Just who are the accusers
and what do they claim?
So who are these people seeking the re-moval of Konza leaders?
One of them is Mutisya Katambanga, the other is Mr. S. Ngunga and the other is Mr. B. Katete. They are or-di-nary Konza farmers whose friends are known and it is obvious that without the support of their friends and other pow-erful people, they would not know the direction of CID headquarters.
That is why it had to take Nairobi Lawyer Mr Eric Mutua to drive the old men to CID to make false accusations against Konza officials.
Nevertheless, four officials- Mr Mutangili, his deputy Mr John Masengele, the Sec-re-tary Mr David Katu and Konza Treasurer Mr Israel Nzallu have visited CID head-quar-ters four times to respond to the six allegations of impropriety.
Sources say they were driven there on February 28 and the next day, Mutangili and his team put a notice in the newspapers to ex-pose the scheme to remove them from Konza.
Informed sources allege that the powerful politician planned to install Mr Peter Kanyi- being the biggest shareholder- at the helm of Konza to appease him of the Malili may-hem. However Mr Kanyi declined as details of the intended installation and likely con-sequences unfolded.
Mr Kanyi told The Anchor that he supports the current leadership of Konza and all their plans to sub-divide the land into individual plots so that farmers can face would be buyers as individuals.
The four farmers made the following allegations to the CID in a document written as if it was an official document from Konza Ranching Co-operative Society- the same trick used in the Malili fraud. We bring the allegations verbatim
“2.0: Contrary to the co-operative Societies Act, the Sacco has failed t hold an AGM for the year 2010. The last AGM was held on August, 14, 2009; this was the 44 AGM. Only a Special Annual General Meeting was held on April 2010.
The accounts as at April, 30, 2010, filed by M/s Miki Kiswiti & Co. Advocates and signed by the chairman shows bank balances of Ksh. 159,764/= yet the following assets were sold (without approval from the Sacco)
1. Manager’s house (10 acres) at Ksh.3.5 Million to Kennedy Kasinga
2. Labour camp (10 acres) at Ksh.2.5 Million to Muinde Maingi.
3. Cheetah house (10 acres) at Ksh. 3.5 Million to Patrick Maina.
4. D.C’s House (10 acres) at Ksh. 4.8 Million to M/s Young & Old Movers.
5. Machakos House at Ksh. 20 Million to Alfonse M. Kioko.
6. Wote plot at K sh. 400,000/= to Josiah Katungwa.
7. Kwa-Kitheka House (10 acres) at Ksh. 3.6 Million to Charles K. Enea.
8. Kwa-Kingethu House (10 acres) at Ksh. 4 Million to Kennedy Kasinga.
9. Kwa-Mautio (3 acres) at Ksh. 7.6 Million to Kennedy K asinga.
10. Garage/Workshop at Ksh. 3.8 Million to Gen. Jeremiah M. Kianga.
11. Konza Head Office (10 acres) at Ksh. 8.05 Million to Gen. Jeremiah M. Kianga.
12. Quarters plot (10acres) at Ksh. 4 Million to Kennedy Kasinga.
13. Manager’s residential house (10 acres) at Ksh. 3.6 Million to Peter Karinge.
2.2: All the above sales took place in June and July 2010 yet the accounts (as in-di-cated above) for year 2010 do not reflect the proceeds of the sales.
2.3: Further the management committee gas failed to account to the members and the Sacco for the proceeds of the above sales amounting to Ksh. 70 Million.
3.0: The Sacco has now set aside 500 acres which it has now entered into negotiations with a company to purchase it at Ksh. 500 Million.
4.0: The on- going sub- division exercise of the society land has irregularities. There is a lot of unallocated land (to members) since the membership is only 1594 members. The extra plots are not accounted for (as to whom it was allocated).”
Mutangili told the farmers that out of the listed 17 properties, only 8 were bought and the buyers had paid up to 80 percent of the value- raising about Sh 28m and not Sh 70m as alleged.
Moreover, their accusers are illiterate farmers who seemingly listed what looked like an audit of the alleged sale and it re-mains anyone’s guess who would have assembled such a plethora of allegations unless it is a schemer who has both the ways and means of fixing the current set of officials.
CDF: Mutitu citizens take Kiema to task
Kwitu Development Forum has re-leased a report that is an indictment of the management of the Mutito CDF under MP Kiema Kilonzo.
The Forum, chaired by Mr Mulaimu Muvasyu, works with the community towards attainment of good governance, education and transparency in the constituency.
They carried out a public audit on Mutito CDF with a view to avail our findings to the public and other institutions to confirm value for our CDF money.
A report by Mr Muvasyu says “Our preliminary observations on visited projects coupled with complains from the public indicates severe pitfalls which need further investigations and appropriate corrective action to be taken by our established institutions.
The team says they were denied access to documents but had nevertheless realized alarming inequalities in allocation of funds among locations/communities.
Records show Nzambani Location where the MP comes from getting Sh 47 m in the last three years while another- Kaliku Location got close to Sh 3m from 2003 to date. “Those locations deemed not to support the current MP got very little over the last eight years. Those who did not get much are the poorest. Those deemed to be good got support of huge amounts. This is discriminative and abuse of office”, says the report
It adds that funds allocated to many of the projects are not received at project level the same financial year. This has caused con-fusion in project implementation and as a result many projects in the constituency are incomplete. The delay in releasing money to projects is suspect and the loss it has caused must be a charge to somebody.
The Forum claims CDF money is usually contributed as Harambee money. “This has been the case in all the Secondary school Harambees in the constituency. This is a meant to portray CDF money as personal money which is an abuse of office. Necessary action must be taken to correct this for benefits of our future leadership”, says the report, that has also been forwarded to the Kenya Anti Corruption Authority.
It also alleged that the CDF team changes bank account so often-three times so far. From NBK – Kitui to KCB – Kitui and later to Equity bank – Kitui. “The move is a suspect and proper bank account reconciliations are required to determine whether money may have been lost in those changes” it adds.
They also cite procurement irregularities where contracts are given to cronies. Project committees are not allowed to procure yet the law recognizes them as procurement entities. All procurement is done by the CDC and project committees are supplied with items at prices they have no control of. This has resulted to many white elephants projects because of over pricing of items by the contractors.
The report claims that there is out right theft of CDF money where an anonymous com-plaint was received that between September 13 and September 15, 2010, Sh.2m was allegedly withdrawn from the bank and shared by the committee members. Many withdrawals like these are said to be the order of the day. Proper examination of bank statements to confirm whether those withdrawals of cash are proper.
It is also claimed that there are amounts of money not allocated to any known project in the constituency, amounting to Sh.85, 559,214.00, concluding that Sh. 32, 634,992.00 is what should be in the bank account.
They also cite the manipulation of project status information in the CDF website. Mutito Constituency is so manipulated that we really wonder why the CDF headquarters allows it.
The team also cites the Bursary money amounting to Kshs.28, 794,540, saying it needs forensic auditing due to many com-plaints from parents. There are com-plaints that fictitious students are given bursaries and the cheques are cashed.
Caution as Mutui Museo, Kamba
Elders take driver's seat in investment
The much touted South Eastern Investment Conference (SEICO 2011) got under way to claim its position in the region’s investment potential.
It posed as the avenue through which a chance will be created to empower the people of Ukambani using their own resources which at the moment are being exploited for the benefit of other counties.
To stem this ‘Capital Flight’ the conference, seen as a forum for professionals in the re-gion seizing control of development have teamed up with the Kenya Investment Authority(KenInvest).Three counties in Lower Eastern region have been laying strategies of attracting investors for partnerships.
