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Ngimanene na Muchere
Elder Lister
Na ufuatilie na abolishing of petroleum tax on PD
shika PD
enda Pg 4
NEWS
10 Days In Captivity, Kenyan-Somali Scholar Opens Up On Ordeal Under Secret Agents
Published
15 mins ago
on
September 22, 2021
By
Kenya Insights
The Kenyan-Somali scholar, who was abducted from Nairobi city centre on September 8, was grilled by agents who concealed their identities.
Prof Abdiwahab Sheikh Abdisamad, who could not identify the abductors, said through a relative that he was also disarmed of his pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition, which was returned to him upon his release by the captors in Nairobi South C estate on Sunday evening.
Just like Mombasa businessman Abdulhakim Salim Sagar, who was abducted on August 18 and released last Sunday, Abdisamad was given Sh2,000 for bus fare after more than 10 days in captivity.
Controversial scholar
The controversial scholar was abducted from Tubman Road near City Market as he walked to a hotel to meet a friend.
He was then taken to a safe house in an area he could not recognise where his abductors talked to him through speakers mounted in the house.
According to Abdisamad relatives, the agents wore balaclavas all the time they engaged him and gave him his medicine on time, fed him on time, provided a room for his prayers and provided him with warm shower.
The men appeared to know so much about him and at one point even showed him photos he had taken during a trip to Somalia.
The scholar, who is the Executive Director of the Institute for Horn of Africa Strategic Studies and an analyst at Southlink Consultants, said he could not recognise his abductors.
Abdisamad told his relatives that his abductors were interested in his activities and connections in Somalia and regional security.
Related Content: The Over $850 Million in U.S.-Kenya Commercial Deals and Engagements President Uhuru Sealed In His US Visit
“The abductors kept asking him questions on Kenyan security issues, terrorism and the maritime case pending at an international court and his connection.
Kenya has been in long running maritime boundary dispute with Somalia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In March, Kenya said it will not take in the hearings and accused the ICJ of bias in the case, which concerns a 62,000 sq miles (160,000 sq km) triangle in the Indian Ocean.
The area is thought to be rich in oil and gas. ICJ will deliver the long awaited verdict on October 12.
At one point, his abductors tabled three passports from Kenya, Somalia and Turkey and asked him to choose one. He chose the Kenyan one.
He did not explain what happened with the rest and why the passports were produced. “I think they wanted to test his loyalty. He is a Kenyan from Wajir county,” said the relative.
Remained blindfolded
He added he is yet to decide if he will seek legal redress over the issue.
A few days after he was abducted, he was issued with a phone and allowed to talk to his family and assure them that he was well and safe wherever he was.
“Untill now, he cannot remember where he was but he suspects it was out of Nairobi.
On Sunday, his kidnappers summoned a bodaboda rider and asked him to come to a place near the local mosque to deliver someone to his house in Nairobi South C estate.
On reaching the agreed destination, the abductors handed Abdisamad Sh2,000 and told him to pay the rider, dropped him to the ground from the car and removed his blindfold before driving off .
Related Content: EACC Claims Kiambu Court’s Principal Magistrate Brian Khaemba Was Compromised To Give Governor Waititu A Sh500,000 Anticipatory Bail
Abdisamad’s abduction was a part of a wave of recent abductions in the country that alarmed Muslims and the wider public.
Leaders from Mombasa county condemned the manner in which the businessman was abducted and called on security officials to come clean on the matter.
HEALTH
Kidney crisis triples NHIF dialysis pay to Sh3.8bn
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22 2021
A member of the public scans his finger during NHIF mass biometric registration in Nyeri County on June 2, 2021. FILE PHOTO | NMG
National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) payments for renal dialysis have more than tripled in the last four years, highlighting the growing cases of kidney ailments among Kenyans.
The State-backed insurer paid Sh3.844 billion for 295,563 claims for patients who sought renal dialysis in the year to June as rising cases of lifestyle diseases continue to burden the fund
This represented a 208 percent jump from Sh1.247 billion the NHIF paid for dialysis in the year to June 2017.
NHIF members are entitled to two weekly sessions of dialysis that each costs Sh9,500, pushing total annual payment per patient to an average of Sh960,000.
NHIF chief executive Peter Kamunyo said a significant number of the kidney patients joined the fund after falling ill.
“We have patients paying Sh6,000 annually and receiving benefits of nearly Sh1 million per year. This is a burden to NHIF,” Mr Kamunyo said.
The scenario — called adverse selection in insurance terms— is putting at risk the ability of the insurer to settle claims and meet administrative costs.
Adverse selection refers to situations where an insurance company extends coverage to an applicant whose actual risk is substantially higher than the risk known by the insurance company.
The NHIF collected Sh61.5 billion in the year ended June and paid out Sh54.6 billion or 88.7 percent as claims to hospitals.
