NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday said a new and unpopular tax on petroleum products was necessary, but that he wanted to cut it to 8 percent from 16 percent.
The government had faced a fuel dealers’ strike, anger among commuters and a lawsuit after transport and fuel prices jumped when the 16 percent value-added tax on all petroleum products entered into force on Sept. 1.
Kenyatta rejected on Thursday a parliamentary finance bill that sought to postpone the tax altogether. Parliament will reconvene next week to examine Kenyatta’s new proposal.
The implementation of the new value-added tax on fuel is a key to government plans to shrink its fiscal deficit while funding essential programmes, Kenyatta said.
“Further delay in the implementation of the tax would compromise our ability to deliver basic services to Kenyans, and to maintain the trajectory of our development,” he said, while adding that he wanted to lower the rate because of the tax’s impact on the cost of living.
In a rare rebuke of parliament, Kenyatta said the bill failed to help the government fulfill its basic obligations to the people.
“It took the easy path, instead of rising to the challenges of our time. It was good politics, but bad leadership,” he said in a televised address.
He attributed his decision to the need to fund development as well as new layers of government created by the 2010 constitution.
“I must make a delicate balance between short-term pain and long-term gains,” he said in a televised address.
Some critics of the fuel tax welcomed his proposal.
“It is laudable,” said Simon Kimutai, the chairman of Matatu (minibuses) Owners Association, whose members control 80 percent of the country’s public transport.
“He has shown he minds about Kenyans. Cutting it by 50 percent would definitely cut the prices of commodities and services which were rising,” he said.
The government would still face funding gaps after the new, lower VAT rate on fuel, Kenyatta said, adding that he had proposed cuts to the government’s spending plan across the board.
Some of those savings would be directed towards the budgets of institutions tasked with fighting corruption, including the judiciary and the prosecution service, to speed up corruption and economic crime cases.
Parliamentary leaders and lawmakers were not immediately available for comment, but Kenyatta’s Jubilee party and its allies enjoy a comfortable majority in the house.
The International Monetary Fund has said it would consider extending a stand-by loan arrangement that expired this week, if the budget deficit is reduced. That put pressure on the exchange rate, but the IMF said on Friday that Kenya had adequate hard currency reserves and pledged to keep supporting reform.
Kenyatta did not mention a cap on commercial lending rates. Lawmakers voted to keep the cap in the finance bill, defying a move in June by Finance Minister Henry Rotich to remove it.
Additional reporting by George Obulutsa and John Ndiso, editing by Larry King

Why Kenya’s president is planning to cut fuel tax by half

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So what is likely to feature in the Kenyatta –Trump meeting? Grant Harris, former Obama principal advisor on Africa in the White House and CEO of Harris Africa Partners joins CNBC Africa to share insights.

What to expect from Trump-Kenyatta meeting

NAIROBI, May 31 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s treasury has proposed a 35 percent corporate tax for companies on annual income of more than 500 million Kenyan shillings ($4.9 million).
If the draft law is approved by parliament, it would be the highest corporate income tax rate in East Africa, where most countries have a flat corporate tax of 30 percent.
Kenya has struggled with high budget deficits over the last few years. Introducing a new corporate tax bracket may be a way to raise much needed revenue to plug the gap.
According to a draft bill published on its website, the Treasury said it had reviewed the income tax act and proposed changes to “make it productive” and “supportive to the Big Four Agenda” and economic growth.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s “Big Four Agenda” policy is aimed at boosting economic growth through spending, improving food security and rolling out universal healthcare, supporting manufacturing, and building affordable housing.
“It’s rare to see corporate (tax) being graduated. Usually it’s a flat tax,” said Titus Mukora, a Nairobi-based partner at auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
He said that as he understood it, income above 500 million shillings would be subjected to the new tax, and anything lower than that would remain at 30 percent.
Kenya’s budget deficit is expected to drop to 5.7 percent of GDP in the fiscal year starting in July from 7.2 percent this fiscal year, estimates sent to parliament by the Treasury earlier this month showed. ($1 = 101.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Omar Mohammed Editing by Maggie Fick and Hugh Lawson)

