Author: Maxwell Wasike

Kahawa West locals enlightened on title deed issuance process

Residents of Kahawa West ward were on Saturday undertaken through training and sensitisation program on the process of acquiring the title deeds at Mahiga primary school.

The exercise which was presided over by Nairobi County Chief Officer of lands Cecilia Wangari among other county and national government officials saw the area Member County Assembly (MCA) Dr Clement Kamaru gracing the occasion.

Wangari noted that she will employ the open door policy to ensure the department serves residents efficiently and with ease of acquiring title deeds.

“We are here today to send light on this important process that guarantees you land ownership,and by the end of this year we shall have given a number the title deeds and by next year we should be through with Kahawa West.At the beginning, we will prioritise lands which have no ownership disputes and court issues. I have changed lives of Nairobians by issuing over 15,000 title deeds to low income earners and will not relent in my agenda to keep empowering common mwanachi ” she stated

Dr Kamaru on his part reiterated his commitment of continuing to work with relevant stakeholders led by the county land officials in a bid to reclaim public land grabbed by private developers.

He promised that no effort will be spared to repossess land meant for public use like expansion, recreation and parking,as institutions like schools continue to grapple with expansion challenges in the wake of learners transitioning to Junior Secondary Schools.

“I want to thank my people for attending this noble initiative and I assure them that the process of issuance of title deeds will be complete by the end of this year.I urge them to cooperate and embrace one another in land dispute resolution and take advantage of this process to apply for their land ownership documents.County administration led by our Governor Johnson Sakaja means well for us and everything will be okay in due course ” remarked Kamaru.

For years, local leaders, in Kahawa West have petitioned the government to allocate title deeds to the landowners following concerns of long queues by owners of parcels of land situated within the area flooding the Mahiga Primary School in anticipation of the registration process that would allow them get land title deeds, after 38 years of waiting.

“It is an advantage getting the title deeds because we can now do a lot of things we couldn’t do before. For instance, we can use the land to access credit,” said one of the residents who sought anonymity.

The landowners’ acquisition of title deeds was also largely hindered by a grueling court case that dragged on from 1991 to 2019, when the Lands Court in Nairobi made a ruling.

Last month,Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Njeru urged leaders to help resolve local disputes in their areas to enable the Department for Lands and Physical Planning to accelerate the process of issuing title deeds.

Appearing before the Senate,Njeru noted that Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development was in the process of creating a Land Value Index which will be used in matters related to compensation.

“The Ministry of Lands is coming up with a National Land Value Index to make compensation for land uniform and seal loopholes that are used to overpay or underpay compensation for land.” he told Senators

He also disclosed that the Government was in the process of opening up new registries in areas that were not reached by the Ministry of Lands in the past including many of the counties in northern Kenya.

May 27, 2023
Udgoon Siyad backs Noordin Haji,says he’s upto the task for NIS job

Garissa County Woman Representative Udgoon Siyad has jumped into the defense of the newly appointed Director General of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Noordin Haji saying he is competent enough to steer the spy agency to greater heights.

The Young Parliamentarians Vice Chairperson said Haji is most qualified and equal to the task as he did a splendid job as DPP and will make significant contribution to the security and welfare of Kenyans at his new posting.

“There are forces behind this and many other current events that is meant to profile the DPP and somalis as a community.DPP Noordin Haji enjoys a whopping 94% backing from Kenyans on the ongoing public prosecutions of corruption suspects and other offenders so this tells of his overwhelming scorecard and track record which speaks for itself ” she said.

His nomination continues to get support and condemnation from equal measure as various groups laud his appointment as others oppose it.

The Consortium of Grassroot Civil Society Organisations on Wednesday while presenting a petition to the Public Service Commission laid out 13 reasons why Haji is the right person for the position.

“We have enumerated his achievements for the period which he has been in office and it is our belief as people from the grassroots, that the DPP has been instrumental in providing leadership not only to the ODPP office but also to the nation as a whole,” the statement reads.

On Friday, Transparency International (TI) withdrew the 2019 Leadership Integrity Award awarded to him.

In a letter to Haji, TI cited the withdrawal of high-profile corruption cases by Haji, including those for which he was previously recognised, as one of the reasons the award was withdrawn.

