Day: June 21, 2024

A 39 year old man was on Friday committed to serve one year imprisonment after being found with Zebra meat.

Peter Amandi who was sentenced by Senior Principal Magistrate Esther Kimilu after pleading guilty was arrested with 80 kgs of Zebra meat at Esukut area in Rombo, Loitoktok Sub County on June 20.

According to prosecution the accused was arrested by officers from Maasai Wilderness Conservancy Trust after an alert from their counterparts from Big life conservancy after receiving intelligence report of a suspect with zebra meat.

The team laid an ambush along possible routes of the suspect and the accused was arrested while transporting the meat while packed in a drum using a motor bike.

The officers suspected the accused was intending to vend the meat to unsuspecting customers since he had a knife for cutting the meat

According to prosecution the accused is not a first offender since he had earlier been arrested with the same offence.

The accused has 14 days to appeal against the sentence.

Source:
Kenya News Agency

The Judicial fraternity today eulogized Principal Magistrate Monica Kivuti as a competent, humane, and respected judicial officer.

Kivuti died on Thursday June 13, 2024 while undergoing treatment at Nairobi Hospital after he was shot while making a ruling at Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi.

Through Chief Justice Martha Koome, the Judiciary also extended their deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Kivuti, her husband Lawyer Mutima Kang’ata, her children Josephine Wanjiru, Michelle Menyi, and baby Elyanna Wanjiru, siblings, relatives, and friends for the immense loss.

In a press statement to newsrooms, the CJ observed that none of the Judiciary staff could have ever imagined the horror and terror of a Judiciary personnel being killed in the seat of justice.

‘The unimaginable hurt that the family, friends, and relatives of Magistrate Kivuti are experiencing is shared by the entire Judiciary family. Every member of the Judiciary feels this loss deeply, as what happened to Kivuti could have happe
ned to any of us,’ said Koome.

She said her dedication was evident in her willingness to serve even under difficult circumstances, as shown by her working through lunch hour in a makeshift tent at the time of her tragic shooting, showing her selflessness and dedication to duty and commitment.

We have lost, all too soon, a competent, humane, and respected judicial officer who enhanced public trust and confidence in our legal system in every court station she served, from Kiambu Law Court to Baricho Law Court and Makadara Law Court till her untimely demise,’ she stated.

‘As a Judge one of the things I never anticipated and hoped never to see during my tenure as Chief Justice is the killing of a Judge, Judicial Officer, or Judiciary Staff in the courtroom in connection to their work,’ said Koome.

She added: ‘Our hearts are broken, and our faith is shaken. This tragedy has not only taken a beloved colleague but has also shaken the very foundation of our justice system.’

The CJ said since the passing on of Ma
gistrate Kivuti, she has heard many beautiful things spoken about Kivuti, and eulogized her as a passionate judicial officer who was committed to her calling, and a person who was kind, decent, humane, fair-minded, and courteous to all.

Kivuti started her professional journey as a young lawyer in private practice and served as a magistrate since 2013 where she excelled despite challenges.

Koome noted that judicial officers can all achieve their aspirations and positively impact those around them by contributing to the national progress through her story of dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment to justice.

She said Judicial officers are the pillars of the country’s judicial system of which Kivuti was a strong, reliable, and steadfast pillar and significantly contributed to the administration of justice in Kenya.

She called upon public servants to emulate her passionate commitment to justice, unfailing fairness, and offering service beyond the call of duty as she did.

‘We can honour and keep th
e legacy of Kivuti alive by living her example, serving selflessly and courageously,’ said Koome and added that the tremendous public outpouring of tributes following her passing is largely due to her diligent service and humane treatment of everyone

Koome also thanked those who responded so bravely when the attack happened, singling out the police and court orderlies who put themselves in the line of fire to prevent further deaths, the ambulance paramedics who rushed to save lives, the nurses, doctors, and hospital staff at Metropolitan Hospital in Buru Buru and Nairobi Hospital, including those who reached out to the family to comfort them, and those who donated blood and prayers.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A farmer in Karachuonyo constituency suffered heavy losses after a wild animal suspected to be leopard attacked and killed his six sheep.

During the Thursday afternoon incident, the farmer identified as Dan Akicho who hails from Kakwa-Juok village in North Karachuonyo Location lost the animals when the wild animal attacked the tethered sheep.

The farmer said that he had tethered his sheep to graze before the wild animal attacked them.

‘I had tethered my sheep in a well fenced compound and left home some business elsewhere. Unfortunately, I was later informed on phone that they had been killed,’ Akicho said.

Akicho said that the necks of each sheep had deep cuts sustained from the sharp canines of the big cat. However, their carcasses were not eaten.

