By Judy Ogutu

Her strong voice, charming nature and resilience is outstanding. Apart from the slow trudge in her step, the widow is full of life.

She has weathered many a storm, including bruising court battles, all in an attempt to stamp her rights as an HIV positive woman.

Her petite frame does not betray her strong will and spirit to sail through the turbulences of life.

Mrs Justine Adhiambo Ombuor becomes the first woman in Kenya�s legal history to challenge her sacking due to her status and get compensated for it.

Justine Adhiambo Ombuor during the interview. She resolved to live on and fight the court battle to the end. PHOTOS: TOM MARUKO�

In 2003, she sued Home Park Caterers Ltd, Metropolitan Hospital and Dr Primus Ochieng claiming she was unfairly dismissed due to her status.

Five years later, last week, an out of court settlement was reached to rest the dispute that had dogged her life like a shadow � with a Sh2,250,000 compensation.

When we traced her last week, she was at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) clinic for a medical appointment.

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In the exclusive interview, Ombuor described the five-year legal battle as tough, saying most times she had to battle stress.

“The case used to be adjourned several times and I became stressed because my immunity was going down. Eventually the case was set for hearing.”

She recalls her hurt when she lost her job.

“The moment I got sacked, my heart sunk. I was hurting so much. I was very sad when I got a termination letter. They fired me without benefits. They sacked me on medical grounds, saying I was unfit for service,” she volunteers.

At this point, she shifts in her chair as if to compose herself. Ombuor, who now lives in Oyugis in South Nyanza says her husband died eight months after she lost her job.

The death was a second blow that brought to her the stark reality that she was now the sole breadwinner for her three sons, two of who are in secondary school. She turned to selling vegetables and this would enable her put food on the table for the boys.

When life in the city became too hard, she shifted to Oyugis and left behind one of her sons with a neighbor at Mathare North, where she used to stay.

One of her sons, she reveals, was severely affected by her life�s new twist. She credits her relatives, who encouraged her to seek justice.

Ombuor wrote letters to the National Aids Control Council (NACC) and Kenya National Commission on Human Rights to seek assistance.

NACC then took her to Rachier and Company Advocates, where lawyer Otiende Amolo represented her for free.

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“I did not have anything to offer… My advocate had freely volunteered to do his best. It was him who would at times give me money to pay for my fare to and from court,” she recalls.

Ombuor had throughout the hearing of the case used the initials of her names � JAO � but after the case was concluded, she allowed us to conduct her interview and reveal her identity.

“I do not now have a problem with people knowing my identity. I am fine with it,” she said.

Since being diagnosed with HIV, Ombuor has lead a healthy life by adopting healthy eating habits and a stress-free lifestyle. Her immunity is now stable and she freely talks about her status.

“I remember when the case started, I would tell my neighbours I am HIV positive but they would not believe me. I have never been admitted to hospital but I occasionally get malaria.”

She doesn�t know when she contracted the virus � she only learnt of it on April 30, 2002.

When the case began, Ombuor knew she would either win or lose, but all she wanted was redress.

“Some of my neighbours and former workmates used to think I would not make it but I knew I would live to see the conclusion of the case. There were others who supported me while others were against me. I used to tell my advocate I would not die,” she narrates.

At 45, the widow is a beacon of hope for those in similar circumstances.

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API/Standard.ke

By Ben Agina:� Armed Forces Training College Commandant Maj-Gen Geoffrey Lukale Okanga has been retired with immediate effect, The Standard has established.

Okanga is the only key officer in the Department of Defence (DoD) to be sent home.

Another 100 officers in the rank of Major and above are set to retire between now and next year following recommendations by the Defence Council, which met last Tuesday and Friday.

The council meets twice a year, in May and November, but had not done so since May last year.

Okanga has been replaced by Brigadier Haji, who despite his new posting, was not promoted to the rank of Maj-Gen, as should be the case.

Brigadier Simon Karanja, who was Okanga�s deputy, has been promoted and will replace Maj-Gen PJO Opiyo.

Opiyo, who was General Officer Commanding (GOC) West Command in Gilgil was tipped to take over as the Kenya Army Commander upon the promotion or retirement of Lt Gen Augustino Njoroge, whose terms ends in June next year.

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The fate of Deputy Army Commander, Maj-Gen Jones Mutwii, remains uncertain.

