An acute milk shortage has hit Kiambu County following prolonged drought.

A spot check by The Standard revealed that processing plants are not able to supply milk to supermarkets and retail shops. 

Milk hawkers and dealers have closed shops while some operate on minimal stock that get bought off early in the morning.

The shortage has now seen the price of packaged milk shoot up.

A half a litre packet that used to cost between Sh48 and Sh50 now sells at Sh67.

Farmers said they cannot supply enough milk to processing plants following the prolonged drought. 

James Karanja, a farmer, said he has three cows that used to produce between seven and a 10 litres of milk each morning.

He said the cows produced a similar quantity in the afternoon, but now the cows only manage half the quantity.

“I used to buy one 70-kilogramme sack of feed at Sh1500 and now it is retailing at Sh2200," said Karanja. "This price is high and  I have been forced to reduce the recommended amount that I give each cow."

Consequently, Karanja said his production has dropped significantly.

Karanja added that his farm that supplies enough forage is no longer able after the drought.

He said previously, he could even makes silage with the surplus nappier grass from his farm.

“I even dug a big hole in my farm for forage for later use when I have surplus but now I have exhausted the forage and the silage," Karanja said. "We will have some bad time in milk production before the rains return.”

Another farmer, Grace Nyambura from Lari said that there is a significant drop in milk production.

“We used to sell milk at Kimende and Lari shopping centres with a litre going for as low as Sh20. Now we cannot supply all shops in the area,” Nyambura said.

The farmers have also blamed high prices of dairy feed that have forced them to reduce the amount they give the cows. - George Njunge, The Standard

Photo Courtesy/Standard

Azimio la Umoja have branded Deputy President William Ruto a “hypocrite” for opposing BBI, which proposed an expansion of the Executive, yet he’s now offering Musalia Mudavadi a senior post that doesn’t exist in the current Executive structure.

According to a coalition agreement document deposited with the Registrar of Political Parties, Musalia Mudavadi will take up the Prime Cabinet Secretary position should Ruto win the August 9 presidential election.

The position is akin to that of a prime minister in an expanded executive. 

His functions, as per the agreement, will include assisting the president and his deputy in coordinating and supervising ministries and State departments, coordinating national government functions, chairing and coordinating legislative agenda and performing functions as may be assigned by the president.

Should Ruto win the presidency, then he will through an Executive Order, create the position of Prime CS within 14 days after swearing-in Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) will also propose several Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and ambassadors, taking up 30 per cent of government alongside Moses Wetangula’s Ford-Kenya.

Wetangula, as per the agreement, will be proposed as Speaker of the National Assembly.

UDA, which is Ruto’s sponsor party, will take up the president and deputy president positions, with a bulk of government centred around it. 

These revelations have triggered a response from Raila Odinga’s team, with Junet Mohamed, who is the Secretary-General of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition, criticising the DP for rejecting the BBI, yet he seems to be adopting a semblance of the thrown-out reforms report.

“Ruto has opposed the BBI vehemently for the last five years. Today, he is creating the same position that the BBI Taskforce was advocating for – the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Ruto is not [even] ashamed of himself,” Junet Mohamed said during a press conference in Kilifi on Thursday, May 12.

“That tells you the kind of character [that] we are dealing with, a hypocrite. He is the man who said we do not need BBI, we do not need to create positions [for a few politicians], but now, he is re-inventing BBI through the back door. You can fool some people for some time but you cannot fool all the people all the time," said Junet.

Ruto had called out President Uhuru Kenyatta, ODM boss Raila Odinga, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, among other leaders affiliated to the Azimio outfit for “ganging up to create plum positions for a few people”.

“The end of reggae is the end of political conmanship in Kenya. The [Supreme Court] ruling is a validation that BBI was an illegal and an unconstitutional exercise,” he said on March 31 after the apex court judges dealt the reforms push a final blow. By Stephanie Wangari, The Standard

The family of 21-year-old woman who died in Saudi Arabia under unclear circumstances have refused to sign a form that allows them to collect her body.

Beatrice Waruguru’s family said they were being forced to sign the form without first ascertaining whether the body is that of their kin.

JKIA officials, however, maintained that they couldn’t allow the family to view the body at the facility, saying it was against airport policy. 

Waruguru left Kenya for Saudi Arabia in February 2021, but died under unclear circumstances in December that year, with her family claiming she was tortured.

On Saturday, May 7, the family was informed that their daughter’s body had been processed for transportation from Saudi Arabia.When Waruguru’s family arrived at the JKIA on Wednesday, May 11, they were told to first sign body-receipt forms before her remains could be handed over to them.

Waruguru’s employment representative was supposed to witness the signing of body-receipt documents.

“We were told that we could only view the body after signing the receipt documents,” said Mercy Wanjiru, the deceased’s mother. 

“The body, which I’m not sure is that of my daughter, had been wrapped like a luggage. The airport officers told us to accept it and go view it at the mortuary,” she added.

Wanjiru said they won’t accept a body which isn’t their kinsperson’s.

The deceased’s friend, Mercy Wambui, said Waruguru left Kenya for Saudi Arabia shortly after completing her secondary education.

“She never told me how she secured the deal to travel to Saudi Arabia,” said Wambui.

She, however, suspects that Waruguru was directed to an employment agent by a broker. 

The Association of Skilled Migrant Agencies of Kenya (ASMAK) representative, Josephine Muriuki, said they will alert authorities that Waruguru’s body arrived at the JKIA, but her family refused to collect it.

JKIA officials, who spoke to The Standard in confidence, said the airport does not have body storage facilities.

UPDATE: At around 6pm Wednesday, Waruguru’s family agreed to collect the body after signing the receipt forms, five hours after the stand-off ensued. They were not allowed to view the body on site. The Standard understands that her remains will be kept at the Kenyatta University Funeral Home.  By Pkemoi Ng'enoh , The Standard