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Man Arrested After Charging At Romney's SUV

Nabutola, Ong'ong'a out

The High Court has ordered the release of former Tourism Permanent Secretary Rebecca Nabutola and Kenya Tourism Board ex-MD Achie’ng Ong’onga who had been jailed for fraud on September, 2012. The two who had been behind bars since September 10, were released on a Sh500,000 cash bail or bond of Sh1 million pending the appeal of their four year jail sentence. Justice Msagha Mbogoli, who ordered the release, said the appeal has chances of success. The tourism officials had in September been charged in court over the irregular payment of Sh8.9 million to a tour company and abuse of office, which they denied and released on bail. Nabutola was sentenced to four years in prison and fined Sh1 million for abuse of office and failure to comply with procurement laws.

POLITICAL WRAP 1PM

Leaked Document Forces Anne Kiguta To Resign From KTN

Tis the season of defections. After a hundred and one news reporters and anchors resigned from NTV in favour of their Mombasa Road based rival, one is reported to be going against the current. Jackal news is reporting that Anne Kiguta has resigned from KTN and is headed to NTV.

As Kiguta is arriving at the Nation Centre, she will probably be welcomed by the sight of James Smart and Smriti Vidyarthi carrying their cartons, heading where she's coming from, Mombasa Road.
We have known there is a big problem in NTV's management, which has been the root cause for most of the resignations, but a defection from KTN has caught many off guard. 
It is however emerging that Kiguta's reasons for leaving KTN are totally different from why others are defecting. A leaked document authored by the anchor, and published by the Jackal news on Tuesday shows clearly that the anchor would have henceforth found life at Standard Media Group difficult. She wrote her mind, and did not have very kind words for some of her colleagues.

Whether the letter had any correlation with her resignation is still a mystery, but its clear it catalyzed the process. Below is the letter.

Brief; Status of  Anchors:KTN has the best anchors in the market, but they cannot effectively compete with the rest. Why do I say the best? They are well rounded.  Any KTN anchor can more than just read a script. They are editors, reporters, good interviewers etc.  If there is breaking news roughly half of the anchors can handle it as well as do live events. KTN Anchors are overworked and exhausted. And worse still is the perception war- that anchoring of itself is not a job, you need to do more than that.

Top media houses the world over see anchoring a special job for highly skilled practitioners. It is enough to be an anchor, host news, do interviews, live events and represent the station. The latter is the biggest role, one we cannot take off like other staff. But here it is not enough. And because it is not enough- our anchors are at real risk of being a jack of all trades and master of none.

Both our flagship bulletins KTN Leo and KTN Prime are too crowded with anchors for the audience to identify with a team. Several anchors have been gifted position that clearly had nothing to do with their competencies. Four anchors, two male and two female are enough for the prime bulletins. It is crucial to reorganize the team and give the audience brands they can trust and identify with. In light of the new additions to the team, this must be done quickly to ensure the audience can identify with the anchors before the election.

It is my recommendation that we seize the opportunity provided by the festive season to introduce our new anchors to the audience as people will be at home watching. We should also do promos for the new look KTN Leo and KTN Prime teams.
We should also revise all our bulletins across the day to strengthen them. Traditionally our lost opportunities are on Sunrise, KTN Live at 1 and the 4pm Kiswahili bulletin.

Our in ability to offer competitive salaries and packages is a disadvantage. Anchors are the face of the station and are under constant judgment by the audience. If anchors cannot afford to look the part, you will lose the audience in the first ten seconds. Anchors wardrobe and make up allowance is low- 250k a year, when a decent suit costs 9 or 10k.  In the beginning of the year, the allowance for anchors was essentially revoked. They had to pay the entire amount.

The company can get into barters with stylists, fashion retailers and makeup artists to help meet this cost. Straight Up and the Mid Morning have this facility but prime time has been consistently denied. We must also appreciate Anchors need various concessions. They should not be expected to report with the frequency of reporters. KTN lost various reporters and never replaced them and put anchors in their place. This is wrong. In the so called ‘free time’ anchors should be reading wires, newspapers, articles, books, watch news channels, have discussions with producers and assignment editors on the bulletin. They cannot store up a wealth of knowledge on current affairs if they are running from one assignment to the next. They need time to look good. This is 60 percent of the entire presentation in this climate.  They need an entertainment allowance. Many times they have to socialize with clients and other stakeholders on behalf of the company.

