MaurineTheuri
Member
1. People Daily
The newspaper lifted the lid on how Jubilee Party vice chairman David Murathe influenced a company he was associated with to win a KSh 4 billion tender at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).
This was revealed through documents tabled by the Parliamentary Public Investment Committee.
Wajir East MP Rashid Amin accused Murathe of what he termed as using his closeness to the executive to influence deals.
But in an affidavit, Murathe denied being a director, shareholder, or beneficial owner of Kilig Limited which was awarded the lucrative deal to supply the PPEs.
2. The Star
The daily reported about how the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a new political outfit with close links to Deputy President William Ruto, is now fighting to stop its divorce from the ruling party.
In a surprise move, UDA which has been fielding candidates to face off with Jubilee's in recent by-elections has written to the Registrar of Political Parties saying appropriate arbitration processes need to be undertaken to resolve the current stalemate.
But Jubilee through its secretary-general Raphael Tuju maintained that a coalition with the Party of Development and Reforms (PDR), now UDA, was untenable.
Close allies of Ruto are on the record daring Jubilee to kick out UDA from their coalition pact, saying they are ready to “pay the ultimate price”.
3. Daily Nation
Apart from splashing the Murathe KSh 4bn Kemsa tender deal story on its front page, the publication also reported that ward representatives have petitioned the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to shed more light on how different versions of the BBI Bill were sent to county assemblies for debate.
This is after reports emerged that at least 34 county assemblies could have been given different versions of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment Bill 2020).
BBI Secretariat secretary Paul Mwangi said nothing could explain the reported inconsistencies since the document was sent directly to Independent IEBC.
But according to the daily, IEBC has distanced itself from the debacle, saying the proponents of the Bill had supplied all the copies of the document.
4. The Standard
Aside from reporting about the current BBI fiasco, the newspaper also focussed on Thursday, April 22, meeting between KANU chairman Gideon Moi and interim US ambassador to Kenya Eric Kneedler.
According to the daily, the two leaders met in Nairobi where they discussed a wide range of issues geared towards consolidating joint ties between Kenya and the United States.
The issues discussed included trade, security, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These two countries have common challenges and we have got several new ways we can work together to improve commercial relations, people ties,” said Kneedler.
5. Taifa Leo
The Swahili publication put the Office of Attorney General Kihara Kariuki on the spot after courts overturned most of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s decisions.
On Tuesday, April 20, the High Court made a landmark court ruling affecting a section of Cabinet secretaries and Chief Administrative Officers (CAS).
The court declared the position of CAS which came into being in 2018 unconstitutional, a move that has dealt a major blow to the ruling Jubilee administration.
The Office of the Attorney General was also accused of creating Executive positions that were illegal to please Uhuru