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Day: July 9, 2018

Kenyatta lonely in war against graft: Kibwana

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s battle against corruption is lonely and requires good company to sustain if the war against the vice was to be won.

Makueni County Governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana on Monday urged the church to join the President in his war against graft, warning their silence and lack of support is making it a lone range mission against a combative network of corrupt individuals and groups that fight back together.

Prof Kibwana who was addressing Anglican Bishops at the Wholesome Governance Conference held at the St. Paul’s University, Limuru said the battle the President was wading into was isolating and therefore the support and backing of the church and other like- minded persons was crucial.

“I am sure the President is very lonely because corruption fights back. He needs company,” Prof Kibwana told the bishops attending the workshop.

The governor said it was difficult to develop if all the money collected as revenue is stolen by heartless cartels.

“The clergy should approach the President and lend support on war on corruption. The church can help devise ways of fighting it. The President wants to fight it but the war is huge,” Prof Kibwana said.

Negative ethnicity and the youth marginalisation, Prof Kibwana noted are among key issues the church should look into in order to help spur development in the country.

“People should know that we are all children of God. It doesn’t matter whether one is Kikuyu, Kamba, Luo or Kalenjin. This negative ethnicity is dividing our country. The church should come in and save us,” the governor added.

He however hailed the church for playing a crucial role in mediating when Makueni county executive went into a quarrel with the county assembly in 2013.

The ACK Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit praised Prof Kibwana for being an achiever in the implementation of devolution and for ensuring good manners in management of resources in his county.

“Many people have praised the manner in which you stood against blackmail in your county and defended devolution in the last term and the kind of development you are bringing,” The ACK leader said.

The Archbishop said that the church should play a more visible oversight role in order to tame wanton corruption and plunder of public resources.

“It is important that devolution is safeguarded and cascaded further to the village if not the household level without wastage of scarce resources,” the Bishop stated.

  • July 9, 2018 in News

Mwau in meeting with women leaders to strategize on stemming children rights abuses

Makueni women leaders on Friday  held a consultative meeting to brainstorm on strengthening coordination, response and prevention of children rights violation.

The forum convened by the Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau brought together women County Executive Committee Members,MCAs,Chief Officers,Sub County Administrators and officials from the Maendeleo ya Wanawake organization.

Mwau asked members of the County Assembly to pass child protection policies that will soon be proposed by the executive and forwarded to the assembly for consideration.

“I want to urge the members of the county assembly in Makueni to pass Bills on child protection policies that the executive brings forward,”She said.

The DG who was speaking at the Hunters lodge in Makindu also said that a gender recovery center is also being set up at the Makueni level 4 hospital.

The deputy governor also urged the women leaders to sensitize the local residents to bring out social needs during county public participation for budgeting.

“Water and roads are very important to our lives, but most of the parents cannot afford sanitary towels for their children.So some are enticed into immorality to survive We can budget as a county and save our girls,’’ She said.

Mwau promised to consolidate both the county assembly and the executive so that they create awareness in the society.

“During our public participation  barazas this will be top in the list as we talk development,’’ She said.

The DG also proposed that the ministry of education trains the county ECDE teachers and the training programme be included in their performance appraisals.

She said that ECDE teachers mingle a lot with the baby class pupils whose rights gets violated in most cases.and they go silent on it.

Equality Now campaigns officer Florence Machio who was the facilitator urged the leaders to bring teachers and parents on board,saying that in most cases they are the first people to discover rights abuses against children.

“If teachers and parents are left out in this discussion, we will not have solved the delinquent matter. They need to know steps they need to take in case children are sexually abused’’ She said.

Machio said that corruption sometimes hinders the process, accusing some doctors of receiving bribes from the perpetrators to kill the evidence.

“She pleaded with the county government to create avenues in schools where proper structures can be put in place so that the children can highlight their plight freely.

Janet Kitung’a,a nominated MCA said she has been pushing to have members of the county assembly represented in the Court users committee for public participation in judicial processes.

According to the children’s officer in the county Ms Evelyn Kaluki, Makueni law court in Wote reported 22 cases of defilement, four incest cases and five rape cases to girls over eighteen years old but still in school in 2017.

In 2018 from January to June already 13 defilement cases  have been reported.