Rejection - African Woman and Child Feature Service

ISSUE 035March 1-15, 2011A bimonthly on-line newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature ServiceBirth certificate scamDemands for sex and bribes hit registration of persons’ officesBy RYAN MATHENGE, JOSEPHMUKUBWA & LIZ WAMBUINyeri, Murang’a and Nakuru offices of Registrationof Persons have been a beehive of activitywhere parents with children awaiting tobe registered as KCSE and KCPE candidateshave been looking to get birth certificates inthe past two months.In some places students were also away fromschool queing for the document and missingclasses for a numbner of days.While the Government has asked that parentsget these documents, which in any casethey should have been given at delivery, infrastructurein place is making acquiring thedocuments a nightmare that many parents areunable to wake up from.The whole process has been marred by poverty,bribery and sexual exchanges from desperateparents and corrupt Government officials.Many of the parents’, especially poor womenhave been sleeping at Murang’a District Hospitalbenches to be able to be among the first to beserved the following day.Investigations by The Reject revealed thatbenches at Murang’a District Hospital havebeen full with the parents posing as patients.They cannot afford to travel back home andreturn to collect the birth certificates.Murang’a district registry serves constituenciesof Kiharu, Kangema, Mathioya, Kandara,Maragua and Kigumo.Mary Mukami is among many of the parentswho have spent days at the district officesin efforts to get a certificate for her daughterwho is expected to be registered for her KenyaCertificate of Primary School Education.“I was forced to camp at the District Hospitalwhich is a 24 hour facility when I realisedthat I could not afford fare home yet every dayI am promised that the certificate will be outthe following day,” said Mukami.Investigations also revealed high levels ofbribery at the offices. A number of young ignorantmothers have also fallen victim to middlemen who lure them into their homes or lodgeswith false promises of assisting them the nextmorning.Although, many of the young mothers havedeclined to respond to the claims made by theolder women who allege that the younger onesreport late but end up being issued with thebirth certificates before the end of the day.Many of them said they had to part with betweenKSh500 and KSh2,000. However, middleContinued on page 2Parents wait in long queues for manydays to secure birth certificates in Nyeritown. Below: Students from differentschools queue outside Sheria Housewhere they sought birth certificates thatwould enable them register for nationalexaminations.Pictures: Joseph Mukubwa & CorrespondentRead more Reject stories online at www.mediadiversityafrica.org

2 Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Parent’s nightmare inbirth certificate scamContinued from page 1men are used by the departmental staff to identifythose who will not raise alarm when askedto part with cash to facilitate processing of thedocuments within hours.The staff, a source disclosed, work in cahootswith some middle men among themcobblers in town who are used to identify thoseasking for the way to the registration departmentoffices.In Nyeri, hundreds have camped at the registrationof persons offices in an attempt to getthe documents. Many parents are seeking birthcertificates for their children. While, manythought it would be a simple process, parentsare complaining about inordinate delays in processingthe certificates.Just like in Murang’a, majority have beenspending cold nights on the nearby hospitalbenches so that they can get to the registrationoffices early with the needed papers.Long queues that have been witnessed sincelast year start at 7am to 6pm daily.BribesParents who thronged the office for the servicecomplained of inefficiency and accusedofficers of soliciting bribes before they couldprocess the certificates.Mary Muthoni, a mother of four childrensaid she had visited the office more than fivetimes only to go home without a certificate asshe could not raise the KSh1,200 to bribe an officerwas asking for. She only had the KSh50 feethat was required as the official fee for one to getthe document.“They are demanding between KSh500 andKSh2,000 for quicker services. If you have it,you can go home with the certificate within aday but if you have nothing, you can keep cominghere even for two months,” said Muthoniwho had travelled all the way from Wariruta inKieni district.Most of those jamming the offices are fromNyeri County constituencies which include,Mathira, Kieni, Othaya, Nyeri Town, Tetu andMukurwe-ini. Others have been travelling fromas far as Kirinyaga County depending on whereone was born.Parents are now appealing to the Governmentto equip the office with modern equipmentlike computers which can be used to hastenthe processing of typing certificates.Mothers with babies on their backs wereseen sleeping on the grass as nobody seemedto care. Efforts by the Reject to get commentsabout the bribery allegations from the districtbirth and registration officer Mr S. Kimothofailed as he was out of office.In Nakuru County residents decried poormanagement in the department of civil registrationoffice. The complaints have been necessitatedby a huge backlog of pending applicationsthat are yet to be processed by the office whichserves the greater Nakuru District and at timesextending to the entire Central Rift region.Exam registrationA spot check at the office revealed that officerswere overwhelmed by the huge numbers ofpeople seeking to be served on any given day.In the midst of the crisis have emerged conmenand middlemen who collude with some ofthe staff to offer shortcuts into the process forKSh1,500.Thousands of parents have been campingoutside the offices for the last month seeking toget birth certificates in time to beat the deadlinefor national examination registrations.The problem is further compounded bythousands of others who are seeking the vitaldocuments in order to register their children inschool for the first time.Nakuru human rights activist, Mr DavidWestern Kuria decried the problem and calledDetermined parents withstandthe long queues to secure birthcertificates for their children.Below: One of the parents fills inthe application form in readinessfor the process. Pictures: JosephMukubwa & Correspondentfor urgent intervention from the Ministryof Immigration and Registration ofPersons.“Our investigations have shown thatthe office is understaffed and the workload is so huge that some parents areforced to sleep on the verandah for closeto one week to be served,” he said, adding“most parents came from far flung areasof Central Rift”.Kuria added that Standard Eight pupilsand Form Four students were alreadybeing sent away from schools for lackingthe document that is a pre-requisite fornational examination registration.“The Ministry of Immigration andRegistration of Persons has failed miserably,”reiterated Kuria. He called on the Governmentto decentralise such basic services as that of civilregistration and equip the department with amplestaff and materials to ease the congestion.In Murang’a East, the District CommissionerMr George Natembeya ordered an operationthat netted seven people suspected to have beenmasterminds of the birth certificate corruptionowing to many complaints originating fromparents. Those netted in the operation includedsome government employees who were accusedof extorting thousands of shillings fromthe parents.“We have been forced to deploy more staffat the department to help hasten the process toend parents’ suffering. I am not aware of anybribery claims as nobody has reported any incident,”said Natembeya when he spoke to thePress.The administrator has however called onparents to ensure that all their children are registeredto avoid the last minute rush.Parents are now appealingto the Government to equipthe office with modernequipment like computerswhich can be used to hastenthe processing of typingcertificates.“Many of the parents wait until the lastminute only to camp at the office yet last yearafter examination registration was completedthey failed to use the opportunity to ensuretheir other children are registered,” said the DC.AgonyThis year candidates are under pressure topresent birth certificates to enable them registerfor the national examinations.Peter Ngaruiya said his parents have beencamping at the offices in turns since mid Januaryand they are yet to get the registration document.“I have no alternative but to repeat StandardSeven which is not my wish since I will nothave beaten the deadline,” said Ngaruiya.Meanwhile, the Nakuru District Commissioner,Mr Kangethe Thuku visited the officesafter numerous complaints were made to his officeabout the rampant corruption, favouritismand poor delivery of services at the registrationof person’s office.He assured thousands who camped outsidethe offices that the services would soon be decentralised.“This problem is multi-faceted. Onthe one hand are the parents who wait onlyuntil the last minute to procure the importantdocuments. On the other hand are brokerswho rip-off hapless Kenyans. But the greatestproblem is the Department which is highlycentralised,” he said.Residents complained that there was needto make allocations for newly created districtsin the region whose residents are forced to accessservices in the provincial headquarters.According to civil registration officers inNakuru, the office has the capacity to processonly 50 certificates a day against thousands ofapplications.Residentstake CDFto KACCBy JOEL JUMAResidents of Bumula Constituency in BungomaCounty are set to move to court to obtainan injunction to freeze Constituency DevelopmentFund (CDF) accounts.They have since written to Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) director,Dr PLO Lumumba and asked him to investigatealleged mismanagement of the funds.EmbezzlementTheir lawyer, Boniface Otsula said the residentswant the accounts frozen until KACCcompletes its investigations. “The residents donot want the CDF committee to make any furtherwithdrawals until investigations are completed,”Otsula explained.A Government report for 2008/2009 financialyear cited substantial embezzlementin a KSh37.4 million water project in Bumula.The Controller and Auditor General Reporton appropriation accounts indicatedthat an expenditure of KSh37.4 million hadbeen incurred yet there were no benefits toresidents. The report further indicated that nodam had been constructed as entailed in theproject.“Instead, the contractor laid pipes froman existing water project known as MalakisiWater Station, which supplies water to Malabatown,” read part of the report.In a letter to the KACC director dated January27, 2011, the residents said ConstituencyDevelopment Board Secretariat had failedto address their complaints. They further lamentedthat their complaints to the formerdirector of KACC had not been dealt witheither.“This time round, please come to our aidand help rescue our CDF,” they said in the letter.Ghost projectsFormer PC Maurice Makhanu, civic leadersand the business community amongother leaders signed the letter. They citedthe construction of a water dam and layingpipes in Mukwa, Kibuke and Siboti locationsas some of the projects KACC should investigate.“The project was commissioned by PresidentKibaki in 2007 and KSh37 million wasspent but locals have not seen a drop of water,”read part of the letter. They further citedalleged allocation of funds to a secondaryschool twice yet the institution received onlythe first batch of the money.“Netima Secondary School and St PatrickNetima Secondary School are one and thesame. However, an allocation of KSh900,000and KSh800,000 was made to the schoolbut only the latter was received,” residentsclaimed.Lands Assistant Minister Bifwoli Wakoliwho is the area MP has constantly dismissedthe allegations as ‘baseless’. Wakoli told thepress that there is political mischief in the allegations.“Those behind the allegations had politicalambitions in the constituency,” he claims.In the letter to KACC, residents furtherclaimed the CDF committee was incurringghost expenditure. They said KSh2.4 millionwas allocated to Kabula Dispensary for an ambulanceyet no vehicle has been purchased.“Other ghost expenditures were incurredduring the purchase of Kamaeti SecondarySchool bus, construction of CDF office, cattledips, chiefs offices among others,” said JosephWekesa, a resident from Kabula location.

ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth3Can camels mitigate against drought?Hundreds of cattle lost to harsh weather provoke thoughts of alternativesBy HUSSEIN DIDORecurrent drought in northern Kenyahas had serious socio-economic andpolitical implications. Lack of rainhas adversely affected efforts to alleviateand improve livelihoods amongthe pastoral communities. The NorthEastern and upper Eastern regionsare prone to drought hazards and recordsindicate that a major droughtis likely to occur every four to eightyears.PovertyAmong pastoralists, the droughtoften finds them unprepared. This isfollowed by predictable knee-jerk responseslike relief food donations andlivestock off-take programmes.A herder, Mr Mohamed Godanawho moved with his 50 heads of cattleto Kinna in the search for pastureand water in the last famine, found hisway back home with only two animals,losing thousands of shillings when hisanimals died in the ravaging drought.The herder has since been reducedto a beggar and has to rely on relieffood. “It has been a long strugglebecause I have spent most of my liferearing animals but I did not expectthem to be wiped out by drought,”says Godana, one among hundreds ofthe herders who lost their livestock.To mitigate against the drought,pastoralists have to learn that unpreparednessat government, privatesector and community levels has costthem billions of shillings. The droughtis of grave concern as hundreds ofBy EKUWAM ADOUUsing an automated teller machineyou can soon draw camel milkfrom a dispenser strategically locatedalong the streets of majortowns.Depending on the amount ofcoins inserted into the dispenserand a container of choice, one willbe able to draw camel milk for domesticconsumption.To ensure that milk stored in thisdispenser is safe to drink, softwarethat will detect when the milk goesbad will be installed.Instant messages will be sentto the proprietors mobile phones,whenever milk in the dispensergoes bad and is called upon to correctthe problem.“An SMS will be sent to milkvendors to alert them of the problem.If it is not rectified immediately,the machine is automaticallyblocked from dispensing the milk,”explained Omar Sheik, regionallivestock project officer in chargeof the dairy camel milk project atEwaso Nyiro North DevelopmentAuthority.In the pilot phase, three milkdispensers will be located in Nairobi,mostly in areas inhabited bySomali pastoralist community inEastleigh, Jamia Mosque and SouthC before it is rolled out to the rest ofthe country.Construction of the state of theart modern camel milk plant willkick-off soon in a bold move by thecattle and human lives end upbeing lost due to drought andhunger respectively.The famine has had a negativeimpact on the food situationsince most of the pastoralistcommunities bank their livelihoodon livestock. In areas likeIsiolo, Mandera and Marsabitpeople have turned to feedingon wild fruits.This is an indication thatGovernment is least prepared inhandling drought. The Governmentshould have learnt fromthe past experiences that reliefrations are not a solution andshould have instead preparedthe communities on the needto manage situation for sustainability.PolicyLeaders in Upper Eastern feel thereis need for supportive policies and longterm drought mitigation measuresthat are effective, practical, sustainableand acceptable. They asked the Governmentto commit itself to putting inplace policies that would address foodsecurity and drought situation.Led by Mr Hassan Galma, theleaders hailed Minister for LivestockDevelopment Dr Mohamed Kuti forthe swift action in raising the red flagover the drought situation.He said the minister had donepart of the job but other governmentagencies must move in to support theMinistry to consolidate its efforts toaddress the problem of drought inGovernment to streamline andcommercialise camel milk productionand distribution.The KSh1.5 billion plan willbe implemented by Ewaso NyiroNorth Development Basin DevelopmentAuthority (ENNDA).The plan follows a successfulfeasibility study undertaken bythe ENNDA and Egerton Universityon the viability of commercializationof camel milk,which came up with favourablefindings on the potential of thecamel milk sub-sector.“The camel milk sub-sectoris now much larger than that ofcotton and pyrethrum sub-sectorsput together. It has potentialfor growth to rival or eclipsecoffee and tea sub-sectors wherea lot of government money hasbeen channelled for years,” saidOmar.According to the 2009 populationand housing census thecamel population in the countryis about 7.9 million. About 1.7 millioncamels are found in pastoralistareas. The commercial value ofcamel milk has not yet been exploited,much as the country producesabout 340 million litresof milk with the value of aboutKSh8 billion.Omar indicated that the movewas driven by increased internationalrecognition of camel milk as anatural health product in treatmentof diabetes and other ailments.Currently about 4,000 to 6,000the country. Galma said the Governmentshould have addressed the currentfood situation having in mind thetraditional ways of life.“The Government should refocuson restocking pastoralists with camelsthat have proved to be resistant todrought and add more money to theunderfunded Ministry of LivestockDevelopment,” he said.Camels play multiple roles in pastoralproduction systems wherebymilk production is perhaps the mostimportant in addressing the issue offood security.Communities in Northern Kenyaand those living in arid and semiaridregions have been forced torear camels to overcome the effect ofglobal warming.Hundreds of pastoralists haveabandoned the traditional rearing ofMilk to be sold through dispensersA camel herder tending to his animals in northern Kenya. Cattle in the region have succumbed to deathdue to the raging drought in northern Kenya. Picture: Hussein DidoA fresh milk dispenser in oneof the local supermarkets.Camel milk will soon be availedthrough similar technology.Picture: Correspondentlitres of camel milk is daily transportedfrom Isiolo by bus to Eastleighfor onward transmission toother destinations in the countryand sometimes to Arab countries.However the safety and hygieneof milk is compromised due to thenature of storage in plastic containersmeasuring between three to 20litres.Milk collections centres will bestationed in Garissa, Wajir, Isioloand Mandera where camel farmerscan take their milk for onwardtransmission to Nairobi.cattle and goats and replaced themwith camels due to its ability to adoptto the harsh weather conditions thatis synonymous with the northernregion.ProductsGalma said camel meat is a delicacynot to be missed especially duringfestivities adding that communitiesthat consume blood also breed camelsfor food.Male camels are also used for transportationin addition to playing otherroles in the community like paymentof dowry and compensation in rueparties in clan.In Isiolo and Laikipia districts,pastoralist communities that dependon camels earn over KSh50,000 permonth if they have four animals producingmilk. The prices ranged fromKSh15 to KSh40 per litre and an averageof 59 percent of the total incomeis usually from the sale of camel milk.According to a survey carried bycamel milk producers operating inNanyuki, daily records indicate thatabout 134,100 litres of milk, worthover KSh4.1 million per month weresold.The highest amount of milk producedin the region finds a market inNairobi while others were repackedand sold at exorbitant prices in supermarkets.Hundreds of local residents haveresorted to taking camel milk becauseit is readily available during both therainy and dry season unlike cow milkwhere production goes down withdrought. Camel milk is also preferreddue to its high nutritional value thatother livestock milk in the world.Farmers fail to meet demandfor humped animal’s milkBy HUSSEIN DIDOCamel herders have failed to meet the highmilk demand for its customers for years inKenya as hundreds of Kenyans turn to theproducts due to its high nutritional value.An assessment survey conducted bythe Netherlands Development Organisation(SNV) in partnership with VeterinairesSans Frontier-Suisse and supportedby European Union and the Food andAgriculture Organisation found out thatthe demand for the milk has grown acrossthe country but consumers have failed toaccess the product.According to the SNV Economic Developmentadvisor, Mr Morgan Silome,the milk demand baseline survey on supplyindicated that only 6,000 litres foundits way into the market against a growingdemand.“Camel milk has high nutritional valuecompared to other livestock due to itsadoption and ability to feed as browsers,”he said.Silome was addressing hundreds ofcamel milk suppliers during a milk stakeholder’sworkshop in Isiolo that broughttogether players in the sector.He said the organisation, in partnershipwith other donors, had embarkedon a programme to build the capacity ofproducers, wholesalers and retailers on hygiene,better supply and alternative feedingfor the camels.Last month, Ewaso Nyiro North DevelopmentAuthority launched a marshalprogramme to rejuvenate the sector tobenefit hundreds of the pastoral communitiesfaced with starvation in the country.According to the Managing Director,Mr Rashid Kassim camel rearing hasturned to be the only way out for pastoralistsdue to its survival and source of milkproduction.“The region will soon start reapingfrom camels if Ewaso Nyiro North DevelopmentAuthority finalises the establishmentof milk processing factories at a costof KSh68 million in the region,” explainedKassim. Camel rearing is commonly practicedin Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Isiolo,Tana River and Marsabit districts amongother areas in the country.Kassim said the Authority will createthree centres in Isiolo, Garissa and Nairobito add value to camel milk by pasteurizingit for longer shelf life. Camel milk has beenfound to have longer life span than goat orcow milk ranging from 24 to 32 hours.The project will tap into over 340 litresof camel milk produced daily from thecamel rearing areas of northern Kenya.The market value of the produce beforevalue addition is estimated at KSh8 billionannually.“The value of camel milk surpassesthe annual worth of pyrethrum and cottonand its time the government turns tointegrate camel milk into national dairyproducts consumed nationally,” explainedKassim said. According to 2009 nationalcensus there are about 1.7 million camelsin the area and the Government shouldconsider camels as alternative animals tobe reared in pastoralist areas since theyare drought resistant, hardy and producemore milk than cattle and goats.