This country could soon have the highest corporate tax rate in East Africa

LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Cambridge Analytica, the UK political consultancy at the centre of Facebook’s election manipulation scandal, ran the campaigns of President Uhuru Kenyatta in the 2013 and 2017 Kenyan elections, according to video secretly recorded and broadcast by Britain’s Channel 4 News on Monday.
The company denied all allegations made by Channel 4 News regarding its business practices.
The news channel said it mounted a “sting operation” in which it said had secretly recorded top Cambridge Analytica executives saying they could use bribes, former spies and Ukrainian sex workers to entrap politicians around the world.
The New York Times and the British Observer newspaper reported on Saturday that Cambridge Analytica had acquired private data harvested from more than 50 million Facebook users to support Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign.
Mark Turnbull, a managing director for Cambridge Analytica and sister company SCL Elections, told Channel 4’s undercover investigative reporting team that his firm secretly stage-managed Kenyatta’s hotly contested campaigns to run the East African nation.
“We have rebranded the entire party twice, written the manifesto, done research, analysis, messaging. I think we wrote all the speeches and we staged the whole thing &#8211; so just about every element of this candidate,” Turnbull said of his firm’s work for Kenyatta’s political party, known as the National Alliance until 2016, and subsequently as the Jubilee Party.
Kenyatta came to power in 2013 and won a second and final term last August, defeating opposition leader Raila Odinga by 1.4 million votes. The Supreme Court nullified the vote citing procedural irregularities and ordered a second election.
Last September, former U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called the second election a “project” of Cambridge Analytica. The Jubilee Party has not commented.
Odinga did not contest the repeat vote on Oct. 26, saying it would be unfair because the election commission had failed to implement reforms and Kenyatta won with 98 percent of the vote.
At a prior meeting, Turnbull told the reporters: “Our job is to really drop the bucket further down the well than anybody else to understand what are these really deep-seated fears, concerns. “It is no good fighting an election campaign on the facts, because actually it is all about emotion.”
Cambridge Analytica officials were recorded saying they have used a web of shell companies to disguise their activities in elections in Mexico, Malaysia and Brazil, among various countries where they have worked to sway election outcomes.
Chief Executive Alexander Nix is recorded boasting: “We are not only the largest and most significant political consultancy in the world but we have the most established track record. We need to operate through different vehicles, in the shadows.”
“I look forward to building a very long-term and secretive relationship with you,” he tells the reporters.
Cambridge Analytica denied all allegations made by Channel 4 News regarding its business practices. The company said in statement it was humouring the undercover reporters and trying to gauge their motives by actively encouraging them, “to tease out any unethical or illegal intentions”.
Channel 4 noted that their last meeting with Cambridge Analytica had taken place in January at a London hotel and that company employees had continued to email them seeking to strike a deal to work on a Sri Lankan campaign up until recently.
Cambridge Analytica acknowledged in a statement that, its CEO had “misjudged the situation”. Nix said: “I must emphatically state that Cambridge Analytica does not condone or engage in entrapment, bribes or so-called ‘honeytraps’, and nor does it use untrue material for any purpose.”
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Reporting by Eric Auchard in London
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The company at the centre of Facebook’s election manipulation scandal’s role in Kenya’s elections

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s pick of a national intelligence officer to serve as Kenya’s top prosecutor drew criticism from lawyers and rights groups on Wednesday.
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The president nominated Noordin Mohamed Haji to be director of public prosecutions and forwarded his selection to parliament for approval on Tuesday, along with his selection of Paul Kihara Kariuki as attorney general.
Critics said the choice of Haji, who is the deputy director of the national intelligence service and has no experience as a prosecutor, endangered the independence of the judiciary because the nominee is viewed as a Kenyatta administration insider.
“The holder of this office should not be someone of his background,” said activist Okiya Omtatah. “This is a red flag.”
“We are very concerned because he is not known within the legal profession,” said George Kegoro, executive director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission. “He is associated with the security establishment and he is a political insider.”
Kenyatta’s spokesman Manoah Esipisu told Reuters that he picked had the candidate from the three names recommended to him by the selection panel.
Among those short-listed were senior prosecutors, said Peter Kiama, head of the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, a Nairobi-based rights group.
The spokesman did not comment on the make-up of the short-list, the finalists nor the identify of those on the selection panel.
“Kenya needs an explanation as to why very experienced and able deputy prosecutors were not chosen for the position,” Kiama said.
Before joining Kenya’s intelligence service, Haji worked in the Attorney General’s office in the commercial law department, according to Isaac Okero, president of the Law Society of Kenya.
“His exposure to the practice of criminal law seems to have been very limited,” he said.
The government’s adherence to the law was questioned last month after it declined to obey court orders related to a crackdown on opposition figures and the shutdown of TV stations following the mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Kenyatta and the judiciary also clashed publicly last September after the Supreme Court nullified his initial election on Aug. 8 and ordered a re-run, which he won.
The extended elections season blunted economic growth in the region’s richest economy and left 100 people dead, mostly from clashes between police and opposition supporters.
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Reporting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Alison Williams
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Kenyan president’s pick for top prosecutor draws criticism