Machakos, Makueni and Kitui counties have come up with a five-year development stra-te-gic plan to unlock development opportunities in the region. This strategy is styled to be the driving force of the Ukambani economy once the County Governments are launched in the next general election
The Seico2011 initiative is co-driven by KenInvest with Mutui Museo, Bola Associates and the Kamba Council of Elders on the sidelines. They plan a Seico 2012 and a Seico 2013 in Makueni and Kitui respectively.
However by the time the event took place, The Anchor understood that Bola Associates were having trouble with the organizers since much of what had been hyped about was neither here nor there. For instance, an investment conference was organized without any publicity strategy!
During the two day event, events unfolded that exposed the organizations’ underbelly, the presence of Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka notwithstanding. A contractor who pitched tents at the stadium had to lock stadium gates to be paid his dues by cagy officials. The VP's arrival had to be delayed for over two hours so that the crowd could grow. The programme itself was so messy that the Event Sponsor- KenInvest Managing Di-rector Mrs J. Kikwai was not given an opportunity to address the gathering as some MP’s who rose to speak turned the forum as a day for the Wiper roar.
There were no more than 15 serious investors and most of the tents that were going for Sh 50,000 to hire were empty. Notable presence was that of the South Eastern University Cam-pus, Kari Katumani, Lukenya Group of School, Universal Traders Sacco, Peter Mulei Supermarket, Kenya Dairy Board, Body Coolant Water and Rhino Cement, among others. Equity Bank, who are alleged to have sponsored the event were not on parade and even when the Vice President asked how much they contributed, no answer came forward. When he asked for Equity Gen-eral Manager, it turned he was not available although Mutui Museo boss Isaac Kalua had said the GM was within.
Indeed, the conception of the event was an excellent idea. Papers presented at the au-di-to-rium were evidence that the region was the right place to go for any investor. But there appeared to be a big disconnect between the research outcomes presented on the region’s potential and what was in parade.
Moreover, one of the missing links, which was largely promised by the organizers was an interface between local investors and other investors for the opportunity to strike partnerships. Besides, for the two days, there was a low turn out- an indication that the organizers did little or nothing to mobilize wider participation, or that residents did not have confidence in the organizers of the event.
Much as the idea is great, focus on the performance of Seico2011 may shift to the growing apprehension about the involvement of Mutui Museo and Akamba Council of El-ders, whose legitimacy will be crucial in their dalliance with public affairs in the region. There is widespread concern that how these bodies were created and by whom, was not for the good of the community but rather a criteria for self preservation and there are loud questions as to where they draw their man-date from. This may inform why their dealing with KenInvest and Seico 2011 is being approached with utmost watchfulness, if not indifference.
And that is as it ought to be, since some Mutui Museo members played a key role in the drama revolving the change of hands of Malili Ranch to the State during which local farmers lost and the matter is far from being resolved- as long as the farmers’ rightful dues remain in the hands of some well connected individuals.
Seico held a forum in Machakos after another breakfast meeting in Nairobi where funds were collected from some corporate firms and pledges by businessmen. It seemed good as business people placed themselves on the path of owning the investment process in Ukambani. What remains critical in the process is transparency in the use of funds raised and full disclosure on the part of the organizers and KenInvest in particular over the integrity of the whole process so that no particular section stands to gain in the proceeds raised in the meetings.
All eyes are strictly treaded on KenInvest, being a state corporation and as a driving force for Kenya’s investment portfolio to see how it drives this process and overcomes possible pitfalls that may be brought about by its partners whose integrity has remained on the line since they created themselves in controversial circumstances. Observers hope that the great imitative at hand will not have to face the fate of other initiatives associated with the KenInvest partners in Seico.
Kalua said the members felt that a separate meeting for the professionals should be held to be able to spearhead the process of development to empower their people and unlock the regions potential in line with the New Constitution.
He urged all members to be part of the initiative to be able to create wealth for the region. He emphasized that the vision and the excitement of the professionals and Mutui Museo was good, urging the privileged in society to support the people of ukambani to achieve the objectives of the forums.
Kalua said the brains around can be able to support the poor, those who have accumulated wealth and knowledge should pass it on than keeping it to themselves. In the past implementing of ideas has been an impediment to well thought out ideas, he there-fore urged all the Professionals to be doers and not talkers.
Delegates were passionate about the numerous resources that the South Eastern region has and people are suffering due to lack of the knowhow sighting the many rivers that pass through the region and yet most of the people are struggling for these very precious resource.
Dubbed the ‘South Eastern Investment Conference and Expo, SEICO 2011’, the event ought to bring together domestic and foreign investors as well as the general public to identify ways of unlocking the investment potential in the participating counties of Makueni, Kitui and Machakos. But this did not happen during Seico 2011 and efforts must be made to ensure that this dream is not killed by self interest.
“South Eastern region is an economic power house that is ready to do business. The region’s fortunes have dramatically changed in the last couple of months thanks to the new constitution. SEICO 2011 will be an ideal plat-form to position a company and market its and services,” the event organizers said prior to the event. But observers are asking if this was achieved during the event.
Recently, the Kenya Investment Authority (KIA) graciously provided technical assistance to regional forums such as the Nyanza Economic Forum, the Coast Province In-vestment Conference and the recently launched South Eastern Investment Conference.
These questions notwithstanding, the bottom line is that the increased activity at the counties is an indication of the people’s de-sire to move from the centralized control of public affairs which may be the cause of governance problems.
This is a grand opportunity for all counties to take advantage of their human, capital and natural resources to create investment opportunities that will spur economic growth.
Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) is a statutory body established in 2004 through an Act of Parliament (Investment Promotion Act of 2004) with the main objective of pro-moting investments in Kenya.
It is responsible for facilitating the implementation of new investment projects, providing After Care services for existing in-vestments, as well as organizing in-vestment promotion activities both locally and internationally.
Makueni residents' open
letter to PLO Lumumba
KATHONZWENI – MAKUENI DISTRICTS
ELDERS STEERING COMMITTEE
P.O. BOX 150 – 90302,
KATHONZWENI.
26TH JANUARY. 2011.
DIRECTOR KACC
INTEGRITY CENTER
NAIROBI.
Dear Sir,
RE: COMPLAINTS FROM VOTERS RESIDENTS OF KATHONZWENI DISTRICT & WOTE DIVISION OF MAKUENI CONSTITUENCY:
Our letter dated 19/01/2011 addressed to the chief Executive, CDF board and copied to you refers.
The following is detailed information on corruption by the Makueni Constituency development funds committee as your office required.
1. Fy. 2008 / 09
-Kshs. 1.5 Million set aside for seeds was not utilized, instead Kshs. 960,000 was awarded to Danma construction – company owned by Daniel Kivuva Masika, the constituency office manager to scoop Kwa Kimatu earth dam which is in his own land. The balance not known how it was utilized. Only two CDF officials ie. Treasurer and secretary sat to award the tenders, which is unprocedural against the pro-curement and disposal act. Note that this company has benefited from several tenders since 2008. See other payments Kshs. 935,650, Ksh. 1.2m, Kshs. 420,000, Ksh. 826,400. Danma Di-rectors Phone No. 0721 254 358.
2. Fy 2009 / 10 Kwa Masaa drift situated near Kalamba market. Money for constructing this drift was given to Hellen Ndinda a wife to Daniel Kivuva Masika, the constituency office manager, Esther Nzula, a staff at the DDO’s office. Its worth to note that this work done was shoddy and already the project has been washed away. Cheque given was worth Kshs. 500,000.
