The Kajiado Herald Newspaper

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Kajiado Herald

The

From Bomas to the Border

We shall recover grabbed land, vows Governor

By Sammy Kerre and KNA

K

ajiado county governor, Dr. David Nkedianye says his administration will recover all land irregularly acquired in the county.

Speaking six weeks ago during the Madaraka Day’s celebra tions at KCB grounds in Kajiado, the Governor said there were many plots hived from public utility areas and they would be forcefully re-acquired if their owners do not voluntarily surrender them.

He said those who have grabbed road reserves and recreation areas will have no choice but to part with the plots because the county government wants to reestablish the social facilities.

Dr. Nkedianye said a change in the outlook of all towns in Kajiado is in the offing and his office would stop at nothing in restoring land to the public for development.

Urging members of the public to

report government officers found dealing illegally in land transfers and subdivision, the governor said that the KCB grounds, whose ownership has over the years been contested, remains public land and called on whoever claims ownership to it to forget ever possessing it.

Indeed, Kajiado County’s first governor under Kenya’s new Constitution has his work cut out as he prepares not just to implement his agenda but also to reverse some of the wrong-headed decisions of his administrative predecessors.

Governor Nkedianye, whose reported KShs 4.3 billion budget targets infrastructure as a major investment agenda, finds the road before him obstructed. Now he must face up to one of Kenya’s most malignant and systemic economic illnesses – land grabbing. An unidentified source within the governor’s office tells us that in one way the governor’s job is easy – send in the bulldozers if occupants of the illegally-allocated

Kajiado Showground: In the background are houses whose owners may have been alloted land illegally.

Cont on Pg.2

Members lose millions in pyramid scheme scam

By Wachira Maina

A

s President Uhuru Kenyatta declared that his government pledges to support saving and credit cooperative societies in his auspicious Madaraka Day speech, a pyramid scheme copycat in Ngong has gone under with millions of money from poor wananchi.

All 288 members of Bridging Sacco, previously registered as Bridge Trust Sacco, are crying foul of a credit facility turned pyramid scheme that has stripped them of their hardearned earnings some in hundreds of thousands.

The purported savings and credit cooperative society allegedly owned by a powerful former assistant minister was registered on February 24th 2006, 24th and attracted membership from across the country, from Makuyu, Njiru and Kajiado North especially

Kiserian and Ngong where they had rented makeshift offices. Through pretence of innocence and goodwill, the Sacco collected contributions from members of the public in the guise of a fake promise-getting three of four times their savings after remitting contributions for three months to an account at Cooperative Bank of Kenya, China Centre and M-pesa Paybill number 0711 462 711.

“From its inception in 2006, no member in my knowledge ever got the loan promised,” lamented Kenneth Mashua, who registered in the scheme in late 2009 after being attracted by a banner outside the Sacco’s Hiwi Court offices at Ngong .He now acts as the spokesman for the disgruntled members.

Mashua told The Kajiado Herald that he had undertaken the savings project to help him build a nursery school that he wanted to set as his retirement

package. He deposited KShs. 97,000 to the Co-op account number he was given at the defunct Sacco’s offices and committed to pay an additional KShs. 1000 for three months after which his savings would be tripled and remitted to him at a low interest loan to complete his construction project. This never came to be; sparking his long and painful struggle to seek for justice.

“I went back after three months and was told that nothing could be processed until an Annual General Meeting scheduled for April 2010 had taken place,” said Mashua. It is in that AGM that was attended by even the then Kajiado North Deputy Cooperative Officer and over 60 members that he realized they had been conned.

Esther Wangui had lost over KShs. 170,000, which she had saved to boost her import business. Bridging Sacco was a two family affair. It had

no audited accounts or bank statement whatsoever to show members where their monies had gone.

The District Cooperative Officer at Ngong, Mr. Francis Ogwori advised them to seek redress from the police, DC’s office, Kenya Anti-corruption Commission (now EACC), National Security Intelligence at Ngong and the Cooperative Commissioner’s office in Nairobi. To this effect,

“From its inception in 2006, no member in my knowledge ever got the loan promised,” lamented Kenneth Mashua

Mashua and nine other members wrote letters and hand-delivered them to all those offices.

“I realized the society was a fallacy and I sent an officer to undertake an inspection at its offices but the report was not fact-finding,” says Mr. Ogwori, Kajiado North District Cooperative Officer. He says that the Sacco’s leaders alleged that their offices had been broken into and all relevant documents stolen. They also resulted to shift offices and eventually closed down the facility because of lack of monthly rent.

“I wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Cooperatives in Nairobi and lodged a formal complaint asking for an inquiry to be conducted,” said the DCO, but the inquiry never happened because the Sacco’s office had already been closed.

Cont on Pg.2

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Kajiado Herald

County to recover grabbed public land, says Governor

A mansion on what used to be the Kajiado showground.

From pg.1 land do not vacate peacefully.

“These lands already had a plan that still appears in the records of the government. The only way the use of such land could be altered or the land resized is, first, by the approval, then the gazettement by the constitutionallymandated authorities. In the case of the lands in question, no authorisation was ever given. So whoever lives on such pieces of land are illegally-squatting on public land. They do not have a legal basis by which they can resist the governor’s office once he decides to move against them,” the source tells us.

On the other hand, there is a human side which the media tends to pick on when whole families are thrown out and their property destroyed by the

unstoppable bulldozers.

“When it comes to land allocation, the authorised council gives 90 days within which complaints are to be raised following the gazettment,” our source says. “When a complaint is raised, the council listens and makes a decision as to the validity of the objection(s). If there are no objections to the gazettment, the council directs its relevant officers to prepare a plan.

When a piece of land has been acquired unprocedurally, the public, even council officers, just see structures shooting up. What Kajiado is dealing with here is one such case. The defunct Kajiado Town Council, in the 90s and early 2000s had officers who did not respect procedure. Especially in their last days, they dished out lots of land and got paid for it. Now the governor must face up to the mess.”

Among the pieces of land illegally allocated are about 20 acres of the Kajiado (County) Hospital land.

“These have been lost to private undertakers,” our source says. Current land rates at the town centre are about KShs 3 m/acre. If the county office was to buy back all that land, it would not make economic sense.”

Another piece of land that has been hacked off is the showground and its neighbour, the holding ground. About 25 acres of the showground are gone as are a large part of the holding area, which used to encompass a cattle dip.

The cattle dip now only lives in the memory of the local livestock owners.

Besides holding the annual agricultural shows, the showground also served as a training facility where farmers’ education programmes could be held.

“This being a pastoral community,

the showground and the holding area served vital purposes for the general economy of the country and the particular economy of Kajiado,” a resident who seeks not to identified, told us.

Recently there was commotion in the town when university students forcibly removed beacons and building material that had been unloaded onto a public playground.

“The so-called private developer had defied the council and the community and was set to start building. It seems that in desperation the community turned to their university students, who are much harder to restrain with court orders, etc, and they put a stop to attempts to occupy the land,” the resident says. “Even the bus park has a storied building in it. Then there is what is called the KCB grounds. If we

lost that one, there would be no decent public playground left in Kajiado town. These losses can be avoided if we had the guts to say ‘No.’” The governor is not exactly a deer caught in the headlamps, at least in speech. In his first public day appearance on Madaraka Day when nearly all residents of Kajiado town gathered to hear words of hope from their newly-installed administrator, Governor Nkedianye was blunt.

“If you’ve been given a plot here (at KCB grounds), sorry, but you won’t be settling here. We’re already planting trees and we want young people to be watering them. We want to green our town and make it beautiful and planned. Land-grabbing is not allowed. If, perhaps by bad luck or ignorance you took public land, just come apologise and return it.

Citizens expect to be served and you will not escape. If perhaps you put up a structure without knowing it was on a road reserved, just come and let’s talk as you surrender the property.”

These remarks had the audience of Kajiado applauding and cheering. But as soon as he invited questions, one man rose up to say that land was being sold in certain parts of the county as a rate of between KShs 6,000 and KShs 7,000 for a piece of land. Were these sellers from the governor’s office, the man wanted to know, since he had already publicly announced a halt in all land sales in the county?

These and more questions will be answered soon as the county government moves to assert its administrative and moral authority over public property, especially in places like the showground and the holding ground where mansions and homes have sprung up. And the challenge is not just in Kajiado town; it is widespread throughout Kajiado County.

As our source said, “the fact that matatus in Kitengala cause a jam on the main Namanga highway tells you that there is a need for a bus park.

But it does not mean that there was no bus park in the original town plan.

It tells you that the park was illegally allocated.”

Clearly Governor Nkedianye’s challenge is that of other Kenyans’ – the fight for public officials and ordinary citizens to respect for public property.

Sacco members lose milions in pyramid scheme scam From pg.2

“The chairman of the Sacco came to my office saying that he was looking for money to reimburse members and even accused his vice-chairman of No of having taken all the members of money; he did not the defunct communicate again and we realized he Bridge was taking us for a Trust Sacco ride. It was a scam,” pyramid Mr. Ogwori concluded and advised the scheme registered in complainants to go to Cooperative Triearly 2006. the bunal.

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Here, they were hit hard with red tape process that required them to dig deeper into their already fleeced pockets and raise about KShs. 117,000, in legal fees and other requisite documents necessary to launch a formal complaint with the tribunal.

“We couldn’t come up with such an amount and some of us who had contributed small amounts of savings to the Sacco gave up,” said Mashua resignedly. Interventions by the Cooperative Commissioner to engage the chairman of the Sacco di not bear any fruits and eventually it went cold. They had no one or any

where to turn to.

“Our approach is civil not criminal; we only act as an arbitrator,” says the DCO adding that according to him, there was an element of criminology in the whole saga and KACC should have investigated and probably prosecuted the culprits who are well known and seemingly highly connected. KACC responded by saying that their work was to investigate public servants and the accused were not public officers. He even tried to engage a mobile service provider, about the Pay-bill number but there was a lot of complications.

“Our intention now is to publicly

announce the fraud by the Bridging Sacco Society and save other innocent Kenyans from getting conned,” said Mashua bitterly after realizing that their cry for justice had hit a dead snag.

“I can advise members to revive their suit in the Cooperative Tribunal and maybe visit Criminal Investigation Department and EACC (Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission) where they can seek help,” advises Ogwori saying that the chairman came to his offices seeking re-registration of the Sacco a few months ago, but he refused.

Registration of a Sacco starts at the

District level and the DCO says that under the current Cooperatives Act, they demand to first address potential members of the Sacco seeking registration to verify who and where they are and their daily engagements. They then take supplementary information about the promoters (Leaders) of the Society finally recommending their registration by the headquarters in Nairobi.

There are over 130 cooperative Cooperative Societies in Kajiado North District of which 70% are Saccos, 25% are housing cooperative societies. Half of these institutions are currently dormant.

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Health department takes Kajiado county to court over sewarage menace

By Wachira Maina Kajiado County has no sewerage system and the Public Health department has taken the county council to court.

According to Kajiado North District Public Health Officer, Mr. Sammy Macharia, they are accusing the council of among other things failing to offer relevant sewerage facilities to the county residents whereas they keep charging for the same.

“Let’s not beat around the bush.

There is absolutely no sewerage system in Kajiado North District,” Sammy declared saying that this situation has wreaked havoc in towns like Ngong, Kiserian and Ongata Rongai. He said that they have put mitigation measures into place encouraging people to build septic tanks in their private residences and pushing commercial plot owners to install digesters and conservancy tanks on their plots “Building plans must now pass through several departments for approval and the Public Health Office is one of them,” said the DPHO adding that this measure has gone a long way into bringing some sanity into an otherwise menacing health hazard.

However, his department has been taking several people to court for failing to follow their approved building plans and instead taking shortcuts to alleviate costs of building such facilities.

“Some construct low capacity tanks and later resort to pumping the smelly waste onto public roads. This is against the Public Health Act,” Sammy states. He however puts these unruly pollutants to notice that they will face the full force of his department and the law.

“We take an average of three people to court every week for this negligence and several have been fined heavily,” he said. One owner of a commercial plot near the District headquarters in Ngong was fined over KShs 500,000 and additional KShs 1,500 per daily as

Public Health officials in front of a Dmax pickup at the offiice headquarters in Ngong. long as the situation is not corrected.

