The reconciliation saga between Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and Nairobi Women’s Representative Rachael Shebesh has become a high stakes tussle in which a figure of up to Sh100 million is said to be at the centre of negotiations, The People has learnt. With the two hitting a stalemate yesterday, which could lead to prosecution of Kidero with possible devastating consequences for his position, the tussle is said to have drawn in some powerful government offiacials who are understood to have sent Nairobi Senator Mike Mbuvi ‘Sonko’ to try to reconcile the two in the interim period before prosecution can begin. “I have personally been sent to initiate dialogue between the two leaders,” Sonko told The People last night, as he confirmed that reconciliation between the two may have been stalled by brokers working behind the scenes on both sides. Sonko said the officials who had sent him had “expressly” directed him to reconcile the two leaders for the sake of development in the County, noting that he, Kidero and Shebesh hold the key to the city’s administrative and political management, which are some of Jubilee’s key success indicators. “If Kidero and Shebesh are knocked off their seats by this case, Nairobi would be back to the drawing boards to pick new leadership,” said another city MP. Sources said the figure of Sh100 million had been mentioned in the negotiations, which could also be another drawback to reaching a settlement. Sonko warned intermediaries, whom he said include some MPs, to keep off the matter “in order to give us time to broker a deal. At the moment, we are progressing well with talks and we hope to reach a solution within a few days”. However, we could not independently verify Sonko’s claim of being dispatched as a peacemaker between Kidero and Shebesh. This unfolded as Kidero managed to secure a three-day temporary order stopping the police from prosecuting him for allegedly assaulting Shebesh at City Hall four months ago. High Court Judge Weldon Korir granted Kidero the reprieve shortly after Justice Isaac Lenaola vacated the sanctions he had slapped on the police on January 3, to give the Governor and Shebesh a chance to reconcile following their sensational physical confrontation last September 6. Prof. Tom Ojienda, for Kidero, explained there was real apprehension the Governor was likely to be charged at any time and it was in the interest of justice to suspend any prejudicial action against him before all avenues to safeguard his interests had been exhausted. According to the Criminal Procedure Code (CDC), assault is treated as a serious “misdemeanour” and carries a penalty of between six and one month conviction, in some cases with a fine. Should the case against Kidero therefore proceed and if he is convicted, he would be forced to quit the high profile office of Nairobi Governor. On the other hand, Shebesh can easily walk out of the court a free person with a “simple bond to keep the peace” if the case against her proceeds since it is treated as a minor offence under the CPC to cause disturbance. In the court, Justice Korir directed Ojienda to provide lawyer Cecil Miller, for Shebesh, with the fresh application to facilitate an urgent hearing between the warring parties on Thursday to assist the court decide whether to extend the conservatory orders. Senator James Orengo said the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), on whose ticket Kidero was elected, wanted to participate in the petition. Lawyer Evans Monari said the Nairobi County Government would seek permission to be included as an interested party. Justice Lenaola set aside the orders he had slapped against the Inspector-General of Police, David Kimaiyo, and the Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, from prosecuting Kidero and Shebesh after they separately confirmed they were unable to reach an out-of-court settlement. Reconciliation was a two-way process and if one party was not willing to engage the other, then any court orders were in vain, he said. Miller said he had personally arranged for a meeting and made proposals on the terms of reconciliation last Friday, but his entreaties were rebuffed. It was apparent that the reluctance and lack of response from the Governor meant no tangible negotiations could be attempted, he said. Miller said Shebesh had no problem at all being charged with creating a disturbance since her protagonists had not demonstrated any genuine seriousness in resolving the dispute. But, Prof. Ojienda accused Shebesh of undermining the spirit of reconciliation and asked for seven days to explore an amicable solution. The Deputy DPP, Kioko Kamula, said he was not aware of any negotiations between the parties, but urged the court to desist from giving the DPP any ultimatum regarding the proposed prosecutions, in which Kidero and Shebesh are individual complainants and accused persons. Monari had offered to mediate in the stand-off between the two politicians. In his brief ruling, Justice Lenaola recalled he had only allowed the parties to fix their problems after Ruaraka voter, Alex Nchore Ochako, hinted they were willing to settle their differences through round-table negotiations. Article 159 (2) (1) of the Constitution allows reconciliation, mediation, arbitration and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. Under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), the court is granted the power to encourage reconciliation between parties in cases of common assault or for any other offence of a personal or private nature, he said. However, Justice Lenaola had dismissed Nchore’s assertion that the intended prosecution against Kidero was politically motivated and meant to humiliate and bring him down. “The whole application, with respect, is full of generalities, politically-correct, but legally untenable arguments and is speculative and premature,” he said. Kidero had made a complaint against Shebesh at the Central Police Station while she reported alleged assault by the Governor at the Parliament Police Station. - By PAUL MUHOHO-THE PEOPLE

