NATIONAL Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale has told the now-defunct Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution it failed to fulfill its mandate.

Duale said in its End of Term Report, the CIC was misleading Kenyans and throwing blame at others.

“The CIC failed in its duty to conduct an objective and impartial audit of the efficacy of our new constitution, after five years, leaving it to ordinary Kenyans and politicians to do so,” Duale said.

He added that the CIC failed to submit all bills to Parliament on time as required, until they were given ultimatums.

“Now that all relevant bills are with Parliament, the duty lies with the Legislature to consider and pass them,” the Garissa Township MP said.

He added that the role of reviewing and proposing draft bills to fully implement the constitution will henceforth be vested in the Kenya Law Review Commission and the Attorney General’s office.

“In fact, for the last five years, the CIC has been heavily relying on these two statutory offices to review or draft bills for submission to Parliament,” Duale said.

The MP also said that under Article 3 of the constitution, it is the obligation of every Kenyan to respect, uphold and defend the constitution.

At the same time, some opposition MPs took a swipe at Nyachae, terming him a prophet of doom for his suggestion that the number of constituencies be reduced from 290 to 150.

This proposal by the CIC in its End Term Report is likely to ignite political heat among politicians, with vehement rejection by MPs who will oppose a fresh demarcation of constituencies.

Speaking to the Star, they argued that it was not within the CIC’s mandate to determine how Kenyans should be represented in Parliament.

“Nyachae is behaving like a false prophet. He is not a referral hospital for the country’s political ailments,” Suna East MP Junet Mohammed said.

He said the decision on whether the number of MPs should be reduced should be made after the ongoing constitutional review processes are complete.

“That was Nyachae’s personal opinion and not the CIC position,” said the ODM director of Elections.

ODM chairman John Mbadi said Nyachae’s team was desperately scavenging for relevance to justify their poor show during their term.

“Nyachae’s team failed this country. Parliament rose up to the occasion several times to put the constitution implementation process on track, despite delays from the executive,” he said.

But Nyachae, who has been at the helm of the CIC for the last five years, maintained that MPs failed to provide a mechanism that would guarantee continuing oversight in the implementation process of the constitution after they rejected extending the CIC’s term.

“I have to say that the National Assembly on its part, in terms of how the country moves forward, has not served the people of Kenya well,” he said during an interview with KTN on Tuesday night.

MOMBASA was yesterday named one of the few counties where no cases of cheating were reported during this year’s KCPE.

Other counties from the coastal region where no cheating was reported are Taita Taveta, Kilifi and Tana River.

Outside the coastal region, the counties where no cheating was reported are Nyeri, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Marsabit, Uasin Gishu, Kajiado, Elgeyo Marakwet and Siaya.

“I wish to salute you and urge you to keep up the good work that you are doing,” Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said, congratulating the counties where no cheating was reported.

In the Coast, 14-year-old Rhoda Engefu emerged the top student, with 444 marks.

Even though the national government banned ranking of the national examinations, the Star was able to establish that Engefu scored the highest marks in the region.

She was a candidate at the famous St Kevin School, Nyali.

A student from Nyali Primary School, Hussein Albeity, is believed to be the second-highest-scoring student at the Coast, with 440 marks.

Other top performers were Gladys Mutheu and Mark Mathai from St Kevin School, Nyali, each scoring 436 marks.

Natalie Muthoni from Busy Bee School, Tudor, scored 435 marks.

Speaking during an interview at her school, Engefu said she wants to become a businesswoman in future.

The first-born daughter said her success in the examinations was due to hard work and determination.

“I heeded my parents and teachers’ advice and studied hard for my examinations,” said Engefu, who was index number 12.

Mathai, the last-born in a family of three children, said he wants to join the Nairobi School for his secondary education.

I want to become a neurosurgeon in future,” said Mathai.

St Kevin School, Nyali, had a mean score of 427 marks.

Some 24 candidates sat their examinations at the school, and the highest scored 444 while the lowest had 411 marks, according to the results seen by the Star.

Kevin Nyongesa, the proprietor of the school, said, “This success is because of the teamwork between the parents, teachers and pupils.”

He said this year’s performance was the school’s best.

The children performed well in English (mean score 90.08), followed by Kiswahili (mean 89.75), Social Studies had a mean of 86.04, Science 81.58 and Mathematics was last, with 79.91.

Last year, the best candidate at the school, Mercy Nyaboke, had 437 marks.

At Busy Bee School, Muthoni said she would like to join the Peponi International School in Nairobi.

CONTROVERSIES and scandals have been plenty in the Kenyan entertainment scene this year. We sample some of them that left many tongues wagging.

DJ Creme's sex tape

One of the best deejays in Kenya gifted us the ultimate scandal of the year. If there was a medal, trophy or bonus to be dished out, it will probably go to George Njuguna aka DJ Creme De La Creme. It was early November when a sex tape starring the famous DJ and a woman later identified as Halima Nasir surfaced online. The video went viral within a few minutes with the news hitting the headlines even in some of the world's top gossip sites, tabloids and newspapers.

Susumila versus ex-wife

In late October, Mombasa-based artiste Susumila was accused by his ex-wife, Ruth Jimmy, of bewitching her. The mother of two alleged that the Hidaya hit maker used witchcraft to divorce her and to seduce his then new catch, Kibibi Salim. Just a few days after their rant, Susumila wedded the actress at Paris Hall in Mombasa.

Willy Paul abortion claims

Gospel artiste Willy Paul has been making controversial headlines for a very long time now. In September, a 19-year-old woman named Charlene Leila, who claimed to be his girlfriend, sensationally accused the singer of impregnating her and later ordering her to abort. However, Willy rubbished the claims, saying it was a fabrication by his enemies to tarnish his image and stall his progress.

Prezzo slapped in club

On the night of December 4, controversial and flashy rapper Prezzo experienced the wrath of an angry reveller. Apparently, the Liq Her hitmaker, accompanied by his entourage, walked over to a table where a couple was hanging out. He then allegedly pulled moves on the lady, who was waiting for her male companion who was at the restrooms. Upon his return to the table, he was irked by Prezzo who was busy throwing his punchlines to the lady. The dude got angry and slapped Prezzo across his face before his entourage stepped in to shield him from being hit again, a commotion that saw the club security intervene.

Sara Nanaa busts cheating fiancé

Singer and events manager Sara Nanaa was all set to tie the knot with her fiance. This was not to be as she discovered a few minutes to taking her marriage vows that her man had cheated with one of her close friends at a bachelors' party.

Adebayor's witchcraft claims

Emmanuel Adebayor is one of Africa's greatest football stars. However, the Togolese made headlines in May when he accused his mother of bewitching him, thus stalling his footballing career. The former Arsenal striker also alleged his mum, brothers and sisters had “extorted” huge amounts of money from him.

Delvin's tiff with Ne-Yo

When American R&B star, Ne-Yo came to Kenya in August, courtesy of Coke Studio Africa, he took some time out to sample Nairobi's nightlife. He was having a meet-and-greet party at the new F1 Club when allegedly Delvin, a member of the boy group Sauti Sol, walked in with his girlfriend and headed to the VIP section. This irked one of Ne-Yo's bouncers who ordered Delvin and his flame ejected. However, Delvin later denied that he was thrown out of the club or man-handled by Ne-Yo's bouncers.

