52 samples taken in Mutula death
probe
Mutula's death: Investigators to look for traces of polonium
210
Doctors collected 52 samples for testing to establish the cause of Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo’s death.
A source close to the family and a doctor involved in the investigations said they would conduct a wide range of tests, including for the sophisticated poison, Polonium 210.
All the tests will be conducted locally and no samples will be sent abroad.
Polonium 210 is a deadly radiation poison, which causes victims to waste away and to lose hair and teeth. Because of its highly radioactive nature, normally areas visited by a polonium victim are quarantined to prevent further poisoning.
Government pathologist Johansen Oduor declined to comment on the polonium reports.
“We will carry as many tests as possible to remove any doubts. The tests are informed by what we saw,” Dr Odour said.
The analysis of the samples has started at the Government Chemist, he said, and results will be expected in eight-to-10 weeks.
“No sample will be taken out of the country as all the samples collected can be analysed locally,” he said.
The tests will confirm the cause of death and rule out other possibilities.
The samples included the nail, hair, tissues from the bone and skin, saliva, urine. Three different samples were collected for the police, the visiting foreign pathologist, and for preservation.
The pathologists were reported to have agreed on the cause of death and want to offer a conclusive report after the analyses have been done.
Detectives now have over 100 samples collected both from the scene of death and at the mortuary during the autopsy.
In Maanzoni, detectives collected some pieces of meat, charcoal that was used to roast the meat, the plates used to serve the food, water and two soft drinks.
The family yesterday expressed optimism that the death would be resolved, partly due to the involvement of Dr Ian Calder and Dr Emily Rogena.
“Dr Calder provided leadership and insisted that as many samples as possible had to be collected,” a family member who attended the post-mortem said.
Dr Rogena, a senior lecturer at the Department of Human Pathology at the University of Nairobi, was among the team of pathologists who took part in the post-mortem examination of marathon star Samuel Kamau Wanjiru. She also testified at the commission that investigated the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Prof George Saitoti, Mr Orwa Ojodeh and four police officers in a helicopter crash last year.
Polonium 210 hit the headlines when it was used to kill KGB agent-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.
Litvinenko suffered nausea, hair loss, throat swelling and pallor, all said to be typical effects of the poisoning. In July last year, Yasser Arafat’s widow called for the Palestinian leader’s body to be exhumed after scientists in Switzerland found traces of Polonium-210 on clothing he allegedly wore before his death in 2004.
It is not clear whether the pathologists observed any of the symptoms of radiation poisoning on Senator Kilonzo or whether they merely wished to rule it out.
Police have questioned four employees at the Maanzoni ranch. A source close to the investigation said those interviewed are the farm manager, a cook, a supervisor and the housekeeper. More employees are lined up for police interviews with the aim of testing consistency in their accounts on what happened on the material day.
The investigation is headed by deputy head of the Serious Crimes Unit at the directorate of criminal investigations headquarters in Nairobi. The police would also want to establish if there were any persons who visited the farm on Saturday when the Senator was found dead.
Muthama: Mutula feared for his
life
Published on Apr 30, 2013
http://www.ntv.co.ke
In the senate on Tuesday, Johnstone Muthama sensationally claimed that the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kalonzo had expressed fears about his safety. Muthama said the late Mutula had warned that his life and that of the former Prime Minister alongside his very own were in danger. He spoke as MPs asked the government to ensure it unravels the mystery surrounding Mutula's sudden death. Brenda Wanga has the update from the two houses.
In the senate on Tuesday, Johnstone Muthama sensationally claimed that the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kalonzo had expressed fears about his safety. Muthama said the late Mutula had warned that his life and that of the former Prime Minister alongside his very own were in danger. He spoke as MPs asked the government to ensure it unravels the mystery surrounding Mutula's sudden death. Brenda Wanga has the update from the two houses.
By ANGIRA ZADOCK zangira@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Wednesday, May 1 2013 at 23:30
Posted Wednesday, May 1 2013 at 23:30
MIKE SONKO in deep TROUBLE - He cannot access UHURU at State House after stealing 500 MILLION
The Kenyan DAILY
POSTPolitics05:12
Saturday April 27, 2013 - Word has it that
Nairobi Senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko is now using all means available to access
President Uhuru Kenyatta after his earlier efforts of meeting the President hit
a dead end.
According to some sources, Sonko has resorted to bribing some security
officials attached to the Presidential Escort as a way of getting access to
State House.
The flamboyant MP, who was a key pillar in the Jubilee Alliance
campaigns, has found himself on the rough side since the day President Uhuru was
sworn in as President.
He has been thrown out of Uhuru’s entourage and it has been
made clear that he is not wanted near State House after he failed to account for
the huge sums of money he was given during the campaigns.
Rumor has it that Sonko was given more than Sh 500 million by
Uhuru, but he is unable to account on how he spent the money during the Jubilee
campaigns.Big Kenya names hire and plot for power
By BERNARD NAMUNANE
bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com ( email
the author)
Posted Tuesday, December 27 2011 at 22:30
Posted Tuesday, December 27 2011 at 22:30
Mutula autopsy report to be out in 10 weeks
Updated Tuesday, April 30th 2013 a 00:00 GMT +3
By Standard Digital Reporter
Kenyans will have to wait longer for the autopsy report on the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo.
Pathologists conducting the postmortem
said that the report will be out in 8 to 10 weeks.
They added that further tests on samples will be carried out.
The autopsy carried out by seven pathologists took over five hours.
The exercise was conducted on Tuesday at the Lee Funeral home after the arrival of family’s pathologist from the United Kingdom.
The family on Monday requested for the postmortem to be pushed to Tuesday to allow the pathologist to take part in the exercise.
The Criminal Investigations Department has launched investigations into Mutula’s death with Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko appointing a team of prosecutors to assist the police in the probe.
Kenyans will have to wait longer for the autopsy report on the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo.
They added that further tests on samples will be carried out.
The autopsy carried out by seven pathologists took over five hours.
The exercise was conducted on Tuesday at the Lee Funeral home after the arrival of family’s pathologist from the United Kingdom.
The family on Monday requested for the postmortem to be pushed to Tuesday to allow the pathologist to take part in the exercise.
The Criminal Investigations Department has launched investigations into Mutula’s death with Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko appointing a team of prosecutors to assist the police in the probe.
Mutula's death: Police investigating poison theory
Published on Apr 29, 2013
http://www.ntv.co.ke
Even as the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo's family await the arrival of the foreign pathologist to try to get to the bottom of Mutula's death, doctors will be also be looking into the possibility that he may have been poisoned. At the same time though, experts are of the view that the preliminary evidence pointing to this theory may be misleading. NTV's Sheila Sendeyo with that report.
Even as the late Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo's family await the arrival of the foreign pathologist to try to get to the bottom of Mutula's death, doctors will be also be looking into the possibility that he may have been poisoned. At the same time though, experts are of the view that the preliminary evidence pointing to this theory may be misleading. NTV's Sheila Sendeyo with that report.
Mutula death Probe
Published on Apr 29, 2013
Mutula death Probe
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Senator’s death probe to focus on food samples
The late Senator Mutula Kilonzo. Photo/ FILE
By ANGIRA ZADOCK zangira@ke.nationmedia.com AND BENJAMIN MUINDI bmuindi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Sunday, April 28 2013 at 23:30
Posted Sunday, April 28 2013 at 23:30
In Summary
- Samples taken from Mutula’s body and death scene will be analysed for toxins, but pathologist cautions that circumstantial evidence of poisoning may be misleading
- CID team sent to leader’s home as pathologists prepare for autopsy on Monday
Investigations into the death of Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo will focus on food samples and other exhibits collected from his home, government pathologist Johansen Oduor said on Sunday.
And CID Director Ndegwa Muhoro said a team of senior police officers led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police had been formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Kilonzo’s death on Saturday morning.
Family spokesperson Chris Musau on Sunday said burial arrangements would start immediately after the postmortem examination. Mr Musau is a brother-in-law of Mr Kilonzo’s.
A committee to determine the date and place of burial was set up on Sunday after consultations between family and friends.
Briefing the Press shortly after the meeting in Mr Kilonzo’s Gigiri home, Mr Musau said other committees including one for Senators and MPs would be set up in the course of the week.
He said the body was moved to the Lee Funeral Home at 9pm on Saturday after pathologists and detectives carried out preliminary investigations in Kwa Kyelu ranch where Mr Kilonzo died.
And Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama said: “Because he was not only a member of Parliament but also a senator, committees will be set up at different levels to honour Mr Kilonzo.”
Dr Oduor, who led other pathologists in performing a preliminary examination on the body and scene before removing it to the mortuary, said detectives had forwarded to the Government Chemist samples, which include vomit collected from a sink in Mr Kilonzo’s home. They also took away food in the room where the body was found and two soft drinks.
Tests are expected to shed light on whether the drinks had been tampered with.
On Saturday evening, detectives collected samples from Mr Kilonzo’s bedroom, as well as a pair of trousers and the shirt that he had been wearing earlier in the day.
Dr Oduor said several pathologists would be involved in the autopsy to be conducted this afternoon at the Lee Funeral Home. A series of tests will be performed since circumstantial evidence of poisoning may be misleading.
Mr Muhoro said Machakos CID chief Kavete Kuloba would join the team from the CID headquarters that is leading the investigations.
“All the persons he interacted with including his bodyguard will record statements to shed more light on this case,” he said.
However, should the autopsy fail to disclose the cause of death then the pathologists will have to wait for the report from the Government Chemist, and this may take time. Dr Oduor said urine would be useful in establishing whether there was poison.
“He had already developed rigor mortis but the whole body was normal. There was no evidence of struggle in the room,” Dr Odour said.
Mr Kilonzo’s body was found lying face up with a lot of foam covering his mouth and nose.
There was vomit at the sink and on the floor, suggesting that he vomited before reaching the sink about 10 metres away.
Presidential contender James ole Kiyiapi was among the leaders and government officials who visited the family on Sunday.
