Rugby event fails to impress

Rugby tournament
closes heads down

By The Anchor Reporter

DG Mr Francis Mwangangi poses with KAA team

The much anticipated Benjamin Ayimba legacy tournament held in at the Kenyatta stadium has ended as silently as it begun.

Kalonzo speaks about land dealer's death

 

Kalonzo says land dealer was Killed

Death was well planned,
not an accident- Ex VP

Mr Musyoka speaking at the burial

By The Anchor Reporter 

Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka has charged that Athi land dealer Pius Musembi Kivindu was killed.

I'm not a Land grabber- Ndeti

 Akamba leaders give top
 Land dealer big send off

By Daniel Nzia
Chief Correspondent 

Governor Wavinya Ndeti at the burial

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has defended herself against accusations that she has a hand in rampant land grabs in Machakos County. 

The Governor explained that her father- a former Chairman of Mavoko Town Council had left her enough land and as such she did not need more.

She regretted that her critics referred to her as Queen of Land grabbing and asserted that she indeed was not just a defender of land belonging to the Akamba people but a whistle-blower on land matters.

Her delivery was significant. She spoke during the burial of a leading land dealer who was eulogised as a prominent son of Ukambani and businessman- Mr Pius Musembi Kivindu at his Makueni home.

Kivindu is the Syokimau -Mavoko Community Association chairman, popularly known as Chairman. He is the face of land deals at Syokimau and that belonging to East African Portland Cement in Mavoko. He was buried at his Kisioni village home in Sultan Hamud, Kilome, after he perished in a grissly road accident on March 26,2023 near his home at Green Park Estate a long the busy Nairobi -Mombasa highway.

Wiper leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka led the kamba leaders attending the event.

Others who attended the emotional burial were former Kitui governor Kaluki Ngilu,Kitui senator Kiio Wambua, Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo, Mavoko MP Patrick Makau, Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu,Machakos and Makueni women MPs Kamene Kasimbi and Rose Museo respectively, MPs Thaddeus Nzambia,Joshua Kimilu,Erastus Kivasu and Makueni Deputy governor Ms Lucy Mulili.

Others were former Kaiti MP Richard Makengà,Makueni Speaker Douglas Mbilu,host of MCAs, land dealers and senior government officials from Machakos and Makueni counties.

Makueni climber heads to Mt Everest

Medic seeks action for Peace, Mental Health and Climate Change 

A mountaineer was today handed the Makueni flag by Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr on her way to climb  Mt. Everest.

Dr Faith Mwende who hails from Kilungu in Makueni County, has set her eyes on the world's  highest mountain to create awareness of the unprecedented speed and magnitude of climate change. 

 She also targets to create awareness on mental health issues and promote peace.

Mwende, a mental health champion who has climbed major mountains in Kenya says that her passion for mountaineering started while growing up in the hilly region of Kilungu.

“I want to showcase the beauty of Makueni County. When I was going up Mt. Kilimanjaro for the 3rd time, I realized an increase in snowfall and also found a lot of litter. If you’re not at peace with the environment then it leads to mental health,” Mwende said

Governor Mutula requested the mountaineer to become a Makueni Vlimate Change Champion saying, that Makueni has been adversely affected by the effects of climate change.

Makueni has of late faced sand flooding, cutting down of trees, and burning of forests in areas such as Nzaui hills, Makuli Forest, and Katende, among other forested regions.

Wavinya tours site of New City

New Machakos City
under way-Wavinya

Governor Wavinya Ndeti today inspected works on the proposed Machakos New City to assess the progress of the ongoing physical infrastructural development.

Though no details were available, it seemed she was referring to the same 'new city' that was launched by her

predecessor Dr Alfred Mutua over 10 years ago.

Wavinya toured the area around Machakos Peoples Park ,the same area that Dr Mutua intended to build the city.

She urged the contractors on site to hasten their work for a speedy growth of the New Machakos City.

She said the New City is expected to change the face of Machakos and set the stage for accelerated investment.

Fees: Machakos Girls student languishes at home

Girl expelled from school amid poverty

By MUENI MUTUA

Annastaciah Nduku, a Form three student at Machakos Girls High School has been forced to stay at home because she has no school fees. 

This is after Education Minister Ezekiel Machogu barred school heads from expelling students due to fees.

Speaking to The Anchor  at their home in Kenya Israel, Annastaciah expressed her worry of not being able to complete her education due to the poverty level in her home. 

