Assistant registrar of political parties, Florence Birya (Photo Courtesy)
The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties(ORPP) is conducting civic education programmes for aspirants ahead of the on coming party primaries and August general elections.
The forum which aims at sensitizing MCA’s on matters relating to new political parties Amendment Act across the country before the August polls.
According to the Assistant Registrar of Political parties Madam Florence Birya, the program is just in time to educate aspirants on the new regulations and management of general elections
“Today we are here to sensitize MCA’s on matters of political parties Act, party membership registration, elligibity criteria and political patties code of Conduct,” she said.
Madam Birya further noted that they have made proper arrangements of registration of political parties and their members before the on coming party primaries.
“We are just in time to complete the registration of the parties and their members by March 26th which is the deadline,” she noted.
With less than a week before the deadline, the office cited the need for the members to verify the parties they have been registered in.
This comes after concerns were raised by the various individuals were registered in parties that they were not alligned to.
The office has since launched a system to verify members being registered in various political parties.
“We have reviewed the registration procedure to allow our office to verify the members being registered in the political parties by sending them a code which they can use for confirmation.”
The High court has dismissed a case seeking to have IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati sentenced to civil jail for denying ODM leader Raila Odinga access to servers used in the 2017 general election.
Activist Khelef Khalifa argued that Chebukati failed to obey the court orders to open the servers in the presidential petition.
“To date, they have not allowed the people of Kenya access to the servers. This is not only contempt of the orders of this court. As we approach the election, the court should send a warning that any contempt of its orders will not go unpunished,” Kahlifa stated.
However,Justice Hedwig Ong’udi dismissed the case on Friday for lack of jurisdiction.
A Preliminary Objection raised by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) challenging the Court’s jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter was also upheld by the judge.
In August 2017, the Supreme Court nullified president Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory and ordered IEBC to allow the petitioners and court-appointed information technology experts read-only access to the servers.
Sauti sol’s Bien Aime Baraza has blasted the German embassy for mistreating the band during a recent European visit.
According to Bien,the embassy had their time wasted making them arrive late at the Baraza Media Lab for the Shahara platform launch.
The group had visited the embassy to collect VISA’s for their upcoming tour where they were held for three hours.
Bien narrated their experience while apologising for the band lateness to the event.
“I first of all, want to apologise for not being here on time. It is very unlike Sauti Sol to not be on time. We have had a career that’s so long, I don’t think you get this far if you don’t have respect for time,” he said.
“We were down the road at the German embassy collecting our Visas for our upcoming European tour, and what was a 5-minute process became a 3-hour process. That is the most undignifying and disrespectful way, to treat an African content creator who is at the top of their game in their country,” furthered Bien.
He later on took to social media to express his anger to all Western embassies based on the continent saying they should respect and have dignity to those they’re mandated to serve.
“Western embassies must treat African Visa applicants with dignity. We are not going to beg. We will be taxed. Our time is valuable. Africans working in these spaces must be careful not to perpetuate neo-colonialism in the line of duty. It’s disgusting,” wrote Bien.
Sauti Sol joined the Shahara initiative, a platform that provides content creators with an avenue for delivering content to their subscribers and earning from it as creative co-founders.
Popular gospel singer, Kevin Kioko popularly known as Bahati is officially in the Mathare parliamentary seat under the Jubilee Party’s ticket.
Speaking after the parliament session on Friday,the musician said that he will be vying with the Jubilee Party under the Azimio la Umoja movement.
“It has been a very long time since we had a leader born and raised in Mathare. I wish to officially declare that I am running for the parliamentary seat of Mathare on a Jubilee Party ticket,” he said.
Bahati stated that he will be vying for the position because he understands the problems of the residents.
“Our people have been crying over the same issues and because they are led by people who were raised outside who fail to understand the problems of the people,” he said.
The singer was unveiled by Kieni Member of Parliament Kanini Kega and other officials of the Jubilee party at the Parklands headquarters.
Kega welcomed the musician to the party noting that they will help him through the political journey.
“Welcome to the party. You will be taken around so that you can tell us which party you will be vying for. We have tickets for all positions except the presidency,” stated Kega.
Bahati had earlier released a hit song in collaboration with ODM leader Raila Odinga dubbed Fire seeking to popularize Odinga’s presidential candidature.
Bahati will now face the incumbent Anthony Oluoch who is vying under the ODM party ticket.
“After I lost weight, there was the whole plus size community who came to me, asking how i did it, it was a personal decision, all I can say is be happy in your skin.”
This were the sentiments from Kalekye Mumo after revealing that she had gone through a liposuction procedure.
After strugglling with weight issues for a long time the media personality was only left with one option after the doctors warning of the belly over her weight.
