#KENYA: Pres. Ruto Says US Agency Hired Violent "Goons" During Protests

[world politics news]

Kenyan President William Ruto has accused the Ford Foundation, an American private foundation, of sponsoring violence during recent anti-government protests.

Speaking in Nakuru, Kenya on Monday, Ruto claimed that the Foundation hired goons tto cause mayhem during the protests which led to the destruction of property and looting of businesses.

He challenged the organization to rebut the allegations and threatened to expel them from the east African nation.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

KENYA: National Assembly Deploys Police Mission To Haiti [world politics news]

[world politics news]

 

Kenya's National Assembly has approved the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti for a peacekeeping mission.

Lawmakers on Thursday, November 16, adopted a parliamentary joint committee report that recommended the approval of the deployment following a heated debate with opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) opposing the report.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Supreme Court Upholds Presidential Election Victory For Ruto

[world politics news]

Deputy President William Ruto's declaration as president-elect after the August 8th election, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Kenya. Opponents had file petitions with the court alleging massive fraud throughout the country.

Ruto garnered 50.5% of the vote in the closely fought election against 48.8% for Raila Odinga.

The 55-year-old will be sworn in as the country's fifth president on September 13th.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Deputy Pres. Ruto Pulls Ahead In Long Vote Count

[world politics news]

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto has edged ahead in a tight presidential race, according to official results reported by Kenyan media on Sunday, as more riot police were deployed inside the national election tallying centre after scuffles and accusations by party agents.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Economy, Political Permutations At Center of Kenyan Presidential Election

[world politics news] 

Tired of waiting for her daughter to return from voting, Betty Khamayo picked up her eleven-month-old grandson and got into a matatu, a commercial bus just outside her home in Kwanagware on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The matatu took her to a primary school in Kibera, 8km (5 miles) away, the same polling unit that frontline presidential candidate Raila Odinga had voted earlier in the day.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Parliamentarians' Perks Cut

[world politics news]

Kenya has stopped giving Lawmakers sitting allowances and car grants.

Incoming Members of Parliament will now have to buy their own cars if they want.

Kenya will reportedly save $8.4 million yearly by doing this.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Chinese Debt Paid Through Borrowing

[world politics news]

Kenya paid off a Chinese principal loan of Sh17.5 billion with another debt in the last financial year exposing the country’s limited reserves, a National Treasury document shows.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Jubilee Party Vows Crackdown On Renegade Members Of Parliament

[world politics news]

Kenya's Jubilee Party has warned that it will not tolerate acts of indiscipline by its members.

Ten MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto have accused the party leadership of using State agencies to harass and intimidate them.

The MPs led by Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati) claimed there is an elaborate plan to arrest them, using fabricated charges

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Governor Stokes Controversy Putting Beer In Coronavirus Care Packages

[world politics news]

Recipients of Nairobi politician Mike Sonko's Covid-19 care packages can expect to receive the typical food staples except for one item -- alcohol.

Sonko, the governor of the Kenyan capital city, Nairobi, confirmed in a media briefing on Tuesday that his care packages include a few small bottles of the cognac, Hennessy.

The governor justified the inclusion of alcohol as "throat sanitizer."

"I think from the research conducted by the World Health Organization and various organizations, it has been believed that alcohol plays a major role in killing the coronavirus," Sonko said in a video.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: World Bank Warns Gov't Over Debt Ceiling Hikes

[world politics news]

A World Bank report released this week warns that Kenya is drifting towards debt distress, owing to the government’s huge appetite for expensive loans.

The Kenyan Parliament, on the same day when the World Bank report was released, approved the National Treasury’s push to raise the borrowing cap from about 50% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product to an absolute figure of 9 trillion Kenyan Shillings.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Budget Office Warns Of Overspending By Gov't Departments

[world politics news]

A parliamentary office that advises lawmakers on financial, budgetary and economic matters has raised the red flag over a 78 billion shilling (US$770 million) increase in the budget for the financial year starting July above parliament-approved spending limits.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has warned that such an upward adjustment may widen the deficit in the budget resulting in increased borrowing or growth in pending bills and stalling of budgeted projects. The office noted that many government departments were overspending their allocated budget estimates.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#UGANDA: Finance Min. Says China Won't Seize National Assets Over Debt Repayment Concerns

[world politics news]

China will not take over Uganda's assets because of failure to pay back loans, Finance minister Matia Kasaija has said.

