8/22/2019 Reject 082

1/12

1Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t hSSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Read more Rejectstories online at w w w . m d c a r i c a . o r

A bimonthly n ewspaper by the Media Diversity C entre, a proj ect of African Woman and C hild Feature Se rvice

May 1-15, 2013

ISSUE 082

County government Challenges

Confusionover devolved

systemFunctions of county governmentsnot clear to many Kenyans

By HENRY OWINO

Majority of Kenyans are still unfamiliar withhe new system of devolved government that

has come into existence with the current Con-stitution.

Tis includes some o the recently electedeaders who will need more time to study andunderstand the system.

In spite the act that the Constitution is two

years old, there is conusion over whether thecountry has a devolved system or a unitary state.

Devolved government is well explained in

Chapter Eleven, Fourth Schedule o theKenya Constitution and recently pub-lished handbook on devolution by Kinu-thia wa Mwangi, chairman ransitionAuthority and his team.

According to Isaac Ruto, GovernorBomet County, Kenya has two levels ogovernorship; County Government with 47counties each led by County Governor and theother National/Central Government headed

by the President and his cabinet secretaries.Ruto, however, claries that it does not mean

there are two separate centers o power but a del-

egation o duties bringing leadership closer hometo citizens.

I must admit that there is a lot o conusionwith this new introduced system o governor-

ship. Even leaders themselves do not understandit, says Ruto. He points out: For instance, theinduction programme reads that governors in-

duction led by His Excellency Mwai Kibaki inNaivasha County. Yet this is Nakuru County notNaivasha as the leaders indicated.

According to Dr Alred Mutua, Governor

Machakos County, expectations o Kenyans oncounty governments are very high.

An aerial view o Nyeri town. Below: Chairman o the Transition Authority Kinuthia

wa Mwani and his team cut the ribbon durin the oicial launch o the devolution

system uide-booklets. The country is still in the process o adjustin to the county

overnments. Pictures: Joseph Mukubwa and Henry Owino

Continued on page 6

8/22/2019 Reject 082

2/12

2 Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t h ISSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Orphans in Trans Nzoia have their livelihood uplifted Water scarcityuelling confict

in KwaleBy ADAM JUMA

Vandalism o water pipes by neighbouringcommunities in Kwale County has le com-munities rom Shangia Village in Mariakaniwithout water or over 20 years.

Te villagers have accused herders romKwale o vandalizing pipes that supplied wa-ter to the area rom the main Mzima Springswater pipe.

Speaking at a community meeting withthe Mariakani Water Ocer at Shangia Pri-mary School, women rom the area called onthe Government to replace the old pipes withmetallic ones to curb the vice.

According to Beatrice atu, neighbouringcommunities have vandalized the pipes toensure that their animals access water leavingthe villagers with nothing.

Tis area is very dry and we rely on piped

water but we now have to buy a 20 litres jerrican at KSh40. We are also Kenyans and wouldlike the Government to address our plight,said atu.

Kili-Mariakani Water and SewerageCompany (KIMAWASCO) Mariakani regionManager Daniel Muindi noted that womenwere most aected by the poor water andsanitation system.

Muindi observed that the problem is gen-der based as mostly the burden o providingwater to the amily is the sole responsibility owomen and girls.

In this area drawing water and transpor-tation is the responsibility o women whohave to walk long distances due to the scarcityo the commodity and insucient supply,said Muindi.

VandalismWomen and girls are orced to walk over

20 kilometres every day to etch water in pansbecause piped water is only available rom theKenya Army barracks in Mugoya.

Te vandals cost us a lot o money that iswhy we had to abandon the main pipe supply-ing water to this area rom the Mzima Springs.Te only pipe that has a steady supply o wateris the one which supplies the Mariakani bar-racks and belongs to the Department o De-ence, Muindi reiterated.

He said the water company has no man-date to tamper with the pipes without the ap-proval o the Department o Deence.

Te scarcity is also to blame or the highdrop-out rates because most school goinggirls accompany their mothers to search orwater.

Speaking at the same meeting, Alex

Mwanza Executive Director Coast Forumor Human Rights called or a private-publicpartnership to address the problem so thatpeople have access to clean drinking water.

Mwanza said the organisation will soonstart a project that would enable reliable watersupply to the area.

Te initiative will incorporate a genderapproach while oering water and sanitationsolutions to reduce water-related problemsand ensure more girls are retained in school,said Mwanza.

Te project shall include establishing wa-ter kiosks to reduce acts o violence and ag-gression against women who etch water romlong distances.

Women also called or their involvementduring the implementation o all water proj-ects in order to transorm the current cultural

and social discrepancy in the area.Mwanza called on the provincial adminis-

tration to work closely with the communitiesliving around so that they can make good useo the project which is scheduled to start earlynext month.

By ABISAI AMUgUNE

An American volunteerschance encounter with abjectpoverty among orphans inrans Nzoia County a decadeago is now paying dividends.

Te volunteer, MarjaanaSeilonen, has since returnedand is now supporting 104children with ood and medi-cal care through her organisa-tion.

Seilonen recalls when sherst landed in the country andvisited a small village at Kimi-nini in rans-Nzoia Countyand ound most o the villag-ers living in squalid condi-tions.

op on the list were chil-dren, mostly orphans, roam-ing the streets instead o goingto school or the ree primaryeducation.

What also disturbedSeilonen was the act that de-

spite the villagers owning sizeableparcels o land, they were unable toproduce enough ood to eed theiramilies.

I was particularly touched by theplight o women who had lost theirhusbands either through natural cir-cumstances or the dreaded the HIVand AIDs scourge, she said.

Seilonen heard stories o mal-nourished children who were un-able to get ood or medical care.

EducationOne o the victims, Alex Wanja-

la, dropped out o primary school atLukosi in 2007, ollowing the mur-der o his ather by armed robbers.

Since then, Wanjala, 20 with the

help o his mother and Seilonen,have worked hard together and hewas a candidate in last years KenyaCerticate o Secondary Education(KSCE) at St. Josephs Boys Second-ary School in Kitale.

Wanjala remembers his late a-ther as a police ocer and is happythat the American volunteer haspromised to sponsor him to college.

Aer experiencing the hardshipo the villages in Kiminini, Seilonen

ew back to the United States where

she mobilized or sponsorship to bechannelled back to Kenya.

Trough a non-governmental or-ganisation known as Ordinary Wom-en Incorporation (OWI), Seilonen, asits President, embarked on a missionto empower Kenyan women to attainbetter lives.

She partnered with a Kenyancommunity based organisationbearing a similar name to coordinateactivities between the two countries.

Seilonens counterpart in Ke-nya Alice Wanyama says that sincethe inception o Ordinary WomenIncorporation in Kenya, the localcommunity has beneted sociallyand economically.

Tey were speaking in Kiminini

on the groups Environmental Daywhen they led members o the Ke-nya Ordinary Women Incorpora-tion and area residents in a day longcleaning exercise at the township.

Said Seilonen: What started asa womens aair has now grown toalso include men since they are alsoregarded as members o a amily. Wehave included men in our Kenyanprogramme to sensitise their amilieson childcare.

oday, Ordinary Women Incor-poration is catering or 104 childrenor their ood, school ees and medi-cal care.

Cyber servicesApart rom conducting seminars

on social care, Ordinary WomenIncorporation recently introducedcyber services at Kiminini markedwhere the residents can commu-nicate with the world using moderntechnology.

Under the clarion JoiningHands or Global Change, the twopartners invited doctors orm bothcountries who recently convergedin rans Nzoia to oer a ree medi-cal treatment camp.

We were able to treat nearly1,000 patients and our doctors ex-changed inormation on tropicaldiseases. Both sides benetted intheir own ways, said Seilonen in aninterview.

Te US branch o Ordinary

Women Incorporation with itsheadquarters in Caliornia and itsKenyan arm have now acquired a3.4 acre piece o land on the outskirtso Kiminini town on which theyintend to construct a ull-edgedhealth centre in view o the growingnumber o tropical diseases.

Both Soilenen and Wanyama, anutritionist, can aord a smile aerseeing the behavioural change inthe orphans and widows.

From nourished children to thetolerance o widows in homes, the

non-prot making groups have im-proved the social set-up o the com-munity.

According to a guardian to anorphan Gertrude Wanjala, Ordi-nary Women Incorporation hadinitiated table-banking or hergroups members who currentlyare involved in small-scale businessin Kiminini and the neighbouringtowns such as Kitale, Bungoma, Ki-milili and Webuye.

Kiminini women in a clean-

up exercise durin the OWI

Environmental Day. Below: L-R:

gertrude Wanjala, OWI US President

Marjaana Seilonen and Kenyan

counterpart Alice Wanyama.

Pictures: Abisai Amugune

Reject writer bags

another awardBy DIANA WANYONYIand MERCY MUMO

Te second Annual Journalism ExcellenceAwards (AJEA) gala which was the held atthe Kenyatta International Conerence Centre(KICC) in Nairobi last week saw a number oprint and broadcast journalists recognised ortheir various contributions in journalism.

Diana Wanyonyi got eted in the Childrenand Youth Aairs Reporting Award categorywhere she submitted a radio eature on the risksthat children under the age o 18 ace with manyo them being inected with SIs and AIDS.