All our anchors need to undergo intensive training for the elections. This should be done with a coach or analyst who can brief them on the key actors, issues, constituencies, parties etc. to watch for in the election. Anchors should also by now be given some idea of what specific role they will play in the election i.e studio anchor, panel interviews etc. This will help them prep. It is possible to even now develop content (graphics etc) that will be used in the event of dead air. These could be figures and issues in key constituencies, counties etc.

OTHER CHALLENGES: Production:  This remains the single biggest impediment to our delivery. KTN lost its top two directors (Linda and Yola) to the competition and they were never replaced. Kibisu is the only experienced idiod left. Winnie who was hired early this year is yet to realize her potential. All the other trainee directors were upgrade to senior directors inspite of their inability. Xavier is by far the weakest and yet he continues to direct Sunrise, 1pm and live event.s Chemjor is habitually disorganized and runs prime bulletins.  Confusion on the part of the director is to blame for many things including mic leaks, dead air and general disorganization of the bulletin and anchors looking dim. Unfortunately whenever this complaint has been raised, the response has been anchors are arrogant. This, because we demand professionalism.
The gallery remains one of the most in disciplined part of this business. VT operators, graphics and tx crew are busy watching football games, telle-novellas, citizen tv and facebooking when we are live on air. They are busy telling stories instead of listening to the director. They play catch up and we are caught pants down.
Two autocues in studio are failing and are yet to be replaced yet we have been complaining about them for more than a year. The answer is they are on the high seas. Anchors can barely see the autocue, worse still there is only one good operator Masete.  If you don’t have him on air, you’re doomed.

Management: This dates back to historical injustices. Anchors challenges are seen as the cries of spoilt brats, nothing urgent. This is the most disheartening and fatal problem of them all. When we fail to realize that television business, whatever it is, is show business then we’ve lost it. Audience reasons for watching tv have changed. The driver used to be news, now it is entertainment. Even news is entertainment. It is important to bear in mind the psychological needs of this peculiar people called anchors. They are part of the performance arts. They bear the harshest criticism directed to the station that touches on more than content. It gets personal. No one else takes the bullets for a station than its anchors. Management must realize aside from the hours, the emotional and psychological pressure anchors are under. They work later hours than anyone else. Even if your day ends at 10pm today, an anchors day doesn’t ever end. Wherever they are, they are the face of this business. Please give them the support they need and watch them flourish.

© nairobiwire.com

George Saitoti’s son Zack to launch online magazine -Watch this space

admin | November 28, 2012 | 0 Comments

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 - Did you know that the late Minister for security George Saitoti’s son Zack Musengi Saitoti is a photographer and has special interest in graphic designing; well if you did not there is a magazine you need to watch out for.

Watch this space magazine which is an online magazine will premier tonight and its first issue is featuring beautiful Citizen TV’s Janet Mbugua. Zack is the co owner of the company named Cranium Ink which he patners with Jeff Kegeri.

The online magazine will feature Kenya photography and graphic designs and will be housing nine fashion houses including Moo Cow, Janet Mbugua Collection among many others to be featured widely in the online magazine.

The second issue of the magazine will be launched after two months. For more details about Cranium Ink and Watch this Space magazine visit their website http://craniumink.com/.

Source:The Kenyan DAILY POST

Zachary Musengi

After high school, where he specialised in sciences, languages and predominantly the arts, Zachary moved to Bristol to pursue two degrees in Graphic Design and Photography. His photography has been described as emotive, often dramatic with dark undertones and yet with a playful twist. Zachary’s interests lie within mainly creative & contemporary photography, stretching to fashion, landscape, surrealist, reportage and staged photography.

