As Kenya recovers from the highly-contested August 9, 2022 elections, we look at the past week and see the news we may have missed because there was too much happening.
The past week featured high-profile activities that hit the news headlines in Kenya, the US, and the globe. Kenya is still recovering from the August general election hangovers, as losers and winners, together with their supporters, are also acclimatizing to their new political status as reality sinks in slowly but certainly.
THE BIGGEST WINNER: PRESIDENT WILLIAM SAMOEI RUTO
President William Ruto is the obvious winner of the week after Kenya’s Supreme Court confirmed him as the winner of the 2022 presidential elections and his inauguration as the 5th President of the Republic of Kenya.
But the week has also seen the new President hit a few road bumps.
For example, he has made controversial statements that he rescinded soon after, such as recognizing the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a country that’s yet to break free of Morocco. The barely-week-old President has also attracted a cocktail of reactions from his country’s people, particularly over his overzealous religiosity. That, however, is a point to watch, even though some reputable clergymen have also weighed in on the matter, persuading Ruto to let the State and region be independent for neutrality.
Here is a quick recap of the headlines.
The Presidential Inauguration CeremonyTuesday, September 13, was the day. President Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua swearing into office was the event. Kasarani International Stadium was the place.
Twenty heads of State attended the event, and several other envoys from other countries, such as the US. President Ruto, upon inauguration, made a fair speech praised for several good promises and a touch of statesmanship. However, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua used the moment to launch an attack on Kenyatta’s administration, which he blamed before the world for harassing and intimidating the Ruto-allied leaders and supporters.
Raila Odinga and Martha Karua gave the ceremony a wide berth, despite having been invited by Ruto.
Kenyan Media Supremacy Battles
As early as last Sunday, Ruto, then President-elect, said by proxy that only the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) TV would have the exclusive rights to air his swearing-in ceremony. The directive of the communication team of Ruto also gave exclusive broadcast rights to Multichoice Kenya Ltd, an affiliate of the South African pay-TV group, arguing the group would provide a channel for the rest of Africa.
All the other media houses were required to buy feeds from the State broadcaster. Many viewed the move as punishment for Royal Media Services-owned Citizen TV, a popular private TV in Kenya that supported Azimio la Umoja’s presidential bid, led by Raila Odinga and Martha Karua, her running mate.
Ruto’s presidential campaign team often complained about what they said was unfair coverage by the media house. Dr. SK Macharia, the owner of RMS, openly supported Odinga and even attended some of his rallies on the campaign trail. Giving exclusive rights for airing the ceremony to KBC were said to be a move geared toward making the much-neglected state media regain its lost glory.
However, on the swearing-in day, Citizen TV maintained a commanding lead in viewership of the event. A recent report released by the Media Council of Kenya ranked Citizen TV first, NTV, Nation, and KBC second, third and fourth, respectively.
Hike in fuel and electricity costs anger Kenyans
Thursday, President Ruto scrapped the fuel subsidy, and the fuel prices went up by Sh 20, while electricity shot up by at least Sh 15 per unit. Consequently, the Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza government got lots of criticism from Kenyans, who cried foul of being shortchanged.
Ruto, in his campaigns, had promised to lower the cost of living for every Kenyan so that the average low-earning citizen, who he passionately called Hustlers, would afford the cost of living.
The President argued that the fuel subsidy was not sustainable and would dent Kenya’s ailing economy if left unchecked. Meanwhile, the Kenya Kwanza elected leaders urged Kenyans to be more patient with the President as he navigates to find a lasting solution. On Saturday, Senator Kiprotich Cherargei of Nandi County said Ruto found only Sh 93 million in the treasury. He said the economy is in the ICU, and the new government would have to take time to restore normalcy.
Meanwhile, the impact of fuel price rise is dawning on Kenyans as public transport vehicles have already hiked fares by at least 30 percent.
Raila hints at pushing for IEBC and Judiciary reforms.
After flying out of the country and missing Ruto’s inauguration ceremony, Raila Odinga Thursday returned and went to Mombasa to witness the swearing-in ceremony of ODM’s Abdulswamad Nassir, the new Mombasa Governor.
Odinga said he and his family went to Zanzibar Island to recuperate from the shock of losing the elections. He insisted Ruto was elected by Venezuelans and noted that the Judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, had disappointed Kenyans.
“It is sad how people of this country woke up to vote, but one man by the name Jose Camargo from Venezuela comes to dictate who becomes the President of this country,” Odinga said.
Odinga, the African Union envoy for infrastructure, said he respected the but although he disagrees with its findings. He said he would give his supporters direction on the way forward after the court releases the final judgment.
“We can lead a one million match to the Judiciary and say kwendeni nyumbani! We have a right to say we don’t agree with bad rulings of a Judiciary. It’s our constitutional right to say hii ruling ilikua shenzi,” he said.
Raila Odinga meets Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua
On Friday, the Azimio and ODM boss met with DP Gachagua at Moi Airport in Mombasa and had a private meeting. No one yet knows what was discussed.