Te story ocused on a number o incidencesat the Coastal part o Kenya where 50 children

are reportedly deled monthly, 80 per cent be-ing girls and the remaining percentage beingboys.

I give my heartelt appreciation to the Bara-ka FM team or the endless support they havegiven me to do investigative stories out o mycomort zone, said an elated Diana.

Many thanks also goes to the Kenya Media

Programme or nurturing my ca-reer through grants to acilitate mymovement while covering eaturesand to Internews- Kenya or the welltailored media training programswhich I have eectively participatedand got polished proessionally.

She also thanked AWC or giv-ing her a platorm to tell stories thatare least reported especially thoseinvolving the poor and vulnerablepersons at the grassroots.

Diana emerged top early thisyear at the National Council oPopulation and Development u-pange Awards, or a well-researched

eature on amily planning. In No-vember last year, the same eaturewas published in Issue 073 o theReject newspaper, a bi-monthly on-line publication o the Media DiversityCentre entitled Malnutrition linked to high in-ant mortality in Coast region.

Te story ocused on the statistics rom

Kinango and Ganze districts which accordingto the Kenya Demographic and Health survey2008 / 09 statistics, 71 out o 1000 live births diebeore the age o one.

Diana Wanyonyi displays her award durin the

second Annual Journalism Excellence Awards

(AJEA) ala which was the held at the Kenyatta

International Conerence Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.

She won in the Children and Youth AairsReportin Award cateory. Picture: Diana Wanyonyi

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

3/12

3Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t hSSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Joshua Malingi: FirstMalindi senator hails

establishment odevolved government

By ROBERT NYAgAH

oday when you meet him nothing speaks tohe position he once held in society because hes retired and operates as a small-scale armern Sabaki area on a one acre parcel o land on

which he also rears livestock.However, Joshua Henry Malingi, is no ordi-

nary Kenyan. He made history when he becamehe rst Kili County Senator in 1963-1964 and

also served as the Member o Parliament orMagarini between 1964 to 1969.

His leading an almost non-political lie alsosaw him nearly le out in the list o guests who

had been invited to witness the new senatorsbeing sworn-in. He was nally invited in whathe describes as an aerthought rom the au-horities.

Te clerk to the Senate had sent out invita-ions to the six; Philip oikam Lemein rom

Narok, M. A. Msallam rom Lamu, JuliusMuthamia rom Meru, William Rotich romBaringo, G. N. Kalya rom Nandi and NathanMunoko rom Bungoma but had orgottenMalingi.

Te ceremony eventually took place atKICC amphitheatre and was dominated by theelections o the speakers and deputy speakers.

At 82, Malingi looks physically t dressed inhis trade mark white short and a black pair orousers.

JubilantTe ormer Senator expressed joy that God

had kept him alive to see the new Constitutionwhich had rewarded Kenyans with a devolvedsystem o the government long preerred byKADU, o which he was a staunch memberand the party that propelled him to nationalpolitics.

Malingi expressed joy that the general elec-ions had ended peaceully noting that the lastime he saw bad politics in Kenya was aer the

2007 election when the country nearly col-apsed under violence.

I am happy to be around to have witnessedhe peaceul elections and the shaping up o the

devolved system o governance. As the thenstaunch KADU leader under the late RonaldNgala, I strongly believed and still believe thata devolved system o government allows airdistribution o regional and national resourceshence creating cohesion, said Malingi.

Although once in a while he is invited toattend celebrations to mark national days,Malingi notes that does not always enjoy therespect tting the position o a ormer senatorand an elder in Kenyan politics.

During the last Jamhuri day celebration, hewas oered a chance to address the gatheringby the then Malindi District Commissioner Ar-hur Mugira and was received quite well by the

younger politicians.Te young Malindi politicians were happy

o hear my voice and noted that an indepen-dence era politician was still around to oersome wisdom and guidance when needed.

Te humble peasant armer says that hedoes not mind mixing with the ordinary Ke-nyans among the audience during importantoccasions, especially when the communityaround the Sabaki Village in Magarini Con-

stituency where he lives, congregate to discussdevelopment.Sometimes I even sit on the ground to par-

icipate in development orums, explains Ma-ingi, adding that he had his chance when he

served the people as a senator and MP.Te ather o nine, among them six sons

and three daughters, Malingi is happy that

one o his sons is a chiein Malindi while othersare in various proessionsincluding journalism, thecareer choice o one o hisdaughters.

TrainingTe retired politician,

a onetime Christian bookstranslator studied at ADAChangamwe PrimarySchool in Mombasa be-ore attending Kamagam-

bo raining School inNyanza between 1947 and1952.

He rst worked brieyat the SDA church as aclerk in Mombasa andlater at Kendu Bay Presswhere he served or ouryears as a translator o missionary books.

He later moved to Kili Arican Councilwhere he worked as orest ocer retiring in1959 and returned home in Malindi.

Aer retirement, he had a chance to work inthe tourism sector and served as a supervisorat the Blue Marlin Hotel, then one o the mostpopular hotels among German and Swiss tour-ists in the whole country.

In 1963, Malingi joined ull time politics andwas elected as a senator or Kili County underthe KADU party ticket.

Tose days KADU was the most popularparty in the Coast region and had a huge ol-lowing mainly because o the popularity o thelate Ronald Ngala, explains Malingi with a nos-talgic smile and pride.

His elevation to a senator was a great occa-sion to him. My opponent was aura Malindiwho managed a mere 4,000 votes against my69,000 votes, he explains.

Te most notable senators then, Malingiconesses, were trade unionist Clement Lubem-be, Mwinga Chokwe and William Wamalwaamong others.

Tere were also charming people in theSenate such as Nathan Munoko and John Ki-baso, who served as the deputy speaker, recallsMalingi adding that those days lie was aord-able and simple.

Salaries or the senators and legislators in

the National Assembly then stood at KSh2,000.

RecallHe recalls that many things like owning a

car were aordable. Te ormer senator doesnot wish to dwell on how the senate was dis-banded but he was happy to automaticallymove into the National Assembly as the MPand served Magarini Constituency between1964 and 1969.

On losing the seat, he decided to retire hon-ourably and to concentrate on arming andserving God.

Since retirement, my lie has been smoothand peaceul, Malingi notes.

In 1964 I bought my rst car, a new Volk-swagen or which I paid KSh9,000, Malingi re-calls adding that by 1967 he had changed carsseveral times beore settling or a Volvo which

cost him KSh20,000 and would take a mereKSh300 to ll up with uel.I had the chance to acquire by purchase or

allocation large chunks o land when I served asa senator and an MP, but as a staunch Christian,I believed that my treasures are in heaven, ex-plains Malingi, using his walking stick to pointto the sky while adjusting his reading glasses.

Te ormer senator ad-mits that or some time aerhe le politics, things were

not very smooth nanciallyand like many ormer MPsand senators, he was alsopart o those who put up aght with the governmentdemanding a pension andgratuity payments.

Aer years o utile battleswith the government, Ma-lingi says, the governmentagreed to pay the ormer MPsand senators a lumpsum gra-tuity o KSh1 million threeyears ago which he agreeswas good and like a rescuepackage or many now age-ing ormer legislators.

He concludes: Te actthat the senate is back is a

great idea and a political de-cision by Kenyans throughthe Constitution. Tis ex-pands democracy and oersmore politicians a chance toparticipate in governance.Eventually we shall see a airsharing o national resources among all Ke-

nyans irrespective o the regions they comerom.

From top: Former Kilii County senator Henry Joshua

Malini 82 , durin the interview. Malini introduces

his son who is an assistant chie in Malindi to the publicat the Malindi stadium durin Mashujaa day. The

ormer senator sittin on the rass with wananchi at

Sabaki Dispensary. Pictures: Robert Nyagah

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

4/12

4 Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t h ISSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

A plate ull o demands or Kilif County government

Hope for squattersas Land Commissiongets down to work

By ROBERT NYAgAH

Residents o Kili County want theirGovernor, Amason Kingi, and hisnew team to give the shing industryand business community top priorityin their action plan.

Tey are optimistic that the Coun-ty Government will improve servicesand address most o their concerns.

Kili is a large County with a hugepotential or shing, agriculture, tour-ism, horticulture among areas.

Speaking on behal o 5,000 sh-ermen in Kili County, Coast regionBeach Management Unit (BMU)chairman Omar Msham, blames lackmodern shing equipment or theirpoor returns.

Te best sheries are usuallyurther than 20 nautical miles inside

the sea while the small dhows usedby many shermen have the capacityto only access sheries less than 10nautical miles away rom the shore-line, explains Msham.

He wants the County governmentto work closely with banks to give

shermen loans to acquire modernequipment such as shing gear, boats

and cold storage acilities.We need powerul large boats

with good inbuilt engines to be ableto sail between 30 and 45 nauticalmiles inside the Indian Ocean andaccess the best and high yieldingsheries, notes Msham.

According to the shermen, Kil-i County government, will need towork with the stakeholders to reclaimand protect some o the beach shlanding depots grabbed by private de-velopers and turned into private use.

ConditionsIn Malindi town about 400 trad-

ers at Kwajiwa Wholesale Markethave been operating under unhealthyand deplorable conditions inside an

old building which lacks ventilation,protests continue to mount.

