Another Election leads to more Controversy

 

 

by Scott A Morgan

 

 

There has been another controversial election in Africa. The circumstances are very unique. A Southern African Country was having an Election for the first time in almost two decades. So what would happen?

 

After the End of the long Liberation Struggle against Portugal and the Civil War that drew in both South Africa and Cuba a Peace Accord was signed. A Muli-Party Democracy came into being. Even though the ruling MPLA has had a long run ruling the Country these elections were seen as crucial for the Country.

 

But not having any form of Elections since 1992 has led to several problems in the country. There have been reports of Massive Delays that even occured in the Capital of Luanda. It was then announced that the elections would continue the next day. The Political Opposition has also stated that the Ruling Party has had a stranglehold on the State Sanctioned Media Outlets.

 

There are ample reason for concern by the United States. Earlier this year Angola overtook Nigeria as the largest supplier of Petroleum to the US From Africa. Also Angola has had close ties with Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and can be seen by some people in the light of “if Angola can hold free and fair elections then why can’t Zimbabwe.”

 

Security Planners in the US will also keep an eye on these Elections as well. Lying at the lower point of the Gulf of Guinea a region where there are Oil, Drug Traffickers and Insurgents in plain view could make this Election more important in Washington then they are in the Rest of the Region. And Events in Zimbabwe do not help Regional Stability anyway.

 

We have to Remember that these are Parliamentary Elections. So these elections will determine who the Lawmakers are. There is a viable option that the ruling MPLA will win to keep a “good thing going.” Some Oppositon Parties have called for a re-running of these elections. It doesnt appear that a regression back into Civil War is likely but a New Parliament is a good thing for Angola.

 

The Author Publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at morganrights.tripod.com

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Published by African Press International – api

The falling relationship: PNU and ODM in Kenya

A power-sharing agreement between theopposition Orange Democratic Movement and the Party of National Unityin Kenya has failed at healing ethnic divisions in the one-timepolitically-troubled East African nation, according to a new report byMinority Rights Group International

Tens of thousands of Kenyans remain displaced, living in miserable conditions in transit camps, while ethnic tensions fester, following the country’s worst outbreak of violence,” says the London-based organisation.

The clashes, which broke out after disputed election results early this year, left Kenya with its biggest crisis ever in terms of internally displaced persons (IDPs). Over 400,000 were driven from their homes, and 1,500 were killed.

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Published by African Press International – api/Source.KikuyuNationalismsite

Kenya: He left when I needed him most

Maureen and Jose  

By CAROLINE NJUNG’E

In Summary

• Haemophilia is a hereditary, life-long condition that is passed from mother to child.
• The powder-like substance cost as much as Sh14, 000 a vial.

When Maureen Miruka’s son, Joseph, or Jose as he was fondly known, died in April last year, she felt as if she had no more strength to carry on.

The boy, then six, had been diagnosed with haemophilia, a blood clotting disorder, as a toddler. Haemophilia, which affects only boys, is a hereditary, life-long condition that is passed from mother to child. People with the condition suffer excessive bleeding, even from a tiny cut. Sometimes, the bleeding does not stop without some form of intervention.

The day Jose was diagnosed with the condition marked the beginning of the end of Maureen’s previously happy marriage. Calamity tends to bring out the best — or worst — in us, and Maureen says that, while it is easy to love and be happy with someone when things are going well, when calamity strikes, that love is severely tested, and you get to know whether it was genuine or not.

“I realised that something was wrong when Jose started getting mysterious bumps and bruises on his hands and knees as soon as he started crawling,” recalls Maureen, a research scientist with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).

At the time, she was living in Kisii with her husband son. She assumed that it was just an allergy, until a friend called her at work one day and told her that Jose had cut himself, and that the bleeding would not stop.

“On several occasions, I had noticed a little blood on his tongue while breastfeeding him but assumed that he had just bitten himself.

“What I did not know was that he was swallowing most of it.”

Alarmed, Maureen took her son to a paediatrician in Kisii, who advised her to take him to Nairobi for extensive tests. That day was to mark the beginning of the battle to keep her son alive and the deterioration of her marriage.

When she reached Nairobi, she went to the Aga Khan Hospital, where doctors spent three days probing for Jose’s veins so that they could draw blood.

