Day: March 3, 2024

The inaugural Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owallo’s basketball tournament saw Onjiko High school narrowly edge out Maseno by 39 – 37 Saturday.

The clash, watched by the CS himself who is the sponsor through Eliud Owallo Foundation, culminatinated in Onjiko, the reigning Nyanza Basketball champions carrying the day.

Owallo, CS for Information, Communication and Digital Economy, promised to revamp the basketball game which was at its lowest ebb in the region.

He said the region was once upon a time the main feeder of Kenya national basketball team producing top notch players in the country.

The CS singled out former basketball giants in the sport as including: Lakers and Juakali with secondary schools; Maseno, St. Mary’s Yala, Cardinal Otunga (Mosocho) and Kisumu Boys.

He challenged the tournament organisers to select players to form two Nyanza based basketball teams- male and female- which would represent the region.

The CS appealed to the former top basketball players, charged with organising the tourna
ment to select best players to represent Nyanza.

He revealed that the players would be in two categories for boys and girls, saying they would be supported all the way.

‘We cannot watch our teams sink to the lowest ebb but we must work to nurture fresh talent as we strive to revive this game in Nyanza,’ he reassured.

Respective schools will also be supported depending on their priority needs alongside sports, he stated.

The tournament has attracted 26 schools from the Nyanza region with various organizations led by Kenya Sports Academy (KAS) and Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) camping there keen to scout for the best talented players.

All the 26 teams received uniforms donated by the Foundation. The participating teams included 13 boys and 13 girls’ schools from Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Nyamira, Kisii and Migori counties.

This translates to 390 student-athletes drawn from Nyanza schools having taken part in the tournament under the watchful eyes of some of the top cream players Kenya has ever had.

Ow
allo said that having been a basketball player himself, it was time to team up with other top notch colleagues to pay back to society.

He pointed out that talent is good only if it is well nurtured and fully exploited for income generation.

The CS advised the Basketball Federation to watch out for corruption which rocked the soccer game in Kenya with far reaching consequences.

The matches were played at Maseno, Kisumu Boys, Kisumu Girls, and Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.

Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) Director John Okwemba said they were scouting for talented players for a team set to represent Kenya in USA later this year.

Joseph Were who is the head coach for Onjiko, the Nyanza giant has set his eyes on the Eliud Owalo basketball trophy.

Were exuded confidence that his team would win the secondary basketball festival trophy despite the anticipated challenges from their arch-rivals.

Source: Kenya News Agency

SWAKOPMUND: The Namibian Police Force’s Unit Commander for Community Policing in Erongo, Chief Inspector Ileni Shapumba, has raised concern about the continued withdrawal of gender-based violence cases by complainants.

Shapumba noted that this continues to happen despite the fact that the police have repeatedly said anyone who wishes to withdraw a gender-based violence related case should only do so in court.

This comes after two repeat offenders were reportedly involved in cases of murder and attempted murder at Okombahe and Swakopmund respectively.

According to Shapumba, the suspects in both cases were recently released from custody after their alleged victims withdrew the cases against them.

In a crime report on Sunday, the unit commander said the first incident occurred between 02h00 and 03h00 on Saturday at the Okombahe settlement. The woman and her boyfriend reportedly had a heated argument and he then allegedly struck her with a rock. The attack left the woman with serious injuries on her head, upp
er arm, left leg and elsewhere on her body which resulted in her death.

A case of murder and obstruction or defeating the course of justice has been laid against the 26-year-old man, who reportedly attempted to remove evidence of the act and clean the blood stains.

The suspect has been arrested and is expected to appear in court.

The deceased has been identified as 34-year-old Beverly Theresia Nanus. Her next of kin have been informed.

In the case of attempted murder which allegedly took place in Swakopmund’s DRC Informal Settlement around 18h00 on Thursday, the 33-year-old complainant was reportedly stabbed all over her body and in the face with a bottle by her ex-boyfriend.

The woman has been admitted to the Swakopmund State Hospital.

The suspect was arrested and police investigations are ongoing.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The inaugural Cabinet Secretary (CS) Eliud Owallo’s basketball tournament saw Onjiko High school narrowly edge out Maseno by 39 – 37 Saturday.

