A man was lynched on Sunday morning in Marakwet by villagers on suspicion of killing his two children.

Vincent Kimaiyo Chebii, 34, was lynched by an angry mob in Kabararwa village after it was discovered that he killed his two sons Kiptoo Kimairyo, 8, and Kiplagat Kimaiyo, 6, and buried them in his house.

Mr Kimaiyo was buried by Sunday noon.

The deceased is suspected of having committed to offense in January and buried the children inside his house.

According to the villagers, Mr Kimaiyo confided in one of his uncles that he had killed his sons and buried them in a shallow grave inside his house.

The boys who were taken away from the man’s estranged wife had not been seen in public since January, and no one knew they whereabouts.

EXHUMED

Confirming the incident Kipkaner location Chief Joseph Kiptanui said the deceased had been denying people access into his house since the boys started living with him.

The police exhumed the bodies of the children before they reburied again.

“I was called by the villagers and told there was a shallow grave inside the deceased house. I immediately called the police, and the bodies were exhumed. The bodies had been cut into pieces to fit in the shallow grave. The bodies had decomposed,” said Mr Kiptanui.

The boys were living with their mother, who broke up with the father a few years ago and moved to her parents’ home about 10 kilometers away.

The US State Department has pushed the opening of the DV-2021 Green Card lottery Entrant Status Check to June 6, 2020.

The State Department says that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the opening, which were expected to be available online at the State Department website starting on May 5, will be postponed to June 6, 2020.

The delayed opening “will not negatively impact our ability to pre-process and schedule DV-2021 interviews, which are scheduled to begin on October 1, 2020,” the State Department said.

The DV-2021 lottery registration period ran between October 2, 2019 and November 5, 2019.

Last year the US government said that the number of Kenyans who tried their luck with the US Diversity Visa lottery (green card lottery) grew to 442,966 in the Fiscal Year 2018.

This was a 23 per cent rise compared to 2017 when 360,023 Kenyans entered the lottery.

VISA PROCESSING

The Diversity Visa lottery system makes 55,000 permanent visas available each year to nationals of countries with small populations of immigrants in the US.

Last week President Donald Trump announced that he will be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of certain immigration green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a US economy wrecked by the coronavirus.

“To protect American workers I will be issuing a temporary suspension of immigrating into the United States,” Trump said at a White House briefing after tweeting about the order.

Trump said that the move would not impact those in the country on a temporary basis and would apply only to those looking for green cards in hopes of staying.

Almost all visa processing by the State Department has been suspended for weeks while travel across the globe has been restricted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Outdoor advertising in Nairobi has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, with many billboards along major roads and highways now reduced to blank canvases and rusty metal rods.

With the national economy struggling to cope with the effects of the pandemic, it seems few businesses are willing to spend anymore cash on outdoor advertising.

Along Nairobi’s Biashara Street there is at least one blank frame of a billboard, four along Muindi Mbingu Street, one along Moi Avenue, eight around the Museum Hill flyover and six blank billboards along Tom Mboya.

Certain roads leading into the city like Landhies road, Waiyaki way and Racecourse road also have their fair share of blank billboards.

The ever-busy Thika Superhighway hasn’t been spared either. This writer counted nearly 40 blank billboards from Globe Cinema roundabout to Ruiru town.

There a few billboards that have survived the tough times,though. But many of them only display old and outdated advertisements.

Times must be really tough for advertising companies in the city.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has set up an emergency kitty to provide basic assistance to its members amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The directive by Chief Justice David Maraga to have the courts remain closed in the war against Covid-19 has left most of their members in dire need.

LSK President Nelson Havi said the money raised from the fund will be used to pay rent and purchase necessities such as food for their needy members, whom he said are in their thousands.

“The most immediate concern for us is to get food and rent for those affected. We are raising money and will be able to pay rent for those desperate and have been kicked out of their rental houses,” Havi said.

“As we speak right now, there are law firms which have sent their associates on unpaid compulsory leave, and we must move faster to help them,” he further said.

SEEKING ASSISTANCE

So far, lawyers have raised more than Sh150,000 in M-Pesa and Sh40,000 in Safaricom Bonga Points, which are now being redeemed for cash and shopping.