 Ann Mbaru's nudes and sex tape

Ann Mbaru is a former Kenyan contestant at the Big Brother Africa reality show. In November, her alleged sex tape was uploaded on an international porn site, xhamster. Her nude photos also leaked in Uganda and went viral.

Ambassada arrested over stolen iPad

Popular Kenya-based Ugandan gospel singer Ambassada was in February arrested for handling stolen property. Apparently he had bought the gadget not knowing that it had been stolen from comedian Fred Omondi. However, he was a relieved man when the charges were dropped in October.

Octopizzo busted by American R&B star

August Alsina, a popular US R&B star, busted Kenyan rapper Octopizzo who had claimed that he had recorded a song titled This Could Be Us with him. Alsina took to Twitter to unmask Octopizzo by labeling him a liar. Octopizzo denied the accusations, saying the two had worked on the single online.

2015 has been a memorable one for many Kenyans. The highlight was the visit by US President Barack Obama who was hosted to a state dinner by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Other world leaders who visited Kenya include Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic church, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Danish foreign affairs minister Kristian Jensen, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who was here to launch his autobiography and former Mozambique and South Africa First Lady Graca Machel who was the chief guest at the launch the Kenyan chapter of her New Faces New Voices Foundation.

Apart from the visits, other significant events in Kenya's social calendar include the highly successful Fashion High Tea in February and the Concour D'Elegance where the best vintage cars were feted.

Here are other highlights of 2015 captured on camera.

Italian PrimeMinister Matteo Renzi speaks at the Univerisity of Nairobi on Wednesday,July 15 when he delivered a public lecture.

Industrialisation Principal Secretary designate Julius Korir with visiting Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Kristian Jensen

Former prime minister Raila Odinga with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo

New Faces New Voices patron Graca Machel.

Senator Zipporah Kittony at Daisy Kanainza Nyongesa wedding at Oak place Hotel in Kiambu County on August 9.

The newly weds Doreen Mutheu and Allan Ngari

Dismas Indiza from Kenya follows his tee shot during the 2015 Barclays Kenya Open golf tournament at the Karen Country Club in Nairobi, April 11, 2015.Photo/Stafford Ondego/www.pic-centre.com. (KENYA).

Legendary actor David Mulwa feted as he turns 70.

Lupita Nyong'o at her dinner to raise funds for Elephant conservation

Japanese models dressed in Kimono dress at Japanese cultural event

Banker Abdi Yusuf with Miss Commonwealth Kenya Cultural Cohesion Hezena Lemaletian at Esiankiki Night at the Carnivore in Nairobi.

French ambassador Rémi Maréchaux at Bastille Day in Nairobi

Artists James Njoroge and Elkana Ongesa at the annual Circle Art show

SOS goodwill ambassador Angelique Pitteloud with Swiss ambassador Jacques Pitteloud at the SOS night at the Serena in Nairobi

Kisumu Governor's wife Olivia Ranguma at the Kisumu Fashion Week

The Opposition's performance in Parliament in 2015 was lacklustre, signalling weak leadership of the 141 Cord Coalition MPs.

Cord failed spectacularly in calling for impeachment of President Uhuru Kenyatta and sacking of Devolution CS Anne Waiguru — both nonstarters considered emblematic of the opposition's divisiveness.

Individually, Cord MPs introduced more bills than their Jubilee counterparts but their leaders failed to whip them and were unable to generate numbers to push their agenda.

Though the Standing Orders don't allow party-sponsored bills, Minority Leader Charles Nyenze did not present a single bill to the assembly.

Out of 57 bills introduced in the Assembly, 35 were brought by Majority Leader Aden Duale, the Government link in Parliament.

Cord MPs brought nine bills — two disowned by Coalition leadership — while Jubilee MPs brought seven private member bills.

The rest of the bills came from chairpersons of Budget, Finance and Justice and Legal Affairs committees.

In the Senate, while Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki brought one bill, Minority Leader and Cord co-principal Moses Wetang'ula brought none in 2015.

Fifteen bills were introduced in the Senate, five coming from committees, five from Cord senators and five from Jubilee, including Kindiki.

Even when Government-sponsored bills were presented to the House, most opposition MPs shied away from proposing amendments.

Several government-sponsored bills that critics said undermine the constitution were passed — while the Opposition watched.

But ODM chairman John Mbadi said the Opposition performed relatively well.

"We did better than Jubilee but we can do better. We faced challenges, including getting the numbers to counter Jubilee. However, we defeated the bills on NGOs, the ones muzzling the media and we raised the issue to deal with the draconian security bill," Mbadi told the Star.

Cord also faced challenges in Parliament due to "a Speaker who is not willing to give the opposition their say".

When Cord MPs showed their dissatisfaction, they staged walkouts to stop business due to lack of forum, instead of voting.

Since 2013, Cord MPs have walked out at least once a year, and then complained to the public.

Even when they exit, majority leader Duale has always raised a quorum, a minimum 50 MPs.

Several times, Cord leaders have failed to whip members to force a physical vote, instead of less certain acclamation.

Despite having 141 MPs, the Opposition has mostly failed to have 30 MPs in support of a physical vote when acclamation is uncertain.

Mbadi admitted Cord's legislative leadership is less than ideal.

"The opposition outside Parliament has done better in exposing corruption in government. This is mainly because our leadership outside is more experienced," Mbadi said.

The Opposition chairs and constitutes the majority of members of the watchdog Public Accounts and Public Investments committees.

The PAC was dissolved and reconstituted this year over claims of members' corruption.

"We started well, then government started interfering and diverted attention to portray us as fighting each other. We have seen watered-down reports due to interference," Mbadi said.

Coast police have foiled two New Year's Eve terror attacks targeting a Kilifi county police station and a popular nightclub in Mombasa.

Had they succeeded, the suspected al Shabaab terrorists would have caused numerous casualties and maximum damage, police said.

They did not identify the nightspot or the police station.

A wanted terror suspect was arrested on Tuesday.

Forty-three 43 suspected Mombasa Republican Council members were arrested on Thursday at Tiwi, Kwale county commissioner Evans Achoki said.

Intelligence reports said the nightclub and police station attacks had been planned by al Shabaab militants who sneaked out of Boni Forest on Tuesday night, evading a major security operation to flush them out.

Regional police commandant Francis Wanjohi said the attacks were to be launched when thousands of revellers were ushering in 2016 at churches, clubs and other entertainment venues.

“We share a lot of information with different agencies, including spymasters. That's why we managed to foil the two intended attacks planned to do maximum damage,” Wanjohi said.

All police and security agencies are working around the clock throughout the Coast region, he said.

More Boni Forest has been the site of a massive operation to drive out more than 300 al Shabaab militants based in the vast forest.

On Tuesday, the General Service Unit mounted a roadblock around Kona ya Musa at Ukunda where they nabbed Rashid Mwamtaka, who is on the police wanted list. He was arrested while driving his Toyota Probox along the busy Lunga Lunga-Likoni highway.

“Mwamtaka is among other dangerous suspects we are seeking to hand them over to the Anti-Terror Police Unit,” one officer, who did not wish to be named, told the Star.

