Kenyan Newspapers Review, December 7: 10-Year-Old Nakuru Boy Risks Life After Circumcising Self

On Thursday, December 7, the local dailies widely covered the exposé by Azimio La Umoja leader Raila Odinga who claimed there was fraud in the tendering of the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination papers.

One of the dailies spared space for the health complications developed by a boy in Naivasha who took himself through self-circumcision.

1. The Star

The publication reported on a botched self-circumcision undertaken by a boy from the Ndabibi area of Naivasha, Nakuru county.

He used the kitchen knife for the cut, leading to excessive bleeding; he was luckily rescued and rushed to hospital.

His mother, Lucy Wanjala, told The Star that she suspected all was not well as the boy would not leave the bedroom and that he had difficulty walking.

On her probe, she realised the boy's pants were bloody, arousing her curiosity.

She later established that her son had undertaken self-circumcision.

According to Wanjala, the boy might have observed his peers were cut during this festive season; she said the boy was too young for the cut this season.

"One of the neighbour's sons a couple of weeks back and I did not realise that my son was mature enough to know what was going on," she said.

2. The Standard

The daily covered the claims by ODM leader Raila Odinga, who alleged that tender wars within the Kenya Kwanza administration are to blame for the anomalies in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams.

Addressing the press on Wednesday, December 6, Raila claimed President William Ruto's government cancelled a contract awarded to a United Kingdom-based firm initially supposed to print exams.

According to the former prime minister, the government awarded the tender to a company based on Mombasa Road, which could not deliver on the task.

"We've established that early this year, the government abruptly stopped this contract because the UK company refused to give kickbacks. Without following any legal process, the KK awarded the KCPE contract to a politically connected local company based in Mombasa Road in Nairobi. The government was advised that the local company could not print the exams and ensure its security, especially on short notice. Nobody would budge because there were kickbacks involved," Raila claimed.

Raila alleged that the mess in the KCPE exams started as a tender war, pitting various senior officials in the Ministry of Education against each other before eventually being taken over by an official much higher up in government.

The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party leader disclosed that he had written to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate the errors witnessed in the national exams.

“We have written to all stakeholders, including religious organisations, teachers unions, and even the DCI Kenya, to stand up and ensure the integrity of our national examinations is not eroded,” he added.

At the same time, Raila called for the establishment of a task force to investigate claims of exam cheating witnessed in the last national examinations.

“A task force comprising stakeholders in the Education sector needs to be established to investigate cheating in National Examinations as witnessed in the last two National examinations ie KCPE and KCSE,” the ODM leader said.

3. Taifa Leo

The publication reported on the U-turn by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) on the safety of the KSh 17 billion edible oil shipment brought in by the government via the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC).

In a statement on X, the quality assurance agency reaffirmed after re-inspection and testing that the oil from KNTC met safety standards without any concerns.

KEBS stated that although the sampled edible oils did not meet the Vitamin A levels specified in the Kenyan Standard, this is not a health and safety parameter; hence, the oil is not poisonous.

"From the tests done, the edible oil complied with all the health and safety parameters of the applicable Kenya Standard (KS EAS 769: 2019). However, the sampled edible oils did not meet the Vitamin A levels specified in the Kenyan Standard. This is not a health and safety parameter, KEBS communicated the results to KNTC," the statement read.

Explaining the previous results that showed the oil did not meet the required nutritional values, KEBS said that they used the Pre-Export Verification of Conformity (PVC) method to evaluate the quality of the edible oil, a standard procedure for assessing imported goods, which is routinely conducted at the entry port.

Implementing PVC in the exporting country helps safeguard the Kenyan market against substandard products, ensuring compliance with KEBS's technical regulations, mandatory standards, or approved specifications.

4. Daily Nation

The Daily reported on a Kenyan who is facing charges in the United States of America (USA) after allegedly plotting his estranged wife's murder.

Leonard Thuo had allegedly looked for a hitman he would contract to kill the woman.

The one he was asking around would then reveal the plot to the police, who started hunting down the man.

The plot was hatched between September and December of this year, with the murder taking no later than February of 2024.

Thuo, 52, had left his lucrative job at Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).

A US undercover investigator working on the informant's lead posed as a hitman and met Thuo to roll out the murder plan.

The Kenyan found himself in custody, facing charges of criminal attempt and conspiracy to commit murder, among others.