Sammy revealed that in Ngong, there is an old sewerage system but it wasn’t planned to accommodate the rising rate of urbanization. It has since bowed to pressure and broken down

Cows rummage through garbage in Kware market, Ongata Rongai.

and the sewer land encroached and turned to an informal settlement called Mathare. Apparently the sewer sips into a nearby river.

On Kiserian Dam, the youthful and highly motivated DPHO said that he

‘cannot give it a clean bill of health’ adding that his department only does random analysis on the water.

Kiserian Dam has been built on the far South-Eastern side of Market town of Kiserian town and most of the town’s waste drains into the dam.

Though the dam has been touted as the solution to the region’s perennial water shortage, it has taken ages to be completed and most people see it as more of a health risk to residents if the sewerage situation is not addressed conclusively The new phase of the public health department Kajiado North District Public Health Department has been revitalized to facilitate better, effective and efficient service delivery to the area residents.

Mandated to serve the most densely populated and highly urbanized regions of Kajiado County, the department prides itself of 40 public health officers spread across distinct regions in the district headed by a young professional.

“In Rongai only, we have posted about ten PHOs and I feel we are getting positive results,” Sammy Macharia says asserting that he doesn’t postpone public health

matters calling for his attention or that of his department.

Procrastination of duties is not under his job description.

Recently, the department bought a brand new Isuzu Dmax Pickup worth 2.5 million shillings that will help it render its services to the public with ease and speed.

‘The activity (this procurement) has been enabled by prudent utilization of the Environmental Health Services Improvement Fund (EHISF) charges-cost sharing, as approved by the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 4578 dated 13th July, 2001.’ A press release sent by the department said in part.

The funds to buy the utility vehicle were raised through licensing of undertakings that sell food to the public, building construction approval fees and other regulatory activities. The vehicle was flagged-off in a colorful luncheon organized by the department at Greengoes Hotel, Kiserian.

A public health department is mandated by the Public Health Act to prevent diseases and promote health.

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Around the County

NEMA in bid to regulate tree felling and sand harvesting KAJIADO county Director of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA, Mr. Mamo Boru Mamo on June 8th called for concerted efforts to avert environmental degradation caused by unregulated tree felling and sand harvesting in the county.

Speaking to KNA, Mr Mamo said that Kajiado residents especially land owners should be made aware of threats posed by excessive harvesting of sand in wet river beds as pastoralists rely on them in dry spells.

The director reiterated that the department was working with the county government to stop untamed sand harvesting. He added that his office was working closely with the forestry department in Kajiado to regulate tree felling and charcoal burning to sustain tree cover in water

catchment areas.

Office is working closely with the forestry department in Kajiado to ensure that tree felling and charcoal burning is regulated so as to sustain enough tree cover in water catchments areas.

Mr. Mamo said that effort of environmental groups especially based ones had played a very important role in sensitizing the public on the need to conserve the environment through cleanup exercises.He said adults should also be also be involved in these efforts to create more impact.

Meanwhile, unregulated sand harvesting along seasonal rivers in Mashuru Sub County may lead to drying up of shallow wells among other environmental hazards.

The Sub County Water Officer Joshua Moshira said massive sand

Toilet coverage and usage too low, says health official Toilet coverage and usage is estimated to stand at 5% in Mashuuru sub County, the area Public Health Officer, Mr. Alex Musyoka has reported.

Speaking to KNA at Mashuuru recently, the officer attributed the low performance to the nomadic lifestyle of the residents adding that this indicates over that over 90% of the residents use open defecation thus putting their health in danger during the wet seasons. He further pointed out that the water used by the residents was highly contaminated and unfit for human consumption unless treated. ‘’It is important to note that greater proportion of the residents use water from pans and shallow dams for both domestic and livestock use hence open defecation translates to all human wastes being collected by the rain water to the same’’ the officer emphasized.

He reported that said a CommunityLed Total Sanitation strategy (CLTS) adapted in Kajiado Central sub County

that has had positive results positive will soon be introduced in the area.

On Trachoma, a preventable eye ailment that can lead to permanent blindness, the Officer disclosed that an annual campaign and treatment will take place later this year.

He said the drastic fall of malaria cases reported in the area was an indication that the Malaria control campaign through distribution of treated mosquito nets to expectant mothers and children under five and availability of anti- malaria drugs at subsidized prices have borne fruit.

The officer also said his department was fencing all public health facilities land to avoid encroachment.

The fund also provides business support services such as capacity building, marketing, promotion of linkages and infrastructure support. It is a flagship project under the Social Pillar in Vision 2030 and a realization of Millennium Development Goals on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

Ignore party affiliations, Nkaisserry tells leaders Kajiado Central MP, Major General (Rtd.) Joseph Nkaissery has urged all Kajiado leaders elected at the March 4th general elections to ignore political party affiliations and focus on development of the area.

Speaking at Kajiado KCB grounds during the marking of this year’s Madaraka Day the MP asked those who were not elected or re-elected to respect the voter’s decision.

He said Kajiado has been peaceful for a long time yet has a multi-ethnic population something that residents should not only be proud of but also protect adding that all residents regardless of ethnicity need to be considered in development He expressed disappointment that members of Kajiado county assembly (MCAs) were not at the ceremony.He said this would have been an opportune forum for these officers to listen to the people’s development needs.

The MP said wrangling among elected leaders based on parties one

harvesting in the area was leading to faster drying up of wells along the seasonal rivers in the area. He said the community depended on the wells for domestic and livestock use.

He called on the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to regulate the activity that had become a major source of livelihood for the residents after livestock rearing.

The officer who was reporting to departmental heads meeting in the area said the government had sunk ten boreholes in the area that were functional save for perennial mechanical breakdown of pump systems and high costs of electricity and fuel.

Mr. Moshira said the department in collaboration with partners was pursuing a possibility of use of solar

energy. He said in the awake of high prices of electricity and diesel and petrol, solar which was readily available was the only way forward.

He said currently the average distance to water points was estimated at eight Kms adding that eight community earth dams had silted up to a high of 80%.

In another development, farmers in the sub County have received KShs. 2.5M from the GIZ (German) for water harvesting.

The area Agricultural Officer,Ms. Victoria Nthenya said the sub County had also received KShs. 510,000 for the Njaa Marufuku Kenya Programme The Officer said Ilparakuo, Olkeju, Nemalok Emashuuru , Enkii Self Help Groups (SHP) and Olkeju Woman groupS had benefited from the programme.

We will ensure team work, assures commissioner Kajiado sub - county commissioner Mr. Peter Jumwa has assured the residents of Kajiado that the county and the national government workers will work as a team to ensure rapid development of the county.

Speaking during the marking of Madaraka Day in Kajiado town Mr.Jumwa dispelled fears that there will be a clash between the governor and the provincial administration as the county government takes off.

He said that the governor will get the support he needs in achievement of his objectives. He added that the key roles of each office were clearly spelt out spelt out for the county and central government officers. He said that the provincial administrators will continue monitoring the area to take care of lawbreakers to ensure that security is enhanced .

Kajiado Central MP, Major General (Rtd) Joseph Nkaissery who was elected on March 4 for a third term also attended the ceremony and lauded the provincial administration for maintaining law and order in the districts over the years.

He challenged his constituents to work hard and use the opportunity availed by devolution to bring development to the county so that it can be at par with other counties.

Budget allocation finalised Kajiado county residents await with baited breath for the tabling of the county budget appropriations after an eventful recent rejection of all six governor's nominees for county public service board and five out of nine nominees for executive assembly after vetting.

The assembly was scheduled to debate the budget estimates for operations of the county government totaling KShs.4 042 562 940.

The proposed budget gives the county assembly an allocation of Kshss609 541 601 while the county executive was allocated KShs.1 114 245 339 while finance and economic planning got Kshs 270 870 000.

Allocation for agriculture stands at KSh.166 170 000, environment and natural resources Kshs. 85 500 000 while education youth affairs and social development was given KShs237 160 000. Health services got KShs.157 090 000, physical planning and development KShs.19 000 000, land survey and mapping KShs.12 520 000 while housing has KShs.7 170 000.

Energy and electricity has been allocated KSs.5 900 000, public works and services KShs.18 200 000, transport KShs. 63 900 000, trade development and regulations KShs.39 040 000 while capital projects got KShs. 1 062 768 000.

Kajiado Herald

Forum doubts Ward Reps’ performance RESIDENTS of Kajiado have expressed fear that the county's quest to achieve developmental mileage to bring it at par with other counties may be hampered by some Ward Representatives' inability to comprehend their legislative mandate.

Lamenting that some Wards voted in illiterate individuals to represent them in the County Ward Assembly, the chairman of the Kajiado County Consultative Forum, Mr. Sidney Quntai regretted that despite massive civic education, the electorate still voted in leaders who may be challenged by responsibilities entrusted on them in the current Constitution dispensation The Chairman also observed that the gender inequality in leadership in the county was alarming and that deliberate efforts should be made to close the gap. He urged the governor should effect affirmative action to ensure more women and youth were appointed in the various boards of management and committees.

The chairman also urged the women and youth to be proactive and resist retrogressive cultural barriers that relegated them to just being recipients of decisions arrived at without their contribution and participation.

Mr. Quntai was speaking during a public forum held at Maasai Cultural Resort Hotel early this month.

The participants , drawn from the five sub counties in the County complained that the public was not involved in the 2012/2013 Budgeting preparation process for the County Government In the same forum the Programme Officer Society for International Development (SID), Ms Mary Muyonga Ochieng underscored the need for enhanced public participation in the identification of areas that need to be addressed urgently especially for the budgeting process.

The officer pointed out that participation by the public at all levels of decision making will achieve ownership and sustainability of projects initiated in the area.

Attend national days functions or else…, officers warned Hon. Joseph Nkaissery, Kajiado Central MP. is affiliated to will be detrimental to development efforts considering this was the main reason for which they were elected.

Nkaissery took the opportunity to thank the electorate throughout the constituency for giving him a chance to serve them for a third term at the national assembly.

Kajiado county commissioner Mr. Kobia Wa Kamau has warned public servants in the county against absconding national holidays .

Speaking at Kajiado KCB grounds at the county headquarters during the this year’s Madaraka Day, the commissioner warned the officers of dire consequences if the y failed to turn up for public holiday celebrations in future .

Mr. Kobia singled out county directors of various ministries and heads of department in the sub - counties as being crucial not only in explaining government policy on various sectors to the citizens. He said such holidays

were opportunities for getting feedback in regard to the services they offered.

The commissioner said new guidelines for the officers were in place to make the national holidays an interaction between the people and the devolve government service delivery easier and prompt.

He said that the national days’ celebrations will be similar to the former provincial headquarters celebrations but now at the county level the citizens will have the opportunity to interrogate their leaders’ performance .

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Kajiado Herald

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We will have enough water soon, promises Governor KAJIADO town residents’ hope for enough provision of quality and sufficient water were renewed recently after the Governor, Dr. David Nkedianye said he was doing his best to ensure the precious commodity was available for all residents.

Speaking at the KCB grounds in Kajiado on Madaraka day celebrations Dr. Nkedianye(pictured right) stressed that availability of reliable water supply was critical in attracting investment in the town and the entire county.

He added that plans were at an advanced stage to make water scarcity in the town a thing of the past by piping water from boreholes sunk at the nearby Ildamat area to the town and putting up a mega dam in the long run.

Kajiado County Governor, Hon. Dr. David Nkedianye.

The governor assured the residents who have been complaining for a long time about shortage of quality water, of getting clean water soon. In addition, the governor pledged to put in necessary structures to encourage rain water harvesting at households level in all areas as a way of alleviating water scarcity.

Kajiado town, with an estimated population of 14, 860 heavily relies on private boreholes water that is usually salty .The town has no functional water piping or sewerage infrastructure.

Earlier promises of water provision from politicians have not been fruitful with some of the residents working in Kajiado opting to reside in Kitengela, about 50 Kms away because of water shortage.