The move was criticised by many among them lawyer and Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi who exonerated Haji from claims of compromise saying the rule of the game during the time the cases were instituted, directives were given from the State House against perceived enemies.

“When hitherto credible institutions are captured by small minds and petty tribal interests that are consumed but Somali phobia and xenophobia…hate them or not! SOMALIS ARE HERE TO STAY!” he wrote on his Twitter handle.

Haji is expected to be vetted by Parliament’s Defence and Foreign Relations Committee after which the President will officially appoint him to the position.

Should he receive parliamentary approval, he will rejoin the spy agency, having previously served as the deputy director of the Counter Organised Crime Unit within NIS.

May 27, 2023
No prize money for incoming KPL Champions

Football Kenya Federation has disclosed that there will be no cash prizes for the overall winners of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League ahead of the season conclusion

According to the federation President Nick Mwendwa, they are facing financial difficulties leading to a lack of funds to run it’s operations effectively.

He said all sponsors pulled out their support following government interference with football activities in the country leaving the federation in a precarious situation.

“There is no room for money ,all sponsors were chased away by the previous regime after direct involvement in management and running of Kenyan football.This season we will not have any prize giving even as we continue to strategise better for the next campaign which will be bigger and better.The future is bright as currently we are in negotiations with many stakeholders and they are very optimistic to partner us.Our season will officially run between August and May with broadcasting and sponsorship deals as well as club licensing. I’m not worried, and I actually think this was a blessing in disguise because we all know now what we need to do.” he noted

Record league champions Gor Mahia and title holders Tusker FC clash on Sunday clash at Nyayo stadium in what appears to be a league deciding match,with K’Ogalo tactician Jonathan McKinstry reckoning his charges will emphatically bounce back from their heart-wrenching Mashemeji derby loss to arch-rivals AFC Leopards a fortnight ago to topple the brewers.

“We are eager to win our next match against Tusker. Losing is unimaginable. That would be too costly for us. Our focus is on delivering the 20th title this season. It would be catastrophic to crash to Tusker on Sunday.The morale in the camp ahead of the match is encouraging. The players have responded very well in training sessions and the energy they are displaying is amazing,” remarked McKinstry.

His opposing number at the Tusker FC Robert Matano on his part believes Sunday’s crunch encounter could determine who between them gets to run away with this season’s title.

“The match indeed has a role in deciding the title race given we only have four matches left before the season concludes.We hope to reap maximum points from the game. We know Gor are good and well organized and so we are doing everything we can to prepare well for them,” said the experienced gaffer

The brewers have amassed 64 points thus far, one better than K’Ogalo who surrendered the summit following a goal-less draw against Wazito at Muhoroni Stadium three weeks ago that preceded their Mashemeji derby debacle.

In 2021/22 season, Tusker were crowned champions, but they only pocketed Sh2 million in prize money from the FKF Caretaker Committee who had been installed by former Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to manage football affairs in the country after the disbandment of FKF for alleged misappropriation of funds.

But the brewers were not able to represent the country in the CAF Champions League the following season due to the suspension imposed on Kenya by world football governing body, Fifa.

May 27, 2023
Chimera: 2027 AFCON will expose Kenya to regional competitive football

Nominated senator Raphael Chimera has backed Kenya together with its East Africa counterparts Uganda and Tanzania to secure consideration as the hosts of 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) days after ‘Pamoja bid’ was presented to the Continental of African Football (CAF).

The three countries have come together under the East Africa Commission to bring AFCON to the region for the first time in history by bidding to host the 36th edition of the continental showpiece.

According to the youthful senator, the region has what it takes to host a great tourney adding that the opportunity will be paramount to expose the national team Harambee Stars and showcase local untapped potential to the outside world.

“President William Ruto himself has exhibited unwavering commitment to bring it home and being a lover of the game he would push to make this happen. Already there are mechanisms in place in terms of investment in sports infrastructure like stadia in a bid to help comply with the international standards set by both CAF and world governing football body,FIFA.For us to perform well in our backyard then, we need to prioritise structuring academies early enough to help as feeder programs to our senior national sides” he said.

“The contest will bring in people with big influence in the world as such, it will stimulate the growth of different economic activities leading to creation of jobs, capital to traders and revenue to the government,” he added.

