Day: December 13, 2023

Baringo Governor Benjamin Cheboi has urged county leaders to support a task force report on the establishment of the County University.

Speaking at the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) Baringo Branch Showgrounds during Jamhuri Day celebrations, Cheboi said the report of the task force that he formed is ready and has recommended the university be established at the county headquarters in Kabarnet.

The County boss urged the six members of parliament (MPs) from the county who have been vocal about the matter to put to rest their varied opinions and support the decision by the task force.

‘All I am asking our leaders from the national government is that since President William Ruto himself told us to agree on the location of the university, let us support the idea and not drag the issue further,’ said Governor Cheboi.

Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa addressing a gathering during Jamhuri Day celebrations held at ASK Baringo Branch showgrounds in Kabarnet town on Tuesday. Photo by Vincent Miningwo

He said that the university will be built in honour of the second President, Daniel Arap Moi, who indiscriminately established universities across the country and left out his home county for other leaders to fulfil his dream.

County Assembly Speaker Vincent Kemboi said the issue of the university, which has been unresolved since 2013, rests on the shoulders of the governor, and it will be his legacy if he delivers an institution of higher learning for residents.

He argued that Baringo Central, for a very long time, has proven that it can accommodate all people from all walks of life and that it is fit to host the university.

County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa stated in his remarks that universities can contribute to the economic growth of the county, urging local leaders to set aside their selfish interests and support any decision agreed upon by a majority of residents.

‘As leaders, we need to take this thing very seriously, and if possible, the governor needs to convene a meeting in January next year to
give the exact position so that we can speak in one voice,’ he said.

He noted that when leaders are not united on the issue of the university, the brilliant idea will fail, yet it is something that Baringo desperately needs to nurture skills and provide opportunities to residents.

The 11-member task force was chaired by university Don Prof. Chebutuk Rotich, who was appointed by Governor Cheboi in 2022 and released their recommendations to the governor this year.

A football tournament final was the climax of the celebration, where Ptikii FC from Tiaty Constituency won the 1st edition of the Governor Cheboi Super Cup by beating Chemogoch from Mogotio 4-3 in a post-match penalty shootout.

The well-attended tournament finals were postponed for about two weeks following a dispute launched by Baringo Youth, who later settled for position four after they were defeated by Kabartonjo Sharks by a solitary goal in the playoff encounter.

The winner walked away with a 1-million-shilling cash prize and a trophy and wi
ll proceed to West Pokot County to represent Baringo in the North Rift Onesmus Kipchumba Murkomen (OKM) peace cup alongside Kabarnet rising starlets who won the girls category.

Roads Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who graced the occasion, said they are bringing youth together to end insecurity in the North Rift Region through the soccer tournament.

‘In January, we are going to select 10 students from each warring community and offer them secondary school scholarships through the OKM Foundation. We believe that when they school together, these youths will end insecurity in their homes,’ said the minister.
Source: Kenya News Agency

Kiambu County will in the next financial year increase bursary allocation for secondary and college education to Sh 500 million, up from the Sh 300 million that was given this year, Governor Kimani Wamatangi has announced.

The governor said his administration has now tripled the bursary allocation from Sh100 million in February to an additional Sh100 million in June and another Sh100 million in November, making it Sh300 million, thereby removing financial obstacles that hindered countless needy children from accessing education.

‘Kiambu is among the highest counties on the allocation of bursaries in the country, and come next January, we will be issuing the bursaries at an upward trend of Sh 500 million, and I want to categorically say here that the minimum bursary to be allocated will be Sh 5000 per student and not Sh 2000 as before,’ he said.

Speaking on some of the developments that he is focusing on in the education sector, the governor noted that he has initiated the construction of 180 modern ECDE c
entres with PP1 and PP2 classrooms, offices, ablution blocks, and playgrounds, and this marks the first step in modernising all 524 ECDE centres in the County within three years.

A feeding programme for ECDE pupils has also been introduced, the Governor said, noting that children will be receiving a bowl of porridge daily, three boiled eggs weekly, and a packet of milk every Thursday to boost their potential to learn and thrive.

‘The three eggs, the governor said, will be distributed and sold to the County Government at Sh 18 for an egg, and this will be done by women who have been empowered through a programme of providing them with one-month-old local breed chicks.

‘We aim to distribute 120,000 chicks across 12 sub-counties and target these women as future egg suppliers to support our ECDEs feeding programme,’ the governor said.

Still, in the education sector, Wamatangi said that they have revived the stalled Vocational Training Centre (VTC) construction to enable skill development and empower the youth
.

‘The plan is to establish a VTC in every ward, ensuring avenues for youth to acquire technical skills,’ he said, adding that the county will also donate used vehicles to the youth to be used for training for those undertaking mechanical courses.

Other support will be investing and buying machines for making Cabros concrete blocks, and the county government will be distributing materials for producing the cabros and, in turn, buying the product from the trainees.
Source: Kenya News Agency

One of Kenya’s freedom fighters, Gitu wa Kahengeri, launched his memoir book entitled The Betrayal of Mau Mau Freedom Fighters at Kiambu County during celebrations of Jamhuri Day.

The Mau Mau war veteran who attended the celebrations at the Kirigiti stadium said that although he was happy to have met King Charles of the United Kingdom when he visited the country recently, he was not satisfied with the talks.

‘I told the king that the British made us poor; for years there was no settlement as the British took our land, and above all, some people even went to jail. We remain poor, and they cannot give us money for medicine as compensation. We are still waiting for justice,’ he said.

Some of the war veterans who attended Jamhuri day celebrations in Kiambu.

Gitu was among a few Mau Mau veterans and their descendants who met with King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, with some of the discussion being reparations and compensation for the atrocities committed by the British Government during the Mau Mau upr
ising more than six decades ago.

Although the King acknowledged those atrocities, he was non-committal on compensation.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the Mau Mau fighter asked the sitting Governor Kimani Wamatangi, to ensure he did good for the county by being a good leader and performing well in his duties, saying this will leave a mark and people will remember his good deeds.

The veteran also appealed to Kiambu Members of the County Assembly to amend the name of the Kirigiti Stadium by including the name Mau-Mau in the Kirigiti International Stadium in memory of those who passed on and those who will come.

‘Instead of Kirigiti International Stadium, can you insert the name Mau-Mau in front of Kirigiti or in between Kirigiti and the word International? If you do that, you will leave a mark, he said.

Gitu wa Kahengeri, according to his records, was born on June 1920, and is now 103 years old. He took an oath in support of the Mau Mau Freedom Movement in 1950. He was also jailed together with his father durin
g that time, tortured, and denied food in a British-run labour camp in Kenya. He issued his book to some leaders during the launch.

Governor Wamatangi said, ‘As we think about the selflessness of the heroic generation before us, let us not overlook that their efforts were not solely about transferring power from the colonialists to the black man but marked the genesis of weaving a national fabric aimed at enhancing the lives of every individual and advancing our country as a whole.

The journey, as articulated by the Founding Father, the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Wamatangi said, signified the commencement of a battle against disease, ignorance, and poverty.

Kiambu, he added, has been fortunate to have been among the places that produced individuals who played key roles in securing Kenya’s independence and shaping the nation’s progress after gaining freedom.

‘It is essential that we consistently pay tribute to these remarkable individuals, both men and women, and take pride in our identity as the people of K
iambu,’ Governor Wamatangi said.

The Mau Mau Rebellion took place from 1952 until 1960 and was caused fundamentally by the British colonization of Kenya.
Source: Kenya News Agency