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ODM Leader Raila Odinga speaking in Naivasha during the burial of Tecra Muigai, daughter of Keroche Breweries owners Joseph and Tabitha Karanja. PHOTO| CITIZEN DIGITAL 

ODM party leader Raila Odinga has been admitted to the Nairobi Hospital with general fatigue and body aches, his family has said.

In a telephone interview with Citizen Digital on Wednesday, Oburu Odinga- the former Prime Minister’s elder brother- said there was no need for alarm.

Oburu claimed that as of Tuesday night when he left the hospital, the results of a medical test which included a COVID-19 test were not yet in.

While watering down claims that the ODM leader had contracted COVID-19, Oburu said the 2022 presidential hopeful had not exhibited any symptoms that pointed at a respiratory disease.

“I was there with him last night, but the medical tests had not come back on COVID-19 but from what I observed, he did not have breathing complications or chest pains, just general fatigue and body aches,” Oburu told Citizen Digital.

He added:

“Everyone falls sick, there is nothing to mourn about or be sad about because everyone falls sick, there is really nothing serious Raila’s admission to hospital,” Citizen

Trucks parked at the Busia border on March 8 following a maize ban by the Kenyan government. Government has called a crisis meeting to settle the deadlock between Uganda and Kenya. PHOTO | DAVID AWORI

Government has called a crisis meeting to settle the deadlock between Uganda and Kenya that has seen the former’s maize banned from the latter. 

In an interview with the Daily Monitor on Tuesday, Mr Julius Maganda, the State minister for the East African Community (EAC) Affairs, said Uganda’s ministers of Trade, Agriculture, East African Community Affairs and Finance are scheduled to hold a meeting today to come up with a common stand regarding the ban, ahead of another meeting with their Kenyan counterparts slated for March 11.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Amelia Kyambadde, also confirmed today’s meeting but declined to divulge more details because “l am still consulting”.

According to the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in Kenya, Ugandan maize contains mycotoxins, particularly aflatoxins and fumonisins, which can cause cancer.

The ban comes at a time when the country is still grappling with the economic impact of the Covid-19 restrictions.

There is now fear among farmers and maize dealers that the ban would further push the grain prices even lower than they already are.  

Ordinarily, a farmer sells a kilogramme of grain at an average of Shs400 across the country.

The ban on maize would also see Uganda lose an average of $121m (Shs447b) in annual revenue, according to data obtained from Bank of Uganda.

At the Busia Border, traders are stranded with more than 100 trucks loaded with maize grain.

Mr Paul Mwongo, a Kenyan transporter, said: “I loaded more than 20 tonnes of maize from Kampala destined for Mombasa but when I reached Malaba border, I was stopped by the Kenyan authorities. The owner of the maize advised me to change the route to Busia but still I have been denied entry,” Mr Mwongo said.

Mr Frank Kasumba, the manager of Busia market, told the Daily Monitor yesterday, that the ban was already taking a huge toll on traders, transporters and farmers both in Uganda and Kenya.

He said 150 trucks each loaded with more than nine tonnes of maize cross the border to Kenya on a daily basis while between 300,000 to 500,000 bags of maize are sold to Kenya monthly.

Compiled by Arthur Arnold Wadero, Elizabeth Kamurungi & David Awori  Dailly Monitor

 
Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA

A US lawyer for some of the women who say they were victims of Jeffrey Epstein has suggested that Buckingham Palace’s plans to examine bullying allegations against the Duchess of Sussex are a “calculated decision” to take the focus off Prince Andrew.

“Allegations about him are far worse than the allegations about Meghan Markle. Prince Andrew was a working royal when he became a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, who was a sexual predator,” said Gloria Allred.

“Prince Andrew is accused of much more than bullying or harassment in the workplace,” said the lawyer, who does not represent Virginia Giuffre, who has made the allegations against the prince, but is acting for 20 women who say they were victims of the disgraced US financier.

Allred and others have been campaigning for the prince, who denies the allegations against him, to offer himself for interview in person by US criminal investigators and prosecutors looking into Epstein’s crimes and those associated with him.

The lawyer last month arranged for a US-style school bus to drive through different parts of London, including past Buckingham Palace, with a message on the side asking the prince to speak with the FBI.

In a statement issued on Monday, Allred said: “Why does Buckingham Palace not conduct an investigation and make a public statement condemning Prince Andrew for failing to provide what is requested to those who are seeking the whole truth and justice for the victims of crimes against children?

“Why has Prince Andrew not been stripped of the royal titles that he enjoys, as has been the case for Meghan and Harry? He has certainly not brought dignity and respect to his work as a royal.”

Allred added: “The investigation into Meghan Markle is a distraction, and it appears hypocritical under the circumstances. I have to wonder if it reflects a calculated decision to take the focus off of Prince Andrew.