“His veins were deeply retracted, making them difficult to find. It was very traumatic for , who did not understand why all those people were hurting him. When they finally managed to draw blood and conduct tests, Jose was diagnosed with haemophilia.”

Maureen says that the doctors who were seeing her son did not seem to know much about the illness, so she had to get most of the information on the Internet.

For instance, she found out for herself that she carried the haemophilia gene, and that she had passed it on to her son. She also learnt that Factor, the medicine that aids clotting in people with haemophilia, is crucial to the management of the condition.

However, it was expensive. The powder-like substance cost as much as Sh14, 000 a vial, yet she sometimes needed more than one to stop the bleeding.

Even more distressing was that Maureen did not know anyone else with a haemophilic child, so she had no one to compare notes with.

Before she identified a doctor who understood the condition, Jose was subjected to trial-and-error treatments, which only traumatised him further.

At one point, a desperate Maureen, who was frequently in and out of hospital with her son, answered to an advert from a local health centre claiming that they had a cure for haemophilia.

“They assured me that they could cure the condition within three months. Each visit cost me around Sh9,000. By the time I realised that they were conning me, I had spent a lot of money and my son had developed hyperacidity from the medication they had been prescribing. Haemophilia has no cure,” she says

By that time, her marriage was going steadily downhill. Jose was frequently sick, and this was putting great financial and emotional strain on her relationship with her husband.

“Our son’s illness really put a lot of pressure on us. Though he never said it, I had the feeling that my husband blamed me since I am the one who passed the condition on to Jose.”

Without her husband’s support, the burden of their son’s hospital bills fell squarely on Maureen’s shoulders. She felt like a single parent, but at the back of her mind she was secretly hoping that the her husband would offer the support she so desperately needed.

When Jose was two, Maureen conceived. But her relationship with her husband was still shaky and far from happy. She was constantly stressed, trying to cope with her responsibilities at work, scrimping to save money to buy her son’s medication and education and worrying about him while at work.

“I never switched off my phone when Jose was alive and always had it with me wherever I went. Every time I received a call from Nelly, my house-help, or Jose’s school, I would assume the worst and my heart would literally miss a beat,” she offers.

The strain was too much and she miscarried when she was five months pregnant.

“The experience was painful, but looking back, it was only a matter of time before it happened,” she recalls, her eyes downcast. She notes that the pressure of caring for a sick child can easily get to you and if you have an unsupportive partner, it can weigh you down.

Getting a suitable school for Jose was also a problem.

“Because of the sensitivity of his condition, he could not engage in activities like swimming, football, or playing the normal, rough childhood games in case he hurt himself. It was, therefore, necessary to find a school that would offer round-the-clock care,” she explains.

After a gruelling search, she finally found one where the teachers were willing to carry Jose around when his joints bled, making it painful to walk on his own, and where his schoolmates understood why they could not push or hit him during play.

By then, Maureen had been transferred to Nairobi, a move for which she was grateful because her son could receive proper medical care. Soon after the move, however, her husband announced that he was travelling abroad in search of a better job.

“I could tell that he was frustrated by all the challenges Jose’s illness presented, but I never thought that he would abandon us. I have never been so hurt in my life, especially on Jose’s behalf, because he really needed both of us.”

Having been constantly at her son’s side for six years, Maureen observes that sick children constantly battle low self-esteem. She, therefore, knew that his father’s departure would impact negatively on him, even if it was only for a short time.

“Initially, he would call me regularly and ask to talk to Jose but after a while, he cut off communication with me and would call Nelly instead and ask to speak to Jose,” she says.

She acknowledges that although this was not the ideal situation, she was grateful that he was making an effort to keep in touch with their son. But this was not to last.

Eventually, the phone calls came fewer and farther between, until they fizzled out altogether. But what hurt her most was that he did not bother to come for their son’s funeral last year.

Citing her experience, Maureen believes that it is better for a child to be brought up by one dedicated parent rather than by two who are constantly fighting.

Early in April last year, just after the Easter holidays, Jose got so sick that he could not walk. He also started experiencing difficulty in breathing. It was as if the little boy knew he was dying because at some point, on the way to hospital, he suddenly turned to his mother and told her that he was dying.

Maureen recalls him saying, “Mum, you know I’m dying? Get me a brother or sister so that when I die, you will not be left alone.”