“My doctor said if I dont’t lose this weight, i could get a blood clot, that is when I took the issue seriously,” she said.
Mumo shed off 40kilograms after enrolling with a Fat Loss Lab where she underwent a liposuction procedure to get the different look.
Kalekye Mumo (Photo Courtesy)
Liposuction
Cosmetic surgery is a lucrative business that is in the world.
Africa has only few centres that offer this services since its expensive and requires specialists with years of experience.
Liposuction, a technique in cosmetic surgery that removes excess fat from under the skin by suction.
The procedure is usually done when dieting and exercise have not been able to get rid of the undesirable fat deposits.
While the procedure requires a lot of risks, most women are willing to put themselves through it just to fit in or flaunt their body.
With a few doing it for health reasons, others want to be perfect and happy in their skin and for some, just to impress.
Liposuction has been there since way back but Kenyans are embracing the new trend.
On the risk
Just like Mumo, popular radio and TV personality, Risper Faith and podcaster Murugi Munyi also made their way to try out the procedure.
Two years ago Risper Faith had a baby, she put on weight during the pregnancy, and the extra pounds of fat were too much for her affecting her self-esteem.
“I haven’t worn a bikini since the birth of my son. I was not confident of wearing one because I felt uneasy since I had lost my sexy look. I needed my body shape back and boost my self-esteem as a woman,” she said.
Nine Kilograms of fat was sucked out of her stomach and lower back getting her back body.
Risper Faith (photo courtesy)
“My husband and I had been looking for a solution to bring my body back to shape. When we heard of Body by Design Kenya, and that a liposuction procedure would cost sh.450, 000, we were excited and decided to do it hoping that the result would turn out perfect,” she added.
Few weeks ago Murugi Munyi,a co-host of the popular TMI podcast,went through the procedure losing 8.7 litres of fat.
Munyi shared her happiness on social media saying she was satisfied with the outcome.
“The procedure went well and I’m recovering, the pain medication I’m on are real strong, so I’ve been in and out of sleep since Thursday afternoon. Recovery is hard but we are taking it one step at a time, one day at a time,” she stated.
The podcaster noted that the most difficult part of the experience was managing pain and that she was taking the time to rest.
Murugi further explained to her fans that her recovery would take a considerable amount of time, promising to give details once she is fully recovered.
Murugi Munyi (photo courtesy)
Beauty is pain
The expensive procedure comes with a lot of complications and one has to ascertain a number of things before trying it.
Some of the complications include bleeding, reaction anaesthesia and the healing process is not easy.
The procedure costs Sh350,000 to Sh800,000 on the lower end.
Netflix may soon charge extra amount for accounts that share passwords.
In a post the company stated it will be testing two new features in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru which will change how passwords are shared between accounts.
“We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix accounts with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans. While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared,” read the post.
“As a result, accounts are being shared between households – impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members,” it added.
Netflix noted that its coming up with new features which will curb the sharing of adding an extra member and transferring of profile to new accounts.
“Add an Extra Member: Members of Standard and Premium plans will be able to add sub accounts for up to two people they don’t live with – each with their own profile, personalized recommendations, login and password – at a lower price of 2,380 CLP(Sh341.76) in Chile, in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN (Sh242.23) in Peru,” read the statement.
“Transfer Profile to a New Account: Members on the Basic, Standard, and Premium plans can enable people who share their account to transfer profile information either to a new account or an Extra Member sub account. This will enable viewing of history, My List, and personalized recommendations, “it furthered.
Netflix says they making this changes in their business to keep up with their competitors and to change their revenue.
This moves seems to end the era of sharing passwords with friends and pay monthly re for sharing.
Jubilee has kicked out Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi as its Senate Majority Chief Whip days after joining United Democratic Alliance(UDA) party.
The Party’s Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni, said on Thursday that Wamatangi’s decision to decamp to UDA Party, which is headed by Deputy President William Ruto has been interpreted as his resignation from the party.
“Hon. Senator Paul Kimani Wamatangi immediately ceases to hold the office of Majority Chief Whip in the Senate,” said Kioni.
Wamatangi joined UDA during a Kenya Kwanza rally in Thika, Kiambu County on 13th March.
Kioni said the National Management Committee validated the party’s decision to kick out Wamatangi.
Wamatangi was given until on Thursday 17th to file an appeal against the decision he made.
Senator Wamatangi agreed that he was ready to face any disciplinary action against him by the Jubilee Party after his defection through an interview on Citizen TV.
“This morning, I received a text inviting me to State House and was very clear that all elected leaders from the Mt Kenya region are invited. I know I am not the agenda but if my de-whipping comes, I am ready for it,” said Wamatangi.