Speaking during a friendly match between Palestine FC and Super Eleven Stars FC which was won 3-0 by the latter at Mtsaviani grounds,Mkongani Ward-Matuga Constituency in Kwale county ,Chimera urged the local leadership to embrace inclusivity and work for the people and stop politicking but deliver on the pledges made to mwananchi.

“I want to also laud President Ruto on his quest to minimise foreign borrowing which will ensure low foreign debt.The Head of State is committed towards making Kenya a debt free nation by embracing internal revenue raising mechanisms” remarked Chimera who is also a lawyer.

Apart from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, CAF has acknowledged receiving a declaration of interest from Algeria, Botswana and Egypt to stage the continental showpiece.

President Ruto who last week received the bid at State House, Nairobi from Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba and Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa,vowed to lobby for the tournament to come to the region for the first time in history.

The Harambee Stars have played at the Nations Cup just twice since 1993, and were barred from qualifiers for the 2023 finals because the country was serving a ban from global football.

In December,the Kenyan government released a statement about its prospective 2027 bid revealing its cabinet had “sanctioned the revitalisation of football as a key cog of our nation’s social fabric” in a bid “to revive the prospects of Kenyan football”.

The three other nations which have also registered interest are Algeria, Botswana and Egypt.

Egypt hosted Afcon as recently as 2019, while earlier this year Algeria hosted the African Nations Championship (Chan) – the pan-continental tournament for locally-based players – meaning those two countries are unlikely to struggle when it comes to infrastructure requirements.

Kenya was stripped of the right to host the 2018 Chan just four months before the finals because several venues were not ready.

May 26, 2023
Duale urges KDF to exhibit sportsmanship in their competitive assignments

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has called upon Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) to maintain and portray the highest standards of sportsmanship, discipline and patriotism during major championships in a bid to raise the country flag high thus advertise Kenya to the outside world.

Speaking during the 43rd edition of the KDF Athletics Championship at the Ulinzi Sports Complex in Langata-Nairobi,the vibrant CS commended all the participants in various sporting activities for demonstrating resilience and commitment to record good performance under tight and hotly contested events.

“I challenge the sportsmen and women within the KDF that, even as they compete for medals, they should maintain and portray the highest standards of sportsmanship, discipline and patriotism as they have done before.I assure the contestants that Kenya is proud of them for enhancing the country’s image in the global arena and commend the leadership of KDF for their dedication and professionalism in performance of duty making it possible for KDF to be a shining example.” he said

Hurdles Wiseman Were and Rukia Nusra were declared the best male and female athletes respectively during the three-day championships which also saw Vivian Chebet seal a double, winning her maiden 800m title besides reclaiming the 400m as Cornelius Tuwei was installed as the new 800m king.

On Wednesday, Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri and World Half Marathon silver medallist Kibiwott Kandie retained their respective titles in 5000m and 10000m races.

“I had not competed this year at home hence my decision to come and represent my Laikipia Airbase team as well as defend my title.Track will always give me the speed I need in a marathon” Obiri who won’t pitch for a place in Team Kenya for the World Athletics Championships in Budapest explained.

In other results, Africa champion Emily Ngii and Simon Wachira retained their respective 20km race walk crowns as the 2017 national champion Alexander Kiprotich sealed an unprecedented 10th title in javelin

A team of 40 soldiers from the KDF was selected to represent the military during the National Athletics Championship to be held between June 22-24 at Kasarani stadium and consequently represent the country in the continental extravaganza in Ghana.

Besides Athletics, KDF has done very well in other sporting disciplines such as Volleyball, Kickboxing among others.

Their sister football team Ulinzi Stars will be fighting tooth and nail next season to catapult themselves back into the international stage despite elimination from FKF Cup in the hands of Tusker FC last weekend.

The Nakuru-based soldiers last graced continental football in 2017 when they flew the country’s flag at the Caf Confederation Cup where they were bundled out in the qualifying round by Egypt’s Smouha on a 4-3 aggregate score

May 26, 2023
Manchester United secured Champions League qualification with a 4-1 win over Chelsea

Manchester United moved up to third and confirmed their place in next season’s Champions League with a 4-1 win over Chelsea as Erik ten Hag urged the club to bring in “better players” to help mount a title challenge next season.

