Day: May 28, 2023

The Luo Council of Elders will hold elections next month to pick the successor of former chairman (Ker) Willis Otondi, who died in February.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is the patron of the council, said the elders will pay their last respects to the late Otondi at his Nyahera home in Kisumu West on June 10, 2023.

Speaking during a meeting with the elders at Mama Grace Onyango Social Center in Kisumu, Odinga said the exercise, which is part of the elders’ rituals, set the stage for the election of the new leader.

“This is the first meeting the elders are having after the death of Ker Willis Otondi, who was buried in March. The meeting was called to brainstorm on how to strengthen the council and elect a successor,” he said.

The election of the new chairman, popularly referred to as Ker, will involve elders from all sub-counties in the Nyanza region.

Odinga, who was accompanied by National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi and Kisumu Deputy Governor Dr. Mathews Owili, said the council was an important institution in the community charged with upholding the rich Luo cultural heritage.

Besides culture, the council of elders, he added, plays a critical role in dispute resolution, marriage, domestic violence, and the adoption of modern lifestyles.

“Culture is not static; it is dynamic. We must always discard old practices and embrace new ways, and at the same time teach our children in order to strengthen our rich cultural heritage,” he said.

Otondi, who was the ninth chairman of the Luo Council of Elders, was laid to rest on March 4, 2023, and will be remembered for rallying the Luo community to foster peaceful coexistence with other communities.

During his reign, he championed the socioeconomic, cultural, and political interests of the community, besides reaching out to elders from other communities to foster national cohesion.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Girls in rural Kenya continue to miss classes and others drop out of school due to lack of sanitary pads, as revealed by school heads and other stakeholders during menstrual hygiene day at Ithanga Sub County yesterday.

They said affordability and availability of the towels in rural areas have been a challenge due to high poverty levels, making several girls go through the period without the item, subjecting them to stigma and embarrassment from peers and other members of the society.

Addressing stakeholders at Mwana Wikio Secondary School, principal Hilda Mwangi said out of the 400 girls in the school, most of them miss classes during their menstrual periods due to lack of sanitary pads.

She said they are sometimes forced to send some of them home to sort themselves out, as the few pads in her office were meant for emergencies.

While calling on the government and other stakeholders to intervene and ensure the pads are distributed to rural schools, she said the situation has also affected the academic performance of the girls.

She said since the girls come from poor backgrounds, they go through a difficult period during that time of the month.

“The situation in the local schools is dire, as girls can hardly afford pads. We only have a handful in case of emergencies in our offices, and this has led to dropouts, missing classes, and a drop in the academic performance of girls. We need more support to address the situation, Ms. Mwangi said.

The shortage of pads has caused a public outcry, according to Del Monte Public Relations Officer Jacklyn Muthoni, who said it has prompted the company to embark on a programme to help over 10,000 girls in the surrounding community with the pads.

She added that the programme will be upscaled to benefit more girls from across the country as well as increase awareness forums and interact with the girls so that they may have some knowledge on hygiene and menstrual health.

Celebrated artists Avril Nyambura and Jasper Muthomi, aka MC Jesse, who were the chief guests, appealed to the government to provide free sanitary pads to schools to save the girls from stigma and embarrassment during that time of the month.

Avril said that through legislation, pads can be freely given to schools to help the girls achieve menstrual hygiene.

“If, during our time, the government could provide all primary schools with free milk, why not sanitary pads, which are more essential?” posed Avril.

MC Jesse, on his part, called on the government to consider scrapping all taxes on sanitary pads to make them affordable with a view of empowering women.

During the sensitisation meeting with the students, free sanitary pads and other gifts were distributed.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has conducted its branch elections for Marsabit County, that saw new branch officials elected into office.

The new leadership immediately pledged to automate services with a round-the-clock reach for the members, aimed at creating a conducive environment for the local business community.

During the elections held at the Catholic Conference Hall in Marsabit town, Mr. Salim Haroub defeated the incumbent, Mr Gure Ali, after garnering 159 votes against the opponent’s 141 votes to clinch the chairman’s seat.

The vice chairperson’s seat went to Mr Ali Nur Mumin, who sailed through unopposed.

The stiff elections were presided over by the chamber’s independent electoral board commissioner, Erastus Wanjohi, who commended the Marsabit business community for showing interest in the elections and conducting themselves responsibly despite the stiff competition witnessed.

The commissioner called on the new leadership, which includes nine directors, to work as a team to be able to serve the members effectively.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Haroub said that digitization of operations would be a priority in order to make the branch secretariat more responsive to the needs of the members.

The chairman added that the branch would strive to forge good working relations with both the national and county governments as the best way of creating an enabling environment for investment and business in the county.

“That is the best way we can protect our interests as traders so that we can expand and prosper,” he said, adding that thriving businesses were a sure bet of increased revenue for the government and enhanced development.

Urging local traders at all levels, that include small, micro, medium, and large enterprises, to register as members of KNCCI in order to strengthen the organisation, Mr Haroub pledged to accommodate the old leadership of the branch in the running of the chamber affairs.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Busia County Government has received pharmaceutical drugs worth Sh7.3 million from KEMSA, the County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Health, Beatrice Nakholi, has revealed.

Speaking to the press at Matayos Sub County Hospital, Nakholi said that the consignment was part of Sh14 million worth of drugs whose order was placed by the county.

“The budget is for the county government, and we placed an order of Sh14 million, but we have only received drugs worth Sh7.3 million while awaiting the rest,’ she said, adding that the commodities should sustain the county for a month before another bigger order is put in place.

She urged citizens to be on high alert on issues of stolen medicine and report them to the authorities with evidence so that they can deal with the issue as quickly as possible.

‘For many years, there have been cases of medicine being stolen in our hospitals, and now the county government wants to deal with the issue and close up the loopholes,” she said.

Busia County Pharmacist Abiud Machuki explained that the consignment contained essential medicine, adding that they were expecting other supplies like paracetamol, amoxillin, and capsules that are yet to arrive.

“This is not a supply that will last the county for a long period since it is an emergency order,” he said, adding that it will only serve the county for one month.

Machuki said that the emergency order will help serve the residents while they await another order since there has been a lack of supplies in the hospitals since the last big order was received in November 2022.

Source: Kenya News Agency