Mr Kamunyo said a significant number of active voluntary contributors are suffering from chronic diseases, leaving the fund with huge monthly claims.
Voluntary contributors — usually drawn from informal sector — pay Sh500 a month to the NHIF while those in formal sector contribute between Sh150 and Sh1,700 every month, depending on salary scale.
The number of voluntary contributors has jumped in recent years on the back of a mass recruitment drive.
Official data show that about four million Kenyans have some form of kidney ailment.
High blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes are the most common causes of kidney disease. High blood pressure, for instance, is reported to cause just over a quarter of all cases of kidney failure.
Dr Andrew Suleh, a renal expert and former medical superintendent at Mbagathi District Hospital, said that lifestyle diseases have been on the rise in the past few years on increased consumption of junk and sugary foods and people going slow on physical exercises.
“There is an increase in non-communicable diseases that include obesity, diabetes, hypertension. Obesity is linked to lifestyle and we can see there has been a proliferation in consumption of junk and sugary food,” Dr Suleh told the Business Daily Wednesday.
Renal dialysis accounted for the third biggest spending for medical bills paid through the NHIF, after inpatient services at Sh7.43 billion and major surgeries at Sh5.08 billion.
Mr Kamunyo said the problem of adverse selection will be addressed through the ongoing changes to the law that seek to make it compulsory for every adult Kenyan to be a member of the NHIF in a race to offer medical cover for all.
The government-backed NHIF (Amendment) Bill seeks to make it compulsory for every Kenyan above 18 years to contribute and be a member of the fund.
The proposed law, which is currently before Parliament, targets more than 16 million adult Kenyans who are not covered by the NHIF.
The State has offered to sponsor one million poor households at the onset of the universal health coverage (UHC) scheme, which is modelled on the US’s Obamacare that extends insurance to 32 million uninsured Americans.
Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, requires all employers to cover their employees or pay a tax penalty, except for small firms.
The fund has disclosed that 5.7 million members or 54 percent of the 10.6 million members had stopped paying premiums by the end of last month having benefited from its services, including key procedures that come with hefty bills.
Kidney crisis triples NHIF dialysis pay to Sh3.8bn
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 22 2021
A member of the public scans his finger during NHIF mass biometric registration in Nyeri County on June 2, 2021. FILE PHOTO | NMG
National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) payments for renal dialysis have more than tripled in the last four years, highlighting the growing cases of kidney ailments among Kenyans.
The State-backed insurer paid Sh3.844 billion for 295,563 claims for patients who sought renal dialysis in the year to June as rising cases of lifestyle diseases continue to burden the fund
This represented a 208 percent jump from Sh1.247 billion the NHIF paid for dialysis in the year to June 2017.
NHIF members are entitled to two weekly sessions of dialysis that each costs Sh9,500, pushing total annual payment per patient to an average of Sh960,000.
NHIF chief executive Peter Kamunyo said a significant number of the kidney patients joined the fund after falling ill.
“We have patients paying Sh6,000 annually and receiving benefits of nearly Sh1 million per year. This is a burden to NHIF,” Mr Kamunyo said.
The scenario — called adverse selection in insurance terms— is putting at risk the ability of the insurer to settle claims and meet administrative costs.
Adverse selection refers to situations where an insurance company extends coverage to an applicant whose actual risk is substantially higher than the risk known by the insurance company.
The NHIF collected Sh61.5 billion in the year ended June and paid out Sh54.6 billion or 88.7 percent as claims to hospitals.
Mr Kamunyo said a significant number of active voluntary contributors are suffering from chronic diseases, leaving the fund with huge monthly claims.
Voluntary contributors — usually drawn from informal sector — pay Sh500 a month to the NHIF while those in formal sector contribute between Sh150 and Sh1,700 every month, depending on salary scale.
The number of voluntary contributors has jumped in recent years on the back of a mass recruitment drive.
Official data show that about four million Kenyans have some form of kidney ailment.
High blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes are the most common causes of kidney disease. High blood pressure, for instance, is reported to cause just over a quarter of all cases of kidney failure.
Dr Andrew Suleh, a renal expert and former medical superintendent at Mbagathi District Hospital, said that lifestyle diseases have been on the rise in the past few years on increased consumption of junk and sugary foods and people going slow on physical exercises.
“There is an increase in non-communicable diseases that include obesity, diabetes, hypertension. Obesity is linked to lifestyle and we can see there has been a proliferation in consumption of junk and sugary food,” Dr Suleh told the Business Daily Wednesday.
Renal dialysis accounted for the third biggest spending for medical bills paid through the NHIF, after inpatient services at Sh7.43 billion and major surgeries at Sh5.08 billion.
Mr Kamunyo said the problem of adverse selection will be addressed through the ongoing changes to the law that seek to make it compulsory for every adult Kenyan to be a member of the NHIF in a race to offer medical cover for all.
