The run-away criminal killed by police in Kenya

*”Ms Felista Wanjiru, 28, the wife of most wanted gangster who was gunned down by police yesterday, spoke about her life with a criminal.

Until two weeks ago, when the photograph of her husband, Simon Matheri Ikere, was published in newspapers and broadcast on TV news bulletins, she always believed that he was a taxi driver at the city centre.

Ms Felister Wanjiru Matheri, wife of the most wanted criminal Simon Matheri, in a police vehicle with her children after police shot Matheri in his Athi River house early yesterday.

After the truth had finally dawned on her, Ms Wanjiru fled from her matrimonial home.

The decision made her discover the other side of the gunrunner which he had managed to conceal from her for two years.

The night raid

“He called my brother and warned that he would follow and kill me if I refused to go back to him,” she said yesterday, moments after the night raid.

Cowed by the threat, she returned home and Matheri confiscated her cell phone so that she would not contact anybody.

Mr Matheri was on the police list of most wanted criminals and Sh150,000 bounty had been placed on his head and an equal amount for members of his gang. The money would be given to anyone who gave information leading to their arrest.

Police also described him as a dangerous man who did not hesitate to pull the trigger on his victims, saying he was always armed.

“He would beat me up any time I answered him back,” said the wife.

She went on: “The last time was two days ago (Sunday) when he got so annoyed and carried away two beds from this house, a wall unit and an arm chair.”

The furniture was transported to another of Matheri’s homes in Ongata Rongai.

The home in Athi River, where he was killed, had three rooms plus a wash room.

The living room was furnished with a single sofa set and a coffee table. 

At one corner was a 14 inch television set and a VCD player.

Two portraits that hang on the wall betrayed his obsession with violence similar to those seen in action-packed movies.

A portrait of martial arts legend and actor Bruce Lee as well as another of former Hollywood award-winning actor for his role in action thrillers Arnold Schwarzenegger, were displayed on the wall.

When the Nation visited the scene of the shooting yesterday, the house in which Matheri lived looked just ordinary.

He had spent his last hours asleep on a mattress which was strewn on the floor of the bedroom. His accomplice was sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the kitchen.

And six children, three who were sired by Matheri in a separate marriage, shared a sofa set in the living room.

The kitchen was equipped with a small gas cylinder and it was evident from the dishes, that Matheri had fed on a meal of chicken and chapati before he had retired for the night.

“On a bad day, he gave me Sh200 to spend for two days but at times, I spent Sh1,000 everyday for meals,” said Ms Wanjiru.

The criminal was also a man of many women. Beside Ms Wanjiru, he had another wife in Thika and another in Ongata Rongai.

Ms Wanjiru and Matheri first met in February 2005 when she was desperate to get a companion after her former husband of 10 years, Mr Coggy Njoroge, died of illness at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Amazingly, she has never seen Matheri holding a firearm.

“Even after I saw his photograph in the newspapers and on TV, he convinced me that he was not a criminal. He warned me against listening to what other people said,” said Ms Wanjiru.

But the criminal had a human feeling for innocent children. It was best displayed in his last moments on earth.

His wife had requested him to abide by police orders and move out of the house lest they sprayed bullets through the windows and kill her and the children.

Witnessed the killing

“I told him to get out of the house and surrender to police at least for the sake of the children and he obliged without question,” she said.

Yesterday, she witnessed the killing of a man who she had stayed with since February 2005 alongside an accomplice identified as “M” alias Gathumbi.

According to police reports, Matheri was the leader of a four-man gang and so, two others are still at large.

One of them was identified by Ms Wanjiru as Ikumu, saying he was a frequent visitor at the house.

Nairobi police boss Njue Njagi, who visited the scene, said the hunt was on for the rest of the gang members.”*

Related story:

• Most wanted Kenyan criminal on the run

*”/”*Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525.source.nation.ke

Uganda woman arrested with three AK-47 guns

*”POLICE in Nairobi have arrested a Ugandan woman in whose house they recovered three deadly weapons and tens of rounds of ammunition. The recovery of three AK-47 rifles on Sunday evening came as police intensified the war against violent crime in Nairobi.

According to police in Kasarani, the Ugandan woman was arrested in her rented house within Mathare Area 4 following an impromptu operation in the area.

