A medical worker assaulted by two police officers during Covid-19 curfew restrictions has been awarded Sh1.5 million.

Inspector General of Police Japheth Koome, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions have been fined the sum for breaching the dignity of the medical worker, James Atogo Ogero on March 28, 2020.

Justice William Musyoka ruled that the action of the officers sued alongside their immediate boss, then Nambale Police Station Chief Inspector Rolex Nyoka for beating Ogero senseless during arrest deserved a deterrent punishment.  

“When Article 28 of the Constitution is applied to a situation where the police have to effect an arrest or enforce administrative regulations, like a curfew, the dignity of the person to be arrested has to be respected and protected. The Article is specific that human dignity is inherent. Inherent in all human beings, and any action contemplated against any human being, must be carried out with the background that he or she has inherent dignity,” he said. 

“There was a violation of rights of Ogero, as enshrined in Articles 28 and 29, and he is entitled to reliefs under Article 22 of the Constitution, specifically that related to compensation. Taking everything into account, I order payment of compensation by the respondents, in the sum of Sh1.5 million. Cost of litigation to be paid by respondents," he ruled.                

Other police officers, he said, set upon him and hit him repeatedly with batons accusing him of flouting curfew lockdown. 

“Members of the public intervened to save me from the wrath of the police but were dispersed. When they (police) stopped the assault, I was assisted by wananchi to move to Nambale Health Centre, where I was examined and received first aid before being transferred to Aga Khan Hospital, Kisumu,” said the medical worker in his testimony. BY Daniel Chege, The Standard  

A section of ODM lawmakers have dismissed President William Ruto's Nyanza visit saying that he can only win the support of the people through opposition leader Raila Odinga.

The leaders claimed that the President's four-day visit to the region was a campaign strategy disguised as a development tour.

Led by National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, the leaders further alleged that the Head of State was launching county projects to be handled by governors and MCAs. 

Wandayi said the president's visit is disguised as a development tour but in reality, is pegged on marketing the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in Nyanza. 

"It is not right for Ruto to come here in the pretext of development, yet he wants to spread the tentacles of his party," he said.

The Minority Leader alleged that Ruto was frustrating projects started by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

"What has brought you here? The Kabonyo Kanyagwal fish project is a Hungary-funded project. There is no budget allocation in the budget from the national government. All this is pretense, and we cannot allow it to continue," he said. 

Wandayi was speaking during the burial of John Ouko Tweya, the father of Kisumu County Assembly Speaker Elisha Oraro, in Nyahera, Kisumu, where several ODM leaders also dismissed the president's four-day trip to the region.

But even as ODM lawmakers dismissed Ruto's Nyanza tour, governors from the region attended the president's events.  

Seme MP James Nyikal claimed that there is nothing new the president has brought to the region.

"The only new thing is the housing project. Those who moved to Kenya Kwanza should launch new projects and not existing ones. We know their plan to change the hearts of our people to embrace Kenya Kwanza, but it will not happen," said Dr Nyikal.

Suna West MP Peter Masara asked Nyanza residents to remain steadfast in ODM. 

"Our party in this region must remain ODM. These ODM rebels are yet to even condole with Sondu families who lost their kin in clashes, yet they dare to run around in Nyanza, launching non-existent projects," said Masara.

"We are telling Ruto that the path he is following will not bear fruits because Nyanza region only recognizes Raila," he added.

Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga claimed that the President has been inspecting Handshake projects.

"Most of these projects were started after the Handshake between Uhuru and Raila. Most of the projects you are supposed to launch you have stopped instead," she said.

Kisumu West MP Rozah Buyu asked ODM to punish MCAs who are not loyal to the party.

"Some of these MCAs take money from ODM rebels who are visiting State House, yet in public, they swear allegiance to our leader Raila. We must be very categorical, on how we deal with those who are not walking with us," said Buyu. By Olivia Odhiambo, The Standard

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has condemned the escalation of tension, killings, and displacements in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kenyatta, who is the facilitator of the East African Community (EAC)-led Nairobi peace talks in the restoration of peace and stability in eastern DRC has called for the immediate cessation of hostilities in the troubled region.

"The facilitator appeals to all parties engaged in such acts to immediately cease their armed offensives and hostilities, to allow continued unhindered and sustained humanitarian access and to give a chance to a return to peace and the pursuit of a non-military solution to the crisis in the region," Kenyatta said in a statement.

In May this year, the former President attended the 11th high-level summit for peace and security for the DRC and the entire East Africa region as well. The meeting was held in Bujumbura, Burundi.

During the summit, EAC Heads of State, government officials, and representatives of guarantor institutions urged armed groups in eastern DRC, Sudan, and other parts of the region to cease hostilities without conditions. 

The leaders told the M23 rebels in DRC, warring forces in Sudan and other parts of the region to end the violence and engage in voluntary disarmament.