“We have many terror suspects whose names have not been made public. Once we arrest them, they are handed over to the ATPU for action,” he said.

Heavily armed GSU officers stopped Mwamtaka at the roadblock, checked his driving licence to confirm his identity and arrested him.

Kwale commissioner Achoki confirmed the arrest and said Mwamtaka is being interrogated.

He said the 43 suspected MRC members were holding an illegal meeting at a homestead and were booked at Kwale police station. They are to be taken to court on Monday.

He revealed police disrupted another meeting of the outlawed MRC at Mwananyamala in Lunga Lunga, Kwale county, on Thursday morning.

Police said the MRC members were raising funds to bail out three of their fellows who were arrested and charged with being members of an illegal group three weeks ago.

They were arraigned in court with a lot of fanfare and many thought their cases would take a few months, or perhaps a year to be concluded.

But several years on, they are still in court, and little or no progress has been made.

These individuals include former minister Chris Okemo and former Kenya Power managing director Samuel Gichuru.

Okemo and Gichuru are wanted in the island of Jersey for alleged money laundering.

The case of Narok businessman Munir Ishmael, who was arrested with a cache of arms alongside his wife and three others, is still in court.

Others with pending cases are former President Daniel Moi’s aide Jushua Kulei, his co-accused and suspects in the multimillion-shilling Triton scandal.

Last December 18, Justice Isaac Lenaola dismissed an application by Okemo and Gichuru, which sought to stop their extradition trial.

The two argued they were not likely to get a fair trial after they were charged in 2011.

Kulei’s case has been pending in court for more than 10 years.

He was charged in 2003 alongside Kenya Airports Authority former managing director Peter Langat, Wilson Gachanja, a former Lands commissioner and Ezekiel Komen, a former employee of Kenya Pipeline, Prakash Bhundia and Gas Company Ltd.

They face charges of conspiracy to defraud and abuse of office.

The fraud charges arise from the transfer of 12 pieces of land, which had been irregularly carved from land belonging to the KAA. Kulei is charged with obtaining Sh17.9 million through the sale of public land in Mombasa to a private firm.

The parcels of land had been illegally excised from the land belonging to KAA at Moi International Airport and irregularly transferred to the East African Gas Company Ltd on October 2, 1996.

The case has been delayed for Bhundia’s absence and applications by some suspects before the High Court, to stop the trial, were dismissed.

The case is set for hearing early this month.

Munir, his wife Nahid Tabasum and former AP chief armourer John Maritim were arrested in 2010 alongside John Wandeto and Dominic Mufumu and charged with having bullets without a valid permit.

Munir allegedly had 30,258 bullets while the other suspects were keeping 68,000.

He is out on Sh1 million bail and two sureties of Sh3 million.

The police say they recovered military water bags, army bags, berets, tyres, solar batteries, cookers and jericans with the Ministry of Defence logo from the suspects.

The case has even been brought to the floor of Parliament.

The Triton case involves eight suspects – William Mundia, Collins Otieno, Mahendra Pathak, Julius Kilonzo, Job Kangogo, Samson Waka, Patrick Ngare and Peter Muthungu face charges.

The ninth suspect, Yagnesh Devani, is fighting extradition charges in the UK.

Everyone knows how the Kikuyu bloc will vote in 2017, but the Kalenjin factor, widely regarded as crucial to a second term for UhuRuto, is so inscrutable as to be unpredictable. This state of affairs has a long history . . .

TWENTY-seventeen is the penultimate year to a General Election in Kenya, the 11th since Independence and only the fourth in which a sitting President is defending his position.

This year and next, particularly on Election Day August 8, 2017, all eyes will be on two of Kenya’s biggest vote blocs – the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin, but particularly the latter. These two big battalions pulled off one of the greatest political surprises ever at the 2013 Presidential election by coming together for the first time in the history of electioneering in this country.

The Kalenjin and the Kikuyu did not even vote on one side for the Independence General Election of May 1963, or the National Referendum of August 2010.

The disposition of the Kikuyu vote in 2017 is a foregone conclusion – the bloc will vote as one for President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta’s comeback and final term.

The Kalenjin, on the other hand, remain both inscrutable and unpredictable.

Twenty-seventeen will be the 15th continuous year of a Kikuyu Presidency in the multiparty era. President Kenyatta, son of founding President Jomo Kenyatta, who put in 14 years at the helm, will be seeking a second term to stretch Kikuyu incumbency to a full 20 years in the multiparty era begun in 1992 alone.

Added to Mzee Kenyatta’s 14 years, a Kikuyu will have had Presidential incumbency for 34 years since Independence by the time Uhuru steps down in 2022, assuming he is making a comeback in 2017. Twenty twenty-two will be Kenya’s 59th anniversary of Independence.

Daniel arap Moi, a Kalenjin, put in 24 years at State House, surely a record that will never be broken.

The proverbial visitor from Mars would think two communities that can hold the Kenyan Presidency for 60 years in a country of 47 diverse communities must be joined at the hip, politically speaking. Nothing could be further from the truth, despite the fact that Uhuru is supposed to be succeeded by Deputy President William Ruto in 2022 for a proposed two-term run to 2032, the 69th anniversary of Independence.

Will the Kalenjin help the Kikuyu make it 70 years of Rift Valley-Mount Kenyan State House occupancy, beginning with the 2017 General Election?

This question is much on many Kenyans’ minds, including, even especially, outside Rift Valley and Mount Kenya.

The other big blocs are watching

The other big blocs – the Luhya (bigger than the Kalenjin but the latter are better resourced and mobilized), the Luo and the Akamba – would like nothing better than to see an end to the Jubilee Coalition’s “tyranny of numbers” incumbency and long-running occupation of State House.

Unlike the Kikuyu and their legendary insularity and unity when it comes to the Presidential poll, the Kalenjin vote bloc has twice voted against its political leadership’s directions – in 2007 and 2013. That leadership was widely presumed to be Mzee Moi’s in his post-Presidency retirement. Given the hold Moi had on the Rift Valley in his marathon Presidency, it is amazing how little power and influence he has had on the vote bloc in retirement.

The rise and rise of Ruto entered this breach and he has twice defeated the political patriarch who was also his mentor.

Regarding 2007 and 2013, a Kalenjin “elder” who did not want to be named told this correspondent about the Rift Valley vote bloc’s thinking and actions: “In 2007, we didn’t refuse to listen to Moi. We cheered him, attended his rallies, but when the vote came three of his sons who were candidates lost. We voted for Raila, not Kibaki as instructed by Moi.

“In 2013, Raila was never chased away from the Rift Valley or insulted or stoned. It’s only when the election came that he realized he had lost our support completely.

“We are now looking towards 2017: We will attend Ruto’s rallies, we will cheer him on, but none of that means that we will vote as he directs us. We may have a surprise for him just as we had a surprise for Moi in 2007 and for Raila in 2013.”

No one ever sees a political change of the Kalenjin vote bloc’s collective mind coming. There is no Intelligence beforehand about what they will do, whether from the State or non-state actors, for instance in the Opposition. That is why it was such a staggering shock for Raila and his Cord co-principals when the Kalenjin voted with the Kikuyu in 2013.

