Day: June 11, 2024

Kirinyaga County Government has launched a rapid road rehabilitation initiative aimed at restoring infrastructure damaged by recent floods.

The initiative will involve grading and murraming rural access roads whose sections had been washed away by rain water during the heavy rains that hit the county in the month of April and May.

Governor Anne Waiguru said that her administration would make resources available for the rehabilitation work of all affected road infrastructure.

While noting the crucial role that a good transport network plays in agricultural development, Waiguru said the damaged roads will be quickly rehabilitated to ensure farmers do not face difficulties in moving farm produce to the market.

‘Because of the recent rains, many of these roads have been spoiled and we will work with our teams to ensure roads damaged are quickly rehabilitated to ensure people are not inconvenienced,’ she said.

Most of the damaged roads are in Mutiithi, Tebere, Thiba, Wamumu, Gathigiriri, Kariti, Kangai, and N
yangati wards.

Kirinyaga County Assembly Deputy Speaker who is the Member of the County Assembly (MCA) representing Mutithi ward Jinaro Njamumo said some of the roads in the area had been made inaccessible by the floods and needed rehabilitation to allow smooth movement of farm produce to the market.

‘After grading of the roads, we will embark on murraming of the roads and we target to do some 18 kilometers of roads in Mutithi ward alone,’ said the MCA.

Residents have lauded the initiative saying the road rehabilitation programme would help ease movement of people and goods.

Francis Kariuki, a dairy farmer, said a two-kilometer road connecting his Kang’aru village to Kagio had remained impassable even after the rains subsided.

‘This road has been a major problem to us. However, we are grateful to Governor Waiguru for her swift action. The improved road shall be a game-changer to all residents even when transporting our goods and accessing services,’ he said.

Mugo Kaniu, an elder in the area, noted that
the improved infrastructure would greatly benefit local farmers by facilitating easier access to the market.

‘For years this road was impassable, getting to a health facility even during medical emergencies was a nightmare, now we can transport people to the hospital more easily,’ Kaniu said.

Margaret Kagwe, another resident, shared her relief that women in the area would no longer face challenges during childbirth due to the poor road network.

‘The improved roads mean that cars can now pass through, ensuring that women can deliver in hospitals safely,’ Kagwe said.

Kirinyaga County was among the counties affected by floods, especially Mwea area which is known for expansive rice irrigation.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A fatal head-on collision accident along the busy Bomet-Kaplong Highway on Monday evening claimed the lives of two individuals, leaving four others injured.

The incident that occurred in the Mikingo area, prompted a swift response from the County’s ambulance emergency services unit to save lives of survivors.

Bomet County Police Commandant Robinson Ndiwa, in a statement disclosed that the collision involved two vehicles travelling in opposite directions.

The police boss said the impact of the collision was devastating, resulting in two fatalities.

‘Preliminary reports indicate that one of the vehicles swerved from its lane in an attempt to avoid colliding with a stationary car parked at the edge of the road,’ stated Ndiwa

‘The maneuver, unfortunately, led to a head-on collision between the two vehicles, causing significant damage and loss of life.’

Following the accident, emergency ambulance services rushed to the scene, and the injured were promptly rushed to Kaplong Mission Hospital for urgent medical
attention.

The collision’s aftermath resulted in a prolonged traffic snarl-up on the Kisii-Narok Highway, disrupting the flow of vehicles for nearly two hours.

However, police worked diligently to restore normalcy in the affected road section, allowing smooth traffic flow to resume.

The bodies of the deceased were transferred to the Kapkatet Hospital mortuary.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Several leaders joined the family of the late Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Lorna Laboso in marking her 16th commemoration at her Sotik home in Sotik Sub County, Bomet.

The late Laboso, who was the first female elected a Member of National Assembly, perished alongside the then roads Minister Kipkalya Kones in a plane crash at Kojonga area in Narok County.

The leaders, including Bomet Governor Prof Hillary Barchok, Senators led by the Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, Members of Parliament led by their host Amb. Francis Sigei, Bomet County Assembly Members led by Speaker Cosmas Korir, paid tribute to Laboso praising her as a role model who was determined to empower women.

Laboso was the founder of Lorna Laboso Girls High School, an institution that has sent 767 girls to university since inception.

Laboso was also the founder of Kotabgor Women Sacco whose main objective was to empower women both economically and socially.

The marking of her commemoration was preceded by a fundraiser in aid of the Sacc
o held at The Sotik 181 Grounds and attended by thousands of Bomet residents who made it possible to raise close to Sh5 million.

Laboso was survived by Marco Laboso, a son who was a minor when she died.

Recently, the High Court awarded the family Sh10 million after finding out that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority was guilty to have awarded the Pilot Christopher Maria Schnnerr license to fly the aircraft without proper scrutiny of his qualifications.

Governor Barchok and other leaders paid a visit to her grave where they laid wreaths and held prayers while condoling Marco Laboso.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A new law court will be established in Ugunja Town, Siaya County as part of the judiciary’s efforts to ease access to justice.

According to the presiding judge of the Siaya High Court, Justice Daniel Ogembo an approval has already been granted for the establishment of the court that will serve the residents of Ugunja Sub County and its environs who are currently forced to travel to Ukwala or Siaya to access justice.