Mutwii�s term in office ended last December, but is said to be enjoying a close relationship with Chief of General Staff, Gen Jeremiah Kianga.

In an unprecedented move, Colonel Nyambok�s Commission has also been terminated. By implication, Colonel Nyambok ceases to be a Commissioned officer.

Commissions are granted to officers by the President to enable them command their juniors.

However, the termination of an officer�s commission is equivalent to being fired.

President Kibaki, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is expected to approve the Defence Council�s recommendation this week.

Those not affected in the changes are Kianga, Vice CGS Lt Gen Julius Karangi, Njoroge and Commandant of the National Defence College (NDC) Lt Gen Jack Tuwei.

Okanga was previously an Assistant Chief of General Staff in charge of Operations, Doctrine, Systems and Training at the Defence Headquarters before which he served as the Director of Military Intelligence.

He was also once the Chief Audit at the DoD, Defence adviser in London and Paris.

Okanga also served with the UN mission in Iran �Iraq (UNIIMOG 1988-1989).

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API/Standard.ke

Two more ministers should be investigated for abuse of office, leaders said at the weekend.

An assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri and three MPs demanded separately that Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang and deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta be probed.

But, calls to investigate Mr Kajwang over claims of impropriety were however vehemently opposed by his colleagues Fred Gumo and Noah Wekesa who absolved him of any wrongdoing.

And, Budalang�i MP Ababu Namwamba wants Mr Kenyatta probed over the nomination fiasco of councillors.

Those calling for investigations into the Immigration Minister included ODM�s Joshua Kutuny and Luka Kigen, and Ford Kenya chairman Musikari Kombo.

Work permits

Mr Kiunjuri, the Water and Irrigation assistant minister, said that Mr Kajwang, who is accused of issuing work permits to foreigners, should face a commission of inquiry just like former Finance minister Amos Kimunya.

�A commission of inquiry should be formed to look into the activities of the Immigration minister,� he said during a prize-giving day at Moi Equator Girls Secondary School in Nyeri North district.

A commission of inquiry headed by Justice (Rtd) Majid Cockar has been formed to probe the sale of Grand Regency hotel, that compelled Mr Kimunya to resign from office.

Last week, Mr Kajwang defended himself against accusations that he issued work permits to foreigners whose professions are available locally.

Mr Kutuny of Cherangany and his Rongai counterpart, Mr Kigen, asked the Immigration minister to take a bold move and resign before being humiliated should he be found to have acted against the law in approving the work permits.

The two ODM MPs also cautioned ministers against misusing their positions.

And the Rongai MP told Mr Kajwang to be ready to pack up and leave should he be found to have contravened the law. �He should not wait like (Mr) Kimunya� said Mr Kigen.

Speaking in Kimilili during the victory party for area MP Simiyu Eseli, Mr Kombo a PNU Nominated MP, differed with Mr Gumo and said the Immigration minister must be investigated.
Dr Eseli, the only Ford-K MP, defeated former Trade minister Dr Mukhisa Kituyi in the last General Election.

Mr Kombo, who is a member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, said investigations were necessary to clear one�s name.

�We have to hold the president to his word on war against corruption, when he said any one found to be corrupt must step aside,� he said.

However, Mr Gumo who had spoken earlier, said Mr Kajwang did nothing wrong by issuing the permits to individuals so long as no money changed hands.

�Illegal immigrants have always been issued with permits before Kajwang got�� into that office, and more so he was just exercising his powers,� he said.

But he castigated his cabinet colleagues who misuse their positions.

In attendance were Foreign affairs minister Moses Wetang�ula and Lands assistant minister Bifwoli Wakoli.

In Mombasa, Mr Namwamba said Mr Kenyatta, the Trade minister, should also be investigated over the nomination of councillors during his short stint at the Local authorities docket.

Mr Namwamba said Mr Kenyatta acted in disregard of the law in nominating councillors who did not qualify.

�Some councils have more councillors than was required forcing them to incur extra costs in paying them instead of providing services to residents,� he added.

Reports by Luke Kapchanga, Kibiwott Koross, Mazera Ndurya and KNA

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API/Nation.ke

By David Ochami

President Kibaki has made new friends in a quiet shift of ideology � a move causing disquiet among Kenya�s traditional Western allies, The Standard can reveal.

The exposure of a series of deals discreetly cut between Nairobi and Tripoli illustrates how close Kibaki has become to Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

State House also started courting China, Iran and Eastern European backers following strained relations with Western allies appalled by spiraling corruption and bad governance.