Kenyan opposition politicians said on Monday they had suspended their rival assembly, days after their leader said he would reconcile with President Uhuru Kenyatta and end months of post-election turmoil.
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Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga met on Friday and promised to re-unite the country after 100 people were killed in clashes, mainly between opposition supporters and security forces.
The opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition said it welcomed the new spirit of cooperation &#8211; though it warned that the suspension could be lifted if the government did not address divisive issues including land.
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“We have accepted. We acknowledge that it is better to reason together than separately,” the NASA Peoples Assembly Organising Committee said, in the first sign that rank-and file campaigners backed the leaders’ surprise reconciliation.
The People’s Assembly was announced in the wake of presidential election in August, and a repeat vote in October, both won by Kenyatta and both dismissed by the opposition as fraudulent.
Organisers at the time said the People’s Assembly was not meant to be a parallel government, but other statements said citizens would be able to use it to “exercise their sovereignty” until what they called “proper elections” were held.
Several Kenyan counties set up their own local People’s Assemblies, meant to be part of a central, national body, which has yet to meet.
Before Friday, Kenyatta and Odinga had defied calls from civil society, religious leaders and Western diplomats to hold talks to overcome deep divisions after the elections.
Violence during the two rounds of voting last year revived memories of the clashes that followed a contested 2007 vote, though the toll did not come close to the estimate 1,200 killed that time around.
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Reporting by George Obulutsa and Humphrey Malalo; Editing by Elias Biryabarema and Andrew Heavens
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Kenyan opposition suspends “People’s Assembly” after rivals meet

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta called opposition leader Raila Odinga “his brother” on Friday and promised they would both start the process of bringing the people together after last year’s contentious elections.
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In a live television address jointly with Kenyatta on the steps of the president’s office, Odinga said time had come to resolve “our” differences.
It was the first public appearance by the two politicians together since a repeat presidential election last Oct. 26.
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Kenyatta and Odinga had agreed to establish a new office staffed by advisers to tackle the divisions ranging from opposition complaints over the election to tensions between ethnic groups and corruption, they said in a statement.
“We have a responsibility as leaders to find solutions. Elections come and go but Kenya remains,” Kenyatta said.
Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term in November after an extended election season which saw the Supreme Court nullify an August presidential poll and order a re-run in October, which Odinga boycotted.
Around 100 people died mainly in clashes between the security forces and opposition supporters during months of acrimonious campaigning and protests. The election season blunted growth in Kenya, East Africa’s richest economy and a Western ally in a volatile region.
In January, Odinga took a symbolic presidential oath in a Nairobi park in a direct challenge to Kenyatta.
Before the Friday meeting, the two men had defied calls from Kenyan civil society, religious leaders and Western diplomats to hold talks to overcome deep divisions opened up by the disputed elections.
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Odinga said the opposition had decided to change tactics for the sake of the country’s unity. “We refuse to allow our diversity to kill our nation,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives in the Kenyan capital later on Friday as part of a seven-day visit to Africa as the United States seeks to bolster security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to China for trade.
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Additional reporting by Maggie Fick and Katharine Houreld; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg
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Kenya’s president and opposition leader pledge to heal divisions