Speaking during a visit to the proposed site which is adjacent to the Ugunja Deputy County Commissioner’s office at Nyasanda, Justice Ogembo said it is the vision of the judiciary to have at least a resident magistrate’s court in every Sub County.

He said that the realization of the Ugunja court will see Siaya county hit close to 100% mark as there will be courts in all the constituencies.

‘Siaya could perhaps be the first county to hit the 100% mark in ensuring success of Chief Justice Martha Koome agenda of spreading the justice services to every corner of this country,’ he said.

Ugunja mem
ber of parliament, Opiyo Wandayi hailed the judiciary’s move adding that it will relieve his constituents of huge expenditure spent travelling long distances in search for justice.

Wandayi, who is also the National Assembly Minority Leader, said the local Constituency Development Fund has set aside Sh27 million for construction of the first phase of the project.

The occasion was also attended by Siaya chief magistrate, Margaret Wambani and magistrates Lester Simiyu and Benjamin Limo both of whom urged the area residents to embrace alternative dispute resolution to ease congestion in courts.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The United Nations General Assembly has elected Anacláudia Marinheiro Centeno Rossbach of Brazil as the new Executive Director of the Nairobi-based United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

According to a statement released from the Nairobi office, Rossbach will serve as an Under-Secretary-General level for four years.

‘The date that she will assume office will be announced soon,’ a statement released from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, said.

Rossbach is currently serving as director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Boston, United States.

According to a statement, Rossbach is an economist with more than 20 years’ experience on issues of housing, including informal settlements, land, and urban policies.

In 2016, Rossbach contributed to global discussions on urban policies at the Habitat III Conference held in Quito, Ecuador. She has also spoken at all major UN events, including climate change conferences and the World Urban Forum.

In 2022, she worke
d on designing institutional and operational strategies to expand access to adequate housing in Peru with the Inter-American Development Bank.

From 2014 to 2022, Rossbach worked with Cities Alliance, serving as the Regional Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, where she promoted the transfer and exchange of knowledge and provided advisory services on housing and urban policies in the Global South.

She was responsible for establishing the Urban Housing Practitioners Hub (UHPH), a network of experts, practitioners, and researchers working in urban development and housing.

She also led the organization’s global programme on informality as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Her academic work includes numerous publications, teaching graduate classes, and professional training courses on housing and urban planning.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Brazil and a Master of Science in Political Economy from the same university.

T
he Brazilian citizen replaces Maimunah Mohd Sharif of Malaysia, who served as executive director of the organisation from 2018 to 2024.

Sharif spearheaded significant reforms at UN-Habitat, transforming the organisation into achieving sustainable urbanisation.

UN-Habitat is the United Nations entity responsible for sustainable urbanisation and has programmes in over 90 countries supporting policymakers and communities to create socially and environmentally sustainable cities and towns.

The UN agency promotes transformative change in cities through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance, and collaborative action.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The elections of directors of 54 smallholder tea factories under the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) will be conducted on 28th of this month by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

This is the first time IEBC is set to oversee the polls at the tea board where tea farmers across the country are set to participate in the highly charged elections.

At Thumaita Tea Factory in Gichugu Kirinyaga, clearance of those willing to vie for the position of director is ongoing until 14th June 11, 2024 when the full list of successful candidates will be availed.

The IEBC returning officer in the factory Charles Maina said the commission is going to manage and conduct the exercise, as well as appoint the counting clerks in all the poll centers.

While issuing nomination certificates to the first cleared group he warned against going against the set regulations, as it will attract a fine, disqualification or both as guided by a manual of elections released by TBK.

‘Any candidate who goes against t
he rule will face the set penalties including disqualification or both. We can also bar him/her on campaigning for 5 days’

He added that they will closely monitor campaign activities to ensure every law is adhered to. Mr. Maina added that the Ministry of Interior and National Administration officers will provide adequate security in all polling centers to ensure law and order were maintained.

The voting exercise will be through a secret ballot system based on the ‘one grower, one vote principle’ where a farmer will get an equal voting stake. The previous voting system was based on the number of shares a tea farmer had, an issue, which many farmers claimed favored those with big farms and many shares.

Richard Magu, incumbent director, expressed his happiness on allowing IEBC to conduct this year’s KTDA election as it will reduce biasness and improve credibility. He noted the tea sector is doing well nowadays and farmers should get a leader they deserve.

He argued the courts cases have been putting farmers
into unnecessary loss as there is used to settle cases which were of no benefit.

‘We are happy this time the IEBC is conducting our elections. It will be free and fair and the farmers will get their leader of choice.’

During the voting date a voter shall present a national ID or passport; pay slips for green leaf delivery for any two months in the twelve-month’ period preceding the date of the election for the verification purposes.

The eligible persons were also informed that besides signing contracts with individual factories for the conduct of election for its directors, IEBC will also handle dispute resolution functions emerging from the process.

The elections follow a court directive issued on April 11, 2024 which came after wrangles pitting KTDA against former directors hence delaying the elections by at least one year.

Source: Kenya News Agency