CORD Steps Up Musyoka Comeback Plan
Published on Apr 24, 2013
Efforts to get former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka into Parliament have gone a notch higher with deliberations and consultations now geared towards getting Kibwezi West MP Dr. Patrick Musimba to step down for him. And just to be sure, those keen to have Musyoka as the next Kibwezi MP have since approached former area MP Kalembe Ndile who lost narrowly to Musimba seeking to persuade him not to contest should there be a by election.
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The same useless opposition complaining of Ngilu/Balala comeback?
Jubilee should have a very strong candidate wherever Kalonzo decides to vie
yu can't trust a kalembe wit a secret...lmfao!!!!!
desperados
Mutula Opposed To MPs Stepping Aside For Kalonzo
Published on Apr 18, 2013
Nominated Makueni senator Mutula Kilonzo is opposed to the option of having nominated MPs in the national assembly step aside to give way to the former VP Kalonzo Musyoka return to the house. Speaking exclusively to K24, Mutula said the move would be against article 97 of the constitution.
--- On Tue, 4/30/13, Paul Nyandoto
From: Paul Nyandoto
Subject: KENYA IS A BANANA REPUBLIC/ will fall very soon
To: "wanakenya"
Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 11:43 AM
Kenyans do not Trust IEBC after 2013 election.
kenyans did no trust the election commission in 2007/2008 and they took the laws into their own hands, by killing each other.
Kenyans did not trust each other so Koffi Anna had to sit down with Kibaki & amp; Raila to make an agreement in 2008.
Kenyans did not trust the Supreme Court after Raila´s petition rulings.
Kenyans did not trust government pathologists after Ouko´s death. The pathologist said that Ouko cut his hands, burnt himself and died on his own. what apathetic pathologist: I still do not understand why WHO has not burnt such medical idiots out of this globe.
Kenyans do not trust their own doctors if one of their own dies under the doctor´s care.
Uhuru the president of kenya do not trust kenyan lawyers so he employed Uk lawyers to represent him in the Hague, ICC.
Kibaki never trusted Kenyan technology so he invited Chinese to build thika highways even with their own tractors and a lot of ordinary workers from china.
Kenyans do not trust their MPS demand on salary.
Kenyans plus governors do not trust that Uhuru & Ruto will implement the new constitution as it was passed.
kenyans do not trust even the road transportation system since a lot die from road accidents every month. Road has become another death bed for healthy kenyans seconded by hospital beds for sick people..
Saitoti and Ojodeh`s family members plus lawyers do not trust the government pathologist plus laboratory, since they did a very poor job.
Kilonzo family does not trust the Kenyan doctors or so called government pathologist to handled the autopsy on Kilonzo senior´s body. So they invited the Uk pathologist. BUT whose laboratory will they use?. I hope the UK pathologist will take the samples himself to UK for analysis before they are contaminated or exchanged. GITHONGO PUTS IT LIKE THIS `` EVERYONE HAS HIS
PRICE` EVEN CJ MUTUNGA CAN BE BOUGHT``. By the way CJ´s deputy was pathetic, so who can trust Mutunga today he is just a normal black human being.
SO where will you go to seek justice if you are a poor kenyan, but with problems to solve through the justice system??.
CONCLUSION:
KENYA IS A BANANA REPUBLIC JUST WAITING TO FALL AFTER ICC ANNOUNCES THEIR VERDICT:
Paul
--- On Tue, 4/30/13, Jectone Ndunya
From: Jectone Ndunya
Subject: Re: [KOL] UPDATE Re: KILONZO...ON PEV
To: kenyaonline@yahoogroups.com
Cc: "wanakenya"
Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 11:14 AM
| I belive the Late Hon Mutula's Journey to his Ranch can be traced using mobile phone technology. Here we need the family to seek print out of his communication using his mobile phone seven days to his death including the day he arrived home. Using the phone calls, they may be able to draw a sketch en rout to his ranch. The sketch would show where he was at every time he received or made call/s, how long he was stationed and where he was stationed all the way to his ranch. In case of inhalation of poisonous gas etc, alot of search on his house would be good. Areas like windows, window breathers, could be dusted for any evidence likely to lead the family to the cause of his death. They should also carry tests on the bathroom outlet pipes leading to the septic tanks just to be sure. One major question though one would be asking is, What does he do routinely while going to bed such as does he lock the door to his bed room? if so, how was his door at the time they discovered he was dead? Some one to sleep that long before an alarm is raised is not adding up, as i expect Hon Mutula to be among the early risers going by his work filled hands, so why did it take them so long to check his room? Some one posted a number of food items found on his small table in the bedroom i believe, and going by the mixture....Githeri, nyama choma, a fruit packet etc... that mix doesn't add up, to me! I believe his car could be having a tracking device,,, the family may want to know, from the tracking company, his movement on that particular day! |
--- On Tue, 4/30/13, Paul Nyandoto
From: Paul Nyandoto
Subject: Fwd: Fw: [uchunguzionline] Fw: [PK] MUTULA KILONZO' s food samples
To: "wanakenya"
Date: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 10:40 AM
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Nyandoto<oderogarma@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 3:08 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: [uchunguzionline] Fw: [PK] MUTULA KILONZO' s food samples
To: kevin odhiambo <kelvinopande@yahoo.com>
Odhiambo thura
you are asking odd questions:
Let me go back with you to normal biology: VENOM is made up of proteins and polypeptides. We know that in the human digestive system proteins aand polypetides are digested very perfectly. But you must remember that a venom is also cardiotoxin( affect heart muscules), cytotoxic( works like chemotherapy= kill cells), neurotoxin ( affect nerves). Venoms also affect blood coagulation( clotting system), they affect pressure regulations, affect transmission in nerves system and muscules. May be the digestive system can digest some of those poison BUT I will not advice you to swallow any venom without having antivenom around to rescue you. Because if in any case it enters your blood stream without being properly disgested then you will be history. Again we know from our hospital laboratory data that if we give rats a lot of snake venom they die, but not as quick as if given straight into blood stream. It also depends on whose venom you are talking about. There are some snakes which are 100% toxic to human nervous system. Your doctor today talked in the Daily nation first page. Stressing the heart problem as the most common causes of quick deaths. But kilonzo had no history of heart problems. We also know that Venom from african snakes can cause some symptoms which can very much easily mimic heart problems before death. Venoms are CARDIOTOXIC. What the doctor failed to say is that how many people do die quick deaths in kenya due to heart problem, but had no heart disease history and at which age. I think his note to people was trying to tell us that may be Kilonzo died because of heart problem, and he was backing his reason on foams found on his mouth. I did not see his body. But the daily nation journalist described kilonzo that he was found lying on his back had breathing problems and mouth full of foam. Not really a real posture of an acute heart attack problem. Most of of people having sudden heart attack always put their right hand on the chest and they try to bend even in bed or when walking like a bow . You remember bow and arrow. simple ordinary medical local teaching goes like this. The arrow represents the pain in the heart and the bow will show you how the patient looks like. Just like an arrow penetrating the heart like the broken heart( broken love). Kilonzo´s posture before death shows a man who was completely paralysed and could not move, could not get a survival posture. Humans are made to fight upto the end, but it looks he had no option. Poisoning or snake bite or scorpion bite etc should not be ruled out. It looks that death occured when he was sleeping. I still doubt that kenyan doctors mentality. Not all are being said about Kilonzo. No individual without heart problems dies in his sleep like Kilonzo did.
I think Kilonzo´s body needs a good pathologist to do the work and a very good well trusted laborotory which is completely independent from the government. If samples, like urine, blood, food, heart tissues are sent outside Kenya they will have very good independent report report.
Paul
Paul
On Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 10:17 AM, kevin odhiambo <kelvinopande@yahoo.com> wrote:
Guys
I watched in National geographics, a program, that said venoms are actually harmless when swallowed. The danger comes in when it is injected into the blood. Could this be true daktari?
Tong' Maliel
Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android
From: Paul Nyandoto <oderogarma@gmail.com>;
To: <wanakenya@googlegroups.com>;
Subject: Re: Fw: [uchunguzionline] Fw: [PK] MUTULA KILONZO' s food samples
Sent: Tue, Apr 30, 2013 5:06:14 AM
To: <wanakenya@googlegroups.com>;
Subject: Re: Fw: [uchunguzionline] Fw: [PK] MUTULA KILONZO' s food samples
Sent: Tue, Apr 30, 2013 5:06:14 AM
| THERE ARE VENOMS IN LABORATORIES TOO.
On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 9:30 PM, mohamed warsama <mhmdwarsama@yahoo.com> wrote:
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: mohamed warsama <mhmdwarsama@yahoo.com> To: uchunguzi online <uchunguzionline@yahoogroups.com>; "changemombasa2012@yahoogroups.com" <changemombasa2012@yahoogroups.com>; "yanarewa@yahoogroups.com" <yanarewa@yahoogroups.com>; "dandalinsiyasa@yahoogroups.com" <dandalinsiyasa@yahoogroups.com>; "talkhard@yahoogroups.com" <talkhard@yahoogroups.com>; "NigerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com" <NigerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>; naijaobserver <naijaobserver@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 9:24 PM Subject: [uchunguzionline] Fw: [PK] MUTULA KILONZO' s food samples
MARK: People should not be locked up unless there is strong suspicion to justify it, and that can only be after the post-mortem is done, not before. Imagine if you were in their place, should you be locked up without the post-mortem being known ? You are still in the old Kenya, not the new Kenya we are seeking.
So far these are the facts:
1. Mutula arrived at Maanzoni at 3pm Friday, looking in good health. He greeted the workers and gave instructions on what needsto be done on the flower beds.
2. He then went into the house at 6pm and was served his usual githeri dinner, but asked for nyama choma (roasted meat) at 7pm.
3. He retires to bed.
4. He fails to wake up for breakfast between 930am-1030am when the househelp checks and finds him prone in bed with foaming mouth,and vomit in the bathroom.
5. It is confirmed by brother-in-law and doctor that he is dead.
So on the basis of the above information, he arrived at the farm in good health, or so we think. We do not know and may never know who he met or where he stopped on his way from Nairobi to the farm.
Did he have something with somebody in Nairobi who might have spiked his food or soft drink ? We are told he never ate lunch by force of habit. He also did not booze.