Members o the Kwajiwa Mar-ket raders Association are askingthe County government to improvehygiene at the market as a matter ourgency and importance.

Mohammed Abbas, a stall ownersays that being the main wholesale

market which is depended on by thetourist hotels or their meat, vegeta-ble, ruits and other resh supplies,the acility needs to be reurbished.

Te same sentiments are ex-pressed by the Matunda Sales Groupo about 30 young people, who sellruits in the open air and are appeal-ing to the Governor and his team toimprove their working environmentby building modern shelters or them.

Khalia Saro Mae, chairperson othe group says: Garbage collectionis also compromised by lack o reusechambers or dustbins, yet the zonehas ruits which are expected to besold in hygienic conditions to avoidcontamination.

Female traders who specialise

in the sale o live chicken under theMalindi Kuku raders hope that theCounty government will providethem with shelter and other acilitiesincluding clean water and sanitationacilities.

Te traders presently operate in

the open and have makeshi shedsor their chicken which they use to

shield their animals rom the sun orthieves. Te traders say that becausethey pay or the required ees to un-dertake trading, they should not beoperating without basic amenities.

Even with the general demandor better services across the KiliCounty, the business communityunder the Kenya Chamber o Com-merce and Industry is already at log-gerheads with the Malindi MunicipalCouncil over increased charges orsingle business licence.

OperationAccording to Andrew Mat-

taza, chairman o the Chamber, theCounty government is operationaland should immediately overrule

the Malindi Municipal Council andreview the licence charges down-wards in a bid to assist the morethan 3,000 traders who are aectedby the raised ees.

Te charges or the single licensepermits were done without con-

sultation with stakeholders and insome instances the ees were raised

rom KSh3,000 to KSh8,000 per yearwhich was illegal and unair, notesMattaza.

Te more than 400 beach traderswho sell various curio items to tour-ists and who operate on access roadsare demanding that the County gov-ernment intervenes to control trad-ing o curios in hotels and also pro-vide them with social amenities suchas clean water and toilets.

According to Consolata Ogutu,chairperson o the Baharini Wom-ens Group, the county governmentshould build them a proper marketwith all the required acilities includ-ing clean water, toilets and lighting toensure that they could also operate atnight.

She hopes the County govern-ment would provide its own secu-rity to the beach traders and touristsinstead o the present group o theourist Police Unit ocers, whomhe accused o harassing and arrestingthe traders on imsy grounds.

By YUSUF AMIN

Squatters in Coast Province can nowheave a sigh o relie aer the Na-tional Land Commission ordered orthe suspension o the controversialeviction orders until urther notice.

According to the Land Commis-sion chairman, Dr Mohamed Swa-zuri, the directive will be appliedthroughout the country.

Swazuri described the evictionsas inhuman and in contravention othe new Constitution.

He noted that the evictions hadbeen stopped until the Eviction andSettlement Bill is passed by Parlia-ment and enable squatters rightsrespected and protected.

EvictionSwazuri noted that most o the

aected squatters had been evictedrom the lands where they had livedon and known as their home or de-cades. He expressed hope that thenew law would curb the problem.

Many people, especially in theCoast region, have been evictedwithout being resettled elsewhere,this must come to an end, Swazurisaid.

He lamented that during evic-tions most o the victims who su-ered were women and children whowere orced to spend the nights inthe cold.

Why should someone demolishpoor Kenyans homes without proper

notication? Swazuri posed. Headded: Tis should be a thing o thepast. We should respect and protecteveryones rights.

Swazuri asked the Police Com-mission to ensure that no evictionwas carried out until the said Bill wasdebated and passed by Parliament.

He was addressing journalistsduring the opening o new lands reg-istry oces in Kili town that have

been unded by USAID through Ke-nya ransition Initiative.

Swazuri announced that he hadinormation that Coast region hadone o the highest cases o pendingeviction orders in the country.

He noted that most o the peo-ple in the region had been livingas squatters or decades saying thatsome measures have been proposedto address the problem through theConstitution.

ResolveIn Kili County, or example, the

land question is a big issue that hasnever been resolved since indepen-dence.

Civil servants in the lands oce

have been accused o colluding withothers to benet rom settlementschemes at the expense o the locals.

Te residents have also accusedsome land ocers o being biasedin dividing the land in the schemesby avouring inuential leaders andcertain communities at their ex-pense.

Tey asked the Land Commissionto intervene and investigate the alle-gations.

Led by Human rights activist, EricKarisa Mgoja, residents rom KijipwaSettlement Scheme asked the Com-mission to visit the scheme on a actnding mission and hear their com-plaints.

Wrangles have been brewing invarious settlements schemes and the

Commission should intervene andhave the problem solved beore any-thing bad occurs, Mgoja said.

During the handing over o theoces, Swazuri assured residents oKili County that their complaintswould be investigated so that every-one will be able to get a title deed anduse it as security in acquiring loansin banks and other nancial institu-tions.

On his part, Kili District Ocer(DO) 1, Paul Rotich, said the areahad experienced land problems ormany years. He asked the Commis-sion to intervene and solve them.

Rotich lamented that Kili resi-dents had not been sensitised enoughon how they could acquire title deedsrom the lands oce.

ConsequencesPeople in this region should be

educated on how they can acquiretitle deeds rom the lands oce inKili so that the squatter problemcan be solved once and or all, hesaid.

Meanwhile Kili Governor, Ama-son Kingi, has warned land grabbers

that their days are numbered. Heasked them to surrender the land tothe Government or ace the conse-quences.

Most o the Government land inthe county has been grabbed leadingto lack o land or establishing thecounty headquarters, Kingi said.

He stated that his governmentwould repossess the land so that in-vestors start developing the county.

The National Land Commission chairman Dr Mohamed Swazuri

viewin some o the les in Kili lands ofces. Below: Dr Swazuri

openin the new lands reistry ofces in Kili town unded by

USAID throuh Kenya Transition Initiative.

Pictures: Yusuf Amin

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

5/12

5Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t hSSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Kitui residents want therundown goldmines revived

By ANDREW ELIJAH

Residents o Kitui County are looking up toheir new Governor, Julius Malombe, and hiseam to revive two natural resources in the area

which they describe as a goldmine.Te two are Mutomo Hill Plant Sanctuary,

which is 75 kilometres rom Kitui town, andSouth Kitui National Game Reserve, that is 32kilometres away.

Charles Kiethe, a community leader says:I believe that our new governor will spearheadrenovation o this sanctuary and even our gamereserve, which have been abandoned since 1979o create jobs, boost the economy and attractourists and researchers as well.

According to Peninah Malonza, Kitui Coun-y Deputy Governor, they will give priority to

revamping and marketing the sanctuary and thegame reserve in addition to exploiting mineralsn the area to boost the revenue collection in the

county.It is a shame that our people have gone hun-

gry or years while we are sitting on goldmines,because we have lacked visionary leadership,Malonza noted.

George Glassen, the brains behind the sanc-uary would denitely be a very dejected man

were he to rise rom the dead today.It is home to over a 100 dierent indigenous

species o plants most o which are believed tohave medicinal value.

Te sanctuary, standing on a 100 acre landhas been abandoned over our decades sinceGlassen, a Swedish botanist who was then chair-man o the Kenya Horticultural Society, discov-ered it in 1965.

DiscoverIt has been le to rock hyraxes, monkeys,

snakes and rock rodents to stroll comortablywithout anyone showing concern about its ex-stence.

Correspondence obtained rom oces o theocal authority reveal that Glassen had aer an

extensive expedition o the country discoveredhe richly unique composition o indigenousrees and vegetation on the Mutomo Hill, which

he termed as: Te best representative o thesemi-arid ecology-rich in natural vegetation,trees, shrubs, annuals and succulents.

He instantly ell in love with the native oragrowing at the strategically placed rocks at thepeaks o the small range o rocks on the hillsprompting him to approach the local authoritywith a proposal to establish a sanctuary in thearea.

Te area was ideal and still is or scienticstudy and research purposes ollowing its rich-ness in medicinal plants. It was also an attractivetourist destination to rock climbers and a pos-sible permanent source o revenue or the localauthority. With this in mind, Glassen developeda desire to conserve it against destruction.

Development began as a joint initiative be-

tween the local authority and Kenya Horticul-tural Society under the supervision o Glassenwho was able to source unds rom Europeanorganisations and other well-wishers.

He oversaw the construction o a rest houseand a water tank or visitors. A larger campingground was cleared and a ence put up coveringthe whole 60 acres around the Mutomo PlantSanctuary. wo caretaker houses were also con-structed in addition to a makuti- thatched din-ing hall and sta quarters.

ProductivityI remember well how this place was well de-

veloped; people came rom ar including tour-ists or camping, says 70-year old Nyamai Kasi-kali, a villager elder rom Kawelu.

Tat was in 1976 and the last time anythingproductive came rom the sanctuary.

Tereaer, like its ellow ora and aunahabitat in the region, the South Kitui NationalGame Reserve that interestingly lies 32 kilome-tres rom the Mutomo Hill Plant Sanctuary hasbeen a victim o negligence and empty promisesrom the local authority.

Vandals were le to deace the once scenicsanctuary. Te ence was pulled down, the steel

gate and water pipes stolen. Te rest house andcaretakers houses also had iron sheets, doorsand windows stolen.