Under Kibaki, China and Iran�s diplomatic and economic influence have risen, converse to falling relations with the West.

But it is Gaddafi, whose latest �incursions� into Kenya has touched off alarm bells. Tripoli�s activities have created the worrying impression of a �takeover�.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and his newfound friends, (clockwise) Chinese President Hu jintao, Iran�s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libya�s Muammar Gaddafi. Kenya�s traditional western allies are jittery over the ideological shift.�

Libya�s sensational arrival and entrenchment in five years, though comparatively low, has alarmed the West and human rights activists for fear of Gaddafi�s real intentions amid claims that the support was corruptly procured and strengthens Kibaki at the expense of democracy.

Despite the fabled ideological closeness between Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Gaddafi, sources who did not want to be named for fear of a diplomatic row, said the Libyans detest the PM�s closeness with the US and his nationalist and populist credentials.

Sources also say the US is suspicious of Gaddafi�s short and long-term designs in the region.

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Libya and China�s chequebook diplomacy has come in the form of free oil, soft loans, investment, construction projects and bribery of the political elite to supplant client regimes, sources told The Standard.

Early last week, Kenya finally gave Libya Oil Holdings Ltd (LOH) the go-ahead to buy 50 per cent shares of Kenya Petroleum Refineries.

LOH will own shares, hitherto owned by three European multinationals � Shell International Petroleum Ltd, BP Africa Ltd and Chevron Global Energy Inc � introducing a twist to the battle for control of the refinery that has pitted the Libyans against Indian conglomerate, Essar Group.

According to the current issue of the Tripoli Post, the Libyans will reserve a fraction of its share for Essar Group after LOH finalises the deal with the three multinationals.

Libya�s sudden rise in the Kenyan economy demonstrates the allies� other gains in the energy, information technology, telecommunications and hospitality sectors.

Kibaki backers deny he is auctioning the country or that he has a selfish motive for embracing the East, whose engagement is clouded in stealth, corruption and inferior quality.

They argue that the liberalised economy allows bids from Libya, China and other countries in the Orient.

Alarmed at disgraced Finance minister Amos Kimunya�s ouster and formation of a commission of inquiry to investigate the Grand Regency Hotel sale, Libyan diplomats and investment officials have been holding meetings with Kenyan officials to protect their newly-acquired investments.

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In the eyes of the West, Iran�s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a bad boy. He is a critic of the George W. Bush administration, and supports strengthened relations with Russia, Venezuela, Syria and the Persian Gulf states.

He has said Iran�s nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and has refused to end enrichment despite United Nations Security Council resolutions.

In one of his most controversial statements, he called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, another Kibaki friend, has his hands firmly on the main levers of power in one of the world�s largest and fastest-growing economies (and its most populous country).

Under Mr Hu, China has continued to increase spending on defence, and tensions remain high with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province.

Once regarded as a pariah by the West, Gaddafi began his return to the international fold after Libya settled the Lockerbie bombing claims and agreed to stop developing weapons of mass destruction.

Western politicians, including the British, Italian, French and German leaders, have since visited Tripoli.

Gaddafi is the Arab world�s longest-serving leader.

A shrewd operator, he survived several attempts on his life and reinvented Libya�s system of government. The colonel came to power in a bloodless coup in 1969 against the ailing King Idris I.

In the late 1970s, Gaddafi introduced the Jamahiriya � a system of governance based around �people�s committees� and free of partisan politics.

By the late 1980s, he had given up his official titles to become leader of the revolution, while retaining absolute power.

Over the years, Gaddafi has supported a broad range of militant groups, including the Irish Republican Army and the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Libya�s alleged involvement in attacks in Europe in the 1980s triggered US military strikes in 1986. Dozens of people were killed, including Gaddafi�s adopted daughter.

The media rights organisation Reporters Without Borders has said press freedom is “virtually non-existent” in Libya. The State owns and strictly controls the media and the authorities do not permit the publication of opinions contrary to government policy.

That is why Libyan officials in Kenya read a Western plot in the Grand Regency saga and fear their properties might be nationalised after Lands minister James Orengo froze the hotel�s title last week.

Mr Hisham Ali Sharif, the Libyan embassy�s charge de affaires, said last week that Libya�s property in Kenya was acquired legally, quoting Mr Alhaj Saleh Bashir, who heads Libya�s civil service.

