Conservations Dirty Secrets – Part 1
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Moi sells Laikipia land for Sh400m to KWS
- Moi sells land in Laikipia (By Business daily)
Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has bought 17,000 acres of land in Nanyuki from former President Moi for Sh400 million to establish a national park as it seeks to grow high-end tourists.
Mr Moi has been using the land as a ranch and KWS says it will turn it into a conservancy awaiting accumulation of more land parcels in the area to eventually create a large national park.
“The park will be called Laikipia National Park and the land will in the meantime serve as a migration corridor for animals in the various private conservancies, including Ol Pejeta and Loi Saba,” said Julius Kipng’etich, the KWS director.
“We understand other owners of private game reserves in Laikipia are selling their land and we plan to raise money to buy the land establish a national park ,” said Dr Kipng’etich.
Laikipia is a tourism circuit popular with high-end tourists keen on luxury offering such as tented camps and it hosts prominent resorts such as Ol Pejeta, Lewa and Loisaba. It has hosted prominent visitors such as British royals Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton.
The transaction was funded with the help of a US-based wildlife organisation— Nature Conservancy.
Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta in the latest Kenya gazette has exempted KWS from paying the four per cent or Sh16 million in stamp duty on the transaction.
The deal set to spotlight land transactions by large land owners such as former president, who are racing to cash in outsized returns from rising demand of property. The former president acquired thousands of acres of land during his 24-year rule and has in the past few years come under pressure from the current administration and civil rights activists to revert some of it to the State.
Mr Moi, for instance, holds thousands of acres of land in Mau Forest which he said was given by the Narok County Council during his reign.
The coalition government has targeted Mr Moi and other owners of large tracts of land as it seeks to reclaim the Mau Forest. The new Constitution gives legal backing to cut back on excess holding of land for extended periods of time.
The proposed National Land Commission shall have powers to “repossess public land that was acquired through unlawful or unprocedural means.”
The policies expected to hit large land owners include a cap on land holding, tax on idle land and reduction of lease period for foreign land owners from 999 years to 99 years.
These policies have seen more large land owners sell part of the land holdings, a trend that is expected to gather pace in the medium term as institutions and laws addressing historical land injustices are set up.
For KWS, the setup of another national park will be a boost its earnings which had taken a hit from high operational expenses.
KWS currently has 33 national parks and reserves spread across the country. The state-owned corporation has relied heavily on government support and has raised its park entry fees this year to cope with rising staff costs and other operational expenses like park maintenance, animal stocking and migration.
In the latest increase, the fees were raised to $80 (Sh8,000) from a minimum of $60 (Sh6,000) on premium parks. In the special gazette notice, Forestry and Wildlife minister Noah Wekesa also reviewed the fees structure by eliminating low and high season fees and introducing a flat rate charge in a bid to boost revenues.
Foreign visitors used to pay $60 (Sh6,000) during the low season at the premium parks—Amboseli and Lake Nakuru —and $75 (Sh7,500) during the peak seasons, which runs from January to March and July to October.
Dr Wekesa said the review is aimed at boosting KWS coffers to allow it meet its conservation obligations, arguing that the efforts are becoming expensive, causing the state-owned firm to run a huge deficit.
The review comes less than a year after KWS increased its fees in January in what led to a 47 per cent rise in its turnover to Sh2.8 billion in the year to June 2010.
Its expenses rose to Sh4.6 billion from Sh3.7 billion on higher salaries and park maintenance fees—which left it with a deficit of Sh1.54 billion that was plugged by government (Sh860 million), donations (Sh170 million) and donor funding (Sh198 million).
vjuma@ke.nationmedia.com
Kenyan troops close in on Somali’s second key town
By Boniface Ongeri in Liboi and David Ochami in Nairobi
Kenyan troops were by Monday evening moving quickly to secure the town of Afmadow in Somalia, 100 kilometres from the border.
It comes just two days after the Kenyan armed forces captured another key town, Qoqani, following two days of heavy aerial and ground bombardment. Afmadow is the town where two Kenyan soldiers, Evan Mutoro and Jonathan Kangogo, captured by Al-Shabaab militia on July 24, were detained before being taken by their captors to the coastal town of Kismayu. The two soldiers are still unaccounted for.
“The Kenyan troops supported by tanks and other military vehicles have taken up positions near Qoqani,” Saleban Mohamed, an elder in a nearby village, told AFP news agency.
“I saw around 32 trucks and tanks, with hundreds of troops,” he added.
Military helicopter. Government says it is in Somalia for the long haul vowing to fight Al-Shabaab to the end. Photo: File/Standard
“The Kenyan soldiers are heavily armed and they have started digging trenches near Qoqani,” Abdulahi Sayid Adam, another witness said.