Te County Council turned down an appli-cation rom a private investor who had appliedto lease the property in 2001. An oer rom theFaida Organisation (an advancement and devel-opment aairs organization) in the same year tojointly develop the sanctuary was also rejectedwith the council wary o losing revenue to pri-vate investors.

As that happened, the sanctuary was rundown and lost its image.

ReviveHowever, in May 2012 the council oated

tenders to interested consultancy rms to un-

dertake a new plant re-identication in thesanctuary.

In October the same year, the Kenya Wild-lie Services, Mutomo community oce hosteda meeting at the sanctuary with all governmentstakeholders and community leaders who de-bated and discussed possible ways to revive andrestore the glory o the sanctuary.

Mary Njingira, the warden at KWS Mutomocommunity oce, says they still have plans todevelop and market the acility beore openingit up to tourists and researchers.

Tis sanctuary is a resource that deservesreal attention and I hope I will be able to re-es-tablish it or the people, says Njingira.

However, residents are still pessimistic say-ing there have been too many alse promises.

Te South Kitui National Game Reserveand Mutomo Plant Sanctuary are acilities that

should not be neglected but developed to createjobs as well as attract tourists and researchers,says David Munyau, a local investor.

Beore it collapsed, the sanctuary was runby the Kitui County Council, which had takenit over rom the Kenya Horticultural Society,which started it 48 years ago. However, theywere unable to sustain it leading to its collapse.

Falling educationstandards worryparents in Kwale

By TERYANI MWADZAYA

Parents at a primary school in KwaleCounty wonder whether developmentwill ever reach their part o the country.

Tis is because o the state o the inra-structure and education at Lwara PrimarySchool.

o the pupils, each day is a nightmareas the school lacks basic acilities to en-able them attend, learn and sit or theirexaminations.

Te pupils lack desks and benches sothey are orced to improvise with logs andstones which they sit and write on duringclass.

According to Salim Mnemo, theschools headmaster, they have no optionbut to use logs and stones sitting arrange-ment in the orgotten school outskirtso Kwale town.

Te school has one stream which hasa shi class arrangement or class threewho study in the aernoon due to the ewclassrooms available, explains Mnemo.

According to records rom the KwaleDistrict Development Plan 2004-2008,ministries o Health and Education indi-cate that poverty levels are high.

About 50 per cent o the populationlives in absolute poverty where womenrom rural areas suer the brunt o this.It is rom this backdrop that Mnemo islooking or support so as to motivate thepupil to study hard and pass exams.

InterveneTe headmaster says another problem

bedevilling the school is lack o class-rooms which has discouraged pupils romattending classes regularly.

Cases o rape are also on the increaseand he is calling on the authorities and re-ligious leaders to take intervene.

Te county also suers perennialdrought, hunger and amine which Mne-mo thinks can be resolved through dryarming as practiced by the Republic oIsrael and proposed by the Coast Devel-opment Authority or adoption.

According to Mnemo, the area is ca-pable o sorting itsel out by using mod-ern arming technology to boost agricul-tural produce and ensure residents havewater and ood through new agriculturalmeans.

According to Mnemo boys are morethan girls in the school and he blames thison parents. Girls are orced to remain athome to take care o the young ones ordue to lack o ees, while their brothers areavoured at their expense, notes Mnemo.

He adds: Girls in this community aredowntrodden and marginalised socially,politically and economically by men dueto the patriarchal nature o its traditions.

Te major communities in this area, theDurumas, just like their Digo counterpartsuse traditional systems o governance thatis dominated by men when dealing withmurder, adultery, ornication, divorce,marriage and the among others.

AlternativeDespite the cost o living, Kassim

Juma, one o the teachers says that theresidents are encouraged to seek alterna-tive methods o livelihoods. .

Juma lauds various organisations thathave been conducting civic education andpeace-building programmes in the area

as well as those that have been promotinggirl-child education.

He commends the new Constitutionsaying he was optimistic that the devolvedgovernment would assist develop schoolslike Lwara Primary to provide qualityeducation.

Some o the structures constructed at the Mutomo plant sanctuary whose doors, roos

and windows have been vandalized. The sanctuary has now been reduced to razin

rounds with locals unaware o its history and importance. Picture: Andrew Elijah

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

6/12

6 Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t h ISSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Leaders push fornomination of more

women in Busia CountyBy LEONARD ACHARRY

Leaders rom Busia County want the Governorto appoint more women to the County executive

committee to address the glaring gender dispari-ties.

Only two women were elected, one to theCounty Government and the other to the Na-tional Assembly. Mary Emaase was elected therst woman MP to represent the newly createdeso South Constituency while Florence Obindawas elected Bukhayo West Ward Representativein Busia County.

Leaders in the County led by Nambale MPJohn Bunyasi and Busia County Maendeleo yaWanawake chairlady Zainabu Muyoti now wantmore women nominated to the County Assem-bly to bridge the gender gap.

Tere is need to nominate more women inleadership positions because they uphold integ-rity and are more sensitive to the needs o thepeople, Bunyasi said.

He promised to push or womens rights in

Parliament saying that women representation ac-count or 50 per cent adding that the 30 per centgender threshold was just minimum.

On the other hand, Muyoti called on the Gov-ernor Sospeter Ojaamong to ensure that 30 percent gender parity is achieved at the County ex-ecutive level.

We only have one MP in the National As-sembly and one woman ward representative inthe County Assembly. We are advocating or gen-der equity in the appointment o heads o variousdepartments at the County, Muyoti said.

She observed that women are the ones at thecentre o economic growth and it was importantto have them mainstreamed in the County lead-ership or the success o projects.

Money that circulates in this County is main-ly generated by women who brave the scorchingsun during the day to sell goods in the market,

Muyoti noted.However, she urged the electorate to electmore women in the coming elections so that theycan also have an opportunity o nominating men.

During the last elections, Faith Mammothwas the only woman who contested or Senatorsseat in the County against ormer Attorney Gen-eral Amos Wako and immediate Nambale legis-lator Chris Okemo.

Alice Were contested or the gubernatorialseat while our other women contested or par-liamentary seats in Nambale, Budalangi, esoSouth and Matayos constituencies and a numbero County representatives in various wards.

Out o these, only Emaase and Obinda gota nod rom the voters to join the National andCounty assemblies.

A mixed bag of requests from Trans NzoiaBy ABISAI AMUgUNE

Te county governments are primarily aboutgiving residents the mandate to decide on theirpriorities.

Even or those who never supported theelection o the County governor, they have a

right to determine how the governments willwork.

It is now dawning Dr Mike Mbito, a resi-dent o rans Nzoia County that the polls werenot about individuals but the subsequent deliv-ery o public service.

We want an enabling environment in thecounty where we can work or development.One does not turn around to sabotage andundermine development just because o losingin an election, notes Mbito. He poses: Whatdoes the common man expect o the electedrans-Nzoia leadership? Are the winners goingto deliver on their promises?

Mbito and other residents o the countywould like to see governor Patrick Khaembaget down to business o making their county abetter place or both men and women.

According to Dorothy Cherop rom Maram-

bach Village in Saboti Constituency, the womanhas always been down-trodden when it comesto the distribution o power and resources.

For example, out o 25 civic wards in thecounty, only two were scooped by womenwhile no woman was elected as an MP or thelocal ve parliamentary seats, she says.

Calling or respect o the one third major-ity in the inclusion o women representativesin the County Assembly, Cherop notes that the

County government leadership should ensurewomen are considered or the micro-enter-prise loans.

As women we only hear o the Women En-terprise Fund giving loans. Majority o us havenever beneted because o lack o security, ob-serves Cherop.

ReviveCherop suggests that the women should

be assisted in reviving the arts and cras sub-sector at the Kitale National Museum so as toattract eco-tourism.

However, Eliud Waula, a teacher in thearea discounts the concept o starting newprimary schools and oering them computerswhen they are understaed and ill-equipped.

Waula, who is chairperson KUPPErans-Nzoia County says: We should rst im-

prove on the learning environment o our pri-mary schools other than advancing them withlaboratories without science teachers.

He observes that there is no point o start-ing new schools when the existing ones werestill located in poor-learning environment.

We expect the governor and his team tothink o equipping all the schools adequatelybeore sanctioning or the registration o newones, says Waula.

PolicyIn the arming sector, local armers were

o the view that since the activity had becomeagri-business there was need to harmonise andregulate prices between the inputs and outputsor them to realise prots.

Farmers spokesman Erastus Seroney sug-gests that loaning institutions such as the Agri-cultural Finance Corporation (AFC) should bedecentralised at the county level and advancedto include insurance cover in case o crop ail-ure.

Noting that armers were undertakinga risky business, Seroney, wonders how aarmer was expected to plant, treat, harvestand sell his/her produce in a given year andexpect him/her to prepare or the proceed-ing season beore disposing o the harvestin time.

We should revert to the old system wherearmers were supplied with inputs withoutstrict conditions. Late planting has causedarmers huge losses, he says adding that arm-ers should be protected against natural calami-ties.

Seroney urther says arming should be

delinked rom party politics since armers donot conduct their business through politics.

For Michael Manyonge who is physicallyhandicapped, nothing is as sweet as seeing acounty that includes the disabled in their pro-grammes.