Kasarani divisional police chief, Paul Ruto said police officers raided the house following a tip-off from a member of the public.

He said the officers who raided the house found the woman off guard and carried out a thorough search before they recovered the firearms hidden in an inner room.

Also recovered from the house were 75 rounds of ammunition.

The woman is said to have confessed that the firearms belonged to her alleged husband who was away during the raid. It was not clear whether the man had sensed danger and escaped the police dragnet or whether it was just a matter of luck.

The woman was later driven away by security officers to a city police station where she was locked up for the night.

“We have the suspect in our custody and we are interrogating her to find out why she possessed the illegal firearms,” said Ruto.

Police suspect that the owners of the house, where the recovery was made might have been involved in criminal activities either by directly engaging in violent crimes or by hiring known criminals.

In Kayole, police officers acted swiftly and cornered two suspects who were robbing residents of Matopeni slums yesterday at about 10.00 am.

One of the gangster was gunned down and a toy pistol recovered from him, while his accomplice escaped narrowly.

Kayole police boss, Leonard Amollo, said his officers had received information from members of the public who had earlier been waylaid by the two suspects.

He said the officers who were on patrol within the area rushed and managed to catch up with the suspects who were using the toy pistol to scare and rob their victims. The suspects run into trouble with law enforcers when they attempted to flee after being ordered to surrender.

One of them was gunned down before he could disappear within the crowd, said the police.

Police have in the recent weeks intensified the war against gun-crime following the escalating cases of murder and violent robbery by armed criminals.

At least 60 people among them police officers and innocent civilians have fallen to the gunman bullet this year alone.

Most of those who have fallen victims and survived criminal attacks say the assailants were armed with deadly weapons including the AK 47 rifles. Questions have been raised on how criminals - mostly aged between 18 to 30 - acquire the weapons which are only licenced to be carried by law enforcers.

Following the upsurge in crime this year, Police Commissioner Maj-Gen Hussein Ali announced monetary rewards for all individuals who would assist the police in recovering illegal weapons. Those surrendering an AK 47 rifle were promised Sh 50,000 while those with a pistol were to receive Sh 20,000.”*

*”/”*Lifted and Published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.times.ke

Tourism in Kenya

Tourism sector is Kenya’s Key economic contributer and has over the last 2 Years experienced immense growth.

For instance, the sector contributes 12.6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, 14.7 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.

Despite the travel advisories issued by some of our tourist generating markets, the performance of the sector last year was the best in the last 15 years. The international and cross border visitor arrivals grew by 22.2 percent from 1,146,100 in 2003 to about 1,400,00 in 2004.

Tourism earnings increased by 46.7 percent from Kenya Shillings 25.7 billion in 2003 to 42.5 billion in 2004. This is no doubt an impressive achievement.

The half year results for 2005 show that Tourism has earned Kshs 23.4 Billion which is an increase of Kshs 3.7 billion compared to last year’s results.

The number of tourists visiting Kenya has increased by 10.5 percent with emarging markets in India, Japan, USA and China leading. The sector has so far created 168,000 formal jobs and over 3 Million indirect jobs.
Memorable wildlife safaris, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, sports tourism, businness tourism and an individual tourism are Kenya’s major attractions.

For more information on tourism visit Kenya Tourism Board website www.magicalkenya.com

Lifted by Korir and published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source. Office of public communication.

Kenya: Is President Kibaki using tax payer’s money in the right way?

The answer is yes, according to Dr Mutua. Read his message below:

APN

___

Today, we present to wananchi an ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT detailing just some of the achievements that have been generated by President Mwai Kibaki’s focused leadership. The question is “What has President Kibaki’s Government achieved?”.

Kenyans have a right to know how their taxes have been spent and the type of governance that they elected to serve them. As servants given a job have to report back to their employer, the Government is telling its employer – all Kenyans – “This is what we have been doing and will continue to do with the mandate you have given us”.

