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The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission offices in Nairobi.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Agency (EACC) has moved to repossess a Sh500 million government property on Nairobi’s Valley Road, alleging it was fraudulently transferred to the spouse of a former city council official.
In a case filed before the Environment and Land court, the agency says former chairman of the defunct City Commission of Nairobi Habib Omar Kongo and Mr Kuria Gathoni, then working as Director of Planning and Architecture in the defunct City Council fraudulently transferred the property to Rose Wambui Kuria.
EACC filed an urgent application seeking to bar Ms Kuria from transferring the property to a third party, pending the determination of the case.
According to EACC, the property has been charged to Consolidated Bank to obtain several loans and Ms Kuria has turned the 2.06 acre parcel to a motor vehicle bazaar, where she continues to benefit from proceeds of public land, which she illegally acquired.
EACC wants the cancelation of the title issued to Ms Kuria and the court to compelled to surrender profits she has made from the land since 1992 and damages for alleged fraud.
The case will be mentioned on October 12. – businessdailyafrica.com
Terminal 1A at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Large consignments of restricted items, including drones and shisha pipes, have clogged customs warehouses at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as importers delay collecting them.
Ms Lilian Nyawanda, Commissioner for Customs and Border Control at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), said many Kenyans imported such items oblivious of the stringent permit conditions before they could be allowed into the market.
“Most passengers are unknowledgeable or un-informed on prohibitions of goods such as shisha and sex toys and restrictions imposed on goods such as drones and firearms,” she told the Business Daily in e-mailed responses.
A huge pile-up of the restricted items at the JKIA customs warehouses has now become a concern with the taxman giving importers a notice to clear them by the end of this month(September).
Items not collected by lapse of the September 30 deadline will be auctioned or destroyed, KRA said.
“The warehouse has very limited capacity owing to the slow rate at which permits are issued for restricted items such as drones or frequency at which destructions are conducted for prohibited imports,” Ms Nyawanda said.
The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Regulations require importers to pay a fee of $30 (Sh3,294) for bringing in the drones which are increasingly becoming popular for filming and mapping on agricultural farms, among other uses.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) issues Remote Operators Certificate to fly drones in the Kenyan airspace at a cost of about Sh80,000 with an annual renewal fee of about Sh50,000.
The drones operators further require an airworthiness certificate for $50 (about Sh5,490) in addition to other fees such as “Beyond Visual line of sight” and “Radiotelephone exam”.
KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe said the majority of importers whose drones are lying at the JKIA have failed to register them. – businessdailyafrica.com
Ex-Kenyan born Australian senator Lucy Gichuhi’s daughty dies in AdelaideKenya-born politician and former Australian Senator Lucy Gichuhi, alongside her husband Don Gichuhi, is pleading for a Ksh3.2 million donation to repatriate the remains of their daughter peris wanjiru gichuhi back to Kenya.
Peris Wanjiru, passed away in Adelaide, Australia, on August 26, aged 33 years. The family did not disclose the cause of their daughter’s death.
They are, however, pleading for help from wellwishers to help lay Paris at their Kenyan home in Mathira, Nyeri County.
Close associates have created a GoFundMe page to help meet the costs of flying her back to Kenya for a befitting send-off.
On the GoFundMe page, they cited increased costs of air travel brought about by the pandemic as a huge impediment in efforts to fly the body of Peris to her native home, Kenya.
“Due to the current covid restrictions in place that have resulted in decreased air travel to and out of Australia, the cost of this process is overwhelming to the family and thus the appeal to you for your kind support.”
“A little here and there will go a long way in making this possible and lessening the huge financial burden to her family as they come to terms with this devastating loss of their firstborn gone too soon,” read the statement on their GoFundMe page.
The family of the deceased mourned her as a kind person whose demise took them by surprise.
“It’s difficult to bid farewell to such an amazing, beautiful, and kind human like Peris aka Kadada. You will be forever be missed as you subsist in eternal peace. Angels will fly,” further reads the statement.
Born in Nyeri County, the mother of the deceased (56), migrated to Australia in 1999 with her husband and their family of three children.
Lucy then became a naturalized Australian citizen in 2001 and later received her Bachelor of Law degree from the University of South Australia in 2015.
She worked as an accountant before joining politics and served as a Senator for South Australia from 2017 to 2019.
The former senator won the Family First Party seat in the Australian Senate, following a special vote recount of the April 2016 election, ordered by the High Court.
