Reject Online Issue 56

February 16-29, 2012

ISSUE 056

A bimonthly newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature Service

Unification ritual seeks to unite warring clans

By KARIUKI MWANGI For the last 47 years, members of the Mbeere community have not been seeing eye to eye due to differences among the various clans.

The differences have been found to challenge unity in the community. For this reason, elders within the different clans decided to bring the hostilities to an end.

The elders, 11 from both clans — Ndamata and Mururi — decided to carry out a ceremony to reunite the two clans for the benefit of the Mbeere community.

According to Estra Nthiga, secretary-general of Ntharu ya Ngome (the Mbeere council of elders) the community first successfully conducted such a ceremony in 1934 so as to strengthen the ties between all the clans in the community.

“The elders had been planning how to carry out this ceremony for the last nine years after seeing the negative impact divisions had created in the community,” explained Nthiga.

From top: 22 elders He noted that the ceremony is to be confrom the two clans ducted after every generation which according to the community is 30 years hence the deliberate on the need second ceremony was supposed to have taken to change the bad place in 1964. blood between them “It is at this time of the year that the country which was planted had just gained its independence and various in 1964. The elders members of the community were jostling for strangle a sheep in the positions in the newly born country,” he said. middle of River Ena in Nthiga noted that during that time leadMbeere North District, ers wanted positions and used their interests to ensure the unification ceremony was not it was then slaughtered and blood left to flow conducted even as the elders from various with the water. clans converged. The ceremony was never Continued on page 5 Pictures: Kariuki Mwangi

Read more Reject stories online at www.mediadiversityafrica.org

2

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Medics flight worries ministry

By DIDO wa DIDO The Ministry of Medical Services is concerned about the high rate at which doctors and clinical officers are resigning to join other highly paid public sectors. According to officials in the ministry, most of those officers who opt to resign are those posted in hardship areas including Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Garissa and Wajir districts.

Eastern provincial Director of Medical services Stephen Ngera expressed shocked last month when almost the whole team of medics in Mbeere resigned and joined armed forces and other public sectors.

He noted that some of the benefits attracting personnel include house allowance which he suggested should be harmonised across all cadres of staff to boost their morale and increase performance.

He said that the country is facing a shortage of doctors and clinical officers due to lack of funds to employ new ones.

“We are working out strategies to ensure that we boost the morale of medics who were willing to work in this hardship areas,” explained Ngera.

Lack of funds

The ministry is trying to address issues such as postgraduate sponsorship for health workers as this is the surest way to retain them in spite of the difficulties faced in the harsh environment.

Ngera said the ministry was avoiding arbitrary postings without consultation adding that this may hamper health services delivery

By David Njagi

Doctors march in protest during the December strike. The country is facing a shortage of doctors and clinical officers due to lack of funds to employ new ones.

Pictures: Reject Correspondent and Didi wa Dido especially in hardship areas where getting replacement or even willing health workers is a challenge.

According to Minister for Medical Services, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, the ministry is facing a shortfall of medics due to lack of funds to employ more to bridge the gap after others opted for greener pastures.

Nyong’o said the Government is in the pro-

“The Government is in the process of setting up a medical training college in Isiolo which will allow students from the region to pursue medical courses.”

– Minister for Medical Services, Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o

cess of setting up a medical training college in Isiolo which would allow students from the region to pursue medical courses.

He said the creation of the school and reequipping of the hospital as a regional referral will address major challenges in the health sector.

The minister was reacting to claims that despite the hospital being a referral centre, little is done to provide adequate health services to communities around it. Nyong’o gave KSh2 million to cover expenses for the district hospital. He also pledged KSh900, 000 quarterly for a tuberculosis management centre in Isiolo.

During the occasion, the minister called on the medics to emulate Dr Jane Nkatha of Isiolo Hospital who was a role model for doctors.

He said the doctor had kept the hospital running when there was no other doctor to take care of Isiolo district hospital and recommended her as role model to the fraternity.

Bright students get scholarships to access high school

By BEN OROKO The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) scholarship programme has benefitted eight bright needy children from poor families who sat and excelled in last year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) national examination.

The children, drawn from Gusii and Southern Nyanza regions have benefited from KCB’s scholarship programme worth over KSh600, 000. The assistance is timely for children who had been selected to join national schools this year, failing to raise school fees, losing out on high school admissions.

Handing over the cheques worth a total

Few Kenyans take sick leave from work

KSh660, 000 to the beneficiaries at the KCB Kisii branch grounds, branch manager John Momanyi explained that the bank operated the sponsorship through KCB Foundation among others as part of the efforts of giving back to the communities for investing their money in the bank. He said the countrywide scholarship programme is aimed at empowering the students and giving them hope to motivate them to continue excelling in their studies.

According to Momanyi, demand for needy cases from vulnerable families was overwhelming, prompting KCB’s commitment offer scholarships to needy and bright children across the country.

The branch manager further explained that

the scholarship programme was based on the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility is giving back to the community as a positive gesture for supporting and investing their money in the bank.

He disclosed that the bank also sponsors community development activities including environmental conservation, free medical clinics and humanitarian initiatives besides funding entrepreneurship in youths.

Kisii central acting DC Philip Soi who represented Eastern Nyanza Regional Commissioner, Lydiah Muriuki commended the bank for initiating the programme saying some professionals owed their education to sponsorship from such organisations.

Despite a controversial health insurance scheme that has locked the majority poor from quality healthcare, Kenyans are doing better than most developed countries in terms of answering to the call of duty.

A new survey indicates that the breadwinner in a Kenyan household misses five to six days due to illness.

Comparing the trend to the United States, Europe and Japan, the Health Care Monitor by Synovate Research suggests that days that Kenyans are on sick leave are fewer than in Europe, even in the face of harsh economic times.

This makes the number of days Europeans are missing out of work as nine or ten days, although the continent is one of the biggest economic giant and has one of the best health insurance schemes. However, Kenya’s performance pales when gauged with the US and Japan where only about five and four working days are missed due to illness respectively.

Insurance

Lead researcher Joel Lehman said Kenya is far worse in terms of health insurance delivery compared to Rwanda and Ghana, although the latter’s National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is one of the best subsidised institutions in East Africa.

“The policies for a successful health insurance scheme are still far from right to match standards of developed countries where civilians have free health programmes,” explained Lehman.

Released in Nairobi recently, the survey indicates that most Kenyans, would prefer free health insurance other than receiving a cash subsidy of KSh500. In the proposed health insurance scheme, self employed Kenyans are expected to pay KSh500 to receive NHIF coverage.

According to the self-funded Synovate survey, 19 per cent of Kenyans would prefer the KSh500 payment while 77 per cent would go for free health insurance.However, four per cent of Kenyans said they ‘do not know’ what they would prefer or refused to answer.

Majority of those who would prefer cash were from the Coast region, while those who would prefer free health care were from Central region, noted the survey.

Interestingly, most Kenyans are not keen on embracing technology to reduce the cost and time spent in visiting a health facility.

According to the survey, only 31 per cent of Kenyans with less expensive insurance would be willing to call a doctor through a mobile phone to seek details of treatment while 69 per cent find this technology ‘unacceptable’.

However, middle aged Kenyans of between 25 to 44 years of age, who constitute the most productive pool in the country value health insurance. About 2,000 respondents were sampled from all parts of Kenya.

Mount Kenya forest to be fenced off

By CAROLINE WANGECHI Over KSh100 million is to be used in fencing 400 kilometres of Mt Kenya forest. Mount Kenya senior warden Robert O’Brein said that half of the funds are from the government while KSh50 million is from Rhino Arch.

Speaking at Gatwe Mixed Secondary School in Kirinyaga Central, O’Brein said that the motive is to avoid human-wildlife conflict. “The fencing is being done to keep wildlife away from human beings in the whole forest,” added O’Brein. He said

that the fencing will start from Kirinyaga River in Kirinyaga Central and extend to Maara, a stretch of 50 kilometres.

He said that the fencing has to be done in collaboration with the Kenya Forest service (KFS) and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) since the fence will be passing where there are trees.

The fencing has seen Mt Kenya receove many tourists where they have established two entry points in Chogoria and Kamweti.

O’Brein has changed from three

to six days where tourists have been visiting the tourist attraction without interference from wild animals.

Chairman David Mwiraria said that KWS has been given the authority to conserve trees and also wildlife calling for conservation of the two from members of the public.

He said that those that are burning charcoal in the forest should do it at home.

Mwiraria said that the fence is being built to keep poachers away saying that destruction of the trees is destroying life.

David Mwiraria chairman, KWS board of trustees speaking after the official opening of two classrooms at Gatwe secondary school in Kirinyaga Central district funded by KWS. Picture: Caroline Wangechi

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

3

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Maintain cleanliness to avoid jiggers, parents told

By KARANI KELVIN Teachers, parents and pupils of Namosi Primary School in Bungoma West District, Bungoma County have been advised to maintain cleanliness to save themselves from jiggers, which are common especially in rural homes.

Speaking during a parents meeting held in the school, ACE-Africa’s Bungoma site project manager Peter Omondi asked parents to ensure that their compounds and houses are clean at all times. “While we continue to support the school to treat and prevent jigger infections, parents must do their part at home,” he said.

Omondi also reminded parents of the futility of the school and his organisation working towards eradicating jiggers and yet the pupils keep getting them at home.

While admitting that the harsh

economic realities may make it difficult to obtain insecticides and medication, Omondi asked parents to try to maintain cleanliness to stop their homes from being the breeding zones of jiggers.

“The jiggers make pupils uncomfortable and they cannot therefore concentrate in class. This eventually leads to poor performance,” he said.

Mitigation

Speaking at the same event, George Barasa of ACE-Africa encouraged parents and teachers with traditional houses to be very keen on hygiene.

He requested the parents and teachers to apply the mixture of cow dung, sand and ash on their houses regularly. This mixture is normally used in place of cement to give walls and floors of houses a smooth finish. “You should at least apply this mixture on your walls and floors on a

weekly basis to ensure that jiggers do not breed,” suggested Ogolla.

Barasa also encouraged the parents and teachers to see to it that their toilets and kitchens are clean.

He encouraged those who are yet to sink pit latrines to do so as a way of ensuring general cleanliness in the community.

He also told parents that their children risk disability and even death if the jigger situation is not put under control. Parents were warned against being ignorant about the causes of jiggers as some said they are associated with clans and therefore are inherited.

“There is nothing like jiggers belonging to certain clans. They belong to people who refuse to ensure general cleanliness in their homes and communities. I want you to remember that prevention is better than cure,” said Barasa.

Former Miss World Kenya Cecilia Mwangi removing jiggers from a child. Hygiene is key in preventing the jigger manace. Picture: Kigondu Ndavano

Networks for vetting leaders formed

By KIGONDU NDAVANO

Kenyans have been challenged to embrace vetting of the prospective political leaders as a means of blocking untrustworthy individuals from taking leadership positions.

The head of a leading civil society organisation has warned that although the country had a good Constitution whose various sections were now being made into law, the country needed dedicated and transparent people of integrity at all levels of leadership.

Executive Director of the Community Aid International, Joseph Kwaka warned that a good Constitution alone could not make Kenya prosper.

Selfless leaders

“A Constitution alone cannot make us prosper unless it is put into the hands of good people with selfless leadership qualities,” observed Kwaka.

With vetting on the way, it is clear future leaders in Kenya shall perhaps not only be required to open the dark corners of their political past, but also openly lay down their development strategy before an alert and enlightened population.

Speaking to members of the Mombasa County Governance Network at Pride Inn Hotel in the City, Kwaka stressed the need for proper capacity building to equip members with vetting skills at the grassroots level.

Candidates to be vetted before contesting various political positions, it was declared should not face unfair subjection to malicious panels but should face mature, fair and professionally trained people.

This will ensure that once such candidates qualify to be at the helm, they will be accountable and transparent in managing resources to be raised from within and those allocated to by the central government.

Vetting of the candidates will ensure that they are held accountable based on their promises which must put into account the wishes and aspirations of the electorate.

Kenyans in Mombasa County are striving to ensure they are part and parcel of vetting future leaders.

The group put in place an interim committee that has a clear understanding of what is required of them.

Vetting

According to Ali Sudi once legally formed, the vetting units will establish a charter that will allow it undertake its work with professionalism.

“The vetting teams will be transparent as they will include people of integrity and should not be used to settle past or present personal differences,” noted Sudi.

The new Constitution, many admit arrived with a huge range of benefits, but in the depth of that document also came a new season of transparency.

Perhaps the first taste of the things to come was what emerged at the vetting of the Chief Justice. The questions directed toward Chief Justice Willy Mutunga right on live television were to many surprising if not outrageous.

That perhaps opened a future full of transparency, openness and accountability for all Kenyans irrespective of their social status.

Community Aid International (CAI), coordinated forums bringing together the members of the Mom-

basa County Governance Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka addressing the mammoth crowd gathered Network went on at in at the Tononoka grounds in Mombasa recently. Picture: Reject Correspondent Mombasa.

With the Constituemerged that a big percentage of Ke- evaluation tool by Kenyans to identify tion lacking any guidance on vet- nyans were dissatisfied with the per- those who they could trust to be their ting of politicians aspiring for seats, formance of the present leaders. leaders and manage their resources.