Afer leaving university Zachary ran ran his own business, working as freelance photographer & graphic designer. Recently he has branched out into film and has produced several short promotional videos for clients such as Redbull in collaboration with Panhead, a Bristol based record label. Additionally he has been the in house photographer for several magazines, record labels and design companies, such as Soull Motive Records, TRAP Magazine, Fiasco Designs & Weapon of Choice Magazine.

Commercially, Zachary’s work has been appraised both locally and internationally, following several successful exhibitions in London, Bristol and Nairobi. He has had the pleasure of working with an assortment of clients such as Super Super Magazine, Kurt Geiger, ITV Fixers, BBC, Clifton Photographic Company, Fudd Clothing and many more.

smartKenya_ Eric Omondi @ London Barclays Pingit App Launch

Esther Arunga’s Husband Flees the UAE Over Security Concerns

admin | November 29, 2012 | 3 Comments

The Timberlakes are back with even more stories about their endangered with even more political allegations.

“After fleeing Kenya for his life, former Presidential aspirant Quincy Timberlake, has left a GCC country to unknown destination. Confirmed reports indicate that the young politician left the country with intentions of not coming back for his usual business operations. Timberlake boarded an Asian flight at a GCC Airport.

“Timberlake was seen at a GCC airport with heavy luggage an indication that he may not be back anytime soon,” an Emirates airlines hostess told us. Timberlake is a GCC business investor but until then business can not go on as usual and therefore he has decided to bow out for his security reasons as the region proves to be uninhabitable any longer. Kenyans have been dying lately in the UAE in unexplained circumstances.

According to one of his close aides who talked to us on condition of anonymity, the eloquent politician was headed to a secret location in one Oceania pacific after being threatened by Prime Minister’s close allies. He’s seen as a traitor and one from PM’s own backyard who rose up to challenge the incumbent politically. Luos are now holding him responsible for causing the political downfall of the Prime Minister and have placed a bounty on his head whether the PM wins elections or not.

“What is absolute is that he must die whether we win elections or not, he must be brought down or else he remains a big future political stumble block,” a PM’s die hard based in Dubai told us.
Detectives from Kenya police and NSIS raided Timberlake’s very last hideouts while still in Kenya on Saturday night looking for post election evidence which he’s suspected of storing, but to their disappointment he fled the GCC with the documents and was on his flight to unknown destination.

It’s known that the controversial politician revealed to the Kenyan press that he has been threatened by Prime Minister’s close henchmen for unmasking the dark side of Raila Odinga. He has severally claimed that his life was in danger, hinting that the threats came from Odinga’s allies and his wife’s family. The PM is always known to institute criminal libel proceedings against his political opponents with intentions of locking them up forever and Timberlake has already tasted that side of his venom.

“We shall pursue him from Fiji, Manus up to Nauru because those are the islands known to be currently collecting data of refugee applicants and he may be seeking asylum too and we’re aware of that. We’re still capable of using all means available to wipe him off even it means to desperately act as one of those refugees but to poison his food or inject him with mercury then flee away,” a Kenyan fanatic of the PM based in Dubai told us.

Leaflets with death threats against Timberlake are lately seen almost everywhere in some places in the GCC warning him to either quit the area and save his life or face the same blade that “shaves” others and go unnoticed.

“We torched his houses, cars and businesses. It seems it did not dawn in his inner pains yet. We compromised the media to tarnish his name and has become the most hated Kenyan up there with politicians. Our final mission is on course, to take his life away and shut him up for life,” Ayugi Orunda confirmed to us via phone.

Kenyan media holds a belief that Timberlake has enough evidence to indict Raila Odinga and his ODM clique of war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the 2007/08 post-elections violence that claimed lives of 1,333 people and over half a million displaced. Therefore the corrupt media chief editors are up in arms to ensure that their “cash fueler” the PM is well protected and instead Timberlake’s name remain tarnished further in his absentia.”