The government-backed NHIF (Amendment) Bill seeks to make it compulsory for every Kenyan above 18 years to contribute and be a member of the fund.
The proposed law, which is currently before Parliament, targets more than 16 million adult Kenyans who are not covered by the NHIF.
The State has offered to sponsor one million poor households at the onset of the universal health coverage (UHC) scheme, which is modelled on the US’s Obamacare that extends insurance to 32 million uninsured Americans.
Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, requires all employers to cover their employees or pay a tax penalty, except for small firms.
The fund has disclosed that 5.7 million members or 54 percent of the 10.6 million members had stopped paying premiums by the end of last month having benefited from its services, including key procedures that come with hefty bills.
Petroleum tax lazima. IMF imetufinya makende.
Unfortunately there is nothing anybody can do
Ngimanene na Muchere
Elder Lister
Nataka kuona kule hii bravado ya mpig imefika
mzeiya
Elder Lister
Mololine matatu founder who rose from a tout to a millionaire
Mololine Services founder Kibera Muchai during an event in Elburgon, Nakuru County, in July this year.[Kipsang Joseph, Standard]
In the history of Kenya’s public transport sector, Mololine Services has an entire chapter to itself thanks to its creative and visionary founder millionaire businessman, Kibera Muchai.
Muchai died at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital on September 14, 2021 after a short illness and was buried at his Ribot village home in Elburgon, Molo yesterday in a ceremony attended by ODM leader Raila Odinga and top government officials.
Muchai is credited with many changes in the modern matatu sector, most of which the government adopted from Molo Line, a company which he founded alongside other businessmen.
He was born in Mweiga, Nyeri, in 1958 before his parents relocated to Turi Farm, Molo in 1966 from where he launched his business ventures.
After sitting his Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) at St Peter’s Boys in Elburgon, Muchai joined Elburgon Secondary in 1973 and later trained as a mason in Narok.
Described as a man of big dreams by his close friends such as former Njoro MP Joseph Kiuna, Muchai briefly worked at a Nakuru hardware before joining the matatu sector as a tout in 1980.
“In the early 1990s, he brought together young men from Molo and Elburgon to form the most domineering public transport company – Mololine Services Limited,” his family said.
Muchai who had by then acquired his own matatus, guided his peers in bringing their matatus together to form a fleet operating from Molo to Nairobi which informed the naming of the company.
At the company, Muchai was a director and vice chairman until his death.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga during the burial of David Kibera Muchai founder Mololine Services[Kipsang Joseph, Standard]
Insiders at the company credited him with the introduction of electronic fleet management, a queuing system that has evolved to e-ticketing, low capacity shuttles (11 seaters) and executive shuttles. His close ally, former Molo MP Jacob Macharia, described Muchai as a man who loved order and fairness hence his creative ways of transforming the chaotic matatu sector.
Despite having multi-million-shilling business investments in Nairobi, Nakuru and Molo, Muchai led a simple life.
“He was always trying to find solutions to problems affecting people in his village and town. You wouldn’t know that he was a millionaire unless someone told you,” said Macharia.
In a past interview with The Standard, Mololine Services Limited chairman Joseph Kariuki popularly known as Bumasu who was the company’s think-tank alongside Muchai, said their journey had not been smooth.
“Previously, the government had been against our efforts to organise our business into a matatu sacco. We only succeeded in 1994 when we registered the sacco as a limited liability company,” said Bumasu.
Beyond business interests, their move was informed by a desire to bring sanity in the chaotic sector which was surprisingly unfriendly to its own clients. “There was no order in the sector, and this is what Muchai and other like-minded directors wanted to do away with. Passengers would be manhandled as touts scrambled to get them to board their matatus,” said Bumasu.
Irked by the behaviour, the new company introduced an orderly uptake of passengers at the terminus, a move that was seen as an attempt to deny touts an opportunity to eke a living out of the chaotic operations.
“We began by puting up signs guiding passengers to the right matatus. If we didn’t have a matatu waiting, they would queue and get issued with tickets,” said Bumasu.
In 1998, the company took yet another bold step in the onslaught of touting by introducing uniforms for conductors and drivers from whom the passengers could safely seek assistance from.
“In 2004, then Transport Minister John Michuki introduced reforms in the sector through the famed Michuki laws. For us, the only new thing was the introduction of safety belts which we immediately complied with,” said Bumasu.
The company continued to thrive, and even won the trust of the then electoral body, Electoral Commission of Kenya which awarded it a tender to distribute voting materials across the country.
am sure you're being sarcastic, but with how rotten we are as a society, it would harm more than it would benefit if "ANYBODY" did something not only to the lands ministry but to all sectors/ministries/parastatals........
look at some of the effects that removing the thousands of As n KCSE has on the universities