Mau Forest on fire

forest rangers battling the fire in Mau forest

Kericho County Commissioner Lucy Mulili was yesterday shocked at the massive destruction of the “virgin forest”.

Ms Mulili, who was on a fact-finding mission, said some fires were started by illicit brewers who were unhappy with government efforts to stamp out their business in the forest.

The commissioner, who was with the county security team and Ecosystem Conservator Thomas Kiptoo, said police had destroyed 3,900 litres of chang’aa and arrested 57 people.

She praised the Kenya Forest Service and Londiani Forest Association for fighting the fires.
Mr Kiptoo said forest rangers from Baringo, Nakuru and Nairobi helped to put out the fires, which have been eating up huge swathes of the South Western Mau Forest complex for more than 20 days.

Hundreds of volunteers swarmed the forest with water buckets and twigs to assist the forest rangers. 

By: Yussfe

BETRAYAL LESSSON BY SANAIPEI TANDE

Sanaipei Tande “mfalme wa mapenzi” singer has now a new video ‘ankula huu’.

The video blends coastal lifestyle with women dressed in deras conversing about Sunapee’s ex-boyfriend who brayed her love after scaling greater heights in a career. The Swahili set up  

Sanaipei Tande photo looks.

Photo by Sheila Duncan.

is unique making the video captivating.

The slow whine dance moves displayed in the video by Sanaa and the crew is top class.

It has received 2000 views in its second day since it was uploaded in you tube.

Story by: Sylvia Samba

BOMBSHELL ABABU PROMISES

Ababu Namwamba, Budalangi mp, has told his constituents to stop worrying about the allegations he is facing in the PAC (public accounts committee) since they elected him to represent them in parliament and not in the committee.

Embattled PAC chair Mr Ababu Namwamba adressing the
 press.

“I will not stop fighting against corruption whether am in or out of the committee, “said Namwamba. He handed over an administration block constructed Model high school yesterday.

Justin Muturi, speaker of National Assembly had last week suspended the operation of parliamentary watchdog body aimed graft claims.

Muturi directed committee on powers and privileges to investigate the claims and reports to the house within 21 days.

The ODM secretary general said he is innocent and determined to soldier on. He also said the case was thrown due to lack of evidence.

By Sylvia Samba.

ISLAMIC ATTIRES

Islamic attires simply refer to clothes worn by Muslims or their mode of dressing. Islam is largely practiced religion within the coastal region.

Most of the current buibui designs are said
 to be breaching Islamic laws. 

Buibuis or abayas are the common type of clothe worn by women. They also wear kanga commonly known as lessos in Swahili.

The Muslims believes that when a woman goes out without a buibui she is showing her nakedness which is considered as breaking Islamic laws.

Most muslim men preffer wearing white kanzus.

           

Muslim men also wore kanzus and kikois.they also wore Islamic caps designed specifically for muslims.

During wedding ceremonies women always wear a green or yellow veil and hijab while men simply put on their kanzus.

    

      

               

BY FATMA KASSIM ADM 1320/13

    A WOMAN CORPSE FOUND LYING AROUND KISAUNI,                                 BAKARANI  AREA

  

The body of  an unknown woman found at Kisauni.

Faces of Bakarani residence were filled with sadness after witnessing a corpse of woman lying around Namba Saba area in Bakarani yesterday dawn.

The residence confirmed knowing the woman for she has been a resident in Bakarani for more than five years and also a mother of a 3 year old daughter.

The cause of her death and the motives are still unclear after police report revealing that the woman was strangled to death.

‘A lot of crimes have been taking place within Kisauni and we are here promising you that we won’t rest until all criminals are brought to book’, said the police officer.

The body was taken to the coast general mortuary as the police carries on with investigation concerning her death. The police are appealing to her family members to go ahead with the burial program.

                                

                                                                 BY FATMA KASSIM ADM 1320/13

         "WE WANT IT BACK"

Rabai residents want Mazeras Botanical Garden back to Kilifi County after its continuous management by Mombasa County.

Under the Rabai Rights and Justice Forum, the residents have called for a consultative meeting between the two county governments so as to have the local community enjoy the services of the garden which has been used as a recreation center since early 70s.

Rabai elders during the meeting at Mauani garden.

'Mauani', as usually called by the local residents is said ti have been managed by Mombasa County Council before the birth of devolution in Kenya, but somewhat landed in the hands of Mombasa County Government, despite it being with the neighboring Kilifi.

Led by Kaya elders, they insisted that locals have the right to own the land, stating that devolution came to give them power to govern their own resources.

According to Mzee John Baya Mitsanze, the coastal region has experienced land injustices for over 40years before clonialism and after independence.

The elders claimed that the land was given to Mombasa County only to manage after the then British who had been given a green light by the local community to plant flowers and trees at the garden decided to leave the country.

Private developers are deemed to have grabbed the garden
so as to level the ground.

However, sources revealed that the garden ended up with Mombasa County due to its proximity to Mombasa City compared to the then Kilifi Municipal Town.

All the same, anonymous sources claimed that the land has been grabbed by unknown private developers leaving the locals with no rights to enjoy the cool breeze in the garden which is now becoming dilapidated.

According to the source, there are plans to level the ground, thus filling the water trenches, a move the locals have insisted should be stopped.

