Ezekiel Odero of the New Life Prayer Centre and Church, Kilifi, is a free man after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Tuesday said they had no evidence linking him to the Shakahola massacre.

In a letter filed in court, Peter Kiprop, Coast Regional Coordinator, Office of the DPP, also directed Mombasa Criminal Investigations Officer to close the file on Odero and his church. 

Odero, who was arrested in April, was being investigated over a series of crimes including murder, money laundering, radicalisation and terrorism.

But yesterday, Shanzu Principal Magistrate Joe Omido closed the file and directed that Sh1.5 million cash bail be refunded. 

State Prosecutor Anthony Musyoka said investigations had been completed and the file closed. “We have a report dated October 30, 2023, from ODPP regional coordinator. We are of the opinion the case be closed as the investigations are complete and the respective files forwarded to the office of the ODPP,” he said.

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  Shakahola must not drive State to undermine religious freedom

Speaking after he was released, Odero said he had forgiven all those who had put him through wrongful prosecution.

He said his trial was a test for the church’s future.  “I knew we did nothing wrong and thanks for standing with us during the hard times. This was about the church and the future. The Lord saw it was worth us going through this as a way to glorify Him. I have no vendetta with anyone and all involved. Let the truth set you all free,” said Odero. 

His lawyers Cliff Ombeta, Dunstan Omari and Samson Nyaberi said they will not sue anyone for defamation. By Joackim Bwana, The Standard

Several classrooms in Mandera East are flooded with rainwater even as the national examinations kicked off.

The Standard has established that several classes in schools along River Daua have flooded with the rain waters after the river burst its banks on Sunday, 29 October, 2023.

The head teacher of Umar Faruuq Integrated Academy, Sheikh Abdirahman says they have shifted all the candidates to occupy lower classes for the exams.

"As all those three classrooms flood with water, we have moved all our 74 pupils to conduct their national examinations in the lower classes. The level of water is on the increase," he said.

River Daua has overflowed and burst its banks following heavy downpours that continuously rained in Mandera for the past four days.

However, the County Commissioner Amos Mariba said the government will ensure every pupil will sit for the exams regardless of the floods reported across the county.

"We are aware of some schools flooded with rain water but that will not stop us from conducting the exams. I assure you every pupil will sit for the examinations," Mariba said.

Mariba has also assured exams safety as thousands of security personnel disbursed to escort the exams to various schools countywide.

"Thousands of security officers both in uniform and civilian will be guarding the exams as a high number will be posted to schools along the borderlines", he added.

On the other hand, Mandera County Director of Education Abdi Sheikh while overseeing the disbursement of the today's papers, has assured the exams will safely reach all the schools in the county as choppers ferry the papers 

"Two choppers will be assisting 22 schools in the county to ferry the exam papers to far-flung and hard-to-reach schools across the county" Said Sheikh

Some 9,301 pupils in Mandera county will sit for KCPE examinations and another 8,586 pupils will be sitting for KPSEA. - Ibrahim Adan Ali, The Standard

"Some shouted 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', a genocidal demand to destroy the state of Israel and cleanse the territory of its Jews."

Responding to the scenes over recent weeks, the former Home Office advisor says the extremism we're now seeing on the streets of Britain calls for a complete overhaul of the Government's current assumptions about diversity and multiculturalism. 

He argues that our "pragmatic, informal, light-touch" approach no longer holds: "The diminished commitment to shared norms and our weaker common identity means there is less social trust to sustain our freedoms in the conventional way."

In a bold list of policy proposals to reinforce British norms, Mr Timothy says the Government must implement a "more muscular approach".

 

General Election - Social Issues© Getty

He calls for a "register of imams and mosques, with unacceptable behaviour leading to preaching bans and closures".

He also suggests Britain should follow France's example and ban the burqa in public places, and ban children from wearing the hijab.

Mr Timothy argues TV channels that broadcast hatred must be shut down, as well as charities that espouse extremist beliefs. 

The Tory candidate for West Suffolk - currently Matt Hancock's constituency - adds that all Sharia law must come to an end in Britain and Sharia marriages criminalised.

He denies that his policy prescriptions amount "to picking on the Islamic faith".

Mr Timothy argues the "problem we face emanates from the Islamic world", and "nothing will change until we tell ourselves the truth".

West Suffolk currently has a Tory majority of 23,000, so it's likely Mr Timothy will succeed in winning his seat regardless of Labour's national poll lead. Story By Christian Calgie, Daily Express

President William Ruto's directive that Taita Taveta residents will get at least 50 per cent of the revenue collected from Tsavo National park has not been received well by Makueni leaders.

On a tour in Voi last week, Dr Ruto announced that revenue collected from Tsavo East and West parks will be shared on a 50-50 basis between the national and Taita Taveta county governments.

The sharing has irked Makueni leaders who say it is discriminatory arguing that their region deserves a share of the cage since it borders the two parks. 

Led by Senator Dan Maanzo, Kaiti MP Joshua Kimilu and Ivingoni/Nzambani MCA Harrison Mutie, the trio expressed their disapproval of Ruto's directive insisting that there need to be a clearly defined revenue sharing formula that will benefit neighbouring counties of Makueni, Taita Taveta, Kwale and Kitui.

“Taita Taveta is not the only county that borders the two parks. Makueni and other counties have parks and conservancies which surround Tsavo National Park. I am appealing for a mutatis mutandis approach so that all counties benefit,” said Maanzo while warning that Makueni can not overlooked. 

“Elephants keep on straying into peoples’ farms destroying crops, killing and maiming our people. We can’t be the ones bearing the brunt of human-wildlife conflicts while elsewhere they are getting proceeds out of tourism,” he added

Both Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks are the two Kenya’s largest and oldest protected areas in Kenya with a collection of more than Sh60 billion annually.

“When the Tourism Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua visited he gave himself seven days to ensure no animals maraud our villages. But the animals are still disturbing the peace of our people. We can’t be faced by all these problems alongside those arising from conservancies situated along the animal corridors and yet we are told we can’t have a share of these parks,” Maanzo decried 

Kimilu said there was need for a comprehensive formula that will capture the interest of Makueni people so that they can feel the importance of conserving the wildlife.

“The people of Makueni especially from Kibwezi East feel neglected unlike their neighbours in Taita Taveta. The president’s declaration was uncalled for. The persistent human-wildlife conflict and the section of Makueni land lying inside Tsavo national park should be used as reference to define a revenue sharing formula,” noted the MP. 

On his part, Mutie, a vocal MCA whose ward borders Tsavo West national park and Chyullu said Ruto's proposed formula will be a recipe for chaos as it will fuel hostilities amongst neighbouring counties.

“We are still having a problem with Taita Taveta over the boundary. Tsavo West national park depends on water flowing from Chyullu national park and Makueni is the custodian of Chyullu hills. We can’t be ignored at all,” stated Mutie.

He said sharing of resources from the parks equally between counties and the national government should never be rushed as it should involve various stakeholders. 

 “Before the sharing formula is arrived at, let governors of the affected counties meet, and agree so that we can forestall a problem that may arise in the future. Whatever we are doing today will affect us in the future,” added Mutie.

 But according to Morris Mutiso, a politician from Taveta Taveta, who unsuccessfully vied for the Taveta constituency seat in 2022, revenue sharing formula is not solely based on being close to the parks but the percentage of a county’s land occupied by wild animals. By Stephen Nzioka , The Standard