Kwaka explained: “Even if the ConKwaka noted that following the fiAccording to Kwaka, the research stitution does not provide for the revealed that 47 per cent of Kenyans nalisation of the book, it was realised vetting of politicians, if the civil so- criticised the leadership of the day. He that the only way it could be introciety strongly campaigned and built wondered what Kenyans were expect- duced to Kenyans would be through up the need for it, the same could be ed to do if they felt that their leaders the county networks such as the one introduced and finally entrenched did not perform. in Mombasa. into the laws of the land.”

To answer the question, the orNoticing the gap left by the ab- ganisation called various experts on sence of some constitutional guid- governance including University lecEncouraging the Mombasa Netance on vetting, CAI recently spon- turers to write a book on Leadership work to ensure that they strengthened sored some research during which it Models which could be used as an their reach in the grassroots and ensure Kenyans identified and questioned bad leadership, Kwaka noted that it was wrong for Kenyans to merely stand by as bad leaders headed towards senior political positions and oversee mismanagement.

“If you stand by and do nothing, as a Kenyan do not complain, but while in a Network we can work together and ensure that vetting which is a process to ensure that bad leaders do not take leadership positions is entrenched in our day Joseph Kwaka, ED, Community Aid International to day development issues,” stressed Kwaka.

Networks

“Even if the Constitution does not provide for the vetting of politicians, if the civil society strongly campaigned and built up the need for it, the same could be introduced and finally entrenched into the laws of the land.”

–

4

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Preaching peace through street photo exhibition

By CAROLYNE OYUGI The next Kenyan general elections are around the corner and as everyone is preparing to vote, the violence that characterised the last elections are not forgotten.

Even as our politicians are debating whether to hold the elections in August or December, they should also ensure that peace prevails when they are held.

Most people seem calm and few are willing to discuss what they experienced in the aftermath of the last election. People seem to be calm and not many people really want to discuss what they experienced but deep inside they have unanswered questions that they would like addressed or just a listening ear.

Healing the wounds

Four years down the line there are fresh wounds that still need to be dressed so that they can heal. Picha Mtaani Initiative officialy launched Heal the Nation documentary in October in a novel street exhibition held on City Hall Way in Nairobi.

The Heal the Nation film chronicles Picha Mtaani, a street photography exhibition of post-election violence that has reached over 500,000 participants across Kenya.

The event featured high level speakers. The official launch followed an all-day street photography exhibition of Picha Mtaani and creative artist performance series. Afterwards, the film was screened.

Key speakers include Aly-Khan Satchu, UNDP Senior Peace Advisor Dr Ozonnia Ojielo and Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud. There were performances and presentations from various artists. Among them, awardwinning hip hop artist Juliani.

The 30-minute documentary is a touching story and eyewitness accounts of the tragedy that befell Kenyans after the 2007 December elections.

Victims and perpetrators narrate their stories on Kenya’s worst tribal conflict that left over 1,500 dead and nearly 500,000 people internally displaced.

A cry for justice and reconciliation rings through this documentary and what will happen if we do not recon-

cile before 2012 elections.

One of the victims in the documentary narrates how she was gang raped by eight men.

She cannot tell whether they all raped her because she lost consciousness before they were done.

When she gained consciousness, she was in a damp sewer.

Her attackers had left her for dead. She had to drag herself to a nearby house where she was offered water to clean-up. She only went to report incident at the police station after she had cleaned up.

“That is where my real frustration began,” she narrates.

The policemen told her that she had destroyed the evidence and so there was no case. She says the insensitive law enforcers told her to look for the men to rape her again then she could go back and report with evidence.

Frustrations

She therefore decided to stop pursuing justice due to the Picha Mtaani photo exhibition at City Hall Way in Nairobi. Below: An interested participant looks at the frustrations. She now has a son photos on display. Pictures: Carolyne Oyugi from that experience and has forgiven them. “I had to forgive One of the victims, Kioko, whose journalists like Boniface. I saw what the model hosted conversations and them in order for me to love hand had been chopped off during happened in Rwanda in 1994. I did my child, he is very hansome and in- dialogue sessions.

Running under the theme Pamo- the violence was also present, and not believe it could happen here. nocent. I do not want to transfer my anger to him,” she said while weeping. ja Tunaweza, “Together we can had an opportunity to watch a photo Stand up and say never again, be This peace initiative supported by do it” the exhibition was officially of his hand as part of the photo ex- proud to be Kenyan,” he added.

Rannenberger reminded Kenya United Nations Development Pro- launched at a Nairobi Hotel and was hibition. and her leaders to speed up the pace gramme (UNDP) primarily seeks graced by dignitaries from various of reforms and shun impunity to to create space for young people to quarters including the former US Speaking during the launch, Sa- avoid electoral violence in the fureconcile through peace building, Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranviolence prevention and promoting nenberger, Salim Amin of the Mo- lim Amin, a renowned photojour- ture. Boniface Mwangi, urged Kepeaceful co-existence among young hamed Amin Foundation as well as nalist and son of Mohamed Amin nyans to turn away from tribalism people in conflict-affected towns. It chairman of Africa 24 Media, and said, “I have seen this all my life, and political hatred, saying it is only steers to instill individual reflections Boniface Mwangi, the Director of first through my father’s work, and this way that the nation can realise now, through the work of photo- its dream of becoming a united and on the horror that was inflicted to the Picha Mtaani initiative. peaceful place for all its citizens. different people during the period.

In 2010, Picha Mtaani exhibiPicha Mtaani’s ‘Pamoja Tunaweza’ tion toured five towns that were (together we can) community initiahardest hit by the violence intive is a peace-building network of cluding Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisuyoung social activists and peace volmu, Kericho and Mombasa. One unteers in Kenya’s 210 constituencies. of the victims who addressed It engages the community in suggested that all politicians reconciliation activities in learnwatch the film. According to ing institutions, churches, mosques him, this would get the politiand town centre’s using the tools cians to rethink campaigns usand best practices provided through ing divisive means. The man lost this forum, including Picha Mtaani’s a brother during the PEV. “heal the nation” documentary, and

Testimony

When she gained consciousness, she was in a damp sewer. Her attackers had left her for dead. She had to drag herself to a nearby house where she was offered water to clean up.

She only went to report incident at the police station after she had cleaned up.

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

5

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Red flag raised over violence in Isiolo

By EKUWAM ADOU While the guns may have gone silent in Moyale, the clan fights left many people and organisations worried.

During the recent fighting that left about 20 people dead, civil society organisations in Upper Eastern raised a red flag over the heightened tribal hostilities in the region ahead of General Elections.

Led by Peacenet Foundation Trust, the organisations warned of what they perceived as ‘pre-election instigated violence’ that had rocked the region for past five months claiming more than 60 lives and displacing more than 2,000.

In a joint a press statement, National Peace-net chairman, Michael Murago and Upper Eastern chairman Hussein Mursal pointed out that vested competing political interests among warring pastoralist communities was main cause of the recent resurgence of bloodletting witnessed in the region.

Competition

“The people are fighting over seats created by the incoming county government, with different communities angling for different positions, with violence deployed to destabilise and create fear and anarchy,” observed Mursal.

It is claimed that leaders from different sides of the political divide have taken advantage of the deep-seated suspicions among feuding communi-

ties to drive a wedge and further fuel the violence for their own selfish interests.

In Isiolo County, the violence and political differences have mainly revolved around Turkana and Borana communities on one hand and the Somali community on the other.

Conflict

“With the new devolved Government structures, Peace-net foresees stiffer political competition among these communities. The Boranas, who are the majority, are likely to take all the elective seats and this may spark off differences with the Turkana who tend to believe they are the natives of Isiolo,” warned Mursal.

Conflict context among the pastoral communities has been transformed from resource based into political contest, further polarising these communities along ethnic lines ahead of the elections.

Peacenet called upon peace actors in the region to act fast and preach tolerance and intensify mediation and reconciliation efforts among the feuding communities.

Pre-election politics and planned development schemes have fuelled an upsurge in inter-communal killings and forced displacement in Upper Eastern, which if left unaddressed, is likely to escalate.

In Marsabit, political realignment among various communities and clans ahead of the General Elections for devolved government county political seats is causing jitters, which has led to politically instigated violence. The Borana and Gabra communities are said to be angling for governor’s seat.

In Isiolo, the violence had initially been dismissed as the perennial cattle rustling among the pastoralist communities. However, this is an emotive issue heightened by the 2012 politics and emergence of devolved county governance.

Conflicts which traditionally had been confined to the grazing land have spilled over to the outskirts into residential estates. Ten people were killed at Kambi Juu area, just about two kilometres from Isiolo town, on December 30th, last year.

“We have never experienced

something like this before. It is an act of abomination among the pastoralist communities to kill women and children, while it was considered cowardly to attack and kill unarmed civilians,” observed Nunow Hassan, a civil society activist.

Relative calm

Upper Eastern, which was relatively calm when some parts of the country were on fire during 2007 post-election violence, is now reeling under what has generally been viewed as politically instigated violence.

“The Isiolo conflict is political, driven by the 2012 election. Certain communities are being incited by politicians who are eyeing the new county positions like governor, senator and parliamentary seats,” observed Joseph Lokuno, an Isiolo resident.

At the centre of the storm is division of the envisioned devolved county government political seats among various communities in the cosmopolitan Isiolo County.

Five major communities including Borana, Turkana, Meru, Somali

“The people are fighting over seats created by the incoming county government, with different communities angling for different positions, with violence deployed to destabilise and create fear and anarchy.”

— Hussein Mursal, Peace-net, Upper Eastern

and Samburu play major role in the county’s political equation.

Members of the dominant Borana community have been accused of trying to exclude other communities at the political table by trying to craft clan based alliances among themselves to lock out the rest.

“The Boranas are trying to execute political supremacy by holding secret strategic meetings among various clans to craft an acceptable line up for all seats for grabs,” said a source who sought anonymity.

The Turkana community who sponsored a parliamentary candidate who emerged runner-up in the 2007 General Elections have borne the brunt of the current violence for being a solid voting bloc, together with the Samburu community.

Suppression

“These conflicts are being used by the Borana to suppress their future political and economic competitors like the Turkana and scare them from forming an alliance with other excluded communities like the Meru,” observed Rebecca Arunye.

The conflict is about “political numbers, because civilians, including women and children are being killed and nothing is stolen,” noted Arunye.

She posed: “How do you kill a small child and shoot a pregnant woman? Why should you kill people at two in the morning or shoot people who are sleeping? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves.”

Unification ritual seeks to unite warring clans Continued from page 1 concluded successfully.

What followed were divisions among the two clans of the Mbeere community as the leaders used the divide and rule formula to ensure they remained in power.

“The two clans were there even before the advent of independence but were used in the benefit of the community and not for the benefit of a few,” explains Nthiga adding that since then everything changed for the worst.

According to Miti Njuki, chairman Mbeere Council of Elders, activities of the community have been undertaken to benefit the different clans of the community.

“All leadership positions, including church, political and school leadership are usually decided on clanism platform which has led the community to lose a lot,” observed Njuki.

He noted that employment and education opportunities for the community’s children is usually undertaken not by merit but in terms of the clan one comes from.

“We have fought, to a point of even killing each other in the name of clan superiority,” said Njuki.

He pointed out that the divisions have had a negative effect to the extent that people from other tribes have become leaders in the Mbeere territory. He regrets that they have continued to lag behind in development.

The ceremony which was conducted on the shores of River Ena at Kamumu grounds in

Mbeere North District, included slaughtering two male goats of one colour, one of which was strangled and slaughtered in the middle of the river where the blood was left to flow in the river signifying the end of an era and the start of another.

Ritual sacrifice

The 22 elders performing the ritual had to abstain from sex seven days prior to the ceremony and one month after the ceremony so the gods could hear their prayers.

Later two other bulls were slaughtered for members of the community from both clans to eat together and no meat was carried away. Women were not allowed at the ceremony as the elders sought to reverse the ancient curse.

“Some of these elders you have seen here have never shaken hands for the last 47 years.

Seeing them here signifies a new beginning, a beginning where we shall live as we used in the times of our forefathers,” noted Njuki.

Chairman of Mbeere Profes-

The elders from the warring Mbeere clan converge along the river where they cursed by throwing remains of a goat into the river those who will go against the unity pact. Picture: Kariuki Mwangi

“Some of these elders you have seen here have never shaken hands for the last 47 years. Seeing them here signifies a new beginning, a beginning where we shall live as we used in the times of our forefathers.”

— Miti Njuki, chairman Mbeere Council of Elders

sionals’ Forum Nephat Muriuki said the unification ceremony has brought to an end political rivalry, murders and mistreatment and a new era where everything will be done in the interest of the community.

“From now henceforth, leaders will never be elected for the benefit of clans but they will be elected by a whole Mbeere community, and in that way we shall have development as well as a negotiating power,” reiterated Njuki.

He said the children have suffered a lot due to the divisions saying that the 22 confidential members of the Council of Elders will now embark in ensuring the unity agreement is passed to the other generations.

After the ceremony, the 22 elders converged along the river where they uttered words throwing goat remains into the water and cursing all the members of the community who will go against the unification.