Investigation shows that besides the Grand Regency Hotel, the Libya Africa Portfolio (LAP) and its subsidiaries hold interests in oil and hotel properties in Nairobi, Mombasa and Eldoret, following a deal between Gaddafi and Kibaki after bilateral talks last year.

In the June 4-6 talks, the two sides signed agreements paving way for Libyan involvement in energy, telecommunications, information technology and other sectors.

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Compared to the West and emerging China, Libya�s investment in Kenya is small but growing. Libyan oil company � Tamoil � bought Mobil Kenya for $200 million (Sh13 billion) last year and renamed it Oilibya, which now has 64 pump stations across Kenya.

According to Bashir, Libya�s investment drive will not be deterred by “recent controversy and distraction”.

On Monday last week, Bashir captured growing suspicion of Libya�s private and public efforts in Kenya by attempting to assure “the people of Kenya that our investments�are free of all ulterior motives �”.

Libyan diplomats are conscious of the bitter memories from the shut down of their embassy in Nairobi in 1987 after claims that its ambassador, Wainis Masselaty, was fomenting dissent in Kenya.

“Libya is not interested in the past. We do not interfere in Kenyan affairs. We are interested only in cooperating with our Kenya brothers under the African Union to uplift the socio-economic conditions, to build roads and eradicate slums,” says Hisham.

Although Bashir denies any hidden motives in Libya�s investment, critics believe Libya has joined China, India, Turkey and other nations jostling to control key states in Africa.

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API/Standard.ke

Story by KENNETH OGOSIA and TOM MATOKE

Members of Parliament have opposed President Kibaki�s directive that the succession debate should end saying it was undemocratic, even as some ministers backed him.

Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang�ula said the Head of State wanted leaders to concentrate on development instead of putting the country in a permanent political mood.

He said the succession issue could consume a chunk of government business and compromise service delivery.

�If you go to Uganda or Tanzania it is very difficult to know whether they ever politic and I think until the time of elections, people should concentrate on development rather than blame games,� he said. The minister said Kenya had a duty to feed its neighbours in East and Central Africa.

But assistant minister Dick Wathika� said the debate should continue, noting that the process of choosing the next president required consistent public debate.

Service delivery

He said that the President did not call for a stop to the debate, but only wanted� leaders to concentrate on service delivery.

�The President wants us not to spend a lot of time talking instead of service delivery. Kenyans need to be prepared psychologically for who to support,� he said

Mr Wathika asked leaders from central Kenya to support an individual from another region for the next President in order to reconcile their community with other Kenyans.

�As former Vice-President Wamalwa Kijana and Prime Minister Raila Odinga supported President Kibaki in 2002, we must support a leader from another community capable of uniting us with other Kenyans,� said Mr Wathika.

Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo said the debate cannot stop because President Kibaki was expected to retire at the end of his term.

He said President Kibaki should not attempt to impose his successor on Kenyans �because the scheme will boomerang like what retired President Moi faced when he tried to push Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Kenyans.�

�Kenyans will decide who should be their next President and the Head of State is least qualified to stop the debate because his tenure was contested and many Kenyans died as a result. Let the people decide,� said Mr Jirongo.

Karachuonyo MP James Rege said President Kibaki�s stand was similar to what� President Jomo Kenyatta subjected the country to by declaring that imagining his death was treasonable.

�To me the debate is healthy and I do not think we should be taken back to the Kenyatta era when imagining his death was treasonable,� the MP said.

The MPs said the expanded democratic space should not be thinned by such declarations and asked the President to uphold freedom of speech and expression.

A professional association said politicians were fond of holding the public at ransom. �Politicians in this country are not serious because they jump into issues which can only be discussed after investigating the motive of the succession agenda,� said� Mr George Ojema, chairman of Kenya Economists Association.

Mr Ojema said a stable financial base devoid of political pronouncements was essential for economic growth.

President Kibaki on Saturday berated leaders aspiring for high office in the country, saying there was no vacuum in the top leadership.

The President, who expressed the sentiments twice while on a tour of Nyeri, told� leaders to instead concentrate on serving the people.

While acknowledging that it was their democratic right to publicly declare their interest in the position, the President called on such leaders to stop dividing the people as they seek high office.

Elsewhere, Agriculture minister William Ruto said those who had started� campaigns for the presidency had lost direction and urged them to redirect their energies to delivering pledges made to Kenyans.