In August 2022, Kenyatta was appointed to the position of the facilitator of the peace talks during an announcement made at the 22nd Ordinary Summit of EAC Heads of State in Arusha, Tanzania.

At the time, he had just handed over the chairmanship of the EAC to Burundi President Evariste Ndayishimiye, whose role is to oversee the implementation of the Nairobi process aimed at restoring peace. By Mate Tongola, The Standard

The Supreme Court’s scrutiny of the Government’s plans to deport asylum seekers comes nearly 18 months after they were first announced.

Ongoing legal battles have meant that there has yet to be any migrants sent to the East African nation under the policy.

Meanwhile, the Channel migrant crisis continues amid much political debate. 

Here is how events leading up to the hearing at the UK’s highest court have unfolded since the Rwanda plan was unveiled:

– 2022

April 14: Following a drastic increase in the number of people crossing the Channel, then-prime minister Boris Johnson announces a plan to deport migrants arriving in small boats to Rwanda for their claims to be processed. He says this would act as a “very considerable deterrent”.

June 15: The first deportation flight to Rwanda is cancelled just minutes before take-off following a ruling by a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

August 23: The Ministry of Defence says 1,295 migrants made the crossing in 27 boats, a record figure which remains the highest figure for a single day.

August 25: Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel announces an agreement with the Albanian government to curb the numbers of migrants from that country amid concerns they account for 60% of all those arriving in the UK. 

November 14: New Home Secretary Suella Braverman signs an agreement with French interior minister Gerald Darmian allowing British officers to join French beach patrols.

November 23: Ms Braverman admits the Government has “failed to control our borders”, but tells MPs they are determined to “fix” the problem, following criticism of overcrowding at the Manston processing centre in Kent.

December 14: Four people die while 39 others are rescued after their dinghy capsizes in the Channel.

December 19: The High Court rules the Government’s Rwanda policy is lawful, but orders the cases of the first eight deportees to be reconsidered.

December 31: A total of 45,755 migrants made the Channel crossing over the course of the year, according to Government figures.

– 2023

January 4: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces legislation to tackle the migrant crisis is one of five key priorities for his premiership. 

March 7: Ms Braverman tells MPs the Illegal Migration Bill will impose a legal duty to remove those arriving in the country illegally, barring them from claiming asylum in the UK.

March 10: Tensions mount as Mr Sunak defends the policy as “the right approach” against criticism from sports pundit Gary Lineker which led to a high-profile impartiality row at the BBC and numerous colleagues threatening to boycott Match Of The Day in solidarity with the presenter.

March 12: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt does not rule out the prospect of children being detained under the new plans, which would see those crossing the Channel eligible for asylum only in a “safe” third country such as Rwanda.

March 13: The plan draws criticism from former Tory prime minister Theresa May, who says it is “not enough” to send people to claim asylum in Rwanda and warns the UK is “shutting the door” on victims of modern slavery as it currently stands. 

March 14: A High Court judge rules that asylum seekers facing removal to Rwanda can appeal against Home Office decisions over alleged errors in the consideration of whether relocation poses a risk to their human rights, dealing another blow to the plan.

March 17: Ms Braverman doubles down on the deportation policy on a visit to Rwanda despite the plan remaining embroiled in legal battles, claiming the £140 million deal will be a “powerful deterrent” to those attempting to cross the Channel.

March 18: Ms Braverman is given a tour of potential migrant housing after the land was purchased by the Rwandan government, ahead of meeting with President Paul Kagame and her counterpart Vincent Biruta to discuss the deal.

March 29: The Government unveils plans to house asylum seekers on disused military bases, ferries and barges in a bid to cut spending on hotels.

April 26: The Home Secretary says migrants crossing the Channel have values “at odds” with British norms and are linked to “heightened levels of criminality” – comments which are condemned by Labour.

May 25: Figures show the asylum backlog has hit a new record high with more than three quarters of claims made by people who crossed the Channel since 2018 still awaiting a decision.

June 5: Mr Sunak insists his plan to stop Channel crossings is “starting to work” but plays down suggestions that fewer arrivals were a result of poor weather conditions at the time of year rather than policy decisions.w Action Taken To Address Migrant Influx At Border

June 26: Estimates in a Home Office assessment reveal £169,000 could be spent on every asylum seeker forcibly removed to a third country such as Rwanda. 

June 29: The Home Secretary lashes out at “phoney humanitarianism” hindering efforts to stop Channel crossings as the Government loses the latest legal battle over its plans to send migrants to Rwanda after a Court of Appeal ruling.

July 3: A new record is set for migrant crossings, with 3,824 arrivals in June – the highest total for that month since records began in 2018.

July 10: MPs learn the Home Office is paying for thousands of empty hotel beds reserved for migrants to avoid overcrowding at processing centres.

Meanwhile, immigration minister Robert Jenrick is lambasted from his own backbenches in Parliament after defending the painting over of cartoon murals at a unit for lone child asylum seekers.

