John Mututho rejected by House committee for Nacada boss

A House committee has recommended the rejection of the nomination of anti-alcohol campaigner John Mututho as chairman of an anti-drug abuse agency.

The National Security and Administration Committee said that although Mr Mututho is suited for the job as chairman of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse, he should first clear pending court cases.

The House is set to discuss the report on Wednesday afternoon. If the report is adopted, Mr Mututho’s nomination will be rejected. It can only be approved if an amendment for that is made to the report.

ANTI-GRAFT REPORT

The decision to ask MPs not to approve Mr Mututho’s nomination was made at a meeting on Tuesday morning after the committee examined a report from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

In a letter to the committee, the EACC said there are pending criminal and civil suits filed against Mr Mututho and Countryside Supplies Ltd, a company associated with him.

The criminal case is a charge of obtaining Sh41.3 million by falsely presenting documents that his company had paid tax on bedside lockers to the Kenyatta National Hospital and therefore deserved a refund.

EACC’s predecessor had also filed a civil suit on behalf of the hospital for the recovery of the Sh41.3 million from Mututho and Countryside Supplies. Both are pending in court.

“The allegations touch on the personal integrity of the candidate and are likely to erode public confidence in the integrity of his office,’ EACC Secretary Halakhe Waqo said in the letter.

On Tuesday morning, a majority of MPs present agreed with the recommendation that Mr Mututho’s nomination be rejected.

The ‘Nairobi News’ right off the press

The latest arrival in the Nation Media Group stable, the Nairobi News, is here.

The English language newspaper which hit the streets Wednesday will exclusively focus on Nairobi County news and will be covering crime, courts, business, personal health and fitness, entertainment and sports.

Speaking during its launch in Nairobi on Monday evening, chief guest Nairobi County Governor Evans Kidero called on the paper to champion the interests of the five million Nairobi residents.

“The paper should give us an agenda that will be centred around the people,” Dr Kidero urged.

KEEP OFF POLITICS

Nation Media Group Chief Executive Officer Linus Gitahi said the newspaper would shy away from politics and relay news happening in the capital.

He added that it would also help readers make informed choices “like which plot to buy, cars on sale, restaurants to visit, job vacancies and schools to take children to”.

Group Editorial Director Joseph Odindo said: “It is an interesting and provocative paper that will cover serious news without being boring. It is a paper you can leave on the breakfast table and not worry that your children will be horrified by its content.”

The paper will have a contact number to report incidents.

Police pay to go up this month

Police will earn higher salaries this month, Deputy President William Ruto has said.

Mr Ruto said on Tuesday that the salary was discussed with the National Service Commission as part of ongoing reforms.

“The government has already approved it, and it will go into the pay slips of officers this month,” he said at a donor group meeting at the Laico Hotel in Nairobi.

Sources within the police force, however, said no pay rise circular has been released. “We have no information so far. It could be a statement of intent from the Deputy President,” the source said.

Police officers, however, started receiving risk and extraneous allowances last month.

The DP said a group personal insurance scheme for police officers, paid for by the State, will be in the next financial year. The cover is to take care of families and dependants of officers harmed by criminals.

CORRUPTION IN SECURITY AGENCIES

The donors called for improved security in the country.

World Bank County Director Diarietou Gaye, speaking for the development partners group, said that even though security agencies have been reforming, insecurity, impunity and corruption remained high.

“The reality is that many Kenyans today live in increased security risks and face high crime levels. The risks are not just from terror, but also ethnic conflicts and violent crime and these call for continued reforms in the police,” they stated.

The group said the Westgate attack that left 70 people dead and several others injured, was a shock to them. They sent condolences to families of those who perished in the attack.

The donors said that police work is difficult, but the recently proposed amendments to National Police Service Commission Act provide more latitude for use of force and could be counterproductive. Mr Ruto, however, defended proposed changes to the National Police Commission under discussion before Parliament, saying, they were meant to create a clear chain of command.

Mr Ruto said the Jubilee Government was keen on spending more on security agencies while ensuring value for money.

He said that the purchase of police equipment such as motor vehicles and firearms will be done transparently. The DP said that the government is currently cleaning up the Immigration Department to weed out the corrupt.

Exam marking pay row between Knut and Kuppet may delay results

Knut chairman Wilson Sossion (left) and acting secretary-general Mudzo Nzili address journalists in Nairobi on November 19, 2013.

A dispute over payments for teachers who will be marking national examinations risks delaying the release of the KCPE and KCSE results, putting the fates of hundreds of thousands of candidates in the balance.

The two rival teachers’ unions — Knut and Kuppet — are yet to agree on whether their members should mark the examinations with Kuppet asking its members to stay away until they can strike a deal with the Kenya National Examinations Council and Knut telling its members to go ahead and mark the exams.

Kuppet has been demanding that the money paid to its examiners should not be taxed. It also wants teachers paid after every week.

Usually, payments for examiners take months to process due to delays in government procurement procedures. The union has been pushing for a 300 per cent increase in the allowances that examiners are paid. It has also been demanding better accommodation for the examiners.