Her election made her the first African-Australian Senator in the history of the country.
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke
Travellers queue at passport control desks at the JKIA in Nairobi on August 1, 2020.
The number of undeclared personal effects seized from Kenyans re-entering the country through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has risen sharply as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) stepped its purge on tax evasion.
Personal effects such as clothing, footwear, handbags, paintings, human hair extensions and wigs, earrings dominate a list of confiscated items set to be auctioned next month at the airport’s customs warehouses — an indication of the high rate of failure to comply with reporting requirements.
“Passengers should familiarise themselves to the allowable concession of $500 (Sh54,900), the specific exemptions, types of goods prohibited and those that are restricted,” KRA Commissioner for Customs and Border Control Lilian Nyawanda said via email, adding some of the items come inas donations but not declared as such.
Bernard Kibiti, chief manager at the Nairobi Customs Station said the seized goods would be auctioned on September 29, 2021, if the owners failed to clear the tax due on them.
The taxman in 2016 set maximum duty collected on personal effects at Sh50,000 in a bid to speed up clearance of passengers at international airports and listed the items to be subjected to customs taxes at the arrival and departure terminals.
Under the guidelines, all the taxable items attract levies at rates determined by the value of money paid at a foreign country rather than factors such as quality, size or weight, the guidelines state.
The guidelines came in the wake of complaints lodged by passengers arriving at JKIA from Dubai and China, who said they were always subjected to extortionist rates unlike their counterparts from America and Europe.
Currently, passengers departing from Kenya are required to fill in a Temporary Importation Form-P45 to declare items being shipped overseas for repair and the accompanying tools and show the receipt during return as a declaration.
Also, items bought and carried for business promotional and commercial purposes need to be declared during departure for purposes of taxes on return.
Electronics like phones, video recorders and projectors bought while on a trip to Kenya and currency exceeding Sh1 million ($10,000) must also be declared at the customs before departure.
Passengers arriving in Kenya are also required to fill passenger declaration form stating the amount paid for each item, including the taxes.
Items intended for sale or use in a business, including those being brought back to Kenya after they are used commercially must be declared too.
At the arrival desk, a traveller is expected to declare newly acquired items whether they were bought, inherited or gifted and any other items bought exceeding the limits of duty-free shops.
“Duty-free shop articles sold in a customs duty-free shop are free only for the countries in which that shop is located. Therefore, if your acquired articles exceed your exemption and allowance, the articles you purchased in customs duty-free shop, whether in Kenya or abroad, will be subject to customs duty upon entering your destination country,” said the KRA.
Donations are also not exempt from taxes unless in situations where a Pro 1B document (mostly accompanying diplomatic goods) and a special letter from the Treasury are produced.
“This information is well documented on passenger declaration form (and) Customs handbook issued at the airport,” said Ms Nyawanda.
Some travellers, however, flouted these regulations resulting in the seizures of items by KRA officials at the JKIA.
The law allows Kenyans who have been residing in foreign countries to import personal effects and household goods duty-free on returning home on condition they provide proof of living abroad for at least two years.
The returning Kenyans must prove they are changing residence, according to the East African Community Customs Management Act 2004 and “not just been out of the country merely on temporary non-residential visit”, the KRA said in a past notice to Kenyan diaspora in the US.
The law further provides that those bringing in used personal effects and household items must have owned and used them for a minimum of one
year to qualify for tax exemption.
The goods should, however, be brought in within three months on arrival, although the KRA commissioner for customs can extend this to a year. – businessdailyafrica.com
Deputy President William Ruto walks with his new security team at his Karen residence on August 30, 2021.
Courtesy | DPPS
In what appears to be a show of acceptance, Deputy President William Ruto has formally welcomed his new security detail.
Dr Ruto treated the new team of Administration Police guards to an evening tea session at his Karen residence in Nairobi on Monday.
The DP then posted images of the session on social media.
The gesture comes just days after DP Ruto’s office expressed displeasure with the replacement of his earlier team of General Service Unit (GSU) officers with the APs.
Additionally, his office lamented that it was yet to get an official reason for withdrawal of elite officers from the GSU G Company from his residences.
On Friday, his chief of staff Ken Osinde wrote to Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai while citing ulterior motives for the move.
“Which unlawful instructions to compromise the security of the Deputy President did the GSU decline to carry out, to warrant their removal from guarding the Deputy President’s residence?” Mr Osinde posed.