“I have never been beholden to any position and if they feel it is my time to go so be it,” he furthered.
Wamatangi was appointed as the Majority Chief Whip in the senate on February 9,2021 after Irungu Kang’ata held the position for 9 months.
The Government through the National Oil Corporation of Kenya now aims at controlling the price of cooking gas in the country which has hit an all time high.
30 percent of cooking gas will be imported by the corporation in a move aimed at forcing the private importers to lower the prices of Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) and the retail price.
This follows the review of regulations that reserve 30 percent of cooking gas imports to the State corporation hence influencing the market prices.
“The Petroleum Products Quota Allocation shall be as set out in the First Schedule and the purpose of the quota allocation will be to ensure price stabilisation in an unregulated pricing regime,” says Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
The Rising Cost
The price of 13 kilogramme of cooking gas retails at sh3400 from sh2250 ahead of the start of government financial year in June where the government will impose 16 percent in tax.
This has caused most of the households to be out of reach of the commodities.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused the imposition of Value Added Tax(VAT) and margins by the dealers have combined to cause the high level price of cooking gas in Kenya.
Unlike diesel, petrol and kerosene that are adjusted on 15th of every month, cooking gas is not controlled and as a result the private investors control the market hence dictating the price of commodity.
Nation Oil’s gas imports will be stored at the new Kipevu Oil Terminal, which is nearing completion, and it will enable the government to control the wholesale prices.
Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga has said that he will change the Kenya’s current debt portfolio if he emerges victorious in the August polls.
Speaking at Chatham House in London on Wednesday, Raila said that the country’s bad economy has caused poverty and stalled local economic development.
“Kenya is now approaching US $100 billion (Ksh.10 trillion) in public debt. This puts Kenya in the group of “the most debt-stressed” middle and lower-income developing countries now being forced into IMF credit and IMF supervised austerity programs,” he said.
The Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate cited that the issue should be addressed to save Kenya’s economy from falling into a fiscal abyss.
Odinga also noted that he will renegotiate for Kenyans to have punitive interest rate at the expense of their livelihoods.
“We have no choice in the matter. We will have to seek the indulgence and cooperation of our development partners to renegotiate our debt. I will also audit our debt to establish its actual size,” said Odinga.
He attributed that the country’s debt is contributed by corruption and Kleptocracy, adding that his government will make sure Kenya does not fall into debts.
“Gross Public Debt increased from 44.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010 to 69% of the GDP at the end of 2020, reflecting high deficits, explained by the financing of infrastructure projects whose costs are quite often inflated due to bureaucratic corruption,” he said.
“We will mount a serious war on corruption. Corruption as it manifests today is a global phenomenon. In future, we will strive to borrow at a favorable interest rate, negotiate repayment periods that are not stressful, and invest in enterprises that give good social and economic returns,” he furthered.
Odinga also said that his government will supplement devolution budget for different counties from 15 per cent to 35 per cent.
“A central government does best when it governs least at the local level,” he added.
Arrow Bwoy has finally responded to Otile Brown after he demanded their song pulled down from You Tube.
Otile Brown took to social media on Monday and demanded that their song in the ‘Focus’ album be pulled down claiming that it was unfinished and he had warned Arrow Bwoy not to release it.
“Why drop an album with an old unfinished song after I warned you severally not to release it..is it really worth it though ,I have been nothing but good to you …take it down please,” said Otile Brown.
Speaking to Radio Maisha Arrow Bwoy called out Otile’s decision of taking the fight to social media saying that they could have had a peaceful talk.
The ‘digidigi’ hitmaker further noted that fighting with one another benefits neither of them and if the two sides cannot agree, their management will intervene to resolve the situation.
“Aliingia kwa studio akapenda vibe yangu, akaingia ndani ya ngoma, kuanzia apo ngoma tulianza kuunda na ikafika mahali ngoma ikakuwa sawa, kwa saa ii ata staki kuongelea vitu kama izo…,” he said.
“Kama kuna issue, management yangu ita-link up na yeye coz mimi I don’t believe in war, I believe in peace, I believe in love, that’s how we grow…sifaidiki kitu yoyote mimi kupigana na Otile Brown…normally hata kama kuna issue, we have each other’s number, halla at me my brother,” furthered Arrow Bwoy.
The sensational musician said that if they don’t reach a peaceful agreement, he’ll have to take down the song because he has a lot of songs in his name.
“At the end of the day hakuna kitu haishindikani,kama management yetu haitaelewana..,Arrow Bwoy ako na catalogue ya kutosha ,nimefanya ngoma mob sana kuitoa haina issue kwangu kama incase itashindikana ,”said Arrow Bwoy.