MARKING CENTRES

This year, 5,500 teachers will be marking the KCPE papers. Another 11,000 will be marking the KCSE papers. The teachers will be accommodated in 33 marking centres across the country.

On Tuesday, Knec said the teachers will receive enhanced payments this year.

For instance, the basic fee will range from Sh800 for an ordinary examiner to Sh30,000 for the KCSE chief examiners.

Teachers will also be paid a script fee with the lowest paid examiner getting Sh42 per script and the highest paid getting Sh68. Each examiner will also be given return fare depending on the distance travelled. They will also earn Sh150 per day as co-ordination fee.

“Some of the issues raised by Kuppet have been addressed and the rest will continue to be addressed incrementally,” Ms Frida Were, the head of public communications at the examination council, said in a statement.

She also said teachers will only be paid an advance script fee “at the end marking exercise” as they wait for processing of their final payment.

IGNORE BOYCOTT CALLS

“Marking is already in progress as we continue to address several issues that have been raised,” she said. “The marking process for KCPE examination started on 18th with live marking expected to run from 26th November to 3rd December.”

On Tuesday, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) told its members to ignore boycott calls by Kuppet.

The move, which marks yet another superiority contest between the two unions, has threatened to delay the timetable for marking exams and releasing of the results.

Mid-this year, the unions were locked in a dispute over a salary increment for teachers. Although the members of both unions went on strike for about a month, Kuppet signed a deal with the government to end its strike. Knut followed a few days later, settling for a package that was close to the deal signed between Kuppet and the government.

This time round, it is unlikely that the teachers identified to mark the examinations will boycott given that they earn substantial allowances for the duration and that they are required to individually enter into contracts with the examination council.

Knut acting secretary Mudzo Nzili and national chairman Wilson Sossion on Tuesday said they had held successful consultations with the examinations council on the question of payments since May.

“We agreed that taxation be waived for examiners who will earn less than Sh133,000,” Mr Nzili said during a press conference at the Knut headquarters in Nairobi.

Earlier in the day, Kuppet national secretary for secondary schools, Mr Edward Obwocha, said the union had intensified its regional meetings urging examiners to boycott marking.

The union is scheduled to meet Nyanza examiners on Friday to mobilise them not to report to their respective marking centres.
As a rule, KCPE results are released a day or two after Boxing Day in December, while KCSE results are released towards the end of February.

Cord puts Jubilee on the spot over crime

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) has criticised the Jubilee government over what it terms as a failure to secure the lives and property of citizens.

In particular, it singled out the “Nyumba Kumi” initiative, which was created by the government in the wake of the September 21 terrorist attack as a way to curb increasing crime in the country.

Cord leader Raila Odinga said the opposition suspects a sinister motive behind the initiative because the public was not consulted when the initiative was launched.

“It is a very major policy decision that requires national consultation,” Mr Odinga said. “You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “in response to what happened, we will start Nyumba Kumi”.

He also said that Mr Joseph Kaguthi, a former provincial commissioner, was appointed to head the initiative “without clear terms”.

Under the programme, all citizens are required to know at least 10 of their neighbours so as to prevent criminal activities within neighbourhoods.

REQUIRED TO APPROVE

However, Cord on Tuesday said the initiative was unconstitutional and “Kenya cannot be a police state any more outside constitutional arrangement set out in (the) basic law of (the) land.”

Mr Odinga said Members of Parliament should have been involved in debating and approving the programme because public funds will be used in its implementation. Parliament is by law required to approve all government spending.

“Public funds must be approved by Parliament. Let Parliament debate this issue and agree (on) the amount to be spent on it,” the former Prime Minister said.

Addressing the same press conference after the coalition’s National Executive Council meeting, nominated Senator Agnes Zani also criticised the government over the recruitment of security officers.

While reading a statement on behalf of the party, Dr  Zani said the recruitment had failed to reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of the country particularly in “Cord areas”.

The coalition also gave President Kenyatta a 14-day ultimatum to form a commission of inquiry into the Westgate attack, failure to which they will take action to ensure the truth surrounding the attack and its aftermath is revealed.

“This country deserves a proper inquiry on that incident,” Mr Odinga said.

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY

Just days after the Westgate attack on September 21, President Kenyatta had said that a commission of inquiry would be formed to investigate the attack.

Last week, the President’s spokesman, Mr Manoah Esipisu, said the government was still waiting for results from forensic investigations before the commission can be set up.

Besides security, Cord also criticised Parliament’s attempts to pass laws that limit the amount of money that non-governmental organisations can receive from foreign donors. The coalition said its members would not support such legislation in Parliament.

The leaders also warned on the risk of losing out on the gains so far made from the East African Community.

The leader of the Wiper Democratic Party, Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, blamed lack of political goodwill among some heads of state in the region for the tensions that have rocked the EAC in recent weeks. He said these could lead to the collapse of the regional bloc like happened in 1977.

However, the EAC secretariat last week said the crisis had not reached a level that would require mediation.

The secretariat made the announcement after President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzanian told parliament earlier this month that his country was not being invited to meetings where crucial decisions affecting the bloc were being made.