Source:.ghafla.co.ke

Mudavadi, Eugene meet over election

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY MOSOKU GEOFFREY

Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Local Government Musalia Mudavadi (Right) with Minister for Justice and Constitution Affairs Eugene Wamalwa during the burial of the late paramount chief John James Nabutola at Mateka area of Bumula Constituency on Saturday, April 21, 2012 Photo/DPMPS

WESTERN Kenya may now have a presidential candidate after regional heavyweights leaders agreed to support one of their own.

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, ministers Eugene Wamalwa and Moses Wetang’ula together with Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo met yesterday in a bid to strike a deal.

Eugene had requested for the meeting, shortly after Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed that he would not be his running mate in the March 2013 election.

The four met at the Sankara Hotel in Westlands, Nairobi for breakfast for close to three hours. "I can tell you that the Western leaders have finally seen the need to be united. We are happy that it was Eugene who convened the breakfast. We will have a strong candidate,” said a Western MP.

Mudavadi’s spokesman Kibisu Kabatesi confirmed the breakfast meeting which he described as a continuation of the Maasai Mara meeting that was hosted last month by COTU secretary general Francis Atwoli. Jirongo, Mudavadi and Wetangula attended the Mara meeting.

“The leaders were meeting as part of the ongoing discussion to unite the region behind one presidential candidate and these meetings will on in the run up to the polls,” Kibisu added.

The Justice minister said he was upset at how the TNA coalition partners Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto had treated him. Last weekend, he protested that he was being considered as a junior partner.

The Sabaot MP reportedly complained that Uhuru had asked him to dissolve his New Ford Kenya party, join TNA and run for the Trans Nzoia senate seat. Eugene was to be supported to become the Speaker of the Senate.

Eugene faced a rebellion in his backyard as TNA wanted him to nominate the party candidate for the Trans Nzoia governorship from the Bukusu community with his running mate from the Kikuyu community.

"The ground was shifting from him in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia were he to join TNA and accept a deputy governor from another community.  Yet TNA was telling him to take it or leave it. So he decided to leave so as to avoid a backlash," an ally of the minister added.

Wamalwa then signalled other Luhya presidential aspirants that he was ready to negotiate for a deal to unite the community.

The four have appointed a technical team to draft an agreement to spell out the terms of cooperation of their respective parties.

According to the 2009 population census, the Luhya community is the second largest community behind the Kikuyu. Mudavadi would benefit from the alliance especially if Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka accepted to be his running mate.

"The leaders were not discussing on whom to support but how to reach at one candidate and as for now the discussion are still on. It’s too early to conclude,” Kibisu added.

Kisumu to unveil ‘Sitarusha Mawe’ peace campaign

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY JUSTUS OCHIENG

A youth in Kisumu prepares to throw a stone at police officers who tried to quell riot in the area on August 27. PHOTO/JUSTUS OCHIENG

There will be no more stone throwing by Kisumu youth as campaign to stop this social vice is set to be launched on December 8.

The Sitarusha mawe peace campaign” is an initiative of Kisumu Artists Network and is organised by Berlin Ajeck, Laura Jean and George Otiende.

“This campaign is aimed at changing the horrific image of Kisumu which of late has been associated with violence and stone throwing,” Ajeck said.

He said the campaign will entail a peaceful procession though Kisumu town with performance interludes along the way before heading for the main event at the Jomo Kenyatta grounds.

Kisumu Artists Network is a a professional performance and Visual consortium comprising of over 200 artists drawn from Kisumu county and its environs.

The organisers said they will use performance and visual arts to not only communicate their message but also give youth ideas of how they can use their time constructively.

"The youth have been accused of being idle and this makes them engage in acts of violence. We want them to see that arts is a gainful occupation," Ajeck said.

The organisers say helping youth tap and utilise their talents will attract investors which will help address the issue of youth unemployment.

KAN, a professional performance and Visual consortium comprising of over 200 artists drawn from Kisumu county and its environs will use performance and visual arts as a source of gainful occupation to discourage violence  and who want to redeem Kisumu's image.

The Kisumu Artists Network (KAN) is set to hold an anti-violence campaign to enlighten the area youth on the need to wage a war against the social vice.

