KAJWANG'S DEATH- KENYAN POLITICS!!

After the death of Otieno Kajwang’, key politicians and leaders allied to Raila Odinga are raising questions on his death. The Homa Bay Senator who was in parliament yesterday, collapsed and died just minutes before midnight.
First to arrive at the hospital were key Jubilee loyalists and politicians led by Senator Kithure Kindiki. They even announced that the Senator died of heart attack not even patient enough to wait for postmortem. They rushed to the media selling the story of heart attack without any official doctors report. Something which the corrupt Kenyan media immediately bought and ran with.
While Otieno Kajwang’ attended an ODM rally on Friday in Oyugis, he had a serious accident with a Toyota Land Cruiser which he hired from a Kisumu car leasing firm. He didn’t sustain any injuries but his bodyguard fractured his hand and is still in slings. He proceeded to the rally without going to hospital. Some have claimed that the accident might have resulted in a blood clot which might have caused the “heart attack.”
But would a heart attack due to blood clot cause excessive bleeding? Even while lying dead at Lee Funeral Home, Senator Kajwang’ has been bleeding heavily even people who viewed his body at Lee Funeral home were surprised.
Did the Senator swallow a poison at Bunge bar where he was seen as late as 10pm having a drink with others? Did the poison burst his heart? Having been a member of the Cabinet sub-committee on ICC, his death just like that of former MP John Thuo, raises many questions.
Otieno Kajwang’s death also comes when news emerges from UK how some of the top electoral leaders demanded “chicken” to fraudulently award contracts and print more ballots than needed for the 2013 general elections. Is the death a diversion?



Thoughts by,
Cherotich Mercy
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Garissa attack: Kenya government tries to restore confidence

The government in Kenya is trying to restore public confidence in its security forces - one week after nearly 147 people were killed by Islamist Militants at a college in the north of the country.
Amid criticism that it could have done more to prevent the attack, the authorities have suspended the accounts of scores of individuals and companies suspected of having links with the Somali militant group al-Shabab

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ORGANIC HEALTH

Once found only in health food stores, organic food is now a regular feature at most supermarkets. And that's created a bit of a dilemma in the produce aisle.
On one hand, you have a conventionally grown apple. On the other, you have one that's organic. Both apples are firm, shiny and red. Both provide vitamins and fiber, and both are free of fat, sodium and cholesterol. Which should you choose? Get the facts before you shop.

Conventional vs. organic farming

The word "organic" refers to the way farmers grow and process agricultural products, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and meat. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution.
Farmers who grow organic produce don't use conventional methods to fertilize and control weeds. Examples of organic farming practices include using natural fertilizers to feed soil and plants, and using crop rotation or mulch to manage weeds.

Organic or not? Check the label

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has established an organic certification program that requires all organic foods to meet strict government standards. These standards regulate how such foods are grown, handled and processed.
Any product labeled as organic must be USDA certified. Only producers who sell less than $5,000 a year in organic foods are exempt from this certification; however, they're still required to follow the USDA's standards for organic foods.
If a food bears a USDA Organic label, it means it's produced and processed according to the USDA standards. The seal is voluntary, but many organic producers use it.

Products certified 95 percent or more organic may display this USDA seal.

Products that are completely organic — such as fruits, vegetables, eggs or other single-ingredient foods — are labeled 100 percent organic and can carry the USDA seal.
Foods that have more than one ingredient, such as breakfast cereal, can use the USDA organic seal plus the following wording, depending on the number of organic ingredients:

• 100 percent organic. To use this phrase, products must be either completely organic or made of all organic ingredients.
• Organic. Products must be at least 95 percent organic to use this term.

Products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients may say "made with organic ingredients" on the label, but may not use the seal. Foods containing less than 70 percent organic ingredients can't use the seal or the word "organic" on their product labels. They can include the organic items in their ingredient list, however.

Do 'organic' and 'natural' mean the same thing?