Manyonge, a ormer nominated councillor

and a member o the rans-Nzoia DisabilityGroup says the county leadership should in-clude the ve per cent stake in the running othe county aairs.

He says the KSh200,000 received rom theNational Council o Disability to coordinateor the county aairs o the disabled were adrop in the ocean.

On the business community, hotelier Ka-mau Muchori said the county leadershipwould be o help i it assisted in the improve-ment o inrastructure, including the Kitale Endebess road leading to the Suam borderpoint.

Kamau expects the agricultural sector to bediversied to include sh and irrigation arm-ing.

On behal o the minority groups o ur-kana and Somali communities, Albash Noor

called on Khaemba to implement the Con-stitution by involving them in running o thecounty activities.

Governors will be required toensure eective service delivery, pro-mote economic growth, and high lev-els o accountability or every singlecent spent, says Mutua.

AccountabilityAll governors must be ready to

work or the people who elected themand be accountable or every pennyspent, Mutua says.

Martha Moraa is a Nairobi based

businesswoman who travels a lotoutside the country. o her devo-lution is only meant to help in thesharing o national resources ratherthan creating independent regionsas some put it.

Moraa supports the statement byimmediate ormer President Mwai

Kibaki made during induction work-shop or new governors at the GreatRi Valley Lodge that elected gov-ernors should oster national unityby recognising Kenyans diversity asstipulated in the Constitution.

I really support Kibaki on hisstatement that governors should o-cus on uniting Kenyans despite thedevolution o power and resources.Aer all we are one people and Kenyaremains a unitary state, said Moraa.

She urther noted that the cen-tral government is there to represent

the whole country in national andinternational matters while countygovernment stands with residents onissues at the grassroots level.

Only 15 per cent o the total rev-enue collected by the reasury will beploughed back into the 47 Countiesor their development.

For a business person like me, Iwould like to see well-built roads notjust Tika Super Highway but oth-ers like Mombasa, Nairobi-Kisumu-Busia and Narok-Migori roads alsobuilt, says Moraa. She notes: Nai-robi County should lead in securityenorcement both day and night orour business premises to transact in24 hours.

For Carolyne Asutza, a secretaryin one o the companies in Nairobi,devolved government is meant togive powers to the people or sel-

governance and enhance participa-tion o the people.She emphasizes that this is the

time that minorities and communi-ties that have been marginalized orlong by the centralized governmentshould protect and promote theirinterests and rights. For instance;

county government would ensureequitable sharing o national and lo-cal resources throughout the country.

Asutza notes that i big maizemillers are going to be planted in herhome county and other stunted com-panies revived, many youths whonow work as boda boda (motor-cycletaxi) operators will venture into theirvarious proessional careers.

Tis will increase money cir-culation in Kakamega County andreduce idleness and land cases espe-cially o the by the youth, she says.

SectorConcerning education sector,

Asutza would like to see properschool management starting withenough teachers, classrooms, books.

Above all, I would like NairobiCounty Governor to ensure that

orphans and children rom pooramilies receive ree education espe-cially rom slums areas like Kibera,Mathare, Kawangware, Mukuru kwaNjenga among many shanties, Asu-tsa desires.

Pamela Owino, a sh-mongerbelieves that the county governmentis going to ensure her home county,Siaya is well developed. She says Siayahas lagged behind or years or beingin the opposition side but now everycounty is meant to govern and devel-op without marginalization as beore.

I am sure there is going to be ash cooling plant in Kisumu or oursh, other sh actories built right atthe lakeside to process sh while stillresh. In act, I see mysel vacatingthis expensive lie in Nairobi Countyand going back home do engage inbusiness, says Owino.

As women we only hearof the Women Enterprise

Fund giving loans.Majority of us have neverbenefited because of lack

of security. Dorothy Cherop

We expect the governorand his team to thinkof equipping all theschools adequately

before sanctioning for theregistration of new ones.

Eliud Wafula

Continued from page 1

Functions of county governments not clear to many Kenyans

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

7/12

7Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t hSSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Reconciling communities Marsabit Governors biggest headacheBy HUSSEIN DIDOOne o the major challenges acingthe Governor o Marsabit CountyUkur Yatani is promotion o unity andpeaceul coexistence between all theve major communities residing inthe expansive region.

Te just concluded General Elec-tion le the residents split on ethnicgrounds with minority communi-ties ganging up against the dominantones.

Te Gabra, Rendille and Burji tookone side against the Borana to sweepall the old and new political seats cre-ated under the new Constitution.

Although the larger communities

missed out o the sharing o the keypositions in the county government,women also lost aer men orgotabout them during the campaigns.

Te three minorities ganged upto elect one o their own at all costs.Te battle was so erce that the men

inuenced women to vote or a wom-ens representative o their (mens)choice.

According to Yattani Wario, urbiWard representative, male chauvin-ism and outdated cultural practicesare to blame or the ailure to have asingle woman elected to most o theour elective posts.

Wario conessed that the singlewomens representatives seat or Mar-sabit was inuenced and decided onby men, on behal o the women in thecounty.

DominateHowever, Lucy Bokayo rom Ka-

rare rading Centre diered with the

ward representatives views sayingnot all men were chauvinists.

She said women aspirants werealways put in a negative light by theirmale counterparts in order to benetand take advantage o the situation todominate in the politics.

Bokayo noted that women werebetter placed to play a critical role indevelopment once. She said womenwould be able to address a myriado the challenges aced by the com-munities.

She thanked the Catholic Peaceand Justice Commission or initiat-ing an advocacy group to spearheadcampaigns to empower women andthe community on gender and gov-ernance issues.

She noted that as a group theywill lobby the governor to increasebudget on the girl-child education toaddress their plight.

Despite being sidelined, the Bo-rana managed to clinch the position

o speaker and deputy speaker tomake up or the loss in the other big-ger seats.

A ward representative GalgaloGolicha appealed to all elected lead-ers to orget their tribal alignmentand work together with other elected

leaders rom various communities inorder to embrace cohesiveness andensure equal distribution o resourc-es and positions.

urbi ward representative PiusYattani says: Te leaders will nowocus on working together in orderto serve the people and achieve onsome o the election pledges that theymade.

CohesionTey raised concern over the way

the members voted in position ospeaker and deputy and called orunity and cohesion among the com-munities in the region.

Fears have been expressed that

the larger communities might bemarginalised in terms o taking posi-tions in the devolved system o gov-ernment.

On the eve o the polls, MarsabitCatholic Peace justice Commissionmoved with speed to conduct inter-

community dialogue in order to em-brace peace and cohesion among thecommunities in the area.

Te Diocese Peace Justice andCommission coordinator GodreyGodana said the church had con-duct a series o meetings betweenthe Rendile, Borana, Garba and Burjicommunities in order to oster rec-onciliation.

He said there was urgent need tosensitise the communities on needto discard tribal regrouping and em-brace unity and love among the vari-ous communities in the area.

"I am encouraging the residents oMarsabit County to co-exist in peaceand harmony as preached by the

church, Godana said.Godana said his organisation

would organise a joint peace race orthe morans rom the various com-munities in the counties or themto explore their talents and promotepeace.

Press reedom in Arica is obsoleteBy HENRY OWINO

Many nations in Arica are ar romrealising press reedom as most jour-nalists continue to work and live underear o attacks, arrests or even targetedor death and other threats.

Several Arican journalists haveown rom their home countries topractice their proessionalism in or-eign nations as reuge journalists.

Te worst countries in the region,where journalists would not carry outtheir duties reely and eel secure areSomalia and Eritrea. Tese are coun-tries where journalists have been tar-gets o kidnap and death or dissemi-nating inormation to the public. Tiswas realised even as the World PressFreedom Day was being celebratedglobally on 3 May.

More than 500 media proession-als and personalities rom 30 nationsglobally, converged in Nairobi, Kenyaor a two day conerence to mark thebig occasion in the media calendar.

Te day was ocially opened byKenyas President Uhuru Kenyattawhere he urged Arican leaders tolegislate laws that would not just al-low reedom o the press but security,saety and protection o journalists.

None o the countries in East A-rica is rated good enough in mediareedom although Kenya is the secondmost popular reuge or journalistseeing persecution.

ReportAccording to a Paris based report

released recently by Reporters withoutBoarders, anzania is the only countryin East Arica whose media reedomis considered satisactory despite theact that a journalist was recently beat-en while covering demonstrations andanother killed by goons.

Despite anzania being seen asthe best in East Arica, it is ranked 70globally, yet the best in the region ol-lowed by Kenya at 71. Uganda comesin at 104, Burundi at 132, Ethiopia at137, Rwanda (161) Somalia (175) andEritrea (179).

Te Committee to Protect Jour-nalists ranks Kenya second to theUK in the most preerred destina-tion or journalists eeling trouble intheir countries. Currently there areunknown number o journalists whohave own rom their motherland

countries or ear o their lives.Every journalist needs saety, pro-

tection and security as he or she oper-ates and this is not possible in Arica asmost media houses are owned by in-uential politicians. Te journalists inthese media houses report their stories

to suit the employer expectations or besacked. Te competitor media houseswould be embedded by the politiciansand in the contrary becomes targeto intimidations through courts withhey nes o compensation.

