Kenyan Natives Make Mayors in Britain & California

This past weeks two Kenyan natives, Opanyi Nasiali and Abdul Mohammed have taken office as mayors in the United States and United Kingdom respectively.

Opanyi Nasiali

The 67-year old, descendant of Maragoli, was voted by his fellow Claremont Council Members as mayor in March, becoming the first black resident and Kenyan native to be mayor of a town of nearly 35,000 people.

Mr. Nasiali went to Chavakali High School in Vihiga County. After completing high school, he later got a checker job, where he supervised people who moved cargo from ships to the warehouses at the port of Mombasa. At the age of 23, he landed a job at Parliament where he and 11 others transcribed the proceedings for members of National Assembly.

Kenya Airways Posts a Sh10Bln Pretax loss

National Carrier, Kenya Airways posted a pretax loss of 10.83 billion shillings ($126.8 million) for the 2012/2013 financial year ended March 31.

Speaking to the press on Friday, KQ Managing Director Titus Naikuni attributed the decline to the euro-zone debt crisis, anticipated unrest during Kenya's presidential elections, and a string of grenade attacks in the country.

Kipchoge Keino Retains NOCK Chair

Dr. Kipchoge Keino has been re-elected to the position of Chair of the National Olympic Committee Kenya (NOCK) in elections held on Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi.

Keino who has been at the reign since 1989 defeated his former Vice Chair Alfred Khang’ati, managing 21 votes against 10 votes of Khang’ati.

Earlier Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Chairman, Sam Nyamweya opted out of the NOCK elections citing many irregularities in the process. He was contesting for Second Vice Chairperson.

Ekumbo beats Athletics Kenya Chair 

List of all Nominated Senators & Members of Parliament

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) recently gazetted the names of the nominees, 20 of them to the Senate and 12 to sit in the National Assembly.

Here is the complete list of senators and members of parliament

List of All 47 Elected Senators in Kenya

Here is the list for the entire senate that was elected by Kenyans on 4th March General Election:

List of All 47 Elected Governors in Kenya

Here is the list of all the governors elected in the 47 counties in Kenya:

President Elect, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta Acceptance Speech

Here is the President Elect, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta acceptance speech at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa

Deputy President, William Ruto Acceptance Speech

Here is Deputy President, William Samoei Ruto Acceptance Speech at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa

Mutahi Ngunyi Trends Worldwide On Twitter

Famed political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi has received a bit of global recognition, as Kenyans on Twitter (#KOT) managed to make #DearMutahi a trending topic worldwide.

Widely regarded as one of the most influential political scientist in Kenya today, he's recently noted for his tyranny of numbers theory.

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, Kenya’s 4th President

Jubilee Coalition presidential candidate Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta has been elected Kenya’s fourth president after defeating Raila Amollo Odinga of CORD Coalition in a hotly contested general election.

According to official results released by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Kenyatta had won 50.07 percent of the vote to surpass the 50 percent plus one constitutional requirement mark in order to avoid a runoff.

The 51-year-old outgoing deputy prime minister garnered 6,173,433 votes out of a total of 12,338 million votes while CORD’s Raila garnered 5,340,546.  

The Commission pronounced Uhuru the President of the Republic of Kenya today afternoon.  

Uhuru’s Timeline

Kibiwott Munge: Teenager Wins County Assembly Seat

19-year-old Kibiwott Munge has made history in Kenya by clinching a country assembly seat. Munge who vied on a United Republican Party (URP) ticket, bagged the Lembus Perkera Ward in Baringo County, to become the youngest Kenyan to win a political seat in an election.

Samuel Kivuitu Passes On

Former Electoral Commission of Kenya Chairman Samuel Kivuitu passed away on Monday night while undergoing treatment at the MP Shah hospital in Nairobi.

The men who was at the helm of the electoral body during the 2007 election had recently declared he was cured from esophagus cancer.

The 74-year-old career lawyer had hoped to be a poll observer in the forthcoming March 4th general election. 

Condolences to the Family & Friends.

Photo Courtesy of Pambazuka.org 

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Below is one of his last interviews before the untimely death

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Hon. Samuel Kivuitu was buried on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at his home in Wamuyu, Machakos County.

KQ Unveils Special Fare to Kenyans in UK

National Carrier Kenya Airways has today announced a special fare to Kenyans in the United Kingdom to travel back to Kenya and vote in the General Election slated for March 4th.

The following special offer is a return economy fare from Terminal 4, London - Heathrow direct to JKIA, Nairobi and including taxes of GBP581.79*. To travel onwards to Mombasa, Malindi, Kisumu and Eldoret, total fare will be GBP634.79* including all taxes.

Photos: Stage Set for Kenya Presidential Debate

The stage is set for the long-awaited presidential debate that will have over 40 million people following on radio, TV and online.

The first-ever debate will take place Tomorrow at Brookhouse International School.

Quick Facts on the Debate

44 million anticipated audience

 100 million cost of the debate in shillings

 5,000 list of questions already received from voters

 8 presidential candidates to participate
7 pm the time debate starts
200 number of audience at the venue from all sectors

5 pm the time members of the audience to arrive at the venue

Life Talk! Peace Forum by Boniface Mwangi and Prof. Kihumbu Thairu

Talk by Director of Picha Mtaani Boniface Mwangi and Founder Member of Presbyterian University of East Africa, Professor Kihumbu Thairu.

Date:  Friday, February 9th, 2013
Time 4.00pm
Charges: Kshs. 500
Venue: Louis Leakey Auditorium at the Nairobi National Museum

2013 Kenya Presidential Debate Slated for February 11th

Six presidential candidates will face off in a live televised debate on Monday February 11, 2013 at the Brookhouse International School.

The six include Raila Odinga (Coalition for Reforms and Democracy), Uhuru Kenyatta (Jubilee),  Musalia Mudavadi (Amani), Martha Karua (Narc-Kenya), and James Ole Kiyiapi (Restore and Build Kenya) and Peter Kenneth (Eagle).

Google Unveils Kenya Elections Hub

Technology might not be a major issue in the country compared to other major challenges but Google use will help Kenyans track elections’ information through a hub. Google has employed the use of fusion tables among other Application Programming Interface (APIs) to ensure transparency and easy access of this information.

Speaking during the launch of the Kenya Elections Hub at the Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi, Ory Okolloh, Google’s policy manager for Africa said that the organization’s role is to organize elections information and not to provide an opinion.

IEBC Releases Election Nomination Dates for Candidates and Parties

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has published the nomination dates for candidates and political parties on their website. In a notice dated December 28^th, 2012 the electoral body has confirmed that the next General Election will be held on March 4, 2013.

According to the notice, political parties wishing to participate in the polls must finalize the nominations of its candidate on or before the January 18^th, 2013 while the days for the nomination of political parties candidates and Independent candidates for the Presidential Election will be on January 29^th, 2013 and January 30^th, 2013.

IEBC Voter Registration to Start on Monday

‘Your Vote Your Future’

President Mwai Kibaki will on Monday, November 19^th 2012 launch the Biometric Voter Registration at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

The Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) expects to register nearly 18 million voters, after receiving the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits three weeks ago.

IEBC has identified 30,000 registration centres and they will be gazetted by next week. The registration process will take 30 days (November 19 – December 18) followed by 15 days of voter register verification.  

About 29,000 clerks have been trained on the operations of the kits, which capture both facial, and fingerprints of the voter.

Registration will take place each day (including weekends) from 8am to 5pm and all Kenyans are urged to register afresh at the nearest registration centres.