6

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Tears of pain still roll on the slopes of Marakwet

By ROBERT WANJALA

Her innocent face holds a smile depicting hope of a bright future. Garren Jepkosgei, 12, is among the Kenyans, especially young girls who are sighing in relief while celebrating the enactment of the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011.

The law, which took effect in October 2011, came at a time when spirited campaigns were high to stump out the outmoded tradition that remains a chilling horror to young girls.

Despite the stringent penalties and the tales of successes surrounding female genital mutilation (FGM), amongst the Marakwet and Pokot, the culture continues unabated. “With the entry of anti-FGM law and mounted campaigns against the practice, poor access roads and the absence of communication networks in the terrains of this region, female circumcision will go on unbridled,” observes Fr Simon Peter Hakim, a Catholic Church priest while pointing at the Kerio Valley escarpment.

Poor infrastructure

Martin Cheserek, a church elder and Marakwet adds that poor roads and telecommunication networks have complicated the war against circumcision of girls. Cheserek observes: “Telecommunication companies should come and invest in this area as done in other parts of the country. By erecting communication masts on strategic mountains these areas will open up and create employment for youths in these sleepy villages while exposing communities still adamant with harmful traditions to outside world.”

Better parts of Marakwet district for instance have no communication networks. In spite of the beautiful landscape in the region, having telephone gadget is as good as having none.

To make a phone call, one has to endure the rough terrains scaling up the hills for that much needed call.

In extreme cases, one would have to spend KSh600 on a motorbike down the treacherous valley for the same services.

Mary Kiplagat, the coordinator of the Marakwet Girls and Women Project, attributes the slow pace in achieving gains against FGM to diverse factors, top among them the poor infrastructure in the area.

Project

However, Marakwet Girls and Women Project has made in-roads in the region with campaigns targeting parents and school-going children on the negative effects of the girl circumcision. The project is funded by Equality Now – an organisation fighting to end violence and discrimination against women and girls.

“We have reached an estimated 10,000 parents and over 20,000 school-going children in larger Marakwet area. Bringing all stakeholders on board is crucial in achieving tangible results,” notes Kiplagat.

According to Kiplagat, challenging stereotype attitudes however remains major setback in quest to end FGM and other outdated cultures. “Culture mindset, illiteracy and high poverty levels are among the threats against winning this war”, she observes adding that the number of school dropouts is still high.

Kiplagat says as most of the girls targeted for the harmful practise are still dependent on their parents, the option of running away may be futile.

“The government and other organisations rooting for FGM free societies should consider awarding educational incentives to brave girls who have escaped the knife. This would motivate other girls who often succumb to pressure for fear of being disowned by parents,” says Chadwick Chelimale, Endo/ Kaben ward councilor.

Edwin Kibet, Lagam Child and Family Helper Project – Child Fund, says communities wield the belief that the rite of passage is a stepping-stone

to young girls into adulthood.

“Children who undergo the rite are brainwashed. They come out of the traditions indoctrinated with falsehoods that they are now women or men – ready for marriage,” Kibet points out.

In these communities, uncircumcised women are considered “children” regardless of their age.

According to Kibet, Child Fund Kenya has incorporated training programmes on children’s rights in their work.

“We empower parents on the alternative way of economies in addition to providing psychosocial care and support. We also train them on sustainable investments and advocacy to all stakeholders in communities,” adds Kibet. “With little funding support, maintaining rescue centres and running capacity building programmes in these area is hard,” he observes.

To curb the practice, Kibet advocates that the school curriculum should incorporate harmful community traditions and its effects. Albina Cheserek, a member for Village “Government administrative units have shown little support in sensitising communities about anti-FGM law,” says Albina Cheserek, a member for Village Advocacy supporting girl child education.

And with a jail term not exceeding seven years or a fine not exceeding KSh0.5 million or both against those found guilty or life imprisonment to a person causing death to another in the process of procuring female cir-

An aerial view of Marakwet Mountains from Chesoi – Marakwet East headquarters. Below: Pokot girls who have vowed to do away with Female Genital Mutilation in a dance.

Pictures: Robert Wanjala and Shamala khamala cumcision would have been enough to send a chilly warning down the spine of the perpetrators of the old fashioned tradition.

Mrs Cheserek a matron at St Paul Kapkondot Secondary school, Chesongoch which hosted over 200 primary school girls drawn from various schools in the expansive Marakwet district for training on alternative rite of passage says the law is yet to get on the ground in many parts of the area.

Awareness creation

Schoolgirls were empowered through the training sessions on various fronts of real life. “Imparting children with the right information and skills early, will reduce FGM,” says Fr. Hakim of Chesongoch Parish.

“Right approaches that target, villages, schools, churches and public places, circumcisers and midwives should be mounted in order to see significant drop in the female cut,” he adds.

Hakim says whereas the Church has continued to instill morals through teachings with strong emphasis in the bible the buck stops with the imple-

“With the entry of anti-FGM law and mounted campaigns against the practice, poor access roads and the absence of communication networks in the terrains of this region, female circumcision will go on unbridled.”

— Fr Simon Peter Hakim – Chesongoch Parish

mentation of the law prohibiting FGM. To eradicate the vice, concerted efforts in sensitisation programmes and full implementation are what would add to reduction of the practice, says Hakim adding that most women who escaped the knife while young have landed into the hands of merciless midwives through stage-managed delivery processes to allow room for circumcision during child delivery.

While it appears that the war is close to be won with less FGM cases at hospitals last December, the situation may be deceiving. (December is the circumcision season in this community).

“This should not be mistaken to imply the practice is defeated. With less FGM reported cases at end of last year, the practice may be taking a different course within these mountains. Over the years communities bent with the practice seem to be changing the strategy – either skip a year or do it away from eyes of communities,” observes Micah Kiptum, a clinical officer attached to Chesongoch Mission Hospital, Marakwet East District. While the few health facilities in Marakwet region remain vigilant, the future of young Chebet and her peers remains uncertain.

With their faces glowing with confidence as they walk away after graduating at alternative rite of passage training, the 116 free hotline number given as part of measures for rescue should they face any threats in their respective regions, the free call service may not be of any use to the girls given the telecommunication challenges in their home area.

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

7

Ghost of eviction returns to haunt

By KEN NDAMBU

Like the 2007 post election violence witnessed in many parts of the country, residents in a remote village in Kitui County are traumatised by politically instigated attacks on land related issues of late 1990s which left at least three people dead and several others injured.

The years between 1997 and 2001 were bad for the residents of Mwakini village in Kitui West District. They would like to forget for what they saw, events that still haunt them almost ten years later.

It is claimed that in a bid to evict them from their land they claimed to have lived on for nearly 50 years, politicians allied to the Kanu regime took hundreds of their supporters to the area to acquire land in exchange for votes.

The invaders allocated themselves large parcels of land and in the process forcefully displaced the inhabitants who they described as squatters occupying government land held in trust

by County Council of Kitui.

Forceful displacement

“They came and harassed us throughout the night, threatening us with dire consequences if we do not obey their master’s order to leave the area,” recalls Mutethya Mbua.

“I had just finished having supper with my family at 9pm on October 30, 2001 when eight middle-aged men stormed our house and without saying anything, torched the grass thatched kitchen,” recalls Mutethya.

“We sensed danger and took cover in a thicket until morning.”

As the house went down in ashes, one of the men told us to leave the place as the Government had allocated the land to other people, explains Mutethya as she wipes tears streaming down her face.

In the neighbourhood, the villagers were mourning the death of Mulandi Musyoka, Kamau Mutisya and Kimondi Mutisya who had been killed four days earlier by a gang believed to

be executing orders of the politicians.

Their houses had also been burnt before they were hacked to death.

According to Josephine Mwikali Ndolo, 45, the night of August 16, 2001 remains fresh in her mind. She recalls the time when a 35-man gang raided her home, beat her senselessly and destroyed everything in sight before inserting an object in her private parts.

“This is an ordeal I would not like to remember as I was humiliated before my children,” says Ndolo.

“They came running at around 3pm and asked me why I had not adhered to their directive to vacate the area, and before I could answer, they descended on the homestead and damaged property worth thousands of shillings.”

Men were not spared either. Kitisya Mwalii resisted getting off the land in dispute and found himself cornered one night as he walked home. The people who stopped him caused untold suffering on the man.

They made him write on the ground with his male organ.

Just like Mwalii, Wayua Kamau was waylaid one evening in August 1999 and gang raped by a group of six men after she declined to vacate the land she had lived on for 20 years.

Mwalii, Kamau, Ndolo and Mutethya are just a few of the cases of the villagers who recorded statements with the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) in Kitui County over harassment by politically organised groups.

From the list of those who gave the statements seen by the Reject, 45 people from Mwakini Village showed that majority of them were women with sexually abused related complaints.

One of the victims of politically organised groups shows the Press debries of her house that was demolished by invaders. Picture: Ken Ndambu The residents claim to have gone to Mwakini Settlement Scheme, a trustland in 1960s and stayed there until late 1990s when a politician who supported Kanu, took some people to their territory so as to win votes when multipartism was sweeping the country.

For years, the residents have been embroiled in a tussle with the local authorities and politicians over the ownership of the land with the inhabitants vowing not to move as they have occupied the land for over 48 years. The Council, on the other hand, claims it owns the land as it holds it in trust on behalf of the Government and those living there were doing so illegally.

The problem deepened between

“We have been up and down the court corridors and justice has not come our way and that is why we looking for assistance elsewhere.”

— Regina Mutia

1997 and 2001 when political heavyweights in the area moved their supporters into the land.

Bad blood

Since then, there has been bad blood between the residents, the local authority and some politicians who aver their supporters have rightfully acquired the land and should not be intimidated.

Caught up in the vicious cycle, the residents have now turned to civil society groups after failing to get justice in courts.

“We have been up and down the court corridors and justice has not come our way and that is why we looking for assistance elsewhere,” said Regina Mutia.

According to Daniel Muoti, a Programme Officer with the Mwingi based Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRCE) the council or any other party has no right to displace people from land they have lived

in for more than 40 years.

“What the Council or any other body should be looking for is alternative settlement but not to displace people and leave them stranded,” noted Muoti adding the Constitution guarantees everyone a right to live anywhere and peacefully.

“It is violation of human rights of the highest order to evict somebody from the land he has occupied for years,” observed Muoti asserting that his organisation will continue to give civic education to the residents until their grievances are met.

According to Christine Vethi, Coordinator of Kitui Paralegal Project, most of the residents who recorded statements with TJRC had sought assistance from her office.

In response, she said the paralegal unit in collaboration with other civil society groups visited the villagers for counselling with a view of detraumatising them before the TJRC takes action.

Mother finds lost son after three-year long search

By JEFF KIRUI At the height of the post-election violence, Robert Kipkemoi set out on a long journey of North Rift to find himself a job without the knowledge of his parents.

Earlier, Kipkemoi had approached a teacher at Tenwek High School for employment. The teacher had promised to take him to his Chemelil rural home to look after cattle.

Kipkemoi’s secret departure from their home in Bomet District in January 2008 marked the beginning of a three-year long search for him that has not borne any fruits.

News of Kipkemoi’s disappearance spread like bushfire across the region. After attempts to truck him down in the neighbourhood hit a snag, an announcement was put on the local media but all in vain.

Despite the fruitless search Kipkemoi’s mother has never given up hope of one day finding her 17-year-old son alive.

Mary Koech, 56, has never had peace of mind since her son went missing. In the many hours that she has remained awake, she keeps on praying to God to protect him wherever he is.

Koech says the search for her son took a new twist in when reports reached her that he was alive and working as a herder in Chemelil for a teacher who had taken him.

“I got reports that my son was looking after cattle in a village in the North Rift for a teacher

at a school in Bomet. When I approached the teacher who comes from that area he confirmed to me that my son had been working for him,” explains Koech.

However, according to the teacher Kipkemoi worked for him for one month herding more than 60 head of cattle before seeking greener pastures.

“I later learnt through the teacher that he (my son) had moved to another homestead, which had less demanding work and a slightly higher wage,” explains Koech adding that the teacher started evading her from time to time.

Search mission

The move forced her to report to the police who ordered the teacher to take her to their village.

“Sometimes the teacher would tell me, my son was still at his home but other times he told me Kipkemoi had gone to stay with his relative,” notes Koech.

Back in Chemelil, Kipkemoi was not safe. A gang of cattle rustlers invaded where he was sleeping in the servant’s quarters and attacked him before fleeing with the cattle he was looking after.

The incident left him bedridden for more than two months.

Narrating his ordeal, Kipkemoi said the raiders struck one night and held him hostage for some time but he managed to escape with a cut index finger, which was mutilated with a machete.

Back home in Bomet, Koech relentlessly sought for his exact location and decided to go at it

Mary Koech, Robert Kipkemoi and Betty Koech at Bomet Police Station where they came to record statements on arrival from Chemelil after leaving home three years ago.

Picture: Jeff Kirui alone after the police turned a deaf ear to her pleas.

“Police became very reluctant in helping with the search and I decided to go alone to look for him,” she said trying to fight back her tears during the interview.

