MWEA EAST DC RECORDS ASSAULT STATEMENT. JANE MUGAMBI 23RD APRIL 2012. An administrator has recorded a statement with the police after she was accused of assaulting a pupil during a demonstration last week. Mwea East district commissioner Kula Hache recorded a statement with the district criminal investigative departement at Wang’uru on Friday afternoon when she was summoned by police. According to the DCIO Fondo the DC was summoned to record a statement after the mother Jacinta Nyaguthii and his son Dennis Nyamasio a standard seven pupil at Ngurubani primary school recorded their statement. He said that the pupil had to be taken to hospital for specialized treatment after his ear started aching after the DC slapped him. The DCIO said that they are waiting for the state counsel to give them directives on the assault allegations that are being made against the administrator. “We are waiting for the state counsel to respond to our application on the assault allegations that are being made against the DC” added Fondo. On Friday and Monday the pupil was taken for treatment at Kerugoya district hospital after he was issued with a p3 form where the Ear, Nose and throat (ENT) specialist examined that the child has internal injuries as a result of slapping which has affected his hearing. The incident occurred when pupils and their parents stormed the Dc’s office accusing her office and the district land registrar of doing nothing as private developers encroach the schools 25 acre land. The district commissioner had a hard task trying to calm the crowd of angry pupils and parents who booed her accusing her, the district land registrar and a private surveyor of colluding to grab the schools 25 acre land. Led by Mr Stephen Ngure Githinji the school’s PTA chairman and Eric Muchina the area MP personal assistant the pupils cut short their studies for the better part of the day to make their demands known. Carrying twigs and placards and chanting slogans “shamba letu and DC must go” the demonstrators disrupted business in part of the busy Ngurubani town as they blocked the road leading to the Dc’s office. The parents accused Kirinyaga county council of fueling the disputed of the schools parcel of land by failing to confiscate the title deed from the original owner even after he was compensated by the council to give way for construction of the school in the late 60’s. The parents called on the ministry of lands and the ministry of education to take an urgent action as the future of their children was at risk as the land could be grabbed by private developers claiming that they bought it from the original owner. The administrator further cautioned parents against politicizing the running of the schools affairs and involving children in school politics. ENDS… 0723321326

EIGHT DEAD DUE TO FLASH FLOODS IN MWEA. JANE MUGAMBI 1ST MAY 2012. Mwea Mp Peter Gitau has urged area residents who have built on the river banks to vacate. The Mp said that due to lack of land, some people have built their houses at the banks of river Thiba terming the move as dangerous. HE said that flash floods are expected in the area giving an early warning to Mwea people, who are also on the downstream. “I am appealing to the people who have built their houses at the banks of river Thiba and are on the downstream to vacate to avert death as the water levels has increased” added Gitau. The MP also said that the government as for now needs to have come up with a plan on how the people who are in Githogondo, Kamuchege, Murubara, Kwa V and Gatwiri should be relocated top safer grounds as the river have already burst displacing them. Gitau said that so far eight people have been reported having died as a result of drowning adding that wananchi are supposed to be very careful with the rivers and not even ignore the seasonal rivers and canals as five of them mostly being children have fallen and swept by canal waters. He said that National Irrigation Board should also open the drainage system that it has closed as the upgrading process is being done saying that the waters have started displacing people at Thiba slums. HE said that the soil type which is black soil and retains water is the cause of raise of the water level in Mwea. HE said that water being used in rice fields have increased sending fears of the outbreak of water borne diseases urging the Kenya Red cross and the ministry of special programme to act fast in seeing that wananchi have been moved to safer grounds and that NIB sends a tractor to unblock the drainage to give way to the water to get to the river and stop going into peoples homes. HE also said that the bursting of river Thiba is sending fears to school going children who parents are fearing that can be swept anytime as the water levels are increasing unnoticed. HE also warned school administration from sending children to fetch water the river saying that any death the head teacher or the teacher on duty who sent them will be held accountable. Ends.. 0723321326

