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Bungoma County elected leaders have been reminded to keep their manifestos in check and deliver on what they promised the locals.

Addressing the media at his home in Bungoma town, former MCA aspirant for Khalaba ward in Kanduyi Sub county Oscar Wamukota cautioned the elected leaders against squandering the  money that is meant for development in the county.

He urged the leaders to put public funds in proper use for the betterment of  the county and Kenya at large.

“I want to remind all the elected leaders all the way from the governor, the members of the parliament and those for the county assembly that 5 years is a short period of time and soon we shall be back on the ballot and those who will not have delivered to the people of Bungoma, more specifically Kanduyi Sub county and Khalaba ward, be rest assured that we will send you home,” he said.

Insecurity in Kanduyi

This is after the residents decried the rise of insecurity in different areas in Kanduyi and poor street lighting for the business people.

He went ahead to say that he will be on the lookout to remind them every now and then so that they deliver every single promise that they made to the people.

Bungoma Senatorial by-election

On By-election, Wamukota expressed his dissatisfaction at the turnout of the voters saying that it was so low and in future the residents should consider coming out to express their democratic right if given an opportunity and vote in leaders of their choice instead  of ignoring only to lament when regret later.

The low turnout of voters was experienced during the Bungoma senatorial by election on 8th of December.

The Bungoma senate seat was declared vacant by the Independent Electoral Commission and Boundaries (IEBC) after the then elected Senator Moses Wetangula was voted in as the speaker of the national assembly.

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Bungoma county residents have appealed to the national government to set aside 1000 acres of land from the 9000 acres that host Nzoia Sugar Company and build a medical university.

Benard Wangamati who is a medic from Boston in the United States of America said that he is willing to bring investors once the government which has shares in the said sugar factory agrees to lay aside a thousand acres of land.

He noted that there are various medical practitioners from Bungoma who are attached in renowned universities like Harvard and running different medical related projects across the world who are willing to cheap in.

Bernard, who aspires to run for the member of parliament seat for Kabuchai constituency in 2027 went ahead to ask the western  political leaders instead of asking the incoming government for top seats in the government like cabinet secretaries, they should push for the agenda of having a medical school in Bungoma county to materialize.

“Those top seats end up benefiting only a few people but when a medical school is set up, it will create employment opportunities for many people,” he said.

He went ahead to ask Bungoma county governor Wycliffe Wangamati, if reelected, to introduce scholarship for the bright students from the county to go out to the countries whose health system is of high caliber like the United States to study medicine in different fields and have a contract with the county in that when done, they come back and serve the people for at least three years.

On politics, Bernard who declared an interest for Kabuchai parliamentary seat said that he is set to join the race in 2027 and went ahead to ask the residents to elect a visionary leader who has their interests at heart.

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Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati has been cleared to defend his seat in the upcoming August 9, 2022 general election.

This is despite the recent claims that he may be barred by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for appointing his running mate Sitati Nangalama, a state officer who did not resign on time.

This forced Wangamati to land on another option, Evans Wekesa as his running mate.

Speaking at the IEBC offices in Bungoma town, Wangamati who could not hide his joy rubbished the rumors that had been going round that he may not be cleared.

He called out his opponents to brace themselves for a very tough battle and also asked them to conduct their campaigns in peace.

“There have been rumors going around that I won’t be cleared but today I have been cleared and am now prepared to move forward. I urge every person who is seeking to be elected on any seat to conduct their campaigns in peace because Kenya is bigger than anyone and it will have to go on after the 9th of August so let us demonstrate peace,” he said.

Tongaren MP Dr. David Eseli who was also present called out the Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetangula to stop misleading the people of Bungoma by imposing leaders on them saying that he can choose where to take his one vote but let the people choose the leaders that they want.

The DAP-K party leader Wafula Wamunyinyi also condemned Wetangula for the remarks he made while escorting the senate speaker Ken Lusaka who was presenting his papers to the IEBC on 5th where he said that his team is ready to get physical during this campaign when need arises.

“We are not going to be shaken by any threats and if anyone thinks that he can engage in violence during this period then he should look for people who can condone that and not us. We as DAP-K and AZIMIO One Kenya coalition at large, we advocate for peaceful campaign period and elections,” he said

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Farmers across Bungoma county and Kenya at large have been encouraged to consider practicing agroforestry as part of their farming.

Speaking on Monday, June 6, 2022, during the World Environmenta Day celebrations at Kimaeti in Bungoma County which was themed “ONLY ONE EARTH,” the director of water, tourism and natural resources in Bungoma County government Robert Sawa said that farmers should embrace tree planting for it does not only improve the beauty of nature but also helps in controlling the climate change.