If he did meet with somebody en route from Nrb and had something together, then that person might be suspect number 1. He might have given him a long-delayed reaction poison.
6. At the house, it is significant that he stopped at the flower beds. Flower beds specially in a forested area like the farm harbour snakes. By coincidence, the day he died, we had news report that a hockey team captain in Australia died hours later from a snake bite. The area was infested by a type of poisonous snake called Western brown snake whose bite is painless. The hockey captain felt nothing when the snake which he had picked up from the hockey field to remove it bit him onhis finger. After removing the snake, he went jogging and that was a terrible mistake on his part because the venom spread quickly in his body. What type of snakes are in the Maanzoni bushes ?
7. Going into the house, he was brought his usual githeri. But on this evening, he asked for nyama choma (roasted meat). What type of meat was it ? Was it also healthy or diseased ? Was the githeri maize and beans safe (non-toxic) ? We have had frequent reports that maize grown in Ukambani area is contaminated with aflatoxin.
If the above foods were not naturally poisoned, we come to the final one:
8. Was poison injected into the foods by his cook or maid ?
All this can best be answered when the post-mortem is done and cause of death is established. It can be either accidental food poisoning (contaminated maize or meat) or deliberate poisoning.
Until then, do not point any accusing finger.
Mohamed Warsama
|
Kalonzo Courts Kalembe
Published on Apr 29, 2013
http://www.ntv.co.ke
Daniel Owira stood in front of the President, giving a memorable performance, an experience he says he could never have dreamed of. This experience is in total contrast to his reality, one of a single-roomed shack in one of the city's slums with a torturous time every start of term to get school fees. And as the re-opening date for second term neared, Daniel was a worried boy, but today, he needs not worry. His plea for an education fell on the right ears and his dreams to be a lawyer are no longer just that... they might actually come to fruition.
Daniel Owira stood in front of the President, giving a memorable performance, an experience he says he could never have dreamed of. This experience is in total contrast to his reality, one of a single-roomed shack in one of the city's slums with a torturous time every start of term to get school fees. And as the re-opening date for second term neared, Daniel was a worried boy, but today, he needs not worry. His plea for an education fell on the right ears and his dreams to be a lawyer are no longer just that... they might actually come to fruition.
CORD Steps Up Musyoka Comeback Plan
Published on Apr 24, 2013
Efforts to get former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka into Parliament have gone a notch higher with deliberations and consultations now geared towards getting Kibwezi West MP Dr. Patrick Musimba to step down for him. And just to be sure, those keen to have Musyoka as the next Kibwezi MP have since approached former area MP Kalembe Ndile who lost narrowly to Musimba seeking to persuade him not to contest should there be a by election.
KALONZO'S COMEBACK
Published on Apr 22, 2013
Strategists and insiders within the coalition for reforms and democracy cord, have cited their push for either Raila or Kalonzo's comeback to active elective politics at a move aimed at ensuring that their coalition remains relevant with consolidate leadership in both the senate and national assembly. The fate of the two cord leaders has attracted grave speculation and according to Machakos Senator Johnston Muthama, the leadership at cord will stop at nothing to see either of their principals or one of them is back to parliament.
Mutula Opposed To MPs Stepping Aside For Kalonzo
Published on Apr 18, 2013
Nominated Makueni senator Mutula Kilonzo is opposed to the option of having nominated MPs in the national assembly step aside to give way to the former VP Kalonzo Musyoka return to the house. Speaking exclusively to K24, Mutula said the move would be against article 97 of the constitution.
Raila lobbyists oppose Kalonzo endorsement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPxhDZ48BWw
Published on Apr 17, 2013
http://www.ntv.co.ke
Two lobby groups that supported Raila Odinga during the campaigns now want him to lead the opposition in parliament. The groups have differed with the CORD resolution in Naivasha that handed that mandate to Kalonzo Musyoka and as Enock Sikolia reports plans to create room for Kalonzo in parliament are not working out as earlier envisaged.
Two lobby groups that supported Raila Odinga during the campaigns now want him to lead the opposition in parliament. The groups have differed with the CORD resolution in Naivasha that handed that mandate to Kalonzo Musyoka and as Enock Sikolia reports plans to create room for Kalonzo in parliament are not working out as earlier envisaged.
Why can't people simply obey the constitution. If you don't win don't go to parliament through back doors. By the way you can play other important roles in this country outside parliament like many other Kenyans.
This thing will turn nasty. Those elected and nominated MPs being bullied to step down better watch out, I fear for them cos if they do refuse to do as they are told, accidents or assasinations as they say do happen.
These people don't get it. In the new Constitution there is a separation between the Executive and the Legislature. Did you see Romney trying to get a nomination to Congress after loosing the presidency? Someone tell Kalonzo you don't have to be in Parliament to make a presidential run in 2018.
Kalonzo's return to Parliament hits a snag
Published on Apr 16, 2013
http://www.ntv.co.ke
The Cord coalition's plan to have former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka return to parliament appears to have hit a snag. While it has been reported that several MPs are ready to give up their seats for the former VP, those being mentioned are denying such reports. NTV's Enock Sikolia reports.
The Cord coalition's plan to have former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka return to parliament appears to have hit a snag. While it has been reported that several MPs are ready to give up their seats for the former VP, those being mentioned are denying such reports. NTV's Enock Sikolia reports.
Kalonzo to go back to parliament
Kalonzo to go back to parliament
Published on Apr 15, 2013
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Kalonzo to go back to parliament
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Kalonzo to go back to parliament
Mutula Kilonzo Threatened By Househelp
Published on Jul 11, 2012
http://www.ktnkenya.tv
A Nairobi househelp has confessed in court that she sent education minister Mutula Kilonzo a message threatening to kill him. Irene Nduku who appeared before the Milimani courts said she was instructed by her boss to send the threatening message. Nduku also claims that her boss has links with the outlawed Al Shabaab group and was also connected to the Assanands explosion in town that claimed one life. KTN's Asha Mwilu reports...
A Nairobi househelp has confessed in court that she sent education minister Mutula Kilonzo a message threatening to kill him. Irene Nduku who appeared before the Milimani courts said she was instructed by her boss to send the threatening message. Nduku also claims that her boss has links with the outlawed Al Shabaab group and was also connected to the Assanands explosion in town that claimed one life. KTN's Asha Mwilu reports...
Mutula on ICC Suspects
Uploaded on Jan 31, 2012
And even as the wiper Democratic Party ponders over what to do with its defiant secretary general Mutula Kilonzo over his recent utterances, the man at the centre of the heated debate appears unfazed. Mutula, who is also the justice and constitutional affairs minister has dared the party to kick him out, telling Citizen TV's power breakfast show that he has been approached by over 20 parties following the planned censure move. Mutula has insisted that it would be wrong if Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North mp William Ruto were allowed to vie for the presidency while crimes against humanity charges at the ICC hang over their heads. Abdi Osman has that report.
Mutula's Stand: Uhuru, Muthaura must go
Uploaded on Jan 25, 2012
http://www.ntv.co.ke
The posts of the head of the civil service and finance minister are still occupied by Francis Muthaura and Uhuru Kenyatta despite the confirmation of charges of crimes against humanity against them, and it would appear that there is yet another clash of legal opinions in government. Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, it would seem, is the lone ranger fronting views contrary to those held by attorney general Githu Muigai. In his first TV interview since the ruling, NTV's John-Allan Namu began by asking him whether Muthaura and Uhuru should still be in office.
The posts of the head of the civil service and finance minister are still occupied by Francis Muthaura and Uhuru Kenyatta despite the confirmation of charges of crimes against humanity against them, and it would appear that there is yet another clash of legal opinions in government. Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo, it would seem, is the lone ranger fronting views contrary to those held by attorney general Githu Muigai. In his first TV interview since the ruling, NTV's John-Allan Namu began by asking him whether Muthaura and Uhuru should still be in office.
Mutula:No apologies over ICC pair
Uploaded on Feb 6, 2012
http://www.ntv.co.ke
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo is making no apologies over his stand that ICC suspects do not qualify to vie for elective positions in the next general election. Mutula says a bill to operationalise chapter six of the constitution which deals with integrity will soon be presented to parliament and as NTV's Nimrod Taabu reports, Mutula says those championing a hate campaign against him are not being honest.
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo is making no apologies over his stand that ICC suspects do not qualify to vie for elective positions in the next general election. Mutula says a bill to operationalise chapter six of the constitution which deals with integrity will soon be presented to parliament and as NTV's Nimrod Taabu reports, Mutula says those championing a hate campaign against him are not being honest.
Kilonzo Dismisses Musyoka's Diplomacy
Uploaded on Jan 25, 2011
Justice and constitutional affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo has described vice president Kalonzo Musyoka's shuttle-diplomacy seeking the deferral of Kenya's post election violence cases from the international criminal court to a local judicial mechanism as a political gimmick, with no legal basis, and one doomed to fail. Kilonzo maintained that at no point did the cabinet mandate Kalonzo to embark on a series of meetings with African heads of state to seek support for deferral of the cases, asserting that the vice president who is his party boss in ODM- Kenya was engaged in a futile exercise. In what is yet another sign of rifts within the coalition government, Mutula told Kalonzo to focus his energies on judicial reforms and the establishment of a credible local judicial mechanism to convince the ICC that Kenya is capable of handling the post election violence cases. Francis Gachuri with that headline story.
Mutula death: Hunt for clues intensifiesUpdated Tuesday, April 30th 2013 a 00:00 GMT +3
Mutula death: Hunt for clues intensifiesUpdated Tuesday, April 30th 2013 a 00:00 GMT +3
By Standard Team
Nairobi,kenya:The family of the late Senator Mutula Kilonzo, the Director of Public Prosecutions and police investigators are keen to establish if there was foul play in the circumstances leading to his death over the weekend.
The family has invited a foreign expert to come and take part in the postmortem examination on Mutula’s body and organs. To allow for the foreign pathologist to take part in the exercise, the family asked that the autopsy that was to take place yesterday be moved to today.