Joy Mueni, Riara University 
Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga was sworn in as the “people’s president” last week, maintaining that he did not recognise Uhuru Kenyatta as the President. After defying government warnings, and broadcasting live from the venue of the contentious event, three of Kenya’s biggest TV stations were shutdown. They have been allowed back on air again, but Joy Mueni explains why the closures mark a new low for press freedom in Kenya.
<div id="attachment_298928" style="width: 860px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-298928" class="wp-image-298928 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/kenya_Kenyatta_Moi_GettyImages.png" alt="" width="850" height="589" />Former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi (R) with current Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi in October 2002. Image: Getty Images.</div>
Why has the government taken this stance and does it come as a surprise?
The Kenyan government issued a warning to media houses against airing Odinga’s swearing in as the “people’s president”. They said that any channel broadcasting the event would be shutdown. So, it wasn’t a surprise. But, did the public expect it to go on for seven days? No.
The government has, in a sense, justified its decision by alleging that the media is partisan and that some journalists “work” for the main opposition coalition.
For media experts, the writing has been on the wall for a while. There have been growing concerns about government interference in the media’s work. During the 2017 electoral process, journalists were repeatedly physically attacked by politicians.
Are there no laws protecting the media from censorship like this?
There are various laws that grant the media, and the citizens of Kenya, freedom of expression.
For example, the country’s 2010 Constitution states:
&#8220;Every person has the right to freedom of expression, which includes: freedom to seek, receive or impart information or ideas; freedom of artistic creativity; and academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.&#8221;
Freedom and independence of electronic, print and all other types of media is guaranteed
&#8220;The State shall not exercise control over or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, the production or circulation of any publication or the dissemination of information by any medium&#8221;
Despite these protections, media freedom isn’t a reality. After the recent media shutdown, activist, Okiya Omtatah went to court seeking the reinstatement of live broadcasting. The court ruled in his favour and an order was granted. But the court order was blocked from being served and the stations stayed off air for six more days.
The Chief Justice David Maraga issued a statement condemning the blatant disregard of court orders. He stated that everybody, including state officers and bodies, must comply with court orders as it is their constitutional and civic duty.
Does this mark a low point in the relationship between Kenya’s media and the government of the day?
Daniel Arap Moi, the second President of Kenya who served from 1978 to 2002, was known for having a repressive regime. During his tenure press freedom was seen to be at its lowest point since independence in 1963.
Until 1992 government-owned media outlets had a monopoly on radio broadcasting. When broadcasting was eventually privatised, Moi’s administration would intimidate or harass journalists critical of his government.
But things are worse today. The 2010 constitution came into effect after Moi left office. If a government can violate the constitution without any consequence, then what purpose does it serve? This blatant disrespect of the law is the beginning of anarchy.
How did the media deal with repression in the past?
Under Moi’s regime journalists were often labelled as traitors. They were accused of producing seditious material, some went into exile and many were jailed without trial. The journalists Wahome Mutahi and Magayu Magayu, for example, were repeatedly jailed. The newspapers and magazines that fought the system were eventually either banned or bankrupted because they were denied advertising revenue.
Years later, media is still heavily reliant on government advertising as it amount to about 30% of all advertisements.
To deal with this repression, media practitioners and bodies like Article 19, Kenya Human Rights Commission agitated for legislation to protect media freedom and prevent infringements of press freedom. As a result, Kenya now has the Media Council Act 2013 and the Kenya Information and Communications (amendement) Act 2013.
In addition, the media council of Kenya, the regulatory arm of the Kenyan media, has come up with a code of conduct for the practice of journalism. The code was designed to act as a self-regulating tool for journalists and has largely served its purpose.
What impact is this having on people’s ability to get information?
While the shutdown is a major red flag to the democratic progress the country has made, it’s happening in the digital age when people have access to the internet. Internet use is huge in Kenya with 88% of the population accessing it using their phones. This has meant that people were able to watch the swearing in broadcasts through YouTube and other social media platforms. There were also smaller information providers like community radio and TV stations that got to shine during the shutdown.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91497/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />The future of media though dim now, seems bright. The judiciary seems to be independent and this will play a vital role in the fight for press freedom. Journalists are also being trained on how to conduct themselves ethically and professionally and this too is bearing fruit.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Media freedom in Kenya: analogies are being drawn with Moi’s repressive era