Casemiro headed in Christian Eriksen’s free-kick early in the game and Anthony Martial added a second from close range in first-half stoppage time. In between, Frank Lampard’s side squandered a series of excellent chances and their wastefulness was costly.

Bruno Fernandes won and scored a penalty before Wesley Fofana, the man who had conceded the spot-kick, proceeded to gift the Portugal midfielder the ball for the fourth, allowing him to set up substitute Marcus Rashford. It was wretched from Chelsea.

It is one win in 13 games for them now – 10 of them under Lampard. This was the youngest Blues line-up in Premier League history. Neither that nor Joao Felix’s late goal provide much consolation. Where they lacked conviction, Casemiro and the rest were decisive.

The only disappointment for United, who move above Newcastle, was a troubling injury to Antony. But it was an otherwise good night for Erik ten Hag’s team. They needed one point to end Liverpool’s hopes of catching them. They won all three in style.

Speaking in the press conference afterwards, Ten Hag stressed the next step is not just about further improvement on the training ground but will also be partially dependent on what United are able to do in the summer transfer window.

The final day of the Premier League season is on Sunday May 28 with every game kicking off at 6.30pm EAT

Manchester United end their first league season under Erik ten Hag with a home game against Fulham. United then take on Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley on June 3.

Frank Lampard’s final game as Chelsea caretaker manager will see them welcome Newcastle to Stamford Bridge.

May 26, 2023
Preparations underway for KECOSO games in Narok

Narok County Governor Patrick Ntutu has reiterated his commitment of supporting the activities of organisers of the 42nd edition of Kenya Communications Sports Organisation (KECOSO) Games scheduled for August 19 to 26 in Narok

According to KECOSO’s national committee led by its secretary general Omole Asiko toured the county on Wednesday,these year’s games will be more competitive and urged participants to prepare sufficiently ahead of the showpiece.

“Preparations are in top gear and I can authoritatively say that the progress is impressive. On Wednesday we met Narok County leadership led by area governor Patrick Ntutu and as the host he assured us of readiness of all the venues of the competition . This year’s contest will be extremely tight because several teams have confirmed to take part in various disciplines ” he said

According to Asiko, Narok’s choice was based on several parameters among them hotel capacity to host participants and good venues to host various sports.

“We have toured other counties and we are satisfied that Narok is the best option for this year’s games. We hope all will go as planned,” noted Asiko

The games have so far attracted 12 teams from the communications, transport and infrastructure ministries alongside parastatals which will take part in various sporting disciplines.

Teams will fight for titles in basketball, football, netball, volleyball, snooker, scrabble, pool, table tennis and athletics with more than 1,000 players expected to take part.

Nakuru county will host golf on August 5 because of unavailability of golf courses in Narok

Last year’s overall winner in Kericho was Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) while Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) won the 40th edition which was held in Kisii County in 2019 after accumulating 157 points to clinch the overall title.

May 25, 2023
CS Namwamba, NOCK in a strategy retreat meeting ahead of Paris Olympics

The government has intensified efforts in demonstrating commitment aimed at making Kenya’s preparations towards next year’s Paris Olympics a success,three years after the 2020 rescheduled Tokyo Olympics where Kenya was the best African nation and 19th overall, with 10 medals – four gold, four silver and two bronze – all panned from athletics.

On Thursday morning, Cabinet Secretary for Sports Ababu Namwamba attended a retreat meeting with National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and Athletics Kenya (AK) officials in a move seen as a booster towards the country’s medal prospects at the Olympics.

The CS lauded the organizers for setting up the strategy retreat, saying that only a proper plan would ensure that Kenya return good performance at the premier sporting event, that is barely a year away.

“There is no doubt that failing to plan is planning to fail. If you don’t plan, then you are definitely setting yourself up for failure. You know that previously we have paid dearly for not planning well, for doing the classical Kenyan thing of last minute. We are definitely changing this through our #RoadToParis Olympics 2024 plan,” noted the CS.

The CS added that it was important to pay attention to detail and not take anything for granted in the course of planning for the Olympics.
He called on the team to prepare the athletes well, with a keen reminder of the significance of the Olympics to Kenya and the world.