4 Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truthISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Taming the juala menaceThough a goodmove, new law tooutlaw plastic bagswill leave manypeople without asource of incomeBy DAVID NJAGIThe mid-morning calm is occasionally disturbedby a frenzied marabou stork callingfor a mate. Nearby, a group of women combthe ground for waste without noticing thecharade playing out among the flock of birds.Once in a while, some who are carrying childrenon their backs will straighten up and letout a yawn. It is the beginning of another dayat the Dandora Municipal dumpsite, which isan hour’s drive from Nairobi city.A loud honk by a truck loaded with wastedisturbs the calm, announcing the entry ofone of the many private city garbage collectorswho make daily trips to drop solid wasteat the site. The United Nations EnvironmentalProgramme (UNEP) estimates that over 2,000metric tonnes of waste is deposited daily at the30-acre dump site.Four decades of activity at the site havepiled a giant mould of waste ranging fromelectronics, foodstuff, plastics and any otherimaginable filth that litters the city. It is fromthis collection that Jacqueline Waithera hasbeen eking out a living in the last five years.IncomeThe mid-morning rendezvous found hersorting out a mix of waste at the dump site. Bythis time, she had two sacks filled with reekingjuala (plastic) bags. “After this I will go cleanthem, do some polishing then resell to mycustomers,” explains the mother of three children.“In a month, this can fetch me at leastKSh6,000 which I use to feed my children andpay rent.”Like Waithera, many residents living nearthe dump site have found some sort of employmentfrom the garbage. The income generatingchain is also a source of livelihoodfor truck drivers like Samuel Ndung’u.His employer pays him KSh10,000 everymonth to ferry waste to the site, a job thatpulled him out of the jaws of crime.“This is a job that most people dislikebecause it is associated with filth,” saysNdung’u. “But I have come to accept it becausethis is how I earn an honest living. Iwish the Government could develop policiesthat take care of low income peoplelike us because I know many jobs can becreated through solid waste management.”His determination to be an honestcitizen may come to bear. Chances of himbeing heard by policy makers remains amirage. It will not be long before Ndung’ufinds out that the Government he is puttinghis hopes on, is just about to put himout of business.Juala banOn January 6, 2011, Kenya joined thelist of other East African countries thathave banned the use of plastic bags. Accordingto the National EnvironmentalManagement Authority (NEMA), plasticof less than 60 micrones thickness havebeen outlawed.NEMA director general, Dr AyubWomen digthrough at theDandora dumpsite where theyare collectingplastic bagsfor reselling.Below: Youngboys carry theirjuala harvestfrom the dumpsite which theytake to a dealerfor recycling.Pictures:Correspondents“This is a job that mostpeople dislike because it isassociated with filth. But Ihave come to accept it becausethis is how I earn an honestliving. I wish the Governmentcould develop policies thattake care of low income peoplelike us because I know manyjobs can be created throughsolid waste management.”— Samuel Ndung’uMacharia, says the Kenya Bureau of Standards(KEBS) has a three-month timelineto effect the directive, failure to which, theenvironmental agency will invoke section12 of the Environmental Management andCoordination Act, 1999.According to the Act: “The Authority(NEMA) may after giving reasonable noticeof its intention to do so, direct a leadagency to perform, within such time and insuch manner as it shall specify, any of theduties imposed upon the lead agency byor under this Act or any other written law,in the field of environment and if the leadagency fails to comply with such directions,the Authority may itself perform or cause tobe performed the duties in question, and theexpense incurred by it in so doing shall be acivil debt recoverable by the Authority fromthe lead agency.”Macharia acknowledges that the proposedchanges will see the use of fewerplastics and reduce the amount that hasbeen accumulating at the dump sites or canbe found scattered all over estates acrossthe country.The move is expected to create more jobopportunities through recycling entrepreneurshipand save companies packaging expenses.“This is not happening currently and a lotof polythene bags remain uncollected to rot inthe dump sites,” explains Macharia. “This newgauge will make plastic bags more valuableand increased job creation for the youth.”Cleaner cityFor Waithera, however, the move could puther at risk of losing her source of livelihoodsince such higher value addition exercises inthe recycling chain are likely to be eclipsed bytycoons.“I read about the attempts to restrain thepoor citizen from wealth creation activitiesand create money making opportunities forbigger business people,” says Waithera.According to Persistent Organic Pollutantsproject officer at the Green Belt MovementMr Newton Manina the organisationhas no reservations with the NEMA directive.The coordinator at the Kenya Legal andEthical Issues Network for HIV and Aids (KE-LIN), Mr Allan Maleche says this will enableKenyans gain access to a clean environment.“It is not meant to deny some people economicopportunities,” said Maleche.

ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth5Turning post consumerplastic waste intohealth and wealthBy MARY NYAMONGOA key characteristic of urban slums is wastethat is strewn all over the place, mainly in theform of plastic bags. This waste presents notonly a risk to the environment but also to thehealth of the inhabitants.Lucy Kirigo Maina has lived in Mitumbaslum community (near South C) for the last20 years. She is married with three childrenaged 15, 10 and seven years. Before she gotinvolved in a plastic bag recycling project, sheused to be a casual labourer in the neighbouringestates. She would go out in the morningto chance being asked by someone to washclothes. She would sit by the roadside and oftentimeswould wait in vain. Her daily wage,when she got something to do, was KSh200.It was when she joined the Juala Tujitegemee(Plastics let us be independent) groupin June of 2008 that her life changed. Shewas informed by the then Chairperson ofMitumba Trust Community-based organisation(MTCBO) about the programme.She expressed interest and joined the groupwhose members had already been trained incrocheting bags.LivelihoodThe programme, she came to learn, wasthe initiative of the African Institute forHealth and Development (AIHD), aimed atcleaning the environment by collecting andreusing plastic bags while providing womenand men a chance to make a livelihood.The group members were made to understandthat plastic bags are a threat to the futureif drastic measures are not taken to controltheir prevalence. Through making bags,the group contributes to reducing the negativeimpact plastics have on the environment.The plastic bags used by the group are collectedfrom the community while others arecollected from the Dandora dumpsite in partnershipwith Jumuiya ya Mukuru Group. NakumattSupermarket has also partnered withthe programme by providing space for binswhere consumers can return their used plasticbags. Upon delivery/collection, the plasticbags are washed with soap and an antiseptic,cut into thin strips and rolled in a yarn forcrocheting.Still buildingMaina did not make any money in 2008but this did not discourage her. She continuedmaking bags and improving her skills inthe process. Her fortunes changed in 2009.The group was facilitated by the AIHD andthe American Women Ambassadors (AWA)in Kenya to access a trade fair in Nairobi inFebruary 2009. During this fair, she sold bagsworth KSh4,000. She used the money to buyfood and pay rent. In April 2009, she was alsoinvolved in another fair where she sold bagsworth KSh3,800.“I made about KSh30,000 in 2009. Thismoney came at a good time because I had achild in Standard Eight. I used that money topay fees when she joined Form One in 2010,”says Maina.She was very encouraged with her earningsin 2009 and this made her intensify herefforts. In 2010, she made almost KSh50,000thanks to AIHD and Randi Lauler (a volunteerwith AWA who has spent a lot of time with thegroup). Randi was instrumental in opening upmore opportunities for selling bags.New markets“We are now partnering with schools suchas Rusinga, Braeburn and the InternationalSchool of Kenya that have helped with collectingplastic bags and by purchasing ourproducts,” says Randi.Maina and other members of the grouphave gone a step further and trained othergroups such as the Salvation Army HamzaGroup and the HawkersMarket Girls’ Cooperative.According to Maina,people buy their productsbecause they are properlydone. In addition, the bagsare washable and do notruin clothes like sisal bags.Maina carries her needleand yarn everywhereand uses every opportunity to crochet. Shehas taught her children to help with cleaningand preparing the yarn. She pays each childKSh10, which he/she uses to meet personalneeds.In terms of household support she remarks:“My husband is supportive and happywith my efforts. When I earn money, I informhim and we agree on how to spend it.”Although AIHD has trained 24 womenin recycling plastic bags in Mitumba slum,only 10 are active. These women meet dailybetween 10am and 4pm in a structure constructedthrough the support of AIHD wherethey do their crocheting. This allows them toshare new designs and to support each other.Furthermore, the women have formeda merry-go-round to enhance their earningsthrough table banking. They contributeKSh200 every two weeks (roughly KSh4,000per month), which they save. Members canborrow at a 10 percent interest ensuring thatthey have access to funds in case of an emergency.In addition, they contribute KSh50per member if one of them is taken ill andneeds to purchase medicine. They contributeKSh100 if one of them is hospitalised and paya visit for social support.Maina’s key message to other women is:“Do not look down upon yourself. Use yourhands to make a living. Women should joinhands and work together. Do not be dependenton others because you can make adifference.”Lucy Maina displays a basket made frompolythene waste. Below: Beautiful handmade bags on display. Plastic bags have beenadopted as raw material for various artifacts.Pictures: Mary NyamongoPlastic toilet bags spared the nightmareBy MUSA RADOLIA powerful sense of gloom, worry, uncertaintyand loss of hope is what has gripped Mrs PriscaAchola Oduogo of Silanga area in the sprawlingKibera informal settlement weeks on end.This state of affairs began soon after shelearnt of the Government’s action against production,sale and usage of polythene bags nearlytwo months ago.Oduogo, a mother of six says: “As you maybe aware, for many decades we have been havingbig problems accessing toilet facilities wherewe can attend to calls of nature. Because of theacute shortage of toilets, we started using thesame polythene bags to relieve ourselves andthen throw them away.”“For a long time Kibera produced whatcame to be popularly known as ‘flying toilets’.But they were not the solution we wanted untilwhen Peepoo was introduced nearly a year agoon a trial basis. It became our toilet solutioninstantly. We have come to depend on it entirely,but now this government action againstpolythene bags is a threat to that,” she sayspensively.Oduogo says their gloom and sense of despondencyis due to the fact that Peepoo whichhad salvaged them from the nightmares of accessingtoilet facilities is made from polythenebags.“We are aware of the devastating impact thepolythene bags have on the environment as wewitnessed that with the ‘flying toilet’. Since theintroduction of Peepoo, devastation of the environmentwith discarded polythene bags hasreduced drastically,” she says.Mrs. Oduogo’s views are a blanket echo ofmost of the Silanga residents who are beneficiariesof the Peepoo toilet in a pilot project introducedby a Swedish Non-governmental Organisation(NGO) Peepoople, targeting 20,000households in the sprawling Kibera informalsettlement estate.Peepoo is a personal single use toilet that sanitiseshuman excreta shortly after defecation preventingthe faeces from contaminating the immediateand larger environment.Peepoole was started on a trial basis by Kenyadirector, Ms Camilla Wirseen in 2008 and wasofficially launched in October last year. There areplans to be spread to all areas of the slum beforeits introduced to other informal settlements inthe city.The Peepoo project was initiated in Swedenby Anders Wilhelmson in September 2005.During the spring of 2006, a group comprisedof researchers and other interested persons wasformed. Initial tests and development of a prototypicalPeepoo toilet were completed later thatyear, followed by the formation of Peepoople ABin December. Following positive test results onthe portable toilet, a Swedish patent was initiallyassigned in March 2007 and granted in December.World patent PCT was assigned in March2008.Despite their worries, residents of the Silangaarea are not aware that they are not about to losetheir alternative toilets. Peepoo may look like anordinary polythene bag, but it is not. Peepoo ismade of biodegradable material which decomposesand is friendly to the environment.Remarkably slim, measuring 14x39 cm, thePeepoo bag, essentially a bioplastic bag containingurea powder, sanitises human excretashortly after defecation.“It requires no water, as after use the bagbreaks down and disintegrates. The treated faecesbecome fertiliser with a high market value,”says the website of the Stockholm-based informalurban development consultancy PeepoopleAB that Wilhelmson co-founded. The PeepooleKenya Director says that within the bag there isa thinner gauze that measures 26 x 24 cm. ThePeepoo bag is easy to carry and easy to use. Itdoesn’t need any supporting structure.It is from this background that the materialused in the manufacture of peepoo cannot beaffected by the drastic measures the governmenthas taken against the polythene bags dueto their adverse impacts on the environment asa result of their widespread use and bad disposalhabits across the country’s landscape.Ms Camilla Wirseen demonstrates toa resident of Silanga area in Kiberahow the plastic toilet bag works.Picture: Courtesy Peepoole