The big questions

How do they do it, when and where do they meet and how is the decision communicated to the grassroots? What kind of political coded language is used that betrays no secrets until it is too late, not even to spies on all sides?

Former Prime Minister Raila, former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and former Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula have all worked in government and have their own Intelligence networks, but they never saw the Jubilee proposition as workable. They were particularly focused on the unlikelihood of the Kikuyu and Kalenjin uniting and getting their voters to vote in large numbers.

They laughed, jeered and sneered so long and so hard at the UhuRuto ticket and the idea of candidates who were both suspects with ongoing crimes against humanity charges at the ICC that they were caught in mid-laughter/sneer when the IEBC announced Uhuru as winner.

The Cord leaders’ shock was almost comical to behold. They said the election had been stolen or should at the very least have gone into a runoff. Raila made a beeline for the Supreme Court. The seven judges pronounced Uhuru the winner as announced by the IEBC.

Will the Kalenjin follow Ruto one more time, the third in a row, or will enough of them vote in such a way as to break the “tyranny of numbers” combination and their lock on State House with the Kikuyu?

President Kenyatta must also be watching closely, complete with all the State’s watchful agencies’ capabilities at his disposal. But even with the full panoply of the State’s intelligence organizations at his beck and call, the President and his handlers must still wonder. Can the Kalenjin be so heterodox in their collective thinking and strategy for 2017 as to turn their backs on an incumbent regime in which they have the closest thing to a 50-50 power-sharing pact that has ever been seen in Kenya?

If the answer to this question is yes, why would they do it and who benefits and would they still have a share of power?

The complete element of surprise of 2013 would be converted into total shock: no bloc has ever walked away from incumbency. How would they sell the idea? A Kalenjin walkout in Jubilee can only work if it is sold as the proposition that no two communities should lock all others out of State House in perpetuity.

The campaigns that would result from this argument would produce the perfect storm of 41 communities ranged against 1, Raila’s long-term dream that nearly seemed to work in 2007, but then tragedy followed. Such a political storm would have no other objective but to remove the Kikuyu Presidency once and for all (or for a minimum 50 years) and to laud the Kalenjin “self-sacrifice on behalf of the rest of Kenya”.

Among other things, this would mean the rise of the first non-Kikuyu and non-Kalenjin President of Kenya. But the Mountain and the Valley would necessarily not be locked out of the Running Mate positions.

Twenty seventeen will have more than its share of big questions, intriguing answers and even imponderables.

Will insecurity and corruption be 2017 issues?

Five years of a troubled incumbency in which the insecurity and corruption concerns, both of them on a runaway scale that gave the impression that Jubilee was occasionally overwhelmed, are not exactly the best credentials to enter a General Election campaign of the ferocity likely to characterize the 2017 edition.

Although insecurity and corruption have never galvanized Kenyans as General Election issues there are signs, including via opinion polling, that 2017 could be different, particularly if Cord campaigned smart and converted these questions into quality-of-life issues.

The element of complete surprise of 2013 does not appear to exist for the Jubilee Coalition the way it did when they were incoming, unless of course it appears in the form of the Kalenjin vote bloc taking a walk, in which case it would boomerang on the ruling parties.

The possibility of pulling off a brand new surprise and transitioning from Jubilee the ruling Coalition to the ruling Party also exists – and it must be said that it is not as remote as the coming together of the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin seemed to be in 2011 on the way to the 2013 race.

WITH less than two years to the August 2017 elections, President Uhuru Kenyatta is under pressure to fulfil most of the Jubilee Coalition promises this year.

The promises made ahead of the 2013 elections will be a key campaign issue for 2017, with heightened political activity expected this year.

Uhuru will be under pressure to show Kenyans the multi-billion-shilling projects the government is involved in have any benefit for the mwananchi.

In his New Year’s message, Uhuru said his government was looking forward to building on the progress made since coming to power in 2013.

Other than delivering on its ambitious manifesto, the Jubilee administration is expected to deal with wastage and corruption, which are shaping up as a key campaign issue.

In 2015, Uhuru signalled his intent to deal with corruption, and Kenyans will be expecting to see this translate into action, especially in securing convictions, assets seizures and reparations.

In his New Year message, Cord leader Raila Odinga said that one commitment for the opposition in 2016 is to expose corruption in government.

Key among issues that Uhuru is expected to work on this year is the threat of unemployment, having promised to create at least one million jobs annually.

According to government data, the economy generated a total of 742,300 new jobs in both the formal and informal sectors in 2013 and 799,000 in 2014.

While more money has been set aside for youth empowerment, many young people still do not have access, due to government red tape.

Jubilee had aimed at an economic growth of 7 to 10 per cent but this has not been achieved, with the economy growing at above 5 per cent but below 6 per cent.

The World Bank estimated that Kenya’s economy would grow at 5.4 per cent in 2015, 5.7 per cent for 2016 and 6.2 per cent for 2017.

To enhance industrialisation, the Jubilee Coalition said it would seek to improve the energy infrastructure and promote alternative energy sources to create energy supply that business can rely on.

Despite high investment in energy production, lowering the cost of electricity has yet to translate into cheaper commodities for the common man.

Uhuru has promised to launch a programme to build 8,000 kilometres of new tarmacked roads across the country in 2016.

“The first batch, totalling 1,700 kilometres, will be launched this January. A second batch of 1,800 kilometres will be launched in March. I appeal to the governors to fully support this programme,” Uhuru said in his New Year address.

The Uhuru government will also be under pressure to prove that the multi-billion-shilling Galana-Kulalu Irrigation Project is not just another white elephant.

There have been questions over the project’s viability, following the poor yield it produced last year, despite Sh4 billion having been invested.

In 2015, the government started working on the delivery of effective, modern, hi-tech healthcare, despite opposition to a medical equipment management programme by the governors.

Uhuru said that in addition to the national, referral hospitals, Kenya will have two hospitals in every county equipped with facilities to screen and treat conditions that have caused patients, in the past, to travel abroad at great cost.

"Already we have equipped 15 hospitals and our target is to complete the remainder by June 2016 to bolster access to health services. Additionally the Government has in place a programme for 100 fully fitted containerised clinics with particular focus being improved services to informal settlements," Uhuru said.

Though, the Jubilee administration has increased spending in the education sector, there are still major challenges.

The recent teachers’ strike and unending wrangles over their pay underscores the challenges in the education sector that the Jubilee administration has been unable to deal with.

There is the laptop for schools project that has not been implemented three years on and Uhuru will have to do it this year before becomes a campaign issue.

Land reforms will continue to be a pain on Uhuru's neck with Jubilee having promised to establish a mandatory national land title register, abolish land control boards and search fees and control development through local zoning policies.

Already, there are accusations that the Executive has taken to Parliament a raft of land laws that undermine the process of reforms.

As at December 2015, there were still 80,000 Kenyans living in Internally Displaced Persons camps across the country.

One of Jubilee's key promises was to ensure that all IDPs are resettled immediately.Despite heavy investment in security equipment, Uhuru's administration appears not to have a full grasp of the situation.

With an upsurge in terror threats and attacks towards the end of 2015, Uhuru is under pressure to ensure that insecurity does not become a campaign.