Havi has donated Sh10,000 while his deputy, Caroline Kamende, who initiated the fundraiser, has contributed Sh5,000.

Kamende said she has received numerous requests from members for assistance as the Covid-19 effects kick in.

“I have received numerous requests directly and indirectly from our members seeking assistance in one way or another, to meet their basic needs. We need to look out for each other bravely. We need to be our brother’s and sister’s keeper,” she said.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is holding a man and two women suspected to have participated in murder of a man in Kayole after they raised false alarm.

Maurice Otieno, Jackline Akinyi and Eunice Awuor were arrested in connection to the murder of Hanson Wafula Mukhengi who was lynched by a mob on Friday last week.

Mukhengi was killed after the accused persons claimed that he was a thief after he had been allegedly found inside Akinyi’s house.

Inspector Fredrick Barasa Okello of Kayole DCI offices obtained custodial orders at the Makadara Law Courts to hold the three for two weeks to aid in investigations into Mukhengi’s murder.

Akinyi told the court that she was called in by her child who told her that someone had come for their TV after being sent by the child’s mother.

She the informed her caretaker who restrained Mukhengi from leaving the building.

CORNERED

She said she later called Mukhengi’s friend to rescue him after suspecting he would be killed by mob who had cornered him.

Inspector Okello said he has not thoroughly investigated the matter.

“I have not completed my investigations and I need more time to enable me to record statements from the prosecution witnesses, arrest other suspects still at large, allow postmortem to be performed and carry out mental assessment of the suspects,” he told the court.

The suspects will remain at Kayole Police Station until May 11, 2020 after Senior Resident Magistrate Steve Jalang’o granted the order.

Former Kenyan international goalkeeper Arnold Origi says he took up Norwegian citizenship so as to secure his future and that of his family.

Origi however admits that he fully understands why Kenyans struggled to understand the decisions.

The veteran goalkeeper was born in Nairobi to Kenyan international Austin Oduor 36 years ago.

He turned out for Kenyan Premier League sides Mathare United and Tusker before sealing a professional move to Norway.

But then, the Harambee Stars goalkeeper decided to trade his Kenyan passport for a Norwegian one in 2017, a decision that had Kenyans asking themselves why he’d suddenly declined to represent the national team after gaining 33 caps over a period of 12 years.

“I have been in Norway for seven years. One time I went to renew my work permit and the (immigration officials) told me I am eligible to get Norway citizenship,” Origi said in an interview with Madgoat TV.

“I took the Norwegian passport for my future. This travel document is crucial and can open a lot of doors for me.. If I don’t have a job right now the Norway government can sustain me. I now have an opportunity to work with the association of coaches in Norway, like Uefa B licence for coaches and UEFA A for goalkeepers,” he explained.

DUAL CITIZENSHIP

“Let us not play dumb, you know the struggles many Kenyan footballers face back at home. Most of them struggle to survive after retirement. Some Kenyans did not understand my decision but at the moment I was applying for that passport, I knew it would not stop me from turning out for the national team (because Kenya allows dual citizenship),” he further said.

Origi also hinted that his lack of game time at international level in the recent time was occasioned by a fallout with then Stars coach Stanley Okumbi.

“The fact that I have not played for the national team since has nothing to do with the fact that I have a Norwegian passport. It was because I had issues with the technical bench after the Guinea Bissau game. I respected the decision not to be selected because it is up to the coach to decide who is called up and who plays,” he said.

The outspoken keeper who is in line for a recall by current Stars coach Francis Kimanzi says also considered international retirement.

“I wondered whether my time with the national team had come to an end. I missed selection for three call-ups and yet I was performing well and even voted the best goalkeeper in Norway in 2015,” he said.

Origi is currently based in Finland, at top-flight club Veikkausliiga.

Health CAS Dr Rashid Amin has announced that 11 more people have tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours in the country, raising the total number to 374.

Out of the new cases, two are children aged two years while the oldest is 75 years.

In terms of the distribution among counties, seven are from Nairobi while four are from Mombasa.

