The newspapers on Sunday, January 25, covered an array of topics, including a security lapse at Nyayo House that saw an intruder gain access to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s office.
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Source: UGC
Elsewhere, the newspapers spotlighted the wrangles in ODM, with party leader Oburu Oginga calling a meeting with the Odinga family to resolve some of the issues causing rifts between them.
1. Sunday Nation
The newspaper reported on the intrusion into Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen’s office.
A man recently managed to sneak into the offices of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and remained there for nearly five hours, in an incident that has baffled investigators.
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The unidentified intruder spent time inside the minister’s office on the 20th floor of Nyayo House in Nairobi before walking out without raising suspicion.
Nyayo House is considered one of the government’s most sensitive buildings.
Although the Interior CS maintains his primary office at Harambee House, he also operates from Nyayo House, where several senior officers under his docket are based.
The building houses key departments, including immigration, citizen services, and the Nairobi regional administration.
CCTV footage shows the suspect entering the building on Saturday, January 10, at 10:45 pm and leaving at 3:40 am the following day.
Sources privy to the investigation, but unwilling to speak publicly, said fumigation was underway that night, and initial suspicions are that the intruder exploited relaxed checks on civilians accessing the premises.
The intrusion was only discovered the following morning when staff reported to work and noticed the office in disarray. Items appeared to have been tampered with and rearranged.
As one of the country’s most powerful state officers, the Interior CS enjoys high-level protection at his homes and offices.
He sits on the nine-member National Security Council chaired by the president, alongside the deputy president, Defence and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretaries, the Attorney-General, the Chief of Defence Forces, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Service, and the Inspector-General of Police.
The incident put the spotlight on the Administration Police’s Security of Government Buildings (SGB) Unit.
The matter has since been handed over to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, with officers from Nairobi Area and Kilimani Police Stations leading inquiries.
Investigators recovered CCTV footage showing a tall man in black jeans and a black cap, concealing his face as he exited the lifts.
Sources revealed that some security staff had been allowed to leave during fumigation, which began around 9 pm and lasted until 5 am, creating gaps in surveillance.
The suspect’s motive remains unclear, though police insiders suggest he may have been seeking information, as two desktop computers in the office appeared to have been interfered with.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that the intruders were looking for information,” one officer told Sunday Nation.
Meanwhile, sources indicate that Administration Police bosses have ordered a reshuffle of officers stationed at Nyayo House to strengthen security operations at the building.
2. Taifa Jumapili
Taifa Jumapili covered the report by the Auditor General indicating thousands of unprocedural hires in counties.
According to the report, almost 27,284 workers were illegally recruited in 41 counties in the three years to June 2024.
In addition, governors flouted the law in the recruitment, leaving counties at risk of overstaffing.
The counties hired thousands of workers between the 2021/22 and 2023/24 financial years despite lacking employment plans or budgets, according to a special audit of payroll management.
The audit reports show that, during the three-year period, only six counties did not recruit new workers.
Uasin Gishu County led the way with 3,982 new workers (excluding labourers), followed by Kitui (1,715), Trans Nzoia (1,082) and Turkana (1,054).
“The county government recruited 3,982 staff during the three financial years. However, it was found that the departments that carried out the recruitment did not have annual recruitment plans to guide the exercise,” said Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in a special audit of Uasin Gishu County salaries.
“The lack of recruitment plans can lead to over- or under-recruitment of staff, or recruitment for positions that do not align with the priorities of the institution.
Of all the workers employed in the 41 counties, 14.6% were in Uasin Gishu, reflecting the extent of illegal employment in the county, where the wage bill averaged 41.7% over the three-year period, exceeding the statutory limit of 35%.
The Auditor General criticised the county for operating without systems to identify actual staff needs or ensure the availability of funds to pay them.
This put the county at risk of having too many staff in some departments while others are understaffed, which affects service delivery.
Other counties that employed the most workers were Bomet (1,046), Nyamira (1,031), Nakuru (985), Nairobi (965), Narok (923) and Laikipia (913), completing the list of the 10 counties that employed the most workers.
“The recruitment process showed many weaknesses, including recruitment without advertising vacancies, hiring people who did not apply for advertised positions, and verifying budget availability after job advertisements,” said Gathungu about Narok County.
She warned that the practices undermine transparency, fairness and employment procedures, and can allow for the hiring of unqualified people, which places a financial burden on counties.
The 10 counties that hired the most workers hired a total of 13,696 workers, more than half of all new jobs in the 41 counties.
In Embu County, the Auditor General found that the governor illegally established the offices of the county chaplain and the governor’s health adviser. A total of 775 workers were hired during the period.
In addition, Lamu County hired 100 workers without assessing the job needs, with 16 hired before advertisements were issued. 1 In Samburu County, where 746 workers were employed, the audit found that 26 workers were employed in excess of the declared number, while another 192 were directly appointed and paid KSh 47.7 million over a three-year period.
3. Sunday Standard
The newspaper reported on a road accident involving a fuel tanker, which left one person dead.
A truck driver lost his life on Saturday morning after the fuel tanker he was operating exploded following a head-on crash with another lorry near the Swaminarayan Tunnel along Nairobi’s Southern Bypass at about 10 am.
The accident involved a flour-laden lorry and a fuel tanker.
The impact occurred close to a bridge behind the Carnivore Restaurant, forcing the tanker against the structure before it caught fire.
Lang’ata Sub-County Police Commander Pius Mwanthi confirmed that the deceased was one of the drivers in the collision.
He noted that several vehicles were affected. One of the lorries had been heading from Ole Sereni towards Kikuyu when its driver lost control and veered off the road.
“As a result, we have lost one person, the driver of the vehicle coming from the Kikuyu direction. The driver of the other vehicle, which was carrying jet fuel, sustained injuries,” Mwanthi said.
“He was rescued and taken to a nearby hospital, where he has received treatment and is now in a stable condition,” he added.
Three other vehicles were also caught up in the incident, though Mwanthi clarified they were “not badly” burned.
Witness Maurice Obuya recounted that the crash happened when the tanker driver tried to swerve away from an oncoming lorry from Lang’ata Road heading towards Mombasa Road.
“The tanker driver lost control while attempting to avoid the lorry and collided with a car travelling from Lang’ata Road towards Ole Sereni. The cabin then fell into the tunnel, after which a fire broke out,” he said.
Members of the public quickly rushed to help.
“We began removing vehicles that were at the car wash so they would not be completely destroyed. The car wash tank was burned,” Obuya added.
The incident led to heavy traffic congestion on surrounding roads, with police urging motorists to remain cautious.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