But there was some sad news after a military helicopter exploded seconds after take off from Liboi Airstrip in Garissa, killing five soldiers including the pilot.
Department of Defence officials blamed the crash on a technical fault. The soldiers, a major, a sergeant, two privates and a technician were killed when their China-made Dolphine helicopter crashed and caught fire, military sources told The Standard.
“It crashed while taking off and caught fire, all the five soldiers on board died. It was not brought down,” said Military Spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir.
Armoured vehicles
The soldiers were reportedly taking missiles to the war front inside Somalia when the incident occurred, the source said.
The helicopter exploded about 500 metres from Liboi Airstrip.
Kenya continued to flex its aerial prowess as it rained bombs on strategic Al-Shabaab strongholds, pushing its assault deeper toward central Somalia. At the same time, the Government announced it was ready to fight Al-Shabaab to its logical conclusion, adding that the military offensive against the terror group, dubbed “Operation Linda Nchi” (Operation Protect Kenya) would continue until the militia are subdued.
Kenyan troops combed villages in Somalia in hot pursuit of the militia with armoured vehicles, as its fighter jets overflew the enemy’s territory.
Witnesses said they saw dozens of Kenyan military vehicles pouring over the border, backed by planes and helicopters even as reports said Al-Shabaab, which denies kidnapping Kenyans and foreigners, had amassed more men to back up its militia in Afmadow where they were being pinned down by the heavy firepower of the Kenya army and air force.
Quoting witnesses, AFP reported that Al-Shabaab commanders confiscated at least 100 trucks late Sunday from the Lower Shabelle region, outside the capital Mogadishu, to transport gunmen southwards.
Internal Security minister Prof George Saitoti and Defence minister Mohammed Yusuf Haji said military operations against Al-Shabaab would be sustained until “desired effects” are achieved, blaming the group for a spate of kidnappings, sea piracy and killings of Kenyans and foreigners.
Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula said troops went across the border on the request of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which controls very little territory, but is backed by the international community.
“What we are doing is in pursuit of a request by the Government of Somalia, and also our own interest as a country to fight a group that is terror-based,” said Wetang’ula.
By “desired effects”, the ministers implied that Kenya’s military hopes to degrade Al-Shabaab’s capacity to launch cross-border attacks on land and in the Indian Ocean.
They justified that attacks on Al-Shabaab inside Somalia are legitimate self-defence acts to protect lives and the economy in accordance with the UN charter and international law.
Defence Minister Haji said that Kenyan police and military forces will pursue the Somalia extremist group in its bases in the centre and south of the war-torn country to eliminate immediate security threats near the border and protect shipping lines in the Indian Ocean from pirates who operate with support of the terror group.
Saitoti declared the operation a legitimate response of self-defence against “a chronology of provocation by Al-Shabaab.”
The two spoke after meeting Parliament’s Defence and Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the operation.
Saitoti enumerated a host of abductions of Kenyans and foreigners, which he blamed on Al-Shabaab and said the Government received intelligence that the extremist militia “continued to recruit Kenyans into its ranks.”
He said Al-Shabaab shelled a Kenyan security post near Liboi last month and was responsible for landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) found in Mandera in July. On September 8, Al-Shabaab claimed to hold two Kenyan officers in Kismayu, a coastal city in the Indian Ocean, after initially detaining them in Afmadow.
Haji did not name a third soldier in his account but said the two were abducted after “their vehicle broke down and they were sent to seek assistance.”
Saitoti said under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Kenyan forces will engage in security and military operations in “self-defence” and geared to “preventing aggression”.
Hideout
The minister said Kenya would step up aerial border surveillance and provide armed escorts to locals, tourists and expatriates.
Haji said that besides abducting the two soldiers, Al-Shabaab had tried to attack the port of Mombasa and ambush ships off the Kenyan coast in September.
The Defence minister said that lately, Al-Shabaab was acting in concert with pirates and had attacked vessels entering Kenyan waters.
In what appeared to be a well-calculated and aptly prepared military assault, more troops were lined up in strategic positions as aerial and ground combat forces launched missiles in the open sandy grounds of Somalia and hideouts of the terrorists. Kenya’s disciplined officers will be backing TFG forces in a bid to find a lasting solution to instability in the country that has been at war for two decades.
Maj Chirchir also confirmed that the chopper was part of a contingent of military personnel and hardware that had been deployed to pursue Al-Shabaab militia following insecurity on the Kenya-Somalia border.
The five are the first casualties Kenya has suffered in the onslaught against the militants in Somalia that heightened when they kidnapped two Spanish aid workers.
Kenya has military bases in Wajir, Liboi and Hulugho. GSU personnel are also at hand to support the army.