Njoki Wamai |University of Cambridge
In what some have called a coup, Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga was hastily sworn in in a mock ceremony as the “people’s president” by two lawyers in the presence of a sizeable crowd.
<div id="attachment_298490" style="width: 860px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-298490" class="wp-image-298490 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Raila-Odinga_Swearing-in_GettyImages.png" alt="NAIROBI, KENYA - JANUARY 30: Opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga takes an oath as president during a mock 'swearing-in' ceremony on January 30, 2018 at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya. The opposition held the ceremony to protest the results of the controversial 2017 elections, which lead to current President Uhuru Kenyatta being named to a second term. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)" width="850" height="566" />NAIROBI, KENYA &#8211; JANUARY 30: Opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga takes an oath as president during a mock &#8216;swearing-in&#8217; ceremony on January 30, 2018 at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, Kenya. The opposition held the ceremony to protest the results of the controversial 2017 elections, which lead to current President Uhuru Kenyatta being named to a second term. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)</div>
The brief January 30 ceremony took place in central Nairobi’s largest park. But this was not a coup. Odinga did not purport to assume the constitutional office of the president held by his rival Uhuru Kenyatta. As some of his supporters have argued, this swearing-in was largely symbolic.
Odinga’s vocal support mirrors the ethnic affiliations of his opposition coalition partners – mostly the Luo, Luhya, Kamba and a number of tribes from the country’s coastal areas. Ranged against them are Kenyatta’s Kikuyu and Deputy President William Ruto’s Kalenjin ethnic groups. These two ethnic groups have produced all the country’s presidents since independence 54 years ago. The Kikuyu, who have produced three of the last four presidents, are the most populous ethnic group in Kenya. They are followed by the Luhya, Kalenjin and Luo.
Grievances over land between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin have previously sparked violent clashes, including post-election carnage in 2007 and 2008. But rattled by International Criminal Court charges over the violence, Kenyatta and Ruto closed ranks to win the next election in 2013.
The two ethnic groups have been accused of exclusionary politics due to their superior numbers, wealth, state power and 
and impunity.
Against this backdrop, the events of January 30 could be read as part of Kenya’s long transition to democracy and the push to reclaim the stalled nation building project.
<h2>Not a power grab</h2>
Kenya has a vibrant modern economy, but remains deeply fractured along ethnic lines.
After independence, Uhuru’s father Jomo Kenyatta preferred the free market model. This gave precedence to private capital and private land tenure regardless of the prevailing inequalities between different ethnic groups.
The senior Kenyatta intimidated Jaramogi Odinga and others who challenged his model. The senior Odinga, who was Kenyatta’s first vice-president and ally turned foe, preferred a land redistribution model. This would have addressed the land and nationhood crisis that continues to date.
The younger Kenyatta has yet to address the mess his father created in the land tenure system. Odinga on the other hand continues his father’s campaign for a more equitable sharing of resources. He has also called for a reformed electoral system which would guarantee equal chances for different ethnic groups to assume the presidency regardless of their size.
Odinga’s swearing-in did not amount to a power grab nor replace the current president. It was more an assertion of people’s power to reject a political model in which opposition supporters’ votes don’t seem to count.
In my view, the message is that while Kenyatta occupies the office of head of the sovereign state, opposition supporters can choose who to legitimise as their president in their own way. The huge crowd that gathered at Uhuru Park fulfilled this mission.
But converting his people power from the popularity contest to real power is the challenge. People power works where the regime in power lacks support. But Kenyatta enjoys as much support as Odinga in the capital.
<h2>What next for Raila Odinga?</h2>
Odinga has run for president four times – in 1997, 2007, 2013 and 2017 – and lost in all. Some analysts have suggested that the scale and nature of illegalities in the 2007 and 2013 elections are proof that the outcomes were predetermined and the results rigged to keep Odinga out. The August 8 2017 election was also nullified over illegalities and irregularities.
Win or lose, Odinga has been at the centre of the Kenyan political story for decades. His latest actions provoked a fierce reaction from government which took the unprecedented step of shutting out the main TV stations. Several arrests have also been made.
The jury is still out on whether Odinga’s show of power through numbers actually matters. The symbolic ceremony seems to have reduced tensions among his supporters who longed to ‘crown their king’.
The tough talking Kenyatta government has interpreted the swearing-in ceremony as a criminal offence. The furious reaction has further deepened the divisions between government and opposition and also among their supporters. A middle ground where both sides address past injustices and review the relevance of the first-past-the-post electoral system in Kenya that privileges populous ethnic groups over minority ones is what Kenya needs.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91158/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />As a way forward, dialogue between the people’s president and President of the Republic should start immediately to address the exclusion and entitlement that has prevented Kenya’s nation-building project from taking off.
This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Op-Ed: ‘People’s president’ gambit reignites power struggle as old as Kenya

