Day: June 17, 2023

Chief Justice Martha Koome has commissioned two specialized courts that deal with Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) cases in Kisumu and Siaya counties.

This brings the number of SGBV courts in the country to three after a pioneer programme was launched at the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa in March 2022.

Speaking at the Kisumu law courts on Friday, CJ Koome decried that violence against women, girls, and even men is a global pandemic that required urgent intervention to safeguard the rights of the victims.

The Chief Justice called on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), justice actors, and stakeholders in the judicial system to lead public sensitization programmes to enhance awareness of SGBV and its implications.

‘This is a problem we can say no to as a society by embracing the value of respecting one another so that we don’t see young girls or women in our midst as sexual objects but view them as human beings whose rights need to be protected and not violated. So let’s embrace campaigns to sensitize people to stay away from SGBV,’ stated Koome.

The President of the Supreme Court of Kenya affirmed the Judiciary’s commitment to safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized people to access justice.

Establishing SGBV courts, stated the Chief Justice, marks a significant milestone in addressing the offenses with urgency, sensitivity and handling the victims as well as the survivors with confidentiality.

The initiative was welcomed by the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Court Users Committee, CSOs, and Plan International Kenya, among other agencies.

The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) Kenya Chapter President, Lady Justice Agnes Murgor, while speaking at the same event, said that the establishment of SGBV courts was timely and would revolutionize the criminal justice system hinged on preserving the dignity of victims and enhancing a fair trial.

Kisumu CSOs network team leader, Betty Okero, said that the organizations celebrated the milestone attained and called for collaboration to smooth the operationalization of the SGBV courts.

Out of all criminal cases reported in Kenya, Murgor stated that 3.5% are SGBV, while in Kisumu County it is 4.8% of all the criminal cases reported. Kisumu, Siaya, and Mombasa counties ranked highest in the number of SGBV cases recorded in the past year.

During the same event, Chief Justice Koome also designated a Small Claims Court (SCC) in Kisumu County. The SCC ensures the speedy resolution of commercial disputes of values less than Sh1 million within 60 days.

‘This will enable our entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best: innovating, creating jobs, and driving economic growth. It is a critical cog in our drive to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and to spur economic growth in Kisumu County and beyond,’ Koome stated.

Further, the Chief Justice witnessed the inception of the automation of court services in Kisumu, Siaya, and Homa Bay counties, aimed at enhancing accessibility and efficiency within the justice system.

‘No longer will our people be hindered by geographical constraints or the burden of time-consuming journeys to physically submit pleadings and legal documents to courts,’ stated Koome.

The e-filing process, she added, is straightforward, easy, and operates for 24 hours, ensuring that justice remains within everyone’s reach.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Grief has struck the residents of Chewani Ward in Tana River County after their member of the County Assembly died in a grisly road accident early Saturday morning.

Mr. Hamisi Iddi Deye died instantly after the saloon car he was traveling in hit a stationary lorry in the Kurawa area of Adu Ward in Magarini Sub County, Kilifi County.

His driver, however, escaped death by a whisker, although the car, registration number KDK 834 R, was extensively damaged.

The MCA was being driven from Malindi town towards Hola, Tana River County.

Magarini Sub County Police Commander Daniel Kiviu confirmed the accident, although he could not provide details as he was yet to be briefed by the Traffic Police officers on the ground.

The body of the first-term MCA, who was at one time Governor Dhadho Godhana’s board guard, was taken to a private mortuary in Malindi town by Traffic Police officers.

Leaders and residents took to social media to express their shock at the sudden demise of the MCA, who was fondly known as Mheshimiwa Ndoeni.

Garsen Central MCA Masha Boru and his Kipini West counterpart, Musa Wario, who spoke to journalists at the mortuary, eulogized Mr. Iddi as a dedicated servant of the people.

Later, Deye served as the Deputy Minority Leader and Chairman of the Budget and Appropriation Committee in the County Assembly of Tana River.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The Senate and the Council of Governors have called for the establishment of a Devolution Bond that would enable the National Treasury to meet its obligation to provide timely and adequate funding to counties.

The two government organs said the move would see the government release its fair share of national cake to the devolved units on time and facilitate continuous delivery of services to Kenyans across the country.

The national government has been at loggerheads with county governments over delays in disbursement of funds to counties, even as most of the devolved units continued to fail to meet their own tax collection targets, hampering service delivery.

The impasse between the two levels of government over the timely release of funds has seen the county governors threaten to shut down operations in their counties.

According to budget estimates presented in the National Assembly by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndungu on Thursday this week, county governments are set to receive Sh385.4 billion to support local development initiatives.

The CS said the allocation is the agreed share from the total budgeted estimates of Sh3.68 trillion, where the lion’s share will go towards settling the country’s huge public debts, which currently stand at Sh1.6 trillion.

In a communiqué between the Senate and the Council of Governors [CoG], which was read by the Senate Speaker Amason Kingi in Naivasha, the two entities said they would engage the National Treasury to introduce the devolution bond to enable it to meet funding requests as they fall due.

Kingi said that the two bodies would initiate legislation which would see the Ministry of Treasury separated from the Finance docket to facilitate the new move.

Kingi said the two levels of government would also expedite the unbundling and costing of devolved functions to enable the counties to receive the necessary resources to execute their functions, which is being overseen by the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee.