“The global warming is mainly caused by us as individuals, we emit a lot of gases into the atmosphere and this results to the earth warming and it is only the trees which cool down those temperatures but it is very unfortunate that instead the trees are being scrapped off because in the last few decades the curve has really gone down,” he said.

He went ahead to note that the percentage of trees in the country is very low compared to previous years and therefore asking the farmers to plant many trees and also suggesting that they can focus on income generating trees like fruit trees, Bamboo, Blue gum and many others that can generate income in different ways.

His sentiments were echoed by Beth Omae, the zonal coordinator for Rift-Western Kenya zone for PELUM Kenya who said that it is everyone’s responsibility to take care of the earth for there is no other alternative earth.

Omae went ahead to note that as PELUM Kenya, they encourage farmers to practice organic farming by using organic fertilizers and pesticides and that most of those organic fertilizers generate from the trees citing the need of having many trees around.

Dailytrends.co.ke writer Pauline Waswa planting a Grevillea tree during the World Environment Day celebrations on Monday, June 6, 2022.

The celebration was crowned by the plantation of close to 2000 Grevillea which is normally done on crop land for its rooting system doesn’t affect the growth of the plants that are grown under it.

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Senate speaker Kenneth Lusaka who is also a gubernatorial aspirant in Bungoma county has officially launched a football tournament dubbed Ken Lusaka cup football tournament.

The tournament is aimed at promoting and mentoring talents.

Speaking while officially unveiling the tournament at Kufwela command center in Milimani, Bungoma, Lusaka who is vying on a Ford Kenya ticket said that he had started the program as a way of involving and nurturing the youths who have talents in sports, when he was the County’s governor in 2013-2017.

He noted that he has decided to bring back the program as he seeks to unseat the incumbent Wycliffe Wangamati of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K).

“We have launched this tournament and it is set to take around one and a half months and it is going to involve all the youths from every ward across the county,” he said.

The senate speaker went ahead to note that the initiative will aim at helping the youths to invest their time on practicing and building on their talents instead of involving themselves in unproductive activities like being used to cause havoc and destruction during this campaign period.

He further asked the youths who will participate in the tournament to make it friendly and not to promote hatred among themselves.

Lusaka also said that he looks forward to bringing coaches on board to train those who emerge stars so that some of them can join big teams in the country.

David Kalamu who is in charge of Lusaka’s tournament said that the games are going to help in national cohesion by bringing together different tribes to participate in one thing.

He also said that the scouts are being sent in every constituency in the county to identify those with talents in sport and bring them on board to participate in those games and after the games, there are many youths that will benefit from them.

“It is not the first time this tournament is being introduced by the speaker, they used to be there when he was the governor and am happy that it is being reintroduced again and Bungoma being bedrock of sports, many youths will shine,” he said

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Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati has today unveiled the 7000 beneficiaries of governor’s scholarship 5th cohort 2022.

At an event that was conducted at Masinde Muliro grounds Webuye, Wangamati said that the county officials participated in visiting the beneficiaries’ homes to make sure that the scholarship is awarded to the most deserving students in the county who are bright and genuinely needy.

In his speech Wangamati said that the county government had initially targeted 3000 students but following the good performance from the needy students, they decided to increase the number to 7000 so as to enable bright but needy students to get their education equally like other children.

He went ahead to note that the program was initiated in 2017 and the pioneering class sat for their examinations in 2022, which 500 students who were beneficiaries sat for their exams and so far, the results received are from 281 students all with good grades.

One Tatiana Wabwire from South Bukusu ward Kimatuni village who scored an A after benefitting from the scholarship 2017 and heading to Pangani girls high school expressed her joy saying that coming from a struggling family, she didn’t know how the fate of her education would be until the program came by.

Tatiana Wabwire. Photo/Courtesy/Governor’s Press Service

“I have been raised by partly my grandfather and my single mother after my dad died in 2013 and it was really hard for me through my primary school education and I didn’t know if at some point I will be standing here with these grades, thanks to governor Wangamati’s scholarship that saw me through my high school education,” said Tatiana

Wangamati went ahead to warn his competitors to stop politicizing everything saying that his scholarship is only for the needy students and not the rich as alleged by his competitors.

“You people send me in the office as the second governor, to go and work and as you can see, I have delivered and I have the receipts for that unlike my competitors, so I want them to come with the receipts not empty talks,” he said

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Bungoma County health workers have threatened to down their tools should the Wycliffe Wangamati-led government fail to address their concerns.