As at Monday, the DP’s office said it was yet to receive an official response to the concerns raised.
“The IG has never replied, nor has he called the DP or returned his numerous calls. Probably he is too busy,” said Mr Emmanuel Talam, the DP’s director of communications.
The National Police Service, in a statement issued last week, said re-assignment of duties was normal and aimed at “enhancing efficiency and effectiveness of the officers’ duties.”
The DP himself is yet to comment on the security withdrawal.
“I am too busy assembling a bottom-up economy plan and strategising on how to improve the country’s economy. I will not be available to discuss politics of security and power sharing” the DP said on Saturday. – nation.africa.com
Hurricane Ida blow the roof off a Louisiana hospital
A million people are without power in Louisiana from Hurricane Ida, which has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
Ida brought 150mph (240km/h) winds when it made landfall, leaving a trail of destruction through the state before passing into Mississippi.
One person was killed when a tree fell on their home in Ascension Parish, in Louisiana’s Baton Rouge area.
However, the full scale of the destruction will only become clear as the day goes on, officials said.
“Daylight will bring horrific images as the damage is assessed”, tweeted Shauna Sanford, communications director for the Louisiana Governor.
President Joe Biden had previously said Ida would be “life-threatening”, with the National Hurricane Center warning that heavy rain could still cause flooding in parts of the state.
But it seemed that New Orleans’ flood defences, strengthened after Hurricane Katrina killed 1,800 people in 2005, have so far done their job. Mr Edwards said the levees had “for the most part” held – although the storm surge, rain and wind had still had a “devastating” impact across the state.
The president has declared a major disaster in the state, releasing extra funds for rescue and recovery efforts.
Mr Biden said it could take weeks to restore electricity to the more than one million homes in Louisiana that are without power.
Ida gathered strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico during the weekend. More than 90% of oil production there has been shut down as a result of the storm.
On Sunday, Ida made landfall south of New Orleans as a category four hurricane – meaning it would cause severe damage to buildings, trees and power lines. As it moves inland, Ida’s winds have dropped to 95mph (153km/h), meaning it is now a category one storm.
There are still fears of storm surges along the coast – which could be as high as 16ft (4.8m), potentially submerging parts of the low-lying coastline.
It’s an eerie feeling to stand in New Orleans as it’s plunged into darkness. And all around the famous French quarter debris and tree branches litter the streets.
Standing outside is painful. The rain pelts you as winds of 70mph make it difficult to stand. Residents for the most part have heeded warnings to stay indoors for the worst of the storm. When you speak to them, they’ll tell you that hurricanes have become a part of their lives. It’s the trade-off they accept for everything else the Big Easy has to offer.
Still, there’s always a fear that the next storm could be “the big one”. Kenneth McGruder has lived in the lower 9th ward for more than 30 years. He evacuated for Hurricane Katrina and, like many others, came back to find his house under water. He is an older man who speaks openly about the trauma that caused.
Ida strengthened so quickly, he felt he didn’t have enough time to leave his home. He trusts the city’s new hurricane infrastructure but again, there’s always that fear.
Covid-19 has also further complicated efforts to keep people safe. Louisiana hospitals are already under pressure from Covid-19, as the state has the third-highest rate of infections in the US.
Normally, hospitals in the predicted path of the hurricane would be evacuated, but this time there are few beds available, even at facilities further inland.
“We don’t have any place to bring those patients. Not in state, not out of state,” Mr Edwards said.
Ida came ashore on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a category three storm when it made landfall.
Since then, billions of dollars have been spent on flood defences, known as levees. So far, the levees have held, though a flash flood warning is in place for New Orleans.
High winds tore part of the roof off a hospital in the town of Cut Off, Louisiana, just inland from the Gulf of Mexico. The hospital said it had suffered “significant damage” but that its patients were safe.
Hurricanes: A guide to the world’s deadliest storms.”
The impact of climate change on the frequency of storms is still unclear, but increased sea surface temperatures warm the air above, making more energy available to drive hurricanes.
As a result, they are likely to be more intense with more extreme rainfall.
Reading festival-goers are getting vaccinated this weekend, taking the total number of people jabbed to over 48 million
The UK has recorded another 33,196 coronavirus cases and 61 deaths in the latest 24-hour period, government figures show.