6 Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011A country on a corruption dripMismanagement in government hospitals leaves health sector in limboBy DUNCAN MBOYAHCorruption, the most feared dragon has rearedits ugly head and chewed into budgetary allocationleaving the health facilities without drugsfor emergency cases.The situation has left Kenya’s health sectorsick and with need for urgent action as paymentfor the treatment bills may be hard to come. Ahealth sector integrity study report reveals thatcountry risks being wheeled into the intensivecare unit for specialised treatment.“Corruption in Kenya is impeding access toquality, equitable and effective health services,”says the report by the Transparency International.The study that was conducted towards theend of last year in five provinces revealed thatcorruption in the procurement of health resources,pharmaceutical chain and embezzlementof revenue are common and denying thecitizens the right to good health.GraftThe study also noted rampant favouritism inemployment in the sector where promotion andrecruitment are plagued with corruption, nepotismand tribalism, influenced by politicians andother interested parties.“All stakeholders must join forces to addresscorruption and safeguard the right to healthcare services as required by the Constitution ofKenya,” said Mr Samuel Kimeu, Executive DirectorTransparency International Kenya when helaunched the report in Nairobi recently.Kimeu called on the public and civil societyorganisations to monitor the usage of publicfunds by ensuring that integrity is maintained.According to the lead researcher Dr TeresaNyambegera, poor accountability mechanismsand cases of conflict of interest are affecting thequality of health services.Nyambegera called on the Government towork towards strengthening the capacity ofhospital management boards to ensure thatapproved facility actions are implemented efficiently.“Let us also harmonise legislation pertainingto healthcare into one regulatory regime thatclearly spells out the duties, functions and rolesof each department to avoid duplication of functions,”she reiterated.The report recommended the empowermentof Ministry of Health planners to be efficient andHealth workers help to administer an intravenous fluid on a patient. Thecountry’s medical services are also in need of this kind of help. Below: Themain entrance at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital, which is one of thegovernment administered health facilities. Pictures: Correspondenteffective in planning human resource to reducecases of shortages of medical personnel in someareas when certain areas are over staffed.It also called for the establishment of sectordonor coordination committee and help inharmonising the channelling of funds towardsstrengthening healthcare delivery.ReportThe study found that delays in service deliveryare common as patients wait for long hoursbefore receiving medical attention.The study revealed that medical personnelare fond of hoarding drugs and secretly sellingthem to private pharmacies, where somepatients are directed after missing the drugs inhospital chemists.The report also noted poor management ofgrants, delay in availing HIV/Aids drugs to thepatients and insufficient dissemination of information.During the 2010-2011 year, the Governmentallocated KSh41.5 billion (5.6percent) of the national budget. Thisbudgetary allocation is insufficient consideringthe enormous health challengesin Kenya such as HIV/Aids and malaria.Also noted in the report is the haphazardconstruction of health facilities without clearlydefined policies to govern the establishment ofthe new health facilities.In a number of constituencies, there aremany Constituency Development Fund (CDF)funded health facilities that lacks staff, drugsand medical supplies. “Legislators are busyconstructing health facilities without necessaryconsideration of any substantial health indicators,”the report warns.The report notes that Kenya has the besthealth policies in the region but lacked the implementationcapacity as the two ministries ofhealth continue to pull in different directionsas is seen with the implementation of the HIVtreatment, care and support policy.Nyambegera recommends that the ministryshould review the existing referral systems to ensurethat level five and six facilities are used forspecialised treatment only and adequate staff aredeployed on the ground. She further observedthat sanctions for noncompliance to existingregulations are inadequate.“Many chemists, laboratories and clinics endangerlives resulting to deaths of many peoplein unclear circumstances as a result of poor qualitymedical services,” she noted.Kenya faces exclusion from global aid fundBy FAITH MUIRURICaught in the grip of weak financial managementsystems and official greed, the Ministry ofHealth is faced with a storm that could lead tounprecedented loss in billions of shillings disbursedthrough the Global Fund.Already the government has lost KSh47billion due to lack of proper accountabilitymechanisms. Although investigations into thealleged misappropriation of the Fund have beenintensified, donors who include Germany andSweden have suspended their contributions tothe Global Fund until all cases of corruption areuncovered and perpetrators punished.RejectionA study commissioned by Transparency International,reveals that the latest application tothe Global Fund was rejected on technicalities.The Kenya Health Sector Integrity Study Report,2011 states that the Global Fund which isthe key contributor to the HIV/Aids, Malariaand Tuberculosis kitty in the country, has notsent any money to oversee the implementationof Round Nine of the programme because theMinistry of Health lacks clear structures on howthe money will be utilised, managed and accountedfor.The report echoes the findings of a proceduralaudit done in August that uncoveredmassive fraudulent dealings.The study points to the many pending casesof misappropriation of funds and other resourcesthat have not been accounted for.“One of the reasons for such cases is the poormonitoring and evaluation systemand lack of reports on theongoing activities,” says the report.The implications of the scamare dire for Kenya as the countrycould be locked out of the kittyif it is established that the moneywas embezzled.This policy was adopted toreduce the risk of countries misusingthe money. Already refundnotices have been sent to Cameroon,Togo and Zambia.“Parties responsible for theftwill face sanctions, including“One of thereasons for suchcases is the poormonitoring andevaluation systemand lack of reportson the ongoingactivities.”possible debarment from further activities involvingGlobal Fund grants, referrals to nationalauthorities for prosecution and requirement tofully refund the misappropriated funds,” warnsthe Fund in a statement.But as the saga rages, it is emerging that Kenyais almost one year behind schedule in implementingand reporting on Global Fund grants.The report reveals that some activities are morethan three years behind schedule.According to the report,Global Fund’s country governancestructure is unclear. “TheCountry Coordinating Mechanism(CCM) that helps in compilingcountry applications forthe Global Fund is not yet recognizedin the current legal frameworkand has limited oversightcapacity,” it says.The report stipulates that thetechnical performance of membersis low as per the requiredcommitment and tasks to beperformed based on the CCMmanual which members rarelymake reference to.It also states that CCM has experiencedmany challenges including power struggles andpersonality clashes among members and interferenceby the Global Fund.ChallengesThe report notes that Global Fund does nothave a country level manager for the fund andpreviously CCM and the Financial ManagementAgency (FMA) have been used for oversightand this has suffered a great loss.“The impact of the watchdog units such asthe Parliamentary Health Committee in overseeinghealth resources and issues in the countryis hardly felt”.In Round Two Kenya lost a whole year andin Round Four, funds transfers from the Treasuryto Health Ministry took a long time due toa change in the mode of transfer from chequepayment system to wire transfer.The procurement and supply chain of medicalinputs, materials and supplies for GF projectsare not transparent as currently the Kenya MedicalSupplies Agency (KEMSA) is experiencingchallenges.

ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth7MigoriHospital ina patheticstateBy ODHIAMBO ODHIAMBOMigori town residents are not happy with the poorservices being rendered at the district hospital.They say doctors and clinical officers are alwaysaway attending to their private clinics and chemists.“Patients lie in the wards unattended and crucialdrugs are never available,” complained MrJared Omollo, a trader in the town.However, the hospital Medical Superintendent,Dr Gregory Ganda, defended the medics sayingthe law allowed them to engage in private practice.“Specialist doctors such as surgeons and gynaecologistsare allowed to do private business andthis is not unusual. Medical workers in public hospitalsacross the country are doing the same,” hesaid. Ganda, however, said they only attended totheir private establishments after working hours.Private clinicsThe residents claimed that some patients werebeing referred to the private clinics where theyparted with huge amounts of money.“This is a serious conflict of interest. These peoplecame here to make money not to serve poorKenyans,” said Mr Barrack Owili, a retired civilservant.He posed: “Does it make sense to abandon patients,some of whom are unable to afford the costof basic drugs simply because the law allows you tomake more money in private business?”The residents said the hospital was usually desertedwith some people including children dyingas a result of negligence.“I am not aware of people who have died dueto negligence, if anything we have improved ourservices,” interjected Ganda.The hospital has insufficient beds and beddingswith some patients being forced to share beds orsleep on the cold floors.Medical Services minister Prof AnyangNyong’o visited the hospital this year where hepledged to have its services improved since it waslike “a referral hospital in the region”.The hospital serves the residents of Migori,Kuria West, Kuria East, Uriri, Rongo, Nyatike andAwendo Districts.By JOEL JUMAA hospital running without all the proper humanand technical infrastructure is on theverge of collapse. The Kenya Power and LightingCompany has disconnected electricity supplyto the hospital due to a debt amounting toKSh400,000 owed by Mwihila Mission Hospital,Khwisero District, Kakamega County.Theatre equipment has been vandalisedwhile the X-ray section has remained non-functionalas the machines are too old. Turn up ofpatients at the hospital has gone down due tolack of adequate personnel.HousingThe hospital, which rests on 11 acres of landurgently needs Government attention if it is tosurvive. The hospital has one clerk, one pharmacistand a health records officer in additionto the three nurses.The house meant for the Medical Superintendenthas been taken over by area DistrictCommissioner, Ms Rachel Ramkat, making itimpossible for the medical staff to be housed atthe hospital.Inflated medical bill leavesold man writhing in painBy JANE MUGAMBIMwihila health facility on its death bedRamkat took over the house after the thenmedical boss John Talwa fled the area duringthe 2008 post election violence.“He never came back despite the return ofpeace,” said Zadock Mbinji, chairman of thehospital management committee. Mbinji said asurgeon posted to the hospital also left secretlywithout their knowledge.DependenceThe Reject has established that the hospitalnow relies on Pastor Peter Mmbwabi, a clinicalofficer for provision of services to the one timefamous facility.Mmwabi is a pastor with the Church of Godand is forced to keep the hospital running despitehaving retired from the Government fouryears ago.“The hospital will collapse as the Governmentand the church have not shown any signs of revivingsome programmes such as the school ofnursing that was phased out 10 years ago whenDr Bonny Khalwale, the current Ikolomani MP,was the medical boss,” explained Mbinji.If Mwihila collapses, it will be the secondmission hospital to close down in the regionMzee Francis Kiura displays a broken leg from his hospital bed at the EmbuProvincial General Hospital. Picture: Jane MugambiPaying medical bills and understanding themedical jargon is not something that everyonewho goes to hospital understands.This is the dilemma facing a 72-year oldman who was admitted at the Embu ProvincialGeneral Hospital for over one month withoutgetting full treatment.Francis Kiura was admitted at the hospitalafter being hit by a vehicle and left for dead atKibugu Village on his way home.Good SamaritanSpeaking from his hospital bed, the oldman narrated the ordeal that makes him growthinner by the day when he looks at his brokenleg that has not been treated.Kiura was admitted to hospital on November5, last year where he was taken by a goodSamaritan who spotted him by the roadside.The person took him to hospital and madesure that doctors attended to him and only leftafter the old man was admitted to the ward.Kiura regained consciousness after two daysand narrated to the doctors his ordeal.He touched his right leg and experienced alot of pain without the knowledge that it wasbroken. He says all the doctors did for him forthe time he was in hospital was to dress hiswound every day despite them suggesting thathe has a quick operation to have external fixturesinserted to help him recover.FixturesHe said that a lady at the hospital who volunteeredand made sure that the fixtures werebought, took them to the doctor but they werekept in a drawer at the hospital by the samemedic.The doctor later came and informed himthat his leg could not be fixed in the hospitaland that he should go to Kijabe Mission Hospitalwhich has orthopaedic specialists.The old man’s agony is that he is expectedto pay KSh17,000 before being taken to KijabeMission Hospital. He says if he had beentreated, paying the money would not be aproblem.“How can I pay KSh17,000 while painkillersis the only medicine that I am getting. Thedoctor said that an external fixture be boughtbut nothing has been done,” he laments.He argues that if he has to pay the money,he has to be treated first. Contacted for comments,Embu Medical superintendent hadearlier on said that he was not informed of thecase but when the area MP, Mr Emilio Kathuriwent to visit Kiura, he promised to look intothe matter.A hospital guard who did not want to benamed said Kiura’s case is not an isolated one.“Last week a three year old boy died while beingtaken to Kenyatta for further treatmentafter being admitted in the hospital for overtwo weeks without any treatment,” reveals theguard.He says doctors and nurses are not takingcare of the sick and that many die while waitingto be treated.He said some doctors do not spend morethan an hour at the hospital and when needed,they first have to receive a certain fee beforetreating the patients. They have thus commercialisedthe hospital.“I wish something is done to avert thenumber of deaths that are occurring here dueafter Misikhu MissionHospital in Webuye wentunder.Visits by patients tothe Church of God sponsoredhospital have gonedown despite the Governmenthaving posted somehealth officers to the facility.The hospital hasnot received any fundingfrom the local ConstituencyDevelopment Fund.Western ProvincialPublic Health Officer, DrTimothy Olubero saidthe hospital will collapsebecause the Church has refusedto hand over the facility to the Government.Olubero said the Government has deployedone nurse as part of reducing financial costsincurred by the facility. “The church is unableto run the facility and the best alternative is tohand it over to the Government,” said Olubero.Kakamega Provincial General Hospitalto negligence,” says the guard in a low tone.Kathuri accused the Government for notsending orthopedics to the hospital saying thatEmbu has only one surgeon who works fulltime without a break comparing it with Kerugoyathat has two.He also added that the director of medicalservices is supposed to send staff to the hospitalsaying that Kiura’s case is one of many thatdo not come out in the open.No arrestThe most surprising thing is that the trafficpolice visited him to record a statement afterpressure arose from the media reports but theperson who caused the accident has not yetbeen arrested since he is an influential personalityin Embu County.Kiura’s leg appears to be healing but thebroken bone is beginning to rot. However, thedoctors still insist that he needs an externalfixture.A ward with empty beds at Mwihila Hospital in Khwiserodistrict. The hospital, which serves the area residents is onthe verge of collapse. Picture: Joel JumaMedical Superintendent, Dr Daniel Alushulasaid Mwihila must involve locals in the managementof its affairs.He said area MP, Mr Evans Akula and professionalsfrom the region who include ProfGeorge Eshiwani and Justice Aggrey Mucheluleshould be brought on board. Alushula citedpoor road network, lack of drugs and experts assome of the setbacks.