By Mrira Stephen.

THREE  SERIOUSLY INJURED IN A ROAD

ACCIDENT

Stranded passengers during the accident. Photo by
Mrira Stephen.

Three people succumbed injuries today Monday morning when a lorry lost control hit a tree and an electric post at Kibarani on the Mombasa Nairobi high way.

A motorcyclist who was just ahead of the lorry escaped death at a narrow inch after jumping from his motorbike but was injured and the motorbike damaged. The lorry driver and his co- were also injured.

According to eye witnesses the lorry is said to have had a brake failure leading loss of control hence the accident.

Residents of Kibarani area and passengers trying to help
remove tree branches from the road after the accident. Photo by
Mrira Stephen.

All vehicles heading to Mombasa town were forced to come to a halt since the lorry and some tree branches had blocked the road leading to a heavy traffic jam.

However police officers in collaboration with stranded passengers removed the branches and the lorry which unfortunately had a flat tire pulled away paving way for other vehicles.    

By Mrira Stephen.

‘DON’T BURN’

Burning land kills soil living organisms leading to desertification.

Crop farming is very important not only in Kenya but the entire world because it is the main source of food whether directly or indirectly. Since maize is the staple food in Kenya, we therefore grow a lot more than any other crop but let us leave it at that. We depend on two rainy seasons in a year and depending on the specific area, some receive more rain than the other

.

Farmers are currently busy preparing their lands for planting, but have you ever asked yourself what methods they are using to clear their lands and ensure they stay fertile? Most farmers (especially those in rural areas) surprisingly still use ‘clear and Burn method’ not knowing the more disadvantages they have more than advantages. They forget the benefits that surround treasuring of the waste.

Incase one fails to control the fire, it can destroy other crops and trees.

Burning the waste or weeds after clearing land leads to not only soil erosion but also death and extinction of native birds and wildlife biodiversity. It also removes forest cover, killing soil living organisms leading to infertility of the soil and making it unable to support growth of any kind.

Removing of all windbreaks also comes with the burning of the land, hence increasing wind erosion and sometimes when unable to control the fire, it might destroy houses, trees, crops and other properties leading to a great loss.

As a farmer, you should know that when you burn land, you might receive a high produce only on your first cultivation of that land but the second and henceforth very low produce due to the mentioned effects.

It is high time farmers considered using the trash or weeds as manure instead of polluting even the air and raising soil temperature by burning land hence depriving soil of its fertility.  

                                                                                                    

                        

                                   

By Mrira Stephen

IS KENYA A DEN OF CORRUPTION?

We all know corruption as dishonest or fraudulent conduct  by those in power typically involving bribery, but apart from those in power did you know that even those not are also involved?

In what was deemed to be a peaceful and non-corrupt country, Kenya ironically has a history if not a million page book full of a history in corruption especially politically.                                                                                                          

Mr John Githongo who named some forme ministers as beneficiaries
of the anglo leasing scandal but notrhing has been done yet up to date.

                                                   

Since independence from the late Jomo Kenyatta’s KANU government to the current Jubilee government under his son Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, corruption has been an order of the day.

Kenya has had a series of scandals to mention a few; The Goldenberg Scandal, Anglo leasing Scandal, Prison debts Scandal, Grand regency Scandal, Triton Oil Scandal, Maize Scandal and many more.

Despite market reforms, several business surveys reveal that business corruption is still widespread and that companies frequently encounter demands for bribes and informal payment ‘to get things done’ in Kenya. The reforms were also part of the current new constitution but unfortunately they have just been left like a history book in a library where people just read and leave it there, no implementation.

Fresh scandals have erupted and surprisingly its origin is those we call ‘our leaders’, the likes of The BVR kits scandal, Chicken Gate scandal and the current Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) scandal where unfortunately no one has been held responsible in any scandal.

From left: IEBC chairman Mr Issac Hassan, former IEBC CEO James Oswago
 and Energy cabinet secretary Mr David Chirchir who are said to be part of the
 chicken gate scandal.

Organs which were to help at least reduce corruption in our beloved country like Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) and the current Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) have  failed to do so. EACC has itself being involved in corruption issues and leadership wrangles hence raising questions on its integrity hence leaving citizens in a dilemma.

Kenya sits at position 145 of 175 countries with the 174^th country being most corrupt according to a research done by Transparency International last year (2014). This means that Kenya is the 30^th corrupt country in the world and the 2^nd corrupt in Eastern Africa.

Money has been the main exchange for one to get things
done in Kenya.

The public procurement suffers widespread corruption in almost every sector and an average Kenyan pays approximately 16 bribes per month. Just last week a resident complained to a certain radio station that his member of parliament’s wife who surprisingly is still in high (secondary) school applied for a bursary from the government and got more money than others who had also applied for the same. Why would an MP’s wife who is surprisingly still in secondary school apply for a bursary meant for vulnerable student?

Eradicating corruption may be hard if not impossible but we can all unite and fight this fatal ‘fatal’ disease so as to at least reduce it.

Organs like the Judiciary and Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission should remain independent without leaning on any political divide. Civil servants should be paid well, transparency and openness should be practiced in government spending and most importantly establishing smart technology for the betterment of our motherland Kenya.

A country full of corruption cannot prosper in achieving its goals!

By Mrira Stephen