“It is long overdue for the palace to change its priorities and announce that it is conducting its own investigation of Prince Andrew. In addition, it should immediately issue a statement condemning Prince Andrew for failing to provide full in-person cooperation in the ongoing criminal investigation by the United States justice department.”

In December, Andrew’s spokesperson declined to comment on a report that the prince stayed in the New York mansion of the sex offender Epstein in April 2001, despite Andrew denying doing so in his infamous Newsnight interview.

The refusal to repeat the denial came after the Daily Mail uncovered a fax that said the prince had stayed at a “private address in New York” on 11 April and its sources confirmed this was Epstein’s £60m home in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Giuffre, who was 17 at the time and called Virginia Roberts, alleges Epstein flew her to New York to have sex with Andrew – something Andrew continues to vehemently deny.  

Giuffre says she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with the prince three times in 2001. The prince has always denied any wrongdoing and says he cannot recall meeting her or having his picture taken with her.

He said in November: “I continue to unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein … Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required.”

Since then he has not spoken to US authorities investigating Epstein’s alleged crimes.  By Ben Quinn, Guardian/Yahoo News

Social media is awash with reports that Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli is admitted to a Kenyan Hospital.

Magufuli who is said to be in a critical condition has not been seen in public for weeks. This has led to many unconfirmed rumours about the President’s state of health.

Tundu Lissu, an opposition figure in Tanzania, questioned why citizens have not been informed about the President’s State of health. 

And now, several sources on social media have reported that there is heavy security at the VVIP wing of a prestigious hospital in Nairobi. The security point at the presence of a very big patient. 

There are also rumors that in fact, the President who won his second term in October last year, could be battling the dreaded COVID-19. Magufuli has made international headlines for downplaying the virus, arguing that God has cured his people. He refused to put in measures to contain the virus and even declared Tanzania COVID-19 free in April last year. He has also discouraged his people from taking vaccines.

He has been severally quoted by the media, making fun of Kenya’s COVID-19 containment measures.

However, there is a concern about the number of high-profile deaths witnessed in Tanzania in the past several weeks. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health has also advised citizens to use traditional methods to contain a certain type of cold. KDRTV

Jerusha Malini a nurse at KNH is being vaccinated against Covid-19 on March 5, 2021. Image: Fredrick Omondi
 
In Summary

• Anyolo said it must be understood that those doctors cannot and should not purport to speak in the name of the Catholic Church.

• The Catholic Doctors Association took issue with the Astrazeneca vaccine due to its use of genetically modified organisms and use of lab-grown cells that descend from cells taken in the 1980s from the tissue of aborted foetuses.

Catholic Bishops have now distanced themselves from claims that the Covid-19 vaccine is unnecessary.

In a statement to newsrooms, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops led by Rev Philip Anyolo said the recent statement by Kenya Catholic Doctors Association was made by the doctors in their own capacity.

Anyolo said the remarks dos not, therefore, reflect the stand of the church. "It must be understood that those doctors cannot and should not purport to speak in the name of the Catholic Church," Anyolo said.

His sentiments come after the Catholic Church was locked in a standoff with the Ministry of Health over the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Doctors who profess the Catholic faith objected the vaccination process saying it is unnecessary.

The doctor's lobby advised church members not to accept the Covid-19 vaccine but instead practise steam therapy if they are sick.

They also advised those sick with Covid-19 to take three medicines that studies show are useless against the disease.

However, health experts have cautioned that Kenyans should get the vaccine they are offered.

The Catholic Doctors Association took issue with the Astrazeneca vaccine due to its use of genetically modified organisms and use of lab-grown cells that descend from cells taken in the 1980s from the tissue of aborted foetuses. 

But Anyolo in the statement said the Catholic Church has since before independence collaborated with the government to roll out high-impact lifesaving vaccines.

"The church notes that it is licit and ethically acceptable to receive all covid-19 vaccines that the health ministry recognises as clinically genuine, safe and effective," he said.

Anyolo said the ministry should however take all the necessary steps required to affirm to the public that the vaccines are safe and effective in order to encourage people to be vaccinated.

"In the absence of other means to stop the covid-19 pandemic, the common good calls for vaccination, primarily to protect the weakest and most exposed," he said.

Anyolo said in this regard, receiving the available covid-19 vaccines ought to be understood as an act of charity towards other community members.

"We note that vaccination is not as a rule, an obligation and therefore it can only be done on voluntary basis and at the discretion of an individual after giving informed consent," he said.

He added, "We, therefore, appeal to the consciences of Kenyans to accept the covid-19 vaccines in the light of the assurance given by the Ministry of Health".

The Bishop said for those who for reasons of conscience or otherwise decline the vaccination must avoid becoming vehicles for the transmission of the disease.

He said they should strictly adhere to all containment protocols put in place. The star

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