The clash, watched by the CS himself who is the sponsor through Eliud Owallo Foundation, culminatinated in Onjiko, the reigning Nyanza Basketball champions carrying the day.

Owallo, CS for Information, Communication and Digital Economy, promised to revamp the basketball game which was at its lowest ebb in the region.

He said the region was once upon a time the main feeder of Kenya national basketball team producing top notch players in the country.

The CS singled out former basketball giants in the sport as including: Lakers and Juakali with secondary schools; Maseno, St. Mary’s Yala, Cardinal Otunga (Mosocho) and Kisumu Boys.

He challenged the tournament organisers to select players to form two Nyanza based basketball teams- male and female- which would represent the region.

The CS appealed to the former top basketball players, charged with organising the tourna
ment to select best players to represent Nyanza.

He revealed that the players would be in two categories for boys and girls, saying they would be supported all the way.

‘We cannot watch our teams sink to the lowest ebb but we must work to nurture fresh talent as we strive to revive this game in Nyanza,’ he reassured.

Respective schools will also be supported depending on their priority needs alongside sports, he stated.

The tournament has attracted 26 schools from the Nyanza region with various organizations led by Kenya Sports Academy (KAS) and Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) camping there keen to scout for the best talented players.

All the 26 teams received uniforms donated by the Foundation. The participating teams included 13 boys and 13 girls’ schools from Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya, Nyamira, Kisii and Migori counties.

This translates to 390 student-athletes drawn from Nyanza schools having taken part in the tournament under the watchful eyes of some of the top cream players Kenya has ever had.

Ow
allo said that having been a basketball player himself, it was time to team up with other top notch colleagues to pay back to society.

He pointed out that talent is good only if it is well nurtured and fully exploited for income generation.

The CS advised the Basketball Federation to watch out for corruption which rocked the soccer game in Kenya with far reaching consequences.

The matches were played at Maseno, Kisumu Boys, Kisumu Girls, and Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground.

Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS) Director John Okwemba said they were scouting for talented players for a team set to represent Kenya in USA later this year.

Joseph Were who is the head coach for Onjiko, the Nyanza giant has set his eyes on the Eliud Owalo basketball trophy.

Were exuded confidence that his team would win the secondary basketball festival trophy despite the anticipated challenges from their arch-rivals.

Source: Kenya News Agency

About 500 metres before you enter Nyeri town, at the Temple Road junction, is where you find Boaz Njogu, a dancing sensation who has captured the attention of motorists on the busy Karatina-Nyeri highway.

For anyone keen to observe, you will notice that the 23-year-old is not just focused on entertaining road users, rather he is on a road safety campaign mission. Next to Njogu’s dancing stage (the sidewalk), your attention is quickly drawn to a wooden stand bearing messages neatly written on a manila paper. The tidbits, a combination of traffic rules, inspirational phrases and a Bible verse, are dedicated to drivers.

‘I want to appreciate drivers for what they do. I also hope to motivate them to stay focused behind the wheel regardless of the situation they may be going through,’ says Njogu.

Armed with a piece of carton box, Njogu started his solo road safety campaign six months ago in the middle the Nyeri Central Business District. He would later relocate to the highway upon realizing that he was not attr
acting enough attention. His motivation was the heart wrenching statistics on road carnage.

‘I started this campaign with the hope of changing the situation on our roads. We had gotten to a point where nearly every day, the country would wake up to news of a road accident,’ he says.

True to Njogu’s assertion, last year, more than 20,000 people are reported to have been involved in road accidents in the country according to statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

Data released by NTSA in February this year showed that losing control of the vehicle was one of the main causes of accidents in 2023 accounting for 929 deaths. Lane indiscipline accounted for 491 deaths while careless overtaking led to 443 deaths during the year under review. The NTSA report further reveals that 310 deaths occurred due to misjudging road clarity, distance or speed.

‘We are still witnessing a lot of accidents because motorists are not adhering to traffic rules. Many of the accidents are caused by speedi
ng, careless driving and careless overtaking. Motorists need someone to remind them of the traffic rules if we want to regain sanity on the roads,’ he says.

Currently, he has dedicated four hours of his day to this campaign. His day starts at 4:30 am in the morning when he writes down the messages and creates a music playlist to dance to. By 6:50 am, Njogu arrives at his duty station armed with his reflector jacket and wooden stand ready to start his campaign.