Speaking to KNA on a different occasion, Dr. Nkedianye called on all former workers of Kajiado County and town councils as well as those seconded to the county to pull up their socks to help boost the county’s effort in trying to meet its development goals.

The governor said the auditing of the whole workforce is almost complete to enhance placement of workers where they are best suited and to ensure that there is no gap in service delivery.

The county boss said that his administration will not tolerate desertion of duty or failure to observe punctuality as this will not only increase cost of service delivery but also deny the public their right to timely services.

Dr Nkedianye reiterated that disciplinary measures will be taken on all employees who fail to comply with the laid down service delivery ethics.

He promised to work with the officers seconded to the county from the central government.

Declaring that he will fulfill the promises he made as he campaigned for the seat, the governor asked the electorate to be patient, cooperative and to acknowledge that the new county government structures are difficult to establish.

- KNA

Lorry plunges into a ditch near Kware along Magadi road. Quote on traffic accidents in Kenya.

Rid Kajiado town of trash, residents asked

County assessment workshop held

KAJIADO governor, Dr. David Nkedianye has challenged Kajiado town residents to make a deliberate effort to rid the town of trash.

Speaking during a clean up exercise to mark the world environment day early this month, the governor said that efforts of cleaning up the town can only succeed if the residents and business people realize that they are the key beneficiaries of a garbage free town.

He said that efforts of clean up should not be left to schools and other institutions during particular days as this is not

Kajiado County Governor Dr. David Nkedianye has encouraged active participation of all stakeholders so as to effectively identify the strengths and weakness of the infrastructure and manpower in the County The governor made the remarks during a three- day County Readiness Assessment workshop in May geared at developing a compressive tool to spearhead County functions delivery.

Pointing out the need for a

consistent but is only aimed at sensitisation.

He said plans will be drawn to have the clean up exercise held every month to enhance sensitisation and supplement the authorities’ efforts to keep the town clean.

During the inaugural speech for the county assembly, the governor promised to deal with the solid and liquid waste by involving the idle youth in modern waste collection and recycling methods. He also promised to commercialize waste disposal and processing to create jobs and encourage responsibility of all in waste disposal.

-KNA

tool that was workable and void of unnecessary bureaucracy that delayed timely service delivery in past, the county boss said the essence of devolved government was to offer timely service to the public.

The governor also pointed out that currently a staff assessment in all former Local Authorities was in progress in the county after which a rationalization process will kick off to ensure all devolved sub sectors were equipped and ready to roll out

services to the public.

The participants included county and national government officers.

- KNA

14, 860

The estimated time of Kajiado county

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Editorial

Time to start fulfilling campaign promise...

The free laptop project for Standard One pupils must be one of the most talked about promises of the Jubilee Coalition. Indeed, many people who have a platform to address others be it in meetings, rallies, and blogs or in social media have already given their views about the project.

Many have expressed apprehension and concern and have wondered whether it is a priority in a country where the education sector is plagued by many challenges. They talk about the low pay for teachers; children who go to school hungry because their families are so poor that they cannot afford food; children who learn under trees because their schools cannot afford classrooms and desks; children who go to school in torn uniforms because their parents cannot afford to buy them uniforms; teachers who themselves are not trained on use of computers… the list is endless.

On the other side of the discussion, others argue that everything in the world is now technologically driven and those without computer education will find themselves greatly disadvantaged on the global platform; they point out that modern day children are technology savvy and would adapt very well to computers; they go on to add that the One Laptop Per Child project has been tried in various countries both in Africa and elsewhere to very good effect.

It can be said that both sides have very compelling arguments. And as covered comprehensively in this newspaper, the promise of laptops for Standard One pupils is set to become a reality after the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Technology increased the budget allocation to the Basic Education’s development expenditure by KShs5.7 billion to KShs19.9 billion in the 2013/14 budget estimates to cater for the provision of the ICT gadget in public schools.

According to a story emanating from the Kenya New Agency, the ministry expects to spend millions in integrating ICT in primary schools because out of the 20,637 public primary schools, only about 200 have functional ICT equipment such as computers, TVs and radios.

The ministry further acknowledges that the physical ICT infrastructure in most of the schools is undeveloped and dilapidated with classrooms which lack windows and doors.

It looks like the Ministry has already thought out the implementation of the project. For example, it proposes a ‘phased-out programme’ targeting a defined number of public schools to achieve coverage of all schools in the first three years up to 2016 at a cost of KShs75 billion. The second and third phase will cost each KShs. 26.4 billion.

In addition, priority for selection of schools will be based on the e-readiness status of the school in terms of availability of electricity and classroom or secure storage room for the devices.

In early July, a forum to discuss content and implementation methodology, among other things, was slated to be held at Strathmore University. The forum was to bring together experts in the field of computers whether it is software development, hardware or indeed training and capacity building.

Other forums are also planned to discuss this issue that so many are so passionate about whether they support it or oppose it.

Whatever point one holds, it is clear that there is still a lot to be done in relation to the schools’ laptop project. Of prime importance is civic education for all to ensure buy in. It would be futile for the government to embark on a project of this importance and magnitude only for it to fail because the majority of the wananchi were not educated on all its merits and demerits and then let them be the best judges about its suitability for their children.

The

Kajiado Herald

Publisher: The Southern Herald Ltd. Editorial Director: Esther Kamweru, OGW Administrative Director: Julie Topirian Njeru Marketing Director: Mumbi Risah Senior Staff Writer: Sammy Kerre Chief Graphics Designer: Anariko IKweri Writers: Pascaline Shine, Lili Nkoone Senior Correspondent: Wachira Maina Advertising Executive: Alex Mugo Contributors: Embulbul Counselling and Education Centre P.O Box: 782-00511 Ong’ata Rongai Tel: 04531123349/50 editor@southerneharald.org The Kajiado Herald is published every end month by the Southern Herald Ltd and covers Kajiado County from Bomas of Kenya to the Southern Border.

Kajiado Herald

Opinion

Turning the free laptop dream into reality

A typical classroom in Rural Kenya.... Laptop project promises to issue a laptop for children in public schools.

T

he promise of laptops for Standard One pupils by the Jubilee Government next year is set to become a reality after the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Technology increased the budget allocation to the Basic Education’s development expenditure by KShs5.7 billion to KShs19.9 billion in the 2013/14 budget estimates to cater for the provision of the ICT gadget in public schools.

The Department of Basic Education had not factored in the lap tops when it sought KShs14.2 billion for development expenditure. It is projected about 1.4 million pupils will join Standard One in January, next year in the current 20,637 public schools.

The ministry expects to spend millions in integrating ICT in primary schools because out of the 20,637 public primary schools only about 2000 have functional ICT equipment such as computers, TVs and radios.

It acknowledges that the physical ICT infrastructure in most of the schools is undeveloped and dilapidated with classrooms which lack windows and doors.

The ministry, after consultations with its agencies and relevant ministries, proposes that the lap tops be accessible to the 8.75 million

17.3 billion Amount allocated by the government for the laptop project

primary pupils in public schools instead of only the Standard One pupils.

It proposes a ‘phased-out programme’ targeting a defined number of schools to achieve coverage of all schools in the first three years of Jubilee government (up to 2016) at a cost of Sh75 billion. The second and third phase will cost each 26.4 billion.

Priority for selection of schools will be based on the e-readiness status of the school in terms of availability of electricity and classroom or secure storage room for the devices.

In the first phase the ministry proposes that in 2014 five schools are selected from each of the 1,255 education zones with 6,275 schools which will cost the government KShs22.3 billion. The KShs.17.3 billion allocated to the laptop programme in the 2013/14 cannot fully finance the first phase.

Although the Jubilee government promised re-introduction of the school milk programme to pupils, it has no budgetary provision in the 2013/14 financial year. However, the ministry recommends the provision of 250ml packet to each pupil for five days in a week at an annual cost of Sh77.2 billion.

Back to the budgetary allocation, the Department will suffer a shortfall of KShs13.2 billion in its recurrent expenditure in the 2013/14 financial year.

After meeting Education Cabinet Secretary Prof Jacob Kaimenyi Education PS Prof. George Godia and his Higher Education counterpart Prof. Crispus Kimba and top ministry officials recently, the Parliamentary Committee approved a total al-

location of KShs 62.5 billion to the Department against KShs70 billion it had budgeted for recurrent (KShs 55.8) and development (KShs 14.2 billion) expenditure.

This is according to a summary report on the budget estimates of 2013/14 financial year issued by the ministry.

The summary report indicates that the Parliamentary Committee has allocated the Department KShs 42.6 billion for recurrent expenditure against KShs 55.8 billion it had sought.

Despite the increase in development expenditure, there are critical areas in recurrent and development expenditure that have received substantially lower allocations.

The report calls for additional funding to bridge the allocation deficit.

Top on the list of critical areas in need of extra funding are Free Day Secondary Education and Free Primary Education which were allocated about KShs 3 billion and KShs 700 million respectively.

The ministry also wants the allocation on provision of sanitary towels to be boosted. It was allocated KShs 2.4 billion.

Other areas include infrastructure grants to schools, Economic Stimulus Programme, and upgrading of national schools which received KShs 7 billion, KShs 2.6 million and KShs 2.8 billion respectively.

The budgetary allocation to the Basic Education Department excludes that of Teachers Service Commission (TSC), and universities and tertiary institutions.

- See related story on Page 7.

-KNA

The

Kajiado Herald

7

National News

The pros and cons of the Std 1 free laptop project

By Wachira Maina

P

resident Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has committed itself to deliver several ambitious projects, some to spur immediate extensive economic growth while others are aimed at having a magic bullet effect on posterity.

The ambitious One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is one of those clever undertakings intended to take Kenya’s academic curriculum to another level, the digital level, and catapult our children’s genius to the advantage of the nation’s future endeavors. Though a straight copycat from several other nations like Nigeria and Rwanda not to mention America where the idea was cooked, the mere notion of a Standard One kid carrying a laptop instead of a baggage of old bookstattered with age-has raised a hell of a storm in a mug.

Ardent and more informed critics of this ‘digital meditation’ are questioning the Jubilee regime’s list of priorities and the means to whatever end these digital luminaries envisioned. Others have even moved to court to halt this ‘madness’ citing an imminent environmental danger these laptops are going to pose.

Practically speaking, this One Laptop Per Child scheme does not belong in a country where a huge chunk of the population is living in abject poverty; where children die of malaria daily; a nation where the youthful citizen are destitute, jobless and deeply moored in hard drugs and alcohol abuse.

Seriously, it’s a project that belongs to nations with stable economic growth, where a government doesn’t take eons to settle internally displaced persons; actually, it should be rolled out in countries where such acronyms as IDP’s only exist to abbreviate positive nouns such as political parties or even fertilizer.

Logically, the project is not feasible in a country where most of its public

Children in a class session.

schools are in a sorry state with no classes, no enough teachers, and where basic tools of learning such as books are sharaed; where even such sorry-state schools do not exist. Or where young girls fail to go to school because of lack of sanitary towels and most drop out because of underage pregnancies.

It cannot be a priority especially in regions where access to so basic needs such as water is a nightmare.

Basic infrastructure such as roads or healthcare centers is only in the Vision 2030. It is remotely possible in a country where the fabric of safety is so torn that even law enforcers are at risk let alone an expensive laptop on the back of a seven-year old walking a couple of miles to a place not suitable to be called a home; a ghetto shanty in Mathare, Korokocho, Soweto and hundreds other sprawling ‘Kisumu ndogos’.

Arguing politically, talking of a laptop to a hungry legislator (forget about the starving kid)-who despite pocketing hundreds of thousands on monthly basis is still clamouring for more I s akin to committing political suicide. Parading a herd of pigs, or even Camels as the Majority Leader in the National Assembly suggested, will not stop a ‘focused’ MP from shouting for pay hike and otherwise envisage education the laptop way.

The OLPCs will come fully installed with security checks such as anti-theft systems that require the laptop to always communicate (whether on or off) with a remote server.

A class in Zambia, one of Africa’s countries that has embraced the use of Laptops among young children in school to enhance education. (Image courtesy of connectafrica.net). Left: A young girl uses her laptop at home.

In sum, those are the main reasons serious critics of this digital readjustment are citing to blanket such a noble idea as over-ambitious, misplaced in our nation’s list of priorities and doomed to fail.