The achievements of President Kibaki’s leadership are numerous and outstanding and all Kenyans have in one way or another benefitted greatly. That is a fact. Several things need to be noted:

1. This is a statement of fact – what is detailed is the truth – anyone can check on it, find it and in many cases touch it. It is an ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT and not a political statement,
2. As President Kibaki has put it “Things have gotten better and they are going to get even better”,
3. What the book and the booklets show is that Kibaki’s Government has brought real benefits to Kenyans – “Manufaa halisi kwa Wakenya wote”,
4. Let us be judged, not by how much noise we make or ridicule we inflict on each other but by what we do to improve the lives of Kenyans,
5. It is clear that Kenyans are tired of empty politics and want development,that is why they are constantly asking for development projects,
6. We leave politics to the politicians and present to Kenyans an ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT that asks; “What has President Kibaki’s Government achieved?”,
7. As a result of the many changes presented here – it is clear that my life, your life and the lives of our children will never be the same again - we are on a stable parth to prosperity,
8. Not everything is perfect. There is still work that needs to be done but a consistent journey has begun and Kenyans are better for it,
9. This ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT focuses on issues that directly change the lives of ordinary mwananchi – not just theories or clamour for various positions – however, important. It is about water for the villager, medicine for the mother, electricity to the youth entreprenuer etc.

Let the truth – the facts be told. Real benefits to all Kenyans.

Dr. Alfred N. Mutua, E.B.S.
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY & GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON

Lifted and Published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no,

Fur found in taco meat in Norway

Gilde has changed its name to Nortura, but packages of its meat products are still on the market. Some of the “foreign objects” in the taco meat are shown here.

PHOTO: Paul Sigve Amundsen/bt.no

Just a week after some Norwegian meat-eaters found a claw in their sausage, a mother in Bergen also had a nasty surprise during Friday night’s taco dinner. Karina Angvik and her two daughters had made tacos at their home in Bergen’s Fyllingsdalen district, using ground beef from the large Norwegian meat producer that recently changed its name from Gilde to Nortura.

As Gilde, the meat producer had to battle a barrage of criticism when some of its meat products were found to contain the dreaded E-coli bacteria. Several children died before Gilde and health authorities traced the bacteria to some cold cuts.

Gilde has had a string of other problems as well, and last week, an eight-year-old girl in Trondheim found what her father believed was a rat’s foot in her sausage. The sausage was also produced by Gilde, now Nortura.

The company’s product problems don’t seem to have been solved with the name change. Angvik told web site bt.no that she tried to stay calm for her daughters’ sake while eating the Nortura/Gilde taco meat.

“We had eaten up most (of the dinner) when I felt I had something strange in my mouth,” she said. “I could tell right away it was something with animal fur.”

Nina Sunqvist, communications director at Nortura, said it was “both uncomfortable and serious” when something like this happens. “It’s uncomfortable that the standards we set for quality aren’t met,” she said.

Sunqvist said Nortura will analyze the ground beef and the “foreign objects” Angvik found. “We must find out what they are, and which plant produced the meat,” she said.

By Nina Berglund

 

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no. tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.aftenpostenENG

Statistics on viewer development today by 20.00

Country Share
Continent Share

Figure nr 1. shows viewers in percentage pr country by today at 20.00

Figure nr 2. shows viewers in percentage pr continent by today at 20.00

We update the statistics now and then.

By Statistics section

Published by African Press in Norway, APN, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525

This winter’s unpredictable weather continues to baffle Norwegians

 

It will probably be possible for sledding enthusiasts to once again zoom down some hills in the Oslo area. PHOTO: CORNELIUS POPPE / SCANPIX And local trails may beckon skiers again, too. PHOTO: HĂ…KON MOSVOLD LARSEN / SCANPIX

Extreme cold last week gave way to spring-like conditions over the weekend, but now forecasters are warning of Siberian-type temperatures during the next few days. Thermometers in the Oslo area have gone from one extreme to another recently. It was minus-20 Celsius in some areas two Sundays ago, but well above the freezing point and raining this past Saturday.

A bit of sun peeped out on Sunday, reminding locals of weather that’s more common well after Easter.

Now it’s grey and gloomy again, after a sudden, heavy snowstorm slowed Tuesday’s morning rush-hour traffic. It was expected to snow or at least sleet on and off all day, even though meteorologists didn’t expect more than a few centimetres of the white stuff to build up.

