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High Court has ordered Nation Media Group to pull down ‘COVID-19 millionaires’ story from their social media platforms pending the hearing of libel case by Megascope Ltd against them.

In their story, Nation Media Group had exposed individuals who benefited from Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) scandal.

According to the expose, some business people chattered planes to China to physically fly in Covid-19 medical supplies.

The story further revealed that some individuals waited for the goods, personal protective gear, ventilators and other medical items to land in Nairobi, then snapped them up in bulk and waited.

Twelve firms,  for instance, were awarded contracts worth Sh3 billion by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) to deliver items that were not covered by the state agency’s 2019/20 approved budget as at June 4, 2020, with some multimillion-shilling irregular bids going to friends and well-connected individuals.

Several companies were put on the list of beneficiaries, among them being kilig limited, Abyssinia Group of Industries (AGI), Bell Industries, Medlife Biologicals Limited among many others.

Mega Scope Healthcare had demanded an apology from Nation Media Group for the defamatory investigative story by Dennis Okari which aired on Sunday, August 16.

The company, believed to be associated with the National Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Richard Ngatia through its lawyers Njoroge Regeru and Company, said that the investigative piece has destroyed the reputation of its client by terming the company as a dishonest and a corrupt entity.

Through a demand letter written to the Managing Editor, the company has distanced itself from the allegations aired by Dennis Okari, terming them as false and gravely damaging to the company’s image.

On Sunday August 16, NTV ran an investigative piece that widely mentioned Mega Scope Healthcare as one of the companies that allegedly contracted by KEMSA to clear covid-19 kits donated by Jack Ma.

The investigative piece alluded that there were records to show that kits were received the kits, but there was no public record of what happened thereafter.

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A 26-year-old woman in Nakuru County has died after being gang-raped by a group of unknown people.

According to reports, the brutal gang of young people inserted a glass bottle and sticks in the woman’s private parts after raping her. 

Further, they also slashed her with a machete during the Saturday, September 19, incident.

Senior Assistant Chief Emitik Sub-Location, Richard Langat, said that the woman was picked immediately by Good Samaritans and taken to Olenguruone Sub-County Hospital for treatment.

He said that the woman succumbed to the injuries on Sunday, September 20, while undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Kuresoi South OCPD Henry Nyaranga said that two suspects have already been arrested as detectives continue to comb the area for their accomplices.

“I have dispatched DCI (Directorate of Criminal Investigations) officers to undertake thorough investigations and appropriate action taken,” he said.

Nyaranga said that the incident is unfortunate and those liable will face the wrath of the law.

Langat, on the other hand, said that the youths could be under the influence of drugs and vowed to work closely with the security officers to root out the menace.

The woman’s body has been moved to the hospital’s morgue.

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Embattled Kapsaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi will remain in police custody for seven more days.

Sudi on Wednesday September 16, 2020 appeared before Nakuru chief magistrate Josephat Kalo after spending another two days in police cells.

The lawmaker this morning appeared for a ruling on his bail that he had sought.

However, he is not yet a free man as police sought to detain him for seven more days to complete investigations.

The prosecution, led by Daniel Karuri, had sought more time to complete investigations into the crimes allegedly committed by the legislator.

Karuri objected to his release on bond, saying he was being investigated for hate speech, assault of a police officer, offensive conduct, unlawful possession of firearm and bullets and resisting arrest.

The MP was on Sunday airlifted to Nakuru minutes after he surrendered at Langas Police Station in Uasin Gishu County.

Sudi was arrested for hate speech, which is under investigation by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission.

This is after he made remarks deemed abusive towards President Uhuru Kenyatta and his family.

His arrest came after a drama involving the police and his constituents who tried to bar the officers from gaining access to his home to arrest him.

He was aided by police to escape as a team of officers arrived at his home.

During the siege, one of the MP’s supporter was shot and injured while a police officer was attacked by a machete.

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Nyeri Town Member of Parliament Ngunjiri Wambugu has finally reached out to  Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti over politicians that have been using certain phrases in rallies.

