Kenya This Week: Martha Karua Sharply Differs With Raila On Bipartisan Report, Other Top Stories

• Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga recently led other opposition leaders in endorsing the bipartisan report
• The Court of Appeal declined to suspend orders declaring the appointment of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) positions unconstitutional
• Also this week, a section of church leaders to criticise the national government for failing to deliver their 2022 General Election campaign promises

Dennis Lubanga, a Kenyan journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than 10 years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

This week, Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karau reaffirmed her opposition to the National Dialogue Committee report.

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga recently led other opposition leaders in endorsing the report.

Also this week, the Court of Appeal declined to suspend orders declaring the appointment of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CAS) positions unconstitutional.

We look at these and other trending stories that made the headlines this week, including the move by a section of church leaders to criticise the national government for failing to deliver their 2022 General Election campaign promises.

1. Martha Karua Sharply Differs with Raila on Bipartisan Report

In a press statement on Thursday, December 7, Karua criticised the recommendations of the report, saying they were not in line with the aspirations of many Azimio la Umoja followers.

Karua asked Kenyans to reject the bipartisan report, arguing that it was only meant to offer goodies to the leaders and not the common Kenyan.

"NADCO report has nothing to alleviate the suffering of citizens but offers goodies to the leaders. It is a fraud which Kenyans should frown upon and reject. It's a distraction smokescreen," Karua said.

Karua pointed out that the report failed to address the rising cost of essential commodities such as fuel and the unemployment challenge.

2. Court Declines to Suspend Orders Declaring CAS Position Unconstitutional

In their ruling, Court of Appeal judges Kathurima M'inoti, Mumbi Ngugi, and Francis Tuiyott stated they were not satisfied that their appeal would be rendered worthless if they didn't stay the judgement by the High Court.

"Taking all the foregoing into account, we are not persuaded that the applicants have satisfied us that their appeal will be rendered nugatory if we do not stay the execution of the impugned judgment by the High Court," read part of the ruling by the Court of Appeal judges. Having failed to satisfy both limbs under rule 5(2) b of the Court of Appeal rules, this application fails and is dismissed with costs to those of the respondents in the four applications who appeared and opposed the applications. It is so ordered," they ruled.

The application was filed by CAS nominees led by Kenya Kwanza digital strategist Dennis Itumbi following the initial ruling by the High Court.

3. Clerics Lament Being Accused of Misleading Kenyans

Also this week, the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Christian Churches of Kenya (FEICCK) members decried being accused of misleading Kenyans.

FEICCK Secretary General Bishop David Thagana said President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua made promises that made their churches rally their followers to support them.

Thagana said, just like they supported the Kenya Kwanza team during the polls, they are obligated to keep them in check and hold them accountable.

"We are now being crucified for leading our followers into supporting the government that they say has failed them. We are reminding our leaders that they used our platforms to rally for support, and we therefore must continue holding them accountable," the bishop stated.

4. Passport Headache Back at Nyayo House

This week, it emerged that Kenyans seeking passports may be forced to wait longer as the Immigration Department faces another delay in passport processing.

This comes three months after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the government would procure new machines to expedite the process and solve the mess that had lasted for years.

Citizen TV reported that the delay was due to malfunctioning printing machines and a shortage of printing materials.

In March, a source from Nyayo House informed TUKO.co.ke that the delays in procuring the printing machine resulted from the Treasury's lag in relaying funds for the equipment.

5. Pastor Dorcas Rigathi's Facebook Account Disappears

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's wife, Dorcas Rigathi, can no longer access or make any posts on her Facebook account.

According to sources, the account was last active on Thursday, with Dorcas losing access to it as of Friday.

An attempt to view her Facebook page turned up a message that it was no longer available.

"This content isn't available at the moment. When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people or changed who can see it, or it's been deleted," read the message on the social media platform.