Koech says she spent more than KSh16,000 in the quest to find her son, travelling from Bomet to Chemilil regularly for the three years.

“Police assured me that my son was not dead, but I wanted to see him with my eyes and have him return home,” she reiterates.

What is surprising is that each time his mother closed in on finding him, he moved to another job in search of greener pastures hence unconsciously eluding her. He did not have a mobile phone so it was hard to track him.

Just when her hope of finding her son was beginning to fade, Koech received a phone call from somebody informing her that her son was

alive and was now working at a tea plantation in Muhoroni.

On April 7 last year, she took the earliest matatu and went to where she had been directed.

“I found him chatting with his employer’s wife.

When he saw me he recognised me at once and ran towards me calling my name,” explains Koech.

Kipkemoi narrated how he was now married with two children whom he would easily abandon to return home.

“I am happy to be back home,” he said, adding he would not be bringing his family with him.

Asked whether she would accept her son’s wife and children, Koech said the most important thing was that he was alive and back.

Kipkemoi said he would go back to farming on his family land and tend to the tea that he had abandoned for a decent job only to end up working in a similar plantation for KSh2,000 per month.

8

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Squatters’ ambassador aims for a higher platform to serve

By GEORGE OMONSO He has conquered the world of sports and the academia taking six national secondary schools football titles and catapulting St Anthony Boys’ Secondary from its previous shell to the current status that makes it the pride of many parents in the Trans Nzoia County.

He has also rallied the local squatters to organise themselves as a group in readiness for a protracted bargain with the Government with a view of shedding the internal refugee status, the colonial government relegated them to.

Yet Cosmas Stephen Nabongolo, 48, the Trans Nzoia self-made ambassador has energies left to globe trot and look for scholarships for over dozen bright Form Four leavers who do not have money to pursue higher education.

Appreciative of his workaholic achievements, teachers and like-minded people in the area have identified the Nairobi University graduate for the governor’s job and he is ready for the task. His rallying mission is the squatter issue.

Political ambitions

At Kapenguria Boys, Nabongolo, who doubled as the football team manager led the team to become the first national champions in 1991. He, was again to repeat the feat in 1994 and 1995.

When he joined the hitherto little known Goseta Secondary School as principal, he lifted the institution to become the Rift Valley provincial champions between 1999 and 2001.

Academic record

However, it was at St Anthony that his prowess went beyond question when his magic hands turned the school into a sporting and academic giant in a record three years.

The school became the national football champions in 2003, 2004 and 2005. It is the only school to have won the regional trophy which they captured in Uganda in 2006. Unknown to many, the school has won the national hockey title for a record six times.

When all this was happening, the school academic record was on the upsurge reaching the 9.6 mean score mark by 2005 successfully posting over 100 students to national universities annually. The school’s notice board is overwhelmed with numerous certificates of merits that it has become a near medal decoration gallery.

“The success of the school is a case study of how collective responsibility of the parents, the school Board of Governors, teachers and the sponsoring Bishop Maurice Crawley can combine to instill discipline for a purpose,” says the father of four.

Nabongolo boasts of a successful scholarship project which he initiated with the help of Kenyans working abroad that has so far seen 12 students study in some of the most prestigious universities in the globe.

The scholarships are part of his initiative rostrum for identifying opportunities for bright and deserving students and especially those from the squatter families.

“My heart bleeds for the more than 80,000 households living in squalor life without a place they can call home. It is the most deplorable situation which I have experienced having been born in a squatter family,” he says.

“People without proper homes have no capacity to plan, cannot develop and do not have the obvious basics like having a neighbour,” explains Nabongolo. He adds: “In ignoring the plight of the squatters, our leadership is sitting on a time bomb which is bound to explode any time,” he says.

Born in Saboti in 1963, Nabongolo went to the local primary and secondary school before joining Kolanya High School in Teso. He went to Kagumo Teacher’s Training College in Nyeri in 1985.

He completed the Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Nairobi in 1996 to embark on a long teaching career journey.

However, his colleagues now feel that he has done enough in the classroom and should be a turning point in his job description.

Although his leadership qualities were detected early enough in school where he served as head boy and school captain in both Saboti Secondary and Kolanya High respectively, it was not until he joined the teaching profession that results started streaming.

— Cosmas Stephen Nabongolo, teacher

“When I talk of the vision for Trans Nzoia, I am talking out of experience though on a small scale. It is how you handle small things that can show what to expect when the load increase.”

Nabongolo, a trained coach and former KFF official who had short term stints with former premier league side Nakuru Scarlet says that through sports sponsorship, the youth can be enticed to make a decent leaving. Many of the players he handled have made it to the national team and other prestigious leagues in Europe.

“When I talk of the vision for Trans Nzoia, I am talking out of experience though on a small scale. It is how you handle small things that can show what to expect when the load increase,” he says.

Once given the onus to run the county, Nabongolo says he would aspire to bring to an end the vicious circle of complaints and poverty.

“Fifty years of independence should not get us still complaining that Asian businessmen are exploiting us in the sale of fertilisers. If farmers can be micromanaged, we can import the precious farm input from the source, get our share and sell the rest for a modest profit.”

Value addition

He bemoans the idea that most youth remain jobless when the county is endowed with agricultural produce like grains and milk.

“We should immediately embark on value addition through milling and processing of the produce we have.

That way, what we have will fetch more and additional jobs created,” says Nabongolo.

He adds: “Once there is goodwill by the county leadership, the squatters will be settled within no time. The County can stand as a collateral in financial institutions, and organise with large scale farmers who have some land to spare.

The soft spoken teacher revered by colleagues for the way he can associate with students to an extent of eating lunch with them, remembers with nostalgia, the Trans Nzoia the settlers inhabited and argues that with proper management it can still glitter.

“Trans Nzoia simply means across the Nzoia.

Nzoia is the catchment of Lake Victoria and by extension the Nile which feeds millions of people in the Sub Saharan world. This is an area we can show case to the world alongside the snow capped Mount Elgon and the Sitatunga, the home of the rare bird species and the Brazilian Monkey,” he says.

From top: Nabongolo with his students singing the school motto.

With his wife Josephine Tulienge (third right) and their four children.

Nabongolo with the Kitale catholic Bishop Maurice Crowley who is the school board Chairman.

Pictures: George Omonso

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

9

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Fear of ATM grips women bank users

By JOY MONDAY It is not a monster waiting to grab and devour her, but all of a sudden, Susan Naliaka is filled with a strange fear. As she approaches the entrance to the booth, she starts to sweat and her hands tremble as she rummages through her handbag.

She pulls the door, steps in and two dumb machines wink at her. She looks right, left and fumbles with the handbag. “What if I press the wrong key, what if the machine mauls my card…what if, what if…” are thoughts that race through her mind and, overcome by fear, she steps back and disappears in a flash.

Strange fear

The next thing she knows, she is standing in a long queue in a banking hall, breathing heavily. In her late 40s, Naliaka who owns a retail shop in Kitale, is one of the many women afflicted with a strange fear, the fear of an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM).

“I opened four accounts in different banks and acquired ATM cards for all, but I have never used any of them. I just fear. If I make a mistake

in the banking hall, I know the teller will point out the error and correct me, but inside there, who will I turn to?” she asks.

Yet, with many people using the services of a bank, queues in banking halls are a nightmare, making ATM use the only viable option. However, many people, especially women find operating ATMs even more complex.

Milka Kimani, a journalist, said she had to go with her husband to the ATM four times because she was worried and not sure of what to do.

“Every time I entered the booth, my heart skipped a beat. I sweat and forgot my personal identification number. My husband had to accompany me until I got used to the experience,” she explains.

Even now, after using it for over five years, Milka says she sometimes forgets her PIN, fumbles, rummages through her handbag and fails to find her card.

While making a transaction at my bank recently, I was approached by a timid Grace Nyamoita who needed help.

Usually new ATM cardholders are taken through the steps by bank offi-

cials on how to use the card. However, Nyamoita swore nobody at the bank told her how to use her ATM card.

“I just filled the forms and was told to come back after seven working days. I was given a book to sign and a lady behind the counter handed me an ATM card and a cheque book and that was all. When I got home, I tried to read the instructions on the manual but could not understand most of them,” explains Nyamoita.

Seeking help

For security purposes, customers are advised not to seek help from strangers as this puts them at risk of being robbed.

Well, I helped Nyamoita to carry out her transaction and concluded my help with a stern warning ‘never seek help from strangers while using your ATM card.”

Different situations will determine whether an ATM or the banking hall is the best option to make your transaction. The choice of whether to use an ATM or banking hall depends on the volume of the transaction, that is, the amount of money you are withdrawing and the day of the week.

For customers who opt to use the ATMs, there are several issues to be considered to make the transaction easy and safe.

Most ATMs are simple to use because the instructions on the machine are in different commonly used languages but they can be intimidating for first-time users especially women who have to contend with the keypads.

Peter Kariuki, a banker, discourages customers from using their ATMs often. He says ATM is meant to instil discipline in the user.

“Initially ATM transactions were free. The charges were introduced not just for the bank to collect operational costs, but mainly to teach customers to plan their transactions,” observes Kariuki.

Unfortunately, many people do not pay attention to the ‘small’ transaction costs and end up using an ATM five times a day to withdraw small amounts of money.

“What people do not realise is that those ‘small’ fees can accumulate into large amounts if the customer overuses the ATM,” says one bank official.

For those who opt to use the bank-

ing hall, head for the inquiry or customer care help desk if you are not sure of what is required to withdraw or deposit money. Do not be embarrassed to ask many questions because this is a service the bank is obliged to offer to make banking easy for you.

It is better than filling forms and queuing only to get to the counter and be told that you have filled the wrong forms. The advantage with banking halls is that there is personal contact to guide you.

However, the drawback is that since banks work specified hours a day, you cannot enjoy the 24-hour service that the ATM machine accords.

How to use the ATM Read the instructions on the manual issued with your ATM card. Also, ask the issuing bank official as many questions as you want. Choose an ATM that is located in a welllit and high-traffic area, especially in the evening or early morning. Memorise your Personal Identification Number (PIN). Avoid writing it on a piece of paper and keeping it with your card.

Demystifying taxation

By CAROLYNE OYUGI Shocking revelations emerged during a regional conference on demystifying taxation in Kenya that was organised

by East African tax and governance network.

During the meeting it emerged that Kenya lost over KSh166,000 billion on investment and taxation related incentives between 2003 and 2008.

Kenya is said to be one of the most generous countries in tax exemptions to international companies working at export processing zones and citizens are now feeling the effects.

More money is still being lost due to low morale by citizens who do not feel obliged to pay tax due to failure by the Government to give civic education to the public on the need to pay tax or consequences of failure to appropriately use the collected revenue.

The citizens also feel cheated by their parliamentarians who have refused to pay tax and whom they feel should be leading by example.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the organisation that is mandated to collect tax has also been facing challenges in tax administration, resulting to low revenue collection.

Tax base

Finance Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua said the large agriculture and informal sectors often reduces flexibility of tax handlers to raise additional resources, adding that there is need to take strategic steps to diversify the economy and to broaden the tax base to include all sectors of the economy.

In a speech read on his behalf by an economic secretary from the Ministry of Finance Dr Geoffrey Mwau, Kinyua said as a resource poor economy, Kenya recognises that the limited tax handlers make it difficult to raise additional revenue required and added that conscious policy efforts should be made to focus on services as According to 2006 Kenya Economic Survey 72 percent of the work-

ing population is not being taxed yet these are the key drivers of growth and a source of revenue.

This percentage comes from the informal sector which comprises of mostly small-scale farmers, and to a lesser extent small and micro enterprises (SMEs).

Tax evaders

According to KRA, there are 2.4 million people registered for Pay As You Earn (PAYE) while there are 23.8 million people who own mobile phones. This indicates that there could be many more people who should be paying tax but are currently not being taxed.

Illicit financial flows are also a significant global revenue leakage. It is noted that between 1970 and 2008, illicit capital from Africa amounted to $ 854.1 billion.

Out of this, $7.3 billion was lost from Kenya which is equivalent to 0.85 percent of the total outflows of illicit capital from Africa, which is enough to help the country meet the Millennium Development Goals.

“If this could be avoided then we would have enough money to satisfy our external debt obligations and leave billions to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth,” noted Kinyua.

The collected amount also more often than not ends up being mismanaged and so civilians do not get to enjoy the benefits fully.

Tax is the most sustainable source of development finance, but African and Kenyan tax systems in particular still do not raise enough revenue to meaningfully reduce poverty.

Some international companies are abusing transfer pricing mecha-

nisms so that profits are shifted from high tax jurisdictions to low tax jurisdictions. Others use tax havens that guarantee financial secrecy for their clients and therefore facilitate transfer pricing abuse, since companies can hide their assets in tax havens and avoid paying tax on these assets that might be due in other jurisdictions.

Most tax havens are Jua kali artisans making kitchen appliances located in OECD coun- using metal pieces at Ziwani area Mombasa. The tries, with the largest Times Tower in Nairobi which houses the Kenya in the USA (Delaware) and result in an annual Revenue Authority. Pictures: Reject Correspondent tax loss of $255 billion.

Both International property.