“We have tremendous respect for our senior citizens. I was delighted this morning to have a tete a tete with our senior citizen former Prime Minister Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga in Mombasa,” Rigathi wrote on Facebook after the meeting.
President Ruto has maintained he doesn’t recognize handshakes, thus ruling out any possibility of working with Odinga, who joined hands with the former President Kenyatta in 2018, in what was dubbed the handshake. The handshake sidelined former DP Ruto, much to his annoyance and hatred of the “handshake brothers.”
However, the President has said in the past that he wants a strong opposition to check his government and play an oversight role effectively. This statement has been criticized by Azimio leaders and civil rights groups, who have accused Ruto of weakening the opposition and thus maiming democracy by buying Azimio leaders.
In response, the President said: “Many leaders were boxed-in by blackmail into Azimio and would like to join the Kenya Kwanza coalition.”
The Council of Governors’ leadership
Saturday, September 17, governors from the 47 counties in the country settled on Anne Waiguru, the Governor of Kirinyaga County, to be the new chairperson of the Council of Governors. Waiguru becomes the first woman to hold the position.
Waiguru, elected governor on the UDA ticket, will be deputized by Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi of ODM.
The election was held on Saturday in Mombasa County, where the county chiefs met for induction. Waiguru was chosen by consensus after immense lobbying and negotiations from the Kenya Kwanza and Azimio coalitions.
US Embassy in Nairobi eliminates interviews for some categories of visa applications.
The US embassy in Nairobi has scrapped interview requirements for some visa categories to reduce backlogs for visa applications.
The Embassy said Friday that the waiver only applied to non-immigrant visa applicants.
“Effective immediately, those applying for tourist/business (B1/B2), student (F, J, M), or crew visas (C1/D) categories may be eligible for a visa renewal without an interview,” the Embassy wrote on its Twitter page.
The statement said that to qualify, one must apply for the same visa category as in their immediate past, and their visa cannot have expired more than four years ago. The previous limit was one year.
Conventionally, Visa interview appointments take months, and more often than not, there is no guarantee of getting the crucial travel document.
The US Embassy suspended Non-immigrant visa interviews at the Nairobi office for over a year due to Covid-19 safety measures.
In July, the Embassy suspended appointments for visa interviews until June 2024 due to high demand and Covid-linked backlogs. However, it gave exceptions for emergencies such as the death of an immediate family member, people traveling for urgent medical care, and students.
Last month, Meg Whitman, the US Ambassador to Kenya, promised to fast-track the visa application process.
“This is one of my top priorities, and I will be working very closely with the Consular staff here as well as the entire Embassy to see how we can address this issue as fast as possible,” Whitman said in August.
Nick Mwendwa is back at the helm of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF)
Nick Mwendwa, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president who was ousted from office in November last year over corruption charges, stormed back to his high office on September 8, after the Directorate of Public Prosecutions dropped charges against him.
Mwendwa wrote to Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, informing him of his resumption of office.
“I hereby wish to inform your good office that I have resumed my duties as the FKF president, with immediate effect, in accordance with Article 42 of the FKF constitution (2017),” Mwendwa wrote.
The Kenyan soccer boss further informed federation FIFA that the local governing body has made significant progress towards complying with the FIFA directive of February 24, 2022. In addition, he said FKF has scheduled a meeting in the coming days with the newly elected
The Kenyan government, to actualize lifting the FIFA suspension and Kenya’s return to international football.
Upon Mwendwa’s displacement, the government formed a caretaker committee to take care of football matters until issues of FKF were solved.
The FKF boss was charged with embezzling 38 million shillings received from the government and other sponsors and conspiracy to extort the FKF of about Sh 30 million.
Mwendwa denied the allegations.
Uncertainty of Uhuru’s CBC Education Curriculum
The future of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) is in limbo as President Ruto has promised to form a task force to review the new education curriculum that the Uhuru administration fronted to replace the 8-4-4 system.
President William Ruto on Tuesday said his government would establish an Education Reform Task Force that will take in the views of Kenyans on the curriculum.
“We will establish an Education Reform Task Force in the Presidency, which will be launched in the coming weeks,” Ruto said during his inaugural speech at Kasarani stadium.
There have been concerns from parents and even teachers on CBC, notably the double transition of learners to secondary schools in January amid insufficient accommodation and the high curriculum cost.
The CBC curriculum and 100 percent transition policy are one of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legacy projects in education.
Parents from poor households have repeatedly complained about the high costs of buying learning materials for their children and the price of assignments and homework, which is primarily hands-on.
Wilson Sossion, the firebrand former Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General who has opposed CBC since its inception, recently said Kenya has nothing close to the CBC but rather an outcome-based curriculum.
“We are cheating ourselves as a country, and that is why there are a lot of issues that are coming out. It is automatic,” Sossion said.
Sossion said that the CBC was politically motivated and didn’t involve parents or teachers, which has been its biggest impediment.
“You can see there is an outright public outcry, and when a curriculum is not accepted by parents, children are not excited about it, and teachers cannot implement it, so it is the wrong system,” Sossion said.
It is now a matter of time before the country and learners and parents know which way they will take in their education journey.