People and events likely to dominate the news this year

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto acknowledge a crowd on Landhis Road in Nairobi on October 9, 2014. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU |  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Uhuru, Ruto, Raila and Nkaissery among prominent Kenyans who will shape national events in 2015.
• Focus will also be on the standard gauge railway whose construction starts this year.

By PETER LEFTIE
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President Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto, Cord leader Raila Odinga and newly-appointed Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery are among prominent Kenyans who will shape national events in 2015.

The key events likely to shape the year include the conclusion of the case facing Mr Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, the construction of the 480-kilometre Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway and the planned Okoa Kenya and Pesa Mashinani referenda push.

Considering the threat posed by terrorism, national security will be one of the key agenda items in 2015, and attention will be on what President Kenyatta and Maj-Gen (Rtd) Nkaissery plan to do to defeat Al-Shaabab and neutralise bandits, cattle rustlers and armed criminals.

Also likely to capture national attention is the possible prosecution of officials of the now defunct Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) and past and present Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) officials implicated in the “Chicken Scandal” for allegedly receiving bribes to influence the awarding of printing tenders to a British printing firm, Smith & Ouzman. A London court will sentence top managers at the company next month.

In politics, February and March will be closely watched for the Homa Bay senatorial by-election and the Kajiado Central parliamentary by-elections.

The Homa Bay seat fell vacant after the death of Senator Otieno Kajwang’ last November while the Kajiado Central seat was vacated by Mr Nkaissery after he was appointed to the Cabinet.

STARTS IN 15 DAYS

As the year begins, attention will be on the case facing Mr Ruto and Mr Sang at the ICC, whose final stage starts in 15 days.

Last month, presiding Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji directed the Prosecution to close its case within the trial session starting on January 16. So far, 27 witnesses have testified in the case facing Mr Ruto and Mr Sang since it started in September 2013.

Once the Prosecution closes its case, the defence teams will be invited to make their final submissions.

The judges have, however, indicated that they may allow the two teams to file a motion of no-case-to-answer, should they wish to do so.

That would mean the defence will not argue its case, but will let the judges make a ruling based on evidence presented by the Prosecution and their argument during cross-examination.

Attention will also focus on the Okoa Kenya referendum drive spearheaded by the Opposition coalition, Cord, and the Pesa Mashinani initiative led by Council of Governors’ boss Isaac Ruto.

It will be interesting to see how Cord and its leader, Mr Raila Odinga, mobilise support for the referendum from at least 24 out of the 47 counties as required by law for the campaign to sail through to the referendum stage.

Mr Odinga also faces a task of ensure ODM retains the Homa Bay senatorial seat following a fallout in the party after it gave a direct nomination to Mr Moses Kajwang’, a brother of former Senator Otieno Kajwang’.

The young Kajwang’s maiden forays in the county met a hostile reception and it remains to be seen how Mr Odinga navigates the delicate political path to retain the seat in the face of rebellion.

ON THE SPOT

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Mr Issack Hassan will be on the spot over the “Chicken Scandal”.

Mr Hassan is among top electoral and Knec officials that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has said it is investigating with a view to prosecuting them in connection with the scandal.

EACC chairman Mumo Matemu has said the commission is investigating matters raised by a UK court during a ruling that saw Smith & Ouzman Ltd and two of its most senior officials found guilty of corruptly making payments to IIEC and Knec bosses.

Others implicated in the scandal and who will be investigated include Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, who served as commissioner at the defunct IIEC, former IEBC chief executive officer James Oswago and former Knec boss Paul Wasanga.

Focus will also be on the standard gauge railway whose construction starts this year.

The Sh327 billion Mombasa to Nairobi phase of the project will be undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and will mark its largest local project in 30 years.

The railway is expected to create over 30,000 jobs, making it one of the top employers of the year.

Mid last year, Kenyans expressed outrage when Kenya Railway Corporation disclosed that 5,000 foreigners, mostly Chinese, would be airlifted to Kenya to work on the SGR project as part of the 30,000 workers.

The firm has also faced criticism for importing nearly all inputs from China at the expense of local enterprises. The state has pegged use of local material at 40 per cent of CRBC’s orders.

The Mombasa-Nairobi segment is scheduled to be completed in 42 months,