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File ready to charge student with murder

By MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT 

The DCI will next week  present a form three student at a school in Mwingi Central sub county of Kitui county to the Kitui High Court  for charges of killing his elder brother.Mwingi Central sub county DCI in charge, Mr Augustine Mutembei, said on Tuesday that they will prefer murder charges against 23-year-old youth who at the  time the incident happened was a student at Yumbe secondary school in Waita ward.
Mwingi Central Sub County headquarters.|MWINGI TIMES

Mutembei made the disclosure  as he spoke in his office as it emerged that  the name of the 23-year-old suspect was  Micheal Musyoki Muthami and  that he had already acquired a national identity card. “We will  take the suspect to the High Court in Kitui. We  intend to prefer murder charges against him but all that will be guided by the Office of the Directorate of Public  Prosecutions, ODPP. If he peruses the records and prefers manslaughter we will still go by that,” said Mutembei.

The Mwingi Central sub county DCI chief said that the  murder suspect was  being held at the Mwingi police station awaiting  the conclusion of investigations before he will be arraigned at Kitui High Court next week.“We filed a miscellaneous application at  the Mwingi Law Court last week and we were allowed to hold the suspect for 14 days since last  Friday. On August 6th, after we are done with the investigations, we will take him back to Mwingi court to close the application file,” Mutembei added.

He further said that once the miscellaneous application filed at the Mwingi law court is closed, the suspect will then be taken to Kitui High Court on August 7th  where he will be formally charged.On Thursday last week, the Mwingi central  sub county police commander, Antony Maina, confirmed  the arrest of the form three student for allegedly hacking his elder brother to death with a panga. “The young man hit his elder brother with a sharp panga on the left side, making a deep cut on the neck and in the process rupturing a  blood artery. He passed on minutes later after bleeding profusely,” said the sub county police commander. Maina said that police officers visited the scene of the brutal murder in Katothya village  on Wednesday evening and collected  the  body  of the slain 25-year-old man before arresting the alleged assailant. “The body has been preserved at the Mwingi sub district hospital awaiting autopsy as investigation into the killing that was caused by a deep panga gash to the neck got underway,” he said. 

He added that the murder weapon  had not been traced  and was optimistic of finding it.Although Maina said that it was  not clear what caused  the violent disagreement between the siblings resulting in the death of one of them, the area assistant chief Joseph Mbunge said they differed after their mother’s  goat disappeared mysteriously.“The violent confrontation started when the elder of the two brothers accused the younger one of wrongly accusing him of stealing their mother's goat. In the process, he punched the younger brother resulting in a fist fight,” said Mbunge.

Increase capitation allocation not reducing, President Ruto urged

By MWINGI TIMES CORRESPONDENT 

Mwingi West MP Charles Ngusya Nguna has called upon President William Ruto to ensure his government increases the allocation of secondary school capitation rather than reducing it. This follows an adverse advisory by the National Treasury CS John Mbadi that the government was too broke to sustain basic education needs for pupils.
Mwingi West MP Charles Ngusya Nguna at Kavililo Comprehensive School during the launch of five classrooms. |COURTESY

The Wiper MP was speaking at Kavililo Comprehensive School in Migwani Ward during the launch of five new classrooms.

"If us as MPs care about the electorate, it is better that we reduce some expenses being implemented by the government and pay school fees for our children.

The capitation should be increased from KSh22,000 to KSh30,000.It should be free secondary education not KSh16000. President William Ruto, I ask you to increase capitation not reducing", he said.

CS Wandayi, PS Wachira Fault Gachagua for Tribal Politics

By BRIAN MUSYOKA

Top government officials have taken issue with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, accusing him of fueling tribalism even on global platforms.
Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi (second left) together with other leaders when he toured Runyenjes constituency. MWINGI TIMES|Brian Musyoka

Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi led the charge, voicing frustration that it had taken a young citizen to urge Gachagua to embrace national cohesion rather than sow division.

Speaking when he was launching rural electrification projects in Runyenjes, Wandayi lamented that it was now the youth reminding senior leaders about the importance of unity and patriotism values that leaders themselves should be instilling.