8 Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Lake Naivasha is in deep troubleBy GEORGE MURAGESeveral naked children aged between eightand 15 years scream as they playfully splashwater on each other.A few meters away, women wash theirclothes and rinse them letting the water flowback into the lake as another without shame orfear releases her bowels into the lake.Next to the group is a canal and a huge generatorbelonging to one of the flower farms inthe area pumping free water for hours on end.From the hills kilometres away, billowingsmoke can be seen lazily rising to the sky as illegalcharcoal burners continue destroying thecatchment area.Once shining among the biggest fresh waterbodies in East and Central Africa, LakeNaivasha is fast turning out to be a dam full ofmurky water as it recedes at an alarming rate.Waters from rivers Malewa, Karate andGilgil which are the main tributaries for thelake, dried up many years ago.EffluentThe only liquid flowing into the once freshlake is raw sewerage from the town as the sewerplant collapsed months ago. Effluent fromsome flower farms also finds its way into thelake that is slowly turning into murky waters.To many scientists, locals, traders, farmersand stakeholders, the lake once described asthe freshest lake in East Africa is facing severalchallenges.Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya,lying North West of Nairobi, outside thetown of Naivasha. It is part of the Great RiftValley. The lake is home to a variety of wildlifewith over 400 different species of bird havebeen reported.There is a sizeable population of hippos in thelake. There are two smaller lakes in the vicinity ofLake Naivasha — Lake Oloiden and Lake Sonachi(a green crater lake).The lake with an approximate area of 145kmSq. and an altitude of 1,890 meters above sea levelhas 90 percent of its water coming from RiverMalewa.DegradationThe lake, a wetland of international importancerecognised by the Ramsar Conventionand a historically renowned hotspot for tropicalbiodiversity, has been degraded by decades ofenvironmental impacts.The hydrology of the lake has been drasticallyaltered by the degradation of papyrus,swamps growing around the perimeter and atthe inflow of rivers. This papyrus loss began inthe 1980s, the same time as the lake level declinedup to three metres due to horticulturalirrigation and farming upstream.Rivers and rainwater runoff now run directlyinto the lake without the benefit ofpapyrus swamps, bringing silt and nutrientsthat choke the sunlight and alter the foodchain.A joke in the town is about the tens ofworkshops that have been held in various hotelsto find ways of saving the lake.But shockingly none of the recommendationshave been put into place as the lake dieswith more meetings being called to reviewthe proposals of the previous meetings.According to statistics from the Lake NaivashaGrowers Group, the lake currently stands at1,885 meters above sea level.As per their records, the Lake’s altitude was1,892m in 1900 and the lowest it has evergone was 1,884m in 1954.With last year’s drought, water abstractionand destruction of water catchmentarea, the Lake’s shore has receded by overfive kilometres in the last three years.And as the Lake recedes, some flowerfarms have taken over the ‘free’ riparianland but heavy rains in the catchment areahave seen water levels rise and push themback.A research done late last year byMr Dalmas Oyugi, a senior lecturerat Kenya Wildlife Service and TrainingInstitute, painted a grim pictureof the situation of the Lake.Oyugi pointed out that the648mm of rainfall received in Naivashaannually could not sustainthe lake water levels. He reiteratedthat as the Lake’s water receded, sodid the amount of fish catch, furtheraffecting many families thatrely on it as a source of livelihood.“If River Malewa will not be conservedthen I am sorry to say that theLake will be no more in few years tocome,” explained Oyugi.According to a senior environmentalistworking in one of theflower farms, though farmers arepartially to blame, the Governmenthas failed in saving the Lake.Oyugi points fingers at lax Governmentofficers who have failed toimplement laws and policies thatprotect the environment includingwater bodies.DeforestationThe Aberdare and Eburru forestswhich are the Lake’s catchment areasare facing extinction due to deforestationand farming.“As the trees go down by the day,water flowing to the Lake decreasesyet we have forest guards and NEMAofficers who are inactive,” reiteratesOyugi. He adds: “Farmers upstreamhave diverted River Malewa for theirown use further affecting the Lake’swater levels.”Oyugi’s sentiments are echoedby Mr James Kahora, a renownedenvironmentalist who has come tothe forefront to champion the Lake’scause.Kahora, who is the executivedirector Indigenous Bio-diversityEnvironmental Conservation Association(IBECA) says it’s time foraction. “The farmers know that thewater is free and with the recedinglevels, the chemical concentrationgoes up,” explains Kahora.Majority of farms do not havewetlands and the chemical run offwashes straight back to the Lake.This has affected fishing and early inthe year hundreds of fish died withsome reports pointing an accusingfinger to the farms for pollution.Back in the early 1980s, Lake Naivashaused to be the sole supplier offresh fish to the capital city and surroundingtowns including Nakuru.Thirty years down the line, thepopular and sweet Tilapia speciesis no more and fish supply cannotsustain even the fishermen aroundthe lake.The Lake is under attack from allcorners with poaching and pollutionplaying a major role in the depletedTilapia stock. Instead, an unpopularspecies known as Common Carp hasfound its way into the Lake.Unlike 30 years ago, an annual“As the trees go down by the day,water flowing to the Lake decreasesyet we have forest guards and NEMAofficers who are inactive.”— Dalmas Oyugi.The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries Development Professor MiseniNtiba joins Naivasha DC Hellen Kiilu in restocking Lake Naivasha with the Tilapia.Below: David Kilo, a tour operator in Lake Naivasha navigates his boat around thelake that has been invaded by the dreaded hyacinth weed.Pictures: George Muragethree month’s fish ban has been slapped onthe Lake. Every year from June to August,the lake is closed for re-stocking, amove that is opposed by the fishermen.According to Mr David Kilo fromthe Lakes Anti-Poaching Unit, the banwas meant to increase the Tilapia stockbut the move has failed.“Currently, getting Tilapia from theLake is almost impossible and we wonderwhat benefit the ban is serving,” lamentsKilo.However, he is quick to note that poachersare a major threat to fishery as they have beenfishing in breeding zones and using undersizenets.He adds: “Huge water pumps used by theflower farms suck in fish eggs and the effluentfrom the farms also play a role in the depletedfish stock.”Following the challenges, a task force consistingof government agencies, various stakeholdersand NGOs has been formed to lookinto the troubled Lake.

ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Authority seeksways to makeexports viableBy NICK ODHIAMBOThe Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA) willestablish export processing points in resource potentialcounties in Nyanza Province so as to tap the availableresources to allow locals to cheaply export their products.The EPZA Acting Chief Executive Officer Mr JosephKosure said there are a lot of resources in all thefive counties in the region which could be tapped andexported cheaply from local areas.The project will benefit the local people who havenever thought of exporting their products. “This exportplan will enable the locals to benefit since it is away of alleviating poverty in the region in line withMillennium Development Goals. “If we tapped intothe resources, we are sure the locals would benefit alot and poverty would be reduced,” said Kosure.Addressing investors in a Kisumu hotel, Kosuresaid that so far, EPZA is in the process of identifyingwhere there are adequate resources in order to establishthe export processing points where resources areavailable and can be utilized for export.“We have gone to Kuria and are now in Kisumu,identifying where the resources are before establishingthe processing points,” said Kosure. He added:“Nyanza has cotton, fish, peanuts and minerals. Weare going to help locals exploit all these resources fortheir own benefit.”He said plans are underway to revitalise the defunctindustries in the region and start new ones.“We are looking for investors to help in filleting of fishsince what we get from the lake could not be enoughto support the fish processing zone. We are also workingwith communities and investors to facilitate themto manufacture with an aim to export,” he said.He said apart from fish, Nyanza Province has thepotential in cotton production and that the EPZAis liaising with the Cotton Development Authority(CODA) to rejuvenate the dying ginneries and fabricindustries in the region.“This is something we are going to do not only inNyanza Province, but we are thinking of extending itlater to all the 47counties in the country,” he added.Rotary clubinitiateswater projectin SamiaBy GILBERT OCHIENGOver 10,000 residents in Samia District willsoon have their thirst quenched when a humanitarianorganisation from Japan completes a waterproject in the area. The Rotary Club of Tokyoin collaboration with the office of the JapaneseAmbassador to Kenya has embarked on a waterproject set to benefit over 10,000 residents inSamia District through a project dubbed “The10 th Anniversary Kazusabori project” initiatedby the Japanese government last year.Addressing the stakeholders during a districtdevelopment forum recently, project coordinator,Mr Patrick Kenga confirmed that 20 watertaps have been constructed and that 10 more areunder construction. “The project has cost theJapanese government KSh8 million on the firstphase and another KSh4 million for the secondphase,” said Kenga.Samia District Commissioner, Ms JosephineOnunga lauded the Japanese government fortaking an active part in development activitiesin the district.The project was initiated with the aim ofhelping Samia women who would walk forabout three kilometres in their search for freshdrinking water.By NICK ODHIAMBO and JOEL JUMAThe American government has rolled up anotherPhase of multi-billion health project tothe Kenyan Government at a cost of KSh120billion.The project being managed by the US Agencyfor International Development (USAID) isa comprehensive service delivery programmeaimed at providing health services countrywide.It is being implemented by the ministriesof Public Health and Medical Services seekingto reduce mortality rate in the region.The five-year project is expected to wind upprovision of its services in 2015. It becomes oneof the USAID’s largest health investments andis part of President Barrack Obama’s six yearglobal initiative support to international health.In Kenya, the project would provide theservices in all the eight provinces, which wouldbe merged to form five workable zones thatinclude Rift valley, Eastern, Central, Nairobi,Coast, Nyanza, Western and North EasternArid areas.Improved healthWhile the programme will pay keen attentionto malaria and tuberculosis, the programmealso seeks to improve nutrition amongcommunities in Western and Nyanza provinces.Tuberculosis and malaria are rated amongdiseases that have contributed to the high mortalityrates in the two regions.According to Ms Lynn Adrian, the Director,USAID office of population and health,the programme will prioritise matters of HIV/Aids, child health and maternal health care.“We are partnering with the Ministry ofHealth to ensure we render quality services inline with the policies of the Ministry,” she said.Adrian added the programme has decidedto merge the provinces of Western and Nyanzato foster faster service delivery.“We have merged the provinces into fivezones following the similarity in the problemsthey have,” she explained.Head of the programme, Dr Ambrose Misoresaid the agency’s project would basicallysupport maternal health, HIV/Aids, food security,child health, safe water for communities,immunisation and education.“We shall work with the local non-governmentorganisations, community based organisationsas well as youth and support groups.We shall also train community health workersUnfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truthProgramme launched tohelp fight killer diseasesfor faster service delivery,” explained Misore.They were speaking during the launch ofthe project for the Nyanza, Western zone atTom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu.The launch started with Nyanza-Westernzone, before proceeding to other zones becauseit has more cases of health-related problemsthan other zones.“Here we have a lot of problems, especiallyon HIV/Aids, maternal care, child health andeven gender-based problems,” Misori said.InvestmentThe project will include some of the over14 islands in Lake Victoria which are currentlyfaced with serious health issues.“We shall buy motorboats to reach those onthe Islands because they have not been reachedand we should help them,” he said.Zone one (Western/Nyanza) will receiveabout KSh11 billion towards its projects. This isexpected to reduce cases of HIV/Aids in Nyanzaprovince, particularly areas along the LakeVictoria region and on the islands.Speaking later at a Kakamega Hotel duringthe launch of the programme for WesternProvince, Adrian and Western PC SamuelKilele termed the project as “timely”.The two said the programme will play acritical role in assisting the Government tomeet the Millennium Development Goals.9The Western Provincial Director of MedicalServices, Dr Godrick Onyango and his PublicHealth counterpart, Dr Quinto Ahindukhaalso addressed the meeting. The Aids, Populationand Health Integrated Assistance (APH-IA 11) project came to an end last year and hasnow been taken over by Aphia Plus.DeclineMisore said health institutions will be expandedand renovated during the implementationof the project. “Studies have shown thatdiseases such as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosisare causing greater suffering and deathsin Western Kenya than in any other part of thecountry,” explained Misore.Onyango explained that child mortalityrates were declining in the province. He added:“The funding will play a key role in fightingsome of the common diseases.”He said residential spraying and distributionof mosquito nets will be intensified duringthe implementation of the programme.“The province has many health facilitiesthat require expansion. Some hospitals havecongested wards, making patients share beds,”Onyango said.Ahindukha noted that many hospitalslacked machines such as X-ray and radiographicequipment to enable the health officer’soffer better services to patients.Tanzanians invade Kenyan education systemBy ODHIAMBO ODHIAMBOThe government has been asked to urgentlystop flooding of Tanzanian pupils into Kenyanpublic schools located near the commonborder of the two East African nations.Parents from Migori, Kuria West andKuria East Districts noted that the free primaryeducation policy had attracted a largenumber of Tanzanian children who havedeveloped a liking for the Kenyan educationsystem.“The neighbours are illegally reapingknowledge where their government has notinvested any penny,” said Mr Joel Mwita, aparent at Nyamaharaga Primary School at theIsebania border town.The large number of foreigners in localprimary schools has seriously compromisededucation standards in the region. Teachersare overwhelmed by the big number of pupilsin classes, making it difficult for them to conducttheir lessons effectively.But private schools in the region have hadbooming business since the Tanzanian parentsare said to pay fees in full at the beginningof each term.Western PC Samuel Kilele cuts a cake with USAID director of population and healthMs Lynn Adrian during the launch of the Aphia plus programme in Kakamega.Picture: Joel JumaWhen he visited Kuria recently, NyanzaProvincial Director of Education Mr GeoffreyCherongis received a petition from the localparents who complained about the attendanceof local classes by the foreign pupils.Many of the Tanzanian children have sattheir Kenya Certificate of Primary Education(KCPE) exams in the country with someposting impressive performance.Illegal admissionsSome parents alleged that there exists asyndicate involving head teachers who receivebribes from Tanzanian parents to secureadmission in the public schools.But responding to the claims, Cherongisdescribed as illegal any admission of foreignstudents into local schools without followinggovernment procedure.“There is a clear government policy onhow to admit foreign students into local institutionsand those closing their eyes to thisare doing it at their on peril,” he warned.However, some parents said there wasnothing wrong for the Tanzanian children tostudy in Kenya since they have relatives in thecountry.More than 90 per cent of the pupils crossingover into Kenya are from the Kuria community,which cuts across the countries’ border.“Those pupils belong to the Kuria communitywho live both in Kenya and Tanzania.They are our relatives and it is not a crime tolive with your brother’s child and take himto school,” argued Mrs Beatrice Mokame, amother of three.Some of the children who live near theborder only cross over to Kenya for morningand evening lessons before going back totheir motherland.They take their lunch in Tanzania andcome back for afternoon lessons. They thengo back to spend the evening with their parents.Local education officials said they wereaware of the illegal schooling of foreign pupilsin the area but said attempts to bring it to a halthad been resisted by some local parents andleaders.“The issue has been seriously politicisedand it has become very sensitive to deal with,”said Mr Williams Kamigunah, Kuria WestDistrict Education Officer.

10 Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011IDPs in Nakuruto be resettledBy JANE MUGAMBIAbout 1,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs)leaving under difficult conditions at NawamuIDP camp in Nakuru will be settled in a 300 acrepiece of land at Nganduri area of Embu County.The resettlement programme being carriedby Milimani Lions Club hopes to resettle theIDPs in the next eight months.Speaking on tour to identify the land, LionsClub chairperson, Ms Ann Njeri Mwangi saidthat the land will cost them KSh48 million.“We have already identified the land and theClub is in the process of mobilising resourcesto buy it,” explained Mwangi. She added: Theowner of the land has agreed to sell it and weare now finalising the sale before embarking onsurvey work.”Clerics join war against FGMand declare it anti-IslamBy HASSAN FAROOQThe campaign against female genital mutilation(FGM) among pastoralist communitiesin Isiolo District is gaining support as Muslimclerics have condemned the practice as beingcontrary to Islamic teachings.Muslim leaders in the district led by SheikhRashid Harun, chairman of the Council ofImams and Preachers of Kenya in upper EasternProvince, termed the practice as retrogressiveand dehumanising.PleaThe clerics called on the Government toclassify the practice alongside other criminalactivities that attract jail terms for perpetrators.They urged the residents to stop torturingtheir daughters since genital cutting lacksreligious backing in all Holy books besidesviolating their basic human rights.“Female genital mutilation is not a religiouspractice and we urge the Government to classifythe practice as a criminal activity and anyonefound perpetrating should be punished,”reiterated Harun.The clerics were speaking as more than 120girls under the age of 8 years in primary schoolswithin the town were given medals of ringsand necklaces after undergoing an alternativerite of passage.A non governmental organization campaigningagainst female genital mutilation,the Maasai Aid Association (MAA) sponsoredtuition for the pupils in lower two primaryschools, Ramadhan and Kambi Garba to engagethe young people during the school holidaysinstead of leaving them idle and exposingthem to the cut.The initiative has achieved its target asmany parents have joined the anti-FGM crusadersin the district to sensitise pastoralistscommunities not to engage in the traditionalpractice since it is a violation of the girls’ humanrights.A teacher from Ramadhan Primary School,Mrs Hawa Hussein, who monitored the girls’progress over the holidays said many otheruncircumcised girls under ten years are willingto register for the holiday tutorial to escapethe circumciser’s knife.“We need a joint effort from parents andreligious leaders in the fight against the vicewhich is depriving our girls of their basic humanrights. Majority of young girls are readyto remain in schools during holidays in orderto escape the cut,” said Hussein.CampaignsOver the holidays, the anti-FGM campaignstargeted about 300 girls under the age of tenyears identified from different primary schoolsin Isiolo and Garbatula districts to be picked asmodels for other girls to emulate in fight againstfemale cutting. The campaigns were expectedto spread to other parts of the region after theinitial stage launched in Isiolo.Last August, the organisers sensitised thecommunities on the dangers of cutting girls.They called on religious leaders and provincialadministration to educate pastoralists on therisks involved in the practice.Female genital mutilation is rampantamong the pastoralist communities in Isioloand other parts of upper Eastern and NorthEastern provinces.The teachers in the identified schools wheregirls received the medals are calling on parentsand religious leaders in the districts to fightagainst the practice to protect girls under theage of ten who have not been cut so far.Training to help managers improve water servicesBy ERIC MUTAIThe country can now expect corruption freeand improved water services after the trainingof more than 70 technical water managers inmanagement of projects.The sector is expected to raise the standardsthrough promoting transparency, accountabilityand integrity in management of projects.The managers drawn from the eight waterservices boards, water service providersand Water Resource Management Authoritycamped at the Embu Agricultural TrainingCollege for a two-week training. The trainingfunded by the Israel government’s Agencyfor International Development Cooperation(MASHAV).Speaking while at the closing the training,Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF) CEO EngineerJacqueline Musyoki called on the managersto follow procurement procedures andrespond to audit queries.