‘I take advantage of the morning traffic between 7-9 am and the evening rush hour from 4-6pm to pass my message to the motorists,’ says Njogu adding that during his free time, he fends for himself by taking up landscaping and fence trimming jobs.

His absence from the junction is also not taken kindly as motorists plying the route have gotten accustomed to his presence.

Martin Muriithi, a boda boda operator in at the Temple Road stage says, that whereas many may not appreciate what Njogu does, his presence on the road has played a part in restoring s
ome semblance of sanity among motorists especially his colleagues who are notorious for flouting traffic rules.

‘It is very rare to find someone that young who is that committed and courageous to take on such a huge task without any form of support. In fact, we normally get concerned when we don’t see the young man at his usual spot. As a boda boda rider, I appreciate that he takes his time to remind us about road safety and I would urge the county government to support his campaign,’ says Muriithi.

But it has not been a bed of roses for Njogu. He says much as he finds fulfillment in his daily routine, his campaign has also come with its own set of challenges. The greatest one being lack of finances to support his work. On most occasions, he is forced to dig into his pocket to afford stationery but on good days he receives tokens of appreciation from motorists.

‘I try my best to write fresh messages everyday so that I don’t lose the attention of the readers. To do this, I need a manila paper, masking tape
and a marker pen. The estimated cost of one message is Sh150. Since I don’t have a steady job, I have resorted to repeating some messages on several occasions especially when I can’t afford the stationery,’ says Njogu.

Similarly, he has not escaped the wrath of first time motorist and pedestrians alike who have misconstrued his campaign for an attention seeking venture. Njogu says that he has been yelled at and insulted on several occasions by people who thought he was a mad man.

‘One of the biggest misconception that people had when they first saw me on the roadside holding a placard, was that I was under the influence of drugs. Some said I was mentally unstable but with time, some have comeback to apologise and to even support this campaign by giving me money and some donate reflector jackets to support this course,’ he says.

Njogu believes that aggressive road safety campaigns such as his coupled with support from the relevant government agencies such as NTSA and the Traffic Department of the Kenya Poli
ce could help change the situation on the Kenyan roads.

He says that even though he may not have data to prove the effectiveness of his campaign, so far he has positively impacted on Nyeri motorist who have encountered him.

‘It is hard for people to forget about road safety and traffic rules when they have a daily reminder. What I do may not impact on all the road users, but I am sure I touch the heart of one or two motorists in a single day,’ he says.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Contractors who fail to complete county government project on time will have their contracts terminated, Makueni County Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr has warned.

Consequently, Mutula put on notice all contractors doing county projects saying his government would not condone delays and that he would ensure all development projects are completed within the time specified.

The governor was speaking on Friday at the Kathozweni Dairy Farmers Cooperative Society where a contractor has delayed piping water to the dairy processing plant for the last 10 months.

‘Going forward, I will personally ensure projects initiated by my government are completed within the time specified in the project. My government will no longer entertain such contractors, their contracts will be terminated,’ warned Mutula who was on a development tour of Kathozweni Subcounty.

During the development tour, the governor also visited Kwa Mbila Dam where he officiallycommissioned solar power panels that will help in pumping water to 13,500 benef
iciaries drawn from 23 villages in the area.

While saying the solar replaced diesel generator, the county boss expressed his concern at the vandalism of county projects allegedly by a businessman that he did not name and asked the police to take action against him.

‘I urge the police to take action against the prominent businessman who is involved in selling of scrap metal. He sends youths to vandalise county government projects,’ alleged the governor.

Mutula also toured Kathozweni Livestock Yard which is under construction and is 90% complete.

He was accompanied by Executive Committee Member (ECM) Agriculture, Joyce Mutua, Makueni County Assembly Speaker Douglas Mbilu among other senior county government officials and leaders.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi has decried the failure of the government to employ enough persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the Public Service despite the legal requirement provided by the law.

During celebrations to mark Wheelchair Day at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Friday, Wanyonyi said only a few PWDs were working in the public sector.

He said the discrimination could only be ended if the law requiring representation of PWDs in employment opportunities was implemented to the latter.

Wanyonyi proposed that all ministries and other organizations should have a disability policy on employment both in the national and county government to ensure their visibility.

