On November 11, police further urged youth to shun drug abuse, alcoholism, and bad groups. Police in Lyantonde District are investigating circumstances under which a 23-year-old man murdered his father over land wrangles.
The suspect, Vincent Nuwahereza, reportedly murdered Valentino Turyatunga, 55, who is a resident of Bikokola A Village, Mpumudde Sub County in Lyantonde District.
According to area resident and eyewitness Enos Byamukama who reported the case to police on Thursday evening, the duo picked a quarrel as they were having supper when the deceased rejected the son’s proposal to sell part of the family land.
“The boy suggested to his father to sell part of the family land to enable him to buy a boda boda. When the father rejected the issue, the angry son picked a club and hit the father on the head, leaving him unconscious,” Mr Byamukama said on Friday.
He added that neigbours tried to save Mr Turyatunga by rushing him to Lyantonde Hospital, but he died on the way.
The Southern regional police spokesperson Mr Muhammad Nsubuga confirmed the incident saying Byamukama will be charged with murder when police investigations are complete.
“Those young boys don’t want to work and believe that they will get free things from their fathers,” Mr Nsubuga observed.
On November 11, Mr Nsubuga further urged youth to shun drug abuse, alcoholism, and bad groups. By Kennedy Kakembo, Daily Monitor
He said the fund would also help to mobilize the private sector and support a new training center in Egypt
In Summary
• The money will support the expansion of early warning systems.
• Will also provide disaster risk protection and strengthening food security.
US President Joe Biden addressing thousands of participants at the Conference of Parties (COP) 27 climate change summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt. Image:Courtesy
US President Joe Biden has pledged a down payment of more than Sh18 billion (150 million dollars) in initiatives that specifically support adaptation efforts throughout Africa.
“This will go towards support for expanding early warning systems to help cover Africa broadening access to climate financing, providing disaster risk protection, and strengthening food security,” said Biden.
He made the remarks while addressing thousands of participants at the Conference of Parties (COP) 27 climate change summit in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt.
He said the fund would also help to mobilize the private sector and support a new training center in Egypt to accelerate adaptation across the continent.
“It’s true, so many disasters and climate crises are hitting hard those countries and communities that have the fewest resources to respond and recover. That is why last year, I committed to working with our Congress to support climate finance and provide Sh1.3 trillion (11 billion dollars) annually by 2024, including Sh366 billion (3 billion dollars) for adaptation," he said.
“The emergency plan for adaptation and resilience fund will help more than half a billion people in developing countries respond to climate change. I am going to fight to see that this and other climate change objectives are fully funded."
The President apologized to the world when the US pulled out of the Paris Agreement in 2020.
He said his administration is meeting the climate crisis with urgency and with determination to ensure a cleaner, safer and healthier planet for all.
He said his administration has led with a bold agenda to address the climate crisis and increase energy security at home and around the world.
“We immediately rejoined the Paris Agreement. We convened major climate summits," he said.
He said during COP 26 summit in Glasgow, US helped deliver critical commitments to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
He said they have also ratified the Kigali Amendment to rally the world and phase down the production and consumption of greenhouse gases that are a thousand times more damaging than carbon dioxide.
“As the world's largest customer with more than 650 billion dollars in spending last year, the United States is putting our money where our mouth is. We are strengthening accountability for climate risk and resilience,” he said.
Biden said the climate crisis is about human, economic, environmental and NASA security and the very life of the planet.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the past eight years have been the warmest on record.
He said they are seeing historic drought, wildfires in the West of the US, and devastating hurricanes and storms in the East of the US.
Here in Africa, which it is home to many nations considered most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity, the continent has experienced a devastating drought in the Horn of Africa.
Meanwhile, the Niger River in West Africa is swollen because of more intense rainfall and is wreaking havoc on fishing and farming communities.
In Nigeria, flooding has recently killed 600 people. 1.3 million more are displaced, and seasonal livestock migration routes that have been used for hundreds of years are being altered. By Agatha Ngotho, The Star
Security and risk management experts, SF Group, are accusing a section of boda boda operators of being at the centre of criminal activities witnessed in Nairobi in recent days.
SF Group released an Advisory to Kenyans, warning them of potential perpetrators and risky areas to avoid as law enforcement strategises on ways forward.
In the advisory, they said the incidents mainly target pedestrians, traders and motorists, and increasingly feature the use of motorcycles and boda-boda taxis.
They said despite frequent operations conducted by the Nairobi County police surveillance teams, both plain-clothed and uniformed, muggings in the Nairobi CBD and along busy roads have continued.
“These operations reached a peak on November 4, when police arrested at least 200 motorcycle taxi (boda bodas) operators linked to criminal activity across the city,” they said.
They said affluent areas such as Kilimani, Karen as well as low-to-middle income settlements in Eastlands are often targeted in armed confrontations.
Others include Muthaiga, Kileleshwa, Gigiri, Lavington, Kitisuru and Westlands, which are often targeted for armed home invasions.
These areas traditionally experience higher levels of opportunist crime due to the density of commercial facilities, particularly at night.
“Criminals aboard boda-bodas survey and target these neighbourhoods and rob pedestrians of their phones and valuables at gunpoint,” they said.
Ken Onyango, Chairman of the Boda Boda Association in Nairobi, has, however termed the remarks as unfair adding that is wrong to categorise all motorcyclists as Boda Bodas.
"Boda boda is a business and many Kenyans in Nairobi use them to earn an honest living. Not all Boda bodas are criminals," he said.
He said the right term to use is motorcycles, as there are people who buy motorcycles to use for unknown personal use which could include, getting away from crime scenes faster.
"There is no regulation when buying a motorcycle, nobody asks what you intend to do with it," he said.
