Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i told reporters they would stay closed until investigations were complete.

NTV, KTN and Citizen TV went off-air at around 09:10 (06:10 GMT) on Tuesday.

They had previously been warned not to cover the ceremony naming Raila Odinga as “the people’s president”.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement circulating on social media that broadcasting the event – described as an attempt to “subvert or overthrow” the government – “would have led to the deaths of thousands of innocent Kenyans”.

However, Kenyan journalists denounced the move as outrageous and in a statement called for “respect of the constitution” and an end to the “unprecedented intimidation of journalists”.

The Interior Ministry said it was a “serious breach of security”.

Mr Matiang’i told reporters: “As a result of what happened yesterday, we have commenced investigations targeting individuals. Media houses will remain closed until we complete investigations.”

Meanwhile, opposition MP TJ Kajwang, who wore his lawyer’s wig and stood next to Mr Odinga while he was being “sworn in”, has been arrested.

Mr Odinga held his own “inauguration” after claiming he was the rightful winner of last year’s election.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term last November. He won an election re-run in October, but Mr Odinga boycotted it.

Mr Kenyatta’s initial victory was overturned by the Supreme Court, citing “irregularities and illegalities”.

The inauguration event in Uhuru park was attended by thousands of supporters, and went off peacefully.

Citizen TV live streamed the event on its website, and on YouTube and Facebook.

–

Source: BBC

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Speaking after his inauguration in the capital Nairobi, he said he would try to incorporate some of the opposition’s ideas “in the spirit of inclusivity”.

But elsewhere in the city, police clashed with opposition supporters.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who boycotted an election re-run last month, mocked Tuesday’s “coronation”.

Mr Kenyatta was officially re-elected with 98% of the vote on 26 October but just under 39% of voters turned out.

The original election on 8 August was held again after being annulled by the Supreme Court on grounds of irregularities

What did Kenyatta say exactly?

Embarking on his second and last term in office, he promised to act as “the custodian of the dreams of all” Kenyans.

Without specifying whether he would reach out to Mr Odinga, he said: “We may have chosen different candidates and different visions, but each one of us voted for a better life.

“To my competitors, and in the spirit of inclusivity, I will endeavour to incorporate some of their ideas. The election was not a contest between a good dream and a bad dream. It was a contest between two competing visions.

“I will devote my time and energy to build bridges, to unite and bring prosperity to all Kenyans.”

How did the inauguration unfold?

Spectators inside Nairobi’s Kasarani sports stadium were entertained by music and dance performances, while the military paraded.

The luckier Kenyatta supporters had seats inside the stadium

However, there were scenes of chaos outside when people without seats tried to rush in and were driven back by police with tear gas and batons, with some officers on horseback.

Big screens had been promised so that tens of thousands of people could watch the ceremony from outside the stadium but no screens were provided, AFP news agency reports.

Image copyrightREUTERS

Which foreign leaders attended?

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Rwandan President Paul Kagame were among a number of African leaders at the inauguration.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also expected in Nairobi but for a later event in the presidential palace, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Why was the election re-run?

Chief Justice David Maraga said the August election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

The Supreme Court ruled that the result had been “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

But Mr Odinga urged his supporters to boycott the second vote because he said no reforms had been made to the electoral commission since the original poll.

Correspondents say the election dispute has left Kenya deeply divided.

About 50 people are reported to have been killed in violence since the August ballot.

Burning tyres

By Anne Soy, BBC News, Nairobi

There were confrontations between police and opposition supporters in the suburb of Doonholm.

Angry protesters lit tyres, barricaded roads and threw stones at the police and some ruling party supporters. “No Raila, no peace,” they shouted as police lobbed tear gas canisters to disperse them.

“We do not recognise Uhuru Kenyatta,” one protester holding a sling loaded with a stone told me. Another protester said he was angry that the police had blocked access to the venue where the opposition had planned to hold a rally.

Mr Odinga told the BBC that they wanted to mourn the death of their supporters who were allegedly killed by police over the past week-and-a-half. The police have denied shooting and killing any opposition supporters.

How are the opposition responding?

According to Mr Odinga, Mr Kenyatta was elected by “just a small section of the country”.

Image copyrightEPA

In the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, in the west of the country, local people told BBC News they were not happy with the inauguration.

“I am going to peacefully accept and move on but I won’t recognise this presidency,” said one man.

A woman said Mr Kenyatta had not won fairly. “So we feel that it’s not time to move on,” she said. “It will not be an easy thing to do.”

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More than 20 heads of state or senior ministers are expected to attend.

Opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who boycotted a re-run of the presidential poll, has called for a protest rally, despite a police ban.

August’s presidential election was annulled by the Supreme Court over what it called “irregularities”.

The re-run, on 26 October, saw Mr Kenyatta win 98% of the vote with a turnout of just under 39%.

Ceremony amid deep divisions

Tuesday’s ceremony at a sports stadium in Nairobi is due to get under way at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT).