In a letter shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday September 15, 2020, the lawmaker has argued that phrases like “Watu fulani” and “Watu wengine” may sound harmless but could be coded by politicians to fan violence against a section of Kenyans.

Wambugu has pointed out Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi, his Emurua Dikirr counterpart Johana Ng’eno and the Deputy President William Ruto as the leaders who commonly use the phrases, which he termed as ambiguous.

He has likened the phrases to  “kwekwe” and “madoadoa” which were allegedly used to spread hate messages and incite ethnic violence by politicians during the 2007 General Election.

“Please note that the phrases “Watu fulani” and “watu wengine”are politically ambiguous. In current p[ublic political conversations these phrases are being assumed to refer to particular Kenyan political families. Others assume that these refer to particular Kenyan economic sector. However, some…fear that these phrases could as easily refer to a certain ethnic community,” reads part of his letter.

He said the phrases must be viewed  as dangerous as the “madoadoda” and “kwekwe” encountered in Kenya’s violent history.

Wambugu has therefore urged DCI Kinoti to investigate whether the phrases are meant to incite some sections of Kenyan society against others.

He demanded that appropriate charges be preferred against anyone who has used these phrases in political rallies, should they be found to have meant to incite Kenyans.

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Kapsaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi will spend two more days behind bars.

The controversial lawmaker was on Monday September 14, 2020 remanded till Wednesday September 16, 2020 when his bail ruling will be made at a Nakuru court at 2.30 pm.

Police and National Commission of Integration Commission (NCIC) sought orders to detain the MP to pave way for investigation on five offences ranging from hate speech to resisting arrest.

The prosecution had initially sought to detain Sudi for 14 days to investigate five counts levelled against him by the State.

In an application filed before a Nakuru court on Monday afternoon, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) through an affidavit sworn by Inspector of Police James Akello, the agency says it is investigating Mr Sudi on the five offences.

The embattled Member of Parliament had been on the run from the police dragnet for the better part of the weekend.

Several security officers had camped around the MP’s home since Friday evening in a bid to arrest the MP after addressing members of the public in Eldoret town where he remained defiant.

Sudi was accused of terming some words that were considered disrespectful to the head of State together with his close family.

Nakuru Chief Magistrate Josephat Kalo is expected to giver a ruling after listening to arguments from both sides.

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Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested two suspects believed to be part of a syndicate that has been fraudulently registering sim cards using stolen identity cards.

The police officer namely Boniface Nthenge who was stationed at Kitengela was on Monday September 14, 2020 arrested alongside a lady by the name Lucy Syombua by DCI detectives based at Kiambu.

The suspects are believed to have been using the fraudulently registered sim cards to acquire loans and other benefits from a leading mobile service provider.

During the arrest, hundreds of fraudulently registered sim cards and an electronic equipment believed to be used for hacking purposes were recovered from the lady’s house in Nairobi’s Umoja estate.

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Currently, investigations into other activities of the syndicate are ongoing as detectives continue to pursue other syndicate members for arrest and arraignment.

Last month, DCI detectives nabbed five suspects for their allegedly involvement in electronic money fraud.

The five were arrested within Pavab apartments in Kasarani.

The five were identified as Samuel Githinji Njenga, Wilson Mugo Githinji, James Gitonga Maina, John Ngotho Kariuki and Ian Mbogo Kamau.

The arrest comes at a time when many Kenyans have fallen victim of cyber and economic crimes.

This, has for months seen the DCI constantly warn members of the public through its official social media accounts to be extra careful when dealing with individuals who run online business.

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Kapsaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi is currently being airlifted to Nairobi after surrendering to Police.

The controversial lawmaker on Sunday morning presented himself at Langas police station, a day after a contingent of police unsuccessfully looked for him at his rural home in Kapsaret, Eldoret.

He was in the company of his lawyers Governor Stephen Sang, Gladys Shollei, Jane Masai, Nathan Tororei and Hon Isaac Terer.

The lawmaker through his official Facebook page notified his fans that he had decided to present himself to to police, as a law abiding citizen.

He however, maintained that he was not at home at the time police arrived at his residence on Friday night to arrest him.