But what they don’t want to see is how these ‘toys’ (because they are toys not real Notebooks) will, with a single click of a button, revolutionalize, revitalize and standardize our wornout system of education. A system largely criticized as giving birth to half-baked intellectuals that will never see beyond job-seeking, and when given that coveted job, they ran back to their rigid academic ‘manuals’ for reference.

OLPC will give a child a whole world to explore, learn, express and exercise their God-given creativity on a whole new platform. Imagine a Kenya with thousand Bill Gates and Hundreds of thousands Imhoteps, Faradays, Bells, Einsteins and several of those pioneer inventors who were only given a conducive breeding ground to exercise their creativity and rose to the skies literally.

Come to think of it. We are not told of a teacher who taught Isaac Newton about gravity. It is even said that Bill Gates of all other people, dropped out of school simply because he was learning nothing new in class. He had been given a good ground to grow his

genius and needed no teacher to tell him what keys to press.

Think of it this way. A pupil in the arid region of Garissa sitting under a tree with a solar powered laptop reading a soft copy of ‘Hallo Children’ and watching its animated video version similar to a pupil in a well equipped computer lab at a public (or even private) school in the suburban area of Karen. Gaining access to the same learning materials and on a similar platform, what a fair world it could be. We just need to teach them the right attitude.

Those of you feeling that this untenured digital generation will spoil our children should refocus and port your frequency to the digital generation. Programmers will know how to put content-filters to ‘sieve’ the pornography and other ‘unintended and un-academic extra-curricula’ that may interfere with the smooth learning of the child especially through the Internet.

And to the perverted retrogressive who might think of robbing an innocent child of a laptop (a future) should start thinking of better things to do before 2014. The OLPCs will come fully installed with security checks such as anti-theft systems that require the laptop to always communicate (whether on or off) with a remote server. This might be a school-based

server or a country-specific server and will automatically lock down a laptop that has gone out of its radius.

The laptop will remain locked and useless until its ‘lease’ with the server is renewed. This authority to renew we assume will be vested in the schools’ IT person only.

Other checks include a system barring any user from installing additional software or even changing the operating system. They might also come with a special tracking system.

The thieves we should rather worry about are the white-collar (or is it the blue-collar) robbers of public coffers and companies who might be viewing this project as an enriching spree and an unfettered opportunity to fatten their already fat bank accounts. We don’t want to deal with another Angloleasing for crying out loud.

Bottomline, the One Laptop per Child initiative is as noble as Free Primary Education and should have been rolled out like yesterday. We only need to look it with the right dose of attitude, own it, cherish it and grow with it!

8

The KAJIADO HERALD

Focus on

Devolution

What do you know about devolution?

A REPORT by the Land Development and Governance Institute (LDGI) says majority of Kenyans are ignorant of the diverse roles to be played by various actors in the devolved systems of government.

Top on the agenda, according to the report, that was presented at the end of May this year by LDGI Executive Director, Mwenda Makathimo at a Nairobi hotel include issues on land management and where Kenyans can seek land related services.

These are issues that are of utmost importance to residents of Kajiado County.

The report, a product of a survey carried out between 15th March and 2nd May this year by the LDGI, indicate that the National Land Commission (NLC) and the County Land Management Boards (CLMB) were not in sync on their distinctive roles as stipulated in the Land Act and Session Paper No. 3 of 1999.

The survey sought to know the level of public awareness on the functions and powers of the county assembly, the governor, the role of the national government and NLC in land reforms.

According to the survey, 14 per cent of Kenyans know the function of the governor and the county assembly in as far as the administration and management of land in the devolved system, while 86 per cent are ignorant.

Similarly, nine per cent of the respondents know the role of the county executive committee, while 91 percent are in the dark.

The study further revealed that over 60 per cent of the respondents were certain that land search services are offered at the Ministry of Lands while the remainder were of the opinion that it was the responsibility of the CLMB, the City/ Municipality Boards (C/M B), County Offices and Environment and Land Court (ELC). On land purchase or transfer more than 50 percent of the respondents knew the services are offered by Ministry of Lands, while about 30 per cent were of the opinion that it was the responsibility of CLMB. CLMB was deemed by 38 per cent of the interviewed as the one in charge of application and renewal of leases, a quarter stood by land registries, while the remaining alluded to other government offices. Over 40 percent of Kenyans were able to articulate land dispute resolution, according to the report, while 33 percent were of the opinion that subdivision of land is under the county government.

The research showed more than half of the sample selected thought that purchase of land maps is done at Land registry, a good number did not know as others felt it is in other offices.

More than 40 per cent of those interviewed felt the NLC could operate independently without political interference and will deliver on its mandate, 24 percent felt otherwise while the remaining were still unsure.

Nyachae warns on unplanned and hurried transfers HURRIED and unplanned transfer of functions from the national government to the county governments by relevant agencies risk compromising devolution.

The chair of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC), Charles Nyachae said that transfer of functions from the national government to county governments must be done within the law.

“Any public officer who transfers functions without respecting the process laid down by the Constitution and law violates the constitution,” said Nyachae in a recent press statement.

He said that public officers involved in unconstitutional transfer of functions shall be held accountable.

The CIC chair however acknowledged the need for urgent transfer of functions to the county governments for effective and protective service delivery in the interest of the residents of the counties.

“Steps must be taken to ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place to protect service delivery and ensure that the

Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution(CIC), Chair; Charles Nyachae Counties are able to take up their functions as quickly as possible,” said Nyachae.

He also called upon the Senate to play its role of protecting the counties by ensuring that they get sufficient funds for legally transferred functions and overseeing a smooth transition process.

Nyachae at the same time said that county governments risked being suspended if they

failed to perform the functions transferred to them.

He said that for each county to transfer functions from the national government, it must put in place legislation in relation to the function applied for, establish a framework for service delivery to implement the function, identify administrative units related to the functions where necessary and should have undertaken the capacity assessment in relation to the function.

They should also have arrangements for decentralization of the function and provision of related services by the county government, have the required infrastructure and systems to deliver the function besides having the necessary financial management systems in place.

Nyachae said that the counties are required to have an approved plan in relation to the function and fulfill any other variable as may be prescribed after consultations with the Transition Authority and CIC and the Commission for Revenue Allocation.

-KNA

Hospital births triple in Ngong AS expectant mothers countrywide continue to enjoy free maternity services introduced by the Jubilee government, the number of babies being delivered at Ngong sub-district hospital in Kajiado North has in the past few weeks tripled.

The hospital’s nursing officer, Mrs. Grace Thiong’o, says that before introduction of free maternity services the hospital used to handle about three births daily, the number has now gone up to about nine.

As such, unlike before when

the hospital could hold a mother for up to 48 hours after birth, mothers are now only kept at the hospital for six hours under observation before being discharged. This, she said, is to create room for others owing to the limited bed capacity at the facility which stands at only 25.

The officer says that she is happy to see mothers walk home with their babies without having to struggle to pay for the services adding that it will help in reducing the number of mothers who deliver at home

thereby improving on maternal healthcare and reducing maternal death rate.

Mrs. Thiong’o however foresees a crisis if the government does not replenish the materials used or increase the number of nurses at the facility to match the increasing number of patients being served there. There are only 11 nurses working in shifts at the facility that serves people from the entire district.

The officer said that they expect the number of patients to keep on rising as most women

who would have gone to deliver at private hospitals will now go the district hospital.

Mrs Irene Moraa who is expecting a child in a month’s time praised the government for the initiative saying that it will save a lot of agony for mothers who cannot afford maternity fee.

She said that even though she gave birth to her first born at the same facility where she paid about KShs. 4,200, she is now happy that she can use the facility again but without having to pay.

- KNA

Salary devolution will cause chaos, officials claim A TEAM of health officials have strongly opposed devolution of salaries to the counties citing that it will create chaos within the health force.

They claimed that devolution timing is wrong, ill-informed and unconstitutional because it is in contravention of part three of the transitional to devolved Government Act, 2012 which clearly elaborates on how phased transfer of functions must be done.

Addressing the media at a joint press conference in Nairobi, Dr.Sultani Matendechero, Secretary General Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacist and Dentist Union (KMPDU) said that they are against the transfer of salaries to counties until proper planning and involvement of health care has taken place.

“We demand for the immediate signing of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) between the government and our Unions as a move that shall see this country witness an end to the rampant industrial unrest within this crucial sector,” he explained.

Dr.Sulutani said that parliament should make sure that the bill doesn’t go through, but instead retun money to central government for proper planning and involvement of health care stakeholders to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and untold suffering among patients “We ask ourselves questions, who has employed us at the county levels, who are we going to report our issues to,” he posed adding that consultation of stakeholders is mandatory as required in the constitution.

Seth Panyako, Secretary General Kenya National union of Nurses (KNUN), said that, they will not allow devolution and are ready to protest come July this year. “He wondered how people fighting for their salary increment will be handled their salaries in counties.

Panyakoo said that, the government should instead be moving with speed toward addressing the acute shortage of doctors and nurses in the country by developing a robust retention strategy and immediate employement of 40,000 nurses.

“We look upon the government to give us 15%allocation as earlier promised,” said Dr. Victor Ngani chairman KMPDU, adding that the rollout of free maternity service has put a big strain on the existing lean overworked yet underpaid workers.

“Government doesn’t have structures in place, and patients are flocking into hospitals in Kajiado where we find a clinical officer attending to more than 100 patients per day,” said George Gibori, chairman Union of Kenya Clinical Officers (UKCO) - KNA

Specialized treatment now within reach for all KAJIADO residents will be happy to know that Kenyans from all the regions across the country will be a position to access specialised treatment currently offered at referral health facilities once devolution is implemented in the health sector.

This devolution targets to have former provincial general hospitals and high level 4 hospitals become semi-autonomous at the county level instead of full control from the central government.

According to a report from the ministry of health availed to the media recently, this devolution could take two approaches either of which will define its full implementation.

“The first option is to have cross-county facilities managed by the county in which they are located but financed by specific grant to cover the additional costs of providing services to more than one county,” said the source.

The report further added that the second option would be upgrading the provincial general hospitals also known as Level 5 hospitals to semi-autonomous facilities.

“This will guarantee Kenyans access to specialized and super specialized services in all regions of the country,” said the source.

Cabinet Secretary in the ministry of health James Macharia has said that the move will ensure that Kenyans from all parts of the country get specialized treatment closer home.

“Some people succumb on the way to receiving specialized treatment which is offered either at Nairobi or Eldoret because there are no such facilities within their locality,” said Macharia.

He added implementation on devolution in the health sector will bring such specialized treatment services closer home to Kenyans.

“A person in Nairobi can easily access the services at Kenyatta National Hospital. How about the ones in Wajir or some other distant place?” posed Macharia.

- KNA

The Kajiado Herald Magazine

Herald Life

Our Stars

MELENTA: Making lives better for County’s hearing impaired citizens

By Kuria John , KNA

I

t was not until he became a deputy head teacher in another school and was teaching a child with hearing difficulties that Patrick Melenta acknowledged the duty many often overlook.

This former Oloika Primary School trained teacher from Magadi had never taken keen interest in observing people with disabilities let alone delve deeper into the nature of their challenges.

But putting all his efforts in non schooled sign language, Patrick Melenta changed people’s attitude towards disability and was able to see a child pass his KCPE exam with flying colours scoring an A in mathematics. From then on, he honoured the call to be a Special Education teacher and has not looked back since.

Melenta trained at the Kenya Institute for Special Education (KISE) for two years between 2004 and 2006. He was put in charge of a special unit for the deaf in Ilbissil Boarding Primary School in Kajiado for four years.

Speaking to KNA, this one among few special education teachers in Kajiado says that the school that has an inclusive policy for the hearing impaired with other children without any form of impairment assisted in spreading the message that those with hearing challenges can do as well in school as those without disability.

Currently he is deployed in the Kajiado County Education Assessment and Resourc Centre (EARC) in Kajiado town where he specializes in assessment for hearing impairment.

Being a former deputy head teacher in Eroret Primary School in Magadi where he was born and having interacted with parents, Melenta says many parents come to seek help for their children who have disabilities late when interventions cannot have optimum results.

