Azimio leaders on Sunday cancelled last-minute rallies that had been lined up in Kitengela and Mlolongo. Wiper Party leader Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka said the move to abruptly call off the rallies was reached after consultations following security concerns.

Addressing a press conference at a Kitengela hotel, Kalonzo who was accompanied by Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) leader Eugene Wamalwa, Jubilee Secretary General  Jeremiah Kioni, former Kiambu governor Ferdinard Waititu, politician Jimmy Wanjigi and Kajiado deputy governor Martin Moshisho, said the presence of police officers in the area meant that the officers were ready to disrupt the rally and course chaos. 

"We had earlier planned to attend a Sunday service at the African Inland Church (AIC) Mlolongo but the information we have is that  DCI officers has this morning (Sunday) stormed the church and warned the presiding pastor not to allow us there.  The same thing has happened at AIC Kitengela church where we intended to attend a service later'' said Kalonzo. 

The Wiper leader accused President William Ruto of trying to intimidate those who are against his leadership.

"We are peaceful people, and therefore we don't want to subject the people of Kitengela to chaos and teargas. Our intention is very clear that the people of Kenya are not happy with his leadership, I wonder why they are following us every where we go and for what reason," posed Kalonzo.

The opposition leaders were in the area to to console the  Kitengela three - Bob Njagi, Jamil Longton and his brother Longton Aslam - who were allegedly abducted by police and later set free after being held incommunicado for one month. 

Kalonzo attributed the abductions to impunity by rogue police officers who he claimed were on a mission to destroy the country’s future. Jamil and his brother Aslam were dumped in Gachie while Njagi was found in Thogoto on the night of September 19.

''We are here to condemn in the strongest terms possible the arrest of the three young men , Bob Njagi, Jamil  Longton and his brother Aslam. Although the police denied the act, we are asking who else in Kenya is allowed to have handcuffs, only the police and that's why we hold them accountable for this action,'' said the Wiper boss. 

“They are responsible for the attempt to diminish, dismember and destroy our beloved Republic's present and future.” he added.

According to Kalonzo, the acts of abductions were meant to systematically limit, abuse, and silence Kenyans' constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech.

Following the abhorrible act, Kioni disclosed that the opposition is planning to seek justice at the international level. 

"We are going to seek intervention in an international court, we have advised our lawyer Mr Paul Mwangi to start the process,'' said Kioni.

Wamalwa condemned President William Ruto's leadership style claiming the Head of State was in the process of returning the country back to dark days when government critics were taken by the police never to be seen alive.

''We were told that Nyayo chambers were closed, we have now realized that the government has opened other torture chambers in  Nairobi and its environs where they hold people incommunicado, starve them almost to death, and when there's pressure from the public they dump them. We are here to condemn that and say we will not sit and watch this again,'' stated Wamalwa. By Peterson Githaiga, The Standard

This week the High Court for the second time declared the CDF Act unconstitutional.

It goes to the ingenuity of Parliamentarians that this unconstitutionality was on a later version of the CDF Act, cleverly renamed National Government CDF, the 2013 version having been declared unconstitutional by the High Court, the Court of Appeal and finally by the Supreme Court in 2022.

Why I say ingenious is that before the Courts concluded the first set of cases, Parliament had already amended the 2013 Act and was even arguing that the court should halt the proceedings since the Act before the court had already been repealed! 

Both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court would have none of that and insisted that despite the technical repeal of the previous Act, the substantive issues that had brought the Act before the courts were still alive in the amended law! 

But by then Parliament was using the new Act to continue the CDF process. This time Parliamentarians had cleverly disguised their role and appeared to be uninvolved with the management of the Fund.

The indefatigable Wanjiru Gikonyo had to start the journey of impugning the Act, the 2015 version all over again. But this time the courts have declared all versions, including the latest one passed in 2023 unconstitutional. It will be interesting to see Parliament’s new tricks; this is one issue Parliament considers a red line.

Until the introduction of a devolved system, CDF was one of the most popular decentralisation processes, introduced by government on the encouragement of the World Bank and IMF to blunt some of the more painful impacts of the Structural Adjustment Programmes. 

When introduced in 2003, it was the first time that money was allocated to Kenya based on statutory rule unlike the historical politics-based “siasa mbaya, maisha mbaya” allocations.

Though it was still a small fraction of the national budget, it was the first time parts of this country had seen evidence of government in development programmes, however micro. 

It thus became popular with people but even more popular with MPs who no longer had to foot all their constituency bills from their pockets, now they could promise a bursary here, a graded road here and some microwater project there.

It also became popular with the Executive; ministers were no longer the sole source of resources for MPs. But with the coming of devolution and the assignment of local development to county governments, CDF started its long journey to the grave. But MPs are addicted to CDF and like all addictions, it will not go away easily.

Parliamentarians will innovate ways to keep it alive. The challenge for MPs is the portion that makes it most attractive to them, which is their latent control of its operations, is what the courts find offensive. So, they are caught in catch 22 situation, to keep CDF they would have to remove from the Act the only reasons why they keep CDF! 

But ultimately CDF will have to go. It offends the devolved system of government, confusing the function assignment process and even taking over functions that belong to county governments.

It offends the separation of powers by making MPs executors and "oversighters.” It keeps MPs distracted from the most critical part of their functions, legislation and oversight over the Executive.