Boda-bodas are a popular means of transport across Kenya, but the sector, SF said, operates under minimal government regulation and little practical control.
“As a result, criminals use boda-bodas to conduct robberies as they are cheap, numerous, and very mobile even in heavy traffic, offering a quick means of escape from both foot and vehicle police patrols,” they said.
Timing victims
“Boda boda-mounted thieves operating in pairs, with one driving the motorcycle and the pillion passenger being armed, drive around likely target areas looking for potential victims to rob,” they said.
They approach victims, threaten them and demand cash and other valuables.
Where weapons are threatened, they said, the robbers are almost certainly willing to use lethal force
“Victims are usually walking or running in what appears to be a safe and well-frequented neighbourhood or they are typically out for lunch, walking, carrying cash while shopping, using or holding mobile phones, and have reduced levels of vigilance,” they said.
They then escape on the Boda bodas.
Usually, it is around evening time, but increasing numbers occur in daylight, a majority happening during the weekends.
Some incidents, they said, involve groups of thieves on several motorcycles.
Onyango stated that it is difficult to differentiate between a Boda boda and a private cyclist but on their part, they have registered their members after former Interior CS Fred Matiang'i's directive.
"We have gone further even to collect details of our members and giving them identity cards to and an extra number plate adjacent to the normal number plate which can be scanned to show their identity as boda boda riders," he said.
SF singled out Kilimani as one particular hotspot for muggings at gunpoint.
They said the area has recorded a rise in the frequency of express robberies over the past two months.
“One particular incident of concern was recorded on September 29, when two gunmen on a boda-boda robbed four German tourists on Kindaruma Road, Kilimani, in broad daylight, as they were boarding a van to head to the Nairobi National Park,” they said.
The gunmen fired warning shots to disperse a crowd that had gathered at the scene, before escaping towards Ngong Road with jewellery, passports and Sh16,000 in cash.
“Over the past several weeks, numerous robberies were recorded along George Padmore Road and Ngong Road, close to the Kindaruma Road area,” they said.
In other parts of the CBD, thieves target passengers while alighting from public vehicles to steal portable items such as mobile telephones, jewellery and cash.
“The rise in petty crime in the CBD is partly attributed to the change in political leadership that largely influenced a reshuffle of the security setup as well as at the Nairobi County Council,” they said.
Additionally, despite the high levels of private security man-guarding and vehicle patrol teams across the city, domestic burglaries and muggings remain a serious security concern in Nairobi.
“Vehicle theft is also increasing, with thieves typically targeting cars parked in unsecured, unmanned parking lots and outside business premises,” they said.
In several recorded incidents, they said, thieves have stolen large sums of cash from vehicles.
Onyango admits that he cannot rule out that a single boda boda in his association is not involved in criminal activity.
"Of course, there are others who may be involved in crimes. But we cannot say that the surge in crimes in the city is solely perpetrated by rogue Boda bodas," he said. - SELINA TEYIE, The Star
Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga at Spice FM during the interview on February 11, 2021. THE STANDARD
The economic expert argued that the former CJ was still stuck in the 1970s when Kenya rose from colonialism's shackles.
“We have achieved political democracy; our struggle is for economic democracy. Prof here is stuck in 1975,” Ndii asserted, citing Mutunga's activism which dates back to the 1990s.
He stated that Kenyans could not take back a country they already owned.
“We own our country. 90 per cent of Kenyans are property owners - land, livestock, kiosk, changaa distillery and more,” he told Mutunga.
A section of Kenyans disagreed with Ndii, a close ally of President William Ruto.
"True ownership is the ownership of productive resources, land and capital which is controlled by the 10 per cent minority," Michael Obaga opined.
Yosef Holi wrote in defence of Mutunga, stating, “What he means is not the 10 per cent of the wealthiest Kenyans owning 90 per cent of the wealth but a redistribution of that wealth across the highly productive 90 per cent of Kenyans that provide the labour to sustain the rich but do not get paid enough to provide for their families.”
Owiti Nyong’a, seemingly agreeing with Yosef, noted, “90 per cent of Kenyans are property owners, valueless non-wealth generating property."
"Less than 10 per cent of Kenyans own more than 90 per cent of prime property in Kenya. The number is 6 or 9 depending on your perspective.”
A recent debate on Ruto's first 100 days in office elected mixed reactions, with a section of Kenyans claiming that the head of state was slow in fulfilling his pledges.
The head of state requested one more year to fulfil the promise, with his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, claiming that they inherited a broken economy.
President William Ruto with Economist David Ndii and Sports CS Ababu Namwamba in Washington DC, on March 3, 2022. COURTESY ABABU NAMWAMBA TWITTER By Kioko Nyamasyo, Kenyans.co.ke
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has expelled a French journalist working for Reuters after her application for journalistic accreditation was not approved.
Sonia Rolley applied in September for accreditation to take up an assignment coordinating Reuters news coverage in Congo. She was granted permission to cover a climate conference in the capital, Kinshasa, in October while she waited for the application to be processed.
On Tuesday, she received a written summons to present herself to immigration police in Kinshasa, whom she said confiscated her passport and put her on a flight to Paris via Addis Ababa. No reason for the decision was provided to Rolley, she said.
The police communications department referred Reuters to the Interior ministry. Reuters was unable to reach the Interior ministry spokesman late on Tuesday, and calls to officials at the ministry of Communications and Media went unanswered.
At 5:25 pm on Tuesday, a government official sent a WhatsApp message to another journalist working for Reuters saying, "Are you aware of the expulsion of Sonia by the services? She is gone!"
The official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, did not specify the services he was referring to.
"We are offering Sonia Rolley assistance and urgently seeking information from the Congolese authorities," Reuters said in a statement.
"Reuters will continue to report from Congo in an independent and impartial way, as we do around the world." By VOA
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