He says before they come to seek assessment and placement, parents usually first go to hospitals, religious leaders and even traditional healing in vain.

Melenta says that what they need to do is to accept the situation and assist the children do the same and help them work

p10

hard to be self supporting.

He adds that during the assessment, parents also need to be counselled just like the children so that they can help the children.

“Most come depressed from despair after seeking help from various areas without success” he says.

Melenta also teaches sign language to parents to assist them communicate with their hearing impaired children.

He also offers short training courses at other schools to sensitize them on how best to deal with various forms of disabilities and to urge for aid and acceptance of special needs children.

Melenta says that the hearing, those with other forms of disabilities are the last to be taken to school and last to have their school fees paid. This is compounded by an additional dilemma in that Kajiado County has no special education school and the few units that exist have limited number of teachers.

Members of the community in Kajiado according to Melenta are yet to conquer the stigma associated with disabilities as curses in the family. In addition, majority of the children come from poor backgrounds with limitations of resources to seek medical or supportive assistance as well as education for the children.

There are however success stories for the persons with hearing challenges notes Melenta. The few that are in gainful employment, he says, have created set examples for those with hearing impairment to aspire to be.

Ilbissil Boarding Primary School that has 30 students with hearing impairment who learn together in one class from nursery to Standard 8 has been having a major teaching hurdle. He however acknowledges that it is expected the county government will put up eight classes which will make the school one with the largest capacity for teaching the hearing impaired in the county.

Melenta plans to pursue further specialization in audiology to contribute to the field that currently has limited experts.

Ole Neene- The repairer of broken bones

He says that this will help him identify levels of hearing among those with hearing difficulties early enough to ensure that those with partial deafness get hearing aids to help them develop speech.

He also participates in sensitization on rights of the deaf through a programme dubbed “rights of deaf children today” sponsored by Deaf Child Worldwide organization.

The sensitization programme, implemented by African Network for Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse And Neglect (ANPPCAN) started operating in Kajiado, Mumias, Kitui and Embu and recently in Kwale, Nyandarua and Nandi involves teaching parents sign language to enable them involve the children fully in household and family activities. The programme attends to eight cluster groups consisting of parents spread in the county.

Whenever Melenta realizes that there is a deaf person in any gathering including church

p12

meetings, he always comes forward to use sign language to allow such a person to get the information being relayed. It was no surprise therefore that he was called upon during the inauguration of the county governor to interpret in sign language the taking of the oath of office and the governor’s inaugural speech.

He calls on all parents to Melenta plans to be keen on their children’s pursue further hearing ability from birth as specialization they develop so as to assist in audiology to them appropriately if found to have hearing challenges. contribute to He also advises them to the field that seek quick attention for currently has limited experts. ear nose and throat (ENT) infections some of which cause deafness.

Why champions Laiser Hill were disqualified

10

The

Herald Life

Kajiado Herald

Ole Neene – the repairer o Story and Pictures By Sammy Kerre

W

“

By God’s grace I know everything there is to know about bones from the soles of the feet to the neck

hen Patience Mutheu was born one-and-a half years ago, a pretty little girl entered the world with all the commotion of a new-born – thirst for breast milk, wailing to get attention and lots and lots of sleep.

But in a country like Kenya where a culture of carelessness, impunity and perhaps just plain old bad manners seem to have taken root, accidents tend to happen with alarming frequency.

Only this particular targeted a helpless little child for a victim. For it was six months into her entry into the world that Patience’s mother, Dorcas David, noticed that there was a problem with her child. “She could not sit down or stand the way a child of her age would have. She just seemed weak either in her muscles or bones or something. I realised something was amiss.”

Dorcas took her little angel to hospital and they realised the baby was having what appeared like a spinal problem, making her unable to physically assert herself. Over a period of time, through talking to many people, Dorcas was informed that the child seemed to have been broken during child birth. Having given birth in hospital, it appeared that when the baby was being expelled from the uterus and pulled by medical personnel out of her mother, she got broken or injured in the spine.

“Her right arm is also weak and wobbly and you can see it is not active at all,” Dorcas says. The arm too had been broken. Ever since, Dorcas has taken her baby for physical therapy but there is no sign that the beautiful bundle of joy is recovering.

Recently, at her home in Kitengela, she heard of a young man who suffered a broken leg in

Dorcas and her daughter Patience after theraphy

a motor accident and was seeing one of Kajiado’s most famous ‘doctors,’ a bone-setter by the name Leina Nenkalash, also nick-named ‘ole Neene.’

We met Dorcas and her baby Patience while interviewing ole Neene. The nick-name ole Neene, meaning ‘son of Neene’ is actually a reference to Nangalash’s mother, by whom he so proudly identifies himself.

And so we had a ringside seat, as it were, to the events that followed, as the aged hands of ole Neene dexterously worked on the tiny supple body of the infant. It was a heart-rending moment. The baby cried and cried but ole

Ole Neene: The bone setter

Neene, clearly an old-hand at this, actually pointed to the mother a place in the right arm that had a swelling.

This, he said, was where the baby’s arm had been broken. One could actually see that something seemed to be jutting outwards just under the skin. “Bring her back tomorrow,” ole Neene told Dorcas. “Not much remains to be done but tomorrow we will be able to finalise the baby’s treatment.”

The bone-setter of Kajiado has a reputation. All those who have been disappointed with Western-style physical therapy (and there are fourhundred and twenty physiotherapists registered in Kenya by the start of 2013), crowd at ole Neene’s. The tall, thin old man with a keen and piercing look is a rather humble and generous fellow.

Somewhere in the middle of our interview he beckons a bar attendant and orders a soda for me without even asking if I needed a drink. His Kiswahili is nearly non-existent,

to say nothing of his English. This interview was made possible through the generous interpretation of ole Neene’s friend, Melonyi Parletuan Timayio. And although ole Neene got no formal education, his client list includes educated fellows.

His expertise has made him welltravelled within the boundaries of Kenya. And in terms of age, he estimates himself to be enjoying wellbeyond the Bible’s bonus of fourscore years. “I have no proper idea what my age is but I could be nearing a hundred,” he says nonchalantly.

But he is quite humble when it comes to his exploits as a bone-setter.

“By God’s grace I know everything there is to know about bones from the soles of the feet to the neck. The only place whose secrets God has not revealed to me is the head.” When a bone is broken, ole Neene feels and studies it before he sets about fixing it. If it is severely broken, he may tie it in place with a piece of cloth to stabilise it. “In about a number of

The

Kajiado Herald

11

Herald Life

of broken bones

Old hands on tender bones. Mzee Ole Neene perfoming theraphy on the young patient Patience (Right). Ole Neene and his friend Melonyi who helped in translation during the interview with The Kajiado Herald.

days, you should be able to feel that you’re turning a corner,” he says.

“The total healing may take longer but you should be noticing a change for the better.”

In these days of boda boda motorcycle accidents, ole Neene should be enjoying great wealth. But he says that is the least of his pursuits.

“By the time I began working as a bone-setter I was already wealthy so this did not change and has not changed me.” Ole Neene was born into a fairly wealthy family. He discovered his gift for setting bones purely by chance when one of his father’s cows broke its leg. He watched the cow struggle then decided, almost without being conscience of what he was doing, to try and help it recover. He did it well. The local people thought he might have something up his

sleeve and so began inviting him. By touching the broken part of the body, he would know what was broken and how, knowledge that would provide invaluable guidance in setting the bone. With every job he undertook, he realised this was a calling. The rest is history.

Over time he realised there was a need to set up a clinic to try and deal with the avalanche of clients knocking on the door. That is when he expanded his clinic from Iara on the way to Loitoktok to Sultan Hamud from where he currently operates. The clinic runs Thursdays and Fridays.

The rest of the days he goes home to his two wives at Isara.

But where was he born? “No idea.

My parents were pastoralists and had to keep moving. I never got to know exactly where I was born.”

He may not know the location of his birth but he knows that at Kenya’s independence in 1963, he had married his first wife and was a father of two children.

Later he would marry his second wife and wind up a father to about twenty children.

“This job has educated my children even though I did not get any formal education myself,” he says. “A number of my patients are people who previously visited hospitals.

After staying a while without getting well, they come to me. My charges are fairly reasonable but sometimes when someone’s situation has deteriorated and their treatment requires time and specialised attention, then I charge a little more.”

Ole Neene says the number of patients he gets in a day vary widely.

On some days he may get three

but on other days ten. The retired Maasai moran, who killed, in his younger days, many lions, rhinos and elephants, says he grew up in such a large family that until today he has no idea how many siblings he had.

His father had four wives and his own mother is still alive, walking without aid of any sort. Perhaps that is where he got his hardy breed, for at his age, only a few strands of grey hair are existent. He said he has worked at Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital and at Mutinguni Hospital in Makadara, Kitengela. He’s also been to Muranga and Kisumu.

Just for knowledge’s sake, it is important to know that many health

experts, quoting research, say traditional bonesetting has huge risks.

Patients can get gangrene infections and have their limbs amputated. Modern health institutions are filled with physiotherapists, chiropractors and osteopathists, who are taking over the profession of bone-setting. Ole Neene is therefore a singularity, one of the last of a disappearing breed. Perhaps in ages to come his legend will outlive those of his apparently more polished successors.

12

The

Herald Life

Kajiado Herald

Why champions Laiser Hill were disqualified from the national high school basketball games

By Sammy Kerre

L

aiser Hill Academy says that its recent disqualification from the Kenya Secondary School games was irregular, unconstitutional and an orchestration to pave way for a favoured opponent.

The Kajiado County-based school is a member of the Nairobi Metropolitan Schools Association by virtue of Ong’ata Rongai town being considered a suburb of the envisionedNairobi metropolis according to Kenya’s Vision 2030 development blueprint. Laiser Hill is a sports giant not just in Kenya but in the wider eastern Africa. The school has won the national basketball trophy five times since 2002 and the regional one a record five times and were, at the time of the disqualification, the reigning champions of both the national and the regional competitions.

It is for this reason that questions were raised by journalists from national media houses concerning the reason given for the disqualification.

According to the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA), Laiser Hill was guilty of “fielding ineligible players and therefore could not be allowed to (compete in) the national school games.”

On the eve of the games in the month of April, KSSSA chairman Abdi Kadir informed the school in a letter that the basketball team was being “disqualified from proceeding to the national and their place has been taken by Upper Hill (High School).”

The ineligible players, according to KSSSA, were Abdallah Fadhili Chuma from TZ, Ayew Malwal Lik from Sudan, Parfat Ishimwe and Elly Kaje from Rwanda, who had failed to “provide required documents.”

But Laiser Hill are complaining, in effect saying that the rules that were used to knock them out were illegitimate and did not exist within the Constitution of KSSSA. Tony Kirimi, Laiser Hill’s Dean of Students, says that the so-called rules had not

existed prior to their being furnished with the disqualification letter.

“First, the letter was handed to us a day before the games began, thereby totally robbing us of a chance to appeal,” Kirimi says. “Second, it is a question of justice that the body that disqualified us is headed by the principal of the school to which our place in the competition was given.

Further, the disqualification came after we had beaten this school in the earlier round of the sports calendar.

Further, the students over whom we were disqualified had played in the earlier rounds and no eligibility issues had been found over them. The timing of this development suggests ulterior motives.”

On disqualification, Laiser Hill were replaced by Upperhill High, which went on to win the national basketball trophy following their sudden inclusion in the finals. Upperhill were the complainants in the case that led to Laiser Hill’s disqualification, we’re informed. We’re working on getting the authorities in Upperhill to comment on the events leading to their inclusion in the national basketball competition.

So far we’ve not succeeded but we’re bringing you a second part of this story in the next issue of Kajiado Herald.

“The rules applied in knocking us out were appendices of a discussion but have never been in the Constitution.

We feel these so-called rules were cooked up along the way to stop us from competing,” Kirimi alleges.

Laiser Hill were disqualified on account of four players, according to the Metropolitan region’s County Directors of Education chairman, Abdi Kadir.

The four players, Abdallah Fadhil Chuma from Tanzania, Ayew Malwal Lik from Sudan, Parfat Ishimwe and Elly Kaje from Rwanda were ineligible owing to unsatisfactory documentation.

