Female presidential candidate hopes to make it in Arabic Egypt

She cut short her honey moon to attend the third regional conference on African Women in Political Leadership that was held in Nairobi this week.

That’s how passionate Bothaina Kamel, 49, is about women’s participation in governance and democracy.

Ms Kamel made headlines in April when she declared her candidacy, on twitter, for the forthcoming presidential elections in Egypt, promising to deliver dignity, freedom and social justice. Few took her seriously then, but she is now said to be doing more on the ground than her male competitors.

Islamic University to be set up in Kenya

The first ever Islamic university in Kenya will be set up in Isinya District of Kajiado County.

The project, estimated to cost US$15 million, is funded by Qatari investor Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al Thani through his RAF foundation.

Speaking yesterday during the ground breaking ceremony at the institution, Prime Minister Raila Odinga lauded the private sector for investing heavily in higher education. He also reiterated the government’s commitment in promoting cultural and religious diversity and cohesion among various communities through education.

The PM noted that the coming of an Islamic university will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of Islamic faith and civilization. “The establishment of this university could also mark the renewal of the historic ties between Eastern Africa and the Arabian World,” Mr. Odinga said promising government support for the project.

Area Member of parliament Prof George Saitoti expressed gratitude for the investors having chosen his constituency as the location of the institution. “Once completed the institution is not only expected to expand higher education opportunities but also offer employment and other social services to the local community,” he said.

The project is a brain child of Sheikh Mohamed Osman who bought the land in 2003 and built an institution that offers Islamic teachings to the youth. Currently, the institution operates under the name Andalus institute and has a student population of 220 drawn from allover East Africa.

 Besides the college of Sharia and Islamic Studies, the envisioned RAF international University will have 10 other faculties, mainly in the fields of medicine, science and technology.

It joins the likes of Baraton University, Presbyterian University of East Africa, Kenya Methodist University and Catholic University of Eastern Africa, which started off as institutions for religious studies but ended up offering secular courses.

Groups want Uhuru park renamed after Maathai

Civil society groups now want the Freedom Corner section of Uhuru Park to be renamed after Wangari Maathai.

They are also proposing that the city’s processional Way change its name to Wangari Maathai Way.

This, they argue will be a way of honouring the renown environmentalist for her relentless efforts in protecting the park. Freedom Corner at Uhuru Park was the proposed site for Kanu’s 60-storey tower, whose construction Prof Maathai single-handedly fought and blocked.

“We are in the process of drafting a petition to parliament and we have already approached some MPs to sponsor the motion on the floor of the house,” said Njeru Kathangu, who has been facilitating payment of tributes to Prof Maathai at Uhuru Park for the last one week.

Mr. Kathagu added that state resources should not be used in the name of conducting a state funeral for Wangari Maathai. He said that it should be a simple ceremony in accordance with her wishes.

These sentiments were echoed by former Kabete MP Paul Muite who called on the government to honour Prof Maathai by carrying on her conservation efforts through protection of Mt. Kenya and Mau forests.

The civil society groups also demanded a public apology from retired President Daniel arap Moi for alleged harassment on Wangari Maathai by police during his era. They made these demands yesterday at Freedom corner when they lit nine candles to represent the nine planets of the solar system, a sign of Prof Maathai love for nature.

Prof Maathai will be cremated today at the Kariokor crematorium. According to the funeral organisers it will be a private event which will only be attended by family members.

 Members of the public have been encouraged to attend a ceremony at Freedom Corner where interfaith prayers would be held beginning 8am and the state will pay final respects. Viewing of the body and the gun salute will however not characterize the event.

Prisons to be conducive for special offenders

  Kenya’s correctional services system could be up for a radical transformation to address issues of special needs offender.

Prison authorities will now be required to develop assessment tools for all offenders at the intake so as identify those with special needs and separate them from other prisoners. Remand centres will further be obliged to put up specialised facilities to cater for the physically challenged.

The government has also set aside Sh50 million towards the refurbishment of the main psychiatric hospital at Mathari, which also houses psychiatric offenders , to ensure that they are provided with better accommodation facilities conducive for their treatment and rehabilitation.

Speaking in Nairobi yesterday, while officiating the opening ceremony of an International conference on special offenders, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka said the Government has established an integrated correctional approach towards offender management in line with internationally accepted standards of evidence-based practice.

“No single agency, jurisdiction or government can single-handedly tackle the breadth of concerns and challenges that face special needs offenders,” said Mr. Musyoka, whose Home Affairs Ministry is in charge of correctional services.

Apart from the police, judiciary and correctional services, the Vice President said they also plan to bring on board scholars, medical practioners, non-state actors and the community in order to effectively address issues affecting special needs offenders.

“The police service is also undergoing reforms that include the establishment of gender and child protection units and recruitment of mental health practitioners,” the VP said.