The Nairobi cases four from Kawangware and one each from Eastleigh, Mangi and Kaloleni estates. All the four Mombasa cases are from Kibokoni, old town.

“We have 11 new cases out of 589 samples tested in the last 24 hours. Our total number of Covid-19 positive cases now stands at 374. In today’s cases, there are two children aged three years and the oldest is 75 years,” Dr Aman said.

“Out of the 11 cases, seven are from Nairobi while four are from Mombasa. Of the seven Nairobi cases, 4 are from Kawangware, 1 Eastleigh, Mangi estate and Kaloleni. All the four Mombasa cases are from Kibokoni,” he added.

Residents of the said areas, he warned, should take extra caution to avoid contracting the virus.

The CAS noted that the trend of positive cases has now been restricted to Nairobi and Mombasa.

This indicates that there is local transmission in these two counties.

AFC Leopards Chairman Dan Shikanda has vowed to lodge appeal at the Sport Dispute Tribunal (SDT,) if Gor Mahia are to be declared Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions this season.

Shikanda has also taken a swipe at Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa for seeking to endear himself to K’Ogalo fans so as to achieve his political agenda by using unpopular FKF laws to push for the reigning champions to be handed a fourth straight KPL title if the league doesn’t resume due to the coronavirus pandemic.

REMAINING MATCHES

KPL Chief Executive Officer Jack Oguda in a circular to all the clubs last month, specified that the league has been suspended indefinitely. He said its resumption will depend on when the government relaxes the current directive prohibiting social gathering in public places, a measure which was taken to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

This decision was taken with 10 KPL games remaining to the end of this season.

“I will take a case to the Sport Dispute Tribunals if Gor Mahia are handed the trophy in any case the league doesn’t resume. This is not a tournament but a league and if it is not completed then it should be declared null and void,” said Shikanda.

“I have asked the chairmen of more than half of clubs in KPL about this laws being quoted by Mwendwa and all of them said they are not aware of their existence, neither were they informed of them at the beginning of the season,” he explained.

The former Kenyan international said he wouldn’t accept the FKF President to pressurize KPL which runs the league into declaring Gor Mahia champions and unfairly relegating Nzoia, Kisumu All Stars and Chemelil Sugar which occupy 15th, 16th and 17th places on the log.

He dismissed those saying AFC Leopards, who are sixth and 14 points behind Gor Mahia, cannot win the league.

NULL AND VOID

“Teams like Deportivo la Coruna in La Liga used to lead the table but were always overtaken by Barcelona and Real Madrid with two or there matches to go. The top six teams in KPL are all in a pole position to win the league and Gor should coordinated at all,” he added.

Shikanda cited an incident in which a KPL match pitting Leopards and Sony Sugar was stopped due to heavy rains late in the second half and they were later forced to travel back to Awendo to honour the match.

He said KPL should apply the same decision by using a congested fixture to finish the games in four weeks post the coronavirus pandemic, and if this is not possible the season should be declared null and void.

“If some clubs do not have the resources to cope with the congested fixture then they should be removed from the league the way Sony was suspended after failing to honour three matches,” he said.

Apart from AFC Leopards other teams calling for the cancellation of KPL are Western Stima, Kisumu All Stars, Mathare United, Bandari and Sony Sugar.

KPL is expected to hold a stakeholders meeting this week to deliberate on the league after the government extended the night curfew which ends on May 15 while the league was initially scheduled to end on May 24.

Former Kenya international Bonface Ambani has urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to bail out struggling athletes whose source of income has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

But then the vocal Ambani, who turned out for AFC Leopards and Tanzania’s Young Africans in his playing career, has additionally begged the Head of State that the assistance should not be channelled through Football Kenya Federation (FKF).

He even suggested, for good measure, that he is best placed to account for the funds should they be channelled through him.

“You can even me to help me to help you grow,” opined Ambani in a lengthy social media post in which he also reached out to Sports CS Amina Mohamed.

“H.E the President reach out please. Offer the sportsmen something. These young men and women are going through hell.”

Ambani adds that the current FKF office cannot be trusted with funds considering the history of corruption-related allegations that have dogged their stay in office.