- Additional reporting by Cyrus Ombati
Source. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000045042&cid=4
KENYA, FEAR NOT FOR GREAT IS YOUR SHEPHERD
MY BELOVED KENYA
The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’ Deut 33;27
KENYA YOU HAVE SHOWN MERCY
Though many of us are far away overseas, yet our motherland is very much alive in our hearts and when we hear threats against her it hurts deep and we cannot be silent
Everyone in the world knows that since our independence Kenya has not only catered for her own needs which are many but she has been a help to citizens of neighboring countries who time and again have found themselves in dire straits when there has been deadly political upheaval in their own countries and they were forced to run for their lives. We couldn’t tell those parents with hungry children to go away and find shelter in other countries We the citizens of Kenya and our leaders have never had a single disagreement on helping a neighboring country in their hour of genuine need
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy..Mathew 5;7.
Also proverbs11;27 says; A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
GOD WILL PROTECT AND DEFEND OUR NATION
Because of the prayer warriors and the gatekeepers of our faith God will protect our nation in ways that will baffle the wisest and smartest minds! never under estimate the power of God, prayer, the resilience and determination of Kenyans.
KENYA YOU HAVE CHOSEN GOD
Our national anthem begins with the words; “Eh Mungu Nguvu Yetu “(Real translation) “Oh God our strength… ”
Therefore the shield of Abraham shall be your shield, now hear this; Isaiah 59;19
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him
Prayer;
Father in heaven I place my beloved Kenya under the shadow of the almighty under your watchful eye oh eternal God, Lord Jesus you have crowned our nation with your beauty Holy spirit we feel you wings all around us. Cause your truth, justice and care to flood and saturate us so we can spread it to those arround us
Blessed be name of the Lord God of Abraham Amen
–
Manasseh P.Mankuleiyo
Presiding Bishop
Faith Evangelical Free Churches (Kenya)
Oh To Be ‘His Hand’ Extended
UHCK FUND RAISING -ELECT2007 124WTMK
UHCK FUND RAISING -ELECT2007 124WTMK
Originally uploaded by Diasporakenyan
Muthaura, Kenyatta & Ali case: In the Courtroom programme – Confirmation of charges hearing
The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali took place on from 21 September to 5 October 2011 before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is composed of Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova (presiding judge), Judge Hans-Peter Kaul and Judge Cuno Tarfusser.
A confirmation of charges hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that each suspect committed each of the crimes being charged. If the charges are confirmed for a suspect, the Pre-Trial Chamber commits the person to trial before a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial.
Mr Muthuaura and Mr Kenyatta are allegedly criminally responsible as indirect co-perpetrators for the crimes against humanity of: murder; forcible transfer of population; rape; persecution and other inhuman acts. Mr Ali has allegedly otherwise contributed to the commission of the above-mentioned crimes against humanity alleged to have been committed in Kenya in the context of the 2007-2008 post-election violence.
This video was produced in 2011 by the Public Information and Documentation Section of the ICC, for non-profit and educational purposes. The ICC encourages its use, reproduction and distribution for the same purposes. Sale or commercial use is strictly prohibited.
More information: www.icc-cpi.int
Steve Jobs: Death is a life changing Agent
Steve Jobs: Death is a life changing Agent
Death is a life changing Agent
You cannot connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect the dots looking background because only then, you will be able to see and trust your heart that the lines it will lead you to some destination even when your head says something else.
Sometimes life gonna heat you with a brick on the head, don’t loose faith.
Keep looking don’t settle.
If you live your day as if it was your last, someday you’re certainly be right one day.
Remembering that all will be dead soon is the most important tool i ever encounter to help me make some decision in life.
It is the best way I know to help one thinning that you’ve something to loose.
Death is a destination we’ll share, no one has ever escaped it. It’s the single best invention for life. It clears the old to give space for the new. Right now, the new is you but you’ soon grow old and you’ll be cleared for the new.
Even so,
No one wants to die, even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there.
Life is
Your life is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t live with dogma which is living with other people’s thinking.
Don’t let the noise of other people’s opinion drawn down your inner most voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know, what you truly want to become.
Everything else is secondary.
As the Whole Earth catalogue created by Stuart Brand inspired me, I too wish you to stay hungry and Stay foolish as I sign off.
Steve Jobs
1955-2011.
Rest in Peace Steve Jobs.
Saidimu Ole Ngais.
Love to Steve Jobs even after death
R.I.P. STEVE JOBS.
- Steve Jobs is dead
You made my life so easy to manage with all these cutting edge technological tools you provided for me. You personally affected my life in a very positive way.
Although physically gone, you remain exactly where you’ll always be, in my pocket, in my bag, on my ears and above all, right here in front of my face, inside this macbook Pro and my dearest iMac 27″
I’m a better human being today because of the tools you placed on my hands.
Rest in Peace Steve Jobs.
Maasaiwarrior Ole Ngais from Kenya.