Sources within Mutula’s circle of family friends also revealed the family of the late Justice and Education minister was discussing the possibility of flying in foreign investigators to help unravel what could have killed him as he slept alone in Maanzoni Ranch, Machakos County.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Keriako Tobiko, picked a team of prosecutors to help police with investigations.
Mr Tobiko named a team of prosecutors to assist and guide the police investigating the death of the late Mutula.
The team of prosecutors will be headed by Senior Assistant DPP, Ms Grace Murungi, while the deputy head of investigations at Criminal Investigations Department, Mr Pius Macharia, would lead police. “I do direct that upon completion of these investigations, do kindly cause the resultant inquiry file to be submitted to this office for perusal and appropriate direction,” said Tobiko in a letter to Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo.
The investigating teams will take up from where the local probe teams had left, including analysing food samples collected from Mutula’s home, where he had his last meal of nyama choma and githeri (mixture of beans and maize).
The South African-based British Pathologist the family hired is set to join Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor and other local pathologists in conducting the exercise at the Lee Funeral Home.
Sources close to Mutula’s family told The Standard Mutula had expressed fears for life before and including the day he died over reasons yet to be unravelled, most likely early Saturday morning.
“We have information that the Mutula Kilonzo had told a couple of people of the threat to his life and that happened including even the day he died,” added the source on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter and ongoing investigations.
Funeral committees
At the same time the sources also disclosed apart from the foam found on Mutula’s mouth when his body was discovered, he is also said to have vomited blood. “There were traces of blood from what he had vomited on the sink,” added the sources.
Sources further told The Standard that family members and relatives were equally toying with the idea of hiring of foreign homicide investigators to conduct independent investigations.
If that happens then the investigations will take the direction of the former UK’s Scotland Yard’s investigator John Troon who was brought over to probe the murder former Foreign Affairs minister Dr Robert Ouko.
Mutula’s family assisted by funeral committees decided that the burial date is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 9, at his Kwa Kyelu Ranch, in Maanzoni. The committee also left the preceding Tuesday and Wednesday open just in case a decision was taken to shift the burial to either of these two days.
Family spokesman and brother-in-law Chris Musau said Mutula confirmed the burial date after a family meeting at the late Senator’s ranch. “The family has decided Mutula’s remains will be buried at his farm and not his Mbooni rural home,” he told The Standard on telephone.
The ranch where he died was a place he so loved and where he spent most of his weekends whenever he was in town. It is an expansive 1,500-acre ranch where he kept lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, ostriches as well as livestock.
Mutula occasionally would joke with this Standard journalist of how he found peace after a grueling week in public service within the serene atmosphere of this ranch. “I am always woken up by Mutula and Nduku (in reference to the lion and lioness which he had nicknamed after himself and his wife) with their loud voices.”
Musau said burial arrangement meetings would be held at Milimani African Inland Church in Nairobi from today.
But questions continued to pile as to why the Mutula failed to call for help when he began feeling unwell yet he had his cellphone, which was active long after he had passed on.
Questions are also being raised as to where the food he ate had come from as well as where it was prepared.
There are also questions being raised as to whom he met in his final moments as well as on the fateful day he died and who had interacted with him either by phone or physically for the last two days before tragedy struck.
Investigators have the Herculean task of piecing together details that could counter rising speculation his death might not have been caused by natural causes.
Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, who is chairing the burial committee, said the foreign pathologist is expected in the country this morning.
Demand answers
He did not give the specific details of the foreign pathologist, but indicated that he had been contacted with the approval of Mutula’s family.
Muthama revealed that the post-mortem examination, which was scheduled to be conducted yesterday afternoon, was pushed to today to allow the foreign expert to take part. “Not that there are any difficulties but because it was the wishes of the family to have an independent pathologist to conduct the post-mortem examination alongside other doctors. We are expecting the pathologist from UK to arrive tomorrow (today) at 6am, before the post-mortem is conducted in the afternoon,” said Muthama. The British pathologist is base in South Africa.
Addressing the press at Senate Press Centre, the Machakos Senator, said it was the feeling of both the family and other leaders that thorough investigation be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.
“We are not dealing with any other Kenyan here; we are dealing with a top politician in this country and a renowned leader. We must be in a position to tell Kenyans the clear cause of his death,” he said.
The planners
Muthama said the decision to involve a foreign expert in the autopsy should not be misconstrued as having any suspicions on the cause of death, but only the desires to get the best explanation to give Kenyans on the death of the former Senator.
“We just want to be thorough because Kenyans will demand answers on the death of a person who was in such good health and who could even drive himself and inspect his ranch. His death cannot just be wished away,” added Muthama. He said the foreign expert could not have made it to the country earlier since he had only been contacted on Sunday.
On the burial arrangements, Muthama said it was the feeling of those planning the funeral that they give enough time for the many people who would wish to attend to prepare themselves.
“For a person of Mutula’s status, we felt there is need to create enough time for as many people to make arrangements to attend the burial. We have not agreed on the specific day but we are considering either next Wednesday or Thursday,” he said.
Investigations intensify as Mutula family hire foreigner
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Updated 2 hrs 29 mins ago
By Standard Team
Nairobi,kenya:The family of the late Senator Mutula Kilonzo, the Director of Public Prosecutions and police investigators are keen to establish if there was foul play in the circumstances leading to his death over the weekend.
The family has invited a foreign expert to come and take part in the postmortem examination on Mutula’s body and organs. To allow for the foreign pathologist to take part in the exercise, the family asked that the autopsy that was to take place yesterday be moved to today.
Sources within Mutula’s circle of family friends also revealed the family of the late Justice and Education minister was discussing the possibility of flying in foreign investigators to help unravel what could have killed him as he slept alone in Maanzoni Ranch, Machakos County.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Keriako Tobiko, picked a team of prosecutors to help police with investigations.
Mr Tobiko named a team of prosecutors to assist and guide the police investigating the death of the late Mutula.
The team of prosecutors will be headed by Senior Assistant DPP, Ms Grace Murungi, while the deputy head of investigations at Criminal Investigations Department, Mr Pius Macharia, would lead police. “I do direct that upon completion of these investigations, do kindly cause the resultant inquiry file to be submitted to this office for perusal and appropriate direction,” said Tobiko in a letter to Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo.
The investigating teams will take up from where the local probe teams had left, including analysing food samples collected from Mutula’s home, where he had his last meal of nyama choma and githeri (mixture of beans and maize).
The South African-based British Pathologist the family hired is set to join Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor and other local pathologists in conducting the exercise at the Lee Funeral Home.
Sources close to Mutula’s family told The Standard Mutula had expressed fears for life before and including the day he died over reasons yet to be unravelled, most likely early Saturday morning.
“We have information that the Mutula Kilonzo had told a couple of people of the threat to his life and that happened including even the day he died,” added the source on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter and ongoing investigations.
Funeral committees
At the same time the sources also disclosed apart from the foam found on Mutula’s mouth when his body was discovered, he is also said to have vomited blood. “There were traces of blood from what he had vomited on the sink,” added the sources.
Sources further told The Standard that family members and relatives were equally toying with the idea of hiring of foreign homicide investigators to conduct independent investigations.
If that happens then the investigations will take the direction of the former UK’s Scotland Yard’s investigator John Troon who was brought over to probe the murder former Foreign Affairs minister Dr Robert Ouko.
Mutula’s family assisted by funeral committees decided that the burial date is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 9, at his Kwa Kyelu Ranch, in Maanzoni. The committee also left the preceding Tuesday and Wednesday open just in case a decision was taken to shift the burial to either of these two days.
Family spokesman and brother-in-law Chris Musau said Mutula confirmed the burial date after a family meeting at the late Senator’s ranch. “The family has decided Mutula’s remains will be buried at his farm and not his Mbooni rural home,” he told The Standard on telephone.
The ranch where he died was a place he so loved and where he spent most of his weekends whenever he was in town. It is an expansive 1,500-acre ranch where he kept lions, cheetahs, buffaloes, ostriches as well as livestock.
Mutula occasionally would joke with this Standard journalist of how he found peace after a grueling week in public service within the serene atmosphere of this ranch. “I am always woken up by Mutula and Nduku (in reference to the lion and lioness which he had nicknamed after himself and his wife) with their loud voices.”
Musau said burial arrangement meetings would be held at Milimani African Inland Church in Nairobi from today.
But questions continued to pile as to why the Mutula failed to call for help when he began feeling unwell yet he had his cellphone, which was active long after he had passed on.
Questions are also being raised as to where the food he ate had come from as well as where it was prepared.
There are also questions being raised as to whom he met in his final moments as well as on the fateful day he died and who had interacted with him either by phone or physically for the last two days before tragedy struck.
Investigators have the Herculean task of piecing together details that could counter rising speculation his death might not have been caused by natural causes.
Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama, who is chairing the burial committee, said the foreign pathologist is expected in the country this morning.
Demand answers
He did not give the specific details of the foreign pathologist, but indicated that he had been contacted with the approval of Mutula’s family.
Muthama revealed that the post-mortem examination, which was scheduled to be conducted yesterday afternoon, was pushed to today to allow the foreign expert to take part. “Not that there are any difficulties but because it was the wishes of the family to have an independent pathologist to conduct the post-mortem examination alongside other doctors. We are expecting the pathologist from UK to arrive tomorrow (today) at 6am, before the post-mortem is conducted in the afternoon,” said Muthama. The British pathologist is base in South Africa.
Addressing the press at Senate Press Centre, the Machakos Senator, said it was the feeling of both the family and other leaders that thorough investigation be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.
“We are not dealing with any other Kenyan here; we are dealing with a top politician in this country and a renowned leader. We must be in a position to tell Kenyans the clear cause of his death,” he said.
The planners
Muthama said the decision to involve a foreign expert in the autopsy should not be misconstrued as having any suspicions on the cause of death, but only the desires to get the best explanation to give Kenyans on the death of the former Senator.
“We just want to be thorough because Kenyans will demand answers on the death of a person who was in such good health and who could even drive himself and inspect his ranch. His death cannot just be wished away,” added Muthama. He said the foreign expert could not have made it to the country earlier since he had only been contacted on Sunday.