But Ambani could as well be preaching to the converted as Sports CS Amina Mohamed has announced in the past that the government is working on ‘something’ for the athletes.

A concerned Kenyan has had a request to ban Sauti Sol’s hit song, Suzanna, denied by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB).

The individual wrote a letter to one of the local dailies explaining that the song was unfit to be played in public, suggesting that the meaning behind Senje as used in the song had been corrupted and that the group intended to promote vices such as incest. The complainant asked the board to act against the song.

“Senje is Luhya for aunt – the sister of your father. How then can it be that a nephew and his aunt have a relationship?” the complainant posed.

The writer added that to fall in love with your father’s sister is unheard of, incestuous, an abomination and illegal.

Mutua now says he submitted it for review by the board.

However, after a thorough review of the song, KFCB gave the song a clean bill of health saying the song meant much more than what the petitioner, in this case, claims to know.

“The Board’s Broadcast Monitoring team has analysed the song and given it a clean bill of health on grounds that it has no classifiable elements and is therefore rated GE (General Exhibition) meaning that it’s suitable for viewers of all ages.

This complaint was brought to our attention this morning. It's in regard to a song by @sautisol. I submitted it to our Broadcast Monitoring team for analysis and it has been given a clean bill of health and rated as GE (General Exhibition), i.e suitable for all family viewing. pic.twitter.com/NVZtNca2JI

— Dr. Ezekiel Mutua, MBS (@EzekielMutua) April 27, 2020

The Board said the song’s lyrics are not in contravention of the board’s classification guidelines. The group responded with a tinge of sarcasm.

These streets ain't safe no more https://t.co/S8N2nFkOZo

— SAUTI SOL (@sautisol) April 27, 2020

The song, according to KFCB, has no classifiable elements and is thus rated GE, meaning it’s suitable for viewers of all ages.

In the song, Sauti Sol sing about Suzanna, also the title of the song, and is ridiculed for her love of sponsors (sugar daddies), travelling to exquisite destinations and owning expensive items.

She portrays an image of the current generational issues and the extremes and risks that young men and women will withstand in order to afford a luxurious lifestyle, which more often than not will be financed by older men or older women.

The lyrics also discourage men and women against being materialistic and instead the personality and traits are important when it comes to choosing a partner and encouraged to accept herself and leave the lavish life.

At least 18 Kenyans have died of Covid-19 abroad, the government has said.

On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau said that most of the deaths had occurred in the US, with the majority of the deaths occurring in New York and Boston.

Speaking on Inooro FM, the PS reiterated that the Kenyan government will not bring the deceased home due to the costs involved.

The PS said families willing to bring home the bodies of their relatives will have to bear the costs.

Alternatively, they can allow them to be cremated in foreign countries.

The number of Covid-19 fatalities abroad is slightly higher compared to the 13 who have died in Kenya.

The 18 fatalities are among 85 Kenyans who had have tested positive of Covid-19 abroad.

According to the PS, 60 of those who had been infected have recovered except one who is still hospitalised at a Sweden hospital in a critical condition.

Reported across the world

The US leads in the number of Covid-19 cases reported across the world with over one million cases and 56,803 deaths as of Tuesday, April 28.

At the same time, Mr Kama said Kenyans stranded in China, the UK and India will be evacuated as plans to get them out get underway, but at their own cost.

He said that some 500 Kenyans are scheduled to be airlifted back to the country from next week.

The exercise, set to kick off on Tuesday, will see 300 Kenyans from China and 200 others in India airlifted back home by the national flag carrier, Kenya Airways.

“Most Kenyans who were left stranded in India had travelled for medical treatment,” the PS noted.

The flight from China is scheduled to arrive on Friday next week.

A chartered Kenya Airways flight bringing home stranded Kenyans from the United Kingdom is set to depart London’s Heathrow Airport on Tuesday next week.

The Kenyan High Commissioner to the UK Manoah Esipisu has advised those willing to board the flight to book their tickets well in advance through the Kenya Airways portal.

A woman has suffered a blow after a Kadhi who presided over her marriage ceremony dissolved the same and ordered her to refund her husband Sh150,000 bride price.