Dubbed “Sitarusha mawe peace campaign” the crusade is scheduled for December 8. Organizers of the event Berlin Ajeck, Laura Jean and George Otiende said KAN, a professional performance and Visual consortium comprising of over 200 artists drawn from Kisumu county and its environs will use performance and visual arts as a source of gainful occupation to discourage violence.

“The campaign is aimed at redeeming the horrific image of Kisumu which of late has been known for violence, stone throwing and persecution,” Ajeck said.

He pointed out that their campaign will entail a peaceful procession in Kisumu that will culminate to the main event at the Jomo Kenyatta grounds.

According to Ajeck, the procession shall have performance interludes at various stopovers to drum up support for cohesion and integration.

He said they intend to enlighten all the youth including the school leavers on the need to improve on their talents so that they do not stay idle thus be prone to causing havoc in the area. This we are alive to do so as to attract more investors to this town to address the issue of youth unemployment, adds Ajeck.

Police bust voter-ferrying racket to city’s Westlands

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY NJENGA GICHEHA

Limuru District Officer Michael Kang'ethe addressing the arrested voters who were allegedly being transported to Westlands in Nairobi for registration Photo/Njenga Gicheha

Police in Limuru yesterday arrested 25 people who were allegedly being transported from Limuru to Westlands in Nairobi to register as voters.

District Officer Michael Kang’ethe said the group was part of 100 others, who had been transported early in the morning. He said the police acted on a tip off from members of the public, who had spotted buses picking workers from the Limuru tea estates in Limuru to Nairobi to register as voters.

Kang’ethe said the workers said they were being Sh500 by a city politician to register a voters in Westlands constituency. “We received a phone call from members of the public that the workers, most of who are Luhyas were being transported to Westlands where they are being registered as voters and brought back to their working stations in the tea estates,” he said.

The DO said the 25 had recorded statements to enable police investigate the matter. He said once the investigations are complete, the politicians or politicians who are behind the transportation of voters will be charged together with the voters.

Kang’ethe said it is illegal for politicians to transport people from other regions to register as voters elsewhere. He urged members of the public to be reporting such incidents.

“As much as it is democratic right to be a voter in whichever place, it is illegal to transport voters. So we are calling upon members of the public to report such incidents to help us fight that practice,” he said.

He added, “We also learnt that two other buses had transported people early in the morning. We also learnt that there is an MP who is behind the exercise and he is paying them each Sh500 to accept to register as a voter there as transport is catered for separately.”

Corridors of Power

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY POLITICAL DESK

Members of parliament MPs during the official opening the newly refurbished parliamentary chambers yesterday.Photo/HEZRON NJOROGE

A top city politician caused panic in a popular joint in Buru Buru last week collapsed in the course of entertaining two women in a room. The man known for his amorous escapades is said to have taken a dose of Viagra to face the task ahead. However, it was never to be as the man fainted in the act forcing the panic-stricken women to scamper out of the room screaming. At first, the two women thought the man having his moment, only to realise that something was amiss when he started foaming in the mouth, sweating profusely and breathing heavily. The man who, who intends to contest a parliamentary seat in the capital, was later taken to Hospital.

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One of the leading contenders for the Nairobi governor seat was angered by a quack journalist he was entertaining for getting too cozy with his wife. The drunk quack, who had wanted to take a photo with the man's wife, got too close to  the chagrin of the aspirant. And he could take no more, the furious man pounced on the quack scribe with blows and kicks leaving him badly bruised.

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A politician has allegedly been arm twisting a lottery organisation to release winnings to a charity in his constituency. The charity, which has received most of the winnings, was expecting the Sh10 million balance in September, but that been held at the behest of a senior regulatory authority official. Despite the lottery's lawyer sending a letter to the service provider on how to disburse the money, the funds have yet to be released. The politician has tried to take the case back to police in vain. The Betting Control and Licensing Board is quiet on the issue.