"In 2016, we will endeavour to make Kenya even more safer for all Kenyans and our visitors. My Government will continue to reach out to all communities to strengthen National Cohesion, and Unity," Uhuru said.

THE ruling Jubilee Coalition has its eyes firmly on the Coast, a region that voted overwhelmingly for Cord at the last general election.

Over the weekend, Deputy President William Ruto pitched tent in the region, where it emerged that Jubilee is slowly but steadily gaining popularity.

During a meeting of opinion leaders presided over by the DP at Pwani University on Saturday, several elected politicians threw their support behind the Jubilee government and expressed interest in joining it to form the next government.

The leaders however said they be must fully engaged in the formation of the forthcoming Jubilee Party, so that their interests can be captured.

MPs who attended the meeting included Gunga Mwinga (Kaloleni), Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi North), Mustapha Iddi (Kilifi South), Peter Shehe (Ganze), Harrison Kombe (Magarini), and Khatibu Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga).

Mung’aro was elected on Raila’s ODM party ticket, as was Iddi, while Gunga won through the Kadu Asili ticket and Mwashetani through the Moses Wetangul’a-led Ford Kenya party, all members of the Cord alliance.

Shehe won through Cyrus Jirongo’s the Federal Party of Kenya and Kombe on a URP ticket.

Also present was the leader of the Majority in the National Assembly, Adan Duale, nominated Senator Mvita Kisasa and former Changamwe MP Ramadhan Seif Kajembe.

Ruto, who was the chief guest, sought to attract the people of the Coast to join the new Jubilee Party and become “part of the winning team that will form the next government after the 2017 general election”.

The Deputy President said it was unfortunate the Jubilee government won in the 2013 general election without the voice of the people of the Coast. Adding that Jubilee was set to win in 2017, too, he said this time the Coast would be part of it.

“This time around, we want to have an all-inclusive government that will have the Coast people well- represented in it,” said Ruto.

Mwashetani, Mung’aro and Iddi led the Coast MPs in supporting the Jubilee Party.

Mwashetani said the leaders of the region will join the Jubilee Party because it is the only party that has demonstrated it is out to unite all Kenyans.

“We are not going to be left out of the government again and we will make sure we build the party together,” said Mwashetani.

Kaloleni MP Mwinga said the reason the people of the Coast were hesitant about joining the Jubilee government was the lack of a clear vision from the state of how the region can be economically developed and benefit from such cooperation.

Good morning. Happy New Year. That’s it. I’m not going to ease you into the new year. If you're looking for a warm touchy way to deal with the year to come, find a shrink. I believe the Daily Nation set the pace for us all with their fierce but honest editorial to the President on Saturday and it's only right we maintain the pace and tempo.

Let's start with the obvious noisemakers of the moment. Parents who are crying foul over school fees. As Caroline Kimutai asked on her Facebook post, were the invoices delivered on January 1, 2016? Just asking. I am sure that as schools closed, the book list and the school fees invoice came home along with the report card. Why are we wailing about fees almost two months later. Lesson for 2016, be pro-active, not reactive. Plan and stop waiting until the last minute to deal with what's important; and that goes for all of us, not just those crying over school fees costs.

Two things we must all be keenly aware of: school fees is not coming down in the foreseeable future, not even university fees, and the price of real estate today is the cheapest it will be for a few years to come. Rent isn't coming down either. Mission for 2016: Take the Centonomy class or any financial literacy class and learn about the time value of money. The way I see it, my daughter's school fees will continue to go up by at least four per cent every year and if I factor inflation at a modest seven per cent, I have my work cut out for me until she's 23. Oh yes, snap out of it and start taking charge of your financial future. You cannot live by demonstrations and hashtags — they don’t pay bills.

Four days into the new year and there are still people getting all wired about the most basic of opinions, notices, basic tweets and Facebook posts. For heaven's sake, get over yourself before someone slaps you side-ways. Lesson for 2016: Don't take it so personally. It’s not personal. It rarely ever is. That person who can't seem to wait their turn at the bank, at the movies, at the airport — that person doesn't even notice you. They want to get to where they are going faster, they believe their journey is more urgent than anyone else's and above all, they have a ridiculous narcissistic brain that only seeks to satisfy their ego. When you stop taking things like that personally, you’ll feel better. Even in cases when it is personal, your life will be better if you treat it as if it wasn’t. People have personal demons and struggles that have nothing to do with you. Every time you see someone acting up and being nasty, please be aware it comes from within. Hurting people hurt people. Mission for 2016: Ignore nasty people or be kind in return, they rarely know how to respond to that. Let me say this again — it's not you, it's them. Hurting people, hurt people. It's as simple as that.

If you don’t agree with me, that's okay, I won’t take it personally either. See what I did there?

Stop talking! Have you prayed about it as much as you've talked about it and if you have prayed about it have you acted on it. Stop telling me. Show me. The fight on corruption, the security discussion, wanting better leaders, doing more, achieving your goals, saving for what you want — planning and talking about it has its place, but they are a complete waste of time if you don’t take action. Act, stop talking. Lesson and mission for 2016: Don’t tell me, show me! Action is the only thing that counts. Period.

This was a hit in 2013, but I know it still rings in your ears. Sing with me, "Let it go, let it go... " Not giving up doesn’t mean holding on when you’re wrong. When you're wrong and all signs show you that you're wrong, holding on because of pride or because you're simply stubborn or because you're worried about what others will think of you, is a stupid reason to keep on doing the wrong thing. Let it go! Sing it and believe it. The dress, the job, the nasty relationship, the bad marketing plan, the bad hairstyle, the dubious investment club — put it behind you. Lesson for 2016: Let it Go. If it doesn't edify you, Let.It.Go.

Dump those people. Yes, the ones you looked at keenly over the festive season and wondered why you even bother. Shukisha them. Now. You are who you spend your time with, whether you like it or not. I know you've heard me say it over and over again — you are the average of the five people you hang out with. If you spend time with people who are in shape, you’ll be in shape. If you spend time with lazy people, you’ll be lazy. We all want to belong to a group and we do so by appearing similar to the group we want to belong to. Choose wisely who you spend your time with because it’s who you’ll become. There are people I have chosen to love from a distance but they are not allowed in my life, in my work and certainly not in my heart or home. You will become the conversations you have and the people you associate with. Don't tell us how "some people I know are always whining, always broke, never satisfied, always angry, petty or even bothersome.." That my friend is you. Damp them. Mission for 2016: De-clutter more than just your wardrobe and your in-tray and your desk drawers. De-clutter your life and in so doing make room for great things and great people. Once you're done taking the trash out, open your doors and your mind for relationships with high-quality individuals — people who add value. In your career and working circles, only work with co-founders, clients, and partners that you are excited to collaborate with and vice versa. Only date individuals who want to be with you as much as you want to be with them. Your life will improve no end. In 2016, there should be zero tolerance for negativity, hatred, bullying, intimidation, or intentions of hurtfulness. Ikiwa hutaki, ishia!