“I nearly lost my mind,” Maureen recalls.

Jose s doctor recommended a minor operation to ease the breathing. However, an operation that was supposed to take just 30 minutes lasted six hours. Before that, they had spent another four hours trying to locate a vein, which infuriated Jose, who was in excruciating pain.

“I think towards the end, he just got tired of it all because during those four hours, he did not stop fighting anyone who tried to touch him.”

When Jose was wheeled out of theatre, he had tubes protruding from all over his body, blood steadily dripping down them. Maureen nearly went into shock. It turned out that the ear, nose and throat specialists who operated on him knew nothing about his condition; they had no idea what Factor was or how it was mixed and administered.

Maureen had to rush home for some vials to stem the bleeding.

But nothing could have prepared her for what happened that evening. After Jose was injected with the Factor, all signs were that he was would make it.

He had been through the worst, and she was just waiting for him to wake up so that she could take him home. But that was not to be. That day, April 25, Jose finally succumbed to his illness.

Maureen had gone to the car to catch a few minutes’ sleep and was just drifting off when her mother, who had been keeping vigil by Jose’s bedside, called her. She raced into his ward, only to find medical personnel surrounding her son’s bed, all life support machines off.

“He looked very peaceful, like he was sleeping. It is sad that he died just when he was beginning to understand his condition. He understood what was expected of him when he saw the Factor. He would just extend his arm, sit still and let it be injected into his veins.

That is what saddens me most,” says Maureen, who took a long time to come to terms with her son’s death.

“He was an only child and my life was wrapped around him. I was so heartbroken,” she says, tears welling in her eyes.

But she remains grateful for the time she had with her son, who she describes as happy, grown-up and a joy to be around.
“We would joke that he died at 28. He was intelligent beyond his age,” she says.

It is while grieving that she came up with the idea of doing something to honour her son’s memory. That is how the Jose Memorial Haemophilia Society was born.

“Another reason I decided to form the organisation is the shortage of information on the condition. A lot of parents are groping in the dark and as a result, their children are suffering, with some getting crippled, not to mention the psychosocial stress these families go through.”

So far, the organisation has 16 active members, parents with children who have the condition. They are planning to conduct a base study to find out the number of haemophiliacs in the country, and whether their condition is mild, moderate or severe and pinpoint their needs so that they can assist them. The society’s clinic is at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, and is headed by Dr Taresh Dave, a haematologist.

The cost of Factor, which places it beyond the means of many parents, also remains a major stumbling block to managing haemophilia.

This is in sharp contrast to the situation in developed countries, where the drug is available and even offered free in some. The condition is also better understood. In these countries, children with haemophilia have a normal lifespan.

Ignorance of the condition is another deterrent because it allows unscrupulous people to exploit parents of children with the condition.

“After interacting with other women with haemophilic children, I realised that some of them are facing the same challenges I experienced in my marriage,” notes Maureen.

The story that keeps recurring is that once the man realises that the woman is the carrier, he blames the child’s condition on his wife. She adds that some do not want their wives to have other children for fear that she might give birth to another boy.

“It is painful, but many women out there with sick children are struggling alone because their husbands are unwilling to shoulder the added responsibility that comes with an illness that has no cure. Having a support group and knowing that you’re not alone in your suffering helps you cope better and to hang in there,” observes Maureen.

Though she feels that the blow of losing Jose would have been softened if her husband had stood by her, Maureen knows that she is lucky to have friends who gave her unwavering support.

“I am grateful to the many people who were there for Jose and I. People who stood by me such as my long-time house-help Nelly; Sheikh, the driver who took Jose to school and charged me much less than he did other parents; my mother, sisters, friends and colleagues who would rush to hospital to donate blood whenever Jose was admitted; my employer, KARI, and boss, Festus Muriithi, for settling the huge bill that Jose incurred during his last admission.

“Looking back, I realise I was never alone; there were so many people who were willing to help, and I don’t know how I would have managed without them,” she says

A year later, Maureen is looking forward to the future, as well as having and raising another child. Undaunted, she says she is not afraid of having another child with haemophilia, adding that she would cope better since she now knows a lot more about the condition. Her husband is still out of the country but divorce proceedings are underway.

“I know for sure that that next time round, the story will be different. It will be a happy one,” she concludes.

