On Saturday, August 26, the national dailies highlighted the political situation in the country as the National Dialogue Committee continued with preparations for the talks.
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The dailies also had space for the highly charged meeting between Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and ODM leader Raila Odinga at the burial of a Mau Mau veteran.
1. Saturday Nation
The publication reported President William Ruto yesterday said the government will back a plan to create an office of the official opposition leader, an item that is currently part of the agenda for dialogue with Raila Odinga’s Azimio coalition.
He said the government wants a structured opposition to oversight the State, which he says will help deter the need to demonstrate each time there were disagreements on policy or initiatives.
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"The office of the official opposition leader will be an office given by the government, but they will criticise the state from morning to evening. However, they will not burn property,” Ruto said.
Ruto warned against demonstrations, saying violence can no longer be condoned in the country.
“Have you seen their wives or children in the demonstrations? They take poor people’s children to the protests and put them in conflict with the police. Then we lose lives...We will stop that,” warned the Head of State.
He was speaking at Nyamasege in Bomachoge Chache constituency in Kisii County on Friday, where he inspected the Omoringamu-Nyansara road.
Ruto also warned corrupt officials sternly, saying no one will have room to commit crimes that sabotage the economy.
2. The Saturday Standard
The daily reported two boys appeared at a Kakamega court to testify against an 18-year-old woman who was charged with sexually assaulting them early this year.
The minors, aged eight and nine, appeared with their mother before Principal Magistrate Joseph Ndururi to testify against the woman.
The minors, through their mother, said they were still battling psychological trauma after the incident.
The eight-year-old boy said at around 4pm, while playing with his friends at home, the accused called him to her house pretending to show him a game on her phone.
“I was called into the house by the accused so that she could show me a game on her phone, but after entering the house, she took me to the bedroom, undressed me,” he said.
He added that during the act, the second complainant, his brother, also explained what happened on the material day.
He said while he was outside playing, he became curious about the kind of game his sibling was being shown, and when he decided to peep through the window, he saw his brother naked and the accused in bed, prompting him to go and knock on the bedroom door.
“When I knocked on the door, she (accused) opened and I saw my brother naked in bed. I asked what game they were playing but they didn’t answer me,” he said.
He said that the accused asked him to also go to bed to be shown the “video game” she had shown his brother.
He also said they were warned against telling anyone and feared for their safety as the accused had vowed to beat them if they reported.
Their mother said her elder son developed complications and cannot walk properly.
3. The Star
According to the daily, Kirinyaga woman representative Njeri Maina said she would institute criminal and civil charges against all perpetrators who assaulted her within Kerugoya town.
Her lawyer, Otiende Amollo, said the perpetrators will include the mastermind and those who executed the vicious act on her and her supporters.
Njeri was assaulted by a group of goons as she and Baragwi, MCA David Mathenge, responded to a summons at the DCI headquarters in Kerugoya. The assault led to her hospitalisation.
Amollo, who had accompanied the woman representative in recording a statement at the DCI headquarters, said the woman rep had submitted some of the names of her attackers whom she identified during the incident and others who were captured on video clips circulating on social media platforms.
He lauded the investigating officers for their cooperation, adding that they were satisfied with their work.
Amollo exuded confidence that by early next week, a lot of progress pertaining to the investigation of the case will have been made.
He added that the charges will serve as a lesson to the perpetrators and other criminals who intend to engage in political thuggery within Kirinyaga and the entire country.
4. Taifa Leo
The Swahili publication reported that Kisii senator Richard Onyonka, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, revealed Eldoret will become a city in the next six months
Speaking while inspecting infrastructure projects in Eldoret before the town was elevated to city status, Onyonka praised the city's administration for meeting many requirements before being crowned a city.
"We are pleased to report that the Eldoret Municipality has done its best to fulfill all the requirements to attain city status. We are finalizing our report to present it to the Senate," Senator Onyonka said.
Onyonka said that due to the excellent work being done by stakeholders in Eldoret under the management of Governor Jonathan Bii, it is evident that the town will be elevated to city status within the next six months.
The committee is also awaiting an environmental impact assessment report from the NEMA authority.
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