This one is for my people, my sisters. Stop multi-tasking. Yeah, you read that right. Women love walking around bragging about their ability to multi-task. Nonsense. Look at the guys. They might do just one thing at a time, but they do that thing well. What we do is several things poorly or barely well. I can see you seething and I don’t care. You know I’m right. Laughing at people who commit to a job and do it well is silly. Multi-tasking is the continuous back-and-forth switch between tasks. Every time we switch, it takes a while to warm up before we operate at full speed. I've always told people I am structured. I work to a target and according to a plan. I still get puzzled looks from people wondering how I get so much done. I focus, that's how and I also delegate. The world doesn't come crashing down if I don't do everything myself. Empowering others empowers you and allows you to excel at what you do best. Mission for 2016: thou shalt not multi-task.

For my younger pals, ease up on the social media. I'll let you in on a little secret: No one's life looks like their Facebook posts or their Instragram pictures. No one; not even the Kardashians.

It can be so easy to start comparing yourself to the people on your social media feed. Do you know it is a fact that young people under 30 years are the most depressed. Why? Because you go through social media all day and compare yourself to someone else based on a picture smaller than the size of your phone screen. A picture that was probably taken 20 times and edited several times as well. Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram are truly wonderful, but they are a small window into the best parts of a person's life.

Mission for 2016: Enjoy social media, don't try and live it.

Finally let me state this emphatically. Happiness is an inside job. Your happiness is not the responsibility of others — not your spouse, not your partner, not your boss, not your pals and not your children or your parents or your following on social media. No one can make you unhappy without your consent. Given that solid fact, no one can make you happy if you are not willing to invest in your own happiness. Being mean and nasty because you have outsourced your life and hence your happiness will get you nowhere fast. Incidentally, this goes out to my sisters and the very entitled millennials. How you get your smiles is none of our business. Mission for 2016: take charge of your life and your happiness.

Finally, Paul Kagame, Yoweri Museveni and Donald Trump are here to stay for the foreseeable future. We shall re-evaluate them again in March and their staying power ability, but sometimes accepting the obvious and what isn’t in your control, frees you up to take charge of what you control and in this case, that is you.

Operation 2016 is on. Live your best life. How? Purpose it, action it, speak it. As a great musician called Jay Z once said, “I believe you can speak things into existence.” Be proactive and speak only of what you want to see manifested in your life. Have a life-changing 2016.

The year 2016 is finally here and as is the norm many of us will be working on lists and resolutions we hope will take us through the next 12 months. I am one of those who use each New Year as an opportunity to reorganise. I start this process during the holiday period preceding each year-end, when I evaluate how I did over the last 12 months. I then use January to set up a work plan for the next 12 months.

The primary reason why I have been able to succeed in staying on my annual plans beyond the normal two months most New Year resolutions last for has everything to do with an encounter I had 14 years ago with a public figure, on television!

I was two years married, two years into my first fully owned business, and many years into the struggle of annual planning. Somehow, despite my focused planning, I could never manage to stick to a plan beyond three months!

Then one day I watched a news clip of one of Narc’s political campaigns and there was this old man dancing on the podium wearing colonial khaki shorts, knee-high socks and a large cowboy hat! It was one of the most ridiculous outfits I had ever seen, but somehow this old guy wore it with such ‘swag’ it actually looked good! One also got the distinct impression that he did not really care what anyone thought about what he was wearing, which helped add to the attraction of how he wore it.

The old man was Uncle Moody. In 2002, Arthur Moody Awori was 75 years old and one of the wealthier members of Kenyan society. He came from a family that had vast interests in business and politics in Kenya and Uganda. Uncle Moody was also at that point serving his 20th year in Parliament as a representative of Funyula constituency.

I have never met the man, who was to later become Vice President under President Kibaki, but every new year since then, as I reorganise myself for another 12 months, I visualise the picture of Uncle Moody as I first saw him – the blue Khaki shorts, the red shirt, the schoolboy knee-high socks, the walking stick and the cowboy hat sitting at a cocky angle on his head above twinkling eyes and a genuine ever-present smile.

This picture is the essence of self-actualisation as far as I am concerned and when I am 75 years old I want to be that self-actualised – maybe minus the shorts!

This image of Uncle Moody introduced big-picture thinking to my annual planning. It made me start contemplating life beyond the one-year, five-year or 10-year plans that I was using to plan my life. It helped me ask myself where and what I wanted to be when I was 75, and how each day, month and year was helping me get there. It helped me frame my life backwards, starting at 75 years old and working in reverse to where I was then, which was less than half his age.

This goal is what dictates my plans for each new year. Every year I must make sure I am moving forward from the year before as well as creating something that will fit into what I expect the next year to look like, as I work towards my 75-year ‘uncle-moody’ look.

It is amazing what visualising yourself as a 75-year-old does to a lot of the things you think are important today. At 75 you will not be as interested in the hustle, the celebrity status, the fast life, or the fast cars. At 75 what will be of interest is your family, the state of your estate, your health, your capacity to take care of those you love and your ability to influence the society in which you live. Once this perspective sets in, planning for 2016, 2017, 2022, or 2030 becomes just a small part of a larger picture that stretches forth several decades.

Big-picture planning is especially crucial for the young people who are starting out after finishing either high school, or college. You are starting your first year as an adult and there is immense pressure to create a life plan. However, first spare some time to define what your big picture really looks like. Life is a series of connected dots; make sure they are leading you to where you ultimately want to end up when your life is done.

My 2016 plans are within the context of a life-plan that goes back 14 years and that has at least 35 years ahead, God willing. This context does amazing things to how I understand my successes and failures so far, and in determining what I need to do today, this month, and this year.

Happy 2016!

Ngunjiri is a director of Change Associates, a political communications consultancy.

Likoni MP Masoud Mwahima has denied receiving money from the President on Monday saying an envelope he had contained job seekers' certificates.

Claims the ODM MP was given money emerged after photos of him leaving State House, Mombasa, with a brown envelope were circulated on social media.

“I have heard rumours that I received money from the President. The envelope I walked out with contained the certificates of my supporters," he told the Star.

"I was assisting them to get jobs. I only had a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta and Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi."

Mwahima also denied warming up to Jubilee saying he was only serving the government in his capacity as Member of Parliament.

“I have not defected from the Cord coalition. When the time comes I will announce the party I will vie under so people should stop speculating,” he said.

He said he will join Uhuru at Caltex grounds on Saturday to issue title deeds to Likoni residents.

The President has been in Mombasa for about a week but has not met local leaders.

A source who sought anonymity said he "was angered" by some who said they would support the Opposition in the 2017 general election.

“The President is unhappy with some leaders. On New year's Eve he skipped a ceremony at English Marina," the source said.

"Today [Monday] he was to hold a rally at Shika Adabu grounds in Likoni but also missed the event without any explanation from his team."

President Uhuru Kenyatta has several functions at the Coast this week, among them meeting the region’s leaders and issuing title deeds for the controversial 930-acre Waitiki Farm, Likoni.

He is expected to meet with the leaders today at State House, Mombasa, where they will push for several issues, including the construction of a bridge over the Likoni Channel.

The push for the bridge has gained momentum, with Tourism CS Najib Balala, who hails from Mombasa, supporting the calls.

The issuance of title deeds to the Likoni residents was also expected to be done today, but government officials said the exact date has yet to be fixed.

Officials who spoke to the Star said the exercise will be held within this week.