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Published by Korir, Chief Editor African Press International – api/Source.nation.ke

Significant drop in Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS prevalence rate – Minister

 

YAOUNDE, Sept 5 - There has been an almost 50 percent significant drop in HIV prevalence in Zimbabwe over the last decade, that country’s Health minister Dr. David Parirenyatwa said in Yaounde on Friday.

 

     ”In Zimbabwe what we have done is to make sure the most important slogan is prevention, prevention and prevention, and that has been paying off,” he told reporters.

 

     He said the country picked up HIV and AIDS in 1985 and then four years later they put up what they call a national AIDS levy, by which 3 percent is retained on every worker’s taxable income and put into an AIDS account.

 

     Although the country continues to benefit from donor and partner support, that money has sustained their programme on prevention.

 

      The next step was to raise people’s awareness on the deadly disease, with about 95 percent of the population now fully aware of its effects. And thirdly, the country focused on  behaviourial change, targeting youths in particular and women.  

 

     Finally, as part of efforts to involve all stakeholders, a focal point on HIV/AIDS was created in every ministry, churches and other social groups and communities.

 

      Thanks to this approach, he said “there has been a decline from a peak of 29 percent prevalence in 1999 to what we have now 15.1 percent. It is still very high but we are not the highest in the world.”(END)

<By Tansa Musa

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API

Condoleezza Rice Tripoli visit opens new era in US-Libya relations

Condoleezza Rice has become the first American secretary of state to visit Libya in more than half a century, handing a diplomatic dividend to the country’s unpredictable leader Muammar Gaddafi.

By Tim Butcher, Middle East Correspondent

Miss Rice is spending only a few hours in Libya as part of a regional tour of north Africa but the impact of her trip will last for years.

By flying to Tripoli and agreeing to shake the hand of Colonel Gaddafi, Miss Rice is effectively ending three decades of hostility between the oil-rich desert nation and the mainstream international community.

That hostility claimed lives in the 1980s when Libyan-backed terrorists took British and American lives in attacks such as the Lockerbie bombing and America retaliated with airstrikes on Libya.

“It is an historic moment,” Miss Rice said before boarding a flight to Tripoli.

“It has come after a lot of difficulty and the suffering of many people, that will never be forgotten or assuaged, Americans in particular for whom I am very concerned.”

Her trip comes after Col Gaddafi’s regime publicly gave up attempts to create its own programme for producing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, a diplomatic coup achieved without the use of military force.

But while the state department boasts Libya as one of its successes in the Arab world, Col Gaddafi remains an unpredictable and enigmatic figure.

In comments made to the state media there was no sign he was anxious to cosy up to his former enemies in America.

“All we want is to be left alone,” he said.

Col Gaddafi, a leader who straddles the divide between Africa and the Arab world, used typically colourful language to express admiration for Miss Rice in an interview last year.

“I support my darling black African woman,” he said.

“I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders.

“Yes, Leezza, Leezza, Leezza … I love her very much.

“I admire her, and I’m proud of her, because she’s a black woman of African origin.”

Back in the 1980s Libya positioned itself as an extremist Arab nation sponsoring international terrorism in the pre-jihadist al-Qaeda age.

Attacks by Libyan-backed terror groups against US targets, including servicemen based in Germany who were blown up a nightclub, led President Ronald Reagan to famously describe Col Gaddafi as a “mad dog”.

Washington responded to the terrorist attacks by sending US warplanes, taking off from bases in Britain, to attack targets in Libya and came close to killing Col Gaddafi himself.

Washington restored diplomatic ties with Libya in 2006, following Mr Gaddafi’s decision in 2003 to publicly renounce terrorism and give up his country’s weapons of mass destruction.

Miss Rice will be the first secretary of state to visit since John Foster Dulles in 1953, and the highest-ranking US official since then-vice-President Richard Nixon in 1957.

“In that period of time, we’ve had a man land on the moon, the Internet, the Berlin Wall fall, and we’ve had 10 US presidents,” a State Department spokesman said.

Earlier this month, Libya agreed to pay compensation to families of the victims of the Lockerbie aircraft bombing, for which it formally accepted responsibility in 2003.

But concerns have been raised by Libya’s failure so far to honour the compensation deal.

