Uhuru Kenyatta - The African Mirror

Sep

2022

Kenya’s parliament and senate: how will they work together if there’s no clear majority?

PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has held a majority of elected seats in both the national assembly and the senate – which together make up parliament – since the 2013 general election. This enabled his Jubilee coalition to drive its agenda largely unhindered over two five-year terms. This will clearly not be the case for Kenya’s incoming president as results for parliamentary seats and the senate show a near 50:50 split between the two main coalitions. Oscar Gakuo Mwangi sets out the roles of the two houses and what the absence of a clear majority will mean. Author OSCAR GAKUO MWANGI,…

Aug

2022

By The African Mirror

Uhuru Kenyatta and Kenya’s media: a bitter-sweet affair that didn’t end happily

MEDIA FREEDOM

PRESIDENT Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime came into power in 2013. It was the first to implement most of the provisions of Kenya’s 2010 constitution. The media were eager to see how the government, led by Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, would adhere to article 34 of the constitution, which deals with the freedom of the press. The two politicians had promised to expand media freedoms once in power. The relationship between the media and Kenyatta’s regime went through six stages that defined the president’s nine years in office between 2013 and 2022. It shifted from “karibuni chai” (welcome to tea)…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s next election is in view: the struggle between elites and rule of law is intensifying

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

A failed attempt to overhaul Kenya’s progressive constitution less than a year before elections illustrates continuing struggles between the rule of law and the crude tribal instincts of Kenya’s political elite. DR WESTEN K SHILAHO, SARChI, African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, University of Johannesburg The bid to amend 74 clauses of the 2010 constitution was backed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his allies. It was invalidated by Kenya’s High Court in May 2021. The decision was later affirmed by a majority of the court of appeal, declaring the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020 unconstitutional. The courts ruled that Kenyatta could not…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

UK offers 817 000 vaccines to Kenya

COVID-19

BRITAIN will offer 817,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Kenya as part of a delivery of 9 million Oxford-AstraZeneca shots it is providing to help the world tackle the pandemic, the government said on Wednesday. The announcement came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson was due to meet Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta in Britain. The 9 million shots is the first tranche of the UK's commitment to share 100 million vaccine doses internationally by next June.

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

The peer pressure improving the ease of doing business in Africa

BUSINESS

CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD NEWSROOM WATCHING your neighbour improve its ease of doing business, or bring down trade barriers and reap the rewards - and then have that trumpeted on social media, seems to be having a profound effect on African economies, just as the continent ushers in a new era of collaboration. A light moment during a state visit to Kenya by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu in May this year appears to have set the tone for business relations on the continent. The message: put historical, political differences aside and get on with business and free trade. “You’re lucky to…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Kenya plan to help poor plagued by irregularities’

COVID-19

GEORGE OBULUTSA A Kenyan government programme intended to help the capital's poorest citizens weather the pandemic was crippled by irregularities including cronyism and benefited just a fraction of those in need, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the 10 billion-shilling ($92.51 million) cash transfer programme in May 2020, two months after the East African nation entered a strict lockdown. A report by the U.S.-based rights group found that officials in charge of enrolment frequently ignored eligibility criteria "and directed benefits to their relatives or friends, even in cases where they did not meet the criteria".…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya to receive 13 million J&J shots

COVID-19

DUNCAN MIRIRI KENYA will receive the first batch of 13 million COVID-19 vaccine shots from Johnson & Johnson in August, President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced, helping to accelerate the country's vaccination drive. Like other nations on the continent, the East African country has struggled to secure vaccines for its citizens, to allow it to fully lift restrictions aimed at containing the pandemic. Only 1 million Kenyans, out of 47 million, have had a first jab and only 300,000 are fully vaccinated, according to the health ministry. As a result of the deal for the J&J shots and other initiatives, the…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenya extends COVID-19 curfew by 60 days

COVID-19

KENYA has extended its nightly curfew by 60 days to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. The move followed a decision by President Uhuru Kenyatta in late March to extend the 10 p.m to 4 a.m. curfew. A ban on political gatherings and processions that could turn into super spreader events was also extended for 60 days, as was a prohibition on overnight events and vigils, the ministry said. When the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in Kenya in March 2020, the government closed schools, imposed a curfew, banned public gatherings and on multiple occasions…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

President pledges millions to fight GBV

NEWS

NITA BHALLA KENYA'S president pledged millions of dollars in state funds to help tackle a surge in gender-based violence during the pandemic, outlining plans to open women's shelters across the country and improve policing. Uhuru Kenyatta said crime statistics showed cases involving violence against women had almost doubled between January and June 2020 compared with the previous year. "Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic's social and economic impacts have increased exposure of women to physical, sexual and psychological violence, while at the same time limited their access to protective and recovery services," Kenyatta told a conference on gender…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenyan president lifts COVID-19 lockdown imposed last month

COVID-19

KENYAN President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday lifted the COVID-19 lockdown he imposed last month, allowing for a reopening of bars and restaurants, religious services and schools, as the rate of infections eases in the East African country. Curbs on travel in the capital Nairobi and four surrounding counties would be lifted, schools will be allowed to reopen following an Education Ministry calendar. Religious services will resume with some restrictions, while political gatherings would still be banned, he said in a speech. An evening curfew that currently starts at 8 p.m. will be revised to 10 p.m.. The changes will be in…