Uhuru yesterday met with Likoni MP Masoud Mwahima at State House; however, details of the encounter were not shared with the public.

At around 1pm yesterday, Uhuru’s motorcade was seen crossing the Likoni Channel from Mombasa Island to the South Coast.

Speaking to the Star on the phone, Joseph Kanyiri, who led the adjudication, mapping and planning drive on the farm, said they are awaiting word from the Lands CS.

He said they cannot authoritatively say when Uhuru will issue the titles.

“This will also depend on the President’s diary,” Kanyiri told the Star.

Uhuru was expected to personally issue the title deeds to the residents today, according to dates given by the government on November 25 last year.

Kanyiri said the processing of the title deeds, which was being done in Nairobi at the National Titling Centre, Ruaraka, has been completed.

About 11,000 title deeds will be issued.

National Land Commission chair Muhammad Swazuri confirmed to the Star that the NLC was yesterday afternoon meeting with the Lands ministry over the matter.

During today’s State House meeting, the Coast leaders are expected to tell the President of some of the pertinent issues that affect their region.

Insecurity will be high on Lamu leaders’ agenda, according to woman representative Shakila Abdalla.

The leaders feel insecurity is once again becoming a threat to the tourism sector in the county, which is just starting to recover after the lifting of travel advisories by several European countries and the US.

Lamu leaders are expected to push for the tarmacking of the 90km Witu-Mokowe road, which they say has remained ungraded since Independence.

Kwale woman representative Zainab Chidzuga said they have plenty to take to Uhuru, but will not pre-empt anything by showing the media their request.

Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto has pulled off a fast one on Jubilee and registered a new political party, setting the scene for a furious battle for the South Rift vote bloc.

The Star has established that Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung’u finally gave the nod to Rutto's political machine, the Mashinani Development Party of Kenya, ending months of speculation about the governor’s political game plan.

Governor Rutto named influential former Bomet Mayor David ‘Socrates’ Sang as the party's national chairman, with Samburu political activist David Lemeketo as secretary general.

Sources told the Star the county chief will field a candidate in the February 12 by-election in Nyangores Ward, where he will test his popularity against the Jubilee wave.

MDPK is also expected to field a candidate in the Kericho senatorial by-election, which would be an acid test for the Jubilee Party in the March 7 mini-poll.

There are indications Cord leader Raila Odinga's ODM brigade may back out of the Kericho race to support Governor Rutto’s candidate as part of a deal to tame DP William Ruto's influence in the region.

“A formal decision is yet to be made. However, there is a feeling that we need to support Governor Rutto's candidate,” an ODM official told the Star.

The new political party was officially gazetted on December 24, after months of anxiety, with the National Intelligence Service reportedly having declined to give the nod to its registration.

Amid earlier indications that URP would fold up before the end of last year, Governor Rutto entered into a deal with the little-known People's Patriotic Party of Kenya – whose name was changed to Mashinani Development Party of Kenya. Mashinani is Kiswahili for grassroots.

Already, Rutto has amended the party's constitution as well as nomination rules, signaling his intention to redesign the new outfit.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and the DP have been at pains to popularise JP as the vehicle they aim to use to consolidate and retain power at the 2017 polls.

Part of their strategy is to clip its rebels’ wings and force them into the Jubilee Party, or push them out of office through amendments to the Political Parties Act.

The amendments seek to make it mandatory that all elected leaders be deemed to have joined a new political outfit after a merger.

However, the current provision allows unwilling victims of mergers to retain their seats by joining any other political party, or remain independent for the remainder of their term in office.

Kenyans from all walks of life headed to coastal town Mombasa in their thousands to usher in the new year with aplomb.

In spite of the chilly weather the revellers filled the public beaches with Pirates beach hosting over 3,000 party-goers.

Another fully-packed area was the Mama Ngina Drive with the iconic elephant tusks that hosted over 5,000 revellers.

Away from the public area, others congregated at the Sai Rock Hotel, The Sarova Whitesands, Travellers Beach Hotel and Fourty thieves in Diani. The biggest party had to have been at the English Point Marina which was hosted by Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho.

Also enjoying her special day on New year's eve was Primrose Mbuvi, the wife of Nairobi senator Mike Sonko, who celebrated her birthday.

Mombasa county executive member for Health and acting incharge of tourism Binti Omar sharing cake with Kenyans at Mama Ngina Mombasa

Starehe MP Maina Kamanda with tourists at travellers hotel as they ushered in new year.

CID officers from Kilifi county donates food to Green Olive Children's home in Mtwapa

Daniel Kimwele, Anjela Tabitha and Maureen Kiri

Kenyans taking selfies during new year

Kenyans ushering in new year at Engish Point Marina Mombasa

Mombasa county executive members for youths ,gender and culture Mohamed Abas and Hazel Koitaba for finance 

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho when ushering in new year at English point Marina

Sai Rock MD Robert Kiri with his two sons Timothy Kiri and Jeremy Kiri

Sai Rock food and beverage manager Julius Murunga 

Travellers beach hotel managent team led by managing director Freddie Kiuru Left

MPs passed a controversial clause introduced by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee in the law on the appointment of the Chief Justice without debate.

The Law Society of Kenya yesterday instructed four senior lawyers – Nzamba Kitonga, Tom Ojienda, Michael Muchemi and Peter Wanyama – to move to court and challenge the constitutionality of the changes to the Judicial Service Act.

The petition will be filed this morning. While the original proposal from the Attorney General did not specify the number of names the JSC should send to the President, the committee proposed three.

The National Assembly Hansard for December 1 shows that the new clause, as introduced by committee chairman Samuel Chepkonga, was passed without debate. “Basically, we are seeking to streamline the appointment process of the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice.

When we did the approval of the Deputy Chief Justice in 2013, we had a lot of difficulties with that process. We wanted to reject the nominee, but we found the process to be quite cumbersome.

As a Committee we are seeking to align this provision with the best practice in other legislations,” Chepkonga told MPs. The original proposal from the AG was aimed at giving a time limit of three days within which the President should receive the name of the nominee.

“The provisions of this section shall apply to the appointment of the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice except that -

(a) the Secretary shall, within three days of the Commission’s vote, forward the names of the persons nominated for recommendation for appointment to the President.

(b) in such case, a person shall not be appointed without the necessary approval by the National Assembly,” the proposal by the AG read.

The Judicial Service Act was silent on the time the JSC would take before sending the name of the successful candidate to the President.

The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee however deleted this proposal and introduced the new one that has created a storm. Temporary Speaker Moses Cheboi then put the question but none of the MPs indicated they wanted to speak to the amendment.

Cheboi then went ahead to put the question that the clause in the Bill be deleted and replaced with the proposed one by the Chepkonga Committee.

The original clause only had two subclauses (a and b) but the one introduced by the committee had seven sub-clauses (a to g).

The new provisions require the JSC to submit three names to the President, who will have 14 days to send his choice to Parliament.

Parliament will have 21 days to consider the name, with the Speaker communicating the decision to the President within three days of the vote.

See Editorial

President Uhuru Kenyatta's communications team yesterday launched a scathing and personal attack on Cord leader Raila Odinga.

In the first ever statement of its kind from State House, the Presidential Strategic Communications Unit directors told Raila that the government would not be distracted by his rhetoric.