The carcasses of the sheep were intact, but the wild animal sucked their blood.

‘I suspect the wild animal is a leopard because it normally deals with livestock in that manner,’ he said.

He appealed to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to intervene and cage
stray leopards.

Last year, another farmer lost eight sheep in a similar incident. Akicho said the wild animals were causing serious economic drawbacks in the area.

North Karachuonyo Chief Wilson Were instructed residents to report to Kenya Wildlife Service offices such stray wild animals.

The administrator said reporting such cases would enable the government to undertake investigations and compensate them.

Source: Kenya News Agency

A section of Kakamega residents, Thursday, took to the streets joining other Kenyans countrywide in protesting against the Finance Bill.

The demonstrations started at Muliro gardens and the protesters headed to Masinde Muliro University on Kakamega-Webuye Highway, back to Kakamega county headquarters, then to Amalemba and repeated the cycle for the better part of yesterday.

Adorned in black outfits, the protesters with the majority being youths chanted ‘reject finance Bill’ while lifting placards written ‘We said reject, not edit’.

The protesters were however peaceful in addressing their concerns enabling businesses to operate normally and traffic to flow smoothly.

There was a heavy police presence that monitored the protesters against causing disruption of normal activities and destruction of properties in town.

Among the proposals in the finance bill that the protesters were against are the tax on sanitary towels which female protesters claimed would greatly inconvenience them noting that currently 40
% of girls cannot afford them.

They stood firm emphasizing that they would not back down until their issues are addressed.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Information, Communications and the Digital Economy CS Eliud Owalo has exhorted Members of Parliament to fast-track the construction of ICT hubs in their respective constituencies to enhance digital literacy among the youth.

He said the move would enable the realization of the government plan to have ICT hubs in all the 1450 wards in the country.

Speaking at the Swahilipot in Mvita Sub-County when he unveiled the 205th digital hub, Owalo said the Digital Superhighway was one of the key pillars of Kenya Kwanza administration development plan as espoused in the Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

‘I have been directed as the CS for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy to ensure that in every place of our country, we establish ICT hubs to equip our young boys and girls with digital skills,’ said Owalo, adding the Swahilipot hub aligns with the government plan of equipping youths with digital skills.

He said the ministry has forged a partnership with legislators to roll out digita
l hubs in every ward nationwide.

The MPs, Owalo noted, have since amended the National Government-Constitutional Development Fund Act and could now utilize three percent of their annual NG-CDF allocation to build digital hubs.

‘Our role now as the national government is to connect the internet, equip them with computers and provide free training without payment. Later, we will link our youths with multi-national to get employment,’ he said.

The CS encouraged the youths to take cues from their peers, who were already earning income through online jobs, thus becoming financially independent.

He said the government’s major goal was to enable the youth to get jobs in the wake of diminishing white-collar jobs.

‘You can be here and working for a technology firm in America, Germany, India, United Kingdom, Singapore or elsewhere. Youths working online are paid in dollars,’ reiterated Owalo.

Moving forward, the CS said all government services would be available online. ‘When we took the reins of power, we had 35
0 services on the e-citizen platform. Today, we have 17,020 that we have on board on e-citizen,’ he declared.

He further said the government is keen to ensure citizens get services in the comfort of their homes or offices, without necessarily visiting government offices.

‘All the bottlenecks that some officers had put between government services and citizens including soliciting of bribes will now be a bygone, moving forward. Government services will be between you, your phone and the government itself without any middlemen in between,’ stated the CS.

Owalo further reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring seamless internet connectivity across the country, adding that, ‘We have been digging trenches to lay fibre optic cables and now we have changed the plan. Moving forward, we will be using electricity transmission lines of Kenya Power Company to put fibre. This means that at any place, where there is a transformer, we will connect fibre,’ he said.

He went on: ‘At the end, any place that will hav
e an electricity meter, we will supply fibre and we will have the capacity to connect internet.’

At the same time, Owalo said the government has a robust plan to transform the way it works by leveraging on technology to have a paperless government, while noting that last-mile internet and electricity connections would ultimately catapult the country to have a 24-hour economy.

On his part, Swahilipot Hub Chief Mentor Mahmoud Noor extolled the Ministry of Information for their cooperation since the hub was founded.

The hub, he said, aims to create a safe space for youths to get digital skills, thus the facility would enable youngsters to learn and earn through online jobs, without boarding airplanes to foreign countries.

Nominated Senator Miraj Abdillahi advised the youths to use the digital hubs to improve their digital literacy, even as the Head of State traverses the globe in pursuit of jobs for them.

Source: Kenya News Agency