National

Court bars 49 speakers from declaring seats vacant

This is the second win in weeks after the Court of Appeal recently ruled that MCAs wishing to contest for higher positions need not resign before their terms are over.

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Published

2 months ago

March 18, 2022

Pristone Mambili

Nakuru Law courts.PHOT0/Courtesy.

A Nakuru High Court has barred 49 speakers from declaring seats vacant.

Justice Joel Ngugi in his ruling on Friday, barred speakers of the Senate, the National Assembly and the 47 county Assemblies from taking action against elected leaders who resigned from their original parties to other parties.

The ruling has been welcomed by Kabazi MCA Dr Peter Mbae who was also the petitioner.

“I welcome the ruling this morning by Hon. Judge Prof. Joel Ngugi barring the Speakers of the Senate, the National Assembly and the 47 County Assemblies from declaring seats vacant that are held by members who resign from their original parties to other parties.It is the most progressive interpretation of the Constitution and other laws against the Jubilee officials who wanted to use the law selectively to punish us for exercising our rights to move to other parties” stated Mbae.

Mbae who was elected on Jubilee ticket in 2017 but decamped to UDA, petitioned the courts on 25th February in consultation with, on behalf of and with support from all elected Senators, MPs and MCAs moving to UDA.

Justice Ngugi also dismissed the Preliminary Objection by Nakuru County Assembly Speaker Joel Maina Kairu who is the First Respondent in the case.

The Attorney General was listed as the other Respondent while the Registrar of Political Parties, IEBC and the Speakers of the Senate, National Assembly and the other 46 County Assemblies were listed as Interested Parties.

The judge also certified the case as one raising a substantial question of law in terms of Article 165(4) of the Constitution and referred it to the Chief Justice to assign an uneven number of Judges to hear and determine it.

“We all loved Jubilee and hoped to live happily thereafter, but they decided to kill it to deny us a party to run on in 2022 and I don’t know why again they feel offended when we move to our new UDA home” added Mbae.

According to him, the judge has affirmed that constituents have a right to representation to the last day hence a right to choose party of choice for the next general elections.

This is the second win in weeks after the Court of Appeal recently ruled that MCAs wishing to contest for higher positions need not resign before their terms are over.

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National

Uhuru Gardens ready for Madaraka Day fete, says PS Kibicho

The principal secretary said they would be visiting the gardens every Thursday until June 1 to ensure all loose ends are tied up properly, promising that the celebrations will be very colourful.

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Published

4 days ago

May 13, 2022

Jassor Leleti

Madaraka Day

This year’s national Madaraka Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi County will be open to 30,000 people, up from 10,000 in 2021.

Permanent Secretary in the State Department for Interior, Dr Karanja Kibicho, said this follows the relaxation of COVID-19 containment measures.

“Children will also be allowed in on the celebrations this year, and we expect county celebrations to happen too,” the PS said while on an inspection tour of the venue.

The PS said the government decided to move the celebrations from the County rotational back to Nairobi because it will be the last event for the current administration before it exits office.

“Because of the significance of this particular Madaraka day, being the last for this regime, we decided to celebrate it at Uhuru Gardens to break the tradition of celebrating it in counties,”

He revealed that preparations were currently at 90 percent complete and expressed confidence that all will be set for the event as the country marks 59 years of self rule.

The principal secretary said they would be visiting the gardens every Thursday until June 1 to ensure all loose ends are tied up properly, promising that the celebrations will be very colourful.

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National

Queen Elizabeth mourns Kibaki as a great Statesman with commendable legacy

Kibaki will be buried at his home in Othaya, Nyeri County on Saturday.

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Published

3 weeks ago

April 29, 2022

Correspodent

Queen Elizabeth II has mourned former President the late Mwai Kibaki eulogizing him as “a great statesman”.

“I was sorry to receive the news of the death of Mwai Kibaki. He had a lifelong record of service to the Kenyan people. It will be of deep sadness to your country to have lost a great statesman, but Kenya can take pride in the legacy of his leadership. I send you and the people of Kenya my condolences at this loss,” the message read.

The British High Commission further affirmed its close ties to Kenya and renewed its assurances to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“The British High Commission avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya the assurances of its highest consideration,” the High Commission said.

The late Kibaki passed away on 21 April 2022, aged 90.

President Uhuru, who issued a proclamation that he would be granted a state funeral with full civilian and military honours, announced his death.

Kibaki will be buried at his home in Othaya, Nyeri County on Saturday.

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National

Safaricom partners with Zeraki Learning for Digital Learning platform

This digital platform seeks to provide topic-by-topic assessments and powerful metrics to help students diagnose their weaknesses and track their progress.

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Published

4 weeks ago

April 21, 2022

Pristone Mambili

Safaricom Technology for Development, Senior Manager,l Benjamin Makai,Zeraki learning Chief Operations officer Erick Oude and Safaricom Product Manager Kennedy Kahura together test the newly launched video learning app on tablet during the launch of the Zeraki learning digital platform at Kenya Institute of Curriculum development.PHOTO/Courtesy.

Safaricom (NSE: SCOM) has partnered with Zeraki Learning to enable secondary school learners access affordable education services from well trained teachers and informative video lessons.

This digital platform seeks to provide topic-by-topic assessments and powerful metrics to help students diagnose their weaknesses and track their progress.

“Our investments in education, both from a solutions and philanthropic perspective, are geared towards addressing current gaps and boost youth employability. Through the partnership with Zeraki Learning we want to ensure that the platform makes digital education accessible and affordable. For parents, Zeraki gives them access to their child’s academic record which they can use to support their decisions”, said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.

Safaricom has added a touchpoint within MySafaricom App which will enable parents and guardians to subscribe for the service for as low as KES 20 a day. The amount can be deducted from customers’ airtime/postpaid bill or via M-PESA

“We are glad to be able to extend our services to Safaricom customers in a bid to make learning accessible to students from all backgrounds. By leveraging on Safaricom’s technology and platform and pairing it with our services, we will provide a solution that we hope will have a positive impact in Kenya,” said Isaac Nyangolo, CEO, Zeraki Learning.

Zeraki analytics offers the latest system of compiling and analyzing students’ data by providing an interface for results analysis, marks entry, and bulk messaging to parents. For the teachers, Zeraki analytics results gives them a new and easy way to analyze and visualize exam results.

The platform is available in the education section of MySafaricom App under the discover tab and on www.safaricom.com/elimu

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