“What these games have done for us in branding our nation and profiling brand Kenya to the world cannot be quantified. The Olympics mean a lot to us as a nation as these games have risen to hold a very special profile in the world diplomatically and politically,” he said.

“The Olympics have been used to make bold diplomatic and political statements that have gone on to shape the history of the world, like the 1976 boycott by 28 African countries, that helped bring an end to the apartheid regime in South Africa,” added former Budalangi MP

The Olympics Committee already disclosed they would send a selected team of Kenyan athletes to pre-Olympic training camps in Southern France to boost Kenya’s medal prospects.

NOCK said it is strategising to field more sports to raise Kenya’s stakes at the quadrennial Olympics.

“We are planning to start training in Southern France about 30-35 days in advance before the Paris 2024 Olympics. The idea is to give our athletes a chance to enhance their qualification chances and allow them to acclimatize ahead of the games.” read part of their previous statement.

Last year in Japan besides athletics, Kenya featured in sevens rugby for men and women, boxing, swimming, volleyball, beach volleyball and taekwondo.

The organisers of 32nd Olympic Games in Japan overcame huge challenges, most significantly rising coronavirus cases and growing opposition to the staging of the world’s greatest sporting spectacle in 2021.

May 25, 2023
Brighton guaranteed to finish sixth and Europa League qualification after City draw

Julio Enciso hammered in a goal-of-the-season contender as brilliant Brighton pegged back champions Manchester City to draw 1-1 and secure qualification for the Europa League for the first time in their history.

The 19-year-old scored a long-range stunner in his side’s win at Chelsea last month and this one was similar but perhaps even better, with his ferocious strike bending the ball into the top corner from 25 yards.

Erling Haaland, who served Phil Foden’s 25th-minute opener on a plate, thought he had won it for City with just over 10 minutes to play when he put a string of missed chances behind him to head in at the back post. But when VAR advised referee Simon Hooper to check the pitchside monitor, he saw a shirt-pull on Levi Colwill had aided the Norway striker and the goal was ruled out, to Pep Guardiola’s anger.

It would have been harsh on a Brighton team who had seen two goals of their own rightly ruled out and Danny Welbeck hit the bar during an enthralling contest. Roberto De Zerbi’s side fired off a staggering 20 shots against the best team in England.

No opponent had managed more than 13 against City in the Premier League before Wednesday. Only two sides have ever hit more against a side managed by Guardiola.

With the point, they ended Man City’s run of 12 straight Premier League wins – although the visitors, who celebrated their title win with a party on Sunday night, have the FA Cup and Champions League finals on their mind. They are now eight points clear of their nearest challengers Arsenal.

Brighton gave Manchester City a guard of honour before kick-off and seemed to pay their visitors too much respect in the opening moments, with Guardiola’s side recording almost 85 per cent possession in an opening 15 minutes which saw Haaland spurn a glorious chance from Foden’s cross

Brighton had lost 10 of their previous 11 Premier League games against Man City – but this is a very different Brighton team now under De Zerbi. The connection between him, his players and the crowd was plain to see as they celebrated their best season at the final whistle.

May 25, 2023
Olaba sentenced to six years in jail

Former Kenya Sevens and Harlequins rugby player Alex Olaba has been sentenced to six years in prison for hatching a plot to kill a witness who was testifying in a rape case against him and former teammate Frank Wanyama.

The trial Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo slapped Olaba with the sentence after finding him guilty of two charges of attempted murder and interference of witnesses in the case.

“Although the accused person is remorseful the offences he faces are serious. l convict and sentence him to serve six years in count one of conspiracy to kill and two years imprisonment in the second account of interference with judicial process. The sentences will run concurrently,” the magistrate said.

Olaba was jailed after he was found guilty of hatching a plan to kill the key prosecution witnesses in his rape case

In May 2021,he denied charges of conspiracy to murder a key witness in his rape trial. Chief magistrate Francis Andayi said he and another magistrate, who is handling his gang-rape case, might come to different rulings, which might lead to double jeopardy.

Olaba allegedly committed gang rape offence in 2018 at an apartment in Highrise area.

May 24, 2023