This is notwithstanding the fact that MPs and MCAs are dolling out bursaries to a wide range of applicants- both deserving and undeserving.

She narrated how she has survived her primary school education to high school, relying  on the support of wellwishers. 

The young girls' dream to become a lawyer could be curtailed as she's raised by a single mother who has been ailing for close to thirty years now. She lives with a mental condition.

The family is now in a state of  uncertainty  since the  good Samaritan who had been supporting them went mute. 

The school fees debt has accrued to close to Kes 100,000. 

Her aunt Rosemary Ngina says the ambitious girl's dream to save her family from the depths of poverty could be shattered if the current situation persists.

The family lives in a ramshackle and depend on wellwishers to get something to eat.

Kitui Bishop, priests reflect on priesthood

 Kitui, April 05, 2023

Catholics celebrate Chrism Mass as priests renew vows

Kitui Catholic Bishop Joseph Mwongela today led Kitui Priests in a reflection of their lives of priesthood.

They also examined how they can live together in a Synodal way. The solemn event took place at the Kitui Pastoral Centre.

Thereafter, the Catholic Diocese of Kitui  celebrated the Chrism Mass in a colorful ceremony at Our Lady of Africa Cathedral, Kitui, presided over by the Bishop,the Rt. Rev. Mwongela.

In this liturgy, priests and people gather with the bishop for the blessing of the holy oils that will be used in parishes within the course of the year—the Oil of the Sick, the Oil of Catechumens, and the Oil of Chrism, from which the Mass receives its name.

The priest also had an opportunity to renew the promises that they made during their ordination.

In his homily, Bishop Mwongela urged the clergy to be humble in their ministry and embrace the spirit of standing with the truth. He further informed the clergy that the call to the priesthood is a gift from God that they must respect.

Bishop Mwongela also urged the Christians to be thankful to the Lord for the gift of the priests and pray for them without ceasing so that they may follow in the footsteps of Christ.

The bishop likewise urged everyone to pray for peace in the country and listen to the directives from the Church. "Pray for our nation so that the politicians can know that we are the owners and we need peace," he said.

Rugby planners assure residents of sanity

Rugby Union Boss wards off fears

Ry Regina Mueni

 

Preparations are underway  at The Machakos  Kenyatta Stadium to Host the Benjamin  Ayimba Legacy Tournament over the Weekend.

Rugby fans head to Machakos

All eyes on Machakos for the
Ayimba Legacy Rugby League

By Brian Malasi

Rugby fans in Machakos have reason to smile following the return of the 7 aside rugby league after a couple of years hiatus. But those who remember the last episode of Masaku 7S have reason to shudder.

The smiles are about the rebranded rugby event known as Benjamin Ayimba Legacy Rugby

tournament. This time round it promises sobriety, better organization with confirmed plans to ensure a seamless flow of traffic around Machakos town, and secure and adequate parking around the sporting zone. The Kenya Airports Authority has announced a sponsorship of Kes 1.2m and estimates attendance by 10,000 fans.

Organizers have been holding planning meeting with officials from the County government to deliver a non chaotic event- far from the madness witnessed the last time the event was witnessed in Machakos.

Sources tell The Anchor that soft drinks firms may be the main sponsors- a statement that the event may elevate  the sporting spirit, rather than the rendezvous that is brought about by beer. 

The tournament promises a weekend packed with action  rugby matches starting Friday afternoon. Local music enthusiasts will also get to enjoy music from local musicians like Jua Kali and an array of celebrity DJ's also scheduled to perform.

The tournament will take place at the Kenyatta stadium, Machakos  this weekend from April 7-9,

Be sure to Book your ticket here of the 3 day event. Limited slots  are available. 

events.mtickets.com (Regular-1000 for 3 days) 

ayimbarugby.hustlesasa.shop  

 (VIP-2500 for 3 days)

Malombe CLIDIP projects halted

False start for Malombe's 
CLIDIP, Dams projects

By Brian Malasi

KITUI Governor Dr Julius Malombe has cancelled  the Kitui Community level infrastructure development program (CLIDIP) for 2022/2023

The cancellation now throws into turmoil Dr Malombe's development agenda and it unlikely that the planned CLIDIP projects will inspire confidence in his second term. By the time the applicants return their papers, after the re-advertisement, followed by evaluation and awarding, it is likely that Kitui will be restive, if not confused. Certainly this means there will an overlap with the planning for financial year 2023/2024. 