They have called out the county government for alleged negligence saying that it has failed to keep the promises that they made to them during the past industrial action.

The county government had promised to address the issues that the nurses were facing but since then nothing has happened.

Speaking to the press in Bungoma town on Tuesday, the secretary general of Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Bungoma branch George Barasa said that the county government during the past industrial action promised to look into the issues that the nurses were facing including the payment of enhanced risk allowance for all the nurses in the county, promoting the redesignation of  nurses and confirmation of those who have been employed on permanent terms of service but it is yet to be done.

“As the hospitals across the county continue to suffer with a shortage of nurses, the county government is just quiet yet they even conducted an interview in November last year and the county public service board is yet to produce the results of that particular exercise.

“There are even some of our staffs who have exited service and there is no replacement hence making the services in health facilities very bad,” he said

Barasa went ahead to say that the county government has been having meetings with them but nothing is being generated from those meetings since their issues have never been addressed.

“We are asking them as the union in this county, we want them to implement this issues that we have agreed with them fully, and we are saying the word is fully because the count time for 14 days that we are issuing this strike starts today, once this notice elapses, members will pull out of the service and we won’t be having services in public facilities,” he said

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The UDA nomination exercise in Bungoma County on Thursday April 14, 2022 turned ugly when a section of aspirants and their supporters engaged in a fist fight.

The UDA nomination process in Kimaeti ward, Bumula sub county in Bungoma County was forced to come to an end after some of the aspirants engaged in violence leading to two being hospitalized.

While speaking to the press at Kimaeti health center where the two-aspirants seeking the Member of the county assembly seats (MCA)were hospitalized, Bumula MP Mwambu Mwabonga condemned the act.

The lawmaker said that UDA as a party is an advocate, saying that it was so unfortunate for such behaviors to be experienced.

Mabonga went ahead to say that the aspirants that were involved in causing chaos will be disqualified and those who practice peace during the exercise can be considered as direct nominees.

The exercise in that ward which was being conducted at Kimaeti primary school was cancelled and postponed to further dates that will be communicated later according to the nomination’s supervisor MP Mwambu Mabonga.

The area MP went ahead to ask the youths to stop being manipulated by politicians to cause havoc and destruction saying that it will only result in them being jailed and the politicians will not be there to support them.

“Let me warn those young people that are being used by politicians to beat others, stop that behavior because the we shall find you and it will not be easy for you,” he said.

He then called out the police to investigate those who were involved in the chaos to be arrested immediately and the aspirants being disqualified from the party.

“I warned everyone yesterday, politics is not about beating or harming each other, sell your manifestos peacefully to the voters and allow them to decide on their own but it seems my words didn’t land in the ears and so, I will let the police take charge and find each and everyone who was involved in what happened today. We as a party we cannot condone that,” said the angry Mwambu.

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Crown youth group (CYG), a community-based Organization operating in Bungoma County has launched distribution of sanitary towels exercise in Bungoma schools to improve menstrual hygiene.

Speaking to the to the press in Webuye West Constituency during the distribution of sanitary towels at Milani Secondary school, Samuel Nakitare, Chairman Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child health (RMNCH) said that the move came as a result of high number of teenage pregnancies in schools in Bungoma.

This increased school drop- outs especially during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Crown youth group is a CBO that works under Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child health to ensure that there is increased Antenatal care visits, reduce teenage pregnancy and strengthen weak referral systems in health facilities.

“Bungoma is among the counties that have recorded a high number of teenage pregnancy and our move aims at distributing sanitary towels and educating young girls the importance of menstrual hygiene,” Nakitare said.

The health advocate revealed that the organization held talks with health providers in Bungoma County before taking the initiative of distributing sanitary towels in schools.

“I held discussions with health providers in almost all health facilities to check how pregnant women are attending Antenatal care visits (ANC) that helped me organize this for sanitary towels distribution,” he said.

He urged expectant mothers to visit health facilities for Antennal Care (ANC).

Nakitare assured that the organization will move around the entire county to distribute sanitary towels in Bungoma schools, adding that the organization disbursed 14 boxes of sanitary towels at Milani secondary school.

He also said that Milani Secondary school has so far recorded 10 teenage pregnancies.

Nakitare lauded the government through the ministry of education for distributing sanitary towels in schools.

Kennedy Wanyela, the school principal noted that girls who got pregnant while in school are getting guidance from health providers and will be supported to access education.

