‎By JOHN MUSEMBI

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The maximum temperature across the county will vary between 26°C and 35°C while the. minimum temperature range is expected to be between 15°C and 23°C in the next one week.

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‎As has been happening before, strong winds will blow at a speed of around 25knots in most parts of the County.

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‎Residents have been advised to get in touch with extension officers from their localities for best advice on farm practices to use in light of this weather forecast.

By MUTUA KANYANGE 

  Barely a fortnight after the assembly rejected both the KSh14.3 billion Supplementary Budget II for 2025/2026 fiscal year and KSh13.78 billion 2026/27 financial budget estimates, Dr Malombe maintained he would not back down and questioned why the Speaker Kevin Kinengo was allegedly advancing witch-hunt against his leadership. 

  Malombe accused the assembly of being disgraceful and dishonest in its attempt to paralyse the county and derail service delivery to people at the tail end of his tenure in office.

 The governor accused the speaker and a section of his allied MCAs of undermining his government after he re-channeled money for construction of ward offices to build and complete Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) classrooms in various wards.

 Speaking at Lundi market and Yumbu health dispensary in Mui ward, Mwingi East Sub County during commissioning of KSh17 million Kaki-Kilali sumpwell water supply project and maternity wing respectively on May 15, 2026, the governor said the resolution by the assembly was unacceptable and would result in political and service delivery fallout.

 Malombe who was accompanied by his deputy Augustine Kanani, said his administration would not let the Speaker and a section of allied MCAs to cause destruction and ruin his leadership by playing partisan politics within and outside the assembly chambers for financial and egocentric interests.

  “Our stand as county government is that we won’t be shaken, intimidated or coerced by forces within or outside the assembly to lose focus and divert our attention in changing the livelihoods of residents between now and the 2027 General Elections. ‘The Kitui Promise’ in the 16-agenda development map shall be accomplished. No ifs, no buts,” Malombe said.

 County ministers Peter Kilonzo (Finance), Mbaya Kimwele (Agriculture) John Mwendandu (Environment) and Reuben Itiko (Roads) said it was laughable for the assembly with majority of youthful MCAs including the speaker to try to gag the Executive from political involvement.

  Kilonzo who was backed by chief officers, Stephen Salee (Decentralisation), Aggrey Kamba (Drugs), Lynn Kitwan (Public Health) and John Makau (Finance) told the assembly to shut up, maintaining the county executive committee members would not shy away from playing "constructive politics" to champion for Malombe’s achievements since 2022 and rallying the residents behind his leadership in accelerating development projects and improve public service delivery.

 “We are in politics to stay. Let them stop vomiting their dirt in public. We won’t buy their threats and demands,” Kilonzo said.

  This comes after the assembly condemned the involvement of some county officers in active politics, warning that such conduct was unlawful and contrary to the principles of public service neutrality.

 Reacting to the Speaker's communication during a plenary sitting, the MCAs questioned why some officers were allegedly engaging in early campaigns, terming the conduct a breach of law and public trust. They demanded that any such officers immediately desist or face exposure on the floor of the House.

 Speaker Kinengo cited key legal provisions governing the conduct of public officers, including Article 75(1) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, which provides that public officers shall behave in a manner that avoids conflict between personal interests and public duties, and shall not engage in activities that compromise political neutrality.

  Section 23 of the Leadership and Integrity Act, 2012,  prohibits State and public officers from engaging in political activities that may compromise their impartiality or the performance of their official duties.

  The county assembly recommended that the Committee on Labour and Social Service to investigate the matter and oversight the County Public Service Board and report to the House within two months, all sectoral committees to investigate the conduct of county executive committee members and oversight all county executive departments and report to the House on any instances of partisan political conduct inconsistent with the constitutional and statutory requirements within two months.

 The Speaker emphasised that public office must remain politically neutral, and warned against any conduct that undermines professionalism and service delivery.

By BRIAN MUSYOKA 

The demonstrations, which were organized to push the government to lower fuel prices, turned chaotic as groups of youths engaged police officers in running battles within the town.

During the protests, suspected criminals allegedly took advantage of the unrest and stormed the government food stores before escaping with relief supplies.

Mbeere South Subcounty Police Commander Ashford Kimoti confirmed the incident, saying security officers responded swiftly after receiving reports of the break-in.

Kimoti said officers managed to recover and return some of the bags of rice that had already been removed from the stores by the protesters.

However, he noted that the suspects escaped with several bags of beans before police could fully contain the situation.

"Its true the thugs that infiltrated the demonstrations have broken into a store which was storing relief food,they made away with bags of beans but ,some bags of rice which they had removed from the store we were able to return.We are persuing them to face law," he confirmed.

The police commander said the demonstrations had been infiltrated by thugs who used the protests as an opportunity to loot and destroy property. He added that although citizens have a constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully, criminal acts such as theft and vandalism would not be tolerated.