Monetary Fund and GFI say trade Tax avoidance is also still mis-invoicing is a substantial issue possible by setting artificially in Kenya. high or low prices for example Kenya’s flower industry continues intangible assets and can still to report losses, while their parent shift profits from high tax juriscompanies in foreign countries make dictions to low tax jurisdictions huge profits. in order to reduce overall tax liSome measures have been put in ability in the country where the place to deal with the abusive trans- profits were earned. fer pricing transactions. One of them is the anti-abuse provision within the income tax law — the Income Tax There is need for Increased (Transfer Pricing) Rules, 2006: arm’s transparency of financial transsupport the adoption of automatic tax length principle. actions so that KRA and other rev- information exchange. A first step in This means that related companies enue collectors can effectively monitor this direction is for Kenya to sign and that trade with each other must use a whether or not a company’s tax pay- ratify the OECD Council of Europe price, or range of prices, that a com- ments reflect the services rendered to Multilateral Convention on Sign onto pany would be expected to pay if pur- the public and this means obtaining TJN-A’s Nairobi Declaration on Taxachased from an un-related company in additional information on the under- tion and Development. the market.

According to Kwame Owino, the lying financial position of the comThe current practice is, however, pany.

CEO, Institute of Economic Affairs, meeting some limitations in deciding According to National Tax Payers civil societies should also help in the what is the fair market value for in- Association, Kenya should support fight against these vices. tangibles, for example, in intellectual the adoption of country by country “They can do this by first being tax financial reporting instead of the compliant, initiating capacity building arm’s length principle as the new in- to increase tax payers literacy since ternational financial reporting stan- KRA is not mandated to do so and dard by the International Account- explain proposed tax legislation to ing Standards Board (IASB), who are the public,” noted Owino. He added: responsible for influencing IFRS in “They should also simplify the tax language to the common man besides most countries, including Kenya.

The association also recommends pressurising the Government to use that instead of TIEAs, Kenya should the tax properly.”

Tax is the most sustainable source of development finance, but African and Kenyan tax systems in particular still do not raise enough revenue to meaningfully reduce poverty.

Transparency

10

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Kisumu Airport, a boon for farmers in the region

By NICK ODHIAMBO

Local farmers and traders in Nyanza and Western provinces are a happy lot after the Government recently opened the Kisumu International Airport.

Many locals say the airport will boost regional business and enhance international trade, with others observe that the airport will see local produce sold to foreign countries.

According to Paskalia Shikuku, a farmer Uluthe Village, in Ugenya, Siaya County, the opening of the airport marked a happy moment. Villagers from her locality have formed farmers groups to ensure the can consolidate a bumper harvest that is easy to sell.

“We have also involved experts who advise us on the best farming methods and now we are experiencing a big difference in the production,” notes Shikuku.

Currently, about 300 farmers in the area are producing traditional vegetables, fruits and cereals, which she says will now get to the market through the airport.

“Our intention is to sell the produce not only locally but internationally as well. We now want to have more produce which we shall sell.

We have been waiting for the airport to be officially opened,” explains Shikuku.

Expectations

Kisumu Airport was initially built in 1976 with a 2,000 metre long and 30 metre wide runway. However, with the new construction the runway has now been upgraded to 3,300 metres long, which is expected to accommodate large Code D aircrafts such as Boeing 767 or Airbus A300 without load restrictions.

After the opening of the airport President Mwai Kibaki announced a raft of infrastructural development plans for the region, saying the project would trigger massive investment and rejuvenate village economies around Kisumu County and its environs.

“This is a project that everyone has to utilise.

I appeal to everyone to invest in this region,” advised Kibaki.

The construction of this airport was started three years ago at a cost of KSh3 billion, putting it among the top eight busiest regional airports in East Africa. Nyanza Province is a hub of farm

produce, with pineapples, maize, sorghum and rice, among others, being the main crops.

According to Anyango Abuor’, a pineapple farmer in Kowili Omoya Village, Homa Bay County, they have formed farmer’ groups. They intend to produce pineapples in large scale which will be sold to neighbouring countries.

So far, many buyers for the fruit come from Tanzania and Uganda. There are also plans to establish a pineapple processing plant in Kochia for the production of juice that can be exported through the airport.

“We are now relieved. This airport is going to help us sell what we have to other countries.

Transportation has been made easier,” observed Abuor’.

Traffic

Kisumu International Airport will be handling up to 700 people per hour, giving a total of two million traffic per year, from the recent 300,000.

This will see many tourists jet into the country into Western Kenya, where more hotels and tourist attractions are under construction.

According to Stephen Gichuki, the Kenya Airports Authority Managing Director, there is likely to be an increased tourist flow into the region from the recent 500 tourists a day because of the airport expansion.

Tourism is expected to be stable, given the fact that the roots of the US president Barack Obama is in Nyang’oma Kogello Village, Siaya County.

“We expect a lot to come from tourism in this area and this is why people around here should make use of this airport,” noted Gichuki.

Tourist attraction sites in the region include Kit Mikai, Simbi Nyaima, Kisumu Impala Sanctuary, Nyamgondho wuod Ombara and Thimlich Ohinga among others. These are all expected to have a boost as a result of the airport.

According to George Ayeho of Management Process, Holistic and Sustainable Community Development Services, the airport will give an opportunity for the foreign tourists to visit the region.

He says more hotels will be constructed in major towns in the region such as Kisumu,

The Kisumu International Airport is expected to increase tourism, boost agriculture and create more than 30,000 job opportunities to spur economic growth of the region.

Picture: Nick Odhiambo Siaya, Bondo, Migori, Kisii, Homa Bay and in and link with the carriage way to the Kisumu parts of Western Province to provide adequate Airport, a move aimed at opening the western accommodation. region’s economy.

“We really appreciate what has happened.

This, coupled with the ongoing construction This airport will boost tourism in this region of Kisumu-Homa Bay, Homa Bay-Sori, Homa and trade will also thrive,” says Ayeho.

Bay-Migori and Homa Bay-Mbita roads, a lot is Kisumu city is also experiencing property expected to promote the region’s transport netboom and this will expand faster with the exwork and economies. pansion of the airport since many people, loLucas Onyango, a fisherman in Sori, Nyatike cal and foreigners, are now building estates and District says he will be a happy man if more fish houses in the city. plants were built in the area so that products Nickson Opande, Managing Director of the were airlifted to markets.

Opande Africa Investment says investors in He says those who buy fish from the region commercial and residential property have alextorting fishermen blaming it on poor road ready started trooping to the city and construcnetwork in the region. tion of the airport is a boost.

“Now what will they be saying. This airport He further admits that demand for housis not a bad thing, we have hopes and a lot will ing in Kisumu has started going up and more come to us because of this,” observes Onyango. houses should be built to cater for the expected population increase.

When Kisumu Airport will open its doors “This is necessary. We are expecting more to international flights, it will be used by tourists into this region and more houses people from other countries such Tanzania, will need to be built to cater for this. This airRwanda, Burundi, Congo and Ugandan tradport has been a boost to many sectors,” said ers, opening business and interaction opporOpande. tunities on the continent.

For many years, traders from this region have been flying all the way to Nairobi to board With the new developments of the roads in flights to international destinations. However, Nyanza, linking remote areas with major towns this will now end since the flights will be availand eventually to Kisumu airport, trade will be able in Kisumu to foreign countries. promoted.

“I am a happy woman now. I was wonderThis will also reduce cases of farm produce ing why we had to travel to Nairobi first when or fish rotting in the villages due to poor road I wanted to go outside the country. Now it is network. easier and cheap for us,” says Mary Loita, a busiWhen President Kibaki opened the airport, nesswoman in Nyanza Province. he also commissioned the KSh5.8 billion Mau The airport is expected to create more than Summit-Kericho and Kisumu-Nyamasaria roads 30,000 jobs and according to the airport manwhose constructions are ongoing. ager Joseph Okumu, the facility will handle The President also unveiled the 150 kilomeBoeing 737-800 planes and Airbus of 310 or tres Kisumu-Kakamega-Webuye stretch, costany plane with similar capacities, flying directing KSh10.2 billion. ly from Kisumu to international destinations.

This road will pass through Kitale-Webuye

International flights

Transport ease

Mt Kenya tourism circuit attracts youth entrepreneurs

By WAIKWA MAINA His role and dream is to transform the tourism industry to a lucrative business and encourage more small and medium entrepreneurs to invest in the industry, efforts that are bearing fruit.

However, his biggest challenge is to change the perception that the industry is a preserve of the rich, big corporate institutions and international organisations.

Beneficiary

“Investing in the tourism industry is not like facing a dangerous wild beat in the bush as many people perceive, or as simple as operating an M-Pesa or any other common business,” says Simon Wachira, the CEO Mount Kenya Tourism Circuit Association.

After a few years of concerted efforts by the association, tens of young investors are earning attractive returns especially after commercialising their

goods and services by simply converting their talents into business.

Among them is Nyeri Youth Mt. Kenya Climbing Club that offers training on mountain climbing. The youth group also offers related services such as being tour guides and porters.

“Funds generated from the activities are used to expand our capital base as well as initiate or boast individual members businesses,” says Peter Gikonyo Kamau the club’s treasurer who is also a mountain climbing trainer.

A good example of a beneficiary is Faith Wanjiku Ndu’ngu who started a hotel business at Gatitu and has had the opportunity of expanding her design and decorating entrepreneurship.

“We are the only registered group offering such services in Nyeri County, a fact that has put us at an advantage as far as competition is concerned,” explains Gikonyo. He adds: “Some of our members are hawkers, shoe-shiners, touts and other small traders in infor-

mal sectors.”

Other activities undertaken by the club includes eco-tourism which adds attractiveness and environment conservation initiatives which they expect will lead to doubling the number of visitors which will translate to more clients.

The group has also produced commercial films related to their activities.

To give them more bargaining power and exposure, the club is teaming up with others in Mount Kenya region to form an umbrella body, the Mt. Kenya Guides and Porters Association.

“Our main challenge is that the jobs are seasonal between June and September and between December and March. That is why we are encouraging more of local tourism,” observes Gikonyo.

He explains: “Our vision is to make mountain climbing fun and reality to both local and foreign tourists as well as to reach out to more youths

as possible and engage them in self empowerment activities.”

Similar sentiments were expressed

by Wachira who says that perception that one requires a lot of money to tour a location has been a hindrance to promotion of local tourism.

“Anyone earning above KSh10,000 can afford it. For example, one requires only KSh2,000 to travel from Nairobi to Mount Kenya and enjoy over the weekend. One can spend the night in a camp or sleeping bag, one does not need to spend in expensive hotels,” notes Wachira. He added: “People spend all their lives in Nairobi but they do not know what they are missing.”

The other challenge is that investors are more focused on international tourism ignoring the potential in local tourism. Wachira regrets that some hotels still discriminate against local tourists due to influence of handsome tips they tend to get from the foreign

tourists. Negative stereotyping like Mt Kenya region is a mafia region has also affected the industry.

“Kenyans must learn to view visitors as money, encourage visitors who will in turn spend in your areas,” he adds.

World Heritage Site

Mount Kenya as a tourist destination receives between 14,000 and 20,000 visitors per year out of which 60 percent are international, though it has the capacity of hosting 50 million visitors per year.

“The region has enormous potential and needs to develop and grow to tap this potential,” explains Wachira.

He adds: “Opportunities for micro and small scale businesses in the tourism sector are unlimited. In the past, Kenya has concentrated on developing large scale tourism but this has led to high foreign exchange leakages as well as minimum benefits to the locals.”

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Teacher in examination sale racket charged

By ODHIAMBO ODHIAMBO A secondary school teacher said to be involved in the sale of exams was finally charged in a Migori court.

Evans Nyakumbe Gumbe who appeared before the Migori Senior Principal Magistrate Susan Shitubi was accused of reportedly making a handwritten mathematics paper, purporting to be a genuine and valid Kenya Certificate Primary of Education (KCPE) Mathematics exam paper.

The charge read that on October 19, last year, within Rongo Township, with intent to defraud, Gumbe made the documents.

However, he denied the offence and was released on a KSh100,000 bond with surety of a similar amount. Detectives arrested the suspect after a three-month chase.

Statements

Soon after his arrest, he recorded lengthy statements, giving account of what transpired in the run–up to last year’s examinations.

Candidates who might have given money to the teacher were also asked to come forward and record statements in a bid to facilitate the prosecution.

A Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) security officer who spoke on anonymity said the teacher was at the centre of the sale of fake examination papers.

The teacher is said to have collected money from pupils in various parts of the country.

When he spoke during the release of the KCPE results, Education minister Prof Sam Ongeri said the teacher collected about KSh810,000 through M-Pesa from unsuspecting candidates, purporting that he would send them the examination.

The minister said the teacher went into hiding after the CID got information about the matter.

The investigators are seeking support from Safaricom Limited in a bid to get M-Pesa transaction print-outs from the teacher’s mobile line in the hope that it will help build up the prosecution case.

Investigations

The detectives were also trying to establish if some other teachers were also involved in the racket.

Migori County where the teacher was arrested after a three-month search, led the pack with 667 examination irregularities in 25 schools followed by Kakamega (665), Homa Bay (631) and Nairobi (626).