No, "natural" and "organic" are not interchangeable terms. You may see "natural" and other terms such as "all natural," "free-range" or "hormone-free" on food labels. These descriptions must be truthful, but don't confuse them with the term "organic." Only foods that are grown and processed according to USDA organic standards can be labeled organic

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One person has been killed and a dozen others wounded when hundreds of protesters clashed with UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, local authorities have said.
The demonstrators on Friday in the town of Kaga-Bandoro, about 350km north of the capital Bangui, were angry that the UN MINUSCA mission had failed to stop raids by ethnic Peuhl pastoralists.
"The protesters attacked the town's aerodrome. To beat them back, the Pakistani blue helmets used tear gas and guns," the town prefect Gaston Yendemo said, adding that the injured had been taken to hospital.
Among those hurt was a Pakistani peacekeeper.
A statement from MINUSCA said up to 400 people, some armed with weapons, attacked the camp. They threw stones at peacekeepers and tried to force their way through the camp barrier, which they set on fire.
"Given the scale of the attack, the blue helmets needed to react by firing in the air. We deplore the death of one person and several injuries among the attackers," it said, adding that it was the second attack in a week against the base.
Thousands have been killed and around a million displaced from their homes in violence that has gripped the impoverished landlocked country since the mainly-Muslim Seleka took power in March 2013.
The group gave up power last year in the face of diplomatic pressure and violence by the "anti-balaka" militia, who are mainly Christian or animist, and an interim government was installed.

cited from Aljazeera,

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Terror attack, threats of more violence raise security questions for Obama’s Kenya visit

Al-Shabaab’s deadly attack last week in Kenya, and threats of more to come, raise new security questions for President Obama’s planned trip to the East African country this summer – though the White House so far is making no changes to the schedule. The president’s planned visit to his father’s homeland was announced late last month. It would mark Obama’s first as president to Kenya, a country he hasn’t visited in nearly a decade and he skipped over two years ago during an Africa tour despite stopping by neighboring Tanzania. At the time, the White House cited concerns over Kenya’s elections and the indictment of President Uhuru Kenyatta before the International Criminal Court. 

Those charges have since been dropped. And Kenya is now etched onto Obama’s itinerary, with the U.S. president planning to travel there in July for bilateral meetings and the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit. 

But the terror rampage at Garissa University College was a grim reminder of the logistical and security challenge for the president’s team, and of the growing threat posed by al-Shabaab. The attack on the northern Kenya university killed nearly 150 people and was followed by a warning from the Somalia-based terror group that Kenyan cities “will run red with blood,” according to the SITE intelligence group. 

“Their objective right now is to get attention,” said Peter Pham, an Africa expert at the Atlantic Council, adding that the terror group is “changing its model” from a “major insurgent threat” to, increasingly, “a transnational terrorist group.”  A presidential visit would, for a brief period, put the international spotlight on Kenya. Pham said al-Shabaab, while good at hitting “soft targets,” so far has avoided government buildings and other fortifications and would likely not attempt to “storm any majorly defended target” like the meetings Obama would be attending.  However, that might not stop them from plotting an attack against Kenyans while the president is in the country, for the kind of attention they’re seeking. 

 “It doesn’t necessarily need to be associated directly to the presidential visit, other than the timing,” Pham said. “Anything they do … will get them what they want, which is more media and exposure to the big leagues so to speak. The more reporters in the country heightens the risk.” So far, the White House insists the July trip will not be affected by terror concerns. “We don't believe that this will impact the president’s travel there later this year,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Friday. “We feel very confident in the security precautions that will be in place when the president travels.”

 Obama’s father, the late Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in Kenya, and the president still has family there. The White House has not said whether Obama plans to visit relatives while in the country. The president on Friday called Kenya’s president to express condolences over the recent attack. According to a White House statement, Obama also affirmed he looked forward to meeting with him in July, in Nairobi. The trip, according to the White House, is meant to “build on the success of the August 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit and continue our efforts to work with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, to accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security.” Al-Shabaab, which rose from the ashes of civil war in neighboring Somalia, has been linked to Al Qaeda and was also responsible for massacring non-Muslims in June and November 2014 as they were traveling on buses in Kenya near the Somali border. 

Before that, the Islamist group was responsible for the attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi in 2013, killing 67 people. Aside from launching attacks on non-Muslims, the group has also vowed revenge against Kenya and other neighboring nations for sending troops to Somalia in 2011 in support of the weakened central government there. But Thursday’s attack on mostly Christians at the college was the deadliest act of terrorism in Kenya since the Al Qaeda bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, which killed 213 people, including 12 Americans, and injured 4,000. It calls into question whether the Kenyan government can keep its people safe, and whether al-Shabaab might try to stage an attack to take advantage of the world’s attention during Obama’s visit. 