RUTO IS BIG WINNER IN UHURU DEAL

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 - 00:00 -- BY STAR TEAM

SEALED: William Ruto and Information minister Samuel Poghisio arrive in Eldoret yesterday and are met by Kalenjin elders. Photo/Stanley Magut

ELDORET North MP William Ruto appears to be the big winner in the political alliance he has forged with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

Ruto's United Republican Party and Uhuru Kenyatta's The National Alliance are due to sign their agreement on Tuesday morning.

A copy seen by the Star shows that Uhuru and Ruto have agreed that they will share all public appointments on a 50-50 basis. Out of the 22 cabinet positions under the constitution, each party will have 11 positions.

However Ruto will be able to use his posts to exclusively satisfy his URP members whereas Uhuru will have to use some of his 11 positions to reward TNA allies such as Water minister Charity Ngilu, Mvita MP Najib Balala and Eugene Wamalwa, should the Justice minister change his mind about quitting Uhuru's alliance.

Ruto could therefore potentially dominate Cabinet. Moreover, if all goes according to plan, Ruto can end up controlling Parliament.

The two leaders have zoned the country and the two parties will be given exclusive rights to field candidates in their strongholds.

Uhuru and his TNA party will have central Kenya, Kisii and Nairobi exclusively. URP will field all the candidates in Rift Valley, North Eastern Kenya, Kuria, Teso and other pastoral areas.

Luo Nyanza, Western, Coast and Eastern provinces have been described as battlegrounds in the agreement meaning both parties can field candidates.

URP believes it can get 102 MPs (60 from Rift Valley, 10 from North Eastern and other pastoral area, 10 from Eastern, 10 for Western, 10 from Coast, and 2 from Kisii).

On the other hand TNA is projected to have 70 MPs (30 from Central, 5 from Rift Valley, 5 from Western, 5 from Eastern, 5 from Kisii, and 15 from Nairobi).

Parliament will approve all government budgets and key appointments for Cabinet, ambassadors, commissions and the senior civil service.

For sacrificing his presidential ambitions, Ruto will be Uhuru's running mate as deputy president, a position that now has security of tenure under the constitution. Therefore Uhuru will not be able to fire Ruto if they fall out.

Ruto has also negotiated for URP to take the positions of Leader of Majority in Parliament, Speaker of the Senate and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. Uhuru and TNA will nominate the Speaker of Parliament, Deputy Speaker of the Senate and Leader of Majority in the Senate.

Uhuru has been allocated the Ministries of Office of the President, Internal Security, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Agriculture, the Office of the Attorney General and Livestock and Health among others.

The Office of the President controls billions of shillings, the national security agencies and the Cabinet office. The merged Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock will be a powerful docket as it control more than 50 parastatals and a huge budgetary allocation.

Ruto will take the Ministry of Finance and Planning;  Home Affairs, Immigration and Registration of Persons; Roads, Housing and Public Works; Energy and Mineral Resources; Water, Lands and Natural Resources; and a new ministry called Devolution which will bring together the current Ministries of Local government and Arid Lands.

The Ruto ministries will be very powerful. The Finance ministry controls all spending while the expanded Ministry of Home Affairs, under the Office of the Deputy President, will control prisons, work permits, passports and identity cards.

Yesterday Ruto continued his charm offensive in Eldoret when he met nearly 5,000 leaders and appealed to them to support the TNA-URP alliance.

“You will vote for URP candidates for the county, women representatives, Members of Parliament, senators, and governors in URP exclusive areas but vote for TNA and Uhuru for the presidency,” Ruto said yesterday when he met Kalenjin leaders from North and South Rift at Eldoret Sports Club.

He explained that he agreed to run for Deputy President when he realized that no single party was capable of winning elections.

“TNA has over four million votes and we can marshal three million as a party. We have spread our wings across the country and reached out to our friends giving us an edge over any other coalition, he added.

Ruto was accompanied to Eldoret by Information minister Samuel Pogisio (West Pokot), William Cheptumo (Baringo North), Lucas Chepkitony (Keiyo North), Boaz Kaino (Marakwet West), Isaac Ruto (Chepalungu), Peris Simam (Eldoret South) ,David Koech (Mosop), Elijah Lagat (Emgwen), Joyce Laboso (Sotik), Jackson Kiptanui (Keiyo South) and John Lesonet (Eldama Ravine).