Tenders for the CLIDP program were advertised fairly late- on March 6, 2023  and the  Public Procurement Regulatory Authority(PPRA) deemed the advertisement as dead on arrival. It then flagged the notice, citing  four areas that must be corrected.

A notice published on Monday by the Office of the  Kitui County Secretary and signed by Acting County Secretary Mrs Agnes Mulewa says the PPRA had issued an advisory to the County Government of Kitui that the CLIDIP and Sand Dam projects for 2022/2023 be cancelled and re-advertised.

The PPRA had demanded  that the Malombe Government provides enhanced clarity on reservation of the tenders within various wards, that the advert ensures technical evaluation criteria of the advertised tenders is inclusive of critical technical competence requirements such as qualified, competent manpower and equipment and that the advertiser uploads tender documents with relevant specifications and drawings.

Finally, PPRA required the advertiser ensures National Certification is a mandatory requirement for building and civil infrastructural works. It means that the previous advert defective and fell far below the requirements, putting in doubt the integrity component of the tendering procedure, let alone the possible outcomes when the projects are implemented.

Mrs Mulewa explained that the advertised tenders had to be cancelled and re-advertised after complying with the PPRA diections. "Please not the bidders who participated in the cancelled tenders will be required to apply afresh. Any inconvenience caused is regretted", she concluded.

5 boys arrested over Kitui dormitory fire

 Kyatune Boys School
 shut after fire attack

By Mercy Mueni
 in Kitui

Five students from Kyatune Boys Secondary School are in police custody for allegedly starting a fire that burnt down one of the school's dormitories.

The razed down dormitory

The fire was ignited early yesterday as the students were in their preparatory studies for the day, gutting down the school's largest dormitory. The school was shut down and students sent home indefinitely  shortly after the inferno as police sealed off the institution that had become a scene of crime.

The fire destroyed property including personal belongings of about over 100 students residing in the dormitory. Observers are worried that the fire came only two weeks after schools reopened from mid-term.

DCI   Chief in Mutumo Subcounty Mr. Leonard Kurgat said a probe into the incident was underway to establish all the factors of the fire. Among those arrested is the boy who brought in petrol, the one who brought a match box and another who brought some papers, a DCI source said, adding that they will round up each boy who made a contribution to the inferno.

Even then, but some rumors sweeping across the village that the boys  are playing truant and are targeting an impending examination. " The boys lit the fire to halt examinations which was to begin next Thursday.

Neither the school administration nor the the  Ministry of Education had given their own account of the fire by the time we went to press.

Names of Akamba Famines

The 12 great Ukambani famines in 100 (1923 - 2023)

By Prof Josephert Kimatu(Pictured) 

Ukambani- the area covered by the counties of Kitui,Machakos and Makueni are known for enduring long spells of droughts that are followed by famine.

Task to replace Waita begins

 CCU top positions up for grabs

By The Anchor Reporter

Chama Cha Uzalendo (CCU) is seeking to fill two top positions left by officials who have resigned from the party. The vacant positions up for grabs include that of the Party Leader, previously held by former State House Chief of Staff, Nzioka Waita and that of the Party Chairperson left vacant after the resignation of Stanley Ole Ntutu.Waita rode on the party's ticket to vie for the Machakos governor seat in the last year's General Election but lost to Wiper's  Wavinya Ndeti.

Mr Nzioka Waita

The party’s Secretary General, Phillipe Sadja on Friday confirmed the receipt of official communication by both Waita and Ole Ntutu notifying the party of their exit.  

“It is true that Nzioka Waita is no longer a member of CCU. The position of Party Leader is therefore vacant as from the time he resigned on February 28, 2023. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties has also communicated the same position in writing,” Sadja said at a press conference in Machakos town.

Sadja said CCU had also accepted the resignation of Ole Ntutu as the party’s chairperson. He however said the party was still strong and was in the process of revitalizing its structures ahead of the 2027 general election.

“CCU is still a strong party and is in the process of strengthening its structures and conducting grassroots mobilization of membership in preparation for the 2027 general election,” said Sadja.

Several prominent politicians have been at the helm of the CCU party in the last couple of years.

In 2013, Wavinya Ndeti, now Machakos Governor was the Party Leader before paving the way for former Central Imenti MP, Gitobu Imanyara. The late former Machakos Senator, Boniface Kabaka also served  for a short stint as Party Leader before Waita took over in the run-up to the 2022 General Election.

The party has also voiced its concern over the turbulent political climate in the country, terming it unsustainable. “We firmly support peaceful demonstrations as a legitimate means of expressing the grievances of Kenyans. However, we urge all stakeholders to ensure that such demonstrations have a clear political endgame that supports all Kenyans,” said the SG.

