects funded under Local Authority Trust Fund (LATF) and the revenue collected by the council from rates and fees.
The cold wars within the council whose seat is the first capital of Kenya, at the entry of imperialism and in some quarters regarded as the political capital of Ukambani has resulted into declining services and poor investment and performance in infrastructure de-vel-opment projects as interested parties attempt at controlling the councils kitty and its utilization.
Two weeks ago a delegation of small scale traders operating council stalls at the main open air market threatened to withhold rates and fee payments on account of lack of provision of toilets and other sanitary facilities. Efforts to get a comment from the mayor, the engineer or the newly posted Town Clerk Mr Ngei Mutinda were futile as they were said to be in meetings.