He underscored that national growth hinges on leaders who promote unity, peace, and inclusivity. He also pointed to President William Ruto’s inclusive leadership, especially through his cooperation with opposition chief Raila Odinga to build a government that represents all Kenyans.

Echoing Wandayi’s position, Principal Secretary for Energy Alex Wachira rebutted Gachagua’s assertion that Mount Kenya had been marginalized under the current administration.

Wachira cited the appointment of eight Cabinet Secretaries and 15 Principal Secretaries from the region as evidence of President Ruto’s commitment to fair representation.

He encouraged locals to align with the government's development agenda, cautioning that more could be achieved through collaboration than political confrontation.

Embu Deputy Governor Kinyua Mugo joined in, warning residents against falling for divisive rhetoric pushed by self-serving politicians bent on creating instability.

Runyenjes MP Muchangi Karemba also weighed in, urging his constituents to prioritize service delivery over political maneuvering. He commended the government for expanding access to electricity, saying it would help stimulate economic activity and create jobs.

Karemba further appealed to the Ministry of Energy to set up a Kenya Power office within Runyenjes to make it easier for residents to report and resolve power-related issues, noting that they currently face long travel distances.

Embu senator Alexander Mundigi also urged Embu residents not to be duped to align with leaders who are not in government.

The leaders were unanimous in calling for unity and development-focused politics, urging citizens to shun divisive agendas and support national progress.

Embu county is set to benefit with Sh 568 million to connect locals with electricity where 6,365 household will benefit .

2,000 programmes done in Kitui during Malombe's second term in office

BY PAUL  MUTUA

Close to 2,000 lives changing programmes have been implemented in Kitui County for the last two-years and 10 months.
Kitui Governor Julius Malombe  when he flagged off 164, 1000 litre plastic tanks donated by a coalition of three international donors supporting farmers to improve their livelihoods in Kitui at his office in  September 2023.MWINGI TIMES|Paul Mutua

 The programmes devolve in enhancing healthcare service delivery, access to clean water, road connectivity, basic and vocational education, food and nutrition security, urban development, trade and investments.

 In his memoir to residents, Governor Julius Malombe, said since he resumed office in August 2022 he has overseen increase of health facilities from 306 to 311 in all the 40 wards, 3,806 patients served at the new Cancer Centre with 188 under treatment, 70 bed newborn units completed, 99 operational maternity units up from 81 to 2022 and 26 ambulances in operation up from 17.

Dr Malombe said infant mortality rate have reduced from 47 to 13 per 1,000 births, 11 laboratories and two X-ray units completed and 96 facilities stocked with anti-snake venoms.

The Governor said 347 sand dams have been done at his watch, 134 kilometer of water pipes laid and rehabilitated, 180 water tanks, 10,000 liter each distributed to various schools and public institutions, 55 boreholes drilled with 33 already equipped and 32 solar-powered irrigation clusters established in the expansive county with 247 villages.

“Some 989 programmes were implemented under the Community Level Infrastructure Development Programme (CLIDP) – a key initiative that I conceptualised during my first tenure as the pioneer Governor in 2013-2017. They are meant for equitable development, poverty alleviation and improvement of the livelihoods of the people in all wards and villages,” he said.

The county said 19 sump-wells were constructed, each producing appropriately 200,000 litres per day, 31 boreholes solarized and the Kangu Kangu water project to serve over 100,000 residents.

Malombe says these development projects are spread across the 16 priority sectors in agriculture, water, health, education, urban development, roads and construction, trade and investments, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), cooperative societies, tourism and hospitality; women, youth and persons with disabilities, transport and bodaboda, energy, environment, climate change adaptation, forestry, natural and mineral resources, information and communications, and security sectors.

In agriculture, a total of 527,208 farmers have been trained on modern farming and livestock production technologies, climate-smart agricultural practices, agribusiness skills and value chain development to boost productivity and resilience. 