Only Nyeri, Turkana, Laikipia and Busia counties did not record cases of cheating.

The KNEC official who spoke on anonymity said the teacher was allegedly hiding in Nairobi but fled when he realised he was being sought.

Ongeri noted that there had been a shift to collusion within examination centres involving candidates, teachers and other third parties to cheat in examinations.

11

Special school in desperate need of expansion

By JIRONGO LUYALI Vihiga County is home to Kaimosi Special School for the Mentally Handicapped, which is the largest such institution in Western province.

The school admits students from across the country and has an enrolment of 232 students who suffer from different conditions such as autism, epilepsy and physical disabilities.

Kaimosi Special School, operating under the motto, ‘Disability is not Inability’ was started in 1988 after the Friends Mission donated an acre of land in which it was set up.

The school has 12 teachers and 27 support staff members. The head of the institution, Arthur Azenga Injenga says that most of the students enrolled in the institution are those suffering from epilepsy.

“Currently, two thirds of the students here are epileptic. I believe there are many out there who suffer from other diseases like autism but parents of such children shy away from bringing them to the limelight.”

He adds that it is not child’s play to dedicate one’s time to care for mentally and physically handicapped children.

Dumping ground

“It is so sad that most parents are taking advantage of this institution as a dumping place for their disabled children whom they find hard to accommodate. Some come from rich families but their parents only come on the opening day and disappear till when the school closes to pick their children. Children in such a condition catch diseases faster and the parents need to be aware of their progress,” says Injenga.

According to Injenga who is also the National Chairman for Kenya Special Schools, such children usually have difficulties in adapting to the school environment, not only in his institution but in other schools as well.

The most important aspect that needs to be observed is the issue of language. He says that it plays a very important role when it comes to interacting with them.

“Here in Kaimosi we are going beyond the grain to visit homes around to look for handicapped children who may have been denied an opportunity to be treated like normal students.

I am urging parents all over the country not to hide children who are born with disabilities but to bring them out. They are human beings like others and need not be isolated as that amounts to great injustice even before God.”

Unlevel field

Despite the fact that it is the largest special school in Western Province, Injenga laments that Kaimosi Special School has not been fully recognised by stakeholders. Not even the Friends Mission which donated land for its compound.

“You can even see the topography of the land a special school is built in. Can a disabled child find it easy to play in a field like this?”

A section of the buildings at Kaimosi Special School. Below: Some of the students at the school.

Pictures: Jirongo Luyali he asks while pointing at the unlevel field used by the students as a play ground and which the school is unable to flatten as it is required to part with KSh140,000 as payment for the service that has to be offered by the Vihiga County Council.

Challenges for the school are many with the biggest being lack of payment of school fees. The parents owe the school fee arrears totalling to KSh727,000.

Strain

“With a such a great amount, we are even unable to facilitate for our students medication yet most of them require specialised treatment and are usually referred to hospitals as far as Moi Teaching and Referral which is in Eldoret, about 80 kilometres away,” observes Edwin Muhalia, school bursar.

Muhalia notes that this makes it difficult for them to buy enough food as children with mental problems especially autism need a lot of food with many required to eat a special diet.

Other challenges include lack of a school van, water storage tanks and staff housing for teachers who need to be close to the children if their condition is something to worry about.

In addition to the handicapped children,

the Vihiga District Magistrate Court recently ordered that all the street children collected in Vihiga County be taken to the Kaimosi Special School. The school head is worried that this is going to be a great strain to them since they entirely depend on the Government. However, he urges the non-governmental organisations and well wishers to step in and save the situation.

Bursaries save desperate students from missing out

By RYAN MATHENGE Many of the families with pupils who sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam struggle with a new experience every year.

Immediately the results are announced, they start looking for means of trying to raise secondary school fees for their siblings who had excelled in the national examination.

Those without the ability are left helpless only to secure relatives who

can employ their daughters as house helps while boys seek opportunities elsewhere.

The Government bursary kitty has come in handy to rescue many of the children from Murang’a region who excelled and had their hopes frustrated due to lack of funding.

Equity Bank, through the Wings to Fly programme has played a role with each branch identifying 20 students who get a four year sponsorship.

Generous support

Those who missed out on the bank’s sponsorship were saved when Murang’a elite James Ndung’u Kaberere donated KSh1.7 million to support other students each at a tune of KSh50,000 per year for a four-year period.

Mary Nyambura is a happy parent after her son, despite the hardship they have gone through over the years, secured a place in a national school after the bank offered him sponsorship.

“I was down as I could not have managed to take my son Bernard Mwangi to any school but God came at the right time as the bank identified him,” explained Nyambura from Kahuro District.

The unlucky students are engaged in odd jobs where they are exploited by their employers who happen to be their relatives. Only a few of the students are enrolled in village polytechnics despite the Government paying fees for the registered students.

Many of the boys from the region are lured to join their colleagues in quarry mining and sand harvesting as a means of raising money to start small scale businesses.

Investigation by the Reject revealed that only a few manage to raise the required amount and travel to Nairobi to start hawking goods.

Female students are the worst hit as their parents secure them employment as househelps without exploring other opportunities.

12

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Charcoal burning lays bare land ahead of relocation In the last issue of the Reject we carried a story of how families in Mui division in Mwingi East Constituency, Kitui County were not happy that a coal mining expedition was set to displace them from their land. In this issue, we look at how the thought of relocation has sent a panic mode and the residents are destroying all the trees in protest, writes LYDIAH NGOOLO “Let us go, cut the teats from the cow’s udder, then we will be milking from here,” says Ngui to his younger brother Mutua.

They were living at the bottom of the mountain but their cow used to graze at the top of the mountain.

This is where they used to go and milk every morning.

The routine became monotonous making them come up with the wicked idea. The two brothers agreed and accompanied each other up the mountain. They cut the teats from the cows’ udder and came back.

On reaching home, the teats could not produce milk. They rushed up the mountain but alas! Their cow was dead. They lost all and who was to blame?

The same wickedness is being replayed between man and trees.

The local community is busy felling down trees from the top of the mountain to the bottom in the name of eviction due to the coal mining.

Ndulu Nduni emphasises that the charcoal burning is helping him get money to buy food for his family. He knows the disadvantages of felling trees. His defence argument is that he did not get anything from his farm due to the poor seeds they were given during the planting season.

“I can only die of hunger when I am sure that there is no tree around me and that there is nobody to help me. It is quiet embarrassing to put more effort in the farms only to show nothing out of it,” notes Nduni. He adds: “The eviction is also worrying me. We only show the loggers a piece of land where they fell trees and burn charcoal.’’

They agreed that on every sack burned, the owner of the farm will be given KSh50. A sack of charcoal sells at KSh400 locally. In Nairobi, it goes for more than KSh1,700.

The public especially the youth could not support this anymore. Syengo Mwinzi a bodaboda operator and a vocal youth leader from Kateiko village in Mwingi East, said they

Destruction

The felling is too sweet and as one pockets the money he is doing like the two brothers. When they finally realise what they have done, the rivers have slowly dried. Only the rocks and the stumps are left. Just like the two brothers, they are losing trees and all their benefits.

Forest destruction has occurred in many parts of the country. In Eastern Province, the practice of felling is quite alarming. A look at Ngomeni, Ukasi and Mui Hills (Mikolosoni and mwale villages) reveals this.

The leading area being Mui division in Mwingi East. The only thing which has remained to show that trees once existed here are the dry stumps. Rocks have been left to occupy the area. The thin layer is gone as a result of soil erosion and the beauty of the land is no more.

Efforts by the Government to stem destruction of trees through outlawing charcoal burning have yielded less fruits. To many people, charcoal burning is the source of income.

They declare that as far as the stories of coal mining are still in the air, they will stop felling down trees at nothing. Mutwa Munyalo (not her real name) from Mikolosoni says that by the time the eviction starts, she will leave no tree standing. She and others have forgotten that no man is rich enough to buy back his past.

“It is sad for we handed over the 15 people to the Forest Department to facilitate their appearance in court. They were to be charged for destruction of the environment through illegal felling of trees.

It is a shock because when they appeared in court they produced fake documents and were released.”

— Mwingi East District Commissioner Martin Mwaro

were ready to hold a peaceful demonstration if the law did not take its course.

The charcoal burners are ferrying lorries full of charcoal to Nairobi and other market places. One woman was given KSh5,000 only after the loggers burned 100 sacks of charcoal from her piece of land.

Protest

“It does not matter whether they harvested anything or they did not.

We are just in the same swing. The issue of coal should not fit anywhere for those who are hiring their plots to the illegal charcoal burners. If this is what could be happening over the years, we could now be living in a desert,’’ observed Isaac Kibwia, a father of five and a farmer in Mui location.

The residents will no longer allow these illegal charcoal burners to continue destroying the environment.

The ignorant residents have been blackmailed. The activity is affecting everyone in the community.

It is sad because even if you do not allow them to cut the trees in your land, the consequences will face the whole community. The loggers pretend to have legal documents to fell trees and burn charcoal.

“The letter was written from Nairobi, passed through the forest office in Mwingi Central and the other authority is aware of this. The people who matter in this business is the Forest Department, I do not care about the others. Not even you (the locals) can stop us from burning the charcoal,’’ the proud ring leader from Machakos was heard saying.

Illegal loggers

It is due to the fear of the real consequences that the members of the public complained and revealed the charcoal burning places of these people to the District Commissioner. The sure thing is that they had caused undue destruction to the environment through wanton felling of trees.

As a result, Mwingi East District Commissioner Martin Mwaro led the operation to nab the illegal loggers.

They visited Mui Forest and arrested 15 people.

Mwaro led the Administration Police and Forest Service officers to

A smoldering charcoal kiln in Mwingi. illegal charcoal burning has caused serious environmental degradation. Below: Mwingi Forest Service officers inspect a lorry loaded with charcoal in Mwingi.

Pictures: Lydia Ngoolo Mikolosoni Village in Mui division.

They accosted loggers who were indiscriminately felling trees for charcoal burning.

“It is sad for we handed over the 15 people to the Forest Department to facilitate their appearance in court.

They were to be charged for destruction of the environment through illegal felling of trees. It is a shock because when they appeared in court they produced fake documents and were released,” explained Mwaro.

He pointed out that some Machiavellian but well up charcoal dealers in Mwingi were colluding with local land owners to hire out their plots and slot in the devastating charcoal production without the obligatory documents from the Forest Service department.

According to James Mwangi, the acting zonal manager the exploitation has been high in easy accessible areas. He noted that the loggers had no certificate of origin from the Forest Department. Even if they had, the document allows the felling of dead, dying and over mature trees but not live ones.

“The document is supposed to be carried all the time one is felling the trees. During the time of arrest the burners said they had the documents at home which was a lie,” said Mwangi. He reported: “One man frankly said he did not have any documents

but monkeys and birds were disturbing him during the planting season by resting on those trees.”

Mwangi reiterated that it was high time the loggers linked up with the Mwingi Charcoal Producers and Retailers Association. This is a body which is registered with the Attorney General’s office.

Selective trees

The group deals with environmental conservation. Led by its chairman Joseph Kimwele, they burn charcoal on selective trees then plant more others. Mwangi gave an assurance that his department will plant more trees come the next rainy season.

According to Mwaro, there was need for existing trees in the area for a comfortable environment. He said that his stand on the charcoal burning ban due to its adverse effects on environment imposed a while ago is still in force.

He also urged the locals to involve themselves in other income generating activities. He also said he will hold several barazas and enlighten the locals.

Mwaro asked the local Forestry Service Department to stop sleeping on their job because they are watching submissively as acres of forests are destroyed. He said his office will remain alert and arrest any illegal loggers.

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

13

New patriotic push ahead of General Elections

By DAVID NJAGI For Margaret Atieno, the odds of her business growing at the Kibera Toi Market are always stacked higher than the possibilities.

If she is not struggling to part with a daily unspecified levy that the marauding City Council officers demand in turns, she will be figuring out how to weave her way through the next problem, landowners.

According to Atieno, landowners have taken advantage of the failure by the Government to gazette Kibera slum, which eclipses the market, to create a turf that thrives on intrigues and arm twisting.

Yet the 53-year-old mother barely manages to make a profit of KSh500 a day, which she will also be stretching her intellect to find a solution on how to divide it to feed and educate her 12 children.

Now another volatile and menacing snag faces her, and only needs a slight spark to ignite a collective rage, as Kenya inches closer to the General Elections — youth gangs.

Atieno traces the problem to 1996, when youth acting on political undertones would start a string of extortion rackets as the General Elections approached, reportedly thought to be a campaign fundraiser gig.

“If one fails to pay up their stall is demolished,” observes Atieno, who has been operating a grocery stall for the last 30 years. “If the rightful owner claims the property back they force them to repurchase the stall often at an inflated price.”

Insecurity

During the last murky polls for instance, she says, youth from as far as Saudi Arabia were spotted in Kibera slum, a claim that traders link

to the market’s insecurity as the country approaches the General Elections.

“After the elections were over the youth reportedly went back to Saudi Arabia,” observes Atieno. “However, now we have reliable information that they are planning to come back because of the next General Elections.”