Sudi condemned the move by police, saying that it was unnecessary for him to be arrested dramatically with a contingent of police.

Shortly after surrendering, the controversial lawmaker revealed that he was being airlifted to Nairobi, and that he would be landing at Wilson Airport in the next few minutes.

“I’m being airlifted to Nairobi. Will be landing at Wilson Airport shortly,” he posted on Facebook.

A contingent of police officers camped at the lawmaker’s home from Friday night with intentions of arresting him, but the controversial MP was nowhere to be seen.

After four hours, police finally managed to break into the home of the Kapseret MP on Saturday morning but failed to arrest him.

The heavily armed police eventually broke into the residence in the wee hours of Saturday morning, but could not find the MP.

On Friday night, irate residents blocked the road leading to Sudi’s home with logs, stones and tractors to stop police from accessing the controversial lawmaker’s compound.

A contingent of police officers including the dreaded GSU who raided Sudi’s house had to wait at the gate for several hours before shattering the gate’s lock at 3am to gain access into the residence.

Sudi, however, managed to escape the dragnet leaving behind hundreds of police officers who ransacked the house for hours.

Though senior police officers involved in the operation have not revealed the exact reason he was being sought, it is believed his anti-First Family utterances last week put him in police radar.

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Kapsaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi has spoken on his whereabouts as he presented himself to police this morning.

A contingent of police officers camped at the lawmaker’s home from Friday night with intentions of arresting him, but the controversial MP was nowhere to be seen.

After four hours, police finally managed to break into the home of the Kapseret MP on Saturday morning but failed to arrest him.

The heavily armed police eventually broke into the residence in the wee hours of Saturday morning, but could not find the MP.

On Friday night, irate residents blocked the road leading to Sudi’s home with logs, stones and tractors to stop police from accessing the controversial lawmaker’s compound.

A contingent of police officers including the dreaded GSU who raided Sudi’s house had to wait at the gate for several hours before shattering the gate’s lock at 3am to gain access into the residence.

Sudi, however, managed to escape the dragnet leaving behind hundreds of police officers who ransacked the house for hours.

Though senior police officers involved in the operation have not revealed the exact reason he was being sought, it is believed his anti-First Family utterances last week put him in police radar.

While presenting himself at Langas Police Station in Eldoret this morning, Sudi revealed that he was away at the time the police arrived at his residence.

He however noted that it was unnecessary to be treated with a lot of drama by sending contingent of police officers to his home.

He said he had presented himself to police as a law abiding citizen. The lawmaker arrived at the police station even before the officers had even woken up.

“As a law abiding citizen I have presented myself at Langas Police Station early this morning even before the officers arrive. It was unnecessary to be treated with a lot of drama by sending contingent of police officers to my home. I was away the time police arrived at my place. Thank you all for standing with me,” he posted on social media.

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Emurua Dikirr MP Johanna Ng’eno has been  released on Sh1 million cash bail with an alternative Sh2 million bond in hate speech case against him.

Ng’eno found himself on the wrong end of an angry populous over his recent remarks touching on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family.

The Emuria Dikirr MP found himself in police custody on September 6, over his remarks, with the legislator a common visitor at his local police stations.

He was released by Nakuru Chief Magistrate, Elizabeth Usui.

The MP was on arrested on Monday and was on Tuesday charged with two counts of hate speech and offensive conduct.

Ng’eno who was charged during a virtual hearing was accused of using abusive language on September 6 at Junction area, Olgos Sofia village.

The case will be mentioned on October 12.

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Online Journalists Milton Were and  Jack Okinyi  are this morning appearing before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over an expose that detailed and uncovered alleged corruption at Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KURA).

The expose also unmasked various stalled road construction projects in the Nairobi metropolitan area granted to a company connected to an MP from Mandera County.

The two are currently at DCI headquarters along Kiambu road.

The two were last month abducted and tortured by officers from the Special Crimes Unit. They were however, later freed after spending over 24 hours in custody.

The two were later taken to Kibera Courts by where the Director of Public Prosecution declined to approve extortion charges. They resorted to attempting Publishing fake information charges under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Law.