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The independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has yet again missed out on the target of the anticipated second phase of voter’s registration following a low turnout.

Bungoma county election manager Solomon Mudanya while speaking to this writer noted that since the roll out of the second phase of voter’s registration on 17th January to 6th, the expected number to be registered in Bungoma county was 186,000 but they barely registered a quarter of the desired number which was 33,179 voters only.

Mudanya further expressed his dissatisfaction in the low turnout of the youths saying that the high number among the registered was the medium aged people as compared to the youths.

“I think apathy is high among the young people and should be the main reason that has led to low turnouts among the youths. They tend to not seeing the necessity in engaging in voting because they have been failed by the leaders that they chose before, however, they have the power and the number to elect the right leader who can represent them well but they instead choose to ignore,” he said

He said that Bungoma county was also affected by unnecessary transfers whereby the residents transferred their voter to other counties or different constituencies after being manipulated by the aspirants by giving them handouts.

The second phase of voter’s registration came about after the government failing to meet the target in the first phase hence giving another chance to the citizens who haven’t registered to do so.

Mudanya noted that there might be no other phase to conduct the exercise and so the registered ones might be used to represent those who didn’t register.

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Bungoma deputy governor Professor Charles Kibanani Ngome has called out Senator Moses Wetangula to stop misleading Bungoma County residents in matters related to politics.

Addressing residents of Bungoma County, Prof Ngome said Wetang’ula is unable to choose a side to support but only keeps jumping from one side to another to fulfill his own interests.

He noted that in 2017 Wetang’ula supported Governor Wycliffe Wangamati and during the campaign, he was against senate speaker Kenneth Lusaka saying he was very corrupt and was not the right person for Bungoma.

Wetang’ula has declared his support for Speaker Lusaka in the race for Bungoma gubernatorial seat.

I Will No Longer Respect Lusaka and Wetangula" Fires Erupts In Bungoma As  Wangamati Declares War With Ford Kenya - KDRTV
Senator Moses Wetang’ula and Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka. Photo/Courtesy.

Lusaka was defeated by Wangamati in the 2017 polls.

Ngome said that Wetangula is doing things targeting at his own interests and not the interests of the people of Bungoma and he should therefore be cancelled completely.

“The big problem that is leading to Wetangula’s fallout with other Bungoma politicians is none other than money related and that is why Wetangula must go for Bungoma to change. If we were to follow what he wanted, this county could not have been where it is right now. The dual carriage and scholarship projects could have not taken place,” he said

He went further to call upon those who haven’t registered as voters to use the second opportunity that is starting today 17th to February 6th saying that it will give them an opportunity to choose the leaders of their choice.

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Parents have been asked to create a good relationship between them and their children in order to create a free platform where they can share their issues without any fear of being scolded during this festive season.

Speaking during a pad drive event at red cross offices in Bungoma, Tracy Mutala who is a youth advocate and a mentor to young people noted that the act of keeping the children close and mentoring them accordingly will see many of them feel wanted, listened to and also adapting good characters and avoiding the bad behaviors that have seen many of them participate in unrests in schools.

Miss Tracy asked the parents to use this holiday to bond with their children to allow an emotional presence between them and the children Moreso the teenagers saying that mental health issues is one of the reasons that contributes to school unrest.

She went ahead to ask the parents and guardians to caution their children on excessive exposure to social media during this holiday noting that they tend to be wasting their time, instead they should direct their energy to profitable events like games, tournaments and church competitions to consume their free time.

She called out the advocates of change and mentors to not only focus on empowering the girl child in the society but to empower both genders.

“It is very important to empower both genders because the more we empower one gender leaving out the other, the impact become null and void because one gender ends up to be more empowered and it will not be easy to push the other gender to be at the same level with the other,” she said.

She further called upon the society at large to take a responsibility in guiding the young people to adopt good behaviors so that the rising school unrests come to an end.

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The 2021 form one admissions which kicked off on Monday August 2 have been marred with corruption allegations after reports emerged that some schools are swapping the admission spots in favour of other students.

Form one students started reporting to school on Monday after sitting their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in March this year. 

For instance, a mother who took her daughter for Form One admission at Mugoiri Girls High School in Murang’a County was left in shock after she found out that the school had swapped her daughter’s spot.

The heartbroken mother who has been identified as Rachel Amogola broke down and cried, lamenting that the school was biased and intentionally denied the daughter admission at the school. 

This after they had travelled all the way from Bungoma County to the school that is in Central region of Kenya, only for her daughter to miss the spot.