Miss Rice’s visit was partly intended to be a reward for successful completion of the deal, but Libya has not yet transferred the promised hundreds of millions of dollars into a humanitarian account.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Welch, told Reuters that he was optimistic the transfer would happen soon but that Miss Rice would press Libya on this issue.

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API/source.telegraph.uk

Githongo has zero power to be able to change anything in Kenya

While in Githongo was in Kenya recently, President Kibaki refused to allow him audience after Githongo tried hard to get an appointment through Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The President was wise not to allow the man to meet him. The man is  known for taping ministers, only later to publicise such recordings in the West while popularising his personal activities through public lectures meant for the whites, people who are against the Kenya government.

When he left Kenya some years ago, he told the media that his life was in danger and could not continue living in Kenya. Recently, he was in Kenya and was not killed as he feared. He, however, chose to return to the West (UK)where he is able to lure the Westerners into believing his stories against the Kenyan ministers.

If one wants attention and symphaty from the Whites in the West, one simply has to go against his people and government, thereon start a campaign to tarnish all that is good.

The white west will allow Githongo refugee status as long as he ¨continues to attack his country.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK Do you think the return of former graft czar John Githongo to the country will help unravel the mystery surrounding the Anglo-Leasing and other corruption scandals?

Yes   No   I’m not sure

Poll Results

Q: Do you think the return of former graft czar John Githongo to the country will help unravel the mystery surrounding the Anglo-Leasing and other corruption scandals? Yes: 9.9% No: 80.4% I’m not sure: 9.7%

Published by African Press International – API/Source: KBC.ke

Kenya: The VP’s wife accepts government allowance and will put it out for charity while PM’s wife rejected the allowance thinking it was meant for her own personal use.

 Now what will happen? Will the PM’s wife change her mind and copy the VP’s wife in her wisdom on putting the money to charity? It is difficult to forsee the next action that the PM’s wife will take now that the VP’s wife has captured positive attention.(API)

VP’s wife accepts allowance, for charity

Written By:KBC Reporter  

The vice president’s wife Pauline Kalonzo has accepted the monthly allowance of 400,000 shillings but says she would donate all of it to charity.

Mrs. Kalonzo said she would donate the money to six charitable organizations in the country to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the post election crisis.

48 internally displaced children from Kirathimo IDPs camp in Limuru who are currently enrolled at Parklands Primary School, Muli Childrens Home at Yatta, Women Against HIV/Aids and Poverty in Isiolo are among the beneficiaries of the funds, Mrs Kalonzo said.

She said an independent audit would be carried out yearly in each organization to ensure transparency in the way the funds are utilized.

Pauline said in line with her long association with charity work and humanitarian activities she was in the process of reviewing the lists of the less fortunate in the society.

The move comes only a few days after the prime minister’s wife Ida Odinga turned down the offer of the monthly allowance from the government.

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African Press International – api/Source.kbc.ke

The PS versus the PM: Muthaura runs the show and belittles Raila by giving him instructions

By Standard on Saturday Team

Public Service chief Francis Muthaura has set off another hidden war in Cabinet by drawing no-go zones for Prime Minister Raila Odinga while appearing to adopt a ‘condescending’ tone.

The Standard on Saturday established that the PM has issued a counter-memo, nullifying Muthaura’s. “This memo shows Muthaura is the one in charge and the PM takes instructions from him,” one source in Government said.

“The idea that President Kibaki and the PM shared power as equal principals is not reflected in this memo,” he added.

The Secretary to the Cabinet, through a confidential memo to PM’s Permanent Secretary, that has raised eyebrows, again makes such references, as that which recently rocked the Grand Coalition, by emphasising to the PM the Vice-President is the “principal assistant to the President”.

The memo dated August 15, and copied to the PM, puts the running of some ministries, including hiring and firing function, in the hands of Permanent Secretaries.

Muthaura, who reports directly to the President, refers to PSs as, “the Chief Executives” of their ministries.

Mr Francis Muthaura. Photo: File/Standard

There is, however, and which the ministers we talked to do not think much of, the caveat that, “they are expected to implement Government decisions as directed by the Cabinet and their ministers”.