“Payments to suppliers or service providersshould not be made before quality as well asquantity of goods and services provided hasbeen checked by the purchaser,” Musyoki said.The Lions Club will hold a charity walk fromNakuru to Nairobi and later a golf tournamentto raise the funds. Several international nongovernmentalorganisations have expressed interestin the project. She hopes they will movein and assist.The Lions Club will also assist the IDPs to restarttheir lives by building houses and providingthem with farm inputs as a way of empoweringthem economically.Recently, hundreds of IDPs took to the streetsand closed down the busy Nairobi/Nakuru roadto protest the slow pace of the Government toresettle them.The protestors urged the Government tomove with speed and resettle them pointing outthat they had promised to resettle all the IDPs bythe end of last year.She said labelling of the Fund’s projects willbe mandatory to help contain corruption inareas where joint funding with ConstituencyDevelopment Funds is done.“We all know of instances where our projectshave been used as conduit for funding fromelsewhere,” said Musyoki whose organisationsecured the training with the Israeli Ministry ofForeign Affairs.Israel modelThe managers were trained on financialmanagement, project design and planning, reporting,monitoring and evaluation and investmentappraisals.The Israeli deputy ambassador to Kenya,Mr Maor Elbaz-Starinsky said that the trainingwas the first step towards implementing capacitybuilding exercises agreed on during a visitto the country last year by the Deputy DirectorGeneral of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs,Mr Haim Divon.He said that Israeli, which is dry and hasbeen stricken by drought since 2003 but hasnever witnessed dry taps. He asked the managersto ensure that rain water is harvested.IDPs demonstrate demanding to be resettled by the government as promised.Picture: Correspondent“In Israel we harvest all the rain water, usedrip irrigation and purify our sewage for cleanwater,” explained Maor.According to a recently launched Urban WaterSector Perception Index carried out in Nairobi,Kakamega, Nyeri, Meru, Kisumu, Kitale,Nakuru, Garissa and Malindi, 66 per cent ofKenyans have access to clean water.The perception index cited increase of waterkiosks in about 100 meters from their houses.Musyoki said despite the challenges in implementingthe Fund’s projects, the training wouldpropel project design and planning.She said that the managers will be able tocheck the viability and sustainability of theprojects funded by the trust fund.“The fulcrum on which our success lies on isfrom the quality of project proposals, to design,to the way procurement of goods and services isdone and sensitization of communities on crosscutting issues,” reiterated Musyoki, adding thatprudent project appraisals and sustainabilitywill play a big role.She lauded the water sector reforms sayingthe prospect for good service delivery will not beoptional but mandatory.Motor cycletraining tohelp reduceaccidentsBy ERIC MUTAIWith motorcycle riders being consideredamong the most dangerous road users, a newassociation has begun educating them on trafficrules as an attempt to curb the menace.The Motorcycle Association of Kenya hasbeen offering training to riders in Nairobi andhas now delved into rural areas where highrates of casualties are registered daily.The Association which has trained about300 riders in Nairobi took its training to Runyenjesin Embu East District where eager riderswere equipped with skills to avoid accidents.The association’s technical director, MrBenson Gachoka said that many male riderscause accidents as they try to impress theirlady passengers. “The show off has resulted inmany accidents and we are cautioning the ridersagainst over speeding,” he advised.Gachoka told the riders that they need tobe conversant with traffic rules and signs toavoid mishaps as they travel on unfamiliar terrains.“Those using roads they are not familiarwith are more prone to accidents and there isa need to understand the signs used to avoidcausing accidents,” said Gachoka.LicensingMost hospitals in the country introducedwards for motorcycle victims after recordingan upsurge in accidents caused by the cyclists.The association also offers training for theriders who are then issued with licenses. Accordingto Gachoka, most riders are not licensedand do not follow the traffic rules.Learning and obeying the rules of the road,executing defensive riding techniques and beinga cautious and patient rider can make adifference between life and death.The riders were told to view their motorbikesas vehicles and not as bicycles. He furtherurged them not to ignore road signs so asnot to confuse other road users hence reducingaccidents. “You should be able to communicatewith drivers and other road users usingconvectional methods without ignoring roadsigns,” the riders were told.Runyenjes MP, Ms Cecily Mbarire organisedfor more than 600 motorcyclists from herconstituency to undergo a riding training afterwhich they will be issued with licenses.The Association offers road safety rescueservices, legal advice and insurance amongother services.

ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth11A grim future faces tea pickersBy ALEX NDIRANGUFor every visitor to Kericho, the tea rich regionin southern Rift Valley, the spectacular sceneryof the expansive tea fields is a sight to behold.On this humid Tuesday morning, dozensof tea pickers, about five to ten yards of eachother, are spread across an expansive farm bythe roadside.In synchronized rhythm, they expertly pickthe succulent leaves throwing them in the giganticbaskets strapped on their backs.But the whistling and singing in low monotonesfrom pickers, which I came to learn tendsto make the work less tedious, are fading awayeach passing day.MachinesInstead, they are rapidly being replaced bythe loud roaring of machines, a developmentthat saw the workers go on strike to defendtheir right to work.One machine, operated by two people is saidto perform an equal task to 60 hand pickers.This has put the over 80,000 hand tea pickersjobs and livelihoods on the line in the region.Since their introduction, the machines arebelieved to have replaced 9,000 workers whowere either sacked or sent on compulsory leave.In 2005, the late Minister of Labour Dr.Newton Kulundu announced that he had instructedthe companies to revert to using themachines on three per cent of their plantationsto protect tea pickers jobs.However, machine use has increased overthe years plucking tea in up to 60 percent of theplantations according to the Kenya Plantationand Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) estimates,leading to workers losing jobs.The universal declaration of human rights towhich Kenya is signatory, states that everyonehas the right to work, protection against unemploymentand to just and favourable conditionsof work, a just remuneration, among others.The International Human Rights Day wascelebrated on December 10, under the theme;‘human rights defenders who act to end discrimination’.In a press briefing by the Kenya Tea Board,the sector’s regulator reported that tea earnedKenya, the largest exporter of black tea, aboutKSh65 billion in the first eight months of theyear, the highest in five years.“We are calling upon theUnion to stop misleadingits members. Technology istaking over and the Unionshould not drag us backto the days of typewriterswhen everyone is on thecomputer age,”— Jacqueline Mugo, Federation of KenyaEmployersDespite multinationals raking in millionsfrom the fertile farms, tea pickers stillface myriad problems ranging from poorpay to the larger nightmare of being phasedout by the growing trend of machine usewhich picks as much tea as 60 hand pickers.According to a research study conductedby the Kenya Human Rights Commission in2008, plantation tea workers face low labourconditions.ResearchThe report notes that workers suffer sexualharassment, lack of social security andother benefits like maternity leave, shorttermand insecure employment contracts,low wages and no overtime payments. Italso notes that workers are intimidated fromjoining unions by the fear of being sacked.The research findings also indicate thatemployees continued to receive unfairly lowwages despite huge earnings from the multinationalcompanies.On a good day, Grace Nyaboke, a casuallabourer takes home KSh160. “How will Iraise my children if machines take over?”poses the single mother of three. The wornout gloves on her hands are a sure testamentof her many days of painstaking labour goeson the farms.Another tea picker David Kipchumoconcurs. “We are living in fear because we donot know who is next. The mechanized systemof tea picking that was introduced in the countryfive years ago has already claimed a numberof our workmates.”HarassmentFemale workers bear the heaviest burden.They are sexually harassed by their supervisors,referred to as ‘Nyapararas’ in the farms, if theywant to be retained.“Some of them want you to go beyond yourwork obligations and satisfy their sexual needs.If you don’t do that, they fake other charges onyou or give you too much work or allocate youlonely or dangerous plucking zones,” confidedMary Ng’etich, another tea picker. The fact thatall supervisors are men makes the situationworse.The women are also most likely to be laid offmore than men as they are deemed not strongenough to drag the tea picking machines.According to Mr Joshua Oyuga, the nationaltreasurer of the Kenya plantation and agriculturalworkers union (KPAWU), the employee’swho are laid off or retired should receive betweenKSh60,000 and KSh80,000 each as retirementbenefits.But despite the Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA) signed between the union and themulti-national tea companies five years ago,most workers are yet to get their terminal dues.No benefitsJulius Sagei, who retired at the age of 56years about a year ago, is one of them. “I wasexpecting to get KSh67,000 and go back hometo Bumala to start farming. But since I havenot been paid, I am forced to continue workinghere as a casual until I get my dues and getsomething to take to my children,” he says.“It is unfair for multi-national tea companiesto exploit retired workers by hiring themon contract under low pay instead of payingthem their benefits,” lamented Oyuga.However, according to Mr Francis Atwoli,Secretary General Central Organisation ofTrade Unions (Cotu), mechanisation in the teaindustry should be discouraged as it is not goodfor the economy of developing countries likeKenya.“The direct and multiplier effect of mechanisationof tea plucking and pruning in thecountry outweighs the implied cost-savingsthat employers are claiming,” explained Atwoli.He further claimed that introduction of machinescompromised the quality of tea thus affectingthe overall auction prices.A tea-picking machine operated by two workers. Tea workers protest theintroduction of machines which are threatening their jobs. Picture: Correspondent“The quality of tea is bound to drop withthe use of machines since selective plucking oftwo leaves and a bud will not be adhered to asshould be the case,” said Atwoli.He added: “We need to sit down with employersand do away with the machines as theywill make our members to lose their jobs.”However, according to Ms JacquelineMugo, Executive Director of the Federation ofKenya Employers, they should not be limitedfrom coming up with ways of becoming moreproductive by cutting production costs.“We are calling upon the Union to stop misleadingits members. Technology is taking overand the Union should not drag us back to thedays of typewriters when everyone is on thecomputer age,” she said.Tea producers argue that the machines willreduce the cost of production, which they sayis very high.In a recent development, Unilever, one ofthe multinationals in the area is said to be inthe process of withdrawing all its machines andreemploying sacked workers.It is evident that the ongoing standoff betweentea firms and pickers over introductionof plucking machines may have far-reaching effectson the welfare of more than 80,000 workersin the industry.“It will be hard to survive as we know of noother source of livelihood beyond the tea bushes,”concludes Nyaboke.Tea farmers get together forjoint hydro power projectBy JOSEPH MUKUBWAFour tea factories from Murang’aCounty will start a KSh600 millionhydro project which is aimed at cuttingmanufacturing costs.Due to the high manufacturingcosts, the tea factories which includeKiru, Gatunguru, Kanyenya-ini andGithambo have initiated the MetumiHydro Power Project which will taketwo years.Speaking during the Annual GeneralMeeting held recently at Kiru Tea Factory,the factory Vice Chairman, Mr Esau Kionisaid the feasibility study is complete andthey are now in the process of hiring thecontractors.“In the current year, this zone will commencea hydro project and to do so, theshareholders will be required to pay KSh2per kilogramme of green leaf as equity. Theproject will raise three Mega Watts of power.The generated hydro power will be adequatefor the four factories in the zone and the surpluswill be released to the national grid at aprice,” Kioni told the over 500 farmers whoattended the AGM.The project will start at Mathioya Riverwhich flows from Aberdare forest toMurang’a areas and is expected to minimisethe manufacturing costs to zero once it iscomplete as they will own the project.Tea farmers arriving at the Kiru Tea Factoryfor the Annual General Meeting. Highproduction costs has been one of the mainchallenges the factory is facing.Picture: Joseph MukubwaHigh cost of production has been oneof the main challenges in the factory. Kionidecried that the energy costs have been veryhigh despite them using firewood as an alternativesource.In 2008, the factory paid a bill of KSh25million for electricity while in 2009 theypaid KSh30 million. The manufacturingcosts increased last year and the averagemanufacturing cost was KSh69.97 for everykilogramme of tea against the averagemanufacturing cost of KSh63.12 per kilogrammefor the previous year.Meanwhile, the factory has started reportinglow production due to dry spell.The factory is receiving 60,000 kgs of tea perday instead of over 100,000 kgs per day fourmonths ago.