Atieno, like many other Kenyans who have experienced the ugly side of a country fidgeting with General Elections, is not sure how to deal with the possibility of a political flare up.

According to the 2008 UN High Commission for Human Rights report, political expediency was the trigger by which the 2007-2008 post election violence flared.

But a UN fact finding mission in Kenya also found out that historical injustices linked to land and perceived discrimination in access to jobs and other financial opportunities kindled the violence.

Also highlighted in the report are claims of prolonged poverty and disenfranchisement as society setbacks that fuelled the violence.

“Many individuals and organisations that met with the OHCHR Mission stressed the direct relationship between long term violations of economic and social rights and the violent reactions to the flawed electoral process,” reads the report.

However, a new patriotic push by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) could help assuage some of Atieno’s fears although the campaign’s stamp of authority is yet to be tested.

The ‘Its My Kenya’ campaign has its sights on a persuasive media campaign that seeks to bridge the country together with repeated messages of peace as the country stares at the possibility of a General Election on unspecified dates in 2012.

According to a brief by the private sector driven campaign officials, the initiative which

is to be rolled out in three phases is tailored on the theme: Inspire all Kenyans towards peaceful elections and prosperity.

Officials say the campaign is also expected to engage advertising and public relations agencies, youth clubs, non-governmental and faith based organisations as well as development partners.

“The campaign is meant to ensure peace and prosperity which did not persist in the previous election and for Kenyans to have the spirit of love for their country by not destroying nor allowing anyone to destroy Kenya,” says the document.

Among the issues identified by the campaigners as the root causes of political violence include, poor leadership, ethnicity, corruption, hate speech, impunity, economic inequalities, disenfranchisement as well as the use of divide and rule tactics.

“This campaign is steered by the need to educate civilians to go to the polls with a mindset that extols the values of influencing a leadership that is informed by expertise but not tribal leanings,” says Vimal Shah, KEPSA vice chairman.

Peace struggle

A young girl flips through the new Constitution Meanwhile, in the three way apduring the 2010 Madaraka day celebrations in proach between Atieno, KEPSA, and Isiolo public grounds. Picture: David Njagi the implementation of a new Constitution, it is not clear who will be winning the struggle for a peaceful Kenya. baab menace in Somalia is anything to go by, the If the current patriotism shown by Kenyans suspected cloud expected to come with the polls as the country’s defence force stems the Al Sha- is not likely to obscure a peaceful silver lining.

Dozens killed in Moyale clashes

By EKUWAM ADOU Pre-election violence continues to rock Upper Eastern region Kenya, as scores are killed in renewed tribal clashes over the sharing of political seats in the upcoming General elections.

Unconfirmed reports put the death toll to over twenty people killed in the past month of fighting between warring Borana and Gabra communities angling for the upcoming gubernatorial elective positions in the incoming devolved government.

Among those killed was a chief accused of being involved in the conflict while dozens of houses were set ablaze by hand grenades.

Conflicting reports on the death toll emerged as the government put the death toll at five, while civilians including local leaders put the figure at over 20.

Moyale District Commissioner Elias Kithaura said intense fighting between the two communities had been going on for the last month.

“The bloodletting has intensified; heavy gunfire is heard from all directions. But the battleground is border town of Butte about two kilometres from the town centre,” said Kithaura.

Upper Eastern Regional Commissioner Isaiah Nakoru said authorities could not establish the number of those who have died due to intensity of the battle adding that five bodies had been collected by the police.

The administrator in Moyale said, “we are unable to ascertain the number of those killed or injured but it is not possible that more have been killed given the scenario.”

Reports indicate that the conflict took a new dimension where combatants used weapons such as machine guns, mortar, grenade and bazooka.

The Kenya army has been deployed

Majority Kenyans still ignorant of the contents of the new constitution

By JANE CHEROTICH

Anne Imoit nursing bullets wounds at Isiolo District Hospital. Fighting between warring Borana and Gabra communities has left tens of people killed and dozens of houses torched. Picture: Ekuwam Adou to quell the violence which is threatening to go out of hand.

The regular, administration and General Service Unit were overwhelmed by the intensity of the fighting between the two sides, prompting the intervention of the army based at Odha camp.

“The security limited its patrol to the town centre as war went on in the surrounding villages. Nothing was done until 2pm when the army intervened,’’ said a Moyale trader.

The conflict that had claimed about 30 lives as at December last year, has left more than 10,000 Kenyans camping in Ethiopia’s Region Four and Five and 80 per cent of local schools closed.

Both locals and the Kenya National Cohesion and Integration Commission attributed politics of the next county elections as the major cause of the conflict.

The fighting which has degenerated into street violence between the two rival communities, has heightened political temperatures in Marsabit county.

The Dominant Borana and Gabra communities are gunning up for governorship of the upcoming Marsabit County in the coming general elections.

The Gabra are building a formidable political alliance with other fringe communities including Burji, Rendille, Turkana, and Garre which is threatening the political power grip of the dominant Borana community.

Political analysts view the current skirmishes as a ploy to destabilise and create fear and anarchy among the communities working on a political alliance.

The violence coming ahead of general elections is seen as a smokescreen and a painful reminder of the effects of 2008 post-election violence.

Over 90 percent of Kenyan citizens have not read and understood the Constitution despite the fact that the first general elections under a new Constitutional framework are around the corner, according to an NGO. The Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA), CEO Stephen Mutoro made the claim during a one day meeting with residents of Busia and its environs held at a hotel in the town.

The meeting was geared towards sensitisation of the area residents on devolution and devolved government in preparations for the elections.

“We are discussing devolution in terms of leadership and we are hoping to provoke people to elect their leaders wisely, election will not be business as usual this time round,” Mutoro said.

KARA’s, assessment revealed that a whooping 90 percent of residents had not read the crucial chapter 6 of the Constitution on leadership and integrity.

Mutoro reiterated that the provisions of chapter 6 which dwell on leadership and integrity needed more attention as the country is preparing to go to the polls.

Citing the case of the Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, the CEO urged the residents to seek for leaders who have no skeletons in their closets as this would save them time and embarrassments when such leaders would be vetted.

Over one hundred participants attended the forum which brought

together youth, women and community based organisations to deliberate on various issues relating to the devolved government under the new Constitution.

“We chose Busia in Western province because it is the boarder county neighboring Siaya, Bungoma and Uganda,” Mutoro told journalists at the close of the meeting.

The former coordinator National Tax Payers Association Kizito Wangalwa who is also eying the governor’s seat in Busia County noted that very few women were seeking for leadership positions in the county.

This, he lamented, despite the fact that there are more women than men in the county.

“We also need to focus on provisions of chapter four of the Constitution on marginalized groups and in our case it is women,” Kizito said.

Kizito urged the residents to seek information that will enable them have democratic and accountable governance. He also pointed out that Busia residents should engage in what would bind them with their leaders.

Through the discussions, the county residents were enlightened on their rights and how to demand for them as envisaged in the new Constitution.

KARA is the apex body representing the voice and pro-active action of resident associations on consumers and taxpayers rights countrywide. It has so far held its forums in sixteen counties and will be moving to Rwanda and Tanzania this month.

14

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Looting leaves a skeleton out of the giant Mountex

By PAUL MWANIKI Mothers came with their daughters and stole office cabinets while fathers and their sons uprooted heavy metals for sale at the various scrap metal dealers in town and not even the wire mesh and chain link fence that surrounded the factory was spared.

This is the sad story of a firm that was once a major source of employment to residents in and out of Laikipia County, but now it is a shell of empty and roofless structures.

Linens, expensive cloths, threads and textiles to factories and traders across the country originated from here but currently scrap metal dealers have reduced it to a crust.

The famous Mt Kenya Textiles or Mountex in Nanyuki town as it is referred to by many is no more.

Receivership

Put under receivership during the Moi era after running into losses following the introduction of mitumba in the country, Mountex remained closed but was later to be sold to private developers who did little to reclaim its fame in the textile industry and collapsed even before people could notice it had reopened.

The textile industry initially employed over 3,000 staff who were working in shifts to meet the demand for its products locally and abroad.

At the same time, the company caused migration of people from parts of central Kenya who moved to Nanyuki in search of employment from the famed company.

According to Nanyuki mayor Isaac Mathenge, the industry built in 1974 was promising in making fabrics of the kitenge and khanga variety.

However, its legacy did not last long as with the introduction of mitumbas it kept on and off through late 1990s until its closure in 2000.

During the close down, sources say, it was coowned by an Indian investor and a former powerful minister during KANU era from Nyanza.

Looting

It was then put under G4S that have been providing security for years but allegedly withdrew for non-payment of services.

The exit of G4S saw the entry of hungry Kenyans into the vast warehouses and processing section in search of anything that was valuable.

First it was the expensive electrical installations ranging from transformers and copper wire and in less than two weeks the entire factory’s electrical installations were gone without a trace.

Since the looting started, the absence of police in protecting private property was eminent

but later it emerged from the same looters that the police were always there but instead of protecting they collaborated with them in sharing the loot and even in giving security where necessary.

A police officer attached to Nanyuki Police Station who did not know what was happening and only came to learn later told the Reject on condition of anonymity that looters were parting with between KSh20,000 and KSh30,000 depending on the load that one came out with from the factory.

Scrap dealers

Booming scrap metal business in the country opened the eyes of dealers around Nanyuki who found the right place for the much needed materials.

A dealer who sought anonymity said they were being crucified alone while they carried out the whole business with police officers.

“After seeing how the officers were exploiting us when we took our vehicles to the factory, we have now withdrawn and are only buying the scrap from youths and children who go there and manage to come out,” explained the dealer.

To ascertain this, tens of young boys can be seen at the gates of scrap metal yards early in the morning with their night loot waiting for buyers to open.

Due to the increase for demand on scrap metal from the factory, the dealer said the prices have gone down and initially a kilo which was going for KSh25 is now being sold at KSh15.

With thousand of machines installed in the industrial unit, lorries were parked outside at night and one by one they came out full of scrap metal.

A suspect who was later arrested blamed

“We have called the purported owner of the factory but he seems unconcerned at all about the whole issue and it becomes a very difficult issue by the police to arraign in court suspects without a complainant.”

— Joshua Lutukai, Laikipia East police boss

The different perspectives of the dilapidated Mountex Textiles industry in Nanyuki town after looters of scrap metal, timber and other materials invaded it following its collapse in late 90s. Pictures: Paul Mwaniki the police for arresting the small fish while the dealers were going scot-free after allegedly bribing the officer with huge amounts of money.

Laikipia East District Commissioner Isaac Mathenge who severally visited the factory at the height of the looting warned that anybody who will be found pillaging would be arrested and prosecuted. This warning seems to have fallen on deaf years as even after the threat, the uprooting of iron sheets which is the only feature left covering few buildings was going on.

Neighbours were seen in broad daylight ferrying metal bars, timbers, iron sheets, cardboards and even chemicals from the plant.

To ease their work, they first set half of the unit on fire and then opened the door to more looting while the billowing smoke brought attention to those far away and on arrival it was party time.

“Our fire fighters had to rush to the factory several times in a day only to find people busy transporting metal bars from the burnt buildings,” said Mathenge.

Denied allegations

Currently Nanyuki Police Station and Administration Police Camp at Majengo compounds are stuffed with iron sheets and metal bars recovered after raids by the police.

Dozens of people have also been arraigned in court and charged with trespass which is a relatively fair charge. If one pleads guilty, he/she is released on between KSh500 to KSh1,000 and after release they go back to looting.

Laikipia East police boss Joshua Lutukai at-

tributed this to lack of a complainant to push the cases further.

“We have called the purported owner of the factory but he seems unconcerned at all about the whole issue and it becomes a very difficult issue by the police to arraign in court suspects without a complainant,” noted Lutukai.

However, he denied involvement by the police in looting or whatsoever collaborating with the looters in giving them security.

“Let anybody who has evidence that my officers are taking bribes come to me directly and report the matter and I will launch investigations,” urged the police boss.

Dwindling hope

The DC, though too late, has placed permanent security at the firm but only after everything that mattered had been taken away.

Meanwhile the hopes of thousands of residents of Nanyuki who had high hopes that the one time source of employment would resume operations, a promise that was given after NARC Government took over in 2002 have dwindled.

Anthony Gitonga who used to work in the colouring department and now an employee of the Council noted that during those days they would work in shifts and it was one of the busiest places he ever worked.

“Now after the damage I do not think this factory will ever resume business, only a section of the housing is remaining and without roof and it would mean starting from ground zero if anything,” observed a worried Gitonga.

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Another four years before Malaria vaccine is ready

By HENRY OWINO Africa nations and other continents infested with malaria will have to wait a little longer before receiving a malaria vaccine that will see the eradication of the disease completely in the regions.

The researchers said for the vaccine to be officially qualified as viable, it must also be tested on younger children to confirm its effectiveness for the purposes of all age groups in human-beings to benefit.