Robert McFadden, senior vice president and counterterrorism analyst with the Soufan Group who served as a chief investigator for Naval Criminal Investigative Service after the USS Cole bombing by Al Qaeda in 2000, told Fox News.com that it “would absolutely be a goal for any violent extremist anywhere” to disrupt an American president’s visit. 

“But there is a big delta between what [terrorists] would like to do and its capability and its capacity,” he added.  He believes that Kenyan security forces – though criticized for their response in the West gate Mall attack – are robust enough to meet the challenge of securing Nairobi ahead of the July conference, which will also host a number of international dignitaries and industry leaders. Those forces already have launched attacks against al-Shabaab positions in Somalia after the college massacre.  

“The Kenyan government has a good handle on the security posture, but will also be augmented by the full capabilities of the United States,” McFadden said. Further, “the president is not going to go anywhere that his most trusted advisers and the people at the very top of the [U.S.] security apparatus advise against.” 

While Obama has traveled to countries in fragile circumstances before, like Afghanistan and Iraq, those places offered the benefit of an entrenched U.S. military presence. There is a tiny U.S. military footprint in Kenya but no large American bases, and certainly not in Nairobi. But Kenya is not at war, and its government is working closely with the U.S. amid this ongoing al-Shabaab threat, McFadden said. 

“The threat level right now for the country isn’t much beyond what it is for some of the neighboring countries – Somalia notwithstanding,” he said. Plus, “the amount of information, intelligence, care and planning that goes into these trips for the president and vice president is absolutely extraordinary anywhere they go.” 

That planning is typically led by U.S. Secret Service, which will marshal its resources months ahead to plot a wide perimeter of security around the president during his time there. When contacted by FoxNews.com, U.S. Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback said he could not talk about the “means and methods” of that planning.

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Kenya mourns as families queue to find Garissa victims

Relatives identify bodies at morgue as government says gunman in killing of 148 people at university was official's son.

Family members have lined up at a morgue in Kenya's capital Nairobi to identify the bodies of loved ones they believe were among the 148 killed in the attack on the Garissa University College campus last week.
As relatives queued on Sunday, Kenya's interior ministry announced that it has identified one of the al-Shabab gunmen who massacred students at the northeastern university on Thursday as the son of a government official.
In Nairobi, the Felix family were among many lined up at a mortuary, trying to find 20-year-old Veronica, a student at the university who has been missing since the attack.
Her mother Florence found her body - one of dozens lined up on the floor.

Garissa residents say Kenya forces could have done more

"Those children died a very painful death. I can't even identify my own child from her face," she told Al Jazeera.
"She has wounds on her skin all over her body. Her skin has burned, she has no hair. I just identified her with her folded toe and the scar on her thigh."

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Al Jazeera's Malcolm Webb, reporting from Nairobi, said the ordeal for families like the Felixes was only just beginning, with post-mortems to be carried out before victims' bodies can be released and funerals can be arranged.
"The people coming out are extremely distressed. The process of identifying the bodies is very traumatic. What I saw when I was in there was definitely the worst thing I have ever seen," Webb said, after going inside the mortuary.

Gunman identified
Mwenda Njoka, an interior ministry spokesman, said on Sunday that Abdirahim Abdullahi was among four gunmen who attacked the Garissa University College campus.
After besieging the university, the al-Shabab gunmen lined up non-Muslim students before executing them in the armed group's bloodiest attack to date.
"The father had reported to security agents that his son had disappeared from home ... and was helping the police try to trace his son by the time the Garissa terror attack happened," Njoka told the Reuters news agency in a text message.
The Kenya Today website identified Abdullahi as the son of Abdullahi Daqara, the Chief of Bulla Jamhuri in Mandera county. It described Abdullahi as a former gifted law graduate who had studied at the University of Nairobi.
As Kenya began three days of national mourning and dedicated Easter prayer services to the victims of the attack, reports emerged that Kenyan special forces were not deployed to the site of the attack, near the border with Somalia, for at least seven hours.

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Kenya's major Nation newspaper said it took until just before 2pm for the main response team to reach the scene, despite alarm bells going off in Nairobi as soon as the first reports of the pre-dawn attack emerged.
Njoka dismissed the criticism. "If you look at how we responded it was not bad at all, say, compared to Westgate," he told the Nation.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday  pledged that the attackers  would face justice for the "mindless slaughter" and vowed to retaliate for the killings in the "severest way".
Five men have been arrested in connection with the attack.

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