Kasaija says Ugandans shouldn't be worried because all the money owed to China shall be serviced thanks to the government's smart investment decisions. Uganda owes China $1.6 billion. Kasaija said Uganda's economy is growing at a fast pace, adding that unless there is a catastrophe, nothing will stop Uganda from servicing the Chinese loans.

A June 2018 report showed public debt amounted to $10.7 billion, 41.5% of the country's GDP. The international standard is 50% or higher.

Last year, China took over Sri Lanka's port for 99 years over failure to service loans. There are reports that China may take over Zambia's airport and national power distributor, and Kenya's Mombasa port, due to these countries' failure to service their loans.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#KENYA: Supreme Court Nullifies September Presidential Elections

[world politics news]

Kenya's Supreme Court has annulled the result of last month's presidential election, citing irregularities, and ordered a new one within 60 days. The election commission had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes. Raila Odinga, Kenyatta's opponent, said the commission was "rotten" and demanded resignations and prosecutions. President Kenyatta said he would respect the court's decision but also branded the judges "crooks".

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KENYA: Opposition Vows To Overturn "Sham" Election Results

[world politics news]

Kenya's opposition has accused the government of "state terror" and vowed to overturn a "sham" result. Senior opposition official James Orengo said they would not go to court to achieve this. He urged people to stay calm and out of harm's way. Orengo alleged that about 100 people had been killed by the Kenyan security forces but did not offer evidence. Official results gave President Uhuru Kenyatta 54.3%. His challenger Raila Odinga called the election a "charade."

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KENYA: Election Commission Denies Oppo Pty Hacking Claim

[world politics news]

Kenya's electoral commission has denied opposition claims its IT system was hacked in order to manipulate Tuesday's election results. Chief electoral officer Ezra Chiloba told reporters the systems were not compromised at any point.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KENYA: Legislation Would Give Mothers Of Newborns 6 Months Unpaid Leave

[world politics news]

Working mothers in Kenya could spend at least six months with their newborns if an amendment to the Employment Act that seeks to increase maternity leave is adopted. Buuri MP Kinoti Gatobu is proposing the law to provide for an option to extend maternity leave by another three months without pay.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KENYA: Clerics, Pols, Urge Pres. Kenyatta: Don't Reopen 2007 Election Violence Wounds

[world politics news]

Clerics and opposition party politicians have called on Pres. Uhuru Kenyatta not to reopen old wounds following his statement he made linking opposition leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to election violence in 2007, in which Odinga was a presidential candidate. Bishops Mwai Abiero of the Anglican Church of Kenya and Washington Ogonyo Ngede said Odinga was not involved in the violence.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: Anglican Bishop Mwai Abiero of Maseno South diocese at St Stephen's Cathedral in Kisumu

#KENYA: Bill Would Force Alcohol Manufacturers To "Insure" Drinkers, Pay Survivor's Families

[world politics news]

A legislator is proposing a bill that would force manufacturers of alcohol and beer to "insure" users and pay out benefits to families harmed by alcohol use. The bill would make leading brewers and distillers responsible for the "consequences" or aftermath of drinking consumers.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KENYA: Senate Speaker Orders Probe Into Police Surrounding Parliament During Session

[world politics news]

The speaker of Kenya's Senate has ordered a probe into why police cordoned off parliament during a session in which the ruling coalition pushed through a series of election reforms. Ekwee Ethuro directed the House National Security Committee to look into the matter and report back to the House. "This is not a police state. This is a democracy," Ethuro told senators.

#KENYA: Opposition Rails Against New Election Law In Chaotic Special Session

[world politics news]

Security personnel besieged Parliament Monday, blocking all roads to the chambers, disabling internet and telephone communication during a debate on a controversial election reform bill. Opposition members briefly prevented the speaker of the House from entering the chamber, where the special session debated the changes, which the government said would make elections more transparent.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: MP Millie Odhiambo and other Opposition MPs protest at Parliament Buildings Monday during a Special Sitting of the House.