From Laiser Hill’s perspective, there are several reasons that make

their disqualification suspect: The boys whose names are in contention had played all through the season but were never found to be in infringement of any rules; The disqualification information was handed out just shortly before the national finals, effectively blocking them from appealing, when the game with Upperhill, which was the basis of the disqualification, happened much earlier; The rules applied in the disqualification did not exist prior to the act, among other issues.

The constitution of KSSSA prescribes a ban, not a disqualification, for ineligibility. Laiser Hill’s Kirimi suggests that the officials preferred a disqualification because a ban could have brought unwelcome scrutiny upon the running of the sports body.

The rules, according to Mr Murimi, tend to be changed to suit circumstances. To safeguard against schools importing talent for the mere purpose to win trophies, KSSSA’s rules have certain laws. One is the 90day Rule, which states that a player must have been a student in the school for which he plays for 90 days prior to participating in the games. Another is the one-year Rule, which bars a Form 5 student who has joined from another school from playing until he/ she is a year old in the school. Another rule bars students who are more than 19 years old from participating. This protects young students from playing against people who, essentially, are adults.

“Two boys in question meet all the eligibility requirements. But they have been playing with the rules. For instance in 2006, they introduced the 6-year Rule, which bars a student from playing for a school for more than 6 years,” Kirimi says. The 90-day rule barred repeating Form Four students from participating in the games. In 2011, they felt the 90-day rule was not sufficient and so they introduced the

Rules of the game •

90-day Rule: States that a player must have been a student in the participating school for which he plays for 90 days prior to participating in the games.

•

One-year Rule: It bars a Form 5 student who has joined from another school from playing until he/she is a year old in the participating school.

•

Another rule bars students who are more than 19 years old from participating.

Laiser Hill academy students pose for a picture after being awarded winners in last years inter-school basketbal match.

one-year Rule, which did not affect IGCSE schools because their calendar year runs from September to MayJune.”

Kirimi says the problem started with the rule change, which led to IGCSE schools being treated like Form Four schools.

“They never communicated the rule change. It was to be added to the Constitution as an appendix but even right now it still only exists in the minutes and was neither disseminated nor ratified by stakeholders. And yet this is the rule they invoked to disqualify us.”

Kirimi say that two of the students in question came from Greenfield Academy in Kigali, Rwanda. “We took their names to the zonal district, county and even metropolitan offices and they approved them. The transfer of these boys was not a matriculation transfer – meaning they did not need to be tested on their qualification to join our school. No, they were changing from a French to a London system. The second point is that the sports commissioner qualified them to play and did not find a problem with their eligibility. Even the secretary of the regional tournament could have disqualified them and given us back the names of those he considered eligible.”

To add confusion to the mystery, the Secretary-General of the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association, David Ngungi, was quoted in the media saying that Laiser Hill’s disqualification was a result of “a technical error” and not due to “cheating.”

Kirmi says all the Laiser Hill boys had birth certificates and the oldest of them had been born on January 24, 1994. “The rules this year say one must have been born after September 1, 1993. Clearly, none of our boys could have been ineligible due to age.

Where there was no birth certificate we gave a passport, which is what international students carry.”

Laiser Hill got the disqualification letter on April 14, a day before the games kicked off. In the earlier round, they played and triumphed over Upperhill on April 6. Their appeal to the Supreme Jury of the Metropolitan sports body was heard on April 16, a day after the games had kicked off, suggesting that even the appeal had succeeded, it would have been timebarred.

The metropolitan schools organisation brings together secondary schools from Kajiado, Makueni, Machakos and Nairobi. The complaints raised by Laiser Hill are pretty serious, including the charge that the chairman of KSSSA was the complainant but is also the one with powers to determine who sits on the jury. As such, we’re following up the story to give everyone a chance to present their side of the controversy.

In our next issue, we hope to bring you the reactions from Upperhill’s principal and representatives of other schools that have allegedly suffered unfair discrimination of similar nature to that alleged by Laiser Hill.

The

Kajiado Herald

13

News Feature

Human-animal conflict: The hyena menace in Kajiado “

T

his hyena is coming for me so take my pen and pullover and proceed to school without me,’’ a traumatized boy still vividly remembers the last words from his deceased friend as if they were spoken only the day before the fateful day when his friend was mauled by a hyena. .

The 15-year old boy is withdrawn and speaks few words as he fights hard to come to terms with the loss of his childhood friend who was mauled to death by a hyena in Mashuru area of Kajiado East Sub County on the 9th May this year.

To Maraptash Parkuyiara, the deceased and Oloiputari Kanar ( pictured), both class 5 pupils at Olootolugum Primary School that fateful Thursday was a normal day.

Little did they know the 1.00 pm tragedy would bring to an end to their childhood friendship.

“As we walked back to school after a lunch break, suddenly a hyena roared from a thicket nearby and immediately my friend made the statement,” narrated Kanar. He said that he rushed to seek help but by the time the help arrived his friend’s body was lying lifeless on the ground.

The boy’s whispers may be out of fear or may be depicting the intense of fear and trauma engraved in his little mind.

Three men come to assist the deceased but as the hyena charged; two men , who were unarmed fled leaving one to fight it out. Though he managed to kill the hyena, he sustained serious injuries and was admitted at the Kajiado District Hospital.

The hyena, according to the locals, was of rare species as unlike the common spotted ones common in the area this one was stripped.

Did the deceased have a premonition about his death or it was just a coincidence he uttered these words before the hyena attacked and mauled him hence discontinuing his life in totality?

According to the Maasai cultural beliefs, a hyena is considered a destructive pest and the sight of one around human settlement during the season of plenty such as now was an omen warning of an impending tragedy.

“After the heavy rains, there is plenty of pasture hence we believe there are also plenty of wild animals that the hyena could feed on so what business had the beast around a school?’’ wondered Mr. Sidney Quntai the Chairman of the Kajiado County Consultative Forum.

To many communities in Kenya, the hyena is considered a fearful animal and rarely would it attack or even feed from human flesh.

However according to the Free Encyclopedia Wikipedia, the striped hyena, though a scavenger may occasionally attack any defenseless animal it can overcome.

This species of hyena supplements its diet with fruits, a rare character of the hyenas. The spotted and stripped hyenas are known to become man eaters.

In 1960, during the attempted coup in Ethiopian, the two hyena species were reported to scavenge from human corpses. They were reported to have fed extensively on corpses. This habituated the hyena to develop bold

Oloiputuari Kanar, still mourning the death of his friend.

200,000 Amount in Ksh. that Kenya Wildlife Services(KWS) gives for loss of Human life in animal wildlife conflict.

behavior\ toward living people and hence began attacking and devouring their flesh.

An increase of hyena feeding on human bodies was also reported in Southern Sudan during the 2nd Sudanese Civil war when human corpses were readily available to them.

In Kenya pastoralists communities consider the animals very destructive hence kill them on sight.

Though the Kenyan communities abhor the game from hyenas, in ancient Greek and Rome the hyena were used for food and medicinal purposes and where it was believed that different parts of its body were effective in warding off evil and ensuring love and fertility.

A hyena is considered a destructive pest and the sight of one around human settlement during the season of plenty was an omen warning of an impending tragedy...Maasai Cultural Belief The killer hyena

In the last five years, cases of Human/Wildlife conflicts have been in the increase with more losses of human, livestock and farm crops recorded ever. Currently the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) gives a compensation of KShs. 200,000 for loss of human life and KShs. 50,000 for injuries.

Mr Quntai said the sum of money was a mockery to the deceased’s kin as no amount of money can replace life. He underscored the need for the fast tracking of the proposed 2007 Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill by the 11th Parliament. He added that the Bill proposed the word compensation should be replaced with consolation and the amount be increased from KShs. 200,000 toKShs. 1 million for loss of human life.

The Chairman attributed the rise of Human/Wildlife Conflict in the county to the fragmentation of group ranches and introduction of other land uses that were incompatible with wild animals.

He added that animal corridors and migration routes in the county had been tampered with by human activity, hence leaving the animals with no alternative but to invade in human settlements.

The Kajiado County KWS Warden Mr David Odoyo who attended the boy’s funeral echoed the sentiments of Mr. Quntai that the 11th Parliament should push for passing on proposed 2007 Wildlife Conservation and Management Bill. He said the Bill once passed will replace the Kenya Wildlife Act. Even as Kenyans await the passing of the Bill that is meant to replace the Kenya Wildlife Services Act, Kanar is yet to come to terms with the events of the day that cruelly snatched his friend from him.

14

The

Kajiado Herald

World News

It’s an uphill task as South Sudan L

ike many towns in Kajiado county including Rongai, Kitengela, Kiserian among others, Juba is a fast growing town. Are there any lessons either can learn from the other? Let’s begin from the beginning.

Landing at South Sudan’s Spartan Juba International Airport jolts one into the hard reality that this newly independent, oil-rich country has got a long way to go in extricating itself from the socio-economic quagmire it was plunged into by many years of civil strife and war.

Unlike Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) with automated services, everything at the airport, currently undertaking a modernization and expansion programme, is virtually done manually including luggage security checks.

Once scrutinized, the luggage is casually marked ‘OK’ with chalk by grim-faced officers who motion you to move on with a robotic wave of a hand once they are done with you.

As you enter the city, disorder and apparent lack of national discipline are some of the off-putting things you encounter, a stack reminder you are in a budding true African city. From the boda boda menace to hawking petrol in plastic bottles even near State House, it’s indeed a chaotic situation. But being a country coming from guerrilla war some things can be excusable.

But all the same, a surgical process is needed to transform the national psyche to result-oriented work ethics to avert a self-destruction mode that has brought many African countries to ruin.

Already corrupt practices have set in with news about the stealing of over SSP 4billion of public funds causing disquiet among locals in a country currently reliant on a shoe-string budget of SSP.6.5 billion after it shut down oil production that comprised 98 per cent of its GDP. Just a short distance from the airport, there is an unfinished building where women serve tea to men leisurely seated on plastic chairs. People laze about in the capital like they have all the time in this world. May be this flippant attitude has got something to do with the discovery of the black gold and the wealth it promises.

Indeed the leisurely, easygoing mood in the capital is unmistakable. It is akin to the familiar one at our Coast where life commonly takes a relaxed tempo.

A stroll in Juba reminds one of Mombasa famed Kahawa tungu business. Scenes of men seated idly under shop verandahs or tree sheds sipping mugs of tea in a ritualistic kind of regularity are similarly very common in Juba.

What is striking about the city, are the conspicuous sights of rows of plastic chairs neatly arranged by the women for their regular customers who are seen happily imbibing the tea chatting animatedly possibly sharing their exploits in the war.

The Arabic cultural influence is blamed for the slow-paced, relaxed lifestyle some locals have adopted.

“No Weapons!’ reads the distinctive signage at the Nile Beach Hotel entrance in the rapidly growing city. Gun violence rampant in South Sudan.

Right: A street with solar-powered street lights in the city.

Not even work places are spared this practice as workers take long teabreaks which is unacceptable in a country struggling to rebuild itself from a scratch.

Locals are facing the herculean task of rebuilding their war-damaged country after separating from Sudan in 2011. It is only fair that everybody takes work seriously.

With temperatures soaring up to 37 degrees centigrade, resting under some shed with your favourite drink can be excusable but only after work in the city that lies near the Equator.

Moses Wani from Western

Equatorial State decried the casual approach to the monumental challenges in the country saying this has to change if meaningful development is to be attained.

This is exactly what Information Minister, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin was alluding to by acknowledging the difficult task of reconstruction after the destruction wrought by the war.

“The country is faced with many challenges but they are not insurmountable. We are cognizant of the fact that we’re starting off from a scratch and no effort should be spared in ensuring we prosper,” Dr, Benjamin

said.

“We have to change our mindset which was solely attuned to war whereby one simply took their AK47 and set out looking for the enemy,” he said.

But like the proverbial phoenix South Sudan is rising from the ashes of decades of a bitter civil war. It is now picking up the pieces as it strives to open a new chapter in its chequered history.