It indirectly makes constituencies another level of government for development purposes, while they constitutionally exist as political unit for representation. It has increased the clamour for all sorts of funds from legislators, Oversight Funds by the Senate, Affirmative Action Funds for Women Representatives and Ward Funds for MCAs.

All these funds have the same deficiencies CDF has only that they have not been challenged due to their minute sizes. At some point we will need to accept that we devolved and that this has consequences.

Any leader who wants to play an executive role should seek an executive role at either level of government.

They should allow those who want to be legislators only to go to Parliament. This dance with the courts is the kicks of a dying horse, it will go on for a while but the horse will give up the ghost sooner than later. -The writer is an advocate, The Standard

At least five people were killed and four others sustained gunshot wounds in fighting between members of the clans of the Anin section of the Pakam community of Rumbek North County.

The revenge clashes on Friday followed the death at a hospital of a person wounded two years ago during the Fih and the Anin clash on Thursday.

 Police spokesperson Maj Elijah Mabor Makuac confirmed to Radio Tamazuj on Friday that five people were killed and four others were wounded in the fighting.

“We received information this morning that fighting erupted between two sub clans of the Anin, residing here in Rumbek Central County,” he said.

“The fighting took place at Amer Village and spread to Mathiang Village,” he added.

“The first information we received was that three people were killed and three others were wounded, but this afternoon we received information from our forces that the death toll was between three and five people and four others wounded,” Makuac said.

He said security forces were still on the ground and had reported managing to disperse the warring parties.

The reason for the fighting, Makuac explained, was revenge for someone who was shot two years ago and was under medical care, but unfortunately died and the relatives immediately sought revenge.

He appealed to communities to refrain from any kind of revenge attacks.

The Lakes State Civil Society Network Chairperson, Angelina Adhel, condemned the fighting and said it was a warning to the government to maintain a security alert.

Adhel urged the Lakes State Government to heighten the security surveillance, especially in the cattle camps where flare-ups were common. By RUMBEK NORTH, Radio Tamazuj

Whereas Alfred Baluku, a bus conductor with Bebeto Coach, knew the Nimule-Juba highway in South Sudan was dangerous, he never imagined he would experience a fatal attack firsthand.

On September 24, 2024, Bebeto Coach bus, which Baluku had worked on since February, set off from Juba City for Kampala at 6 am South Sudanese time (GMT +2). On board were 40 passengers, a mix of Ugandans and South Sudanese nationals, along with a turnman, the driver, and two armed soldiers from the South Sudan National Security Service tasked with escorting the bus through the volatile route. 

Baluku recalled that after travelling about 90 km into the journey, sporadic gunfire suddenly erupted from the nearby bush, with bullets targeting the front of the bus.

"The bullets started at random from the front because they first hit the windscreen and there was a big hole in front of the bus. I think it was a strong [big] gun they used and that's when we realized that we were being shot at,” Baluku told URN in an interview on Wednesday.

The driver, despite the continued gunfire, attempted to drive for about 100 meters but was forced to stop as the damaged radiator released steam, obscuring his view through the windshield.

Baluku described the attackers as a group of around 50 gunmen who charged toward the bus, firing continuously. One of the soldiers on board tried to fend them off but was overwhelmed.

"We had two soldiers in the bus, and one was shot and fell out when the bus was still moving....So, the one that was still on board came out and started pushing them back but unfortunately, he was alone, and the guys were coming in big numbers, he tried his level best but couldn’t manage,” Baluku said.

As the soldier ran out of bullets, the gunmen advanced on the bus. Baluku, along with the driver and the remaining soldier, fled into the bush for safety. However, 30 passengers were still trapped inside as the attackers took control. 

From his hiding place, Baluku says he watched as the gunmen surrounded the bus, demanding phones and money from the passengers. They looted the luggage compartment, specifically searching for food.

"They picked every luggage in the boot and put it down and those guys when they were talking, they wanted especially foodstuffs. They were asking "where is the milk, where is the milk?" They took some passengers whom they told to carry the packs to the nearby bush. Some of them were told to sit down and left them unharmed. You can't tell the exact number but they were 50+. They were so many,” Baluku recounted.

For nearly an hour, the attackers ransacked the bus without any response from the government forces. Eventually, they set the bus on fire and retreated into the bush with the uninjured passengers they had captured. South Sudanese soldiers arrived an hour later, prompting the rebels to flee.

Baluku, who survived with minor injuries along with 11 others, was rescued by soldiers after being convinced to emerge from their hiding spot. Five people were severely injured, and one male passenger was killed. The survivors were taken to Juba for treatment.

Baluku, a father of two, was one of five casualties brought to Amuru district for medical care. Four Ugandans and one South Sudanese national were among those treated.

At least 12 victims of the attack have since crossed into Uganda via Elegu Port health centre at the border, according to Patrick Louis Lamot, the port health focal point at the Uganda-South Sudan border.

South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) spokesperson Maj Gen Lul Ruai Koang blamed the National Salvation Front (NAS) rebel group, led by Lt Gen Thomas Cirilo, for the attack. He confirmed that 14 passengers had been abducted and said the army was pursuing the rebels, who fled toward the Nile River. It remains unclear if any of the captives have been released. By URN/ The Observer