FLOODS JANE MUGAMBI 02/05/12 Twenty families have been displaced by floods following a heavy down pour that has been witnessed in the past few days in Kirinyaga County. The families fled their homes on Sunday after their houses were submerged and property worth thousands of shillings destroyed at Gatuiri village in Mwea West division. Among the property swept away by floods were toilets, clothes, utensils and crops. The families were sleeping when heavy rains which flooded the area started falling, submerging their houses after the water found the drainage system’s outlets closed by National Irrigation Board for the construction of the Dam . They were woken up by floods which got into their buildings and left the area for safety immediately. A victim, Mr James Muriuki said he and his family escaped death by a whisker when they were woken up by the water which was in their houses when their beds were soaked with water. The victim claimed that they almost drowned when the floods hit the village at midnight terming there escape as lucky. “It is through God’s luck that my family was able to escape from the floods immediately the houses started being swept away” added Muriuki. The victims are now being accommodated by good Samaritans who rescued them while others are spending their night in the cold. Another victim, Susan Wanjiku said she and other family members lost everything to the floods. The victims are appealing to well wishers and the Red Cross to donate clothes, food and other necessities. They also appeal for assistance to be able to construct new dwelling places. Area assistant chief Mr Justus Wanjohi said the situation is bad and the victims needed to be assisted. He said that the families require food, clothe and drugs urgently for them to survive. Mr Wanjohi said an outbreak of diseases is likely because of poor sanitation. The administrator said that toilets in the village were completely destroyed by rain storms and there could be an outbreak of diseases if urgent measures are not taken. The administrator advised the residents especially those living in flat areas of Mwea plains to be alert and move to higher grounds to avoid being drowned. The long rain that has been raining in the last three weeks has wreaked havoc in the area. It has destroyed bridges, crops and killed three people among them two girls aged two years. One of the victims’s aged 30 years drowned at Marurumo village as he was crossing the flooded Nyamindi River and his body is yet to be retrieved. This comes barely a week after the area Mp Peter Gitau urged them to vacate from the water way mostly those that had settled at River Thiba’s banks. Ends………………………………………………………………

Rice destroyed by floods. JANE MUGAMBI 9TH MAY 2012. Farmers in Mwea irrigation scheme are counting losses worth millions of shillings after their Rice was destroyed by flood waters following heavy rains in the area. The problem was made worse after the banks of river Thiba broke down flooding more than two hundred acres of rice in the country's expansive rice farming region. The farmers are now calling on the government through the ministry of agriculture to assist them since thy had invested alot in the rice which have been destroyed. However more than fifty families are spending nights in the cold after their houses were marooned by flood waters following the heavy downpour in the area. According to Anthony Gikunju Mwaniki a resident of the area, the farmers will be unable to farm next season due to the loses incurred. "Tumepoteza pesa yetu yote yenye tuliinvest kwa shamba(We have lost money that we had invested to the floods" said Mwaniki. Speaking on phone, National irrigation board Manager Hosea Wendot said that they are looking for ways to manage the situation saying the rains have hampered construction work of canals in the rice fields. Wendot called on residents living in areas prone to floods to move to safer areas to avoid being carried away by floodwater. ends... 0723321326

FARMERS EDUCATED ON FARMING MALE FISH FOR MEAT NOT REPRODUCTION. JANE MUGAMBI 14TH MAY 2012. The ministry of fisheries development has established an ambitious programme to train fish farmers how to breed male fish with the aim of improving quality of meat and ensure constant supply of fish in the local and international market. The programme will train 150 farmers drawn from across the country in the 160 constituencies where the government has established 200 fish ponds in each constituency through the economic stimulus programme. The farmers are currently undergoing training at the national aquaculture research development and training center in Sagana Kirinyaga County. Speaking during the official opening of the training Fisheries permanent secretary Prof Micheni Ntiba said that the programme intends to train farmers in the production of male fish which will be reared alone in a fish pond to boost quality. Prof Ntiba noted that when fish are mixed in a pond the male spend most of heir time reproducing while the female spend most of the time laying eggs and protecting the young ones hence affecting their growth and quality of meat. The permanent secretary noted that the programme aims at training farmers in the production of male fingerlings and rear them separately in pond to ensue that they pack meat properly hence boost quality of meat as well as fetch better income for the farmers. The farmers will be mandated to produce certified male fingerlings in their respective localities and supply them t farmers locally. “Production of certified seed should be enforced by the government so as not to frustrate farmers” added Ntiba. Prof Ntiba noted that the ministry will also maintain a brood stock of female fish to produce eggs for reproduction purposes. The permanent secretary noted that many countries that have achieved medium income status in the world have relied on fish to drive their economies. He however called on all the stakeholders in the fish industry to partner with his ministry to ensure that they create awareness about fish across the country. Ntiba added that in the last three years Kenya has made tremendous progress in the production of fish and stands at number four in Africa. “We are geared to become number one soon” added Prof Ntiba. Ends..