3. Fy 08/09 Tulima Earth dam which was allocated Kshs. 1.2m and the project cost as stated 2.9m. The foreman to the project was one Jeremiah Masila, a CDF coordinator, Mbitini Division and also an uncle to the area MP. A lot of vital information as pertains this project is hidden. Contact Jeremiah Masila 0720 309540
4. Fy 09/10 Kwaleli water project supply of ma-te-rials awarded to a relative of the mp who called the CDF coordinator,. Matiliku Division on a Sun-day to receive the materials contact Stancilus Kyama 0734 343907.
5. Fy: 07/08: There are several projects which were allocated funds for development. When the current CDFC took over office these funds have never been released and the community has never been told about the status of these funds they include: -
i) Kaiti sand dam Ksh. 2 million
ii) Kikumini water project 1.5m. Its worth to note that materials for this project was supplied and lying at Good shepherd Girls Secondary school.
iii) Tree planting Kshs. 750,000.
iv) Mwilu disabled Kshs. 500,000 (see letter of com-plaint)
6. Fy 07 – 10 Kwa Muasa Earth dam originally allocated Kshs. 200,000 for repair but cost exaggerated to Ksh. 1.7 million with fy 09/10 getting Ksh. 700,000and work done by Ndaisi General Mer-chants.
NB. This company has benefited from several tenders since 2008 including Wote open air market worth Ksh. 5.5 million. See other payments Kshs. 495,000, Kshs. 1,450,000.
7. Fy 08/09 – Ngangasa sand dam supplies of ma-te-rials for construction awarded to the body guard of the area mp one Ndunda Matoi Allas Muthoka. He was paid directly by the PMC.
8. All financial years since 2008 to date an employee of K.N.U.T. Makueni branch office Mr. Joseph Muia has been receiving salary from Makueni CDF for services not shown and rendered.
NB: There are very many more which will be un-earthed when investigations are done especially in water sector.
SIGNED:
1. JAMES MBITI
2. SAMMY MASEKA
3. LIVINGSTONE WAMBUA
4. PETER MWANIA
5. CCLR. FRANCIS MUTUNGI
The pain of cover up of child
sexual abuse by Kenya's clergy
The Archbishop of Nairobi John Cardinal Njue, who has been directly responsible for administering the Ngong Diocese since Bishop Schilder left, said he did not know the reasons be-hind the 2009 departure. What he knows is that the bishop was allowed by the Vatican to retire early on health grounds.
The Cardinal instead wondered why the issue was being raised long after it was concluded and Bishop Schilder left the country. It means that by leaving the country the matter was over that is why he wondered.
He also said he was not the Arch-bishop of Nairobi at the time and therefore cannot comment on the issue. Arch-bishop Ndingi Mwana a’ Nzeki on the other hand refused to talk to the press saying he was ill.
Although the arguments are in-tended to cover up, according to the press, there is credible information that a church inquiry initiated locally and then referred to the Vatican had found the allegations against Bishop Schilder, a Dutchman affiliated with the Mill Hill missionaries, as credible.
The press report that alleged offences were committed when the bishop served as a priest in Ngong diocese before taking over as Bishop in November 2003. The press also report that confirmation that Bishop Schilder faced such accusations was con-firmed by Fr Alphons Eppink, who was the Superior of the Mill Hill Missionaries in Kenya between 2005 and 2008 during the period of investigations.
Reached in Oosterbeek, Neth-er-lands, where he is now based, Fr Alphons con-firmed that there were investigations against Bishop Schilder but the matter was finalised at the Vatican and therefore he was not in a position to give any information.
“I was in Kenya during the investigations but I don’t want to comment, really,” he con-cluded, “I am afraid I cannot comment because the case was handled by Rome”.
Again, the fact that Fr Alphons how-ever confirmed that Bishop Schilder was no longer allowed to publicly celebrate Mass, is an indication that he left the pulpit in disgrace rather than by ordinary retirement such as bad health condition.
According to Javier Herrera Corona, Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature— the Vatican representative office—in Nairobi, he did not only deny any knowledge that Bishop Schilder was edged out be-cause of unacceptable activities but also insisted that the activities of one individual should not be used to be-smirch the church. To blemish the church here is the fear—and why cover up.
“We have to distinguish the public life of a person and the private side. What a person does in private should be left to him to answer and not drag a whole community to answer on his behalf,” Fr Javier told the press, while not con-firming nor denying that Bishop Schilder faced such accusations.
While defending the Nunciature from any blame, Fr Javier told the press: “it is not the right time to bring this matter to the public,” explaining that there is little it can do where a member of the clergy is accused of sexual abuse- Terrible statement indeed.
Although the Vatican representative said that church rules require that a priest found en-gaging in sex abuse should face secular law, quietly re-tiring him and the fact that the case was never reported to the police according to Ngong DC Hiram Kahiro is an in-di-cation that it has some-thing to do with cover ups.
When His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Schilder in 2009 as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Ngong, according to a statement released by Fr. Martin Wanyoike, the Communications Secretary at the Kenya Episcopal Conference- Catholic Secretariat, the Apostolic Nunciature in Nairobi communicated on August 1st, 2009 (1300 hours, Kenyan time) that the holy Father also appointed His Eminence John Cardinal Njue, the arch-bishop of Nairobi, as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese as from August 1st.
The issue is coming up at the same time Archdiocese of Philadelphia has publicly apologized to parishioners last week in its newspaper with sexual-abuse allegations and charges of a church cover-up according to the editorial published Thursday in the Catholic Standard & Times.
“We, the Church, are sorry for the sexual abuse suffered by our brothers and sisters when they were young people at the hands of the Church’s clergymen and teachers.
“The Church is sorry for the sins and crimes of some members against other members,” the editorial said. “The Church begs forgiveness of our brothers and sisters, and of Al-mighty God.”
Two weeks ago, Msgr. William Lynn, a top church official, was charged with endangering the welfare of children for allegedly reassigning abusive priests to par-ishes where they had access to children. Three of those priests and a parochial school-teacher later raped two altar boys according to prosecutors.
The newspaper’s apology, written by its director and general manager, Matthew Gambino, stressed that the archdiocese had taken steps since the first grand-jury re-port to improve its handling of abuse allegations.
For many years the Church leaders played a leading role in a systematic cover-up of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests, according to a shocking documentary. In 2001, one particular church leader while he was a cardinal issued a secret Vatican edict to Catholic bishops all over the world, instructing them to put the Church’s interests ahead of child safety.
The document recommended that rather than reporting sexual abuse to the relevant legal authorities, bishops should en-courage the victim, witnesses and perpetrator not to talk about it. And, to keep victims quiet, it threat-ened that if they repeat the allegations they would be excommunicated.
When abusive priests are discovered, the response has been not to investigate and prosecute but to move them from one parish to another, or take them for further studies as a step for cover up—those days have now gone.
Understanding Celibacy
and Priestly Sex Abuse
From where I stand. The major focus of this article will be: First, we will examine how issues of marriage, celibacy, and priestly vocation stood in Jesus’ lifetime and contributed to the Deposit of Faith. The Deposit of Faith consists only of the teachings of Christ and His apostles during their lifetime, contained only in New Testament Scripture and Holy Tradition. By definition the Deposit of Faith is identical with the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium, dogmatically defined to be infallible in Vatican Council
The Protestant Reformation and the loss of Catholic supremacy over the Christian world began with an agreement by Pope Leo X and Prince Albert of Germany to sell Indulgences — spiritual gifts from God, a practice also known as Simony. Pope Leo was nearly bankrupt and Albert in deep arrears on his financial obligations to Rome; agreeing to split the money 50-50 solved their financial needs but such a scandalous abuse of power was too much for the Augustinian Monk, Martin Luther.