XYM will be forced to refund the dowry after her attempts to block repayment of the same was denied by the High Court.

Justice Reuben Nyakundi noted that the application to set aside an order requiring the woman to refund the amount could not be allowed since she is in breach of the terms of the consent entered last year before the Kadhi’s Court.

The judge further said that the consent judgement entered between the woman and her husband is clear on its terms that the woman is in default to pay the dowry as set out and agreed hence the judicial review remedy was not available for her.

Judicial review

“That being my view of the matter, the judicial review application by the woman falls flat on its face. The resultant judgement of April 10,2019 remains a binding covenant between the parties as of now capable of being enforced as a valid court order,” the judge said.

Justice Nyakundi said that from the record, the Kadhi’s court facilitated the parties to adopt the consent to meet the ends of justice in the matter.

The dispute began at the Kadhi’s Court in Mariakani when the couple sought to end their marriage after an irreparable family disagreement.

The man filed for divorce, which the wife did not object to. So, with the help of the Kadhi’s court, the couple was allowed to dissolve their marriage.

In a consent judgement dated April 30, 2019, the Kadhis court annulled the marriage and as a result of the nullification, the woman was to compensate the man of his bride price.

Equal instalments

According to court records, the refund was to be done in three equal instalments of Sh50,000 with effect from May, 2019.

But instead of making the payment, the woman filed a judicial review at Malindi court seeking the setting aside of the judgement by the Kadhi.

She argued that she was not accorded an opportunity to be heard at the Muslim court resulting in the judgement requiring her to refund the dowry.

“The Kadhi proceeded to hear the case despite the fact that I neither filed my defence nor a response for that matter or been afforded time to do so. The Kadhi did not further advise me of options or right to do so,” she lamented.

She also laments that the Kadhi, without enquiring on whether the summons were served on her or not, and without asking for proof of service of the same and plaints, he proceeded to hear the case.

“On the same date, with little or no legal knowledge nor representation and without the advice of the Kadhi as an officer of the court, at the same time under duress, coercion and intimidation by the man, I was compelled to sign an agreement to pay him back his dowry of Sh150,000,” she lamented.

Of interest was that the divorce case was filed and dispensed with on the same date with the Kadhi recording the terms of the alleged agreement as an order of the court.

“The Kadhi gave further orders dissolving the marriage there and then despite there being no indication in the proceedings that the parties had negotiated to settle the matter. The Kadhi did all these despite being the one who presided over the marriage ceremony,” the woman protested.

She had accused the Kadhi of failing to ensure that she was served with the divorce papers before the matter could be heard and determined as well as failing to allow her to file her defence.

Following the annulment of the marriage and the refund order, the woman laments that her former husband has resorted to intimidating her for the payment ordered and has now threatened execution of the same by way of committing her to civil jail.

“I am apprehensive that the interested party (former husband) shall commence the process of the threatened execution against me anytime from now for my failure of meeting the terms of order of the court,” she says.

Stated on oath

The man, however, accused the woman on failing to disclose material facts that would have assisted the court to arrive at a just decision.

“The woman on her free will before the Kadhi’s Court stated on oath that she wanted the marriage dissolved on condition of her paying the dowry assessed at Sh150,000,” he said.

He further said that the basis of the consent judgement was on mutual agreement without any coercion or duress on either side or the Kadhi.

“The fact of the matter is due to the default by the woman to fulfil her part of the judgement in settling the dowry compensation. This application has been filed to scuttle the execution process,” he told the High Court.

Justice Nyakundi in his decision said a perusal of the court records shows that both parties appeared before the Kadhi’s Court for the hearing of their claim on the dissolution of the marriage, where the woman on her own motion was heard and prayed for divorce.

Characteristics

“The issues were determined, which is characteristics of a case comprised of admission of facts. The learned Kadhi as adjudicating officer had no power to withhold the remedies sought by the parties in terms of the constitution,” he said.

The judge concluded that the Kadhi exercised discretion under the powers conferred in Article 50 (1) of the Constitution to record and adopt the consent of both parties as an order of the court.