They were finally released after 24 hours in custody, but police retained their laptops and mobile phones. Until now now, their gadgets have not yet been handed over to them.

They are however, set to know if they will get back their gadgets or not, since the DPP already rejected the charges that had been leveled against them.

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Officers from the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) are currently raiding Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) offices along commercial street in Industrial area, Nairobi.

According to sources who spoke to this writer, the officers are taking away computers.

The sources also revealed that all staff at Kemsa have been locked inside as the operation goes on.

The officers are following up on the Kemsa scandal that saw billions of shillings disappear in the hands of rogue suppliers.

KEMSA is under fire over allegations government officials and businessmen pilfered Ksh 4 billion  in public money earmarked for medical equipment needed in the fight against coronavirus.

President Uhuru Kenyatta had instructed the anti-corruption commission to expedite its investigation into KEMSA, which is responsible for supplying Kenya’s overwhelmed hospitals treating coronavirus patients. KEMSA’s CEO and other top officials have been stood down.

President Kenyatta also said the health ministry had 30 days to develop a “transparent” system so that KEMSA’s procurement processes could be published online.

“This level of transparency and through the use of technology, will go a very along way in ensuring that we have the confidence of our people that those placed in institutions are able to manage the resources of the Kenyan taxpayer plus our development partners in an open and transparent manner,” the president said in a statement.

The KEMSA scandal came after Kenyan investigators vowed a separate inquiry into the alleged theft of PPE supplies donated by Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma.

The allegations of graft and misappropriation surfaced as new infections of Covid-19 soared across Kenya, though numbers have dipped in recent weeks.

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Nairobi County governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko has been directed to appear in court to plead afresh to new corruption charges.

Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti on Monday September 7, 2020 ordered the embattled County chief to present himself  in court on Monday next week.

Ogoti’s order comes after Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji amended the Ksh 357 million graft case facing Sonko.

A new charge of abuse of office was introduced in the amended charge sheet. The DPP said they will not be offering plea bargaining at this stage. Twenty witnesses have been lined up to testify in the case.

Ogoti said the case will be heard on a day to day basis. No applications or adjournment will be entertained during the hearing.

The prosecution has been told to supply a schedule of chronology in which they will call their witnesses.

The case will be allocated five hours on a daily basis with the hearing starting next Monday when a plea is taken.

Last week, Ogoti had encouraged parties in the Sh357 million corruption case involving Sonko to consider plea bargaining.

He said he always tells parties in corruption cases to seek plea bargaining before the case proceeds to full hearing.

However, the prosecution told the court that they had not offered a plea bargain to Sonko and his co-accused because the defence had not approached them.

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Lari MP Jonah Mburu Mwangi has been arrested.

The lawmaker was arrested on Friday September 4, 2020 alongside five other individuals.

Their arrest came shortly after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji approved the prosecution of the Lari MP and members of Lari Constituency Development Fund in respect of embezzlement of Ksh 27 million from the CDF kitty.

The DPP in a statement issued on Friday September 4, 2020 said that the lawmaker alongside other CDF officials directly and indirectly received Ksh 27,200, 375 in conflict of interest between the financial year 2017/2018, from businesses that traded with Lari NG-CDF.

The Lari CDF officials are Ayaan Mahadhi who is the funds account manager, Peter Mugo Mwangi who is the chairman Lari NG-CDF, Francis Gachoka Kamuyu who is the clerk of works in Lari, Paul Nyanjui Mucheru and Grace Muthoni Macharia.

According to DPP Haji, the companies used to trade with Lari Constituency NG-CDF are Claymug General Suppliers, Kienjeku textiles and Uniforms General Suppliers, Rumuli Limited, Ndemeki Limited, Kimondo and Sons General Suppliers among others.

The suspects are currently being held at Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC) headquarters. It is not yet known whether the MP will spend his weekend in police custody, or will be later in the day released awaiting his arraignment.

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Transport CAS Chris Obure has clarified how Kenya lost Covid-19 donations made by Chinese businessman Jack Ma.

Appearing before the National Assembly Health Committee on Thursday, September 3, 2020, Obure noted that 21 packages of assorted medical supplies did not reach Nairobi from Ethiopia. 