The Governor said his leadership has prioritised the provision of agricultural extension and advisory services aimed at enhancing agricultural production, productivity, and profitability. He said extension services comprise individual and group farm visits, residential and non-residential trainings, farm field days, on-farm demonstrations, and farmer field schools by agricultural extension officers.

 “The prioritisation of extension service is borne out of the realisation that governments, both national and county, cannot do farming for individual farmers. It is only individual farmers or those organised as cooperatives or business ventures who can effectively do so - whilst the government supports them with education, knowledge and capacity building on modern agriculture, including climate-smart agriculture,” he said. 

Malombe said he is committed to leave a legacy of a prosperous county with vibrant rural and urban economics whose people enjoy a high quality of life and transformative strides in advancing the development agenda as he exits office in 2027.

 “I am delighted to acknowledge that in my two years and ten months since assuming office on August 25 2022, my administration has provided the required transformative leadership in realisation of the county’s desired vision,” he said.

Malombe also reflected on strengthening collaborations with the National Government and development partners – all anchored in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2023–2027 and “The Kitui Promise” - the 16- Sector Manifesto on whose basis the people of Kitui overwhelmingly gave mandate to his administration.

He further outlined the progress in critical governance areas, including budget performance, own-source revenue collection, settlement of pending bills, promotion of staff welfare, and county legal services.

 “Further, I am passionate on the performance of the County Public Service, as well as the strides we have made in citizen participation, consultation, and engagement, as enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution and Sections 47(3) and 92(2) of the County Governments Act,” Malombe said.

He briefly stated the challenges his government has encountered along the way, the mitigation measures being undertaken, and offered insights into kitui county's future plans.

Malombe said although they have made commendable progress in ensuring the safety of people, the efforts have encountered significant challenges.

He said the ongoing border dispute with Tana River County has delayed the construction of Katumba Police Station in Nguni ward, Mwingi Central. In addition, the recently completed Konakaliti Police Station in Mutha ward was vandalised, slowing down the collective mission of safeguarding the lives and property of residents in the bandit-prone areas.

Malombe said to address the setbacks, his administration has proactively engaged national agencies, including the Ministry of Interior and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to fix the beacons along the well-established boundaries as per the 1992 Districts and Provinces Act and the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 – to help restore calm and pursue lasting, peaceful solutions to the inter-county boundary impasse.

UDA Naivasha Retreat Collapses As Mbeere North Battle Intensifies

By BRIAN MUSYOKA 

The highly anticipated United Democratic Alliance (UDA) retreat in Naivasha, convened to forge a consensus around a single flag bearer for the upcoming Mbeere North parliamentary by-election has ended in deadlock.
Eight UDA candidates at a Naivasha hotel together with Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku.|FACEBOOK

Despite intensive deliberations spearheaded by party officials, the eight aspirants eyeing the UDA ticket failed to agree on a compromise candidate to face off with the opposition in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes political showdown.

Among those in the race are Embu County Assembly Speaker Josiah Thiriku, former MP Muriuki Njagagua, his brother Dr. Murage Njagagua, Leonard Muthende, Konji Kwayo, Ngari Makindu, Dr. Dun Mbogo, and former County Assembly Speaker Kariuki Mate.

The party had hoped to avoid internal competition by rallying behind a consensus candidate, but with the talks collapsing, the battleground has now officially shifted to the grassroots.

In an agreement seen by MWINGI TIMES and signed by all the aspirants and the UDA party Chairperson Cecily Mbarire, they agreed for nominations to pick one fragbear who will tussle it out with opposition candidate in the contest.

With nominations looming, Mbeere North is expected to witness a flurry of political activity as the aspirants hit the ground running, pitching tent in villages and market centres to rally support and outshine each other in popularity.

The failed consensus sets the stage for a spirited campaign period, with each hopeful now sharpening their strategy to secure the coveted UDA ticket widely seen as a possible pass to Parliament in the vote-rich constituency.

As the clock ticks toward nominations, the people of Mbeere North brace for a political season like no other.

Other candidates eyeing Mbeere North MP seat include Newton Karish who is seeking election on Democratic party and Dun Mbui who will square it out with Rigathi Gachagua's DCP party.
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