12 Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth ISSUE 035, March 1-15, 2011Woman’s long search for justiceBy KEN NDAMBUFor many women, access to justice and honestjustice has been a big challenge. Manywomen tire of the long court processes, givingup when things do not seem to be goingright because their time and resources arelimited.For 11 years, Gladys Wanjiku Mbogo hasbeen to Government offices, courts, churchesand legal firms to seek justice that has nevercome her way. Due to intricacies and armtwistingin public offices, she has hit a hardrock in her efforts to recover her 1.55 acrepiece of land after a sale deal went sour.Wanjiku, 56, is now appealing to the Headof State to intervene and help her get back theland she inherited from her late parents inMbugiti Location, Gatanga Division, ThikaDistrict.ProofNow a resident in Kitui Central Districtwhere she is married, Mbogo has all the documentsto prove the land is rightfully hers.Some of the documents she has include hermother’s death certificate. Mbogo’s motherowned the land. She is also in possession of thenative land tenure receipts dated as far back as1962, copies of the title deed and the will.From the start, Mbogo was disadvantagedby her community’s customary law and thebackground of her family which she claims thepurported purchaser used to snatch the landfrom her.Her mother Wambui Mbogo who was thethird wife of Mbogo Maina, got married afterthe father’s first two co-wives died barren. For30 years she stayed with the late husband. Shealso failed to conceive and the husband diedleaving her childless.She was as a result humiliated by the inlawsand one time chased away. But like Sarahin the Bible, she was blessed with Wanjiku andMary after being barren for 40 years. It wasafter that when the village elders brought herback to the matrimonial home to inherit herhusband’s property.The land now in dispute is registered asLoc16/Mbugiti/80 and was then subdividedbetween the two sisters where each was to gettwo acres as the only immediate next of kin oftheir deceased mother.Later, Wanjiku got married in Kitui CentralDistrict leaving the sister to take care ofthe land on her behalf. The arrangement wasthat Wanjiku retains the death certificate ofthe mother while Mary keeps the original titledeed and will.In November 2000, Wanjiku decided to sellone acre of her share to meet education expensesfor her children and found one GathunguThuo who offered to buy at KSh250,000.According to the sale agreement availedsigned both by the purchaser and the vendor,the payment was to be made in threeinstalments of KSh20,000, KSh200,000 andKSh30,000.However, Wanjiku acknowledges receivingonly KSh97,000 and the purchaser started usingthe land raising the dispute which turnedto be a long protracted legal tussle. “When heencroached the land without clearing the debt,I complained and he paid KSh100,000 as compensation,”recalls Wanjiku.On March 21, 2005, the purchaser wrotean additional land sale agreement showingGladys Wanjiku consults a paralegal officer in Kitui Town. She has been toofamiliar with court corridors in search for justice that never was.Picture: Ken Ndambuthat the vendor had agreed to sell another0.55 acre at KSh209,000 on top of the oneacre leading to the dispute which eventuallysaw the woman lose the money and the landaltogether.Sequences of Wanjiku’s move to reclaimthe land were that on April 22, 2005, she visitedthe local Chief, then Mr Waweru Muthumbiwho wrote to Thika Principal Magistrateconfirming that the deceased Wambui Mbogowas survived by Wanjiku and Mary and thatthe deceased had left behind four acres whichthe two next of kin were sole beneficiaries.HustleIn May the same year, the then Thika SeniorResident Magistrate Ms Letizia Wachiraconfirmed certificate of grant of successionand referred her to District Officer Kirwarato enforce the order through Thika DistrictCommissioner. In response, the DO advisedthe complainant to consult a lawyer as a courtcan be withdrawn by another court order.Defiant Wanjiku hired Katunga MbuviAdvocates who wrote to Thika Lands office requestingthat a caution be put on the disputedland. This was short-lived as the lawyer withdrewfrom the case after being paid KSh5,000.It was after that when she took the matterupon herself and went to Ardhi House whereshe was advised to open a file with a lawyer soas to stop the sale of the land.“I decided to go to the High Court, but onreaching there, I became very stressed, collapsedin the court corridors and when goodSamaritans took me out of the court, I wentback to Kitui and got admitted at Kitui GeneralHospital for eight days,” recalls Wanjiku.After she was discharged from the hospital,Wanjiku hired N. M. Kamendwa advocateswho asked for KSh500 to put a caution on thedisputed land in Thika.The lawyer later asked for KSh10,000 forrevocation and annulment of the grant butsurprisingly he incorporated her sister in thecase and started addressing correspondents toher instead of the real purchaser. “This portrayeda wrong image, as if I was in disputewith my sister,” says Wanjiku.“After receiving the KSh10,000 and withoutany reason, he withdrew from the case againleaving me in total darkness,” she says, addingthat the lawyer later asked her if she could getKSh500,000 cash and forget about the land altogether.Out of the blues, Wanjiku got the final blowin August when she was served with a courtorder signed by Lady Justice Joyce Aluoch(now at the International Criminal Court) orderingthat there should be no sale or transferof the land by either her sister Mary or GathunguThuo until further orders from the court.“I was in the High Court when I receivedthe order. I did not know what to do next buta good samaritan, who identified himself asEliakim Araka led me outside the court andafter narrating my problems, he took me to thePublic Complaints Service Commission,” saysWanjiku.No hope“Here, I was only given a form to fill indicatingall the offices I have ever visited forhelp,” she says. Despite giving a long list, theonly answer Wanjiku received was to go to thehigh court and get the file to so they could ascertainthe status of the case.Seeing no light at the end of the tunnel,Wanjiku went to the High Court on October15, 2010 and was told that the file could notbe found. She was advised to see the DeputyRegistrar who was also not available. “I havenow reached a dead end and appeal to theHead of State to intervene and help me,” saysWanjiku.Her case is one of the many injustices widowsand other vulnerable members of the societyundergo to have justice done especiallyon inheritance of property more so land. It ishope that the Truth Justice and ReconciliationCommission (TJRC) as well as the yet to beformed land Commission will help womenlike Wanjiku get access to justice especially onmatters relating to land.Communityasked to discardretrogressivecultureBy ODHIAMBO ODHIAMBOThe Nyanza Provincial Director of Education(PDE), Mr Geoffrey Cherongis has told membersof the Kuria community to discard any culturethat interferes with the education of theirchildren.He noted that education was one of the crucialinvestments that a parent could bequeathhis or her child and any tradition that compromisedefforts towards this cause should beshunned.“It is unfortunate that the Kuria communitystill regards circumcision of girls highlyeven when it has been proven to interfere withtheir education,” said Cherongis.He made the remarks during an educationstakeholder’s forum in Kehancha town. He expresseddissatisfaction with the performancesof Kuria West and East districts in last year’sKCPE examinations which saw the formerclinching number 136 and the latter relegatedto position 230 nationally.He said: “No district could register goodperformance if parents, teachers and leadersignored the spirit of co-operation and commitmentin handling education matters.”Saying the government was aware of theteacher shortage in the country, Cherongisnoted with regret that some teachers had developeda culture of laziness under the pretextof being overwhelmed by workload caused bythe influx of many children in primary schools.Deficit“Even if the Government posted manyteachers in schools and they are not committedto their work, nothing good can beachieved in terms of improving performancesin the national examinations,” he pointed out.The two districts have a total teacher deficitof 660 in primary and 150 in secondaryschools. Cherongis also warned head teachersagainst embezzling school funds and urgedthem to be good managers of their institutionsfor better results.He told the meeting that some 28 headteachersin the province had been demotedby the ministry due to financial malpracticesand failing to manage the school curriculumproperly.He also cautioned school heads againstforcing students to repeat classes saying themove led to unwarranted dropouts among thedisappointed pupils.During the meeting attended by the areaMP Dr Wilfred Machage, participants blamedinsecurity due to cattle rustling, politicking betweenteachers and schools committees, insufficientmonitoring and supervision as well asfemale circumcision as some of the pertinentissues that led to the two districts performingpoorly in last year’s KCPE examinations.Machage said he would prevail upon thecommunity’s council of elders to change theDecember circumcision calendar, which henoted, interfered with the preparation of studentsfor national exams.“I will ask them to think of reviewing theircalendar to April so that they can do their cutearly enough without interfering with schooltime table,” reiterated Machage.www.mediadiversityafrica.orgExecutive Director: Rosemary Okello-OrlaleProgramme Coordinator: Wilson UganguEditor: Jane GodiaSub-Editors: Florence Sipalla and Mercy MumoDesigner: Noel LumbamaContributors: Ryan Mathenge, Joseph Mukubwa, Liz Wambui, Joel Juma, Hussein Dido,Ekuwam Adou, David Njagi, Musa Radoli, Mary Nyamongo, DuncanMboyah, Faith Muiruri, Odhiambo Odhiambo, Jane Mugambi, GeorgeMurage, Nick Odhiambo, Joel Juma, Gilbert Ochieng, Hassan Farooq,Eric Mutai, Jane Mugambi, Alex Ndirangu, Ken Ndambu.Write to:info@mediadiversityafrica.orgThe paper is produced with funds from