Dr. Benjamin jokingly said he sympathized with Roads Minister who coordinated the bombing of bridges during the war and now he

is tasked with the responsibility of reconstructing what he destroyed!

“If my colleague ever knew he would one day head that ministry, he would have thought twice before blowing up those bridges,” he said with a light touch. Perhaps this explains why Juba steel Bridge over the White Nile is heavily guarded as it is the only Nile crossing in all of South Sudan.

“What British colonialists built was destroyed during the war hence the country is starting from zero.

We should be careful not to repeat the mistakes other African countries made,” the minister said.

The city has indeed become a popular investment destination, following the oil discovery. Infrastructure is the biggest growth industry in the vast country known for its extraordinarily dark, tall people who always stand out in a crowd. High-rise buildings are coming up in the sprawling city which until recently had no structures higher than two storeys.

Reputable hotels used tents and prefabs but a number of them now have permanent structures, according

The

Kajiado Herald

15

World News

rises from the ashes of war

The city experiences serious water shortage despite its proximity to River Nile. Here water vendors are fetching water.

Right: A herd of long-horned Ankole crossing a road in the city. to the suave Dr. Benjamin who is also the chief government spokesman.

“Five years ago all reputable hotels were mere tents but today the city boasts of some up-market hospitality facilities with all essential amenities,” he said.

Communication is vital in the post-conflict period to build national cohesion and reconciliation. “We desire to consolidate and sustain the peace we so hard fought for,” he said.

While appreciating the security briefing we were given prior to our departure for South Sudan, little did I imagine the insecurity in that country would involve even being robbed of my water!

I was walking back to my hotel in the city’s torrid heat when I encountered some scrawny, scruffy fellow who brazenly snatched the bottle of mineral water I was carrying out of my hand.

The youngster struck from nowhere near Juba stadium. I was terrified to the bone as I imagined being turned into a

statistic in a country with a frightening rate of gun violence.

Security is an issue of great concern particularly at night as only a few areas of the city have street lights. Irritating electricity blackouts are the norm as the city is powered by generators in the absence of any national grid. One would be forgiven to think the city would drown in the cacophonous drone of the generators that are in every corner.

The hospitality industry is among the fastest growing sectors in the city that teems with foreign workers including, a 10,000-force of UN peace keepers.

This has given rise to high demand for hotels and lodges, a sector a majority of Kenyans have invested in.

Lamu Port South-Sudan Ethiopia Transport Corridor (Lapsset) project is expected to transform the country’s development with tourism sector according to Dr. Benjamin. Unknown to many, the country boasts of some 11 national parks and game reserves which government is currently reviving. The 20,000-square Kms Boma reserve in Jonglei State is the biggest of them all.

Juba is a city of numerous motor bike taxis whose operators like ours here in Kenya flout traffic rules with impunity. I asked a South Sudanese journalist friend why they were not reporting bike accidents. “It’s no longer news. They are a daily occurrence here and we are used to them,” he said with a shrug.

A stay in Juba is not complete without visiting South Sudan Televesion Director Mr. Moiga its busiest variety bazaarsNduro

Konyokonyo and Jebel-offering customers a wide selection of unique items ranging from stylish fabrics to jewelry and footwear. Juba is reputed for its very high quality shoes.

“They have some very high quality leather shoes imported from Egypt and that is one item a visitor ought to buy as a souvenir,” said Wafula a Kenyan attached to the then Ministry of Planning.

Businesses in the city are dominated by foreigners from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. Like many other African cities, Juba has its rustic side as exemplified by the many cows and goats that roam the streets. Ninety per cent of the country’s population is rural. The elegant Ankole cattle are a common site in the city with their spectacularly elongated horns.

This is not strange in a country with a population of 8 million and which is ranked fifth in the world as having one of the highest livestock population of 8 million animals, according to Dr. Benjamin.

“We are appealing to Kenya to help us commercialize the livestock sector as our men only use the animals to marry more wives,” said the humorous Minister.

Due to security concerns, the city has no night life to write home about.

For the one month we stayed there none of us had the courage to leave the hotel for town at night as we had been warned against it due to the risks involved.

Garbage piles are a common sight in the city as the cash-strapped city council seems overwhelmed by the task of maintaining cleanliness.

Incredibly the city by the banks of river Nile grapples with an acute water shortage. Water vendors do a roaring business selling the rare and muchsought-after commodity.

“No Weapons!' reads the distinctive signage at the luxurious Nile Beach Hotel entrance in the rapidly growing city. Gun violence reminiscent of America’s Wild West is so rampant in South Sudan the signage loses meaning. Kenyans looking for opportunities there have had to bear the brunt of some of the violent attacks either by police or armed thugs at an alarming regularity.

This is unfair Kenya having hosted South Sudanese during the war besides brokering the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that heralded South Sudan’s secession from Sudan and eventual independence on July 9, 2011.

For instance some Kenyans were forced to scamper to safety after a local threatened to shoot them unprovoked while on their way to church. “Kwani nyinyi Wakenya hamna kwenu?” (You Kenyans, don’t you have a home?), the local asked menacingly as he dashed to his house to fetch a gun.

There is an urgent need for laws to regulate access to guns if the widespread gun violence is to be

controlled. “Restrictive gun laws are necessary to control proliferation of light arms. The government is however doing a lot to improve the security situation compared to what it was before when there was no form of gun control,” says Justus Mosera, Assistant Manager, Nile Beach Hotel.

“The situation has considerably improved. Many were the occasions in the past during which we used to deal with agitated patrons who came back claiming they had forgotten their guns in the hotel rooms,” said Mosera.

Ownership of small arms is common across the population hence gun violence is prevalent. A retired Kenyan ex-military officer familiar with the security situation in SS said sometimes guns form part of birthday gifts!

Although a demilitarization and reintegration programme is underway, the country is still grappling with uncontrolled access to guns, besides developmental challenges. It still needs to resolve outstanding issues with Sudan.

A rapidly growing city as evidenced by the on-going massive building constructions, Juba has started witnessing levels of criminal activity some involving armed gangsters.

“Insecurity is fast creeping in the Capital where the word padlock never existed due to the high sense of security that prevailed in the past,” says Moiga Nduro, the Director of South Sudan Television.

There is a heavy security presence including police in military-type uniforms in the city, in a country where security situation is very volatile with outbreaks of violence and lawlessness.

Dr. Benjamin conceded the young nation is bedeviled by security challenges just close to two years since attaining independence. The government is however trying to empower restless and overzealous youth to lead post-conflict society to prosperity.

English has been elevated to an official language and medium of instruction in schools in a deliberate move to do away with Arabic. The national broadcaster SSTV and Radio has already introduced an English Service. There are also a number of poorly printed English publications in circulation such as the Citizen which have glaring grammatical and editorial errors.

Conspicuous consumption and affluence is evident among the few elites as exemplified by enormous gasguzzling, road-hogging machines like the Hummer, Navigator, Nissan Patrol and Toyota V8.

Though some aspects of South Sudan’s traditional cultures have weakened with passage of time, still much from the past remains intact, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

For instance extramarital affairs are culturally unacceptable and this is one of the things most travel advisories advise foreigners visiting the country against.

16

The

News Feature

Kajiado Herald

George Saitoti:

Questions persist a year after his death

By Sammy Kerre

“There come a time when the nation is greater than the individual.”

The late Hon. George Saitoti

“It’s easy to survive a storm,” say West Africans. “Just make yourself small and bend low like a reed and when the storm is over, get right back up again. It’s very simple.”

When will we ever get answers is the question most Kenyans are asking. As the nation awaits results of investigations into the death of high-ranking politician Mutula Kilonzo, conclusions about the cause of the death of George Saitoti have not satisfied many Kenyans.

The tall, stern professor who was the MP for Kajiado North, died on June 10, 2012 alongside his Security ministry assistant Orwa Ojode.

In February this year, a commission formed to bring to light the possible cause of the helicopter crash in Ngong pointed fingers at the aircraft’s manufacturers, Eurocopter.

The commission led by Justice Kalpana Rawal, said the French firm had installed on the helicopter a test version of an alarm device that warns of engine malfunction, but negligently failed to inform the owners of the aircraft, the Kenya Police. But what rankles Kenyans greatly and the people of the county of Kajiado extremely was the commission’s statement that it could not determine the cause of the death of the aircraft’s four passengers and

two pilots because of poor postmortem assessment.

With that conclusion, silence once again wins and the mysteries surrounding some of the country’s highest profile deaths continue.

The quiet professor was one of the few politicians in Kenya who roamed the landscape without losing his dignity. His long association with the much-maligned Daniel arap Moi government may have appeared to paint him with the same brush of condemnation, especially when his name became associated with one of the biggest financial scandals the country has ever seen, Goldenberg.

But when he was publicly relieved of his post as Kenya’s vice-president

by President Moi, Saitoti forever etched himself into the hearts of Kenyans with his famous statement, clearly made in both agitation and rebellion, that “There come a time when the nation is greater than the individual.”

For all his years in politics and government, Prof Saitoti kept a level head, lying low and hardly ever being caught in controversy.

It appeared that his dictum was the West African proverb above, to make oneself small until a storm was past, then rise up again.

However, Kenyans feel frustrated

Late Hon. Georrge Saitoti

at the lack of straight-forward answers to the death of the revered professor of mathematics. For Saitoti, who died at the age of 66, becomes another chapter in the country’s dark history of unresolved deaths.

Mutula’s, which happened on April 27 this year when the newly-elected Makueni senator was 64-years old and allegedly in sparkling health, just added to the questions.

Since independence, deaths and murders of high-ranking politicians and government officials have haunted the land. Perhaps even more disturbing is that the deaths tend to come during moments of social stress.

Saitoti died as the country entered the homestretch of political campaigns. The divisions were so clear-cut that somewhat there were fears of a return to the violence that rocked the nation in 2008.

Mutula died just during an acrimonious period on the back of a Supreme Court judgement on the outcome of the presidential elections. He had been a prominent member of the Cord alliance’s legal team that challenged the declaration of Uhuru Kenyatta as winner of the elections.

Roll back more than five years before, when Kenya had boiled over following contested presidential election results and Dr Chrispin A year on, questin still linger on the death of former Kajiado MP. Hon, George Saitoti. (Above), the plane crash that killed Mbai was murdered. His death the ministers along with Hon. Joe Ojode and their security personel

came thick in the middle of ethnopolitical violence that nearly drove the country to civil war.

The three men arrested for Dr Mbai’s murder were acquitted by the then High Court’s criminal division judge Kalpana Rawal.

They had spent a year-and-a half in remand and the judge ruled that the prosecution did not file sufficient evidence to prove them guilty. Thus another murder/or death remained unsolved. And one can go back all of Kenya’s fifty years of existence as an independent state and the unexplained, unresolved deaths and murders litter the landscape.

In nearly all of them, the government has been rumoured to be suspect. But perhaps this has had as much to do with the citizens’ mistrust of it as its inefficiency and abuse of public resources. During the administrations of Moi and later Kibaki, it seemed standard government practice to sit tight whenever citizens complained until the storm of protest blew over.

The new government of Uhuru Kenyatta might just surprise us with its openness and pursuit of justice, seeing it’s in his political interest to come clean with citizens.

On the other hand, the government might just make itself small like a reed until the storm blows over, then stand right back up again. Past governments have done it. It’s all very simple.

The

Kajiado Herald

17

MailBox Jobs for new county government

Consider the young

Dear Editor As people of Kajiado await the full realization of the devolved government, there are a number of areas they need considered by the County Assembly while making priorities in their budget.

These include introducing sewerage system as opposed to using septic tanks which are difficult to construct and expensive to maintain.

The overwhelmed bridges during rainy seasons should also be expanded to avoid people and vehicles being swept away by flood waters. Most of the feeder roads are not motorable during the rains or too narrow to facilitate the free flow of traffic.

Blocked trenches, especially within and around the open air markets, especially in Ong’ata Rongai, are in a bad state and require urgent cleaning. Last but not least, the county should establish social places such as social halls; county stadiums etc to help in harnessing the potential of the increasing number of unemployed youth in this county.

Dear Editor The Kajiado Herald should include an entertainment page for youngsters. Games, puzzles, codeword etc.