They predicted, though, that temperatures would plummet during the next few days, because of a serious high-pressure system over the Barents Sea. It was sending cold air and wind from the northeast over most of Norway.

“Lillehammer could see temperatures down to 20 below during the next few days,” Knut Røstad of the state Meteorological Institute told Aftenposten.no. “And since the winds will be coming from the northeast, it can feel like Siberian conditions.”

Snow was expected to keep falling sporadically through Friday. The thousands of Norwegians currently in the mountains in connection with the annual winter school holidays were advised to be prepared for blustery, extremely cold weather.

It was expected to be coldest in northern Norway, with temperatures dipping into the minus-30s.

By Nina Berglund

 

*”/”*Lifted and published by African Press in Norway, apn, africanpress@chello.no tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525 source.aftenpostenENG

The Manavgat “child custody” case in Turkey - the Norwegian authorities are the kidnappers

A coming court case in Turkey has been reported several times on Norwegian tv and in the press over the last couple of months. The reports here are skewed to suit official Norwegian ideology as practiced by our authorities, to the detriment of families.

It is important that the people of Turkey should be informed that the Turkish family which has been hit by the actions of the Norwegian state are in good company – with several thousand Norwegian individuals and families who try to defend themselves against similar actions from the authorities here.

It is impossible to know fully from the Norwegian press reports the true facts of the case, since the Norwegian press and media are very authority-obedient in this kind of social issue. The authorities themselves only state whatever suits their purpose and regularly hinder information from the victims.

I therefore do not know the name of the Turkish couple or their lawyer but would like to ask any reader in Turkey or anybody with connections there to try and pass on to them this information about the state of child protection in Norway, if possible before the case goes to court.  

What can be understood from the press is as follows:
A married couple from Turkey have been settled in Stavanger in Norway with their two sons. The Norwegian social authorities (the CPS - child protection services) took their children away from them 4 years ago and placed the children in a Norwegian foster-home. The children were then about 5 and 7 years old. The children have been prevented from keeping up their Turkish language (there is no information of any other possible language background of the parents) and have also not been brought up as Muslims, although that is what the parents want. The authorities have curtailed every contact between parents and children as much as possible. Still, the boys fortunately still have their Turkish citizenship. (The popular ideology here is for the courts to take away all parental rights to children taken by the social services, and adopt away foster children against the will of biological parents.)The biological parents had to flee back to Turkey because the mother was pregnant again and the Norwegian social services were planning to take that child as well. They are now living in Turkey.

Then, a couple of months ago the Norwegian foster parents went to Manavgat with the two boys for a holiday. The biological parents probably had some sort of contact and knew about this, because they have tried to take the boys back. This is portrayed in the Norwegian media as the parents kidnapping children to whom they have no bonds and have no rights.

The boys, now about 9 and 11 years old, seem to have been completely brain-washed against their parents by the Norwegian foster parents and child protection authorities, and are said to be frightened of their parents.

There is evidently going to be a court case in Manavgat starting on the 3rd July. In the meantime the foster parents tried to take the boys out of Turkey but were stopped and are not permitted to do so, which is at least something to be thankful for.

The Norwegian propaganda has a free run. The social services spend large sums translating their reports into Turkish and sending their lawyer to Turkey, to hold press conferences there and present the Norwegian social services as almost saintly assistance to children and the foster parents as wonderful.

The foster parents are allowed free access on tv, and say that since the boys have been with them for 4 years that is of course where they belong and that if the Turkish courts decide that the boys should be returned to their biological parents, then the foster parents will take the boys and flee to some other country. This is portrayed as heroic. Nobody in Norway is given the possibility of coming forward to say the same of the actions of the biological parents, who cannot forget their children.

Their love for their children, who have not only been “placed” with them for 4 years, is condemned as criminal and their action trying to defend their family, first against the social services and then against the foster parents, is condemned as kidnapping.

Such action on the part of the authorities in a so-called welfare state like Norway – the action of taking children from their parents, paying foster parents large sums over several years, and mobilising lawyers and the press in order to stop the biological parents from having their children returned to them – I am sure must strike you as very serious and one’s first thought is that the parents must be dangerous criminals, possibly child molesters. However, this is very unlikely.

