Kenyan Newspapers Review: MPs Dismiss Linturi’s Impeachment Motion Over Fake Fertiliser Scandal

On Monday, May 13, the national dailies widely reported an internet outage that hit the East African region.

The dailies also reported on the National Assembly committee's findings after investigating the conduct of Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi.

1. Daily Nation

The paper reported on the National Assembly committee's decision to investigate allegations against Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi.

The committee cleared Linturi of any wrongdoing in the scandal regarding selling fake fertiliser to farmers under the national government-sponsored subsidy programme.

Seven MPs in the 11-member committee voted to save Mr Linturi from impeachment.

The committee, chaired by Marsabit Woman Representative Naomi Waqo, was formed to investigate the grounds for impeachment in a motion tabled by Bumula MP Wanami Wamboka.

A committee member claimed members were carefully selected to “save Mr Linturi.”

“I am not casting any aspersions, but if you look at the members representing the majority side, they were not chosen to investigate the matter but had clear instructions to exonerate the CS,” the MP said.

The Kenya Kwanza Alliance side, which had the majority of the members in the committee, voted to save Linturi.

Ainabkoi lawmaker Samuel Chepkong'a abstained from voting.

There was a lot of horse-trading, as some members said the impeachment motion had been reduced to a relationship issue between Linturi and his ex-wife, committee member Maryanne Kitany.

2. Standard

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua joined a section of Mt Kenya leaders advocating for the one man, one shilling formula.

According to Gachagua, having a larger population means they pay more taxes and, hence, need to receive more resources.

He explained that having a constituency with 14,000 people get the same resources as one with 800,000 people was unfair.

"I am a believer and proponent of one man, one vote, one shilling. We want fairness in the sharing of revenue. And there is no apology to give for saying that. The more you are, the more taxes you pay. It cannot be that a constituency like Ruiru with 800,000 people is given the same CDF allocation asa constituency with 14,000 people We want fairness in the sharing of revenue, and we will be pushing, It is not fair. that agenda," Gachagua said on Sunday, May 12.

3. Taifa Leo

The Kiswahili publication reported on the slow internet experienced on Sunday, May 12, in Kenya and other neighbouring countries.

Several internet service providers acknowledged the hitch, stating that it had been caused by a major sub-sea fibre cut affecting internet services in East Africa and South Africa.

After complaints, network providers, among them telecommunication giant, Safaricom, said they are working to restore stable internet connections.

“We have experienced an outage on one of the undersea cables that deliver internet traffic in and out of the country. We have since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep you connected as we await the full restoration of the cable,” Safaricom said in a notice in the evening.

Liquid Telecom's Group Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Ben Roberts, also reported faults in the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the Seacom cables.

4. The Star

The paper reported on the new tax reforms spearheaded by the National Treasury, which will impact many Kenyans.

The National Treasury is proposing far-reaching tax reforms allowing the Kenya Revenue Authority to grant unfettered powers to access Kenyans' data, including real-time mobile money financial transactions.

Key among the proposals contained in the Finance Bill 2024 is a provision to exempt the Kenya Revenue Authority from data protection regulations.

Currently, the law requires that data be collected only where a valid explanation is provided whenever information relating to family or private affairs is needed.

The data law also provides that a data controller or data processor ought to collect personal data directly from the data subject.

With the proposed amendments, KRA will be exempted from these provisions and granted permission to access any data freely to enforce revenue collection.

5. People Daily

The body of a Kirinyaga businessman who drowned in River Sagana has been found after days of searching.

The family of Samuel Kamau Kagwanja was thrown into mourning after his body was found in Murang'a county.

Samuel left Laibon Gardens on Thursday, May 2, to meet a friend but disappeared midway through the journey. The family raised concerns about his safety when his phones went offline, which was unusual for him.

A missing person's report was filed at Sagana Police Station as distressed family members appealed for help from the public.

A family friend, Charles Kamau, revealed that the missing man's body was found buried in mud on a river bank.

"He was found downstream from where we suspected he fell into the river, although the vehicle is still missing," Kamau said.

Proofreading by Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke