Newspapers on Tuesday, December 9, reported on various topics, with the focus being on the Nyanza area, where extensive voter registration has revealed a large number of new voters.
Source: UGC
1. The Star
The newspaper reported that a national campaign to register citizens with identity cards has revealed a group of eligible voters who were previously ignored in Nyanza, which is expected to increase the weight of the local elections in 2027.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in partnership with the Department of Immigration and Human Services, administers the scheme.
Officials say the exercise has uncovered a backlog of unregistered adults, many of whom should have obtained their IDs decades ago.
According to the ministry’s statistics, more than 1.5 million residents of the counties of Migori, Siaya, Homa Bay and Poisonous they do not have national identity cards, despite being over 18 years old.
These results seem to confirm long-standing concerns about systemic exclusion, an issue that has been repeatedly raised by political leaders, human rights defenders and local communities.
Lawrence Nyaguti of the Ministry of Home Affairs, who is leading the registration effort, said The Star that only 450,000 people out of 1.5 million people reached the age of 18 this year.
… “In our assessment, especially in Migori, Homa Bay, Kisumu and Siaya, there are about 1.5 million Kenyans who are eligible to be registered with IDs,” Nyaguti explained. He pointed out that most of them are not school graduates but old people, some in their forties, fifties and sixties, who have been excluded from bureaucratic restrictions for a long time.
“Of those 1.5 million, according to KNBS data, 450,000 turned 18 this year. The rest are adults who, for many years, failed to get IDs due to previous restrictions and charges,” he added.
The figures reinforce the claims made over the years by the former ODM leader Raila Odingawho accused successive governments of using document restrictions to deliberately suppress voter registration in his political stronghold.
2. Daily Nation
The newspaper recently reported a new dispute over police recruitment.
The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) wants the Court of Appeal to overturn a decision that allowed the Inspector General of Police to hire more than 10,000 officers.
Appearing before the court of appeal yesterday, the commission claimed that Inspector General Douglas Kanja had interfered with the constitutional powers reserved for the NPSC.
It stressed that the hiring of police officers last month was done “in a vacuum,” without legal and statutory protections that normally guarantee transparency, fairness and reputation.
On October 30, the Employment and Labor Relations Tribunal (ELRC) ruled that the recruitment of officers is a constitutional function assigned exclusively to the National Police Service as an instrument of national security.
The same court declared certain provisions of the National Police Service Act unconstitutional, ruling that they interfered with the independent mandate of the Inspector General.
The NPSC responded that the trial court had disregarded the Recruitment and Selection Rules, leaving the process without a guiding framework, set criteria or legitimate safeguards for such a sensitive and appropriate exercise.
“The moment showed a system operating without its vision, where constitutional work continued without laws intended to give it stability, legitimacy and public confidence,” the commission submitted.
The Court of Appeal is expected to issue its decision on February 27, 2026.
Meanwhile, a separate petition before the High Court initially resulted in a temporary suspension of employment, but the order was later lifted, allowing the practice to continue.
In its appeal, the NPSC warned that enforcing the labor court’s judgment would reinforce the unconstitutional transfer.
3. Nation Today
The newspaper reported on the entry of Class 10 students into high schools.
They will know the best high schools to get into before Christmas.
This move aims to give parents enough time to prepare, as students are expected to report to school on January 12, 2026.
The results of the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA) are expected to be released on Thursday, December 11.
After that, students will be given the schools they will join through an electronic system known as NEMISa process that will be led by the Ministry of Education.
The six boys and six girls who will emerge first in the subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in each sub-county will join the boarding schools of their choice.
Also, the top three girls and three boys in Social Studies in each sub-county will also be placed in boarding schools of their choice.
Similarly, two boys and girls who will emerge first in Arts and Sports in each sub-county will also join the high school of their choice.
4. The Standard
The newspaper highlighted a saga involving a relative of Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli.
James Chesimani Masengeli, also known as Timothy Khatete Barasa and nephew of the DIG, was accused of defrauding seven parents of KSh 2.58 million by falsely claiming that he could get National Police Service (NPS) jobs for their children during the recent recruitment exercise.
Chesimani, a former police officer, appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego on Monday, December 8, and pleaded not guilty to fraud charges brought against him by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
According to the prosecution, Chesimani is alleged to have committed the offenses on various dates in November 2025, using his mobile phones to impersonate Deputy IG Gilbert Masengeli and claiming he had seven vacancies.
The charge sheet read;
“On different dates between November 18 and 23, 2025, in an unknown location within Kenya, with intent to defraud, he obtained KSh 2,588,000 by falsely pretending that he was in a position to secure seven job vacancies in the National Police Service, which he knew to be false.”
After he pleaded not guilty, the state prosecutor did not oppose his release on bail. Defense lawyer Shadrack Wambui asked the court to grant lower bail conditions, describing Masengeli as a law-abiding citizen and father of four children.
The judge released Chesimani Masengeli on KSh 1 million bail or KSh 500,000 cash bail, with two sureties.
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