On Wednesday, February 4, newspapers highlighted the behind-the-scenes issues that led to the departure of Hussein Marjan from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), while also following the changes in the coalition and the changes within the Unity Declaration coalition.
Source: UGC
1. Daily Nation
According to the newspaper, Nairobi florists are bracing for a tough Valentine’s season after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) clipped the wings of the flourishing cash flower business, warning that distorting and affixing notes to decorative petals is tantamount to destroying legitimate tender.
For months, florists had been turning hard notes into elaborate bouquets, mixing craft and emotion with cash.
But the CBK statement made it clear that the procedure interferes with the integrity of the notes and disrupts ATMs and cash counting machines.
The regulator cited the Penal Code, which makes it illegal to damage or deface currency, with offenders facing up to three months in jail or a KSh2,000 fine.
The timing couldn’t be worse as Valentine’s Day is just a few days away, and many florists say cash flowers were their biggest draw.
Joan Momanyi, a Nairobi florist who helped popularize the trend in the country, said demand increased in 2024 after she learned the craft from Asian online tutorials.
At his peak, he handled up to five orders a day, getting new notes directly from the bank to meet customers’ expectations.
Cash wreaths, long popular in parts of Asia where money symbolizes good fortune, have gained momentum in Kenya through social media.
Popular hauls, including a KSh150,000 bouquet gifted to a local content creator last Valentine’s Day, only fueled the desire.
Now, uncertainty hangs over the business, with florists warning that the order threatens jobs and sellers who had stockpiled supplies in anticipation of February sales.
2. The Standard
According to this newspaper, the death of General Kiambati, the last surviving Mau Mau general, has closed a historical chapter in Kenya’s struggle for independence, reopening painful questions about justice, recognition and unfulfilled promises to freedom fighters.
Kiambati died at his home in Ngorika, Nyandarua County, at the age of 106, while his family said he died peacefully of natural causes.
He was among the 12 Mau Mau fighters who were promoted to the rank of general during the liberation struggle, joining prominent figures such as Dedan Kimathi, General China, Musa Mwariama, Mukami Kimathi and Agnes Muthoni.
His death marks the end of a long and largely unresolved struggle by Mau Mau veterans for compensation, dignity and historical closure.
For years, Kiambati publicly pushed the government to compensate veterans and their families, give them land in Nyandarua where many fought and hide, and exhume Kimathi’s remains, which are believed to be buried in Kamit Central Prison.
In an earlier interview, Kiambati said that honoring the dead fighters through proper burial and restitution would restore respect for those who sacrificed themselves for Kenya’s independence.
Despite his efforts, many of these demands were not met at the time of his death.
His son, Maina Kiambati, has vowed to continue his father’s legacy, saying the family will continue to pressure the government to fulfill the promises made to Mau Mau veterans.
He asked for the government’s help in giving Kiambati a dignified burial, noting that many freedom fighters died in poverty despite their role in gaining independence.
3. Nation Today
According to the Swahili daily newspaper, the Minister of Education Julius Ogamba is preparing to name school principals and ministry officials who are accused of inventing a major fraud involving air schools and absent students, a plan believed to steal billions of shillings from the education sector.
Ogamba said the full audit report, compiled after the national verification exercise carried out last year, is ready and will be tabled in parliament.
“I will confirm the date tomorrow,” he said.
The findings, he noted, paint a disturbing picture of extensive manipulation of education data, with sources describing the scale of the manipulation as “staggering.”
Once the report is made public, a police investigation is expected to follow, paving the way for arrests and charges.
“The Ministry of Education has completed verification throughout the country. After the release of the report, strict measures will be taken against the criminals. The perpetrators must be removed. The report will be shared with the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission,” the Minister said.
The Cabinet Minister said the audit revealed a large enrollment of fake students in primary, middle and high schools, including fake students with special needs, who receive more government funding.
By November last year, the exercise had already identified at least 87,000 students.
In some cases, officials discovered schools listed in official records with no students at all, with about 10 such institutions spread across 10 counties.
4. The Star
The publication reports that the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has quietly taken steps to overhaul its senior leadership, prompting internal concerns about order, legitimacy and party unity ahead of key political decisions.
The party has officially written to the Registrar of Political Parties seeking to make major changes in leadership, including the appointment of Siaya senator Oburu Oginga as the party’s senior leader, replacing Raila Odinga.
The move has been made before the convening of the National Conference of Delegates of the party (NDC), the main body tasked with approving the decisions.
A public notice issued by Registrar John Lorionokou on January 19 opened a one-week window for objections, making the changes public.
The change affects almost the entire leadership of the party. Minister of Cooperative Societies Wycliffe Oparanya and Minister of Mines Ali Hassan Joho have been removed from the positions of deputy leaders of the party, their positions being taken by the governor of Mombasa Abdulswamad Nassir, the governor of Kisii Simba Arati and Senator Godfrey Osotsi in the newly arranged positions.
Governor of Homa Bay Gladys Wanga takes over as national chairman, while Rarieda Member of Parliament Otiende Amollo and Turkana Central Member of Parliament Ariko Namoit are deputy chairmen.
Other changes include the appointment of new planning responsibilities and political issues in various areas.
However, the reorganization has deepened the division within ODM as the group led by secretary-general Edwin Sifuna, EALA Member of Parliament Winnie Odinga and Member of Parliament for Embakasi East Babu Owino stressing that only the NDC can legally approve major changes in leadership. They accuse the party bodies of ignoring the constitution.
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