He at the same time recognized the appointment of Isaac Mwaura, the government spokesman, saying it was a good step in recognizing PWDs in the society.

To ensure more visibility of PWDs, Wanyonyi proposed that the focus should be on appointive positions since elective positions were difficult to come by due to the c
hallenges that they have as well as the nature of politics in the country.

‘Focus more on appointive positions than elective positions as they are limited to help reach the constitutional mandate of 5%,’ he said.

During the event, over 90 PWDs benefited from wheelchairs. Led by Gakure Njaria, the beneficiaries recounted the number of times they have gone for interviews unsuccessfully despite meeting the qualifications.

‘Despite having fully qualified and being sure of doing well in interviews, jobs have been difficult to come by. The discrimination we face in appointments is saddening,’ said Njaria.

Dr. Mwangi Matheri, the JKUAT Wheelchair and Learning Centre project Leader urged the beneficiaries not to sell the wheelchairs for financial gain but to maintain and utilize them for their benefit.

‘We should ensure that as a country, people don’t only speak of disability mainstreaming but also inclusion within their societies, school, place of work and other spheres of life,’ he said.

Source: Kenya News A
gency

The government will give priority to mining investments committed to establishing value-addition and mineral-processing centres in Kenya as part of incentivizing investors to support the State’s agenda for job creation in the mining sector.

The Principal Secretary (PS) State Department for Mining Elijah Mwangi said Kenya’s vast mineral endowments have the potential to effectively address the unemployment challenges facing the country through the establishment of a local mineral processing plan; a move that would provide employment opportunities for Kenyan youths.

While calling for investors to apply for licenses to exploit Kenya’s mineral resources, the PS said that the policy on mineral processing and value addition encouraged the setting up of plants and refineries locally to accelerate mineral value addition processes.

That would not only be a catalyst for the creation of jobs but would also significantly increase the value of Kenya’s minerals in the regional and international markets, Mwangi noted

The
PS was speaking in Tharaka Nithi County during a meeting with Governor Muthomi Njuki and other county leaders to explore ways of enhancing cooperation between the two levels of government to promote the full exploitation of minerals in the region.

‘We are asking investors to apply for the mineral rights. The priority will be on investors who have expressed interest and capability to set up value addition centers, refineries, and processing plants that will not only increase the value for our minerals but also create jobs for communities and youth in this sector,’ he said.

The investment’s call comes at a time when the country is investing heavily in value addition in agricultural, manufacturing, livestock, and extractive sectors to promote the growth of local industries. This strategy is being viewed as the critical cog that will place Kenya on the trajectory of an industrialized nation.

The PS further disclosed that all mineral applications would be processed by April as he called upon all miners and deal
ers to get the required licenses to avoid being declared non-compliant. Already, the department has received over 1,200 applications for various mineral rights which would be processed by April. Additionally, 260 mineral dealing applications are being processed.

A major operation would be launched after April to weed out all illegal miners and close down any mining operation that would not comply with the law. Already, a Mineral Police Unit has been established to supplement the enforcement operations in the mining sector.

During the meeting, the State Department and the county government entered into a collaborative framework that would culminate in the establishment of the first state-of-the-art mineral laboratory in the region. This is in fulfillment of the Department’s commitment to decentralizing critical lab services to increase efficiency and promote profitability in the entire mineral value chain.

This collaboration will see Tharaka Nithi County provide land and buildings while the Department will
supply specialized equipment and experts to run the facility.

Governor Muthomi Njuki hailed the working partnership stating that it heralded a new dawn for thousands of artisanal miners and mining operations in the region.

He called upon investors to set up value addition plants in the region as he pledged to create a conducive environment that will allow the sector to thrive.

‘This county is endowed with a very facilitative environment for mining investments to thrive. We have adequate water, power, road infrastructure, and a vibrant workforce that will be an asset to any investor who puts up a value addition centre,’ he said.

He pointed out that the county was home to both strategic and construction minerals including copper, iron ore, and lime; resources that can transform the lives of residents of the region.

He also called upon the government to work closely with counties to exploit the mineral resources as part of bolstering inter-governmental collaboration to address the many challenges facing the
communities in mining areas.

Source: Kenya News Agency