On the burial arrangements, Muthama said it was the feeling of those planning the funeral that they give enough time for the many people who would wish to attend to prepare themselves.
“For a person of Mutula’s status, we felt there is need to create enough time for as many people to make arrangements to attend the burial. We have not agreed on the specific day but we are considering either next Wednesday or Thursday,” he said.
The powermen behind Raila Odinga unveiled
GLANCE FACTS
Political career
•Raila Odinga has been a central player in Kenya’s politics for over three decades now and during this period he has built, discarded, re-built or freshened up his kitchen cabinet many times over
Updated Sunday, March 31 2013 at 00:15 GMT+3
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By Mwenda Njoka
The term ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ was coined some 200 years ago by opponents of US President Andrew Jackson to describe an informal coterie of trusted friends, associates and advisers on whom the leader relied upon to govern.
Members of kitchen cabinets enjoy inordinate access to the leader and are often in a position to influence – formally and informally – the leader’s thinking, policies and decisions on critical issues of the moment.
Raila Odinga has been a central player in Kenya’s politics for over three decades now and during this period he has built, discarded, re-built or freshened up his kitchen cabinet many times over.
So, who are the members of Raila’s kitchen cabinet today? Who are the people he has relied upon in moments of crisis and moments of good tidings to help him think through and move forward? Here we go.
Mohamed Jaffer: Most probably few Kenyans would recognize him even if he appeared on their doorstep with a briefcase full of cash. But the 65-year old Jaffer, the proprietor of the multi-million dollar investment that is the Grain Bulk Handlers Limited is a businessman extraordinaire. He is one of the wealthiest and best-networked tycoons in Coast region and beyond.
Jaffer enjoys a close friendship with Raila Odinga, which dates several years back.
Powerbroker
Those in the know say Jaffer is perhaps the only living person, besides President Kibaki or retired President Moi, who can call the Prime Minister and request him to go to his home and the PM will invariably and obligingly honour the request. That is the ultimate definition of a powerbroker in any political lexicon.
Besides being politically suave, Jaffer draws significant influence from the fact that he has also been one of the largest – if not the largest – financial benefactor to political courses associated with the PM for years.
“Some ODM politicians often go to Jaffer to have him convince the PM on an issue they fear facing Raila directly on,” confides an insider, adding “the general public thinks Hassan Joho is the main guy at the Coast but nothing could be further from the truth.”
Caroli Omondi: He is regarded as one of the smoothest operators in the Prime Minister’s office. As the PM’s Chief of Staff, Caroli is not just the gatekeeper but also holds the keys to sources of political fundraising.
Media barred from covering principal secretaries' interviews
Published on Apr 29, 2013
http://www.ntv.co.ke
Interviews for Principal Secretary positions began Monday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The media was however not allowed to cover the proceedings with the commission insisting the presence of media and the public may hinder their efforts of getting the very best for the jobs. NTV's Enock Sikolia was at the KICC and filed the following story.
Interviews for Principal Secretary positions began Monday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. The media was however not allowed to cover the proceedings with the commission insisting the presence of media and the public may hinder their efforts of getting the very best for the jobs. NTV's Enock Sikolia was at the KICC and filed the following story.
We are slowly sliding back to the old single party ways of doing things by taking hold of the media. The two young guys have never being friendly to the media and one even publicly stated that newspaper were only good for wiping his backside. We have only ourselves to blame for creating another dictator and some seems to applaud it without thinking of the consequences. Even if you are majuu please think of your family back home while you are enjoying real freedom abroad.
hehehhehe so much changes everything remains the same...
This is crap...they will be serving the public hence public should be able to scrutinize them!
This is unconstitutional the hearings must be shown to the public
If the US can allow media in their cabinet confirmation hearings, surely we can as well...
Omondi has something of a fairly chequered history though. After graduating from the law school in 1991, Caroli worked at the State Law Office – Treaties and Agreements Department – for eight years where he established a very close relationship with the then Attorney General (now ODM senator) Amos Wako. While at the Treaties and agreements Department, Omondi, then working with Nicholas Biwott’s daughter, was trusted by Wako to craft and draft the law that created independent power producers, something that introduced Caroli to the world of big money. And from that point he never looked back.
Funding
Omondi’s initial influence around the PM emanated from the fact that he was one of the earlier ‘investors’ in Raila at a time when the PM did not have much money. Besides contributing significant amounts of money to fund Raila’s campaigns, Omondi also donated premises to house ODM and other political outfits associated with the PM. These acts of carefully planned ‘generosity’ gave Caroli inordinate hold on the political machinery around the PM.
Omondi was the man entrusted with resource mobilisation during the presidential campaign as well the man who was in charge of distributing money to party agents countrywide during the elections.
At the PM’s office, Caroli has been feared, loathed and loved by some in equal measures. Nevertheless, he appears to have grown umbilical-cord-like kind of links with the PM such that the two are almost permanently intertwined and none may survive without the other.
George Opondo: Everyone in Raila’s inner circle refers to him simply as the ‘Kulei’ of the PM – in reference to Joshua Kulei, then powerful Personal Assistant to retired President Moi during his days in power. To be mentioned in the same breath with or be compared to the former PA to retired President Moi is in itself a good pointer one’s discreet power and influence behind the scenes.
Opondo, who hails from Uyoma in Rarieda, has been with the Odinga family for many years and initially served as PA to Raila’s father.
Fiercely loyal
He is one of the very few people Raila trusts to collect, handle and disburse funds for political operations. He is fiercely loyal to Raila while at the same time studiously avoiding the limelight preferring to operate from the shadows and never speaking unless spoken to. However, the very fact that the PM trusts him with crucial matters of finances has given Opondo much clout in Raila’s inner circle and anyone who does business – political or otherwise – with the PM on a regular basis is bound to have to deal with Opondo at some point.
Eliud Owalo: He is the man Raila trusted to run his presidential campaign. Owalo, a management consultant, initially served as founder member of Friends of Raila (Fora) lobby group before he was tapped by the PM to be his Chief Campaign Manager. Not being an original member of Team Raila, Owalo had several run-ins with politicians who wanted to influence decisions to serve their own selfish ends while sacrificing the PM’s larger interests. This did not endear Owalo to a political clique from Nyanza but he soldiered on leading the campaigns, thanks thumbs up from the PM.
Owalo’s strength around the PM has often been his independence of mind and apparent lack of political ambitions, something that meant Raila could count on his (Owalo’s) dispassionate judgment on crucial issues.
Perhaps a good measure of Owalo’s credentials as a member of the trusted inner circle is the fact that Candidate Raila Odinga trusted him enough to designate him as the person to spearhead the presidential election petition. The PM later amended the petition to become the direct petitioner.
By virtue of his position as Chief Campaign Manager, Owalo has enjoyed unlimited access to the PM.
Sarah Elderkin: She is a former journalist with the defunct Weekly Review magazine. Like some other members of Raila’s inner circle, Sarah’s relationship with the Odingas dates back to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s days.
She enjoys direct access to the PM. Sarah is Raila’s personal speech writer who cheerfully adopts the role of political attack-dog penning sharp articles in the media when the PM’s integrity is question or is at stake.
As the PM’s trusted communications advisor, Sarah wields significant influence on what Raila says. She is regarded as one of the few people in the inner circle who will not shy away from telling the PM he is wrong and firmly stand her ground on a matter of principle. For this reason, Raila values her judgment. Former journalist Salim Lone also happens to be a close confidant of the PM but his influence is mainly focused on maintaining international links for the PM. Those close to the PM describe Salim Lone as someone who approaches politics “too officially” to fit in well in the murky world of politics.
James Orengo: A lawyer by training, Orengo’s relationship dates back to late 1980s when the two led the struggle for the country’s second liberation. At some point in the 90s, Orengo and Raila were political rivals competing for supremacy in Nyanza. Raila emerged tops in that contest while Orengo lost his parliamentary seat.
To make a comeback Orengo had to eat humble pie and concede that he was not Raila’s equal. Since then, the two have become something of political Siamese twins. Today Orengo is one of the PM’s most trusted political operatives.
Raila relies on him not just for legal advice but also on a wide range of political and business issues. This has made Orengo one of the most powerful players around the PM today.
Those in the know say Orengo completely eclipsed other political players previously close to the PM such as Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o and Dalmas Otieno whose influence these days is determined on an issue by issue basis or the prevailing politics of the moment.
Ida Odinga: Besides being the PM’s wife, Ida is a powerful political player in her own right. She often influences key decisions including party issues.
Grown influence
Ida is someone few politicians around Raila would dare to cross because she doesn’t take prisoners.
There are other peripheral players around the PM such as the chairman of Royal Media Services SK Macharia and Charles Njonjo whom Raila has occasionally used to try and reach out to business elites in Central Kenya.
Johnston Muthama is another player who has gained access to the inner sanctums of Raila’s power network.
Muthama’s clout grew tremendously when he delivered Kalonzo Musyoka and his Wiper Party to team up with Raila and form the CORD team.
Business tycoon Peter Muthoka of Andy Forwarders is also another player with an inside track within Raila’s circle.
His influence grew during the elections by virtue of the resources he managed to contribute towards the Raila Odinga-Kalonzo Musyoka presidential bid.
Raila, Kalonzo team’s strategy in Opposition
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Updated Sunday, April 28 2013 at 00:00 GMT+3
By Oscar Obonyo
He has said as much – not once but several times – that he is not keen on returning to Parliament, yet supporters will not tire to persuade the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy ( CORD) leader Raila Odinga to rethink his decision.
The latest pressure has come from his very own lobby groups, Friends of Raila (FORA) and Youths for Raila as well as the Luo Council of Elders from his rural backyard of Nyanza region.
Similarly, Raila’s running mate in the March polls, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, is under pressure to find entry into the National Assembly. Senator for Machakos County Johnston Muthama has volunteered to spearhead these efforts at a local level.
Nonetheless, The Standard On Sunday has established the Raila-Kalonzo supporters may well be acting like the proverbial mourners, who cry louder than the bereaved. Apparently, the two, alongside Senator for Bungoma County Moses Wetangula, decided way back on a working formula for CORD.