“There was nothing illegal, unreasonable or irrational on the part of the Kadhi to proceed to determine the dispute on (the) dissolution of marriage after (the) close of the case for the plaintiff,” he said.

Justice Nyakundi said the woman offered no evidence to enable his court disregard the consent judgement and have it nullified without a proper factual or legal basis.

The highest number of persons infected by coronavirus in Kenya are the youth.

Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman while issuing the daily briefing on Tuesday urged the youth to be more proactive and dedicate their energies in helping the government stop the spread of Covid-19.

Persons aged between 30 and 59 years account for 224 cases roughly 60 percent of the total number of cases registered to date while 99 cases are in the 15 to 29 years age group.

“Cumulatively the age group of 30 to 59 continue to carry the burden of this disease in our population. They account for 224 cases roughly 60 percent of the 374 total number of cases registered to date,” Dr Aman said.

He continued: “When you add to this the 99 cases in the age group of 15 to 29 years, we have a figure of 323 cases from our most active segment that is between 15 to 59 years. We, therefore, encourage these groups to rededicate their energies in on serving the containment efforts.”

The total number of confirmed cases are currently at 374.

In terms of the distribution of the disease among counties: Homa bay 1, Kajiado 3, Kakamega 1, Kiambu 5, Kilifi 9, Kitui 2, Kwale 1, Mandera 8, Mombasa 97, Nairobi 241, Nakuru 2, Siaya 2, Uasin Gishu1 and Kwale 1.

The Health CAS asked Kenyans to continue cooperating with the government in the fight against Covid-19.

“To the rest of the country, I continue to plead for your cooperation and understanding. Together we shall beat this virus and resume our jobs, schools, businesses and social interactions. We can, once we have beaten it, revive our economy,” Dr Aman said.

Daddy Owen has responded to claims by fellow musician Rigan Sarkozy who is demanding Sh2 million from the Vanity hit-maker for work he allegedly did on some of his music projects in 2017.

Last week, the Congolese-Kenyan based musician, through lawyer David Katee sent a demand letter to Daddy Owen demanding to be paid the amount within seven days.

The seven-day ultimatum expired last Friday and by Sunday, Daddy Owen had not responded to it according to lawyer Katee.

In the demand letter, Sarkozy claimed to have written and arranged the song Wewe ni Mungu and also directed the videos of hit song Vanity and Okokroko.

Sarkozy, who at some point was housed by Daddy Owen for two years, claims he has never received a single cent for the services he rendered in the three projects.

He claimed his attempts to have Owen pay him haven’t borne any fruits with the gospel star always avoiding his calls.

“It is from the above foregoing that our client has instructed us to demand you Ksh Two Million (Ksh2, 000,000) as payment for his services, legal feed and damages. Take note that if the above demand is not met within 7 days, our client has given us mandatory instructions to pursue legal redress in a court of law without any further reference to you,” read part of the demand letter.

Responding to the allegations, Daddy Owen told Nairobi News that he doesn’t understand any of those claims by Sarkozy.

“To be honest I don’t understand all that is happening, I don’t want to comment on something I don’t know. I have been in prayers which are very important to me and have just been told of the claims. I won’t rush to react to something that I don’t know how exactly I should react to,” Daddy Owen responded.

This is the second time the reserved Daddy Owen is finding himself in such a situation. 

Four years ago, gospel singer Bahati claimed that Denno was struggling to make a living while his collabo hit song Mbona with Daddy Owen had been the most downloaded song for two years 2012 and 2013 consecutively since its release.

Bahati appeared to accuse Daddy Owen of taking away all the proceedings from the hit song.

In his defence, Owen stated that he did not owe Denno a single coin, having given him a million shillings and even went ahead to open a business for him.

The government has defended its decision to allow the reopening of restaurants while leaving other public places including places of worship, bars and schools shut.

Acting director of public health Dr Francis Kuria said the decision to allow the eateries to resume operations was reached after consideration of the number of people employed in the food industry.

Dr Kuria said places of worship and other gatherings will remain guided by previous directives issued for control of the spread of Covid-19.

