Latest Updates: Kitui

Showing posts with label Kitui. Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2022

Kiema Kilonzo challenges Malombe's nomination for Kitui Governor seat

Eric June 13, 2022 0

Former Kenya's High Commissioner to Uganda Kiema kilonzo has filed a complaint against the nomination of Julius Malombe to contest for the position of Governor in Kitui County.

Through his Lawyer Eric Mutua, Kiema told the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) dispute resolution committee that Malombe’s nomination was a fraud.

He urged the committee to revoke the nomination and order for a fresh one.

Mutua said that his client was not notified of the time and date when the nominations were held and only received a letter three hours after the exercise had been kicked off.

Lawyer Mansur Isha representing Malombe, however told the committee that the complaint before them is ineffective and thus should be dismissed.

He argued that Kiema ought to have exhausted the internal party mechanism before filing his complaint to the committee noting that he failed to petition the returning officer or to Wiper Democratic Party.

Isha submitted that the committee lacked jurisdiction to entertain the complaint,

The committee will deliver a ruling on June 18.

Wiper nominates Julius Malombe for Kitui Governor

Kitui

Eric April 19, 2022 0

Wiper Democratic Movement has settled on Julius Makau Malombe for Kitui gubernatorial contest set for August 9th.

Wiper made the announcement on Tuesday after consensus between Malombe and immediate Kenya Ambassador to Uganda Hon Kiema Kilonzo who had also declared interest spearheaded by Hon Kalonzo Musyoka.

Speaking to press at the party's command center, Kalonzo said they relied on several options before nominating Malombe including scientific survey, religious leaders concuss, National Executive Council (NEC) resolutions among others.

Kalonzo indicated that the party put a lot of effort to engage aspirants through consensus.

In his acceptance speech, Malombe pledged to work with all party members to capture all the elective seats in the county.

Mwingi bus tragedy: 23 People killed after bus plunges into Enziu River

Kitui

Eric December 04, 2021 0

At least 20 people lost their lives after a bus they were traveling in plunged into Enziu River, Nguni area in Mwingi East, Kitui County.

So far, 23 bodies have been retrieved from the bus while 12 people ( 4 children and 8 adults ) have been rescued and rushed to Mwingi Level Four Hospital for emergency treatment.

According to Kitui County Police Commander Leah Kithei, the 51 seater bus belonging to St Joseph Seminary was ferrying Catholic faithful to Nuu area for a wedding ceremony.

Search and rescue operations are undergoing as agencies are working to establish the number of occupants booked on the bus before it set out on the journey to Mwingi North.

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu who visited scene called for calm as search teams worked to retrieve the bodies.

Ngilu also challenged the national government to expedite the construction of a bridge over the seasonal river which has claimed lives in the past

A video footage of the tragedy that has since gone viral on social media showed the bus being swept away as it crossed the swollen river as people watched helplessly.

Screams and wailing rent the air as some of the men who were standing across the river dived into the water to rescue passengers who were trapped in the sinking bus.

Kamiti Maximum Prison escapees arrested in Kitui

Kitui

Eric November 18, 2021 0

The three terror convicts who escaped from Kamiti Maximum Prison on Monday have been arrested by Anti Terror Police Unit ( ATPU).

The trio Musharaf Abdalla alias Alex Shikanda (34), Joseph Juma Odhiambo (30) and Mohammed Ali Abikar (35) were arrested in Enzio forest in Mwingi East, Kitui County with reports indicating they were en route to Somalia .

They were arrested following a tip-off from the public and are currently being driven back to Nairobi.

They escaped Kamiti Maximus Security Prison, Kenya's arguably most secured correctional Center after dislodging a brick on the wall of their cell. They then used blankets, strings and broomsticks to create makeshift ropes that they used to scale two high walls around the prison.

Following their escape, at least 10 prison officers were arrested for allegedly aiding the criminals to flee and detained were for 25 days.

On Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta sacked Wycliffe Ogalo, the Commissioner-General of the Kenya Prisons Service over the jail break incident , with the Head of State appointing Brigadier (Rtd) John Kibaso Warioba as the new prisons boss.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations had offered a Ksh.60 million bounty to anyone who would give out information that would lead to the arrest of the terror convicts.