“The Central Kenya style of voting has drastically changed in pattern and style. They are now embracing other communities. In the by-elections in Kamukunji and Kajiado North constituencies where they supported candidates from other communities,” he said.

All set for URP, TNA rally as Ruto seeks backing

By Vincent Bartoo

It’s all systems go for the planned TNA and URP rally on Sunday to formally announce their pre-election deal.

In Rift Valley, plans are afoot by Eldoret North MP William Ruto’s supporters to travel to Nakuru for the rally at Afraha Stadium.

Travel and accommodation plans were being finalised as Ruto traversed the region to rally the community behind the pact ahead of Sunday’s historic event.

After seeking blessings from elders in Nakuru and Eldoret on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, Ruto on Thursday traveled to Marigat in Baringo and then Chepareria in Pokot to seek the approval of his supporters on his new political move.

The Eldoret North MP is also scheduled to hold a major rally at Eldoret’s 64 Stadium today and another one on tomorrow in Kapkatet, which is in the South Rift.

“The two rallies are symbolic because it is at 64 and Kapkatet that we as Kalenjins meet to decide major decisions touching on our community,” said Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny.

Stamp of approval

He said the two rallies would be used “to put a stamp of approval on the alliance between URP and TNA.”

Ruto is also using the meetings ahead of the Sunday rally to prevail upon the community to accept the fact that his name would not be on the presidential ballot.

“Some of you have been sending me messages on my phone still asking why I am not running. I have come to explain to you why,” he said.

He said he opted out of the race due to stiff competition and the legal requirement that a presidential contender must garner 50 plus one in popular vote.

“He would have managed either third or fourth place and you could as well have forgotten being part of the next Government,” he said.

The URP-TNA pact has, however, sparked political apprehension in Rift Valley especially among aspirants in the two parties.

The proposed zoning to reflect the individual party strengths has not gone down well particularly with TNA aspirants in the region.

During the elders meeting in Eldoret, Ruto said that his alliance with TNA leader Uhuru Kenyatta did not mean that Rift Valley residents should vote for TNA.

“Let us rally and unite behind URP to make it stronger. Our target is to have at most 110 MPs so I have told you to support our presidential bid but on the ground vote for URP candidates,” he said.

ODM accuses Nyaga of luring party officials to TNA

By Ally Jamah

ODM has claimed that Minister for Co-operatives Joe Nyaga is luring its ODM officials in Central Province to Uhuru Kenyatta’s The National Alliance Party and other outfits.

Speaking at Orange House in Nairobi on Thursday, ODM Murang’a County chairman Mike Rubia claimed that he and other ODM leaders in central were approached by Nyagah to defect from ODM.

Rubia, who was accompanied by ODM Secretary General Anyang’ Nyong’o, the party’s Kiambu County acting chairman Peter Kabucho and other ODM leaders in Central Province, claimed that Nyagah offered Sh10 million to ODM chairpersons running for parliament ary seats and Sh2 million for Country representatives to leave ODM.

“We attended the meeting on Wednesday where the minister met all ODM branch chairpersons in Central Province. The minister promised that he was willing to finance all aspirants in their campaigns provided they choose another strong party to win on. Fortunately, we turned down the offer,” he said.

Sh10 million

The leaders claimed that Nyagah also met 29 ODM vice-chairmen on Tuesday at a Nairobi Hotel to allegedly strategise on how to lead ODM officials to TNA and other parties.

“We would like to appeal to all ODM leaders to resist political prostitution and ignore leaders who want to betray our party having being offered money by TNA,” said Councillor Moses Kinyanjui, ODM Kiambu County coordinator.

ODM & WIPER...!

Raila Unveils ' Raila For President' Mobile App

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has just released a mobile phone application strategically targeting the tech savvy youthful voters. The campaign app is available on all leading platforms namely: Android, Apple's ios and Blackberry. 

