The tribunal investigating the conduct of a serving IEBC commissioner and three of her former colleagues was yesterday told how they frantically pushed the Commission chairperson Wafula Chebukati to order a repeat presidential election.

Testifying before the tribunal chaired by Justice Aggrey Muchelule, IEBC Chief Executive Officer Marjan Hussein Marjan revealed how the four commissioners exerted pressure on Chebukati to moderate the results of the presidential election so that none of the candidates attains the requisite 50 percent plus one vote to be declared the outright winner.

Marjan said that he was surprised when the four commissioners went to hold a presser at the Nairobi Serena Hotel.

“I was surprised with the statement that they made because we worked with them so closely to the last point and there was nothing wrong. Our crossing point came when they went and said the opposite,” said Marjan. 

The tribunal heard that the problem with the commissioners  began when they tried to influence the moderation of the results so that the country would go back for rerun.

According to Marjan, the Cherera four wanted a rerun to give Azimio la Umoja a chance since the margin between President William Ruto and Raila Odinga was too small.

“The difference between William Ruto who was leading and Raila Odinga was around 253,000… the  four commissiniors argued that the difference was too small and we should give the parties  a chance to go for a rerun.., they wanted the results moderated but the chairman refused saying the law  does not allow him to do so,” said Marjan.

Marjan further noted that Masit who is the last of four left standing was actually present all through at the National Tallying Centre. Three of the commissioners have since resigned. They include Cherera, Wanderi and Nyang’aya. 

Besides Muchelule, members of the tribunal comprise Carolyne Daudi, the Vice-Chairperson, Linda Kiome, Mathew Nyabena and retired Colonel Saeed Khamis.

A representative from Serena who also testified in the tribunal confirmed that Masit was among the four IEBC officials who went to the Serena hotel and addressed a press conference.

Anthony Chege Kamau told the tribunal that one Edwin Okwe walked into the hotel’s reception area on 15 August, booked and paid for the ground to be used for a press conference.

A representative of Yaya apartments, Simon Ngila also testified before the tribunal that the four commissioners stayed at their apartments from August 15 and checked out on August 19.

“The person who made the booking for the said apartment is Edwin Okwe who is a repeat client... he has stayed with us before..  he just made a random booking for three days and we got him space,” explained Ngila.

According to the Accommodation Manager at the said apartments, the four commissioners were not willing to have their records written down and their security team said they would sort it out the next day. 

“We provided our registration documents which were signed by their security personnel,” Angila told the tribunal.

A clip showing Masit walking into the lifts of the said apartment from the basement was played before the tribunal.

The manager revealed that former Cabinet Secretary and Jubilee party Secretary General  Raphael Tuju, was among the visitors who visited the four commissioners at the said Apartments on August 16. By Bernice Mbugua, People Daily 

NAIROBI, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese-built Nairobi expressway that stretches from the western side of the city to the southeastern edge of the metropolis currently records an average daily traffic volume of 50,000 vehicles, the operator said on Thursday.

Moja Expressway Company CEO Steve Zhao said in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi that the motorway has become an attractive mode of transport; between May, when it started trial run, and Dec. 1, the total traffic volume of the expressway has exceeded 7.6 million vehicles.

"With the increment in the number of vehicles in the city, we expect daily usage to reach 70,000 by mid-January 2023," Zhao said during the Moja Expressway annual general meeting.

The 27.1-km Nairobi expressway was financed and built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Zhao said at present, the highway has 100,000 users who utilize the electronic toll collection method to access the road, which is equivalent to 68 percent of all users.

He added that the success of the project has inspired confidence for the CRBC to seek other infrastructure projects it can undertake under the PPP model.

He revealed that in order to increase the convenience of road users, the operator of the road will introduce the use of a mobile payment platform, M-PESA, as a method of payment by the end of January 2023.

Joseph Mbugua, principal secretary of the State Department of Roads, said the Nairobi expressway has had a positive impact on the country's economy by decreasing road congestion in Nairobi.

"It is amazing what the road has brought to our country because it has reduced the time spent traveling between the town center and the international airport," Mbugua added.

He revealed that Kenya is looking forward to other partnerships with Chinese firms in the area of infrastructure development through the PPP model. - Xinhua

The shooting took place in the French capital’s 10th arrondissement, police said.

A 69-year old man has been arrested in connection with the incident, the prosecutor's office said.

The motives of the gunman remain unclear, with two of the four injured left in a serious condition, the French officials said. 

Paris police said they were dealing with an incident on the Rue d'Enghien and urged the public to stay away from the area.

One witness, a shopkeeper, said that seven or eight shots had been fired, causing mayhem in the street.

"It was total panic. We locked ourselves inside," the witness said.

This is a breaking story. More to follow.   By Arthur Scott-Geddes , Telegraph

Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are undertaking a feasibility study for the construction of an electricity transmission line from Kasese to Bunia.

The feasibility study is expected to be concluded by March 2023, according to our sources, with an inception report already done.

The transmission line is meant for Uganda to export excess power from the Nkenda substation in Kasese to eastern DR Congo as the two countries look to deepen trade across the border. Eastern DR Congo heavily depends on the more expensive generators and small solar grids to light up premises.

The feasibility study will, among other things, reveal the design of the transmission line and financial cost. It is estimated that the transmission line might cost up to $200 million.

Our sources say they are looking to international sources of finance, especially the United Kingdom, to borrow the funds for the project. The local capital markets are said to be exhausted with immense demands.

Experts say it usually takes nine months after the completion of the feasibility study to shore up the funds. Therefore, construction of the transmission line is expected to start at the end of 2023.

Also, parallel negotiations for a bilateral agreement as a legal document for the project are already underway, our sources told us. Uganda and DR Congo recently signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the negotiations over the bilateral agreement to take place.

Among the most contentious issues that could dominate the negotiations is the issue around the manner in which the tariff will be set for the capital investment to be recouped.

At the signing of the MoU, a consortium of companies was revealed as the implementer of the transmission project. Elecnor, Sevicious Y Proyetos and Dott Services Limited form the consortium that also has the responsibility of sourcing the money on behalf of the two governments. However, it is no guarantee that this consortium will construct the transmission line. By Jeff Mbanga. The Observer