Shocked and appalled by Rome’s wrongful use of Church teaching for financial gain, he posted his 95 theses on the Church door, ultimately bringing about the Reformation. The Church today faces a similar scandal — priestly sex abuse — the roots of which lie in the long history of mandatory celibacy of the priesthood. This article argues that the law of mandatory celibacy is equally an example of the abuse of authority as was Simony — a law that nullifies fundamental teachings of Christ and deeply threatens church authority.
The similarities between Pope Leo’s sin and the current law of mandatory celibacy are striking. Leo’s act of selling spiritual gifts contradicts Catholic doctrine established when the magician, Simon Magus, sought to buy what he believed was St. Peter’s secret power to administer spiritual gifts from God. Incensed, St Peter replied, “May your silver be lost forever, and you with it, for thinking money can buy what God has given for nothing.” (Act 8:18) Defined in the Catechism CC2121, Simony is described as “the buying and selling of spiritual things”.
The Lord God said: It is not good for a man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him. Gen 2:18.Equally, Jesus was particularly clear on marriage — it is a sacrament, Holy Matrimony — which imprints a sanctifying grace on the soul of Christians who marry, including priests. Therefore, the law of mandatory celibacy, established in Rome at the end of the first millennium, denies this Sacrament to priests, something granted by Christ in the Deposit of Faith. Catholics are often unfamiliar with the term, Deposit of Faith, although its meaning is remarkably simple. The Deposit of Faith is the full and complete teaching of Jesus and the apostles recorded in scripture and tradition during their lifetime; it is untouchable Revelation not subject to alteration. Describing the importance of this truth, the authoritative Catholic Answers states:
“The doctrines of the Catholic Church are the deposit of faith revealed by Jesus Christ, taught by the apostles, and handed down in their entirety by the apostles to their successors, they must be believed under authority of God.” More importantly Pope John Paul II declared during Vatican Council II: “Guarding the Deposit of Faith is the mission which the Lord has entrusted to the Church and which she fulfills in every age.” As we proceed, we will find the law of mandatory celibacy has no place in the Deposit of Faith.
Teaching from the New Testament and Holy Tradition is acknowledged by all theologians to be infallible Dogmatic Doctrine that may not be altered by papal teaching. How “some new doctrine” was introduced regarding mandatory celibacy that contradicts the Deposit of Faith.
Jesus and His Apostles on Marriage
Christianity began as a Jewish sect at a time when Jewish marriage laws ultimately derived from God’s Biblical commandment that all men and women must “Be fruitful, increase in numbers, and fill the earth”. (Genesis 1:28) It is instructive to know that God in the Old Testament Book of Exodus called only married men to be priests. (Ex 28:1) Following God’s marriage commandment, by age 20 the apostles were married when called by Jesus and throughout their lives continued to obey all Jewish law, excepting only the few that Jesus “completed.” No statement in scripture more cogently expresses Jesus’ instructions to his Jewish followers regarding their Jewish faith than is found in the Gospel of Matthew,
“Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to complete them.” (Matthew 5:17-19)
Jesus is best described by the epitaph on His cross, “King of the Jews”. So, before there was a Gentile convert, before there was a Christian in Rome, there were only Jewish-Christians who followed their Jewish Messiah and Jewish Law. But, while the pagan philosophy of celibacy was a deep anathema to Orthodox Judaism, at the time of Christ mandatory celibacy controlled all belief systems of the Mediterranean world other than the Jews — Gnostics, Stoics, Cicero, Diogenes, Pythagoras, the Vestal Virgins and priests of Isis, Cybele, and Mithras.
In this Jewish tribal culture, similar to Muslims today, increasing the family, and thus the tribal lineage, was imperative. For this reason the first Jew, Abraham, fathered Ishmael with a concubine provided by his sterile wife Sarah, and at that time men whose brothers died childless could be required to impregnate the widow, in order to perpetuate his brother’s lineage. (Gen 38:8) As a Jew, Jesus sanctioned marriage for all disciples, man or woman. Were the Gospel not silent on a requirement of priestly celibacy, it would read quite differently.
But, Jewish law requiring marriage was among the few that Jesus altered. When questioned by a follower on celibacy, He answered, “It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted…let anyone accept who can.” (Matthew 19:11) This change merely allowed all Christians, even today, the freedom to remain unmarried. However, celibacy apologists have attempted to cloud His Jewish nature and argue that Jesus here indicated future priests must remain celibate in imitation of His unmarried state. Catholic scriptural scholars however agree that no passage in the New Testament suggests any follower of Christ must practice celibacy. The Church acknowledges, moreover, that “No law of celibacy as we know it today existed during the life of Jesus and His apostles.”
While Jesus gave all Christians permission to remain celibate, the concept of mandatory celibacy was certainly foreign and unimagined by the Jews, Jesus, or His Apostles. In the face of scripture from St. Paul during the Deposit of Faith it is truly remarkable that celibacy should ever have been imposed; Paul wrote to his disciple Timothy, “During the last times deceitful spirits and doctrines will come saying marriage is forbidden and will lay down rules about abstaining from food which God has created to be accepted by all who know and believe the truth.” (1Tim 4:1) And later we find him giving specific instructions that a “married man who manages his family well” (1 Tim 3:1) should be selected as bishop. These writings clearly describe Church teachings handed on by Jesus and His apostles.
A century of darkness
Following the death of Jesus around 30AD Christianity remained a Jewish sect centered in Jerusalem under the leadership of His older brother, St. James, a devout Jew who diligently guarded against intrusion of pagan influence. It was 20 years before gentiles were admitted into Christianity without first becoming Jews who followed Jewish Law, including circumcision. So momentous was this change that St. James called the Council of Jerusalem, which hotly debated the dangers of pagan belief before finally accepting gentiles, over the objection of many Christian-Jews. (Acts of the Apostles 15)Tragically, Jews and Christians were destined to separate. With the death of Peter and Paul in Rome c.67AD, and the death of St. James in Jerusalem, followed by the destruction of the great Jewish Temple in 70AD, the Christian movement entered a century of darkness — a period of persecution, confusion, and separation with no central leadership until the second century. By late in the first century all apostles were dead and most leaders whom they had instructed were also gone. House-Churches had been established across the Empire as recorded by Paul (1Cor 16:19) where husband and wives each ministered and taught as they spread the Gospel, but within a few years they had been replaced by non-Jewish converts who knew little of apostolic teaching and wives who prepared the Eucharistic table have never regained their former position. History records this period of separation as a time of historical silence and change in Christianity, a time little known by Christians today.
By the beginning of the second century, the pagan view of celibacy’s superiority for priests had become one of the issues that confronted Christianity. Condemning this pagan belief, Apostolic Father Bishop St. Ignatius of Antioch c.106AD, a student of Apostle St. John who understood apostolic teaching addressed this problem in a letter to a fellow bishop, Polycarp:
“If anyone is able to remain celibate in honor of Christ let him remain so without boasting. If he boasts about it he is undone, and if he seeks to be more esteemed than the married bishop he is corrupted.”
This letter speaks volumes. As a student of St. John he informs us that priests continued to marry in conformance with Jesus’ teachings from The Deposit of Faith, and that celibacy for priests was not considered superior to the married state as we are taught today. But problems would increase with the death of men such as Ignatius when Jewish-Christians were replaced by pagan converts who knew little of Christianities Jewish roots.