Cattle Vaccination begins in Makueni

County prioritizes cattle immunisation campaign 

Mutula Kilonzo Junior today officially launched the Annual Livestock Vaccination program at Kathulumbi Stockyard in Katangi Market.

The program is geared towards boosting the herd's immunity against trans-boundary animal diseases.

The County government is targeting to vaccinate at least 100, 000 cattle and 150,000 sheep and goats across 465 sites in all the Sub- Counties in Makueni.

According to the Agriculture Executive Joyce Mutua, the vaccination program is highly subsidized and each beneficiary will pay a fee of Kes 20 for cattle and Sh  5 for sheep and goats. Besides, deworming services will be provided for free.

Machakos journalist wins global award

Steff among top 3 Emerging Global Women writers

 

By Agencies

A Machakos journalist Steffany Ndei is among the top three global award winners in the Emerging Global Women Writers competition.

Steff Ndei

Known locally as Steff, she wrote a personal story of her relationship with football, from a child who fell in love with the game.

The global Emerging Women Writers competition was launched last September to encourage aspiring women football writers. The organisers named the 17 winners from 11 countries.

The 17 selected entries in the initiative will appear in an anthology entitled  "Hear Us Roar"– an anthology of emerging women football writers, to be published ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup and launched at the 2023 Football Writers’ Festival to be held in Sydney from July 15 to 17.

As part of the prize, three of the writers will also travel to Australia to attend the festival.

The three top contributions assessed by an international judging panel of seven judges are:

1.Olga Bagatini (Brazil) who wrote a profile of Sissi, one of the greats of Brazilian women’s football who was the joint Golden Boot winner at the Women’s World Cup in 1999. Sissi is all but forgotten in her own country’s football establishment and Bagatini wants to give women of Sissi’s generation the recognition they deserve.

2. Steffany Wangari Ndei(Kenya) who wrote a personal story of her relationship with football, from a child who fell in love with the game watching the 2002 World Cup, to a promising player on a college scholarship in the US, to becoming disaffected with the game until she returned to Kenya to coach a boys’ team.

3. Alina Ruprecht (Germany) who wrote a football business piece by profiling FC Viktoria Berlin and how a group of women investors are changing football administration and management in a lower level women’s club, and their ambition to make it to the top level.

Bagatini, age 29, is a journalist from São Paulo who is currently with UN Women working on a project which uses sport to empower women and girls, particularly from the favelas.

“I am absolutely delighted with this opportunity. I can’t wait to represent Latin America at the 2023 Football Writers’ Festival, exchange with writers from all over the world and be able to bring Sissi’s story to a wider audience through the anthology.”

Ndei, also 29, is a journalism graduate from Daystar University, Nairobi currently studying for a Masters degree in Sports Integrity and Ethics and wants to be a sports investigative journalist.

“Bar the disbelief, I am stoked to meet and learn from the heavyweights in the industry of sports journalism as well as the upcoming heavy hitters.”

Ruprecht, age 23, is a political science graduate from Munich who is now enrolled in a Masters degree in European Studies, and hopes to work in football.

“When I received the invitation to attend the Football Writers’ Festival in Sydney, I was completely speechless. This is an incredible opportunity to meet the other emerging women’s writers, and read all the stories that are to be published in the anthology and I am thrilled that the judges appreciated my work.”

The judging panel featured journalists and writers from Australia, the UK, Nigeria, Egypt, and Argentina, including Laura Williamson, Marcela Mora y Araujo, Inas Mazhar, Osasus Obayiuwana

The fourth iteration of the Football Writers Festival will be held in Tar-Ra and Tullagalla, the cultural precincts of Sydney also known as Walsh Bay, from July 15-17th 2023, days ahead of the opening of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

A list of articles will appear in the anthology Hear Us Roar with the name of the author and their country.

About the Football Writers Festival

Launched in 2019, the Football Writers Festival is more than football, and more than writing and reading. It helps put the ‘game of opinions’ into action in a fun, relaxed and stimulating environment with other people who know and love football.

It aims to bring together a melting pot of authors, writers, readers, and interested voices in a Festival that encourages and inspires meaningful debate and discussion.

The 2023 Festival will be held from 15th-17th July in Tar-Ra (the Indigenous name for Walsh Bay), in the cultural precinct of Sydney, days ahead of the opening match in Australia of the co-hosted 2023 Women’s World Cup.