The app has been developed to deliver live news feeds, videos and pictures. It has adequate integration with social media sites namely Facebook and Twitter. It also comes with Aurasma integration which basically brings along augmented reality. 

Aurasma, who are Tottenham's shirt sponsors, were delighted to be working with Kenya's prime minister. Matt Mills, Head of Partnerships at Aurasma is quoted as saying, ""It is an honour to work with Prime Minister Raila and the Blue Storm Solutions team on this important project, The Aurasma-enabled app is making it easier for voters to engage with Kenya's democratic process. We are now working with 10,000 partners in over 100 countries worldwide and are absolutely delighted that our first ever partner in Kenya is none other than the Prime Minister himself." 

Commenting on the use of Aurasma, Raila said, “By using Aurasma in our campaign app, we will be able to reach out to voters in a completely new way, making it easier for them to get information about the Presidential election process and my policies if elected. It is important to make politics accessible and satisfy Kenyan's appetite for the latest technology and I am delighted to do both with the launch of this app." 

The app is available at no cost from the respective stores, ie. Google Play, Apple Store and Blackberry app world.  

© nairobiwire.com

Burying the hatchet? Obama and Romney have lunch

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By AFP
Posted  Friday, November 30  2012 at  02:05

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WASHINGTON,

President Barack Obama and erstwhile Republican opponent Mitt Romney met for a private lunch Thursday at the White House as they tried to move on from a bitterly personal election campaign.

In their first encounter since the election, the former foes sat down alone in the president's private dining room off the Oval Office, which, until his defeat on November 6, Romney had envisioned taking over in January.

The meeting was closed to the press, and Romney, now stripped of his Secret Service detail, arrived and left an hour and twenty minutes later, in a large black Lincoln car, from a side door of the West Wing, avoiding reporters.

"Governor Romney congratulated the president for the success of his campaign and wished him well over the coming four years," White House spokesman Jay Carney said after the rivals lunched on white turkey chili and southwestern grilled chicken salad.

"The focus of their discussion was on America's leadership in the world and the importance of maintaining that leadership position in the future.

"They pledged to stay in touch, particularly if opportunities to work together on shared interests arise in the future."

The White House also released a picture of Obama and Romney, looking at one another in a friendly way as they shook hands in the center of the Oval Office.

There was a moment of drama for Romney as his motorcade approached the White House when a man approached the vehicles and was then arrested after he started arguing with Secret Service officers.

"An individual interfered with a motorcade as it was entering a checkpoint at the White House," said Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary.

"The individual became combative with uniformed division officers and the individual was arrested for assault on a police officer and unlawful entry."

The meeting at the White House was likely a testing personal moment for the former Massachusetts governor, who was convinced even on election day that he would be the 45th US president, but was outwitted by Obama's political machine.

Neither Romney nor Obama appeared to have any warmth or even great respect for one another, in a campaign that flared into open dislike during their contentious three presidential debates last month.

"Campaigns are a tough business, debates are sharp and in this case were very substantive and important," Carney said.

The president has in the past appeared magnanimous to former foes, notably when he asked Hillary Clinton — whom he defeated in a Democratic primary — to join his "team of rivals" first-term cabinet as secretary of state.

It is unclear whether Thursday's meeting was just for appearances' sake as Obama seeks to heal the political wounds of a divisive election or if he had a specific task in mind for Romney and, if he did, whether the Republican would accept.

Obama said in his first post-election press conference earlier this month that he hoped to work with Romney on some issues.

"There are certain aspects of Governor Romney's record and his ideas that I think could be very helpful," Obama said on November 14, adding that Romney had done a "terrific job" running the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002.

"He presented some ideas during the course of the campaign that I actually agree with. So it would be interesting to talk to him about something like that," he said.

"There may be ideas that he has with respect to jobs and growth that can help middle-class families that I want to hear."

"I'm not either prejudging what he's interested in doing, nor am I suggesting I've got some specific assignment."

Romney, however, was less conciliatory as he digested the fierce disappointment of losing the presidential election.

He accused Obama of following the "old playbook" by bestowing favors on key Democratic constituencies in exchange for their support.