In the century after the Apostles passed from the scene, the Mediterranean world was awash with pagan religions hostile to and in competition with emerging Christianity. Forced to flea into the pagan world, Jewish-Christians quickly dispersed as a virus spread across the Roman Empire, from Spain and Egypt to Babylon and Europe, bringing new languages, beliefs, and cultures into conflict with their Christian-Jewish heritage, causing near insurmountable problems. Christianity was formed around and based upon the Jewish Old Testament that forecast the coming of a Jewish Messiah, the Christ, and exacerbating the problem, the New Testament was not yet gathered together and recognized as the only legitimate source of Christian scripture. Only in the Fourth Century would the New Testament Canon be recognized. In the meantime new and spurious gospels appeared in the Second Century when Christianity was quickly becoming a religion composed primarily of pagan converts.
A new generation of teachers
Peter and Paul first ministered in the Church at Rome, and its bishops of the second century were highly esteemed among bishops; but during the Second Century a new generation of bishops spread across the Empire. Independently elected by their followers, all bishops exercises autonomous teaching authority over their far-flung dioceses, and over which writings were apostolic and therefore permitted to be read in Churches. Rome, Corinth, Athens, and all major dioceses listed their approved books, and all lists differed from one another. Gnostic gospels were often accepted while apostolic writings were often rejected; as late as 363AD the New Testament Book of Hebrews was not accepted as apostolic in Caesarea, Jesus’ home area. By 160AD more than 114 such writings confused and mislead many Christians, and after Ignatius and Polycarp most new bishops were pagan converts who began to envision the Christ as a deity divorced from Old Testament Judaism, no longer as the Jewish Messiah.
During this phase of early Christianity the Jewish Law that Jesus came to complete was confronted with the prevailing pagan practice of Gnosticism. Most Catholics today are familiar with gnostic writings through the popularity of the Da Vinci Code. It was through Gnosticism that the practice of celibacy as a spiritually beneficial discipline was introduced into the young Church.
For us Married Priests in The Society of St Peter and Paul our ONLY goal is celibacy to be made optional. We shall continue doing the work done by John The Baptised—A call to repentance. Today Catholics need holy honest married priests. It is better to be a good married priest than an hypocrite living a life of a lie all the days of your life. What a shame! Is Celibacy serving any purpose today honestly? With recent revelations of clergy sex abuse many Catholics are ashamed by the celibate priests.
In 2009 May 29th two Bishops resigned. Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of a 54-year-old archbishop from the Central African Republic (CAR) following an investigation into priests of his diocese who live more or less openly with women and the children they have fathered. And 52-year old bishop the president of the Nations Episcopal conference. Secretary of the congregation for evangelisation of peoples had visited the CAR and concluded that many local priests have official homes, children and have accumulated private property. White priests and bishops were also guilty of the same practice. You may also recall Archbishop of Bulawayo who was forced to resign 2007 after an ill-advised sex romp with his mistress. In Kenya sex abuse bishop was quietly retired as was reported in the media.
Canon 401, § 2: A diocesan Bishop who, because of illness or some other grave reason, has become unsuited for the fulfillment of his office, is earnestly requested to offer his resignation from office. Canon 187: Anyone who is capable of personal responsibility can resign from an ecclesiastical office for a just reason.
Marriage of clergy is a reality that the Roman Catholic Church has to come to terms with. Many priests are accumulating wealth may be they are getting set! It is pointless to deny what everybody knows.
Archbishop Kasomo Daniel is a Roman Catholic Bishop and the Prelate of The Society of St Peter and Paul in Kenya.
Machakos gets set for better
prospects, over 100 years later
The precursor of modern day Nairobi, Machakos town that was established in 1887 lies 64km South East of Nairobi city, just an hour’s drive from the city centre.
The town located 16km off the Mombasa-Nairobi highway was Kenya’s first hinterland colonial administrative headquarters that was established by the turn of the 19th century.
The small but lively town is hemmed by five scenic C-shaped hills forming a protective cordon round the town and opening a wide gate into the undulating Kapiti plains that stretch as far as Nairobi and the Rift valley.
It was here that the first British traders venturing into the East African hinterland settled. The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEACO) chose the town as an upcountry trading outpost ten or more years before Nairobi was established.
Although the town is cosmopolitan, it is mainly inhabited by the Akamba people whose reputation in international trade that straddled the 17th, 18th and 19th century is believed to have attracted the first European businesspeople into the area.
It was for this business acumen and wide contacts with other tribes in the Kenyan hinterland that motivated IBEACO to choose Machakos.
Through the Akamba people who had vast experience in trade with aliens at the Coast , IBEACO wished to use their contacts to penetrate the Kikuyu, Maasai and other tribes in as far as the shores of Lake Victoria.
Misfortune struck the town when the railway line bypassed Machakos town snailing16km way and forcing the colonial Government then headed by District Commissioner (DC) John Ainsworth to move into Nairobi in 1901.
Two things are believed to have caused the bypass. One, the white engineer overseeing the construction of the railway is believed to have disagreed very seriously with the DC on a yet to be disclosed matter.
To revenge, he skipped Machakos but to prove the futility of the act, Mr Ainsworth moved the administrative headquarters of the area to Nairobi.
Another reason advanced is that owing to the topography of the area, the railway line had to bypass the town. However, it is the former that is more trusted by the people.
Had the railway line passed in Machakos, the town would be Kenya,s capital and not Nairobi.
The white settlers have gone away but the town is still bustling with life and serves as the headquarters of the vast region popularly known as Ukambani.
Machakos is named after a Kamba seer and medicine man called Masaku who invited the colonialists to settle in the area.
Visitors began to call the area Masaku’s but owing to difficulties pronouncing ‘Masaku’ they corrupted it to ‘Masakos’, which was translated into ‘Machakos’.
According to great grandson of Masaku, Mr Jeremiah Musau, 90, the Europeans arrived near modern day Machakos with maps handed to them by Arab traders who had already established contact with him.
He said Masaku was not only a seer, leader, medicine man but he was also a great warrior who had defended his tribe in many heroic battles.
The town lies at the bottom of one of the hills, Kiima Kimwe where Masaku lived at the top. Many awe-inspiring tales are spewed in the entire region over the magical escapades of the legendary man of Machakos.
Mr Musau said among the miraculous deeds of Masaku was rainmaking, medicine, foretelling and provision of great charms for which the Akamba are stereotyped for. He is even reputed to have been able to ascend to heaven and back.
Mr Musau says the tales are not just myth and superstition but adds that great-grand children and modern day descendants of Masaku still command the great mystical powers bequeathed upon them by their ancestor. One of them is the late Paul Ngei, the legendary nationalist politician who rose to become the most influential politician- serving in cabinet for close to 30 years and being the longest serving MP ever in Ukambani.
Mr Musau says that until the late 1920’s, the Akamba hypnotic drum beats and the revered Akamba war flutes whose far-reaching and emotive messages send men of valour scurrying for bows and arrows to defend their land were blown from the hilltop of Kiima Kimwe where the legendary Masaku lived.
Machakos town has tourist sites made exciting by a combination of myth, culture and nature and any visitor will find a great place for adventure where they can spend a weekend and unwind.
The idyllic, unhurried pace and the rural African atmosphere of Machakos town coupled with the hospitable and friendly mien of the Kamba people makes it a great destination.
There are exciting features on Kiima Kimwe hill that include large footprints on a rock, a crater on the hilltop that is believed that Masaku drew water from but due to prolonged drought it has since dried up.
There is also a huge rock — almost 26m high with a very wide base. It is difficult to climb to the top, but Mr Musau says Masaku had powers that helped him up.
