Sunday, 5th May – Good morning! This is your daily edition of our brief, but salient Kenyan news properly selected for you.
It’s Now or Never For Raila Odinga
ODM leader Raila Odinga just knows how significant this coming election is for him. At the age of 77, the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate is making his fifth attempt at the presidency.
As he presents his nomination papers to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) this morning, the former Prime Minister is confident than ever.
In his previous stabs at the top seat, the veteran opposition chief has accused the State of rigging him out. But this time Raila is enjoying the support of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who controls the State machinery, infamously known as the “deep state”.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru, who is in charge of all electronic data in the country and has access to voters’ register has assured Raila that he will protect his votes, a statement that has rattled Deputy President William Ruto’s side.
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Raila Starts His Day at All Saints Cathedral
Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga, his running mate Martha Karua and their allies will begin the day at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi to seek God’s blessings before storming the presidential race officially.
At around 10am, the former Prime Minister will make his way at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi to submit his nomination papers for clearance by the electoral commission.
From there, the convoy will proceed to the Undungu grounds in Lang’ata to celebrate the milestone.
Later in the afternoon, Raila and his brigade will fly to Nakuru to address at least four rallies.
DP Ruto Cleared to Run
Deputy President William Ruto exuded confidence of winning the August presidential election shortly after he was cleared by the electoral commission to gun for the presidency on Saturday.
The second in command urged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct a free, fair and verifiable poll.
To affirm that “his administration” will strive to empower the downtrodden in the society, the DP’s bid was proposed a mama mboga and a boda boda operator acted as a witness.
At the same time, Dr Ruto appointed Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki to be his chief agent in the coming election after he was shortchanged for the running mate post.
Ruto Enjoys Media Coverage After Ranting
Deputy President William Ruto was the main thing in the mainstream media yesterday just days after complaining that journalists were discriminating against him.
The cameras followed right from his official Karen residence all the way to the to the Bomas of Kenya where he presented his nomination papers and was cleared to run for President.
The media also trailed him to his rallies and everything was broadcasted live until he wrapped up the day.
The DP has threatened that he will not attend the presidential debates, arguing that media houses have pre-rigged the interviews.
Toes For Cash
News that the people of Zimbabwe were selling their toes to magicians set the internet ablaze earlier this week.
As usual, Kenyans flooded to social media platforms to make memes and others to confess that they were ready to tiptoe to the South African country. A toe goes for between Ksh3.7 million and Ksh4.5 million.
Some bad news to those who were thinking of becoming overnight millionaires. The BBC Disinformation Unit now reports that it was a joke taken too fair.
The broadcaster revealed that a local blog shared the joke without knowing it would go viral.
Sonko Barred From Running
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko is among three aspirants who the electoral commission has refused to approve their nominations papers to run for elective seats over integrity issues. The others are Nyeri gubernatorial hopeful Thuo Mathenge and Kiambu UDA senatorial candidate Karungo wa Thang’wa.
Sonko, who was running for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat on a Wiper ticket was disqualified because he was impeached as Nairobi governor in 2020. Karungo was also struck out on similar grounds. He served as County Executive Committee (CEC) member during the reign of impeached Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu.
In Mathenge’s case, he was barred from seeking the position because he has no valid degree certificate, a requirement for anyone running for governorship.
Supreme Court to Rule on Come We Stay Marriages
The Supreme Court is expected to make a landmark judgment on how unregistered marriages, better known as “come we stay” will be handled in the future.
Mary Nyambura and a man only identified as Mayaka cohabited for 26 years. The problem came when they wanted to go separate ways, with Mayaka demanding half of the estate he says they built together. They met when the woman was a landlady while he was an agent, helping in rent collection.
Nyambura moved to the High Court in 2012, arguing that it was not fair to share her properties with him.
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, justices Isaac Lenaola, Njoki Ndungu, William Ouko and Smokin Wanjala will determine the case.
Police Boss Unhappy With DPP
The Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai has lamented that the guidelines formulated by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and with the backing of the High Court are retrogressive.
Mutyambai said denying the police powers to draft charge sheets and present suspects in court was a bad idea.
Barely two weeks after the guidelines came into force, the police boss revealed that his officers have been unable to handle complaints relating to crimes. Also, 1,700 suspects have been released on bail without appearing in court.
Azimio Fingers IEBC After DP Ruto Allegations
Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja is now suspecting that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is secretly working with the Kenya Kwanza of Deputy President William Ruto.
The Coalition Party wants to know how the DP found out that close to a million people from his strongholds had been removed from the agency’s voters’ register.
However, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati insists that voters’ data has not been tampered with as Ruto alleges.
Chebukati said the register will be gazetted on June 9 for all players in the coming General Election to go through it.
Ministry Targets Students in Vaccination Drive
The Ministry of Health is urging students who sat for 2021 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations are looking forward to joining institutions of higher learning to get vaccinated.
Decrying that most young adults are yet to get the Covid-19 jab, the ministry said it was prudent to control the spread of the virus in universities, colleges and TVET facilities.
As of today, some 8.4 million Kenyans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