“It was found necessary to allow restaurants because they also provide areas where a majority of Kenyans can access to at least get a meal,” Dr Kuria said.

“We are just opening a small business for Kenyans to earn a living as we look at the disease pattern moving on.”

The restaurants must get reopening approval from the county directors of public health after complying with requirements including a mandatory test for Covid-19 for all their staffers at laboratories approved by the Ministry of Health (MoH).

Kuria said the requirements are meant to ensure that all the gains made in containing the Covid-19 pandemic are not lost by opening the restaurants.

“You will only commence operations upon receipt of a permit from the county director of public health to operate food business during the period of Covid-19, pandemic. And we urge a lot of patience from the operators as they get inspected,” Dr Kuria added.

“Please be patient and do not open until you are inspected and given a license. You must provide evidence that all the workers in that facility have gone through medical screening and have tested negative for Covid-19 at a laboratory designated by the government.”

While restaurants were given the first priority, Kuria said the MoH is working on other guidelines and with the advice of those who are doing modelling of this disease for the ministry, a decision will be taken on which other areas are going to opened up.

“Establishments may seek this [Covid-19] testing from private facilities bearing in mind the constraints we have in supply chain of testing and sampling kits. Those who may wish to go to private facilities are encouraged to do so,” he added.

“The caution is that there could be others out there who say they’re going to offer this testing, using rapid test – we are saying you must do this with consultation with MoH because those rapid tests are still not yet approved by the Ministry.”

Kuria said the ministry is still doing – modelling and how the disease is progressing and will make further determinations from the reports.

The KCA University will buy internet bundles for its students after adopting remote engagement system to ensure continuity in learning and teaching across all its campuses.

The digital learning programme will be offered in partnership with state telecommunications services provider Telkom Kenya to enable all students at different places in the country access to the internet.

“To ensure learning and teaching processes continue uninterrupted, the university has partnered with Telkom Kenya to offer “soma na telkom” data bundles for students registered for January- April trimester,” Communication officer Isaiah Were said in a statement.

“The partnership will see the students get SIM cards loaded with 10GB of data bundles fully paid for by the University for studies and exams.”

The university suspended teaching and learning in lecture halls mid last month following the government directive that all learning institutions across the country suspend their operations as a containment measure against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

But in a virtual address to students, Vice Chancellor Prof. Noah Midamba indicated that the University was also in negotiations with different service providers for subsidised internet bundles for students for the May-August 2020 semester.

Prof Midamba assured the students that the decisions the university was making were guided by current policies adopted by the government and by emerging global best practices that are aimed at containing and reducing the negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof Midamba also assured the university’s Board of Trustees, management council and staff were dedicated to supporting student’s education and in finding ways of reducing the negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on their learning experience and their goals of completing university education.

“Whatever efforts we are making now is for the best interest of the students and that life will soon be back to normal when we find a cure for this virus,” Prof Midamba added.

Some parents have lamented that their children’s learning institutions have started charging full school fees for virtual learning as the second term kicks off later next month.

Schools belonging to Kenya Private Schools Association (KPSA) and the Kenya Association International Schools (KAIS) last month said they had developed an online studies strategy to ensure that students continue learning remotely.

However, officially, primary and secondary school learners have been on April holiday and the commencement of the new term has been pushed back by a month.

Some private schools have already communicated with parents demanding that they pay normal school fees for virtual learning with some telling the parents to “consider it as normal schooling”.

“Following the Covid-19 situation and the uncertainty thereof, the school has embarked on an ambitious program of online lessons at Sh1000 weekly. Set to begin on Monday 27th April 2020. Time 9.30 a.m. (Monday -Friday). Requirements: A dedicated smartphone for the child uploaded with zoom app. Kindly treat these as normal lessons,” one of the messages read.

In another school, the parents were instructed that 2nd term opens on May 12 and directed them to pay tuition fees of between Sh30,000 and Sh50,000 depending on class/grade and that they should to log onto e-learning portal and teach children at home.

The situation has also been the same in other countries including in Nigeria.

My son’s school sent a mail that virtual learning starts next week and we should pay full school fees.
School fees for a 2 year old to learn online, someone that can’t sit for 5 mins to watch PJ Masks.