Other exciting places to visit include Kwa Katunga in the expansive Iveti Hills forest and the Iveti rocks and caves in addition to the famous magnetic hill about 20km from Machakos town along the Kangundo road.
The picturesque Kyamwilu hill is an attraction that is hard to believe. It is here that vehicles and water defy Isaac Newton’s law of gravity to do the reverse.
If you pour water on a marked part of the slope, instead of it flowing downwards, it climbs up with admirable ease. It is also on this hill that when you switch off your car engine and free the gears your vehicle climbs up the hill instead of rolling downwards!
Further down the road towards the other famous Kamba town, Kitui, lies cradle of the world famous Akamba wood carvings at Wamunyu Township.
Here, hundreds of tourists flock to buy carvings and watch the world famous carvers create great sculpture from wood!
Today, years after Machakos missed the chance of being Kenya’s capital City, fate has opened a second chance for Machakos.
Along the Nairobi- Mombasa road- some 30kms from Machakos Town, a new city is developing. You may call it Malili Technopolis, Konza City- or whatever. But the fact remains that this new city has brought back the honour due to Ukambani some 100 years ago.
This development has again placed Machakos along the path of Kenya’s modern history. Within Kenya’s Vision 2030 where Information, Communication Technology(ICT) is identified as key pillar, Machakos becomes a centrifugal force.
As the new city unfolds, Ministry of Transport is engaging with owners of Konza Ranch to acquire land for the construction of an International Airport- most likely to be called Machakos International Airport.
Elsewhere in the infrastructure field, investors are trooping towards Machakos to erect thousands of houses to accommodate workers of the future city while at the same time enhancing the town’s status as a dormitory town of Nairobi’s workforce.
Is this not the place to be in the future? Stay Anchored!
Ngala Mwendwa looks back as the Nation
emerges under a new Constitution
Former labour minister Ngala Mwendwa who attended the Lancaster conference in 1963 at the dawn of independence has said the new constitution has many facets unlike its predecessor.
Ngala says that the new constitution passed on August 4, 2010 will address the problems that have been experienced in the last four decades of self-rule in Kenya .
”Agenda Four that has been a burning issue will be comprehensively addressed with the emotive issue of land being given emphasis,” says the one-time Kitui central MP.
He observes that the post-independence constitution was arrived at under exceptional circumstances where the colonialists arm-twisted the cabinet to accept its provisions.
The 87 year-old senior citizen recalls that that the only procedural undertakings used during the promulgation of the old constitution were two trips to England with the first comprised of MPs and the final one containing only the cabinet members.
The final meeting before the constitution was accepted was held at Lancaster Conference between February and March in 1962 and Ngala was given entry pass number 045.
Waving the same card that he has safely retained over the years, the former minister says the cabinet team was led by Tom Mboya who was the secretary of the group of ministers.
”The cabinet was keen to ensure the country achieved independence and the discussions centered on many issues but land was the main thrust of the talks,” he reveals.
The 999 year lease of land was a contentious issue because the cabinet realized that the colonialists wanted to protect their large tracts of land in Kenya , he adds.
He points out that majimbo was another contested issue in the talks as well as detention without trial, but the two were later to be amended unlike the lease issue that has remained unchanged since independence.
”After protracted talks, James Gichuru who was the eldest amongst the ministers said it was better to accept the constitution as a step to attaining independence and later make amendments and the cabinet concurred,” he says.
Others at the Lancaster talks were Lawrence Sagini, Duncan Mwanyumba, Njoroge Mungai among other ministers. Retired president Moi and the late Paul Ngei were not in the entourage, says Ngala.
Drawing parallels with just-passed constitution, the former legislator notes that the draft midwifed by Committee of Experts (COE) was people-driven and was not imposed on Kenyans unlike the old statute.
”This is the best constitution in Africa and will certainly move the country from the so-called Third World status and guarantee attainment of Vision 2030 and UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)” avers the retired politician.
He states that the new constitution was achieved in different circumstances with the post-election violence in 2007-08 and the subsequent talks that arrived at the need for Agenda Four issue to be addressed.
”The issues in Agenda four will not be addressed through personalities but institutions that have been entrenched in the statute to govern the country,” he points out adding that no leader can single-handedly flout the new constitution.
He says the Bomas of Kenya draft steered by Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) may have failed because the issues that later merged in Agenda Four had not been factored and Kenyans never took notice of the salient issues of governance until the post-election violence.
Ngala says the the Serena talks chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan have been implemented except for Agenda 4 which has now been institutionalized and hopes for smooth implementation of the new constitution.
What should Kenyans expect after the new constitution and modalities of its implementation?
According to the former minister, the new constitution has clearly stipulated the implementation stages and procedures and time frames.
He says the modalities are gradual and could take five years for Kenyans to see the real change citing the restructuring of the provincial administration.
”It is not like instant coffee because there is a challenge of implementing the constitution and political goodwill is needed for its smooth implementation and benefit to Kenyans,” says Ngala.
He says that fears expressed by clergy on abortion were unfounded because reproductive issues were a family decision and Kenyans were moral enough not to allow abortions to be procured arbitrarily.
The reduction of lease period to 99 years will force the holders of the lease to make maximum economic use of the land while the marginalized will be factored in governance.
”Free education will be entrenched and no leader can be elected and stop the provision while the disabled, women, youth and children affairs will be enshrined in the constitution to avoid discrimination,” he asserts.
The former minister who is now a commercial farmer congratulated Kenyans for the peaceful way in which they voted in the constitution referendum.
He expresses hope that the continent will learn from the process and challenges Kenyans to facilitate the implementation of the new constitution and not let down other Africans yearning for better governance.
Kalonzo's pledge
on water, famine relief
The Government has released Sh1million through the contingent fund to mitigate drought and supply water in the most hit Kyuso district, Mwingi North Constituency,
Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka also claimed that the water will also be distributed to secondary schools to avoid early closure of the institutions. The VP said the situation was worsening as water sources had dried up, hence endangering lives of residents and livestock in his constituency.
Kalonzo advised farmers to form cooperative societies to enable them enhance agricultural production and ensure food security besides raising their living standards.
He was speaking during a consultative leaders meeting for his constituency in Mwingi town. The V-P said plans were underway to establish irrigation infrastructure in order to ensure continuous production of both food and cash crops.
The meeting was attended by the Mwingi county council chairman, Musyoka Wamaiyu and Tseikuru DC Stephen Momanyi.
He warned those entrusted with the Constituency Development Funds to exercise transparency and accountability in order for the people to benefit from the kitty.
The VP said Kenya has the capacity to try suspects of the post election violence in the country and to guarantee fair trial and justice for all.
“For the country to safe-guard and up-hold her sovereignty and integrity it is crucial to have local legal mechanism that would ensure justice for both the suspects and victims of post poll mayhems,” Kalonzo said.
He sought to explain to his constituents his re-cent shuttle diplomacy across Africa, telling them that he had been directly sent by Presi-dent Kibaki to seek the continent’s support to have the suspects tried in Kenya.
The VP said Kenya was not classified under failed states, and therefore it was un-acceptable to allow Kenyans to be flown out and be tried in a foreign country.
Kalonzo urged the leaders in the area to be at the fore-front in spearheading de-vel-opment agenda of the constituency and to avoid wrangles and witch hunting that may jeopardize their unity and service to the people.
Meanwhile,The National Bank of Kenya Kitui branch has donated foodstuffs worth Sh 103,000 shillings to the Kitui Africa Inland Church (AIC) Baby Home. The food-stuff are rice, mican omena mix baby porridge, nestle, Nan and biscuits. A team of the bank´s staff, led by their branch marketing manager, Mr. Eric Mwandacha made the presentation in the presence of US Peace Corps who is public health volunteer, Mrs. Christine Corrigan. Mwandacha said the National Bank is happy to be associated with the Kitui AIC Baby Home.