Kimoti said the stolen food supplies were part of a relief programme aimed at supporting residents affected by hunger and prolonged dry conditions in parts of the area. He assured residents that investigations into the incident had already commenced and detectives were pursuing those involved.

The police boss warned that anyone found culpable would face the full force of the law regardless of their involvement in the demonstrations.

Residents expressed concern over the incident, saying the looted food was meant to assist vulnerable families struggling with food shortages.

Security officers have since intensified patrols in Kiritiri Town and surrounding areas as investigations continue and authorities work to restore calm.

By MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT 

This wa revealed by Interior and National Administration PS Raymond Omollo who appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security during the scrutiny of the 2016/2027 budget estimates.  About 110,000 village elders will benefit from this stipend.

The Ministry of Interior and National Administration was reported to have developed a policy framework and criteria for selecting village elders. PS Omollo said this was a culmination of years of consultations and public participation among stakeholders. 

"The conversation about village elders began in 2016 and the House actually gave directions to the Ministry of Interior.  It has taken almost 10 years to get us here", said Dr Omollo.

The Interior PS thanked the committee for supporting the allocation of budget to support village elders in delivering on their mandate. The proposal stipulates that each village elder will earn Sh3,000 after 30 days  starting from the next financial year. This proposal is subject to approval from Parliament. 

"Our expectation is that we will be giving a stipend of Sh3,000 to each village elders and the amount that has been provisioned for will be almost enough to take us through the whole year", he said.

PS Omollo further stated that the said village elders will not be beneficiaries of existing State support programmes like safety net schemes for the elderly or the community health promoter initiatives.

MPs sitting in the committee,  however,  proposed that village elders should be paid more than the Sh3,000 stipend allocated. Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo is the chairman of the committee.  He said given the expected responsibilities of village elders,  they should receive higher stipend similar to what Community Health Promoters get. "We had nothing before but may be we should have them at par with the community health promoters", said Hon Tongoyo.

The lawmakers welcomed the initiative given it was the first formal government effort to recognise and facilitate village elders.  The elders have worked voluntarily for years helping chiefs and assistant chiefs in local administration and security affairs.

By JOSPHINE MWENDE 

Some patients, who have lived with the condition for decades, said they have experienced major challenges under the new healthcare system.

According to the patients, SHA services are unreliable, especially when hospital systems experience network failures during payment processing. They noted that this often forces them to pay for treatment from their own pockets, unlike the former National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), which previously offered reimbursement in some cases.“I have lived with this disease for 35 years and have followed doctors’ instructions carefully. That is why I am still doing well, but we are facing many challenges,” one patient said.

Another patient stated that SHA is not effectively supporting people suffering from chronic illnesses that require costly treatment.“SHA is not working as it is supposed to, especially for serious illnesses that require large amounts of money for treatment.

Network outages make it difficult for patients to receive help. We urge the government to address these issues and ensure every patient gets proper support,” the patient further said.

The patients also appealed to county referral hospitals to ensure a consistent supply of medication for hypertension patients.“There is a shortage of medicine in many county hospitals, forcing hypertension patients to buy drugs using their own money. Some cannot afford the treatment and end up missing the necessary medical help. We ask the county government to address this issue,” another patient lamented.

Most hypertension patients in Kitui are elderly people who struggle to meet treatment costs. Due to this, they appealed to the national government to lower the age requirement for beneficiaries of the Inua Jamii cash transfer programme from 70 years to 60 years.“Many of us attending hypertension clinics do not have payslips or the strength to earn a living. We request the national government, through the Inua Jamii initiative, to reduce the qualifying age to 60 years so that more vulnerable people can receive support for their livelihoods,” another patient said.

Speaking during the event, Kitui County Executive Committee Member for Health and Sanitation, Ruth Koki, revealed that the county has recorded a steady increase in hypertension cases.

According to county statistics, the number of hypertension patients rose from 31,000 in the 2021/2022 financial year to 36,000 in the previous year.

Koki noted that the increasing number of cases highlights the need for regular medical check-ups, early diagnosis and proper management of lifestyle-related diseases.“In 2021/2022, we had a total of 31,000 hypertension patients, and according to last year’s data, the number increased to 36,000. This means the cases are rising, but the disease can be prevented,” Koki said.

She added that hypertension can be managed effectively if diagnosed early and patients follow medical advice, maintain healthy lifestyles and attend regular check-ups.“The best thing is for people to keep checking their health status to ensure such diseases do not remain unnoticed in their bodies for a long time,” she added.

Koki further highlighted measures the county government had put in place to improve healthcare access across Kitui.“We have community health promoters across the county equipped with machines to check blood pressure and offer basic assistance. In addition, all 326 county dispensaries have blood pressure monitoring machines to help residents access screening services easily,” she said.

She urged residents to regularly monitor their health, maintain balanced diets, exercise frequently and avoid excessive alcohol consumption to reduce the risk of hypertension and other lifestyle diseases.