Otherwise, I like the paper because the stories are educative. Keep it up.

J. S

What is happening in Kajiado County Dear Editor, I am appealing to you to tell us what is happening in our County Government. I know what is happening in other counties especially Nairobi and Machakos and nothing from the Kajiado county.

Has the county budget been approved? Is the County Cabinet approved yet in place.

Please give us this news. We want to know about our County.

Concerned, Ngong

Jack Tocho Ongata Rongai

Insecurity on the increase Dear Editor,

There has been an increase in insecurity in the area of Nkaimurunya Ward, Ongata Rongai. There seems to be a problem with the police as there are no patrols and community policing is no longer at work.

The incidents of thuggery take place between 11:00pm and 5:00am. Those of us who have to be at the road by 5:00am have to hire watchmen to escort us due to the fear of being mugged. There are increasing cases of people being high jacked at their gates and being robbed. Police need to wake up.

Improve our town’s infrastructure Dear Editor, Lack of infrastructure is one of the biggest challenges that the County Government has to address. Driving through towns in the county is a nightmare as cars, dogs, donkeys and goats compete for space on the roads.

This becomes even worse during the rains when all the garbage that has collected by the sides of the roads is washed into the roads and become big smelly mounts.

It is not clear to me yet whether the county budget has been passes or not, but our County Government must allocate enough money to for infrastructure especially considering that many visitors come to our towns for delicious meat and other delicacies.

With the best rates in the market. The Kajiado Herald offers you an opportunity to advertise your bussiness in the best newspaper in the county.

Send your business details to: The Southern Herald P.O Box: 782-00511 Ong’ata Rongai Tel: 0722155181/0721 955 749 Email: info@southernherald.org http:www.southernheraldorg

- Rita Naipie Kitengela

M. Njeru

The

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The

Kajiado Herald

News

Police chief assures residents of security

By Wachira Maina As the sun sinks behind the graceful Ngong Hills, and the sky darkens, residents of Ong’ata Rongai and its environs fear for their lives. Dark peaceful nights have turned into utter nightmares with people getting waylaid and stripped of their valuables or even mugged in the precincts of their own homes.

Frequent police patrols in the area have not served to alleviate the security situation any better. One of the victims said he was on his way home from a football match at one of the entertainment joints in Nkoroi around 11.PM when he was confronted by four men. He was beaten senseless, robbed of his phone and left for the dead. In the same vicinity, a mother and her kid woken up by men who started demanding for cash. After a long plea for their lives, the thugs left with home appliances and other valuables. No one was hurt.

This security lapse has come to the knowledge of the area OCPD, Mr. Simon Kiragu and he says that action is been taken.

“These are only isolated cases and I want to assure residents that the

security situation is under control.

My officers are doing the best,” said Officer in charge of Ong’ata Rongai Police Division which covers even up to Kitengela.

Still on matters security, Police last month uncovered what they perceive as a car-jacking racket at one of the posh homes of Ongata Rongai town.

Police raided a home of a suspected car thief and impounded six vehicles that were believed to be robbed. The vehicles were all stripped-off their engines and number plates and the police suspected that they were been re-assembled for resale.

The main suspect escaped but officers managed to arrest his wife who they believed was a co-perpetrator in the racket and oversaw the sale of the stolen motor vehicles.

“She witnessed the process of changing numbers and even the disposal of the stolen vehicles,” said Mr. Kiragu adding that she has been prosecuted and the police are heightening searches for the arrest of the major suspect, her husband.

This comes in the wake of several car-jacking on the major roads and the highway robbers targeting certain models of vehicles.

KAJIADO County Senator Mr. Peter Korinko Ole Mositet has urged motor bike operators in Kajiado Town to form an Association and register it so as to have better bargain power.

The Senator who was speaking to the operators who had barricaded the busy Kajiado- Namanga Highway citing harassment by the area traffic police, advised them to meet the requirements such as having helmets, riding licence and reflective jackets among others.

Simon Kiragu, OCPD Ong’ata Rongai during a recent interview with the Southern Herald.

Sand harvesting by ‘Identify and help pregnant school girls’ pupils condemned Kenyewa division Education Officer She called on school girls to report Chiefs and assistant chiefs in Mashuru District of Kajiado County were yesterday directed to reign in parents who allowed their school boys to engage in sand harvesting to earn money.

Kenyewa area assistant commissioner Ms Mary Kahari, who represented the sub - county commissioner Mr. Moses Mbaruku at Kibini primary school at Sultan Hamud during marking of the Day of the African Child added that parents who leave their children unattended are guilty of encouraging child labour and neglect.

She said that early employment and absconding from school not only denies children their right to education but also puts them at risk of exploitation by sand dealers.

Ms Kahari called on parents to follow up on how their children fair at school and report to the authorities where education and provincial administration officers need to assist so as to curb the vice Children working in sand harvesting is a rampant practice in the area as boys start earning money as loaders at an early age which makes them not complete school leading to many of them dropping out as early as classes 6 - 8.

The assistant Commissioner called for the arrest of parents and guardians who allowed their children to abscond from school to work adding that teachers who do not report the pupils’ absenteeism will be deemed to be encouraging child labour and child neglect by parents and guardians.

Kajiado's Mashuru sub-county is the major producer of sand used in construction in Nairobi and neighbouring counties.

-KNA

in Mashuru sub-county in Kajiado county Ms Eunice Kuta in mid June directed head teachers and parents to identify pregnant school girls and ensure continuation of education for girls’ after delivery.

Speaking at Kibini primary school at Sultan Hamud during an early marking of the day of the African child, Kuta said that girls who were willing to continue with their studies were discouraged by parents who left them unattended and failed to follow up on how they fared at school.

She said that assisting them go back to school enabled them to improve their future lives and discouraged others from engaging in early sex.

“

girls who were willing to continue with their studies were discouraged by parents who left them unattended

their kin who forced them to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriages to the authorities as the current law prohibited the cultural practices.

Kuta advised members of the community and teachers against protecting the identity of those who impregnated school children as they prevented the law from taking its course to curb the vice.

She further called on children to be assertive of their rights especially against early marriages and FGM which were prevalent in the area.

-KNA

Most health clinics run by quacks, claim civil rights societies Several residents of Kajiado Central and Mashuuru sub County seek medical services from private clinics oblivious of the danger they are exposing themselves to as most of them are operated by quacks.

The scarcity of the government operated health facilities and non -availability of medical services has opened a loophole for mushrooming of clinics which do not meet the requirements of the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board.

Civil Rights Societies in Kajiado County are calling on the Government to ensure more health centres and dispensaries were constructed and the existing ones are well staffed and equipped to meet the medical needs of the area residents.

They claimed that quacks have a way of evading raids by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board

Mositet urges Boda Boda operators to form association

hence none has ever never been apprehended.

The County Profile prepared by the County Planning and Development Officer, Ms. Priscilla Mungai states that 61% of the area population treks for more than 5 Kms to access a government health facility. The report also reveals that the immunization coverage for children under five stands at 61.8% which is far below the World Health Organization recommendation of 85% .

Last month, an elderly man died on arrival at Bissil Dispensary after he was bitten by a poisonous snake.

The deceased had to be taken to the dispensary several hours after the ordeal as there was no health centre nearby He however died at the Health facility due to lack of the Anti Snake Venom.

The public Health Officer, Mr.

James Malusha told KNA that the Venom which is supplied by the Vaccine and Immunization Unit was in short supply in the entire county.

The Medical Officer of Health, Doctor Phillip Ngere reported that there is one government hospital, six health centres and 21 dispensaries in the Kajiado Central and East sub counties. He said these facilities are scattered and patients have to trek long distances.

He said the five most common diseases in order of prevalence in the area were flu, respiratory diseases, malaria, diarrhoea and skin diseases.

The Doctor further pointed out due to long distances to the medical facilities, most expectant mothers preferred home delivery with the assistance of the Traditional Birth Attendants.

He told them that the traffic regulations were for their own and the passengers’ they ferried safety.

Mr. Mositet commended the youth for venturing into self employment which he attributed to sharp decline of crime in the area. He however reiterated that for them to succeed in the business they must adhere to the regulations stipulated in the Traffic Act. He urged the area Traffic Base Commander Ms. Grace Mbugua to release the more than 30 motorbike impounded by the police in a routine inspection in the town yesterday.

The motorists, who had earlier on sought audience with the County Commissioner demanded the release of 30 motorbikes impounded in mid June in a police swoop on operators defying traffic regulation before they could enter into any negotiations with the police.

A bid by the Kajiado Central Sub County Assistant Commissioner Mr. Abdullahi Osman to have them organize themselves and choose a representative who would speak on their behalf failed as they all turned rowdy and sped off to the highway.

Police in anti riot gear dispatched to the highway watched from a distance as the Senator successfully managed to calm the crowd.

-KNA

The

Kajiado Herald

19

News Feature

The Maasai: custodians and representative of Kenyan culture

By Sammy Kerre

I

s the Maasai community the quintessential Kenyan tribe? How has a community of people who are almost always self-effacing so dominated Kenya’s cultural landscape that even the outside world identifies Kenya with Maasai?

These are not questions that lend themselves to easy answers. However, the facts speak for themselves. To begin with, any market where cultural trinkets are sold is called a Maasai market, whether those trinkets are Maasai or not. It is something Kenyans have so naturally adopted that even tourists visiting the country quickly learn to make references to Maasai market. And on those days when any Kenyan in any part of the country wants to feel cultural or patriotic, they wear a crimson Maasai shuka.

That shuka has so gained acceptance that even lions in the Amboseli recognise it. That is, lions take off whenever they spot the red shuka of a Maasai moran.

But Maasai are not just culture in the way we identify culture – through dressing, food and language. One of the distinctive marks of an authentic Maasai is the ability to speak one’s mind without flinching. This part of the Maasai culture suggests depth of character that seems to be missing from most other African communities.

Ordinarily, Africans other than Maasai, tend towards flattering leadership and engaging in what would seem to outsiders as sycophancy.

This behaviour is seen by some as partly responsible for the growth of dictatorships in post-independence Africa. In the days of President Daniel arap Moi, when it was clear that a majority of Kenyan citizens were getting edgy with the government, certain of his close aides acted as sort-

Olkejuado Boys High School entertain

Maasai Cultural Dancers entertain guests of court jesters and were particularly adept at making the president feel good about himself and the country.

One Mark Too, particularly famous for the humour he threw into his statements, once said to Moi at a public event: “Mtukufu rais, wale wote ambao wako mbele yako wako nyuma yako.” That is, “Your Excellency the President, all those in front of you are behind you.” Not so the Maasai, whose culture seems to emphasise straight-speaking and no mincing of words when a leader has goofed.

But the Maasai also embody some now-curious African practices that have fallen by the wayside in the wake of the flood of westernisation that has drenched the continent.

For instance, the great bone-setter of Kajiado, Leina Nankalash, aka ole Neene, says that when he was marrying his first wife, it was his father’s job

to find a girl, approach her father and do the negotiations. “I did not know the girl nor did I need to. My father and his brother sorted out everything.

My work was just to go and pick my bride,” ole Neene explains. This is how marriage in the Africa of a by-gone era was worked out.

But as was evident recently when boys from Olkejuado High School staged a dance for the

“

lions take off whenever they spot the red shuka of a Maasai moran.

public during Madaraka Day, some bits of Maasai culture are so magical as to be unbelievable. The dance staged by the high school boys had to be seen to be believed. Will such parts of Maasai, and by extension African, culture disappear for ever?

The question that must exercise the minds of most people is, how have the Maasai, who are numerically fewer compared with other ethnic groups, succeeded so well in retaining and disseminating their culture where others failed? One can almost imagine that if the migration to Kajiado and the accompanying frenzied buying of land had not happened, most of the Maasai people would have blissfully remained clad in their red gowns, practising moranism and taking pride in their love for livestock. Whether that would have been good or bad is merely a matter of conjecture.

The

Kajiado Herald

20

Published by: The Southern Herald Ltd. P.O Box: 782-00511 Ong’ata Rongai Tel: 0453123349/50 Email:info@southernherald.org. Printed by: Scan Group Ltd.