The parent while speaking to he media said that she had spent her fortune purchasing learning materials and other necessities listed by the school which at last had offered the girl, Hildah Anatwa’s, spot to another parent. 

She cried hysterically while clutching admission documents and the girl’s pink suitcase. 

George Magoha (Education CS), what has my daughter done to deserve such punishment. She passed her exam and you, Oh God, guided her through it. You selected this school for her and provided all that she needed. Give me strength My Lord!” Amogola prayed in the vernacular Luhya dialect, in between her sobs. 

The mother complained that corruption had escalated in Kenya and even affected the education sector.

What pained her most was that the residents are law-abiding and work hard only to be disparaged by the few who enjoyed certain privileges. 

“I never miss tithing My God! I serve you in the church. Then why should you allow someone to mess with my daughter’s life? Fight for me!” she wailed as other parents and enrolling students watched sympathetically. 

The aggrieved parent urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene on her behalf as the situation was so heartbreaking. 

Her work, she stated, was to nurture and provide for her children as a loving parent. However, the alleged tribalism she faced was beyond her comprehension. 

“I have never known such pain. Who chose my daughter to join a school in Murang’a. I am exhausted after walking and travelling this long-distance,” she lamented. 

On Tuesday morning, August 3, the school issued a statement clarifying the issue. 

“The lady sought for a Form One transfer to Wambasa Secondary in Siaya county. The details of her relative who requested her transfer are available in Nemis. The school has no mandate to retransfer the student.

“The parent came to school accompanied by the media and despite being advised by the principal to be patient, she contacted the ministry and went ahead to create drama,” the statement read. 

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Bungoma South Sub County youths on Friday July 10, 2020 flooded at the county commissioners’ offices in search of being included in the newly launched ‘Kazi mtaani’ initiative.

This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the second phase of the National Hygiene Program (NHP), targeting to enroll more than 270,000 youths.

The second phase is set to apply in the whole of the 47 counties unlike the first phase which involved only eight counties.

Addressing the press, Deputy County Commissioner Michael Yator stated that Bungoma south sub county has been granted 2,407 which will see youths of that number engage in that program.

“as you can see the work flow today, we are registering the youths in the biometric system and the ones present here have been already employed from every village. In every village there is committee that’s in charge of employing this youths aged from 18 years to 35,” he emphasized

He went further to say that the youths will be engaged more in community and infrastructure development projects and they will be divided in groups of 15 each, working from 8am to 4 pm.

The program comes as an employment opportunity and also provides a platform to lessen the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Two MCAs in Bungoma County are nursing injuries after being clobbered publicly by Governor Wycliffe Wangamati’s security detail.

According to multuiple reports, the two MCAs, Nominated MCA Fred Musebe and his Tongaren ward colleague, Elizabeth Tindi had stormed the governor’s event without being invited.

Reports indicate that governor Wangamati had convened a rally during the launch of an office of the ward administrator.

The situation went south when Tindi took to the podium to tear Wangamati’s development record apart accusing him of sidelining the ward. She was backed by Musebe.

“We Tongaren people are usually very keen before voting as we are straight forward people and if we will not have seen any development from you by 2022 we shall send you home parking,” stated Musebe.

While the latter was giving an address, the officers, who are attached to the security detail of the governor and that of his deputy, Ngome Kibanani, descended on the two leaders and snatched Musebe’s microphone.

The chaos that resulted after the encounter left Musebe and attendees nursing injuries.

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The county government of Bungoma has today (May 29) flagged off yet again another food distribution exercise targeting around 6000 vulnerable families.

The food donation exercise comes in as a relief following the global Covid-19 pandemic which has altered the normal operation of the people, to cater for their daily bread and so many vulnerable families languishing in poverty.

Speaking as he officially flagged off the exercise at the Red Cross offices, the deputy Governor Prof Ngome Kibanani noted that already, around 2000 households have benefitted from the food distribution exercise from the chamber of commerce together with the principals of the schools around Bungoma County.

He further said that as the county they are set to give out more food targeting to reach more than 16000 households in future.

‘Through the system of Red Cross together with Ward Administrators, we are going to identify 100 vulnerable families in every ward across the whole of Bungoma and we shall make sure the food reaches them,’ he said.

Covid-19 has interfered with a lot of activities both nationally and internationally, with economy being one of the most affected.

Professor Ngome therefore urged the residents of Bungoma and all Kenyans to abide by the government regulations and take personal responsibilities to work and revive the lost opportunities.

He said that soon, mass testing will kick off in Bungoma targeting the urban slums and borders including Malaba and Busia.

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