“We receive many requests from various institutions in Kitui to help them. We respond to the requests where we help the most needy ones in the region,’’ Mwandacha said.
He said that they support some of the most needy students in the area through paying school fees for them. “This is the first assistance from us this year and we have another three to five more activities to support in the area,’’ the banker said.
He disclosed that they gave the Kitui Catholic Diocese’s Mutomo Mission Hospital some assistance of Sh 1.2 million last year. The Bank official further announced that the bank is planning to make a yearly budget for every institution that needs their support in the Kitui region.
On her part, Mrs. Corrigan said the US Peace Corps are now thinking of coming up with income generating projects to feed the Kitui AIC Baby Home’s children. The home’s manager, Mrs. Dorcas Mureithi, thanked the National Bank of Kenya for the gesture and asked other groups to emulate the banking institution.
The home was started in 1980 from the Mulango AIC Children’s Home that was started in 1978. The home has a total of 32 babies. She said“We at the home receive and take care of babies who are between zero and fives years old. Those children are the orphaned ones and those who are dumped by their mothers after the de-liv-ery,’’ Mureithi said. “We have a lot of challenges at the home and we appeal to the well-wishers to support us with funds,clothes,food and even firewood among others for the good of these young ones we nurture at the home,’’ she said.
Wote picked as Makueni capi-tal
BY DANIEL KITUKU
W
ote Township is the agreed host the Makueni County headquarters following a leaders meeting held at the Makueni county council hall.
The meeting attended by delegation of leaders from the nine districts of the Makueni County picked the Wote Township to host the county governor due to its better road network and several other infrastructures and social amenities unlike other local ur-ban centres.
The meeting chaired by Makueni district commissioner Mr. Ochilo Oyugi in presence of three other district commissioners who included Mr. John Odhiambo of Kathonzweni , Abraham Cheboi of Mbooni West and Mr. Mento of Kilungu districts, noted the central position of the Wote township and multi million civil servant housing project under construction at Wote town, which will house large num-ber of the county staff.
The meeting called on the government to repossess public land grabbed by individual saying that the government purchased the land from members of public in 1990 for construction of Makueni district headquarters. But the land was sold back by corrupt government officers to influential individuals.
However water and sanitation remained a major problem at the Wote Township which depends on contaminated water drawn and ferried by donkeys from near by river Kaiti.
Five members of parliament from the county did not attend the meeting. The leaders among them councilors and former Legislators from Makueni constituency Mr. Peter Maundu and Mr. Kyonda resolved to seek court intervention for disputed border with Taita Taveta district at Mtito Andei area.
Vice Chairman of Makueni county Council Councillor Francis Mutungi told the meeting that the county council of Taita Taveta had illegally taken over administration of the disputed area including four high class tourist hotels including Kilaguni lodge.
Student impunity displayed
in Kabaa cheating rampage
Learning at Kabaa boys’ secondary school in Mwala district was paralysed after 230 students walked out of the institution protesting cancellation of last years’ Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination results for two former candidates of the school.
The two were affected after they were caught with mobile phones in exam room contrary the Kenya National Examination Council’s rules.
The students directed their anger at the school principal Mr. Elijah Munyao whom they accused of exposing the two candidates.
They listed other grievances as follows; shortage of teachers. The institution which has a population of 800 students is manned by only 28 teachers presently, which was confirmed by the principal.
In the list they presented to the district education officer Ms Rose Sagara and District Officer one Mr. Gathungu Machira, the students accused a section of the teachers of excessive drinking which they claimed had rendered some incompetent.
They also registered discontent at the schools declining performance in the national examination. It [the institution] had a mean score of 6.0 in last years KCSE similar to the previous year 2009. They also cited poor equipping of the library and laboratory. The boys trekked for over 20 kilometers to seek audience with the higher authorities in Mwala town.
The students endured chilling night after arriving at the market at around 4 am while others came in the morning.
There was brief confrontation between the students and regular police officers from Kithimani police station when they tried to intercept them as they trekked to Mwala town. They pelted the police vehicle with stones,’’, said a police officer who sought anonymity.
The learners agreed to return to school after the new District Education Officer Ms Rose Sagara and District Officer one Mr. Gathungu Machira addressed them and promised them that their grievances would be looked into.
‘’Some of the solutions will be immediate while for others, you have to be patient because of the time factor,’’ Ms Sagara urged the students.
Machira advised the students to embrace dialogue in sorting out grievances.
KCSE 2010 results: Worrying lists
at the national performance levels
EVEN as jubilation rocked the two giant schooled fingered to become National Schools in Future over the KCSE results, it must be said that the general education landscape is far from good.
In the lists generated by THE Kenya National Examination Council, it must be agreed that schools from Ukambani are missing in action.
Indeed according to an observer, though the results look good from far, they are indeed far from good and players must now take the cue and move an extra step and assault the top echelons for years dominated by Alliance and other national Schools.(See lists)
Even then it ,must be appreciated that some schools like Kyeni Girls, Precious Blood Kilungu, Muthale Girls, St Charles Lwanga, St Angela’s Mutune, Machakos Girls and Machakos School- among others did the region proud in appearing among the top 100 best performing schools nationally.
Within the Private Schools, the Lukenya Schools for both boys and girls also appeared among the top 100 Private Schools in the republic.
Indeed with the performance posted, all indications are there that local schools can do better only if the conducive environment for teaching and learning is put in place. Key players in this respect are education officials, the students, parents, school managers and the community as a whole.
In schools like Machakos Girls and neighbouring Machakos Boys principals have attributed success to God, hardwork and determination in the just released KCSE results. The Machakos Girls headed by Flora Mulatya was number one in the district and position 92 nationwide with a mean score of 8.09.
Machakos School under Masaku Muiya with a mean score of 8.04. Machakos Boys which was position 96 nationally produced two best students in the district namely,Muatine Victor and Ojiri Derick Orale had 81 points each.
Both Principals were posted in the schools fairly recently and their worth in the big two schools will be clearly assessed in the outcomes of this year’s examination class. Going by the circumstances surrounding their respective postings and the tranquil so sar reported in the school, all indications abound that the institutions are headed for better days.
Observers hope that the itchy fingers at the District Education Office will not target the schools for ill advised relocation of staff to satisfy egos at the expense of education in these premier schools of Ukambani.
Machakos Girls students hit the streets of busy Machakos town singing and performing concerts and their be better advised to do this within their compound in coming years. Faith MaryAnn Njeri topped the school and the district with 81 points.
Machakos Girls garnered one A constant,16 A-,27B+,34 Bs,28B-,32C+,22Cs,10C-,3D+ and 1D.In the 2009 KCSE results, Machakos Girls had a mean score of 7.98 while in 2008 they had a mean score score of 7.95.
Last year, Mulatya was declared districts’ best female principal of the year while Mr Muiya was crowned best male principal of the year.
In2009 KCSE , two Machakos Girls students scored A-,26B+,32B,33B-,33C+ and 12C plain, meaning more than 86 girls attained the public university entry mark.
Masaku Teachers Sacco bags a
baffling award for its 'distinction'
Masaku Teachers SACCO has bagged, in baffling circumstances, the International Europe Award for quality during the 26th International Europe Award for quality.
So baffling is the award that the nomination of the controversial sacco was a big surprise , not just to the larger public but to the management and also its members.