This has not gone down well, especially within the Orange Democratic Movement’s rank, that reads it to mean usurpation of the PM’s constitutionally guaranteed powers of, “co-ordination and supervision of the execution of the functions and affairs of the Government, including those of ministers…”

It for example tells Raila: “…Communication to the ministers by the Prime Minister should be copied to the President … Unless in case of emergency, invitations to ministers for consultations should be given at least two days in advance.’’

It does not refer to any prior consultations either to the President or the PM, which made some ministers perceive Muthaura was ‘assigning’ Raila, who signed a 50-50 power-sharing agreement with President Kibaki, duties.

It does, however, in the last lines link the new guidelines to, “the revised President Circular on Instructions for Despatch of Government Business and the revised Hard Book … to be released in the near future.’’

Muthaura says at the onset it was written following “growing concerns about a lack of guidelines on how Government Business … in particular co-ordination and communication, should be conducted.”

The memo incensed some ministers, as it appeared first to draw boundaries and assign Raila duties, something they think is belittling, especially because they had no role in the appointment of ministers working under them. Some said they saw an attempt to leave them as nominal heads as power in the ministries slipped into the hands of PSs.

Take away power

The description, a minister said, seeks to change the powers the Constitution vests in a minister and give them to PSs.

“Accounting officers, yes, we always know,” one minister said. He added: “But to say the PSs are the chief executive officers of their ministries is unacceptable. Somebody wants to take power from the elected representatives of the people and give it to Civil Servants,” he added.

Some Cabinet ministers believe that memo was at work in the saga where Labour Minister John Munyes fired the National Social Security Fund Managing Trustee Rachel Lumbasyo only for her to say she would stay.

Ministers drawn from ODM have protested at the memo, which they say puts control of the ministries in the hands of permanent secretaries most of whom are allied to the Party of National Unity.

At the heart of the dispute over the memo on Guideline on the Dispatch of Government Business is the question of who takes orders from who, between the PM and the PS and whether ministers serve at the mercy of PSs.

Muthaura says the PM “may convene meetings with ministers” within the framework of Cabinet committees or any other ad hoc Cabinet committee approved by the Cabinet.

It came in the wake of differences over the tenure of office holders of top parastatals, including NSSF where Muthaura and Raila issued conflicting statements.

In his memo, Muthaura says all correspondence from the Prime Minister to a ministry “should only be directed to the minister to ensure accountability and control”.

Directive

The letter says all Cabinet memos are to be submitted to the Secretary to the Cabinet.

“Once approved by Cabinet, the Secretary to the Cabinet will communicate Cabinet directives to the relevant ministries to proceed with the implementation of the policy direction,” Muthaura wrote.

In the memo, the PS says ministers are expected to communicate and co-ordinate affectively with their Assistant Ministers.

“They are expected to form management committees comprising the Minister, Assistant Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department that will be responsible for implementing Government Business,” the PS says in a section of the memo spelling out the functions of ministers.

Some have read this as an attempt to clip the wings of the PM and to slow his duties as enshrined in the Constitution.

Senior counsel and former Kabete MP Paul Muite warned that the Constitution was being flouted to cause unnecessary conflicts in Government.

“The National Accord and Reconciliation Act, spells out functions clearly. It is real power sharing. Kenyans want to see the implementation of real power sharing taking place,” Muite said.

Muite termed the position of Vice- President Kalonzo Musyoka as Leader of Government Business in Parliament as a mockery of logic. Central Imenti MP Gitobu Imanyara, who chairs Parliament’s subcommittee that revised Standing Orders said, “The Leader of Government Business would be the leader of Party or coalition of Parties with majority in Parliament.”

Imanyara said the Speaker would, however, have the discretion to rule on any matters that remain unclear in the House.

On Friday, the PM was unavailable for comment as he was away in Mwanza, Tanzania on official duty. Sources close to the PM said he has asked ministers to ignore Muthaura’s instructions and follow the law.

“The role of the Head of the Civil Service changed with the formation of the Grand Coalition Government. Muthaura’s duties are administrative and Raila’s are executive and anchored on the Constitution,” said a minister, who requested anonymity.

He said decisions of that matter could only be discussed by the principals or before the Cabinet. In Muthaura’s letter, ‘all communications for Parliamentary Business touching on National Security and Foreign Relations should be channelled through VP’s office.”

Muthaura also instructed that convening of inter-ministerial meetings should be done through his office.

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Published by African Press International – API/ Source.standard.ke