�Political leaders engaged in 2012 succession debate have lost direction, they should seek ways of delivering services to the people of Kenya first.�

At the same time, Mr Ruto urged his Cabinet colleagues and top government officials to fight tribalism, which threatened to split the country during post election violence.

Speaking at Kapsabet Boys High School accompanied by Mosop MP David Koech and his Emgwen counterpart Elijah Lagat, Mr Ruto called for unity in the Cabinet and fair distribution of the national resources countrywide.

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API/nation.ke

The Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has kicked against plans by French leader Nicolas Sarkozy for a Mediterranean Union, warning that such a body will fuel Islamist terrorism and will be regarded as “imperialism” by many in Africa and the Arab world.

Many see the warning by the Col. Gaddafi as constituting a major setback to President Sarkozy’s Mediterranean project, his highest-profile initiative during France’s turn at the European Union’s six-month rotating presidency which began last week.

Sarkozy has invited all the European Union’s 27 leaders, as well as leaders from 17 Mediterranean countries to a summit launching the new “Union” in Paris next week.

But Libya is threatening to boycott the meeting, accusing the EU of trying to divide Africa and the broader Arab world by drawing a Mediterranean Union map that echoes old colonialist designs for the region.

We shall have another Roman Empire and imperialist design. There are imperialist maps and designs that we have already rolled up. We should not have them again, Gaddafi warned in Tripoli.

Speaking at the Bab Alazizya Palace in Tripoli, the same building that was attacked by US fighter planes over 20 years ago in retaliation for a Libyan-sponsored bombing in Berlin, the Libyan leader further predicted that the EU blueprint for the Mediterranean will be a pretext for a new generation of terrorists.

“I believe this project of the Union for the Mediterranean would increase illegal migration and terrorism and give a justification to Islamist extremists to carry out jihad attacks.

These extremists would explain it as a crusade against European colonisation,” he added.

Diplomatic sources in London said that Col. Gaddafi’s anger stemmed from the fact that original plans to build closer co-operation among a only few southern European and North African states that border the Mediterranean were changed to include the whole EU, the Middle East – and Israel – in the new “Union”.

“It is unbelievable that I would come to my own country and people and say that I have a union with Israel. It is very dangerous,” he said. “We Arabs have not been able to unite together. How can we have a union with Scotland or Scandinavia or Israel?”

This is not the first time that Paris under Sarkozy is encountering such a diplomatic snub.

Sarkozy is hoping that he can focus the Union on concrete and non-controversial issues such as maritime co-operation, tackling pollution, solar energy projects and “civil security co-operation”.

“I predict this project will be a complete failure,” said Col. Gaddafi.

French officials hinted Friday that: “The Libya is the only country that is not being represented by the head of state or government”.

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API/APA

Story by PATRICK NZIOKA

President Kibaki has berated leaders aspiring for high office in the country, saying there was no vacuum in the top leadership.

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Dividing the people

While acknowledging that it was their democratic right to publicly declare their interest in the position, the President called on such leaders to stop dividing the people as they seek high office.

He added that there was a coalition government in place that brought together the PNU coalition and ODM led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga and they should instead focus on working together.

After the launch of the Bible and a booklet on peace and healing at the Dedan Kimathi grounds, President Kibaki drove through the town�s main street and later addressed the people who had lined up to welcome him.

Speaking in Kiswahili, the President said, �Some people think they can divide the people to get to those top positions. This seat has its holder and assistant�.

At the grounds, the President spoke about the many Kenyans who think they can lead the country. He said they should instead concentrate on developing the country at this time to alleviate the plight of the poor.

He also asked those who had fled from Rift Valley to go back now that peace had been restored in the area following the formation of the coalition government.

President Kibaki revisited the negotiations between him and Mr Odinga at the Sagana Lodge, saying both had agreed that Kenyans cannot continue to fight one another. He added that people should forgive those who wronged them, saying that no one was without blame.

�No one should think he or she is special as the country belongs to all of us. We will co-exist and what happened was kitu kidogo (a small matter),� he said.

He assured the crowd that he was optimistic the country would perform better� than other African countries� in the economic front.

He asked Kenyans to maintain peace, saying there cannot be development without tranquillity. He reiterated that all Kenyans were equal and free to live in any part of the country without fear.

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API/Nation.ke