Author: Special Correspondent

An Anti-Corruption Court has found an Assistant Plant Inspector at the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services (KEPHIS) guilty of fraudulently acquiring public funds and providing false information to a public entity. Milimani’s Chief Magistrate, Hon. Thomas Nzioki, convicted Juma Mwadama Zinje for acquiring Kes4.75 million, a salary earned from KEPHIS. He was also convicted on two other counts of providing false information to a public entity. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) received a complaint on June 8, 2021, from the Managing Director of KEHPIS alleging that Juma Mwadama Zinje forged academic certificates and used them to apply to join…

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There are no plans to scrap the expanded free maternal care, Linda Mama Boresha Jamii health programme but the government intends to make it more efficient under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). Prime Cabinet Secretary’s spouse Tessie Mudavadi assured Kenyans and mothers in particular that, under SHIF, efficiency and accountability would be enhanced adding that disbursement of the free maternity money will be made timelier. Ms Musalia who was speaking at the Marsabit County referral hospital when she handed over 13 state-of-the-art neonatal incubators to six counties in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) region asked Kenyans to be…

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Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has termed plans to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as a direct attack on the people of the Mount Kenya region. Terming the grounds for Rigathi’s planned ouster from his position as “frivolous”, Kahiga said that those behind the impeachment motions should brace themselves for retaliation from the region that gave President William Ruto 3.5 million votes during the 2022 General Election. “I must say that where an impeachment motion is being considered against the Deputy President, that is an affront towards the Mountain. That is an attack on us as the people and we will…

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A senior police officer in the Central Kenya Region is facing a possible arraignment on bribery allegations. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) Central Regional Office, Nyeri, arrested Ms Mary Syombua Mutunga, OCS Itabua Police Station, on July 25, 2024, after receiving a complaint to the effect that Ms. Mutunga had solicited a Kes100,000 bribe to facilitate the release of an impounded motor vehicle from the Station’s yard. The complainant, a bar operator, was arrested by four police officers from Itabua Police Station on July 3, 2024, after he refused to sell them alcohol at 10:00 a.m., which was before…

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Constructive dismissal, also known as constructive discharge or constructive termination, occurs when an employee resigns not because they want to but because the employer’s conduct necessitates it. For instance, in a scenario where an employer imposes harsh and unfair work expectations on an employee with the aim of forcing them to resign, that resignation may qualify as constructive dismissal. Constructive dismissal Kenya law  Justice Mbaru of the Employment and Labour Relations Court said in the case of Nathan Ogada Atiagaga v David Engineering Limited, ‘constructive dismissal occurs when an employee resigns because their employer’s behaviour has become so intolerable or…

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The High Court has once again suspended the government’s implementation of the Maisha Namba digital identity card, which is set to be renewed every 10 years. Justice Lawrence Mugambi has issued a conservatory order halting the implementation of the Unique Personal Identifier (Maisha Namba), the third-generation Maisha Card, the Maisha Digital ID, and the Maisha Database until a new application is heard and decided. Introduced in 2023 to replace second-generation identity cards, the Maisha Card features a Unique Personal Identifier known as Maisha Namba. The Haki na Sheria Initiative, a human rights group, has challenged this rollout for the second…

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Barack Obama has endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee, ending days of speculation over whether he would support her. Former President Obama and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama said in a joint statement that they believe Ms Harris has the “vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands”. Mr Obama was reportedly among more than 100 prominent Democrats Ms Harris spoke to after President Joe Biden announced last Sunday he was dropping out of the race. In a statement at the time, Mr Obama praised Mr Biden’s exit, but stopped short of endorsing Ms…

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A report by the Auditor General has revealed that the National Youth Service (NYS) cannot account for over Sh1 billion, which was possibly lost through irregular expenditures and payments. The audit report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged irregular expenditures amounting to Sh303 million, along with other unexplained illegal payments totalling millions of shillings. This report covers the period up to June 30, 2023. According to the report, taxpayers may have lost over Sh300 million paid to contractors for projects that have stalled for several years. Ms Gathungu reports that some projects were declared shoddy, resulting in no value for…

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Anti-government protests on Tuesday spread to counties outside Nairobi to demand accountability in the national and county governments. The protests initially concentrated in Nairobi and Mombasa, expanded to other counties such as Kisumu, Nakuru, and Nyamira. The youth appeared to target the offices of several governors accused of corruption, poor service delivery, and nepotism, among other issues. Among the governors targeted were James Orengo (Siaya), Amos Nyaribo (Nyamira), Fernandes Barasa (Kakamega), Jonathan Bii (Uasin Gishu), Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu), Abdulswamad Nassir (Mombasa), and Joseph Ole Lenku (Kajiado). In Nairobi CBD, businesses faced disruption as protesters clashed with police. Two protestors…

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Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, received enough delegate votes on Monday to officially become the party’s nominee and announced that he has chosen Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate in the Nov. 5 presidential election. The former president garnered a majority of votes from delegates at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He reached the required threshold with votes from Florida, which were announced by his son, Eric Trump. Trump is scheduled to formally accept the party’s nomination in a prime-time speech on Thursday. He will lead the Republican Party through a third consecutive election, following…

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