It is not easy to publish or broadcaststories negatively touching on these in-uential politicians. Any o such espe-cially investigative story linking poli-ticians would not see the light o daybut i it does then, the author and themedia house, ace consequences.

FearDespite being objective and air in

coverage with enough evidence romvarious sources, very little could bedone once the politician les a case in

court.Te journalist may end up payingthe hey court nes individually or themedia house pay ups and terminateshim or her. Tis trend has kept manyjournalists live in ear or their lives solong as the stories published or broad-cast reveal the truth and becomes sub-ject o discussion by the public. Tis isgenerally the work o media to inormand educate public which others ghtto gag.

In Kenya, the big day was organisedby the Media Council o Kenya (MCK),a body that ensures that the code oconduct or the practice o journalismin Kenya is adhered to by journalists.Tis was under the Media Council oKenya Regional Journalists Conven-tion 2013 held in Nairobi, Kenya.

In his speech, President Kenyattapromised to deend and promotemedia reedom in Kenya by imple-menting policies that promote mediareedom. Te President said his gov-ernment will ght any attempts to gagthe media or any other action that willcripple media reedom.

I expect the media to be at theoreront in educating and inormingKenyans so that they hold the govern-ment to account. We expect media toremain ree, air and objective becausethe sense o responsibility in the mediamust expand to social media and other

emerging orms o media, noted thepresident.

Te two-day celebration mainly o-cused on; media regulation in Arica,saety and protection o journalists andproessionalism in the industry.

Joseph Odindo, the chairman othe MCK condemned attacks on jour-nalists across Arica, saying they willcontinue with the good work o in-orming citizens.

Odindo wondered why someonecould just plan to do away with a jour-nalist or attack a media house or ex-posing impunity. He encouraged jour-nalists to work day and night to exposemore since it is the only way to curbimpunity in Arica.

Journalism is a proession underthreat on this continent. Journalistshave been attacked in countries suchas anzania, Somalia, Gambia just tomention but a ew. In some cases the at-tacks are by the government agents andin other case by goons, Odindo said.

Worldwide last year, 89 journalistswere killed, 38 kidnapped, 879 arrest-ed and 1,993 physically attacked. Nonecitizen journalists killed were 47 and144 bloggers attacked.

Tis year, at least 25 journalistshave reported various orms o threats

to their security and saety in dierentparts o the country.

Lynn Najjemba rom Uganda saidin her country there is no securityor journalists. She added that mostare being threaten with death by verypowerul people in Uganda whosenames she could not disclose. She ex-plained that the powerul orces haveordered or journalists transer to oth-er regions, some o who resigned romthe proession.

No reedomTere is no reedom o the media

in Uganda, my home country. Manyproessional journalists working inUganda have been deported to theirrespective nations or exposing cor-ruption deals in government. Forexample, a senior editor at a privatetelevision was ordered to quit Ugandajust because she reported on a shoddydeal between Uganda governmentand oreign one, Najjemba explained.

Recently, the Speaker o the Na-tional Assembly in Uganda arrestedone journalist or the story he pub-lished concerning Uganda Parliamentyet the story was valid. Te journal-ist had enough evidence to deendhimsel and prove his case right but

he was still arrested, Najjemba reiter-ated.

Valerie Nsoka rom anzania re-gretted that her country is being ratedthe best in press reedom in East A-rica, yet assailants are targeting manyjournalists. She said many have gonemissing or several months only to beound dead.

Nsoka stated that in anzania morethan hal o the journalists whetherreelance or correspondent or em-ployed work under great ear. Regard-less o stories published or broadcast,as long one belongs to the media in-dustry, he/she becomes a target.

In anzania, the goons target anypersons who calls themselves a jour-nalist no matter which media houseyou work or. Assailants see the proes-sion as policing agents or the govern-ment. Tough media and governmentrelationships are not that excellent, thetwo work reely, airly and indepen-dently, Nsoka stated.

Rwanda is another nation that wasspotted as dangerous ground or jour-nalists to operate in. Journalists arebasically being targets o attack thoughthe government is re-aligning themedia legislative laws to accord pressreedom.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and media proessionals across Arica durin the World Press Freedom Day

celebrations at KICC. He promised to deend and promote media reedom in Kenya by implementinpolicies that promote media reedom. Picture: Henry Owino

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

8/12

8 Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t h ISSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Hopes and ears as Countygovernment takes shape

By gEORgE OMONSO

West Pokot armers are upbeat that the newcrop o leaders will revive and promote thedairy, bee-keeping and horticultural industriesin the ar ung County.

Tey also want their rst Governor, SimonKitelei, to address the issue o mining and rev-enue distribution o natural resources like rubyand copper perennial.

But they identied cattle rustling amongthemselves and their neighbours as the big-gest threat to their development. Tey haveasked their Governor and his team to inter-vene so as to attract prospective investors.

Te residents are calling on their Gover-nor to give peace-building between the Po-kots, who are pastoralists, and their urkana,Marakwet, Baringo and Karamajong neighstop priority.

One o them, Nancy Loywa, rom Kacheli-ba Constituency, says she expects the County

government to promote and support dia-logue and sustainable peace processes to en-hance harmonious community co existence.

Cattle rustling has been a major sourceo conlict between the Pokot and her neigh-bours, especially the Karamajong in Uganda.

Rev Sammy Kasam is calling on the newcrop o leaders to unite the people o WestPokot with their neighbors by embracingPAKAUSA group that has been operationalin the region now or over a decade.

PAKAUSA is an acronym or Pokot,Karamajong, urkana and Sabiny which wasstarted by Pokot leaders. he group seeks toensure that there is peace among the com-munities living in that region. It mainlytargets communities that practice livestockarming.

ManageTrough PAKAUSA they have managedto reduce massive cattle raids. Te group hasalso managed to transorm close to 3,000 war-riors to peace crusaders, says Kasam.

Some o the warriors have embraced peaceand are now doing well economically aer con-verting to arming activities.

Te Pokot have diversied with some en-

gaged in trading their cattle at markets such asDagoretti, in Nairobi, while others have boughttractors and are hiring them to the residents ata ee.

With the support o other leaders rom thecommunity, they are encouraging the youth,who are in possession o illegal rearms, tosurrender them to the authorities.

Already a renowned athlete, ecla Lo-rupe, through her peace oundation, has beenable to encourage over 5,000 youth rom thePokot community to abandon cattle rustlingactivities and instead go back to school to andto brighten their uture.

Zachary Lorema, one o the armers, saysthat despite parts o West Pokot being endowedwith good rains and rich agricultural soils ly-ing between two catchment zones o Kapengu-ria and Lelan areas, they were still aced withpoverty.

Lelan area being rich in Agricultureshould be among the areas that should be

given rst priority. Lelan is credited or pro-ducing milk and pyrethrum. Currently Lelanarea, located 47 Km, on the Northern sideo West Pokot County, has Lelan HighlandDairies, armers owned company with 2,600registered shareholders, Lorema adds.

Farmers are also expecting the new Countygovernment to promote bee-keeping projectsin the area by constructing honey processingactories.

ExploitationMineral exploitation will also be a major

milestone that they expect the county govern-ment to embark on. Currently the stalled Ce-ment actory at Sebit and Ortum area should beamong the rst assignments and upon com-pletion o the actory to create jobs and boostthe economy.

Other major minerals that they want sup-ported include explorations o Copper ound inMarich and Ruby ound in Kacheliba constitu-ency.

On Horticultural arming, Paul Loduto sayshe expects the County government to expandand promote mango arming in Sigor, Lomutand Chesogn.

Te Community leaders say the issue

o Pokots asking or relie ood should be athing o the past as they expect a major planon how to use the water o Muruny River andurkwel gorge or irr igation.

Lokuchu says the team learns rom the suc-cess o Botswana, which is a leading meat ex-porter aer tapping on expertise provided bythe Kenya Meat Commission.

Sammy Rotino says this because West Po-kot County aces challenges ranging rom poorgovernance and skewed distribution o re-sources vis a vis weak strategies in dealing withpoverty, declining agricultural production andenvironmental degradation.

InrastructureOn inrastructure, Philip Lonyangrem, is

calling on the new Governor and his team togive it top priority saying that post indepen-

dence Governments since 1963 had given thema raw deal.On road network, I expect priority to be

given to Kapenguria-Alale road, Kapenguria-Sigor road and Kapenguria-Soak road amongothers, he says.

Mary Loywa says that she expects theCounty government to lobby the nationalgovernment to develop a need-based curric-

ulum that will minimise the gap between jobsand skills through relevant training.

Peter Lonyangapoua says that he hopes theCounty government will support the youth andwomen to access various devolved unds bysimpliying conditions to allow them to accessthe unds.

Emmanuel Choronger rom Sigor saysthat expects the new County governmentshould ensure that every location has a well-equipped heath center with enough drugs.

Te County government should solicit ormore unds to ensure that all the schools withinthe constituencies are well equipped. Tis willensure that all children who have attained pri-mary education get a chance to nish ormour, he says.

Lopete Lomuk rom Kacheliba says it is onlythrough education that they will be sure that

their children will compete with others but notthrough the power o the gun and engaging incattle rustling activities.

Lomuk urther urged the County govern-ment to be tough on parents especially thosewho had the tendency o marrying o younggirls, saying that it was time girls were givenequal opportunity as boys to continue withtheir education.