The Vice President also announced that his ministry is in the process of drafting a right of persons detained, held in custody or imprisoned bill that will among other issues, provide a legal framework on how to handle special needs offenders.

Special needs offenders are defined by state laws which vary from country to country but generally, some of the offenders considered to have special needs include those with mental health problems, juvenile offenders and sex offenders. Others in this category are the physically disabled, pregnant women, and people with chronic or terminal illnesses.

Elderly offenders, those with severe social deficiencies, leaning disabilities or language barriers are also taken as special needs offenders. Others are those facing protective custody cases, death row inmates and those who chronically exhibit aggressive behaviour.

A recent situational analysis report prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs shows that Kenya does not have adequate documentation on special needs offenders and most prison facilities were not designed with them in mind. There is also an inefficient referral system and concerned agencies don’t have capacity to handle special needs offenders.

Experts advocate for the establishment of special rehabilitative programmes for special needs offenders. They also argue that care givers working with special needs offenders work in risky conditions and thus need motivation in addition to improving physical amenities.

Polytechnic students protest over internal elections

Students from the Kenya Polytechnic university college yesterday took to the streets of Nairobi protesting against the handling of student’s union elections by the management.

They engaged police in a standoff as they barricaded the stretch of Haile Selaisie Avenue from Moi Avenue to Uhuru highway. This caused a major traffic snarl up in the city centre as motorists were forced to use alternative routes.

The students pulled down the institution’s main gate and destroyed a door of a car used by one of the administrators.  They also stoned motorists and on lookers outsider the Times Tower building and on the City square flyover.

The students accused the management of interfering with students elections by blocking some of them from contesting. They also complained of poor learning facilities and an accommodation shortage in the institution.

The unrest was triggered by a nomination list released early yesterday a head of the elections that were scheduled for Tuesday next week.

They demanded for a repeat of the nomination process and the resignation of the dean of students, whose office was conducting the elections process.

Police still in ‘most corrupt’ league

Kenya is perceived as the second least corrupt State in East Africa even as its police force takes the unenviable position of being the most corrupt institution in the country.

The latest bribery survey by Transparency International indicates that Kenya has recorded an improved ranking in the East African Bribery Index falling from third position in 2010 to fourth place in 2011.
Corruption prevalence improved marginally from 31.9 per cent in 2010 to 28.8 per cent in 2011. This is a significant improvement compared to 2009 when Kenya was ranked first in the region with a prevalence of 45 per cent.
Rwanda has maintained its position as the region’s least corrupt state at 5.1 per cent while Burundi is the most corrupt country at 37.9 per cent. Uganda and Tanzania have been ranked second and third, respectively.
At the institutional level, the police, revenue authorities and the Judiciary across the different countries were poorly rated.
Uganda led pack
Uganda police led the pack of the most bribery-prone institutions in the region, followed by Burundi police and the Burundi Revenue Authority.
The Kenya police is the only Kenyan institution ranked among the top 10 in the regional aggregate index, with a score of 81 per cent, compared to four institutions in the top list in 2010.
The Department of Defence and the Nairobi City Council took second and third positions in Kenya, respectively.
The Ministry of Lands moved from position five in 2010 to position four this year while the Registrar of Persons has also moved one step to position five.  The Immigration Department, Mombasa Municipal Council, Judiciary, Ministry of Medical Services and the provincial administration also feature in the top 10 list.
Deputy police spokesman Charles Owino attributed corruption in the police force to their poor terms of service.
He said it was unimaginable that the people entrusted with enforcing the law could lead in the bribery index arguing that it could have been a result of “limitations of statistics”. Only 7.1 per cent of the respondents in Kenya reported incidents of corruption.
Transparency International- Kenya director Samuel Kimeu called on the police to improve levels of transparency and enhance public access to information to achieve accountability.  Mr Kimeu attributed the fall in the level of corruption in Kenya to institutions created by the new Constitution.

Retired Marketer joins presidential race

Little known Jacob Kioko, a retired marketer, has joined the growing list of presidential hopefuls ahead of the 2012 general elections.
Mr. Kioko, 62, declared his intentions in Kajiado yesterday and said he would run on a platform of eliminating “societal economic imbalance.” He said he has developed an economic concept that will transform Kenya into a developed country in less than 10 years.
The presidential hopeful thinks Kenyans will elect him purely on account of having come up with an economic concept, which he said will solve all the country’s problems.
“Running for presidency is something that I have harbored for the last 25 years. In the process, I have come up with an idea which is of great benefit to humanity but it can only be implemented with the highest political goodwill and that can only happen if I am the president,” Mr. Kioko said
He however declined to divulge details of his economic concept only saying that it will devolve economic empowerment to the masses and enhance corporate profitability.
“It is a sure and stable source of raising funds for financing the exploitation of the economic potential of the counties,” he said.
Mr. Kioko intends to run on a Concerted Effort Party ticket, which he is in the process of registering. He is currently the principal and proprietor of a primary school in Kitengela.