I have, together with other people who have seen the actions of the Nordic child protection authorities over a number of years now, experienced that the field of social work relating to children has gone quite in the wrong direction here. There are so many thousand social workers, psychologists etc who need jobs that the majority of child “protection” cases are simply created by them and are without foundation in fact. It is an industry.

The result is that we “oppositionals” have had to try and start up information about the ugly truth: the actions of the social authorities simply destroy families, with terrible results above all for the children. The suffering of the parents is also almost beyond belief.

I can tell you that there are new families ringing us up every week, people in the process of being deprived of their children on the basis of false accusations, people whose children have been taken and who are condemned for trying to get them back. They have a hard time understanding that this is not some accidental error, which will quickly be rectified by talking to the social services or will at least be quashed in court.

There are many research reports about the ill effects of the child protection industry internationally, and they all show the same negative results for children deprived of their real families – they quite often experience it as a total destruction of their childhood and even of the rest of their lives, not to mention how it affects the children that the authorities have also destroyed the lives of the parents.

The social personnel in power and the political authorities close their eyes entirely to this and continue their vilification of parents. They also try to stop any information that does not suit their book, and if possible punish and ostracise those who raise their voice against the destruction of families.

I know personally a number of parents, and some children, who have been victims of such family destruction. I have also functioned as an expert witness in court, both here and in Sweden, for parents desperately trying to get their children back from the authorities, and have read all documents including court judgments in many dozen other cases as well. I have to say that it is the rule, not the exception, that the authorities come up with unfounded accusations about parents and children, and are permitted by the courts to do so.

The same sort of development is taking place in other countries as well, but the Nordic countries are probably somewhat extreme. My assessment is that the reason is the affluence here, which makes it possible for the authorities to spend millions on wholely destructive actions against families instead of on real social work and assistance to the aged, the sick and the poor. The social services are extra active against families of non-Nordic origin.

In this particular case, according to newspaper reports the husband has been involved in some narcotics business and is also said to be violent. One cannot at all be sure of the truth or seriousness of such accusations against parents at all, they are found in every child protection case, and can often be proven to be false – but the children are taken nevertheless. The father has said that his dealings with drugs started when their children were taken from them.

Nothing is said about the mother in the case but the regular thing for the social authorities is that they claim that parents are “unsuited”. As regards all the actions of the Norwegian authorities and foster parents against the parents in this case, they are exactly of the type that we see in practically every case.

I can tell you that we have cases here of parents – unfortunately few – who see the danger early enough, and take their children and flee abroad. The Norwegian authorities pursue them even abroad if they can, turn up with “impressive court verdicts” and try to have children and parents extradited, the parents being taken to court for prison sentences.

There was a newspaper interview with the Norwegian lawyer of the biological mother a couple of days ago. Unfortunately she seems completely subservient to the usual official Norwegian views, so what good she can do for her client is difficult to understand. I can only hope that they have a Turkish lawyer who is more firm, more ethical, and less frightened, so that the biological parents can have their children restored to them.

I should very much have liked some information about the experiences of Norwegian victims of the child protection industry to be passed on to the Turkish public and at least to the Turkish lawyer of this couple, before the court case starts. There are a couple of Nordic web sites which have information in English (and some in French and German):

http://nkmr.org
http://www.barnasrett.no

Especially the first of these has a very wide range of articles in English. Very serious consideration should be given to the articles by Siv Westerberg, the Swedish lawyer who has been the most active in taking such cases against Sweden to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

I know of the Kurd cases against Turkey in Strasbourg, but I hope that any “national” misgivings people in Turkey might have on that count would not prevent them from looking impartially at the child protection cases – in which our Nordic authorities do not in fact protect children at all.

If this information can reach anybody in Turkey and perhaps do a little to help this Turkish couple and their children, who have without any doubt been very harmfully treated by the Norwegian social authorities, we should be very grateful. Information, publicity, warning about the child protection industry also helps new potential victims to be forewarned.

By Marianne Haslev Skanland, Bergen, Norway
(university professor) 

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Note: “This article has previously been published on another website”.
Professor Marianne H. SkĂĄnland champions the rights of children in Norway. Apn editorial
 

Published by African Press in Norway, APN, africanpress@chello.no, tel +47 932 99 739 or +47 6300 2525