Child labour places orphans at risk of HIV infectionsBy gILBERT OCHIENg

Te rate at which HIV and Aids is taking its tollon the residents o Busia County is worrying.

According to Joyce Isiaho, Busia CountyCommissioner many children were engagingin commercial sex and child labour as a wayo ending or themselves. She noted that thechildren did not have inormation on sae sexand ended up having unprotected sex leadingto more HIV and sexually transmitted illnessesinections.

Isiaho observed that these children, who wereorphans and vulnerbale, are orced to sell sex tobe able to end or their siblings aer their parentssuccumb to Aids.

Progress o a child in school is linked to sup-port by their parents, but in case o orphans, theireducation is le in a limbo, said Isiaho.

She quoted a recent survey rom the KenyaBureau o Statistics, stating that over 60 percent o Busia residents live on less than a dol-lar a day and this is also to blame or the highprevalence o the pandemic.

Isiaho urged relevant departments to un-dertake an aggressive sensitisation campaignthrough various orums to enlighten the peopleo the region and the orphans on the dangers oHIV and Aids, which has claimed several lives.

Many children in Busia County and acrossthe country have dropped out o school prema-

turely due to abject poverty, hence high rate ochild labour practices, she noted.

Isiaho was addressing a orum that was con-vened by the International Labour Organisationand held at the Busia Agricultural Centre.

StatisticsIt was aimed at tackling the challenges o

child labour, which has posed a major threat inthe education sector in the devolved system ogovernance in the country.

Research has shown that more than 14,000people in sub-Saharan Arica are being inectedwith HIV daily and 11,000 die every day romAids related complications.

In Arica, HIV and Aids is an outcome opoverty with sexual trade, early marriages andchild labour being predictors.

Sub-Saharan Arica is home to 70 per cent othe worlds poorest people with the lowest GrossDomestic Product (GDP) globally as 60 per cento the population are said to be living below thepoverty index o less than a dollar per day.

However, Isiaho noted that there is need to

organise more orums in collaboration with theBusia County government and other stakehold-ers in the education sector in order to address theplight o children who have allen prey to childlabour and poverty.

Globally, an estimated 33.3 million people areinected with HIV and Aids o which 22.5 are in

sub-Saharan Arica. Research has shown that 2.3million children in sub-Saharan Arica live withHIV.

HIV, Aids and poverty co-relate and havea negative impact on both the demand or andsupply o education in Busia County, Isiahosaid.

She thanked eorts o the International La-bour Organisation (ILO) through the Supportor National Action (SNAP) Project or the elimi-nation o child labour. She noted that they hadwithdrawn 2,950 pupils rom child labour situ-ations in Busia and ensured they continued witheducation.

Participants durin the International Labour Oranisation orum at Busia

Aricultural Trainin Centre recently. Picture: Gilbert Ochieng

Pokot women traditional dancers entertainin uests durin a past unction.

Residents o West pokot expect peace and development to be key on the county

overnments aenda. Picture: Joy Monday

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

9/12

9Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t hSSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Funding goes digital as Kenyans embrace online initiative

Students beneft rom books in electronic ormatBy NICHOLE WAITHERA

As the Government prepares to rollout its ambitious laptops or StandardOne pupils next year, non-govern-mental organisations have already

started investing a similar initiative inocal schools.Te initiative seeks to make learn-

ng easier or pupils to enable themadapt to new methods o learning.

Among the new initiatives are theUS-based non-governmental organ-sation Read-and-Prosper, which are

providing e-readers, pre-loaded withe-books to primary and secondaryschools in rural villages.

In partnership with a local pub-ishing company based in Nairobi

called Word Alive Publishers, theorganisation seeks to provide Kenyanbooks to students in electronic or-mat.

Since some Kenyan publishershave concerns about the possibility oe-books being illegally copied, Read-and-Prosper has also ormed partner-ship with E-Kitabu, a local e-bookcompany.

Te initiative E-Kitabu distributese-books across the world Arica in-cluded.

Tis is meant to empower chil-dren in developing countries wherestudents do not have access to thenternet, books and other learning

materials.

PartnerAccording to Evans Colton, chie executive

ocer Read-and-Prosper, the organisation ispartnering with publishing companies in ordero help students access reading materials pro-

duced locally."We intend to introduce books that will not

only help in distribution o local sales channel,but will also nurture indigenous writers, ex-plains Colton.

Tis, he adds, is through adaptation o thesyllabus and converting it to electronic mes-sages which will then be ed into mails.

He argues that it is easier to provide studentswith a lot o ree oreign books that are in thepublic domain but these will not be o help toKenyan students.

We want to conceptualise the Arican storyand improve the experience o Kenyan stu-dents, he notes.

E-book readers are easy to operate, have thememory capacity to store hundreds o books,are relatively cheap, and require very little elec-ric power.

An e-book reader can be charged using aUSB rom a wall plug or a small solar panel, and

uses very low electric power that it can poten-tially run or weeks on a single charge.

Tis is why Read-and-Prosper maintainsthat it can use e-readers to deliver large num-bers o books at a low cost to needy schools.

According to the head o ennessee Instituteo Inormation echnology (II), Andrew

Tuku, e-readers have really encouraged hisstudents to read more. Te school is among thebeneciaries o the NGOs projects.

TechnologyAccording to Tuku, students are more en-

couraged to read using that technology.Te portability and accessibility o e-

Learning helps students adopt better and learnmore. Tey also have an in-built dictionary andone can add their own content and other mate-rials to the e-readers, and I have no doubt thatthe results will be tremendous, explains Tuku.

Currently, Read-and-Prosper is providinge-readers pre-loaded with a combination oree public domain e-books and some Kenyancontent.

However, Colton says that the e-book pro-duction and distribution is still new in Kenya.

Te business models are not yet ully under-stood, and this is a challenge to local publishingcompanies.

"Most o the companies are still very cau-tious about changing a business model that iscurrently protable, and is understandable,says Colton.

He notes: Te key is to simultaneously builddemand or e-books by spreading the availabil-ity o devices that can read these books.

Colton also observes that it will be impor-tant to build production and distribution ca-pacity within the Kenyan publishing industry.

It is important to develop business modelswhich ensure that book publishers can con-tinue to prot in the digital world, he advices.

Te cost o an e-reader in the United Statesis approximately KSh8,500 ($100), which is in-expensive once you actor in its capacity to holdan entire library. I Kenyan publishers seize thisopportunity, the ocial says, they will be able tolower the price or books, while also increasing

their prot margins, because they will not haveto pay the costs o printing, importing, and dis-tributing paper-based books.

IncrementTis means they can also dramatically in-

crease the number o books they sell and theirprots.

Furthermore, the more children read, themore they will be book buyers or lie, creatinga virtuous cycle or the publishing industry.

Some publishing companies see digital dis-tribution o books as a threat to business, but Isee an enormous opportunity or the publish-ers, but also or Kenyan students and the gen-eral public, Colton explained.

As we have already seen with music andlms, digital distribution is the uture. I hopeto see Kenya leading all o Arica and the devel-oping world in putting these new technologiesto work, to improve education and to build astronger reading society," he said.

By NICHOLE WAITHERA

A new online initiative seeks to raise unds orentrepreneurs in the country.

Crowd-unding, as it is popularly known,has been attracting the business communityand non-governmental organisations aroundthe country.

Te method has become a great platormor raising unds as it cuts costs o harambees(und raising) and printing o cards.

Crowd-unding is an online specialisedgrant application, a method commonly usedin the United States to raise unds or variousprojects.

According to Jay Larson, ounder o Tu-napanda, a Kenyan based non-governmentalorganisation which aims at giving ree net-working to students and ree hardware instal-

lation in Kenya, an applicant can start crowd-unding or ree and will only be chargedwhen the project has raised the targetedunds.

Tis will help people solve their problemseasily without spending money in organisingtowards the undraising event, says Larson.

InvestorsOne only has to post a project to a large

group o site users and potential investors whowill then raise unds towards making the pro-ject a success.

Larson started the project two years agoand sold all his products through the inter-net.

For one to source or unding online, onehas to start building networks and meeting awide range o investors online. Pictures o the

project or a video accompanying the descrip-tion o the project would ormalise it.

One also has to set a deadline or whichthe und-raising will run online. Some o theonline platorms which have so ar registereddramatic success are Kickstarter, Indiegogo,GoFundMe, Razoo, Crowdrise, Pledgemusic,Sellaband, Appbackr and Crowdunder.

When donating towards the project, onehas to use a bank credit card so as to donateonline. Larson said that donation towards pro-jects online by the locals is still a major chal-lenge since majority o Kenyans are unable toaccess internet, while others lack inormationabout it.

Mobile money is the most popular wayo money transaction in Kenya and that iswhy most people are either unaware o onlinetransactions or do not have access to internet,

or are not acquainted to the internet, he noted.However, Larson says that or their latest

online undraising, they included M-pesa ontheir website so that it can enable the public todonate towards online projects.

While urging young entrepreneurs andstudents to source or unds including ees on-line, he noted that most Kenyans are howevernot aware o online undraising.

Kenyans should be sensitised about thebenets o using crowd unding as a wayto empower their projects and realise theirdreams, said Larson.