He said that five other consignments were received and stored in Kenya Medical Supplies Agency warehouses in Nairobi. 

“We received what we received in the manner in which it was packaged and dispatched from the source (Jack Ma Foundation (China). Am not aware if there was any repackaging in Addis Ababa.

“The 21 packages were missing after we verified with the parking documents from China. We realized that 21 packages were short delivered, I assure you we will continue to pursue the matter with the Ministry of Health to ensure they are delivered,” Obure stated.

According to Obure, MoH had reached out to Ethiopian authorities who were investigating the matter.

The CAS nonetheless distanced himself and his ministry from the scandal which saw President Uhuru Kenyatta issue two directives to investigating agencies and Health CS Mutahi Kagwe.

Earlier reports alleged that the Jack Ma donations were stolen and sold to MoH at inflated prices. 

President Kenyatta ordered the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission to table a report on the KEMSA scandal in 30 days. Kagwe was also given 21 days to table his report.

On Wednesday, officials from the Ministry of Transport were hard-pressed to explain the ministry’s role in the clearing of Jack Ma Foundation donations that arrived in the country in March.

Obure, found it hard to convince the committee as he was accused of lacking facts regarding the clearing of the consignment.

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Top Transport ministry officials were on Wednesday September 2, 2020 sent away by National Assembly committee on health, saying the team was unprepared to respond to its questions.

The Sabina Chege-chaired committee said the Transport ministry officials who appeared before them were not adequately prepared.

The Transport ministry was represented by Health CAS Chris Obure during the afternoon session.

He appeared before the committee to explain the ministry’s role in the clearing of Jack Ma Foundation donations.

Obure had told the committee that all the donations were cleared exclusively by the government clearing agency.

“The document before us from the ministry is not well prepared. We need to compare what was donated, what was received and what actually ended up in the warehouse,” Chege said.

The Health committee probing the loss of Covid-19 funds demanded written submissions.

Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny said the ministry is not prepared to face them in regards to the questions they have.

“…when we have people come here with half baked information, it causes tension,” he said.

“I will appeal that any institution invited here, if they are not prepared, they need to go back. I know you are experienced, you should not panic.”

Kutuny said the public should be fed with enough information on the investigations.

“I want to appeal to the government that they fine tune their communication,” he said.

Chege asked Obure to go and prepare himself and come back with facts.

“If we have this gaps you will keep Kenyans guessing. We will see you tomorrow at 9:30am on Thursday,” she said.

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Migori County Governor Okoth Obado has been released on a Ksh8.7 million cash bail or Ksh20 million bond in Ksh73.4 million graft case.

Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi on Monday August 31, 2020 ordered that Obado be barred from accessing Migori County office until the case is concluded.

He directed that the governor be escorted to pick his belongings.

Obado was arrested alongside his four children on August 26 after surrendering to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) offices in Kisii for questioning over the alleged embezzlement of public funds.

The accused denied all the counts of graft at the Migori county government on Friday when they were arraigned.

In today’s bail ruling, Obado and his children were ordered to deposit their passports in court.

While approving the arrest and prosecution of the suspects last week, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji said the county chief irregularly received the money through his children from companies trading with the county.

This, according to Haji, happened between 2013/14 and 2016/17 financial years.

Investigations also showed that the companies belonged to persons closely related to Obado.

The companies are; Misoft Company Limited, Tarchdog Printers, Deltrack ICT services, Seletrack Consultants, Mactebac Contractors, Joyush Business, Swyfcon Engineering, Atinus Services, Kajulu business, Victorious Investment, Dolphins Softwares, Dankey Press and Pesulus Services.

The business proprietors are his three brothers: Jared Peter Kwaga, Patroba Ochanda and Joram Opala. The others were his mother, Penina Auma Otago and his sisters-in-law Christine Akinyi and Carolyne Onyango.

An audit trail showed that Ksh38.9 million was wired to his three children; Dan Okoth, Jerry Okoth, and Susan Okoth.

This money was used to pay for their school fees and daily upkeep. Some was also used to purchase two Toyota Land Cruiser V8.

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