Deputy President William Ruto has come out to defend Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka over a "humiliating interview" for the position of a running mate in the Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya Coalition.

In a post on his social media accounts on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, Ruto termed the planned interview as impunity and political deceit. 

"Though we are competitors, to subject HE Kalonzo to some humiliating 'interview' is impunity. We must unite to eliminate the culture of political deceit, the hallmark of some politicians. Whatever the circumstances, every leader deserves some dignity and respect. Heshima si utumwa," Ruto wrote.

This comes hours after Kalonzo announced publicly that he was not going to attend the interviews organised by Azimio to search for a suitable running mate for Raila Odinga.

“I want to tell all Kenyans that I will not attend the said process. I find the entire thing demeaning to my person and will therefore distance myself from it,” Kalonzo said. 

Kalonzo has been angling for the position terming himself as the best-suited candidate amongst his competitors, who include NARC Kenya leader Martha Karua, Kitui governor Charity Ngilu, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya.

Last week, Azimio formed a seven-member committee that would interview candidates wishing to deputise Raila in case he wins the August 9 polls.

The committee includes Bishop Peter Njenga, Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth, Senator Enoch Wambua, Michael Orwa, Dr. Noah Wekesa, Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa, and Beatrice Askul Moe.

MPs allied to Kalonzo have already declared that they will not allow him to attend the interviews which starts today, terming the process as demeaning.

"Our position as the followers of the Wiper Party, the third leg of Azimio-One Kenya is that the Hon Kalonzo Musyoka should not apply to the committee that was set up to interview for the position of the deputy president of Azimio-One Kenya," Makueni Member of Parliament Daniel Maanzo said.

Presidential candidates are expected to submit the names of their running mates to IEBC by May 16.  By Francis Muli, People Daily

Photo Courtesy A A

KAMPALA, Uganda 

Persistent rains that started on Friday have displaced 800 families so far in eastern Uganda, according to authorities on Wednesday. 

The police in Kween district said that Ngenge sub-county and Sundet sub-county in Kween district have been greatly affected by the floods that left over 2,000 people from 800 families homeless.

The floods also destroyed 1,000 acres of planted maize, sorghum, and beans and killed a lot of livestock.

"Apart from destroying homes, the floods have killed an unspecified number of chickens and goats and I don’t know what will happen since the rains are still continuing," local council secretary for Ngenge sub-county, Joel Cherop, said in an interview.

Bena Chemutai, one of the village's health team members in Ngenge sub-county told Anadolu Agency that the situation is "terrible" and the affected people are now staying in classrooms and verandahs of schools.

"We have fears that many children are likely to fall sick from malaria since they are sleeping in the open without mosquito nets," said Chemutai.

Albina Awor, the chief administrative officer in Kween, has appealed for support from the office of the prime minister.  Source: Anadolu Agency

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya (IEBC) says it is suspending the second phase of the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration (ECVR) drive which has been ongoing to enroll citizens’ biometrics since January.

The reason for the halt is to enable voters to verify their biometrics and other data on the Preliminary Voter Register which has been compiled by the IEBC.

The Star reports that the announcement was made recently by the Chairperson of the IEBC Wafula Chebukati in a gazette notice in which he called on all registrants to check if their data was properly captured at the time of registration. The suspension is due to take effect from Wednesday 4 May, per the report.

Citizens have until 30 May to verify their records on the voter roll, but the voter registration suspension will be in place until March 13, 2023, according to The Star.

Kenyans go to polls for general elections due to take place on 9 August 2022.

Speaking on the matter, the IEBC boss was quoted as saying: “The commission notifies the pubic that this suspension is to enable availability of the register of voters to the public for purposes of verification of biometric data and particulars of registered voters in accordance with sections 6A of the Elections Act, 2011.”

According to Chebukati, all those who applied to have their names enrolled on the voter register but their biometric data was not appropriately captured, will have the opportunity to channel a complaint to the Registration Office before 30 May for correction.

The second and final phase of the Enhanced Continuous Voter Registration in Kenya started in mid-January with calls for the IEBC to make the registration campaign more inclusive.

The biometric technology used in the process is provided by Idemia. - Biometric Update