He added: We can only bring equality tothe world and solve our problems by pullingup together and nancing projects and talentswhich could have otherwise been wasted. It isonly through the internet that we can mobilisethe world.

Pupils o the Sir Ali Primary School in Malindi town, Kilii County durin mornin

assembly. Primary schools will soon beneit rom e-learnin in the rural villaes..

Picture: Robert Nyagah

County government

Challenges

8/22/2019 Reject 082

10/12

10 Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t h ISSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

African women scientists hold key to food securityBy HENRY OWINO

Women who are smallholder armers in A-rica have been rated as key to addressing theood security situation in the continent.

According to the Arican Women in

Agricultural Research and Development(AWARD), an organisation that empowersArican women scientists through agricul-tural development initiatives across the con-tinent, i women smallholder armers are em-powered, Arica could soon eed itsel.

AWARD is a proessional developmentprogramme that ocuses on research and lead-ership skills o Arican women in agriculturalscience, empowering them to contribute moreeectively to poverty alleviation and ood se-curity in sub-Saharan Arica.

Encouraging small-scale armers especial-ly women is one way o closing the gender gapin the agricultural sector. In other proessions,women have tried to minimize the genderparity and today, in almost all careers, womenhave been actively involved.

In a recent research carried out by

AWARD, about 12-17 per cent o Aricansare malnourished. It, thereore, recommendsthat when women are highly represented inAgriculture, there could be plenty o ood oramilies and surplus or sale, hence assuranceo ood security in the continent.

According to Vicki Wilde, AWARDsFounder and Director, women are the back-bone o Arican agriculture. She said major-ity o those who produce, process and marketAricas ood are women, but only one in ouragricultural researchers is emale.

Wilde said the AWARD programme waslaunched in 2008 and has been providingtwo-year career-development ellowships thatocus on ostering, mentoring partnerships,building scientic skills and developing lead-ership capacity.

InterventionShe reiterated that AWARD is addressing

gender parity gap in agricultural activities bybuilding the capacity o Arican women sci-entists who are conducting pro-poor agricul-tural research.

Award is today specically known or itscareer-development program that equips topwomen scientists across sub-Saharan Arica.Tis is done by accelerating agricultural gains,by strengthening womens research and lead-ership skills, through tailored ellowships, ex-plained Wilde.

She noted that the organization helps wom-en scientists engage in innovations with highpotential to contribute to the prosperity andwell-being o Arican smallholder armers. Ithas met with women o dierent walks o livesand supports each one o them regardless otheir background. In addition, she stated, it

has helped women in Arica realise their tal-ent and cultivated them to their ull potential.

Wilde asserts that the organisation is step-ping up towards improving outcomes or A-ricas smallholder armers by strengtheningwomen voices on the arm, laboratories, inmarkets and in policy orums.

In various ways, AWARD contributes topoverty alleviation and ood security at thehighest possible levels, Wilde noted.

WinnersTe outstanding women scientists who re-

ceived the awards were selected rom amongan impressive cadre o 1,094 applicants rom11 Arican countries.

Te ellowships are granted on the basis oeach scientists intellectual merit, leadershipcapacity, and the potential to improve the live-

lihoods o Arican smallholder armers mosto whom are women.Dr Bolanle Otegbayo rom Nigeria is one o

the Award ellowship beneciaries. She holdsPhD in Food echnology rom the Univer-sity o Ibadan and currently lectures at BowenUniversity in Nigeria. Her research ocuses ondetermining ood quality and industrial po-

tential o Nigerian yams to contribute to theexpansion and diversication o their use.

She says Nigeria contributes to about 68per cent o the worlds annual total yam pro-duction at about 50 million tonnes. With herresearch team, Otegbayo has been able tocharacterise in detail 45 varieties o yam romve common species.

She says this is the rst characterization oa large variety o yams, which would serve asbaseline data or uture research and or se-lecting yam genotypes or specic uses.

Since the research has not been able to de-termine the molecular composition o starchin the yam, Otegbayo, however, carried outurther analyses o the yam samples. Te re-

sults led to better understanding o the unc-tional properties important or determiningthe industrial potential o starch in the yams.

In Nigeria, a man would not get a wie ithey are not masculine. Yams helps in building

a strong body structure and Nigerian womenadmire men with big arms which is a sign oprotection in times o danger, Otegbayo saidsmiling.

Dr Lusike Wasilwa rom Kenya is also ben-eciary o the AWARD Fellowship programs.She is an Assistant Director, Horticulture andIndustrial Crops Division at Kenya Agricul-tural Research Institute (KARI). Tis positioncame to her while she was an Award Fellowduring the pilot programme.

EmpowermentWasilwas work has ocused on empower-

ing women and reducing child malnutrition insub-Saharan Arica. Her goal is to include re-search and promotion o underuse ruits withmedical properties.

oday, her research at KARI involves col-laboration with the Ministry o Agriculture,

International Centre o Insect Physiology andEcology (ICIPE) and the Kenya Gatsby rustas well as Farm Arica, a United Kingdombased non-prot organisation working withresource poor Arican armers to help themproduce more ood or their amilies.

AWARD Fellowship has also beneted DrSegenet Kelemu who has received a number oawards, including outstanding Senior ScientistAward, or her numerous contributions to thecentre and its mission.

Tese research eorts generated a series o

discoveries that have contributed to the abilityo the global scientic community to addresssome key agricultural constraints. oday, Kel-emu who is the current Vice President o Alli-ance or a Green Revolution in Arica (AGRA)programmes, has helped to oster the nextgenerations scientic community in Easternand Central Arica, and beyond.

Some o the 2 013 AWARD winners in

Nairobi, Kenya. Below: The AWARD

Director, Vicki Wilde (center) with some

o the 2013 AWARD laureates.Pictures: Henry Owino

In Nigeria, a man would

not get a wife if they are

not masculine. Yams helps

in building a strong bod y

structure and Nige rian

women admire men with

big arms which is a signof protection in times of

danger. Dr Bolanle Otegbayo

8/22/2019 Reject 082

11/12

11Un f i l t e r e d , u n i n h i b i t e d ju s t t h e g r u e s o me t r u t hSSUE 082, May 1-15, 2013

Women scientists empoweredto boost armers income

By DUNCAN MBOYAH

Aricas current leadership in agri-cultural research is in small num-ber, mostly male, and on the vergeo retirement and with a ew expe-rienced proessionals.

Majority o the armers arewomen who require a catalyst ornnovations with high potential tocontribute to their prosperity.

o most women armers, ac-quiring new ideas rom men area tall order as opposed to theirnteraction with emale scientists.

With the increased demand orood in the world, though undermany challenges, the best mindso both genders are needed to helpbridge the gap to ood security.

Scientists must include all

genders since proven statisticsreveal that women orm majorityo armers and thereore requirecompetent advice rom wom-enolk, said Dr Vicki Wilde, theDirector o Arican Women inAgricultural Research and Devel-opment (AWARD).

She was speaking at a ceremo-ny where 70 Arican women sci-entists were awarded ellowshipso accelerate agricultural gains by strengtheningheir research and leadership skills. Wilde chal-enged emale scientists to help women armersmprove their production.

She observed that agricultural sector mustgreatly increase its responsiveness to the needs andcontributions o women i it is to be eective andsustainable in the continent.

Advances and innovations in agricultural re-search and development will take place easily whened and enriched by skilled and inuential Aricanwomen, Wilde observed.

InterventionShe noted that in addressing gender inequality,

root causes o poverty, malnutrition and environ-mental degradation are also being managed.

Wilde called or the ree use o science and tech-nology in producing and processing o ood that isproduced by small scale armers.

Arica requires a new generation o scientistsn ood and agriculture to replace the retiring maleexperts, she noted.

Arica is the worlds only region where the num-ber o hungry is growing, rom 175 million to 239million, with nearly 20 million added in the pastour years. Clearly, the status quo in the agriculturesector is not working.

Dr Segenet Kelemu, Vice President or pro-grammes, Alliance or a Green Revolution inArica (AGRA) challenged the recipients to helpransorm the society through their research work.

Te programme is making a dierence alreadyand you must make sure that you excel in yourwork to justiy the award, she noted.

Kelemu said that outstanding women are need-ed in all elds since the world has changed and ac-cepts the contributions o all genders.

It is very important to have a programme thats especially ocused on Arican women scientists,she reiterated.

DiversityShe observed that AWARD should explore

ways to expand into other areas, such as womenn I, engineering, medical and environmental sci-ences and other areas where women are severely

under-represented.I believe in empowering people by increasing

each individuals belie in their potential, integrat-ng and inspiring people to work together withmutual respect, noted Kelemu.

Cultivating such a culture o empowermentand respect within an institution is critical to

achieving impact or the disadvantaged people be-yond its gates.

Dr. Lucy Murungi, one o 16 Kenyans to winthe ellowship this year plans to help change thegame or resource-poor smallholders by develop-ing simple, aordable tools to combat poverty.

I am researching the chemical componentso extracts o the hairy Arican nightshade, Sola-num sarrachoides, or management o red spidermites, said Murungi, a lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta

University o Agriculture and echnology.

OpportunitiesTe plant is not ordinarily cultivated or con-

sumption in East Arica and her results could im-pact on smallholder armers who would grow thevegetable and sell it to manuacturers or botanicalcrop protection products.

Te outs