“After the ruling by the Supreme Court — which surprised us and which absolutely we do not agree with — we took time off to South Africa and deliberated on all possible options, and agreed to play the role of an effective Opposition,” says Wetangula.
Keeping team together
The Ford-Kenya leader divulges that it was agreed that each of the three principals plays a crucial role in holding CORD together and keeping the Uhuru Kenyatta-led Government on its toes. According to the agreement, Wetangula and Kalonzo are supposed to lead the CORD forces from Parliament — Wetangula in the Senate and Kalonzo in the National Assembly. And as the group’s captain, Raila is destined to lead from outside Parliament.
The trio’s resolve is best demonstrated by Raila’s constant reference to the Kiswahili adage, kuvunjika kwa mwiko sio mwisho wa kupika ugali (Down but not out). This allegory means, no matter the disappointments and misfortunes in life one undergoes, life has to continue.
To Raila, politics is daily food he must continue to eat. The import of this is that despite advice from some friends and foes that he takes a break from active politics, the former PM is not quitting just yet. The same is true of his partner, Kalonzo.
This agreement, struck in South Africa, informs the decision by the CORD fraternity to appoint one-time Environment minister Francis Nyenze to the position of Leader of Minority in an acting capacity.
The Standard On Sunday has, however, learnt that disquiet is setting in over Nyenze’s position, particularly the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wing, which has majority legislators within CORD. According to our source, the politicians feel Nyenze lacks political clout and is ceding too much ground already to the Jubilee rivals.
Raila to work with governors on Cord pledges
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga (Right) with Naivasha ODM chairman Peter ole Osono (center) and Joseph Nkaiseri (second left) at Naivasha's Great Rift Lodge on April 15, 2013. PHOTO / BILLY MUTAI
By ANTHONY KITIMO akitimo@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, April 25 2013 at 14:23
Posted Thursday, April 25 2013 at 14:23
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said he will work with Cord's 24 governors to implement the coalition’s manifesto.
Mr Odinga said Cord has majority governors elected during General Election and will use them fulfil promises they made during the campaigns.
Speaking at Mombasa County Hall on Thursday when he met governor Hassan Joho and ODM's 30 ward representatives, Mr Odinga said he will work with donors who are willing to fund Cord to fulfill its promises.
“We have to continue seeking more donors to help the 24 governors propel their agendas and that of Cord as they serve their people at their respective counties,” said Mr Odinga.
He added: “We shall explore all the avenues to prove to Kenyans that Cord meant to transform their lives and we shall do so through supporting counties headed by our party governors.”
Mr Odinga also urged the members of national assembly to address issues of debts inherited by County governments from previous local authorities.
He proposed the writing off of such debts to help the devolved governments run their systems effectively.
He also asked the national government to iron out issues on sharing of revenue from national parastatals such as port of Mombasa so that people in the counties can also benefit from them.
“The Transition Authority has stated clearly in its recent advertisement that harbours and ferries belong to county government. But the national government has not stated how the county will get its share,” said Mr Odinga.
During the meeting, Mr Joho said the his office has inherited Sh2.8 billion from the Mombasa Municipal Council and urged the national government to release devolution funds to kick start county operations.
“It is frustrating that national government was supposed to release some funds to assist in the recruitment and other County operations but until today we have not received anything from the treasury. We are asking those involved to check on the matter to ensure County operations do not stall,” he said.
Mr Joho also warned former council workers to shape up and embrace change so as to achieve the county’s set mission.
The Orange legislators, according to an MP who declined to be named for fear of being accused of being divisive, seriously feel that CORD lost out greatly in the recent formation of House Business and Selection committees because of poor negotiation.
A section of MPs polled by The Standard On Sunday are of the opinion that Rongo MP and immediate former Public Service minister Dalmas Otieno is better placed to spearhead the coalition’s interests and negotiations in the House.
“Dalmas is a sober politician, who enjoys a lot of respect and goodwill from both sides of the political divide. He also enjoys substantial support from Jubilee, including (President) Uhuru and other former and present Kanu legislators,” offers one MP.
Key positions
The push for Dalmas to replace Nyenze is largely by ODM-allied MPs, who feel that despite being the majority party in CORD and indeed in Parliament, they have missed out on all key positions in Parliament. Besides Wiper Democratic Movement’s (WDM) Nyenze, the Minority leader in the Senate is Ford-Kenya’s Wetangula.
However, pundits warn that a move to replace Nyenze could mark the end of the political marriage between ODM and WDM. Nonetheless, rescue could be on the way if former Kibwezi MP and leader of The Independent Party (TIP) Kalembe Ndile paves way for Kalonzo’s entry to Parliament.
Kalembe has intimated that sitting Kibwezi West MP Patrick Musimba has agreed to step aside for Kalonzo. However, the former assistant minister has filed a petition against Musimba’s election and wants the case determined first before he can play ball.
Muthama, who is pushing for the return of Raila and Kalonzo to Parliament, and Leader of Majority Aden Duale, have separately warned the two senior politicians may become irrelevant if they stay out of elective politics.
But Wetangula disagrees: “Is it possible for a politician of Raila’s stature, who has a huge and intact political constituency to suddenly sink into irrelevancy? Of course that can never be true.”
Former Sports minister and Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba is in agreement.
According to Namwamba, CORD Alliance, “will hold fort for Raila – in and outside the two houses (National Assembly and Senate) – until the next elections when he is ready to take charge of the team again”.
“This is because your stature has grown beyond Parliament and it will be unthinkable to have you their as minority leader, with our friend Duale as your opposite as majority leader,” Namwamba told Raila during a recent luncheon the former Premier hosted for his presidential campaign team.
But before the next elections, Raila and Namwamba maintain this should be the last time Kenyans go to the polls with the Independent Electoral Boundaries and Commission (IEBC) as referee and under its current leadership and structures
“It becomes very difficult to appreciate lessons learnt from bungled electoral processes such as this one, that Kenyans had a lot of hopes in. One thing is clear, though, that most of our institutions are still open to manipulation and corruption,” observes Namwamba.
Speaking during the function, Raila said they did everything right to win the elections, “but that was never going to happen”.
“I have been around for some time and I know the strategies of winning an election. 1997, I made my debut to introduce myself to the Kenyan people and in 2002 I spearhead campaigns that made (Mwai) Kibaki president. And you all know the real winner of 2007 and this year’s poll,” Raila told his guests.
Motorcades and massacres: Is Kenya’s state failing?
Posted Saturday, April 27 2013 at 12:50
In this column some time ago, I contrasted the response of Kenyan authorities to the massacre of 40 policemen by cattle rustlers in Baragoi with that of their Egyptian counterparts to the train accident that claimed the lives of 50 children.
I lamented the slow-motion, casual response of the Kenyan government and police. For about three days, the bodies of the slain policemen lay rotting in the valley where they had met their demise. The then police commissioner and the civilians heading the security docket remained proudly in office. By contrast, the Egyptians arrived swiftly at the scene of the accident, the minister in charge of transportation resigned, and those more directly culpable were charged. I concluded by saying that the killing of such a large number of police officers by a ragtag village militia, and the culture of lethargy of our public officials, had a bearing on the viability of the Kenyan state.
About a week ago, we again witnessed the same lethargic response by Kenyan authorities to the killing of 10 civilians by suspected Al Shaabab gunmen in Garissa as compared to that of their American counterparts to the bombing in Boston. In our case, there was a 24-hour lapse before we saw any statement from the authorities, much less action. It was only when President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered all security chiefs to the area that we saw the Inspector General of the Police, the head of National Intelligence, the permanent secretary in charge of security and other security chiefs pontificating about the actions they were going to take.
They looked somnolent; I had visions of them yawning after the cameras had withdrawn. In Boston, within minutes of the blast, local and federal agents swung into action. The mayor and police chief of Boston gave statements, as did the governor of Massachusetts and President Barack Obama.
What is it, we might ask, that determines this vastly different attitude towards public duty? The culprit is a culture that we have cultivated since Independence. While this culture has several negative aspects, its most crippling effect is an absence of personal responsibility, reinforced by lack of sanction for mediocrity and non-performance.
In the days of the Kanu dictatorship, what built careers was not merit or performance, but sycophancy. One could rob a parastatal dry — as happened with several of them — and still see a spectacular rise in one’s career, as long as one sang — in the words of former president Moi — like a parrot. While such blatant profligacy is now disallowed by policy, instances of state-failure due to acts of omission or commission by state officials — which are never punished — characterise public service.
Thus, the former commissioner of police and the security minister could continue serving without any sense of shame after the worst massacre of police officers since Independence. And that is why the IGP and the group that accompanied him to Garissa will continue serving with pride, if a little somnolently. Had the American authorities acted in the wake of the Boston bombings the way their Kenyan counterparts did to the shooting in Garissa, the wrath of the American public would have been scorching, and many officials would not only have lost their jobs, but would also never have seen the inside of a public office for the rest of their lives.
The Failed States Index could be faulted on many levels, but it does indicate warning signs of a slide towards that ignominious state. Two of its indicators worryingly apply to Kenya: (1) Loss by the state of monopoly of coercive force; and (2) Prevalent use of public funds for purposes that do not advance the public good. Given that the Garissa incident is only the most blatant of a recent series of gun murders in the country, and unconscionably huge resources are being diverted to cater for our leaders’ megalomania — salaries, Obama-like motorcades and security details in a country as poor as ours, retirement packages fit for a sultan, etc — we must ask: Is Kenya showing early signs of failed state status?
An interesting article; I have just looked at the index; and it appears that Kenya has a score of 98.4 on the scale and is in alert category. On that basis yes I think Ke is sliding in that direction on the basis of the theoritical criterion in the formulation of index. What I find even more intriguing is that Somalia remains top of the chart . The other issue which would be interesting here is impacts of failed states on neigbouring countries around them. Are they catalyst and do they destalise or encourage or neither and are neutral. The issue in your current Daily Nation article on human trafficking deserves also to be included for consideration in any analysis of failed states as it is a sign that a state (s) are failing to tackle poverty; existence of shanty towns within a city like Nairobi also should be considered , places like kibera and Mathare for examples as these have existed for many decades going way back in kenyan history.
