Police pull down PEV photo exhibition at a peace meeting in Naivasha
“Secondly, the Constitution was promulgated without a warning that as long as its implementation remained firmly on the hands of the thieving capitalist ruling class and their appendages (going by many toothless and puppet Committees), the new Constitution would continue to serve the interests of this rich class of wealth grabbers regardless of the good intentions encapsulated in the elaborate syntactic strings weaved magnificently in this document”. – Kenya Red Alliance
About the Author
The solution is to let Uhuru rule…….” Isn’t this the Mt. Kenya guy (Njuguna John) who cynically and shamelessly declared a while ago that, and I quote, “Kikuyus were born to rule Kenya indefinately! The other 41 communities were born to follow…..” ? Kenyans must thank Njuguna profusely for “letting the cat out of the bag!” This is the predominant opeque motto of the political conniving elites from this part of the country
This will be the Future of Turkana Oil> http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/08/20128412255358580.html>
Kenya’s $12 million renovation of Parliament includes $3k chairs
By Andrew Moran
Aug 7, 2012
Nairobi – Known as some of the highest paid Members of Parliament in all of Africa, Kenyan elected representatives are about to get a lap of luxury following a $12 million renovation of the nation’s parliament.
The average MP in Kenya earns approximately $168,000 per year, which is more than what MPs earn in Great Britain, Canada and France. It wasn’t until the summer of 2010 that they started to pay taxes on their income.
A $12 million renovation of the country’s parliament will now permit the MPs to work in luxurious conditions, especially how they sit. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki opened the doors to the refurbished chambers amid controversy.
BBC News is reporting that the country’s taxpayers were charged $3,000 for each of the 350 red chairs, which were constructed by the prisons department. Originally, the chairs had a price tag of $5,000, but MPs didn’t feel comfortable about the heavy price.
Each of the 350 chairs weighs 50kg, is fireproof and comes with a 30-year guarantee. In total, the chairs accounted for more than $1 million of the entire $12 million renovation budget.
“The changes we are making are going to input positively in governance,” said parliamentary speaker Kenneth Marende in an interview with the British news outlet. “Now the member will be completely on his own, he will be independent, he will make up his mind and just press a button.”
Although there are only 220 sitting MPs, next year’s election will have 350 elected officials as per the newest constitution.
Kenya currently maintains a national debt of more than $7.7 billion, it has a $17.7 billion budget deficit and Kenyan Finance Minister Robinson Githae raised government spending by 25 percent.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/330275
http://www.ifex.org/kenya/1999/08/23/publisher_jailed_magazine_banne/
Publisher jailed, magazine banned
(NDIMA/IFEX) – On Friday 20 August 1999, the publisher of “The Post on
Sunday” magazine, Anthony Muiruri Gachoka, was jailed for six months,
without the option of a fine, for contempt of court.
**Updates IFEX alerts of 16 July, 24 February, 17 February and 16 February
1999**
Gachoka’s publishing firm, The Post Ltd., was fined Kshs 1 million (approx.
US$13,500), which must be paid before the magazine can resume publication
and circulation.
Gachoka represented himself and his company in the landmark case. However,
he claimed to have obtained considerable legal opinions from lawyers Paul
Muite, James Ochieng Oduol and Gibson Kamau Kuria. His last-minute plea for
a medical check-up upon his conviction and sentence fell on deaf ears.
The court ruled that the penalty imposed on the publisher and his firm was
not meant to protect individual judges against slander, but rather members
of the public, who should not lose faith in the judiciary and the
administration of justice in the country.
Gachoka faced an imminent jail term after Attorney-General Amos Wako
instituted the contempt proceedings against him on 15 February. He fled the
country for the United Kingdom via Uganda, but returned from his self-exile
on 25 May.
The publisher was found guilty of contravening the sub judice rule and
making unjustified attacks on the Appeal Court which, the court ruled, was
calculated to bring the administration of justice into disrepute and
contempt.
The unanimous decision was read for three hours by each of the seven judges,
who convicted Gachoka and his firm and jailed the publisher without the
option of a fine. The judges were: Appeal Court judges Evans Gicheru,
Richard Otieno Kwach, R. S. C. Omolo, A. A. Lakha, A. B. Shah, Philip Tunoi
and Effie Owuor.
The offending articles were cover stories in the 31 January to 6 February
issue of the weekly, headlined “Chesoni Implicated in an Orgy of Judicial
Anarchy and a Shs 30m Bribe”, and in the 7 to 13 February issue, titled
“Judiciary in Panic as Chesoni Falls Out of Favour and Sues”.
In the printed comments, the publisher had claimed that Chief Justice
Zaccheaus Chesoni had pocketed a Shs 30 million (approx. US$405,000)
protection fee from Goldenberg suspect Kamlesh Mansukhlal Pattni after an
official trip to New York in early 1999.
When the case came up for hearing on 7 June, Gachoka named President Moi and
his family as the principal forces behind the infamous Goldenberg scandal.
In an affidavit sworn on grounds of opposition to the suit against
him,Gachoka said he wanted prominent personalities summoned to testify in
his defence and charged that top ranking government officials were privy to
the Goldenberg conspiracy.
But he made an about-turn on 14 July and withdrew all his documentation,
saying he would rely on tape-recorded conversations between himself, the
president and the attorney general once he took the witness box.
The contempt proceedings were heard for three days – 3, 4 and 5 August –
when the High Court and Court of Appeal were on vacation.
Gachoka also risks paying substantial amount of money in damages to the
Chief Justice, who has separately sued for defamation in his private
capacity in the High Court, which has already issued restraining orders
against him.