He committed that the Senate would help fast-track the development of laws that would support benefit sharing with counties on revenue generated from natural resources and government parastatal institutions.

Kingi said the Senate would also work towards the passage of additional conditional grant allocation bills to facilitate the flow of conditional grants to counties.

Kingi, who chaired the inaugural high-level meeting to review the ten years of progress in the implementation of devolution, said they would develop laws and policies to align and support devolution, oversight of devolved units, and other emerging issues of pending bills.

‘Parliament will help to fast-track legislation to align the regional development authorities with the devolved system of government and remove duplication and overlaps in mandates with the county governments,’ said Kingi.

He said that the Senate and the Council of Governors high-level meeting would henceforth be convened annually to review and address emerging issues of concern to counties.

The Senate Speaker also committed to the enactment of legislation to provide for pensions for retiring governors.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Government agencies have been urged to conduct regular public sensitization on their programmes and mandates for the target beneficiaries to maximize benefits from state investments in the organizations and the initiatives they propagate.

Samburu County residents attending a public awareness workshop organized by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) in Maralal town on Friday, complained that many Kenyans at the grassroots lost out on opportunities open to them because the relevant agencies failed to adequately educate the public on the same.

They also said that many Kenyans in marginalized areas, Samburu County included, found themselves on the wrong side of the law out of sheer ignorance, saying relevant state agencies should consider public sensitization more seriously.

The residents suggested that every government initiative and agency should incorporate a comprehensive public communication component to enable the various stakeholders to understand their roles in project or policy implementation and the opportunities therein, making the initiatives worthwhile.

Mireri Mose, an Assistant County Commissioner in the area, caused laughter when he told participants that a number of local boda boda operators worked without driving licenses, only for them to argue they were not aware they should have the document when arrested.

Rev. Raphael Mwangi of Deliverance Church, Samburu (left;holding a pen) and Sheikh Abdullahi Nedo of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims in Samburu follow proceedings during ODPC public sensitization workshop held at a hotel in Maralal town. Photo by Ngugi Bernard

ODPC is holding a series of public sensitization workshops at the county level countrywide under what the organization calls the County Awareness Outreach Programme, where participants are trained on the need to protect personal data in their possession.

Under the programme, which aims to institutionalize data protection in the country, participants are educated on the role and mandate of ODPC and their individual responsibilities as the source of personal data given to second parties.

Most importantly, individuals and institutions that collect service-related personal data, who are referred to as Data Controllers, as well as those that gather the information on their behalf, known as Data Processors, are sensitized on the need to register themselves with ODPC, besides developing structures to ensure the security of the information they gather regarding an individual.

Data controllers include health facilities, financial and learning institutions, as well as hotels, while Data Processors comprise bank and mobile service provider agents and security personnel at the entrance to buildings.

The Data Protection Act of 2019 defines several penalties that can be meted on a Data Controller or Processor who fails to protect personal data, resulting in a breach of the same, among them being a fine of up to five million shillings.

Personal data is any information that describes or defines an individual and can therefore be used to identify that person, and its protection is guaranteed under the constitutional provision for the right to privacy, besides being a right under the Human Rights Convention.

Mireri Mose, an Assistant County Commissioner in Samburu (front, left) keenly follows a presentation during ODPC public sensitization workshop, after he officially opened the seminar, held at a hotel in Maralal town. Photo by Ngugi Bernard

It includes one’s national identity, telephone number, birth certificate, and location, while sensitive personal data includes one’s health status, biometric data, ethnicity, and marital status.

Yusuf Momayi, an officer with the ODPC, who made a presentation on behalf of the Data Protection Commissioner Immaculate Kassait, said data subjects or individuals from whom personal information is gathered have a right to give or withhold it, access it from the collector or processor, as well as demand for correction and deletion as per the Protection Act of 2019.

Jotham Makanga, who also delivered a presentation on behalf of the ODPC boss, said Data Controllers and Processors have an obligation to ensure all their services, programmes, projects, and partners comply with the data protection framework.

Makanga said they should also develop and publish their data protection policy, and conduct a protection impact assessment, besides notifying the Data Commissioner of any data breach within 72 hours of its occurrence and informing the concerned data subject regarding the same.

A personal data breach occurs when, due to insecurity, an individual’s information held by a Data Controller or Processor is accidentally or unlawfully destroyed, lost, or altered, and also when the said record is disclosed, accessed, transmitted, stored, or processed without the subject’s authority.

Lucy Sophina Loronyokie, an activist for people living with disability and who works for Samburu Integrated Development for the Disabled Women and Girls, a local NGO, lauded ODPC for its County Awareness Outreach Programme saying it was a move in the right direction. She said the public often heard of government initiatives on political platforms and therefore missed important opportunities depending on the political leaders as the information sources.

Mose, who officially opened the one-day workshop at a hotel in Maralal town on behalf of the area County Commissioner, said the training was timely for area residents, saying there were many local NGOs that sought approval from the Commissioner’s office and which ended up gathering a lot of personal data.

He said Samburu County was in urgent need of public sensitization by various relevant government agencies, saying ignorance was very high among area residents.

The call for public awareness creation comes as the government implements several initiatives, including the Affordable Housing and Hustler Fund, and also seeks to implement the 2023-2024 Budget, all of which have elicited intense public debate and created a political divide among politicians and some citizens.

Source: Kenya News Agency