Radio personality Caroline Mutoko was attacked and robbed her valuables at her residence in Nyari Nairobi. Reports from the police confirms that Caroline Mutoko and her three-year-old daughter were unhurt in the Monday night incident, which saw the flashy queen of radio lose her valuables inclusive of electronics and money. A gang of about five people scaled a perimeter wall, attacked and tied guards who were on duty at the compound before they broke into the house where Caroline Mutoko was sleeping.with her daughter. According to Nairobi Area police chief Benson Kibue, the gang stole household and electronic goods from the house. “We are yet to know the motive,The police stated . if any but we are looking for the gang which escaped to Gachie area. Caroline Mutoko who works at Kiss FM was at work onTuesday morning. Efforts to reach her on phone to comment on the occurence didn't bear fruits since she could not pick her calls The police is trying to establish the facts behind the attack and why the attackers targeted her house alone .The guards were later questioned over the incident as investigation is underway to establish the motive behind the attack

Celebrated as a military hero at home, recognised as a pragmatic politician abroad and despised as a bloodthirsty criminal by the Palestinians and the Arab world, Sharon was nothing if not a polarising figure.
But Israelis of all stripes acknowledged the burly 85-year-old as a key figure in their nation's history, his death on Saturday leaving President Shimon Peres as the Jewish state's last surviving founding father.
The white-haired former general had been in coma since January 4, 2006, following a massive stroke which felled him at the height of his political career.
Ahead of his funeral on Monday, Sharon's flag-draped coffin was placed on a black marble plinth in the plaza outside the Knesset, or parliament, for the public to pay their last respects.
A spokesman for the assembly told AFP up to 20,000 people had filed past the coffin, which was flanked by an honour guard,  when the plaza was closed to the public after seven hours.
Among the visitors were people of all ages, soldiers and black-clad ultra-Orthodox Jews rubbing shoulders with families.
Earlier, ministers held a minute's silence in memory of Israel's 11th prime minister as they met for their weekly cabinet meeting.
"He will be remembered in the heart of the Jewish people forever as one of our most outstanding leaders and most daring commanders," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told them.
Funeral at ranch near Gaza
Sharon will be buried on Monday afternoon at Sycamore Ranch, his home in the southern Negev desert, after a military funeral
A procession from the Knesset to the ranch will stop pause for a ceremony at a military memorial site in Latrun, west of Jerusalem, where Sharon was wounded in the 1948 war of independence.
With thousands of people expected to attend the funeral, police were preparing to deploy extra units to secure the area, which lies just a few kilometres (miles) from the northern border with Gaza.
Channel 2 television said the army had changed the deployment of the Iron Dome aerial defence system batteries in the area to defend against possible rocket attacks from Gaza. A military spokeswoman refused to comment.
World leaders sent condolences over Sharon's death, remembering the divisive figure in cautious diplomatic language. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to represent Washington at a special memorial at the Knesset on Monday morning.
Others expected to attend are German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, outgoing Czech Prime Minister Jiri Rusnok and Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair as well as diplomats from Canada, Spain and Russia.
Sharon's dramatic story was the subject of blanket media coverage on Sunday, with Israeli newspapers dedicating multiple pages to pictures and commentary on his life and legacy.
Once known chiefly as a ruthless military leader who fought in all of Israel's major wars, Sharon switched to politics in 1973, championing the development of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
He was long considered a pariah for his personal but "indirect" responsibility in the 1982 massacre of hundreds of Palestinians by Israel's Lebanese Phalangist allies in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
His early career as a warrior earned him the moniker "The Bulldozer" but most world leaders chose to remember the politician who surprised many by masterminding Israel's pullout from Gaza in 2005.
The Palestinians were quick to welcome news of his death, which prompted an outburst of celebration in the Gaza Strip, where the ruling Islamist Hamas movement said it was a "historic moment" marking the "disappearance of a criminal whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood".
One of the last members of the generation that founded the Jewish state in 1948, Sharon leaves a complex legacy which also includes the sprawling barrier separating Israel from the West Bank.
His policy of separation from the Palestinians culminated in the withdrawal of 8,000 settlers from Gaza, a bold move that earned him the hatred of his former nationalist and settler allies.
Born in British-mandate Palestine on February 26, 1928, to immigrants from Belarus, Sharon was just 17 when he joined the Haganah, the militia that fought in the 1948 war of independence

Reuters reported that Human rights lawyers and campaigners have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate allegations of torture by British troops in Iraq, a move which the UK government dismissed as unnecessary on Sunday.
A Berlin-based human rights group and a British law firm have submitted what they describe as 250 pages of analysis to the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor requesting action on alleged abuses between 2003 and 2008.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) said in a press release posted on the ECCHR website that there had been "systemic abuse" of Iraqi detainees during the British presence in Iraq which met the threshold of war crimes.

 

 

An ICC spokeswoman declined immediate comment on the submission.
The ICC, which receives dozens of submissions every year and takes very few of them further, can only act where national jurisdictions are unable or unwilling to investigate alleged crimes.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain's willingness to investigate the allegations meant action by the ICC was unnecessary.
"The British armed forces uphold high standards ... so we reject any allegations of systematic abuse. But where there are substantiated allegations of things going wrong these things have been or are being investigated," Hague told Sky News.
"That does not require references to the International Criminal Court ... This is being dealt with properly within the United Kingdom through a very detailed and exhaustive process."
PUBLIC INQUIRIES
The ECCHR and PIL said more than 400 Iraqi former detainees had made allegations of grave mistreatment, of which 85 had been chosen as "representative cases" in the submission to the ICC.
The two organizations said they wanted the ICC to open formal investigations into senior figures at the Ministry of Defence who "knew or should have known of the widespread patterns of abuse, and turned a blind eye to them", and named former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon.
Hoon could not be immediately reached for comment.
The ministry said alleged abuses had been or were being investigated through the British and European law courts, through public inquiries, in parliament and through a dedicated publicly funded body called the Iraq Historic Allegations Team.
"Should we be approached by the ICC, we will take the opportunity to explain the very extensive work underway to deal with historic allegations of abuse," the ministry said in a statement.
PIL has played a key role in a number of court cases involving alleged British abuses in Iraq.
It has also been instrumental in bringing about several major public inquiries, including the ongoing Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations that British troops executed and tortured Iraqis in the aftermath of a battle in May 2004. That inquiry is due to present its findings at the end of the year.

  A new feature in Google Inc's Gmail will result in some users receiving messages from people with whom they have not shared their email addresses, raising concerns among some Google products users eg Gmail,blogger blogspot and google social media Google+.
The change, which Google announced on Thursday, broadens the list of contacts available to Gmail users so it includes both the email addresses of their existing contacts, as well as the names of people on the Google+ social network. As a result, a person can send an email directly to friends, and strangers, who use Google+.
Google is increasingly trying to integrate its Google+, a two-and-a-half-year old social network that has 540 million active users, with its other services. When consumers sign up for Gmail, the company's Web-based email service, they are now automatically given a Google+ account.
Google said the new feature will make it easier for people who use both services to communicate with their friends.
"Have you ever started typing an email to someone only to realize halfway through the draft that you haven't actually exchanged email addresses?" the company said in a blog post announcing the feature. "You're in luck, because now it's easier for people using Gmail and Google+ to connect over email."
Google said that users who did not wish to receive email messages from other people on Google+ could switch the settings so that they receive messages only from people they have added to their networks of friends or from no one at all.
Some privacy advocates said Google should have made the new feature "opt-in," meaning that users should explicitly agree to receive messages from other Google+ users, rather than being required to manually change the setting.
Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of non-profit Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the new feature "troubling."
"There is a strong echo of the Google Buzz ," he said, referring to a social networking service that Google launched in 2010. Buzz initially used its Gmail users' contact lists to create social networks that the rest of the world could see, leading to an uproar and ultimately a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Google said the new feature would not expose the email addresses of any Google+ users to strangers. Emails from strangers on Google+ will be routed to a special section within the recipients mailbox that is separate from messages from friends and other contacts. If the recipient does not reply to the message, Gmail will block any future messages from that person.
A Google spokeswoman said the company planned to send an email to all Google+ users during the next two days alerting them to the change and explaining how to change their settings.
One exception to the new feature is celebrities on Google+, who are followed by a large number of fans.