Police in Kitui arrest 3 suspects for selling narcotics

Kitui

Eric September 21, 2021 0

Three people in Mwingi town, Kitui County were arrested for selling bhang, heroin during curfew hours.

Police arrested the trio, John Muasya, Paul Mumo, and Julius Muasya, all aged between 23 and 24, after catching them hawking heroin concealed in seven sachets and 10 rolls of bhang.

According to the officers, the three suspects intended to sell the illegal drugs to twilight girls who roam the town.

The trio are in police custody awaiting arraignment in court for being in possession of and trafficking in narcotics.

Man charged with attacking wife with an axe in Kitui

Kitui

Eric January 02, 2021 0

A 35-year-old-man from Kyuso in Kitui was charged brutally attacking his wife with an axe and leaving her for dead and he later pleaded guilty.

The 28-year-old wife, Jane Bahati, was in critical condition when she was admitted in Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi. She was moved to the ICU after she slipped into a coma.

According to Kyuso police commander Charles Machinji, the suspect identified as Makau Musya was put on a holding charge due to the wife's condition. The days the court had allowed the police to hold him had expired so they had to charge him.

The police were granted court orders to hold him for seven days, pending the conclusion of investigations.

Machinji stated, “The ideal charge against the accused person will be preferred when the fate of the hospitalised victim becomes clear. Depending on how things go, he might even end up being charged with a more serious offence of attempted murder.”

After attacking the wife, Musya went into hiding and was arrested the following day on December 23.

The suspect was charged on Wednesday before Kyuso senior resident magistrate John Aringo. He pleaded guilty during the court hearing.

However, the prosecution urged the court to suspend his sentencing for seven days pending the fate of the wife.

The magistrate termed the prosecution's plea as justified and granted it. Therefore, he ordered that the accused be remanded until January 7, 2021, when the case will be mentioned.

Middle-aged man found dead in Kitui lodging

Kitui

Eric October 17, 2020 0

A man was discovered dead inside Zombe Premier Guest House in Kitui central today morning 17th October 2020

Kitui Central Sub County Director of Criminal Investigations Singi Nzyoka confirmed the incident.

'' The deceased had traveled to Kitui from Western Kenya in the company of two other men.''Singi Nzyoka said .

His phone records showed the deceased was headed to Mbitini in Kitui rural to honour an appointment with a witch doctor.

Singi told Musyi FM that the deceased is suspected to have died from an overdose of a sexual enhancement pill.

He however said a scheduled autopsy will reveal the cause of death.

The body of the deceased was moved to the Kitui Level Four Hospital Mortuary.

Ukamba Agricultural Institute moves to court, challenges rent hike

Kitui

Eric October 16, 2020 0

On Thursday, Ukamba Agricultural Institute filed a petition at the High Court, challenging the Rent Restriction Act.

According to the institute, the Rent Restriction Act, as well as the Landlord and Tenant Act, prohibiting landlords from increasing rents without the rent tribunal approval, are unconstitutional.

This suit follows the institute's frustrations due to its inability to increase rent for its residential houses, business premises, and the land it rents in Nairobi and other parts of the country.

Senior Counsel Nzamba Kitonga is representing the institute. He argued that the Rent tribunal should not preside over rent dispute cases as entities like the institute continue to lose millions of shillings in rent collection.

Mr. Kitonga asserted, "The laws that stop landlords from increasing rent at will are outdated pre-colonial legislation premised on the notion that tenants should be protected from greedy landlords, and they should not be allowed to operate in our current Constitution."

The lawyer further argued that the restriction laws are outdated and they infringe on an individual’s right to own and deal with their property as they wish.

Kitonga said," A landlord and a tenant should be allowed to enter into a contract on a willing buyer, willing seller basis. The rent laws are archaic as they violate social, economic, and consumer rights of Kenyans who have invested in rental buildings and want to charge appropriate rent."

Kitonga will handle the case based on

consumer rights of the landlords and tenants as outlined in the Constitution.

In an affidavit, Ukamba Agricultural Institute Chairman, Robert Mutiso, stated that they cannot

enjoy the fruits of their investments because of the rigid laws.

Mr Mutiso added, “The Constitution created the Environment and Land Court which should be the court dealing with any dispute relating to land usage, including rent. The tribunals are illegally presiding over matters of rent dispute and should be declared unconstitutional.”

If the petition goes through, landlords will be able to increase rent without notice.