Soon after the nomination, Sacco Manager Stanley Kyelenzi and Chairman Julius Nzioka were airborne in readiness to receive the rather deceptive gift in Spain.
It was s surprise because the teachers sacco is yet to liberate itself from tales of theft by officials and Knut officials that resulted in the loss of close to Sh 400m. The Sacco is still immersed in debt and has been in th news for all the wrong reasons. Officials and members swooped on the society without regard to regulations as suppliers inflated prices of goods and services that were albeit, never delivered.
Yet, in spite of a 160-plus probe report condemning the sacco, no clear action was taken to punish the managers, thieves and members.
So when the award was made, in a letter dated January 5,Trade leaders club, the organization behind the awards said the Masaku Teachers Sacco was picked based on information from 7,000 club members in 112 countries.
Mr Kyelenzi termed the winning a great feat adding that the society had proved that it was headed in the right direction in its operations.
The SACCO received a special Gold medal from the president of the Trade Leaders Club Arsenio Pardo Rodriguez for business excellence as a personal recognition to the work and professionalism.
He said the Trade Leaders Club based in Madrid spain is an organisation whose mission is to develop to the highest degree international trade relations among those organizations which are in possession of their trophies.
“The selection is very competitive conducted by the International Labour Organization globally but we have managed to carry the day. Our members have been supportive that’s why we have been awarded” Kyelenzi said.
The Club was created exclusively for promotion of trade relations businessmen, co-operatives from all over the world and who are linked by the fact that they have all been awarded with trophies for being the leaders of trade or industry within their respective countries.
Masaku teachers sacco was registered in 1967 and operation began in 1977 when it was once considered a success story until a couple of years ago when everything started to fall apart.
The SACCO’s chairman Julius Nzioka said their aim it to of satisfy the financial needs of its members.
Munyaka under fire over CDF kitty
CITIZENS of Mbembani area of Kalama, Machakos constituency are taking issue with Machakos Town MP Victor Munyaka for claiming that the CDF committee has allocated Sh 4 million for a borehole,
The citizens say the Mbembani borehole was sunk by USAID in conjunction with Water For All and not the Machakos Town CDF.
In fact, the borehole was sunk by Victoria Drilling Ventures Ltd and the CDF committee should not wake up and cheat citizens that CDF funded the project, yet they have failed to deliver.
The 100 pipes which were not used were bought by former MP Daudi Mwanzia personal money but not from the kitty.
A war of words has broken out again between Munyaka and Mwanzia over who is to blame for the misuse of the CDF kitty in some of the projects which have stalled. The war of words follows a recent report that named Machakos town as one of the constituencies that had lost cash through mismanagement.
“Moreover, our investigations show lack of clear tendering and procurement procedures in Machakos CDF have led to irregular awarding of tenders and this has raised concern since 2008.
As taxpaying citizens, we also want Machakos CDF committee dissolved pending investigation into the irregular use of millions of money”, they charged.
They claim that Munyaka had earlier promised to allocate Sh 500,000 for construction of a secondary school in Mbembani and up to now he has never responded
“Munyaka fails to understand that we want leaders who can deliver but not those who buy Mandazi for us. Time has come to shed light on matters concerning grass root development”, said the residents
They said rampant abuse and mismanagement in Machakos CDF operations has given rise to an increasing number of complaints from the public. Munyaka has also been accused in the recent past of tempering with the CDF disbursement and procurement, a move attributed to the increase in number of wasted and unaccounted funds.
The residents appealed to the Kenya Anti-corruption Commission (KACC) to investigate the Machakos CDF committee, claiming that the CDF kitty is riddled with corruption and mismanagement.
The CDF committee in Machakos has made allocation of millions of shillings to the construction of classrooms in primary and secondary schools, piping of water, construction of bridges, leveling of roads, markets and electrification projects, with the contracts going to a selected group of contractors who are allied to an official of the fund and the MP.
“In fact, the CDF fund is riddled with corruption and mismanagement due to a weak legal and implementation framework, making it a bucket full of holes with voracious local cartels in place to capture the benefits of the additional spending at the expense of the intended beneficiaries”, claimed the residents.
PS, Regional Commissioner launch dams in Masinga
A Permanent Secretary has hailed international donors for aiding Kenya towards the achievement of millennium development goals (MDG’s).
National planning and vision 2030 PS Dr Edward Sambili singled out Finland and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for their support and appealed to more western donors to chip in.
The PS was speaking when he and the Lower Eastern Regional Commissioner Mr. Joseph Otieno separately commissioned three community water projects in Masinga and Yatta districts.
The three modern boreholes were undertaken at a cost of more than Sh 10 million under the MDG initiative. Dr. Sambili launched the solar driven Mutwamwaki borehole in Masinga district put up at a cost of Sh 4 million while Mr. Otieno commissioned Mekilingi and Yaanguni boreholes in Kyua and Ndalani locations respectively in Yatta district which were also carried out under the MDG efforts.
“For Yaanguni Sh 4.2 million was spent and Sh 3 million on Mekilingi,’’ Mr. Otieno revealed at St Mary’s secondary school after officiating the launch. The administrator praised the water ministry which oversaw implementation and the project committees for job well done.
Dr. Sambili who spoke at Mutwamwaki primary school after commissioning the project, recalled objectives of the MDG’s as the achievement of universal education for all, equal rights, reduction of mortality rate for children aged 5 years and below and reduction of HIV/AIDS and malaria infections.
Local Member of Parliament Mr. Itwiku Mbai and District Commissioner Mr. Joshua Marete accompanied the PS who pledged that the government would source for the Sh 4 million required for accomplishment of Tatha earth dam in the area. The government injected Sh 3.5 million and another Sh 1 million from CDF kitty for the initial works on the community dam.
Dr. Sambili pledged to aid the school with some desks while Mr. Mbai said the government should set aside more funds for carrying out more water projects in the marginal district.
Mr. Otieno described the boreholes as landmark gift to local residents considering they have been trekking over 15 kilometers to access water.
“Proximity of the commodity will boost the residents’ health and spare them time to concentrate on other important matters,’’ the administrator remarked while addressing the beneficiaries.
He requested management committees of the projects to ensure they were well managed for sustainability. The residents appreciated the government’s help.
Shock admissions for
pupils in Mutito Schools
By Anchor Writer
ONLY six students joined National schools from Kiema Kilonzo’s Mutitu Constituency.
86 others joined provincial schools and an-other 740 went to district schools leaving close to 700 unable to join secondary school due to lack of schools in the district, according to Nzambani District Commissioner Mr Stephen Kihara.
Mr Kihara says the district experiences low enrolment due to few schools and added that the government is working towards implementing the constitution to bring ser-vices close to the people.
He spoke when the Oshwal Mahila Mandal community donated Sh 500,000 for the con-struction of classes and office block at Kiema Kilonzo Primary School in Nzambani district. “We welcome the initiative by the MP and Oshwal Mahila Mandal commu-nity to help government in the education sector,” said Mr Kihara Led by chairperson Naina Shah and treasurer Nalini Shah, the group also donated foodstuff, buckets and blankets to the community when they went to commission a complete modern classroom in the company of the area MP .
The pupils will now move from the two grass thatched classrooms to the modern brick classrooms.”I met Hon. Kiema in Sydney, Australia last year and as we chatted over this initiative. I approached my group with the project and we decided to make the dream possible for the pupils.
Mr Kilonzo however urged the parents to take up the opportunity and educate their children. He also called on leaders in the area to stop politicking and uplift the lives of the electorate.
The School has 20 pupils in nursery, 50 in primary which is up to class three and only one government teacher.
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