Three Kenyan TV stations will stay off the air indefinitely as the government investigates a “swearing in” of opposition leader Raila Odinga, the interior minister said on Wednesday, following the symbolic but direct challenge to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
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Independently owned Citizen TV and Radio, KTN and NTV were switched off on Tuesday after they transmitted live coverage of an opposition ceremony to “swear in” Odinga into office.
Fred Matiang‘i, who is also the minister in charge of security, accused some elements in the media of facilitating the “illegal act”, putting lives of thousands of Kenyans at risk.
“The government took a decision to shut down the concerned media houses, until further notice, as it launches a full investigation,” he told a news conference.
Odinga, whose supporters say he is Kenya’s legitimate leader and Kenyatta’s election was neither free nor fair, took a symbolic presidential oath at the ceremony.
Matiang‘i said the opposition event was an attempt to subvert and overthrow the legally constituted government, adding they were also investigating the “swearing in”.
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“The investigations will extend to co-conspirators and facilitators,” he said, promising appropriate legal action against those found culpable.
Police later arrested Tom Kajwang, an opposition lawmaker who administered Odinga’s “oath of office”, James Orengo, an opposition senator, told Reuters.
Kajwang, who represents a constituency in Nairobi and is a lawyer by profession, turned up at the opposition gathering in a white wig and a black robe, mimicking the official robes the chief justice wears when inaugurating a president.
<h3>LOSSES</h3>
Earlier, executives in the media industry accused the government of keeping them in the dark over the switch-off of their broadcast stations.
“There was no comment from the government when the action was taken, and there’s been none since,” said Wachira Waruru, managing director of Royal Media Services, which owns Citizen TV and Radio.
Attempts by Reuters to reach Kenya’s Communications Authority for comment by telephone on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
“We’re trying to reach out informally to government officials, but we are not getting any answers,” Waruru said. “Our business is advertising-based so we are making huge losses,” he said, declining to give a figure.
The stations are considering filing a petition to the Kenyan courts in the hope of having their broadcasts restored by court order, he said. “We are trying to resolve through dialogue, but if it doesn’t work we will go to the courts,” he said.
“It’s shocking that the stations are still shut down,” said Isaac Okero, president of the Law Society of Kenya.
“This sets a very worrying tone for the country and really reveals to us that the state’s supposed commitment to constitutional order is very brittle if there at all.”
On Tuesday security forces made no move to stop an opposition gathering in downtown Nairobi attended by more than 15,000 people, which authorities had said would be illegal.
But the government later declared the opposition “National Resistance Movement” a criminal group, paving the way for potential arrests.
On Monday, Linus Kaikai, chairman of the Kenya Editors’ Guild, said editors had been warned by authorities that they could be shut down if they covered the event.
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Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by William Maclean
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Kenyan TV stations to stay shut after covering opposition `inauguration’

Several hundred supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga gathered on Tuesday morning at a park in downtown Nairobi, determined to “swear in as president” their leader who boycotted a re-run election last year.
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President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term in November after winning the repeat presidential election in October that Odinga boycotted due to doubts it would be free and fair.
Kenyatta had also been declared winner of the August election, but the Supreme Court later nullified that result, over irregularities.
Odinga said the October election was “fake” and earlier said a “people’s assembly” would swear him in on December 12. That did not happen, and a new event was planned for Tuesday.
By 0600 GMT, about 400 people were gathered in Uhuru Park, near Nairobi’s main business district.
Though the police had said they would prohibit any illegal assemblies on Tuesday, there were no uniformed police in the park and no anti-riot officers or vehicles.
Local radio station Capital FM reported that supporters had been granted permission by Kenyan authorities to use the park. Police and government spokesman were not immediately reachable for comment on that report.
Opposition supporters claim Odinga won the August vote.
”The swearing in that will happen today is legitimate based on the August 8 election. Odinga is the one we recognise as the president and that is why we are swearing him in,” said hairdresser Benta Akinyi, 32, standing near other opposition supporters blowing horns and whistles.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT">
Reporting by George Obulutsa; Additional reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
</div>

Hundreds of Kenyan opposition supporters gather for “swearing in” of Raila Odinga

NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; German automaker Volkswagen (VW) plans to double output at its Kenyan assembly plant and could build a second model there, Kenya’s presidential office said without giving a timeline.
VW set up the vehicle assembly plant in 2016, resuming production in Kenya after a four decade break. The plant has started by assembling VW’s Vivo model.
READ: <a class="l _PMs" href="http://cnbc.africa/news/east-africa/2016/12/22/volkswagen-takes-to-the-east/">Volkswagen to open plants in Kenya, Rwanda</a>
President Uhuru Kenyatta was told by VW’s South Africa chief Thomas Schaefer “the firm was exploring producing a second model in Kenya, possibly a hatchback &#8211; small SUV &#8211; while doubling production of the VW Polo Vivo to at least 300 vehicles,” the presidential office said in a statement late on Friday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
VW to double production in Kenya; explores second model <a href="https://t.co/GNZaQbjo63">https://t.co/GNZaQbjo63</a> <a href="https://t.co/GIFdFrgrGj">pic.twitter.com/GIFdFrgrGj</a>
&mdash; Uhuru Kenyatta (@UKenyatta) <a href="https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/951858888294486016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
VW has long experience operating in emerging markets. But Kenya’s car market is dominated by low-priced, second-hand imports from countries, such as Japan.
http://cnbc.africa/news/special-report/2015/07/10/vw-brings-car/
Other brands assembling vehicles in Kenya include Isuzu, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and Peugeot.
Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Edmund Blair

Volkswagen to double output from Kenya plant

By Pam Golding
With the foundation stone laid by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, construction has begun on ‘The Pinnacle’ in Nairobi, Kenya, which at a height of 300m will be the tallest skyscraper in Africa, easily exceeding Johannesburg’s 223m Carlton Centre.
Well positioned in the capital city’s vibrant financial hub of Upper Hill, only 16km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, this landmark, luxury mixed-use development will include its own helipad, residential apartments and a 5 Star Hilton Hotel.
<div id="attachment_295727" style="width: 1523px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-295727" class="size-full wp-image-295727" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/The-Pinnacle-Kenya.jpg" alt="" width="1513" height="2048" />The Pinnacle, Kenya. Artist impression Pam Golding</div>
Says Kunaal Samani, MD of Pam Golding Properties in Kenya, which has an office in Westlands, Nairobi, and has been appointed to market the residential apartments: “This $200 million project is arousing a great deal of interest in the marketplace. Backed by the Dubai-based project developers, White Lotus Group and Hass Petroleum of Nairobi, Kenya, the new luxury, development includes two glass-facade towers – one comprising 70 storeys with 20 floors commercial (11 offices and nine retail) and the balance consisting of 209 opulent residential apartments, and the other tower the 45-storey, 255-room Hilton Hotel with conference facilities, luxury spa, gym and open-air infinity pool.”
The Pinnacle will include offices, a shopping mall and basement parking, as well as a viewing deck with views to Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya. Other features are four high-speed passenger lifts dedicated for residents &#8211; travelling at six metres per second, a back-up water supply served by borehole and water storage tanks, back-up generators and built-in internet infrastructure, satellite TV and air conditioning.
Says Samani: “The residential units comprise one, two and three bedroom apartments and three bedroom penthouses, ranging in size from 64 to 294 square metres. While the prices of the residential units are still to be confirmed by the developer, we have been given the exclusive mandate to sell 150 residential units.
“The Pinnacle is attracting a great deal of interest from investors. Currently, even prior to the official launch, we already have serious buyers who intend acquiring more than one apartment in order to both live and let within the building.
“Investor confidence remains undiminished despite the disruption around the elections. In fact, most of our buyers are eagerly waiting for us to officially commence sales as they have realised this is more than a worthwhile property investment &#8211; it is an opportunity to be a part of history. The Pinnacle’s single and family apartments are designed not just for the global business traveller or local executive, but also for the discerning Nairobi resident looking for a home that is a cut above the rest, with an exclusive blend of luxurious lifestyle and world-class services.
“We anticipate many of apartments will be purchased by investors, the majority being cash buyers, drawn by the close proximity of The Pinnacle to various embassies and high commissions such as the British High Commission and most major bank headquarters. Upper Hill is the ‘Canary Wharf’ of Nairobi, home to numerous international corporates and organisations.
“The residential units are ideally suited to high-end buyers seeking luxurious accommodation in a central location, while foreign buyers, whom we anticipate will mostly emanate from East African countries, will want to invest in this iconic development that will be known throughout Africa.
“We also believe we will be able to lease out the units to the burgeoning middle class and high-end business hub base who are already expressing high interest in this unique property, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021.”