Two weeks ago, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda signed agreements on infrastructure and trade that excluded Tanzania.

“The reality is that there is some political bad faith,” Mr Musyoka said of the developments in the region.

Bungoma senatorial aspirant Moses Wetang’ula, who was the coalition’s minority leader in the Senate before losing his seat in a petition, said that Cord would only have one candidate in each of the forthcoming by-elections. Other parties in the coalition will be expected to support its joint candidates, he said.

The Wiper party, a member of the coalition, had indicated that it would field candidates in some of the by-elections.

However, the fate of the pending mini-polls hangs in the balance after the National Treasury told the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission last week to trim its budget, a move that led the IEBC to advice that all pending by-elections be put on hold until the impasse with the financial issue is resolved.

UPDATED: Pictures From Peter Okoye & Lola Omotayo's Wedding( See All Celebs)

The Beautiful Lola Omotayo

You can trust Todaysgist to bring you all the juicy and  spicy news from the talk of the year wedding between Peter Okoye and Lola Omotayo. The above picture is truly magnificent and the guys did not diasppoint at all. Stay on TG,,,more pictures to follow,,,

Yes we promised and we delivered, hope your internet connection is fast enough to view the photos seamlessly???Nice photos though,,,,Kanu Nwankwo, Dangote,Klint,and so so many faces,,

Peter Okoye posing with Emmanuel Adebayor

MayD,(left), Adebayor and Peter

Richard Nnadi (Duke of spades)  left, Peter Okoye and Malcoholic Obinna

Reception Venue

Lola with her russian mother

Amazing beauty

Funke Akindele

Iyanya And A friend

Dj Jimmy Jatt And Kate Henshaw

Toke Makinwa And Dr. Sid

Toyin Lawani, Susan Peters And The Couple

Lynxx,Banky and the Couple

Toke Makinwa And GEnevieve

Toke and Susan Peters

Sasha P and Munachi Abi

Kaffi and Toyin Lawani showing their baby bump

Kate henshaw And Toke Makinwa

Dj Jimmy Jatt And Eva Alordia

Toyin And Boo

Actors Alert,,Si that Pawpaw?

Klint and wife

Don baba J

Karen striking a pose

Kcee Killing the dance floor

Peter And First Son, Cameron

Lynxx And the couple

Wedding Cake

Tiwa Savage

Lovely Couple

Dangote in the house. Baba tuale,,

Gbenja Adeyinka in the house

Kanu Nwankwo and Emmanuel Adebayor

Paul and fiancee With the Couple

Well, the pictures are still coming in.The couples are really looking good and very happy. Follow @Cedric_254 for more beautiful pictures of other celebrities soon.

Regional lawyers meet over oppressive media laws

Regional lawyers are set to meet over the wave of oppressive media laws in East Africa.

The East Africa Law Society (EALS) President James Aggrey Mwamu said that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Somalia have adopted a pattern of media suppression.

“Governments in the region are jointly suppressing democratic freedoms by using unconstitutional laws to gag journalists the media,” Mr Mwamu said.

Mr Mwamu said that media freedom will be among the core subjects to be discussed in depth at the EALS Annual Conference set for November 15 and 16 at The Whitesands Hotel in Mombasa.

The conference will bring together practicing lawyers from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. The theme is Raising the Bar: The Changing Environment for the Legal Profession in East Africa.

“We are dismayed that the Kenyan Parliament last week passed into law Acts which suppress freedom of information under Article 35 of the Constitution,” Mr Mwamu said.

The EALS President regretted that intolerance to media freedom has also intensified in Tanzania with the recent suspension of two newspapers for alleged violation of stringent media laws.

“The Ministry of Information stopped the publication of Mwananchi newspaper and Mtanzania, alleging violation of secrecy and sedition laws,” Mr Mwamu said.

The EALS President also recalled how The Daily Monitor newspaper was raided and shut down for 10 days in May after allegedly publishing a politically sensitive story in Uganda.

“The Daily Monitor was allowed to reopen on the promise that it would not publish material that might disturb law and order or generate tensions,” Mr Mwamu said.

The EALS President also regretted that journalists are also reportedly being harassed and intimidated in Uganda when covering political stories like arrests of Mr Kizza Besigye.

“There are also concerns on violent deaths of journalists, such as that of Thomas Pere in June,” Mr. Mwamu said.

The EALS President said that Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza is about to sign into law a media Bill recently passed by the Burundi National Assembly in April.

“The Burundi Senate passed a draft media law despite opposition from journalists and the international community,” Mr. Mwamu said.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the new law would interfere with media independence by forcing journalists to disclose sources and imposing minimum requirements for journalists’ education and experience.

Under the proposed bill, journalists will be required to have at least two years of professional experience in addition to a university-level degree.

Additionally, the media will be banned from covering “sensitive” issues including public security, national defence, and the economy.

The new law repeals many of the provisions for jail terms imposed on violators under the 2003 law, but violations still carry penalties such as steep fines that HRW said most Burundian media outlets would not be able to afford.