Corporate Kenya faces exodus of CEOs into govt
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto on April 23, 2013 when they named the first four Cabinet Secretary nominees at State House, Nairobi. The nomination of Cabinet Secretaries and pending recruitment of Principal Secretaries is set to change the face of Kenya’s corporate sector.
By A JOINT REPORT, The EastAfrican
Posted Saturday, April 27 2013 at 15:14
Posted Saturday, April 27 2013 at 15:14
The nomination of Cabinet Secretaries and pending recruitment of Principal Secretaries is set to change the face of Kenya’s corporate sector.
Executives and senior managers from at least three Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms, an investment bank, three regulators and at least 20 well-known private companies and government entities are among those who have either been nominated to serve as Cabinet Secretaries, or shortlisted for the position of Principal Secretary in the new government.
Five of the 16 nominees for Cabinet positions are from the private sector, while 25 per cent of the 155 shortlisted candidates for Principal Secretary jobs are executives and senior managers from the private sector.
Kenyans are likely to be treated to a glimpse into the inner workings, deals and well-kept secrets in private companies as the Public Service Commission kicks off the vetting of the candidates seeking positions as PSs on Monday.
The candidates’ experience, performance record and management styles are expected to come under scrutiny during the vetting.
If the PSC lean towards private-sector bosses for the PS jobs, many firms will be looking for new managers as business leaders leave high paying jobs for public appointments.
Of the 16 nominees for Cabinet Secretary posts announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday, two are bank executives (Adan Mohammed, chief administrative officer of Barclays Africa, and James Macharia, CEO, NIC Bank). Another appointee, Phyllis Kandie, is currently an associate director at Standard Investment Bank while the rest have been drawn from the academic, government and private companies.
Among corporate faces on the shortlist for Principal Secretary positions are NSE-listed power distributor Kenya Power’s chief executive officer Joseph Njoroge and his chief manager for human resources and administration Ben Chumo; Betty Maina, CEO of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Sumayya Hassan-Athmani, the managing director of National Oil Corporation and Nancy Karigithu of the Kenya Maritime Authority.
Others are Prof Genevieve Were, Patrick Omutia, and Elizabeth Muchane, the deputy vice chancellor at Maseno University, the MD of the National Industrial Training Authority and the director of the Kenya School of Governance respectively.
The Principal Secretary shortlist also has Kenya Railways Corporation managing director Joseph Nduva Muli, Postbank managing director Dr Nyambura Koigi, Kenyatta National Hospital chief executive officer Richard Lesiyampe and Tea Board of Kenya chief executive officer Sicily Kariuki.
Regulators such as the Central Bank of Kenya, Insurance Regulatory Authority and the Dairy Board of Kenya may also find themselves looking for replacements as individuals holding key positions in those organisations have also been shortlisted. They include James Teko Lopoyetum, the director of operations and bank administration at CBK, and Sammy Makove and Machira Gichohi who are the chief executive officers at IRA and the Dairy Board.
Other individuals who have been shortlisted and work with the private sector include Kenya National Examinations Council chief executive officer Paul Wasanga and Kenya Investment Authority managing director Moses Ikiara.
Experts say those in most demand are people who are technologically literate, globally astute and capable of not only developing, but also executing strategy. This has heightened the battle for talent between government and the private sector.
Training ground
James Wangunyu, chairman of Standard Investment Bank, said replacing Ms Kandie would be a challenge. “The industry has very few people who have her years of experience,” he noted.
For years, Kenya’s civil service has been seen as a training ground for middle-level managers who soon find themselves courted by the private sector, a trend that is quickly changing, as seen with executives leaving plum private sector jobs for State appointments.
“Some of these people leaving the private sector are driven by the need for challenge. They have achieved all they can in the private sector, so they are looking at a different challenge in the public sector,” said Patrick Mutisya, a senior human resource consultant at Manpower Services, a management firm.
Analysts said a reformed public service, better pay, and improved terms of service could help rejuvenate service delivery, with the public sector taking on private businesses in the labour market.
“Given their private sector background, their management style is likely to be more hands on than previous ministers. We are likely to see them more involved in, say, recruitment as they understand how much their personal success is tied to the competencies of their team,” said Mr Mutisya.
According to the Economic Survey 2012, private sector wages are more than double the public sector’s. In 2011, private sector wages stood at Ksh587.2 billion ($6.9 billion) compared with the private sector’s Ksh291.4 billion ($3.4 billion).
The executives’ exit from private to public sector jobs is expected to intensify the revolving door that has characterised Kenyan firms in recent months, which have seen senior managers moving in and out of company boards and top tier corporate positions, as firms seek fresh brains and strategies to drive growth.
Why World Duty Free is so important to Pattni
Businessman Kamlesh Pattni. PHOTO / FILE
By Wachira Maina dn2@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Sunday, April 28 2013 at 21:00
Posted Sunday, April 28 2013 at 21:00
In Summary
- Controversial businessman wants to prove he is owner of both the exporting and receiving firms in 1990s scandal, essentially plugging any holes that can be used against him
- By getting the court to declare him the owner of World Duty Free, Kamlesh Pattni becomes, in effect, the owner of both the company exporting the gold and diamonds and the company importing them. Even though in law a company and its owners are separate persons, firms act through their officials. In this case, Pattni, relying on the constitutional right against self-incrimination, would simply refuse to give evidence against himself as owner of Goldenberg International. End of case!
On February 14, 1998, Blue-Line Holdings, a company associated with Kamlesh Pattni, fabricated a rubber stamp for Dinky International — a company belonging to World Duty Free owner Nasir Ali — at a Nairobi stationery shop, D L Patel Press. The rubber stamp was then used to forge sale documents showing that Kamlesh Pattni had bought World Duty Free shares from Ali and Dinky International in 1992.
The CID, however, believed the forgeries had extended beyond the rubber stamp. They were right, as it turned out from a report by a Mr M. Allen, a UK Home Office forensic handwriting expert, that the documents on which Pattni had relied, including the Memorandum of Sale and Agreement and all the letters allegedly written by Pattni to Ali, were forgeries.
Also, none of the cheques allegedly paid by Pattni to buy WDF shares had ever been presented for payment. None were made out to either Dinky International or to Nasir Ali, the owners of WDF shares.
They were all drawn on banks associated with Pattni or politically connected individuals, and they were all in favour of companies that were not connected with Ali. Cheques from these same banks would be presented in a subsequent
More intriguingly, Ali also produced a letter from Pattni to him that refuted his (Pattni’s) claims. When WDF completed refurbishing the airport to create the shops that he now claims from KAA, Pattni wrote to Ali, on May 16, 1992, asking WDF to lease him space for his gold and jewellery business.
If Pattni was indeed the beneficial owner of WDF shares in March 1992, why would he want to let space from the person from whom he was in the process of buying the company’s shares?
Pattni produced in court copies of the letters he claimed he had written to Ali asking that WDF shares be transferred to him, but there was no evidence that these had ever been sent or even received by Ali.
Pattni also claims that by mid-1992, he had paid Ali all the money that he owed him for the WDF shares. However, in August of that very year — having met Ali in June — Pattni borrowed Sh25 million (about $300,000 at current exchange rates) from Ali. Later, he would say that during this same period — in 1992 — he had also bought Ketan Somaia’s companies (for more than $40 million) and the Pan African Group (for $12.5 million).
The question suggests itself: If Pattni was so awash with cash throughout 1992, why did he need to borrow $300,000? More importantly, Pattni never repaid the money as agreed and Ali had to sue him.
If Pattni had already contracted for and paid part of the money to Ali, why did he not mount a counter-claim against Ali on this suit on the basis that Ali owed him money on the shares?
These details and dates make it clear that Pattni’s WDF claims are flagrantly fraudulent. The question is; why does Pattni go to all this trouble?
Well, the timing is everything: The period when the WDF share transaction supposedly happened coincides with the period in which Goldenberg International said it had exported the bulk of gold and diamonds to World Duty Free in Dubai.
That fact is fundamental because there are two main planks to a successful prosecution of the Goldenberg scandal. First, evidence will be needed from Dubai, say, from the World Gold Council, Dubai, showing whether any gold from Kenya had actually got into the country.
Secondly, evidence will be needed from WDF, the alleged purchaser, that it never ordered or received any gold or diamonds from Goldenberg International.
By getting the court to declare him the owner of WDF from 1992, Pattni becomes, in effect, the owner of both the company exporting the gold and diamonds (Goldenberg International) and the company importing them (World Duty Free).
Even though in law a company and its owners are separate persons, companies act through their officials. In this case, Pattni, relying on the constitutional right against self-incrimination, would, as owner of WDF, simply refuse to give evidence against himself as owner of Goldenberg International. Criminal case dead.
Two, in a civil case for restitution, which the government might file if it lost the criminal case, it would help if the owners of Goldenberg also happened to own WDF in 1992 and 1993. That would mean Goldenberg was exporting jewellery to a sister company, WDF. Pattni would then be able to offer evidence that gold and diamonds were exported by Goldenberg International and received by World Duty Free. In short, there never was any loss, scandal, or even crime committed.
Unfortunately, Pattni’s efforts to take over and control WDF have run into heavy headwinds arising from his inattention to the complexities of company law. Though the World Duty Free had a certificate of compliance to operate in Kenya, it was incorporated in the Isle of Man, a British island in the Irish Sea.
Lone wolf: Museveni’s battle with his Cabinet
Uganda’s parliament in session. President Yoweri Museveni has accused a section of his Cabinet of soliciting a $200m bribe from a Chinese contractor. Picture: File
By MICHAEL WAKABI, The EastAfrican
Posted Saturday, April 27 2013 at 15:08
Posted Saturday, April 27 2013 at 15:08
President Yoweri Museveni is fighting almost single-handedly to rescue a number of important projects from what he sees as a bureaucracy gone adrift of national priorities. In this, the president is relying on an ever-narrowing circle of trusted aides.