Construction on Africa’s tallest skyscraper starts

NAIROBI, Jan 5 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Friday he will retain Henry Rotich as his finance minister.
Trained as an economist, Rotich worked with the central bank and the ministry of finance, before his initial appointment to the role in 2013. He has presided over steady economic growth but he has been criticised for ramping up the national debt.
The <a href="http://cnbc.africa/tag/kenya-elections/">president was sworn in for a second and final term last November</a>, three months after the Supreme Court invalidated his initial re-election and ordered a re-run.
Kenyatta said he would also retain five other cabinet ministers, including the transport minister and the energy minister, while nominating three newcomers who have to be vetted by parliament.
He said he will fill the remaining slots, up to a maximum of 22, in the next few weeks.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="38">
Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Alison Williams
</div>

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta retains six cabinet ministers including finance minister

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for second, five-year term on Tuesday, ending months of political turmoil in the east African nation.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-292594 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Kenyatta-Swearing-In_GettyImages.png" alt="" width="850" height="567" />
Kenyatta won a repeat presidential election on Oct. 26 after opposition leader Raila Odinga boycotted the vote, citing concerns over fairness. Police prevented opposition leaders from holding a rival gathering on Tuesday.

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in for second, five-year term

Kenyan security forces fired teargas to control crowds trying to force their way into a stadium for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s inauguration on Tuesday, as riot police sealed off an area where the opposition planned to hold a rival rally.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-292572 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Uhuru-Kenyatta_New_Flickr.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" />
Kenyatta won a second five-year term on Oct. 26 in a repeat presidential election boycotted by opposition leader Raila Odinga, who said it would not be free and fair.
The Supreme Court nullified the first presidential election, in August, over irregularities.
The extended election season has divided Kenya, a Western ally in a volatile region, and blunted growth in East Africa’s richest economy.
Supporters of Kenyatta &#8211; who won with 98 percent of the vote after Odinga’s boycott &#8211; are urging the opposition to engage in talks and move on.
“Our responsibility after the political competition is to come together and work to build the nation,” Kenyatta told a church service on Sunday.
Hours before the inauguration was due to start, 60,000 Kenyatta supporters, many clad in the red and yellow Jubilee party colours and carrying Kenyan flags, filled the stadium where the ceremony will take place.
Others, chafing at being kept outside, overwhelmed police and streamed in. Officers then fired teargas in a bid to control them.
“I’m sure Uhuru will be able to bring people together and unite them so we can all work for the country,” said Eunice Jerobon, a trader who travelled overnight from the Rift Valley town of Kapsabet for the inauguration, before the disturbance.
But Odinga supporters say such talk of unity is tantamount to surrender. They accuse the ruling party of stealing the election, rampant corruption, directing abuse by the security forces and neglecting vast swathes of the country, including Odinga’s heartland in the west.
“A return to the political backwardness of our past is more than unacceptable. It is intolerable &#8230; This divide cannot be bridged by dialogue and compromise,” Odinga’s National Super Alliance opposition alliance said in a statement.
The opposition planned to hold a prayer meeting in the capital on Tuesday, saying it wanted to commemorate the lives of Odinga supporters killed during confrontations with the security forces over the election period.
More than 70 people have been killed in political violence this election season, mostly by the police.
But a Reuters team at the scene of the planned rally said it had been sealed off by seven truck loads of police. Two water cannons were standing by.
Police began firing teargas in nearby residential areas two hours before the rally was due to start, apparently attempting to prevent opposition supporters from gathering.
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="60">
Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld; writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Robert Birsel
</div>

Kenyan president to be sworn-in as opposition prepares to hold rival rally

Kenya’s main share indices dropped on Thursday, as profit-taking broke a bounce that followed the upholding of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election by the Supreme Court, traders said.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-9513 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research.jpg" alt="JSE’s top performing stocks in March 2015" width="1365" height="1024" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research.jpg 1365w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research-820x615.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stock_exchange_board_-_aids_research-160x120.jpg 160w" sizes="(max-width: 1365px) 100vw, 1365px" />
&nbsp;
The benchmark NSE-20 share index of blue chip shares slipped 0.33 percent, while the all-share index, fell 2.48 percent, the Nairobi Securities Exchange said.
The NSE-20 has rallied 2.9 percent since Monday’s verdict, while the all-share index has surged 5.5 percent in the wake of the ruling.

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Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta retains six cabinet ministers including finance minister

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta sworn in for second, five-year term

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Kenyan shares fall in correction after Supreme Court verdict bounce

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