Wuod Alego gets 12 stitches after 'elbow in the lip'

US President Barack Obama (R) walks to his car with Secret Service Agents after a game of basketball with firends and aides on November 26, 2010 at Fort McNair in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO 

Posted Saturday, November 27 2010 at 14:07

WASHINGTON

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US President Barack Obama had to get 12 stitches on his upper lip Friday after being struck in the face by an elbow during a basketball game, the White House said.

"After being inadvertently hit with an opposing player's elbow in the lip while playing basketball with friends and family, the president received 12 stitches today administered by the White House Medical Unit," spokesman Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Obama was given local anesthetic during the treatment, Gibbs said, adding that he was given a smaller filament that increases the number of stitches to ensure a smaller scar.

The White House later identified the man who struck the president as Rey Decerega, the program director at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, who said the game was all in good fun and did not apologize.

"I learned today the president is both a tough competitor and a good sport. I enjoyed playing basketball with him this morning. I'm sure he'll be back out on the court again soon," Decerega said in a statement.

The White House said Obama was playing defense in the fifth of five games at a gym in Fort McNair military base in Washington when Decerega went to take a shot and accidentally hit the president in the mouth.

An avid basketball fan and player, Obama often plays with friends, including his towering personal aide Reggie Love, who played Friday.

Obama has a famous love for the game, and often displays skills on the court that are the envy of many of his compatriots.

A game among friends became a ritual for him throughout the long campaign for the White House in 2008.

For his birthday this year he traded passes and scuffles at the White House with a number of the game's current greats, including Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James of the Miami Heat, and former NBA star Earvin "Magic" Johnson. AFP

IIBRC term expires amid controversy

Written By:Glena Nyamwayi,    Posted: Sat, Nov 27, 2010

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IIBRC) may have packed up from office Saturday but the controversy surrounding their report on the 80 new constituencies as provided for by the new constitution is far from over.

According to political analyst Adams Oloo, this day marks a great challenge in the implementation process of the new constitution.

The scholar reads political interference in the running of the commission's duties especially with a section of the house recently challenging the existence of the key commission.

Oloo is however wary over what the current stalemate might lead to, and adds to the voice of legislators who recently called for the rightful procedure to be followed.

On Friday the high court stayed orders barring IIBRC from publishing additional 80 constituencies in the Kenya gazette.

In his ruling, Justice Daniel Musinga said IIBRC did not fully comply with the law under the 6th schedule of the new constitution. Justice Musinga said IIBRC failed to determine details of the newly created constituencies and clear boundaries which is a recipe for chaos.

However, the judge ruled that IIBRC chairman Andrew Ligale and two other commissioners were legally in office. IIBRC moved to court seeking to quash orders issued Lady Justice Jeanne Gacheche barring it from publishing the new constituencies in the Kenya gazette.

The IIBRC was established two years ago to spearhead the review of the country's boundaries after indications by the Kriegler Commission that unequal representations could have been one of the causes of the 2008 post election violence.

Elsewhere, Mutito MP Kiema Kilonzo has hit out at his parliament colleagues who had supported the gazzetment of the IIBRC proposal saying this was all out of selfish interests.

Kilonzo further defended his Kamba region saying its vast constituencies deserved additional constituencies to ensure better representation as coined under the news constitution.

The legislator's sentiments were supported by education minister Prof. Sam Ongeri, who said it would be best to debate further on the new constituencies before they are gazzetted.

Raila downplays constitutional crisis fear

BY PM PRESS SERVICE

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1/1 Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a past rally/FILE NYERI, Kenya, Nov 27 - Prime Minister Raila Odinga has allayed fears of a constitutional crisis in the country following  failure by  Parliament  to endorse nominees to the Constitutional Implementation Commission and the Commission for Revenue Allocation. The PM expressed confidence that the stalemate that occurred on Thursday night where members of Parliament declined to endorse nominees to the two commissions over the disputed 80 new constituencies will be resolved amicably. He said: "I would like to urge Kenyans not to be alarmed by reports of a seeming constitutional crisis because we shall resolve this issue and celebrate Christmas together as one people with a common goal." Mr Odinga was speaking on Saturday at various centres in Tetu constituency, Nyeri County where he inspected several development projects that have benefitted from the economic stimulus programme. The PM at the same time lauded the local people for voting overwhelmingly for the new constitution in the August referendum, saying they had immensely contributed to a new dawn in Kenya. "What we now need is the unity of all Kenyans so that we can move forward to develop this country together" he said. The PM who toured Kagumbiri girls school, Mbabu fishponds and launched Tetu rural women's Sacco at Kiandu market said the economic stimulus programme was started to alleviate the suffering of people following the 2007 post election violence, the drought that occurred around that time and Worldwide Economic down turn. He noted with satisfaction that funds from the programme had been put into good use in the area, saying the fish ponds had created job opportunities particularly for the youth and women. "I'm especially happy that the youth have wholeheartedly plunged in fish farming, among other economic activities that has kept them away from mischief," he added. The MP for Tetu F.T. Nyammo appealed to the government to help in sourcing for cold storage facilities for the fish and in its processing and marketing. Also present was the cabinet ministers Esther Murugi, Joseph Nyaga and Anyang Nyong'o.

Read more: http://capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Raila-downplays-constitutional-crisis-fear-10658.html#ixzz16UePUjKy
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Ligale mandate expires amid storm

BY ANTHONY KAGIRI

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1/1 IIEC chairman Issack Hassan, Ligale and VP Kalonzo Musyoka/FILE NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 27 - The Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission closed shop on Saturday with the expiry of its mandate but its work remained in limbo after the High Court permanently barred the team from gazetting 80 new Constituencies. Despite the court ruling, the IIBRC chairman Andrew Ligale late on Friday presented the report of the commission to the parliamentary committee on Legal Affairs and sent a similar copy to the Government Printer. "We thought it advisable to hand over our report to the committee which has an oversight function on our mandate so that through them it can go to the National Assembly for deliberations," said Mr Ligale while handing over the report. The Legal Affairs committee chairman Ababu Namwamba received the report. "This we are doing in accordance with article 254 of the Constitution which provides for every commission to submit a report to the President and the National Assembly," he said. In his ruling on Friday Justice Daniel Musinga dismissed the work of the commission saying it failed to adhere to the law when deciding the new units which required it to carry out extensive consultations. "Population data is still incomplete and would not therefore be fully used for delimitation of the electoral units," the judge pointed out. The judge ruled that the IIBRC did not comply with the law when it failed to include names and details of the constituencies as required, since the population data it ought to have relied on was still incomplete. The law states that the commission should have considered population density with a variation of geographical size. The High Court had initially barred the gazettement of the new units last week after businessman John Kimathi filed a case claiming that the discriminated against some constituencies with high population. The boundaries row has split politicians in the middle with one group supporting the gazettment of the new constituencies while another has vehemently opposed it, vowing to go to all lengths to block the publication. The dispute is blamed for the delay in approving nominees to the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and the Commission on Revenue Allocation on Thursday by Parliament. A Cabinet committee met Mr Ligale on Wednesday and urged him to review the list to accommodate the raging dissent. The IIBRC was established two years ago to spearhead the review of the country's boundaries after indications by the Kriegler Commission that unequal representations could have been one of the causes of the 2008 post election violence. The yet to be formed Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will take over the mandate of the IIBRC.

Read more: http://capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Ligale-mandate-expires-amid-storm-10657.html#ixzz16Ud8Z52G
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