My dear, he has dropped out.
Force Majeure.

— Ngala Mall (@Aunty_Les) April 23, 2020

Some of the schools are offering fee discounts of between 10 and 50 percent for the second term, taking into consideration students are taking online classes from the comfort of their homes.

Some of the learners are being taught via apps such as Zoom and Skype at the comfort of their homes, allowing them to interact and seek clarification from their teachers.

“Most schools are opening the term tomorrow, and the classes will be done virtually. We have been forced to take a giant leap into the future,” said a teacher from one of the schools who sought to remain anonymous.

According to her, the school has reduced fees by 15 to 30 percent because in this case, there is no physical interaction with the students but there are other processes involved including the need for desktop, laptops, and internet by teachers.

Meanwhile, parents are arguing that running costs in the school have been drastically reduced and that there was no need to request such fees.

“The fee discount should be more than 50 percent as the students will not use the school compound, stationery and other material provided by the school,” said a parent from one of the schools.

Private Schools Association chief executive Peter Ndoro last week said, unlike government schools, private schools do not receive capitation, making it impossible for them to continue existing.

Mr Ndoro said private schools have started engaging the government for financial aid after the coronavirus epidemic ends to enable them to run their institutions.

He said the association has developed a memorandum to be presented to the Ministry of Education on the financing of the institutions.

“It is going to be difficult to run these institutions without finances,” he said.

Mr Ndoro said so far, some private institutions who had rented premises will not be able to pay this month’s rent.

Last month, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed all schools and higher education learning institutions to remain shut to reduce the danger of the spread of the coronavirus across the country.

Following the closure, 15 million primary and secondary school learners are now at home.

According to this year’s school calendar, primary and secondary schools were scheduled to close by April 10 and the second term which has now been postponed for a month was scheduled to begin on May 4 and end on August 7 while the third term was scheduled to open on August 31 and end on October 30.

At least 60 people were charged at the Makadara law courts with violating curfew and other regulations put in place for preventing the spread of Covid-19.

While a majority of them were curfew defaulters, a big number of the suspects were arrested at pool table joints for failure to observe social distance while playing games at the joints.

The curfew defaulters were arrested on roads and bars where they had locked themselves drinking past 7pm.

Beer recovered from one of the bars was presented in court as an exhibit. The bar owners and their clients pleaded guilty to the charges of contravening the Public Order Act against them.

The suspects were arrested in Ruai, Dandora, Kamukunji among other places in Nairobi.

Most pleaded guilty before resident magistrate Mercy Malingu.

She sentenced them to pay a fine of Sh2,000 each or serve a jail term of 20 days.

The few who denied the charges were freed on a cash bail of Sh2,000 and directed to return to the court on July 24 for directions on their cases depending on the Covid-19 situation.

Singer Nadia Mukami says she is taking a social media break after being the recipient of harsh insults on the internet.

Nadia says the number of insults thrown at her for the past one month have caused her a lot of heartaches, leaving her to break down.

“Am writing this with tears in my eyes and they are already swollen coz of crying! I know they say I am a public figure, I need not to show emotions; I will show my emotions!!! There isn’t an insult I haven’t received!! All levels of explicit insults,”

“This has been a month of one heartache after another, I swear I have broken down! I am always the strongest among my friends; they say God doesn’t give you something you can’t handle, I wish he didn’t trust me this much every time!! Am (sic) taking a break, I will be back,” said Nadia Mukami.

The online bullying started after a woman posted on Facebook private group Chit Chat for Nairobi Moms claiming that the singer swindled her Sh15,000.

The woman going by the name Stella Bella on social media said they had gotten into an agreement with the singer after giving her a gig organised by the events company she was working for.

Allegedly, their agreement was that Bella would make an invoice of Sh80,000 to be paid to the Maombi hit-maker and Nadia was to take her Sh65 and the balance she would give to Ms Bella.

According to the accuser, this later did not happen as Nadia refused to keep her end of the bargain.

Her decision comes days after comedian Mulamwah burnt his jacket and announced a cessation of comedy.