“The Jubilee administration's agenda on national security, economic governance, war on graft, infrastructure development and the delivery of its electoral promises are firmly on course, gaining momentum along an upward path,” the PSCU said.

The statement went on: “Without a doubt, Kenya faces many challenges, but there is greater confidence that we have what it takes to overcome them in time.”

The State House team added that the Jubilee Administration was steadily transforming Kenya as Kenyans want strong, principled, national political movements.

The PSCU said that Garissa University has just re-opened, symbolising Kenya's resurgence and Northeastern’s resolve to lead and accelerate the national development, integration and unity agenda.

“Kenya is defying terrorists, prophets of doom, economic saboteurs and pessimists. Kenya, the land of winners, is on a winning streak. This is why Cord leaders are desperate,” the PSCU said.

“ODM continues to be a closed, parochial, tribal, violent, repressive cult of personality overhung with the menacing spectre of wanton chaos. Its grassroots nominations are deadly fiascos and its leaders predatory and feckless as ever,” the statement said.

It added that Raila was now resorting to “ethnic profiling and gratuitous libelling” of important institutions with the aim of pre-emptively delegitimizing “the clearly predictable outcome” of the next election.

“Odinga's onslaughts on IEBC, the Judiciary and the Executive are strategic, aimed at fomenting a deadly crisis like the 2007 PEV, or the unnecessary suspense of his quixotic forays in the Supreme Court in 2013. Clearly, Odinga is activating a sequence aimed at creating a crisis for him to force his way to the power-sharing table in 2017,” the PSCU said.

Turning to Raila’s questioning of the spending of the Eurobond’s proceeds, the PSCU directors said it was because he had missed out on “kickbacks” he expected from projects started when he was Prime Minister.

They said that in the last days of the Grand Coalition Government, Raila hurriedly executed scores of large, inflated infrastructure contracts even though there was no budget or policy-based programme for them.

“The procurement for these projects was similarly orchestrated by Odinga in a rushed, opaque and corrupt manner in order to facilitate kickbacks for Odinga. Despite protests from Treasury, Odinga personally ensured that his rackets became official contracts,” the PSCU said.

It added: “Odinga further expected that the Eurobond would be used to provide his kickbacks. His hysterical obsession with the Eurobond, and persistent demand for Eurobond-financed projects to be made public, is a desperate bid to see if even one of his inflated kickback rackets made it to execution as a government project.”

The State House officials also said that Jubilee's political “reverberations are stunning a clueless Cord into a stupor, delirium and utter confusion.”

They at the same time launched attacks on Cord co-principals Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula and their respective parties, Wiper and Ford Kenya.

A furious Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho yesterday told of his frustrations during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Coast tour, saying he had been sidelined and was just seeing “Uhuru walking around”.

Joho and Senator Hassan Omar have not been seen with the President in public since he arrived in Mombasa a few days before Christmas.

Yesterday Joho said he has been targeted unfairly for frustration by the national government because he is a staunch member of the opposition.

Speaking to the Star in a phone interview, he confirmed he had not been invited to or informed of any of the functions or events that Uhuru has held in Mombasa.

Joho said: “I am not aware of anything. They are just walking around. It’s not right. But it is okay. They are the bosses. There is no problem.”

Munyori Buku, the deputy director of communications at State House, did not answer calls or reply to text messages when contacted for comment.

A bitter Joho went on: “These people [Kenyatta and his team] have hatred for Mombasa. But it is okay. We didn’t expect anything [different] from them anyway. Let them do whatever they like.”

Uhuru on Tuesday evening walked through some Mombasa streets to assess the county by night.

His cars were parked outside Barka Restaurant along Makadara Road and his party walked through Old Town and Fort Jesus.

He was accompanied by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who was the only Mombasa politician present.

None of the Mombasa county government officials were present either.

From Fort Jesus, Uhuru was driven to Mwembe Tayari at a snail’s pace as he observed Mombasa by night.

He went to Majengo Saba Saba, through to Buxton and the Nyali Bridge, from where the convoy drove to Shanzu before coming back to Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach, where he met some local and international tourists.

The presidential party ended the tour at around 11.30pm.

Political pundits say Omar has always been absent during Presidential functions in Mombasa and that it is no surprise to see him absent this time too.

“It is Joho’s absence that raises eyebrows. Their relationship has always been tension-ridden,” said a political analyst close to Joho.

Uhuru made a surprise visit to the Kenya Ferry Services offices on Monday and met Lamu county leaders at State House on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, he met youth from the Coast at State House, Mombasa. Leaders from other counties, including Tana River, Lamu, Kilifi, Kwale and Taita Taveta, were also present.

Sources close to the Presidency informed the Star that Uhuru is unhappy with Mombasa politicians, especially Joho, who on December 13 last year told him to prepare to be the opposition leader after the 2017 polls. Joho spoke during a funds drive in aid of women in the county in Treasury Square.

JUBILEE is weighing the options between former Speaker Kenneth Marende and former CIC chairman Charles Nyachae to succeed Chief Justice Willy Mutunga when he retires in June. There have been heightened interest and intense lobbying for the position of CJ in the lead-up to his exit.

The Supreme Court plays a key role in the event of a challenge to the outcome of the presidential election.

Marende, who currently chairs the Kenya Power Board of Directors, told the Star he has what it takes to offer leadership that can make a difference and meet Kenyans’ expectations and aspirations.

He said having been hailed as a Solomonic leader during the 10th Parliament, overseeing the passage of the new constitution, his track record to perform and accomplish speaks for itself.

“If they give me an opportunity to serve in that office, I think I have the ability to serve. My ability to preside speaks for itself.

I have been tested, tried and proven,” the former National Assembly Speaker told the Star in a phone interview.

Leading the Judiciary will be overseeing one arm of government just like what he did as head of the Legislature, at the most turbulent political moments in the Grand Coalition Government, Marende said.

Nyachae, who retired to private life after his CIC tenure expired last December, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The fresh revelations have intensified the succession battle for the head of the Judiciary, who doubles as the President of the Supreme Court and JSC chairman.

Already, anxiety has gripped the Judiciary over the composition of the Supreme Court Bench, with Deputy CJ Kalpana Rawal and Justice Philip Tunoi set to retire after attaining age 70 under the new constitution.

They have however appealed against the JSC’s decision to retire them at 70 and not 74 years, as provided for in the old constitution.

The other Supreme Court judges are: Jackton Ojwang’, Mohammed Ibrahim, Njoki Ndung’u and Dr Smokin Wanjala.

The ruling Jubilee coalition has already drawn the battle lines, with MPs having passed constitutional amendments that gave President Uhuru Kenyatta sweeping powers to determine Mutunga’s successor.

And also in an apparent move to sway the JSC’s decision on Mutunga’s heir, Uhuru last year appointed Jubilee strategists Winnie Guchu and Kipng’etich Korir to the JSC.

Guchu played a critical role in the 2013 elections, most notably in the election petitions filed to challenge the declaration of Uhuru as President.

Uhuru and Deputy President William Ruto are keen on the composition of the Supreme Court ahead of what is building up into a tight 2017 presidential contest against Cord leader Raila Odinga.