Kenyan Newspapers Review: Father, Son Crushed To Death By Lorry In Naivasha

The dailies reported on the ongoing talks between President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Raila Odinga's Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party.

One of the dailies spotlighted an increase in road accidents involving motorcycles at Moi South Lake Road in Naivasha.

1. The Star

The publication reported that a father and his son riding a motorcycle were crushed to death by a lorry on the busy Moi South Lake road in Naivasha.

Emotions ran high at the scene near Karagita trading centre as police moved in to collect the bodies. Transport along the road was temporarily disrupted.

According to the daily, over 20 motorcycle operators and their passengers have died in road accidents in Naivasha, with speeding and careless overtaking blamed for the incidents.

In the latest incident, the operator was joining the road from the informal settlement when he was run over by a lorry that was heading to South Lake.

According to a witness, Samson Ouma, the deceased joined the busy road without checking if there were any oncoming cars leading to the fatal accident.

"The lorry driver veered from running over the motorcycle, which had joined the road at high speed, but unfortunately, the back wheels ran over the two, killing them on the spot," he said.

Naivasha OCPD Benjamin Boen confirmed the incident, adding that the bodies were lying at the local mortuary while traffic officers had opened an inquest.

2. The Standard

The paper reports that Kenya's Data Protection Commissioner has moved to court seeking to bar Worldcoin operators from either transferring or processing data collected from Kenyans.

In its case filed before the High Court, the government agency wants the court to order Tools for Humanity Corporation, Sense Marketing, and Tools for Humanity GmbH not to use the data it collected from Kenyans before the government intervened.

Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) claims that a preliminary assessment of Worldcoin's actions shows it might have flouted the law.

"Having reviewed the Worldcoin project in Kenya, the applicant is apprehensive that the processing of the personal data does not adhere to the principles of data protection as set out in Section 25 of the Act," reads court papers filed before Milimani High Court.

The Immaculate Kassait-led agency alleges that the companies have been processing the data collected despite the government ordering the firm not to use them.

"The applicant is aware that despite the suspension and directive to cease processing of personal data, the respondents continued to pro- cess the said personal data. It took the public directive by the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and Coordination to halt the operations of the respondents on August 2, 2023," the data agency claims.

The elephant in the room regarding the registration of Wordcoin is the compulsory scanning of eyeballs to confirm the humanity of whoever is registering.

In court, ODPC fears Worldcoin will delete or transfer data to beat ongoing investigations.

It is believed operators might have been collecting data from Kenyans for over a year without raising an eyebrow.

3. People Daily

Residents of Mbiri area of Kiharu, Murang'a county, fear being attacked by a lone ranger who has been terrorising them for three months now.

The culprit, who has now been dubbed 'axe man', is armed with an axe, a jerrycan of petrol and a matchbox.

According to some of the survivors of his attacks, the man has been breaking into people's homes to gain entry into the house.

He then douses the petrol inside the house, threatening to set it on fire if the owners fail to give him money and mobile phones, the only things he has been demanding from them.

Mercy Muthoni, one of the victims, said the 'axe man' raided her home a week ago, and he demanded cash and mobile phones.

Muthoni said they gave out the mobile phones and the little cash she had, but the culprit was unsatisfied with the amount.

"He started dousing petrol all over the house, threatening to set it ablaze if we don't comply. I ended up giving him KSh 50,000, which I had saved for an ongoing project here at home, and that's when he left," she said.

Anthony Wambugu, another victim, said he had been forced to move out of his home to rent a house in Murang'a town after the culprit attacked them.

Wambugu said the ordeal was very traumatising for his young family, and he opted to move out, fearing that he might strike again.

4. Daily Nation

The publication reported that the county government of Uasin Gishu will airlift more students under the controversial overseas education programme, even as a section of parents and students continue to push for refunds.

It has emerged that the devolved unit continued to receive funds from parents who are in support of the programme and has made arrangements to airlift students.

Governor Jonathan Bii and his deputy John Barorot have put on a brave face and appealed to parents to support the programme amid protests from those whose children never travelled even after paying.

Barorot, who chairs a task force formed to review issues around the programme, disclosed that 46 students secured visas last week to enable them to join various universities in Finland and Canada.

However, The universities have issued fresh conditions that parents must clear second-semester fees before getting visas to enable them to travel.

He added that the county leadership was optimistic that an amicable solution would be reached over the current controversy surrounding the programme.

Bii said that they are keen to have the programme continue.

“We didn’t know what direction to take, but through the task force, we decided to look into the issues raised. We are hopeful we will find a solution to this matter,” he said.

5. Taifa Leo

The Swahili daily reports that Kericho governor Erick Mutai is under the microscope following the County Assembly's recommendations that he removes six top officials from his government.

The six were accused of misappropriating KSh 14.5 million from the victims of a truck accident in the Londiani area.

These funds were contributed by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for the 77 victims of that accident.

These officials were found guilty of forgery, professional negligence, procurement rule violations, misuse of office, and embezzlement of funds.

Similarly, they were found guilty of withholding information, lack of transparency, shirking responsibility, and violating the Public Finance Management Act.

The Speaker of the County Assembly, Patrick Mutai, forwarded these recommendations to the Mutai following the approval of a temporary committee report led by the Member of Parliament for Tendeno/Soget, Moses Rotich.

The report detailed how the funds were disbursed, distributed, and used to cover allowances for county and national government officials, medical bills that had been settled by the county government, food, and tents, among other things, at the expense of taxpayers.

The County Clerk, Wesley Bor, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Leonard Ngetich, and the Minister of Health, Brenda Bii, have been recommended for removal from office for overseeing the improper use of these funds.

The Chief Officer in the Governor's Office, Alphonce Rotich, the Chief Officer of Public Service, Bettsy Chebet Tonui, and their colleague from the Finance department, Gilbert Bii, are also expected to be dismissed for their involvement in the scandal.