The figures compare with 32,406 COVID-19 cases and 133 deaths reported on Saturday, and 31,914 new cases and 49 deaths this time last week.
Another 132,180 people received a second coronavirus vaccine dose yesterday, taking the total number of those over 16 who are now fully inoculated to 42,639,781.
And 42,388 were given their first dose – taking the total to 48,001,316.
The UK government said it plans to give booster COVID-19 jabs, alongside flu jabs, to the most vulnerable groups from 6 September.
As yet, no specific details on the programme have been announced.
Elsewhere, Israel announced they would be offering a COVID-19 booster shot to anyone over the age of 12 who has been fully vaccinated.
“Starting today, the third vaccine dose is open to all,” health ministry director general Nachman Ash said on Sunday, referring to the Pfizer vaccine which is in use there.
President Joe Biden has also expressed an interest in moving up a booster programme for the US.
On Friday, he said regulators are looking at giving booster jabs five months after people finish their primary vaccinations, shortening the current planned timetable of an eight-month gap.
Mr Biden, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday, said health officials were considering following that country’s lead on boosters when the programme starts on 20 September, pending regulatory approval.
“We’re considering the advice you’ve given that we should start earlier,” Mr Biden said.
A handful of European countries, including France and Germany, have already announced plans to give elderly people booster jabs.
It took elephants in Kenya’s Tsavo Conservation Area just three months to learn where to find underpasses built beneath a controversial new railway line that splits their territory in two, a new study shows.
“This fast learning is indicative of elephants’ high intelligence,” wrote the authors of the study, published in the African Journal of Ecology.
Led by members of conservation NGO Save the Elephants, the research team fitted satellite collars on ten elephants (five males and five females) living in Tsavo Conservation Area (TCA) and tracked their movements from 2016-2019.
More than 176,000 GPS fixes were obtained to support the study, which showed that the elephants mostly crossed the railway and adjacent highway at night. The elephants, especially females with young, significantly increased their speeds when they did so: a sign they felt the crossing points to be risky.
Vital corridor
“Only around 70 percent of the animals that we collared were actually utilizing the underpasses,” said Benson Okita-Ouma, lead author of the study.
He told RFI that if the remaining 30 percent of the study sample that did not use the underpasses was representative of the TCA’s 12,000-13,000-strong elephant population, it would mean a significant number of them shy away from the structures designed to help their movement.
Work on the railway, which links the port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, began in 2014. It extends for 133 kilometres through the middle of the TCA, cutting off a vital corridor for wildlife between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks.
The railway is raised on an embankment and fenced on both sides. This means the only way elephants can get from one side to the other is via the underpasses. There are six of them, each measuring 70 metres long and six metres high, and nine bridges that animals can walk under.
But 90 percent of the original wildlife corridor has now been closed by the railway line.
Oils spills and erosion
Okita-Ouma said connecting different parts of Tsavo is vital. Elephants have vast home ranges and move long distances depending on the season and the availability of food and water in them, he said.
“If you block them in, you are interfering with not just the ecological systems but even the animals themselves in terms of their genetic exchanges.”
Use of the underpasses by other wildlife has also been mixed, preliminary observations have shown. Animals like zebras, buffalo and lions have used them, but giraffes, hyenas and hippos have not.
“This is just the beginning,” said Okita-Ouma. “There is so much going on because of these barriers that we have probably not quantified yet.”
Researchers say the railway project, one of the biggest in Kenya’s history, has not just affected Tsavo. A study published in June in the journal Plos One found that the project’s first two phases (from Mombasa to the town of Narok west of Nairobi) caused environmental damage to fragile ecosystems through erosion, river siltation and oil spills.
Threat to wildlife
Lead author of that study was Tobias Nyumba, a post doctoral research fellow at the University of Nairobi’s Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation.
“A higher percentage of new road and railway construction in Kenya occurs in landscapes that are exceptionally high in biodiversity,” Nyumba told RFI.
“This undoubtedly becomes a threat to the existence of wildlife in their natural environment,” he said, adding that nature-based tourism is a key pillar of the Kenyan government’s development agenda between now and 2030.
“Infrastructure development should not be allowed to occur at the expense of wildlife and nature that the tourists travel to enjoy,” he said.
Okita-Ouma said his team hopes the study of the underpasses in Tsavo will help improve the way government agencies and developers take into account the need for movement of wildlife when they build infrastructure like railways and roads in the future.