July 12: The first asylum seekers arrive at former RAF airbase Wethersfield Airfield in Essex as it is brought into use as accommodation. Legal action is brought against the plans. 

July 13: The Government is given the go-ahead to take the legal battle over its Rwanda deportation policy to the Supreme Court.

July 20: Despite condemnation from campaigners, sweeping asylum reforms under the Illegal Migration Bill become law after being given Royal Assent and being made an Act of Parliament. But it is unclear when the new rules will come into force.

The number of migrants crossing the Channel tops 14,000 for the year so far.

July 21: Officials insist the Bibby Stockholm barge, due to house migrants in Portland off the Dorset coast, is not a “floating prison” as they give reporters a tour of the facilities.

July 27: Ms Braverman buys marquees to sleep 2,000 asylum seekers on disused military sites in a bid to avoid using hotels ahead of an expected surge in Channel crossings.

July 28: It emerges plans to move 2,000 migrants into RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire – which is subject to a legal challenge – have been delayed until October.

August 1: Figures show the average number of migrants crossing the Channel per boat in July (52) was the highest on record for any month since records began in 2018.

August 2: The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) calls for an urgent meeting with the Home Secretary over safety concerns about the Bibby barge, later raising the possibility of legal action.

August 5: Mr Sunak announces a plan for social media firms including Facebook, TikTok and Twitter to team up with the National Crime Agency to crack down on people smugglers’ posts encouraging asylum seekers to cross the Channel.

August 7: The first group of asylum seekers finally boards the Bibby Stockholm after weeks of setbacks and delays.

Meanwhile, official figures confirm more than 50,000 migrants are living in hotels.

At the same time, the Government announces fines will rise for employers and landlords who give unauthorised migrants jobs or tenancies. 

August 8: Justice Secretary Alex Chalk defends the Government’s announcement of a “task force” targeting corrupt immigration lawyers as critics brand it a “red herring” to distract from the asylum backlog.

August 9: The Home Office announces that the UK and Turkey have struck a new deal to “disrupt and dismantle” people smuggling gangs in a bid to tackle the surge in illegal migration.

August 10: Fresh arrivals of people on lifeboats take the number of Channel crossings since 2018 past the 100,000 mark.

Reports the same day suggest senior ministers were split over whether the UK should ditch its commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which underpins the country’s duty to help migrants.

August 11: Asylum seekers who arrived on the Bibby Stockholm barge are removed after Legionella bacteria was found in the water.

August 12: Six people are confirmed to have died after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Channel. 

August 19: More than 25,000 asylum seekers are said to have arrived in Britain via small boats since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister, according to figures analysed by the Labour Party.

August 24: The UK’s asylum backlog hits a a new record high, with 80% of people waiting longer than six months for an initial decision.

Mr Sunak warns the system is under “unsustainable pressure” after the bill for the taxpayer almost doubles in a year to nearly £4 billion.

August 27: The Home Office is considering fitting asylum seekers arriving in the UK via unauthorised means with electronic tags, The Times reports.

September 3: The highest number of small boat migrant crossings in a single day of 2023 is recorded, with some 872 people crossing on 15 small vessels.

September 14: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insists closer co-operation with the European Union on the small boats crisis means “taking control of a situation the Government has totally lost control of”.

Sir Keir indicates he could be prepared to do a deal with Brussels which would involve the UK taking a quota of asylum seekers who arrive in the bloc in exchange for the ability to return people who cross the Channel.

September 19: The Home Office is paying “around £8 million” per day for asylum seekers to be put up in hotels, according to the department’s annual accounts.

September 26: Ms Braverman uses a speech in the United States to advocate for the United Nations’ Refugee Convention to be overhauled as part of wider efforts to stop small boats crossing the Channel – comments that are rebuked by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In other comments criticised by equalities campaigners, she says offering asylum to a person because they are discriminated against in their home country for being gay or a woman is not sustainable.

September 27: Asylum seekers pretend to be gay to “game the system” and to get “special treatment”, the Home Secretary says. 

October 3: Small boat arrivals in 2023 pass 25,000, figures confirm.

At the Conservative Party conference, Ms Braverman warns that a “hurricane” of mass migration is coming as Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch stresses the need to be “careful” in the language used on the issue.

October 5: Tens of thousands of people in the asylum system could be at risk of homelessness as the Government works to clear the so-called legacy backlog before the end of the year, the British Red Cross warns.

Mr Sunak says the UK is making progress in its bid to secure a deal with the EU’s border agency to get access to the bloc’s intelligence on migration.

October 6: The Prime Minister says he agrees multiculturalism has not failed but claims there is an “enormous sense of frustration” in the UK over “illegal” migration.

October 9: The start of a three-day hearing at the Supreme Court of the Government’s challenge to the Court of Appeal’s ruling that the plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda are unlawful. Story by Tom Pilgrim, Evening Standard