The Football Writers Festival is an initiative of Fair Play Publishing with the support of founding partner, the Johnny Warren Football Foundation.

Get your own land- Judge Munyao tells children

 BENCH WATCH

Judge scoffs at children who
block land sale by parents

By Agencies

Justice Munyao Sila of the Environment and Land Court has ruled that parents are at liberty to deal with their free land without consulting or seeking consent of their children.

Mr.Justice Munyao- Courtesy    of The Standard Newspaper 

Sitting  in Kisii where two children had faulted their father for selling a piece of land to some two buyers, arguing that their father held the land in trust for the family and could not sell it. 

But the judge saw it differently and arrived at a conclusion that will send shock waves to children who block their parents from selling their land.

The Judge arrived at the conclusion that the property was not ancestral land held in trust for the family and therefore the father was free to deal with it whichever way he wished. 

In a stinging judgment delivered on March 22, 2023 and which is likely to set precedent in many land disputes pitting parents and their children, Justice Munyao Sila stated that it is time that children stopped having a notion, that what belongs to their parents also belongs to them.

To quote His Lordship:

“…it is despicable, if not outrageous, for a child to assert that his father or mother, must subdivide his land in a particular way, and proceed to sue his parent because he/she does not wish to deal with the land in the way proposed by the child…

It is time that children stopped having a notion, that what belongs to their parents also belongs to them in equal measure, and that their parents must subdivide and distribute land to them in a particular manner."

The Judge went on to state that the land in dispute belonged to the father and he could do whatever he wanted with it. That his children had not right to compel him to subdivide the land in a certain way.

“It was his land and he could do whatever he wanted with it… the 2nd and 3rd Defendants (his children) had no right to compel the 1st defendant (their father) to subdivide his land in a certain way. Neither can they purport to attempt to reverse a sale that was freely entered into by their late father. The property was never held in their trust.”

The Judge fell short of telling the children to go to hell when he castigated them and described their action as “shameful” and “abominable.” 

“I regret to tell the defendants that they have to live with the fact that their father decided to sell the land. He was the owner of the land and nothing barred him from selling the land…

The conduct of the 2nd and 3rd defendant was, and remains, shameful. It is abominable. They relentlessly hounded their father; they demanded that he distributes the land in the form that they themselves wanted; even when their father gave them some land, they complained that it was too little; they sued their father before the Chief, the clan, and before the tribunal; they failed to give their father peace. This is despite the fact that it was their father who took them to school and educated them up to University level and made them to be what they are today. They are thankless…They have to live with the fact that they led their father to sell the land so that he can have peace. They cannot be heard to complain.”

Headache over Kiboko B

 Makindu: March,  29, 2023

Minister Cancels 
sticky allotments 

The Makueni Department of Lands and Urban Planning has initiated plans to revoke allotment of 54 acres of land in Kiboko B settlement scheme.

It is claimed that the land in Kimboo village, was allocated in a controversial manner.

400 farmers in livestock booster plan

Goat upgrade chosen
as priority project

By Daniel  Kituku

Over 400 Makueni farmers today received breeding goats in a major livestock improvement programme in the county. 

It marked the beginning of the Department of Agriculture's goat improvement programme geared towards  milk and meat production.

The program was the priority set out by farmers in Kikumbulyu during their Public Participation meetings. 

The programme involves provision of breeding bucks and capacity building to farmers on best goat  farming practices .

Speaking  at Kikumbulyu in Kibwezi  East during the commissioning of the programme, Makueni Deputy Governor Ms. Lucy  Mulili said the Galla goat has a faster growth rate, high weight  and produces high milk yields. 

Ms.Mulili congratulated Kikumbulyu South Residents  for using the Makueni Public Participation model to ask the government  to buy them Galla goat as part  development projects. 

She urged other wards in Makueni  to take up the challenge in the forth coming 2023/ 24  budget preparation process to propose Livestock improvement projects .

Agriculture  Minister Makueni Joyce Mutua who hosted the Deputy Governor  lauded the move  and asked Makueni  Residents to prioritise agriculture,  irrigation  and Livestock projects during in this year's public participation. 

MP Basil dismisses teacher enlisting

Yatta MP demands 
fresh TSC recruitment 

By The Anchor Reporter

Yatta Member of Parliament Mr Robert Basil is demanding the immediate revocation of the recent teachers recruitment in Machakos County that he terms as fraudulent.

The MP called for fresh recruitment exercise to accord justice for those who were left out unfairly.