In the face of an economy that is performing below potential, delays in the development of the petroleum sector and a real possibility that donors who support 30 per cent of the national budget may cut off funding altogether in the next financial year, Museveni needs to secure the country’s energy supply to keep manufacturing ticking.
But his efforts to get the 600MW Karuma hydropower station off the ground remain hostage to vested interests, and the president has accused a section of his Cabinet of soliciting a $200 million bribe from Chinese contractor China Water and Electricity Corporation (CWE), which the Inspectorate of Government has recommended should be barred from bidding for the works.
A Cabinet meeting on April 12 endorsed a bilateral deal the president negotiated with China to fund the project and provide a contractor to execute the construction.
After just seven days however, on April 19, Energy Permanent Secretary Kabagambe Kaliisa was served with an interlocutory order stopping implementation of the recommendations of the Inspectorate of Government report.
The order had been sought by the Member of Parliament representing Kabale Municipality, Andrew Baryayanga, who had earlier opposed the IGG’s investigation of the procurement process.
Undeterred by the Solicitor General’s opinion, Mr Baryayanga on April 26 secured a constitutional court order stopping the Ministry of Energy, the Cabinet or the government of Uganda from implementing the recommendations in the IGG’s report or interfering with the final process for the procurement of a contractor for Karuma Hydropower project.
Although an April 23 opinion by the Solicitor General advises Mr Kaliisa to stay put — since the High Court’s order mentions neither the Ministry of Energy nor the Cabinet directive the PS was supposed to implement — the basis on which the order was sought rhymes with an opinion Attorney General Peter Nyombi had circulated on April 11 ahead of the April 12 Cabinet meeting that discussed the Karuma saga.
The EastAfrican has learnt that in that meeting, at which Museveni invited the IGG to present her report, only two ministers — Crispus Kiyonga (Defence) and Local Government’s Adolf Mwesigye — spoke up in support of the president’s position that the report be adopted.
That meeting resulted in an “Action Extract from Minute CT109 (CT2013)” that, among other things, ordered the minister of energy to cancel the procurement process for Karuma in favour of a bilateral arrangement with China.
That meeting resulted in an “Action Extract from Minute CT109 (CT2013)” that, among other things, ordered the minister of energy to cancel the procurement process for Karuma in favour of a bilateral arrangement with China.
However, CWE’s supporters were this week understood to have been trying to front China Three Gorges Corporation, CWE’s parent company, to be selected to replace its discredited subsidiary. Besides China Three Gorges not being an EPC contractor, its backdoor selection would be in violation of Ugandan procurement laws, which bar a sanctioned contractor, its associates and subsidiaries from participating in procurements for the duration of the sanction period.
While CWE has issued threats of legal action if its bid is cancelled, Frank Tumwebaze, Minister for the Presidency, defends President Museveni’s action, citing the delays the Karuma project has suffered.
He also argues that while the Attorney General as the chief legal adviser to government is free to give technical guidance on legal issues, these have to fit within the policy guidance given by the president.
Mr Tumwebaze also says the Cabinet’s decision to opt for a bilateral arrangement to implement the Karuma project is provided for by procurement laws and cannot be derailed by threats of legal action from any quarter.
“The president, as the chief guide on national priorities and policy, had to come in and give guidance on the process of Karuma, which had been derailed and delayed by corrupt tendencies. The president chose to take a bilateral approach, because the PPDA act provides exceptions for procurements that come under a bilateral arrangement,” he told The EastAfrican.
According to him, Uganda is free to procure bilaterally and can ask the other party to select a contractor if it feels that it is getting better value for money. The $350 million Entebbe Expressway, which is also being funded by China, is a precedent.
Although Mr Tumwebaze defends President Museveni’s actions as necessary, given the present circumstances where he cannot rely on his bureaucracy, critics see them as typical of the disregard for institutions he has exhibited over his 27-year rule.
“The president has to ensure that policy is executed and the perceived concentration of power around himself actually makes it easier for him to demand accountability from particular centres, as opposed to relying on a swollen and inefficient bureaucracy,” he said in reference to President Museveni’s insistence on vesting power in the energy minister in the new oil laws.
How retired Police chief was killed
Mafia-style
Updated Monday, April 26th 2010 a 00:00 GMT +3
By Amos Kareithi
On Tuesday July 29, 1997 Mr Phillip Kilonzo, a retired former Police Commissioner who was at the centre of the investigation into Dr Robert Ouko's assassination seven years earlier, was driven into his favourite pub in Matuu.
He asked that half-a-kilo of meat be prepared for him, then sat down to sip his favourite drink White Cap. Halfway through his glass, he is called out to receive a heifer given to him as a gift by a local councillor.
When he came back to his seat and took a sip from his glass, he exclaimed; "This beer tastes different. What have you done to it?"
Former Police Commissioner Philip Kilonzo.
Those were his last words minutes later he was dead, another statistic on the killer trail that followed witnesses and investigators of Ouko murder, estimated to be about 100 today.
They include former powerful Permanent Secretary Hezekiah Oyugi; former head of Pan-African Group who died hours before appearing before the Ouko Commission; Oidho Agalo, the farmhand and Otieno Gor who were among the people who saw the Minister just hours before he disappeared; Martin Ochanda was attached to the Kisumu Special Branch office and was a friend of Dr Ouko...James Eric Onyango, a relative and confidant of the late Minister, and who was among the people Dr Ouko talked to on the telephone on the night he disappeared; Nehemiah Shikuku Obati the Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police who spearheaded the arrest and interrogation of the Ouko murder chief suspects, among them Mr Nicholas Biwott, who was briefly arrested. Thirteen years later, the family has not seen the post-mortem examination reports and finding of toxicology texts by the Government Chemist of what was left of Kilonzo's beer ...and for a top cop, no statements taken from potential witnesses, no word on who wanted him dead ...just silence.
But this month The Standard walked down what to others could be the beaten path.
Speaking to the forlorn family of the former top cop, the sheer horror of talking about Ouko's murder is shocking. Few have the courage to be quoted, others wish it was forgotten and chapter closed, not because they do not feel the pain, but for fear they could be next. For, they believe, Ouko killers are still on the prowl.
Not in touch
Their dilemma reminds one of that of Mr John Troon, the Scotland Yard detective, who led the investigations, who when a few years ago he was asked if he had been in touch with Dr Ouko's family, he responded: "I have not been in touch with Dr Ouko'sfamily since leaving Kenya. This is due to the issue of their safety, as I do believe they may be targeted by associates of the suspects if there was communication between myself and any member of the family."
Already the then Chief Pathologist Dr Jason Kaviti and then CID director had conceded the suicide theory was manufactured by powerful personalities in Government then.
We were told not to worry because the post-mortem examination report would be availed to us. Thirteen years later, I have not seen this report. I do not know what killed my brother but I am sure of one thing. My brother did not die from old age or natural cause," says his elder brother James Ngwiri Kilonzo.
He added: "Kilonzo died after consuming the contents of the first beer from the crate," adding that even after samples of the beer, the glass were submitted to the Government Chemist for analysis, the outcome was never communicated to the family.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000008494&story_title=how-retired-police-chief-was-killed-mafia-style&pageNo=2
Updated Monday, April 26th 2010 a 00:00 GMT +3
By Amos Kareithi
On Tuesday July 29, 1997 Mr Phillip Kilonzo, a retired former Police Commissioner who was at the centre of the investigation into Dr Robert Ouko's assassination seven years earlier, was driven into his favourite pub in Matuu.
He asked that half-a-kilo of meat be prepared for him, then sat down to sip his favourite drink White Cap. Halfway through his glass, he is called out to receive a heifer given to him as a gift by a local councillor.
When he came back to his seat and took a sip from his glass, he exclaimed; "This beer tastes different. What have you done to it?"
Former Police Commissioner Philip Kilonzo.
Those were his last words minutes later he was dead, another statistic on the killer trail that followed witnesses and investigators of Ouko murder, estimated to be about 100 today.
They include former powerful Permanent Secretary Hezekiah Oyugi; former head of Pan-African Group who died hours before appearing before the Ouko Commission; Oidho Agalo, the farmhand and Otieno Gor who were among the people who saw the Minister just hours before he disappeared; Martin Ochanda was attached to the Kisumu Special Branch office and was a friend of Dr Ouko...James Eric Onyango, a relative and confidant of the late Minister, and who was among the people Dr Ouko talked to on the telephone on the night he disappeared; Nehemiah Shikuku Obati the Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police who spearheaded the arrest and interrogation of the Ouko murder chief suspects, among them Mr Nicholas Biwott, who was briefly arrested. Thirteen years later, the family has not seen the post-mortem examination reports and finding of toxicology texts by the Government Chemist of what was left of Kilonzo's beer ...and for a top cop, no statements taken from potential witnesses, no word on who wanted him dead ...just silence.
But this month The Standard walked down what to others could be the beaten path.
Speaking to the forlorn family of the former top cop, the sheer horror of talking about Ouko's murder is shocking. Few have the courage to be quoted, others wish it was forgotten and chapter closed, not because they do not feel the pain, but for fear they could be next. For, they believe, Ouko killers are still on the prowl.
Not in touch
Their dilemma reminds one of that of Mr John Troon, the Scotland Yard detective, who led the investigations, who when a few years ago he was asked if he had been in touch with Dr Ouko's family, he responded: "I have not been in touch with Dr Ouko'sfamily since leaving Kenya. This is due to the issue of their safety, as I do believe they may be targeted by associates of the suspects if there was communication between myself and any member of the family."
Already the then Chief Pathologist Dr Jason Kaviti and then CID director had conceded the suicide theory was manufactured by powerful personalities in Government then.
We were told not to worry because the post-mortem examination report would be availed to us. Thirteen years later, I have not seen this report. I do not know what killed my brother but I am sure of one thing. My brother did not die from old age or natural cause," says his elder brother James Ngwiri Kilonzo.
He added: "Kilonzo died after consuming the contents of the first beer from the crate," adding that even after samples of the beer, the glass were submitted to the Government Chemist for analysis, the outcome was never communicated to the family.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000008494&story_title=how-retired-police-chief-was-killed-mafia-style&pageNo=2
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