According to Tsiri Agbenyega, Chief Principal Investigator of the trial and Chair of the Clinical Trials Partnership Committee it is encouraging the early data from the Phase 3 Clinical Trials suggest that if all continues to go well as it is now, a viable malaria vaccine could be available within the next The researchers behind the RTS, S Malaria Vaccine for Africa and the world. The vaccine is said five years. to be in its third stage of development and for it to be viable, it must also be tested on younger Agbenyega pointed out the first results from the Phase Three effica- children to confirm its effectiveness for the purposes of all age groups in human-beings to benefit. cy trial will be available by the end Pictures: Henry Owino and Christopher Nelson Photography of 2011 for five to seven month-old children with subsequent results This will, therefore, pave the way He observed that severe ma- malaria parasite when it first enters to be reported in 2012 for six to 12 for decisions by African nations re- laria episodes so far reported in the human host’s bloodstream and week-old infants and in 2014 for garding large-scale implementation all 15,460 infants and children en- /or when parasite infects liver cells. longer-term protection. of the vaccine through their respec- rolled in the trial at six weeks to 17 It is designed to prevent the parasite tive national immunisation pro- months of age has been performed. from infecting, maturing and multigrammes (EPI).

It showed that 35 percent efficacy plying in the liver, and from re-enAgbenyega said: “These results According to Christopher Elias, over a follow-up period ranging be- tering the bloodstream and infecting confirm findings from previous former President and Chief Execu- tween zero to 22 months, an aver- red blood cells, at which point the Phase Two studies and support on- tive Officer of PATH malaria kills age of 11.5 months. affected person would begin to show going efforts to advance the devel- close to 800,000 people a year in the If a safe and effective vaccine is symptoms of the disease. opment of this malaria vaccine can- world and sickens tens of millions invented, it would be an important didate.” He added: “Having worked more, most of who are children in component of a comprehensive in Malaria research for more than Sub-Saharan Africa.

Agbenyega observed that a study malaria control programme and 25 years, I can attest to how difficult Elias noted that the RTS, S vac- potentially save hundreds of thou- in children five to seven months making progress against this disease cine is now on the third stage of its sands of lives specifically in Africa. of age living in Kenya and Tanzahas been. Sadly, many have resigned trial since the first clinical test reAccording to Andrew Witty, nia showed that the RTS, S malaria themselves to malaria being a fact of search was carried out in adults in Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoS- vaccine candidate had a promising life in Africa.”

USA and Belgium, in 1992. mithKline (GSK) the RTS, S is the safety and tolerability profile and The study is on the final stages in He noted in Africa, the first tri- most clinically advanced malaria reduced the risk of children experievaluating the efficacy and safety of als were done in Gambia and Kenya vaccine candidate in the world to- encing clinical malaria by 39 percent the vaccine candidate in infants and in 1995 and now more advance- day. He added that in clinical trials, over a 12 month follow-up period. young children on large scale be- ments have been made and “indeed it was the first to demonstrate that Results of a study in Gabon, fore regulatory file submission. The there is some light being seen ahead it could help protect young children Ghana and Tanzania in six to ten vaccine is being developed in part- indicating the end of the long tun- and infants in malaria-endemic ar- week-old infants showed that the nership by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) nel”. eas against infection and clinical RTS, S malaria vaccine candidate and the PATH Malaria Vaccine IniThe trial, conducted at 11 sites in disease caused by Plasmodium fal- also has an acceptable safety profile tiative (MVI), together with promi- seven countries across Sub-Saharan ciparum, the most deadly species of when administered alongside stannent African research centres. dard infant vaccines that are part of Africa, showed that three doses of the malaria parasite.

The funding comes from a grant RTS, S reduced the risk of children Witty noted that partners in- existing African national immunisaby the Bill Gates the co-chair of the experiencing clinical malaria and volved in the development of RTS, tion programmes, called the World Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation severe malaria by 56 percent and S have placed the utmost empha- Health Organization Expanded Proto MVI who are all in Clinical Trial 47 percent, respectively. The analy- sis on the health and safety of the gramme on Immunisation (WHOPartnership Committee which is re- sis was performed on data from the study participants. He clarified EPI). sponsible for the conduct of the trials. first 6,000 children aged five to 17 that the Phase Three trial has been “Recently published efficacy data The amount of money expected months, over a 12 month period fol- designed in consultation with the from this study showed that the to be spent before the final comple- lowing vaccination. appropriate regulatory authorities RTS, S malaria vaccine candidate tion of the project is more than reduced the risk of children experiand the WHO. $600Million both from Bill Gates “It is, therefore, conducted in encing clinical malaria by 62 percent Foundation, PATH Malaria VacElias emphasised: “The PATH accordance with the highest inter- over a 12 month period,” said Witty. cine Initiative and GSK. Based on the successful trials to Malaria Vaccine Initiative mis- national standards for safety, ethics The scientists from across Eu- sion it to deliver a vaccine to the and clinical practices and is over- date, GSK, MVI and leading African rope, North America and Africa children of Africa so that instead seen by an independent data safety research institutions are continusaid they came up with a scientific of carrying near lifeless babies to monitoring committee,” observed ing with clinical trials on infants name known as RTS, S given to the crowded paediatric wards, mothers Witty. and young children, Witty said they malaria vaccine candidate that rep- will carry their infants past noisy Now the RTS, S aims to trig- are the most vulnerable groups and resents the composition of the vac- school playing grounds to bustling ger the immune system to defend those who would benefit most from cine candidate. immunization clinics.” against Plasmodium falciparum an effective malaria vaccine.

Final stages

Reduced risk

Children vaccine

Recommendations

It is now on stage three of development and subject to the evaluation of its safety, quality and efficacy, as well as its benefits and risks, by the regulatory authorities before being made available.

However, if the required public health information, including safety and efficacy data from the Phase Three programme is deemed satisfactory, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has indicated that a policy recommendation for the RTS, S malaria vaccine candidate is possible as early as 2015.

15

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

“The PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative mission it to deliver a vaccine to the children of Africa so that instead of carrying near lifeless babies to crowded paediatric wards, mothers will carry their infants past noisy school playing grounds to bustling immunisation clinics.”

— Christopher Elias, former President and Chief Executive Officer of PATH

New treatment to manage asthma launched

By AYOKI ONYANGO Asthma is a serious disease that affects many people globally. Medical experts are worried about the disease’s soaring cases in recent years.

“People with asthma usually feel that they cannot enjoy life to the full, but new treatments now enable asthmatics to take better control of the disease,” says Miriam Ndambuki, senior manager with AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical firm.

She adds: “Although asthma cannot be cured, people with asthma can now, more than ever, enjoy healthier fuller lives.”

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways that causes symptoms, which include shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness and coughing.

A recent study has shown that the majority of asthma survivors are not well informed and tend to overuse their relievers (rescue inhalers), using them daily to treat their symptoms.

Sometimes both drugs are available together in a single inhaler and this can make it easier for you to control your asthma.

Symbicort is one such example.

Symbicort, which is available on doctor’s prescription is a combination inhaler that contains both a reliever and a controller, meaning that it can be used both for quick relief as well as for long term treatment of airway inflammation, says Ndambuki.

Symbicort SMART (Symbicort Maintenance And Reliever Therapy) is a new treatment approach that allows patients to use their Symbicort inhaler for both relief and maintenance. Symbicort is the first and only inhaler that has been licensed for use in this convenient way.

“The Symbicort SMART approach is recognised by international asthma bodies and is considered to significantly reduce asthma attacks and improve the quality of life for the patients,” explains Ndambuki.

She noted: “With this new approach, many people with asthma can now look forward to a future in which they will need less medication to control their symptoms more effectively.”

Ndambuki notes that people whose condition is not well controlled have poor quality of life as evidenced by lack of sleep, absence from work and school as well as limited activity.

Ndambuki is not exactly clear on what causes asthma.

“We know that if someone in your family has asthma, you are more likely to develop it or inherit it,” she told a medical workshop at a Nairobi hotel.

Some people get asthma by being exposed to things like pollen, dust, cold air, cigarette smoke, and even cockroaches.

Ndambuki reveals that there are two types of asthma medicines: Relievers also called rescue inhalers, which work very quickly by opening the air passages to help the patient breath during an Asthma attack.

Controllers work by preventing the inflammation. Controllers should be taken every day even when there are no symptoms of asthma.

16

ISSUE 056, February 16-29, 2012

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Trading motherhood for a miserable KSh3200

By CAROLYNE OYUGI

After an hour boat ride from Luanda Rombo beach in Suba district, I finally arrived at Ngodhe Island. It is a small island inhabited by the Luo community and their main economic activity is fishing.

It is a quiet place, except for the children who are playing in the water at the shallow end of the lake shore and the youth playing pool in front of the Beach Management Unit office.

I am in a foreign land and I know no one is searching for the truth about something big that is happening in this small island. People here are looking at me with suspicion and at some point I feel like maybe I am different.

I am later told by Kennedy, the fisherman who brought me by his boat that this place never had visitors until Project Prevention, an organisation that pays women to have long term contraceptives started its activity here.

“For that reason if you are not a fisherman or a fish monger then you must be here for Project Prevention.”

Of course he is right. I am here to talk to women who had intrauterine devices (IUD) devices inserted in their reproductive organs.

The women who agreed to undergo this procedure were paid a one-time cash payment of $40.

Project Prevention

According to Willis (he only goes by one name), the country co-ordinator of Project Prevention whom I talked to on phone, these women are poor, sick and too weak to have children.

Philip Leonard, the Nyanza coordinator of Project Prevention echoes the same views.

According to Leonard, this project was introduced on the island because the inhabitants

are very poor with limited sources of income.

They depend on the Lake for everything and this makes it very hard for them to meet their financial obligations.

The rate of HIV prevalence in this region and particularly on this island is also alarming. “Kudni ng’eny e mier kaa. ngeyo ngama tuo gi ng’ama ngima tek, (the virus has mutated so much in most households that it is hard to tell who has it and who does not),” says Rose Owino, a fish monger in the island.

I finally get to Eunice Otieno’s house. She is

a middle aged woman with three children. She welcomes us to her house and says a prayer before offering us seats.

She lives in a doubled room mud walled house and signs of poverty are evident in this house although she has managed to keep it neat.

After being introduced by Leonard, Otieno finally narrates her journey from when she contracted the virus to the present situation.

Otieno found out that she was HIV positive when she was pregnant with her last born child.

“I had gone to visit my sister in Homa Bay town when she urged me to attend the ante-natal care at the district hospital. I have always given birth at home and so I was not very keen about attending the clinic but she convinced me,” Otieno explains.

Testing

“He told me that it is not healthy for a HIV positive woman to keep giving birth, the process of child bearing especially during delivery is not good for my health.”

— Eunice Otieno

At the ante-natal clinic she had to undergo the compulsory HIV test for pregnant women and that is when she found out that she was HIV positive.

“I always knew about HIV and I knew how much it had affected many families around me but I never thought I would fall victim one day,” she lamented.

Her daughter was born negative, thanks to her sister’s interventions and her decision to give birth at the hospital.

Through Leonard she got to learn about Project Prevention who told her of its benefits.

“He told me that it is not healthy for a HIV positive woman to keep giving birth, the process of child bearing especially during delivery is not good for my health,” Otieno explains adding that she was advised to have an IUD planted on her so she can stop giving birth for some period.

Otieno and other women formed a group

Executive Director: Rosemary Okello

Editor: Jane Godia Sub-Editors: Florence Sipalla and Mercy Mumo

Ngodhe island as seen from Luanda Rombo beach in Suba District. The rate of HIV prevalence in the region is said to be high thus women being discouraged to give birth.

Pictures: Carolyne Oyugi

of 24 women. The ten women who accepted to have the operation were then given $40 (KSh3,200) to start a business. The women have been running a fish pond, from which they sell the fish.

“The others who turned down the offer were either stopped by their husbands and other family members while the rest thought the money was too little,” she says.

Otieno accepted to go through with the process because she needed the money badly.

Fish dependent

“My husband and I depend on the fish from the Lake to cater for our needs, at times my husband who is also living with the virus gets too weak to go fishing and those days are very tough for us,” explains Otieno adding that it was the only way to get money so she accepted.

Her husband also holds the same opinion.

“I was first reluctant about this project because I still need more children but we were also in a very bad financial state and so I accepted,” he said adding that it is easier to fish from the fish pond than in the lake.

He is, however, quick to add that the money that they were given was not enough for the fish keeping project that they started.

They have constructed the fish pond and put the fingerlings but they still need to fence it so as to keep thieves and animals away yet they have run out of money.

However, Otieno is reluctant to say when she plans to have the next child or at least how long she intends to stay with the IUD which to me raises questions of whether she is well informed of what she has involved herself in.

Either she did not get enough information of the process of she has a reason to hide some facts.

Write to:

info@mediadiversityafrica.org

Designer: Noel Lumbama

Contributors: Kariuki Mwangi, Ben Oroko, Dido wa Dido, David Njagi, Caroline Wangechi, Karani Kelvin, Kigondu Ndavano, Ekuwam Adou, Carolyne Oyugi, Robert Wanjala, Ken Ndambu, Jeff Kirui, George Omonso, Joy Monday, Nick Odhiambo, Waikwa Maina, Odhiambo Odhiambo, Jirongo Luyali, Ryan Mathenge, Lydia Ngoolo, David Njagi, Paul Mwaniki, Ekuwam Adou, Jane Cherotich and Henry Owino. www.mediadiversityafrica.org

The paper is produced with funds from