Organisers are expecting about 60,000 people to fill the venue and giant screens have been set up outside for those unable to get in.

President Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto, will also be sworn in.

Among the foreign leaders expected to attend will be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The Kenyan opposition coalition has called on its supporters to boycott the inauguration and instead hold a rally in memory of people killed in clashes since August’s election.

The police have warned the coalition against holding the event.

Why was there an election re-run?

Kenya’s Supreme Court took the unprecedented decision to annul the 8 August presidential election and demand a new poll in September citing “irregularities and illegalities”.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

The court said the result was “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

Mr Odinga then urged his supporters to boycott the second vote because he said no reforms had been made to the electoral commission since the original poll.

However the re-run went ahead in October and the Supreme Court has since validated the results, but correspondents say the election dispute has left Kenya deeply divided.

What has happened since the first vote?

The aftermath of both polls has been fraught with tension and Mr Kenyatta will face an uphill task in uniting a fractured nation.

About 50 people are reported to have been killed in violence since Mr Kenyatta was declared the winner in the initial August election.

Raila Odinga told his supporters that “a third liberation is coming soon”

Mr Odinga, who went away on a 10-day speaking tour in Europe and America after withdrawing from the election re-run, has called for a “national resistance movement” to “restore democracy”.

Speaking earlier this month, Mr Odinga said: “Today is the day we are launching Kenya as a third republic.

“What you have seen is a signal that a third liberation is coming soon,” he added.

–

Source: BBC

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The court will hear an urgent petition by human rights activists arguing Kenya is not ready for the vote.

The election is due to take place on Thursday.

The Supreme Court in September took the unprecedented decision to annul the presidential election and demand a re-run.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the 8 August election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

This was the first time in Africa that an opposition court challenge against a presidential election had succeeded.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is seeking a second term, has said the ballot must go ahead.

However, the main opposition candidate Raila Odinga is boycotting the vote.

He told the BBC’s Newsday programme on Tuesday that it was a “sham” election “which will not represent the will of the people”.

Mr Odinga says nothing has changed since the original poll and has called for “massive” demonstrations on election day.

On Monday, 20 Western diplomats said “growing insecurity”, including inflammatory rhetoric and attacks on the election commission, made it more difficult to hold a legitimate poll.

Last week a senior official at the electoral commission fled to the US, telling the BBC she had received death threats.

Amid the growing tension, the bodyguard of Kenya’s deputy chief justice was shot and wounded on Tuesday, police say.

They said the motive was not clear.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the last-minute petition, which questions whether the electoral commission and its chairman will be able to conduct a free and fair election on Thursday.

It is asking for an entirely new election which could extend the process by months.

–

Source: BBC

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An audit of the electronic system used to tally votes in Kenya’s cancelled presidential poll showed no manipulation of data, the French biometrics firm that supplied the system told AFP Friday.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has accused the company, OT-Morpho, of being complicit in alleged rigging of the election, which was declared null and void by the country’s Supreme Court due to “irregularities and illegalities” in the transmission of results.

While the court has yet to deliver its final judgement detailing what went wrong, OT-Morpho said an “in-depth audit” of the system showed the opposition’s claims about hacking to be untrue.

In a letter to the French government, Odinga accused OT-Morpho of allowing unauthorised access to its servers and manipulating the transmission of results.

The company’s chief operating officer Frederic Beylier told AFP the audit, undertaken with help from external experts from security software companies, had shown the system “in no way suffered manipulation of data, attacks, attempts to penetrate the system or anything of that kind.”

OT-Morpho supplied the 45,000 tablets used to identify voters biometrically and an associated system used to transmit the results of votes counted by electoral officials as well as a photograph of the paper form 34A on which votes were tallied.

Delays in the scanning of these forms — which OT-Morpho put down to lack of 3G coverage in some parts of Kenya — were among the problems raised by the opposition.

The opposition had also claimed an algorithm was introduced into the system to manipulate the results as they streamed in.

“We obviously checked if there could have been questionable manipulations by any authorised or unauthorised persons and can confirm there was no manipulation of data that could raise questions,” said Beylier.

The company said it had transmitted all its logs to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, and was willing to participate in another external audit under the IEBC’s authority.

In court, the opposition argued that many forms 34A, once received, were unsigned, lacked the requisite security features or contained irregularities.

However without the full ruling from the court, it is unclear to what extent this influenced the outcome of the election.

Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta was ascribed 54 percent of the vote before being stripped of his victory.

It also remains unclear whether the results could have been manipulated before being entered into the electronic transmissions system, analysts said.

Beylier slammed a campaign of threats and intimidation against the company and its employees, insisting it had carried out its job in “complete political neutrality”.

“Some people are trying to make us the scapegoat of the political situation in Kenya and we don’t intend to play that role,” he said.

He referred questions on whether the company’s systems would be used in fresh elections planned for October 17 to the IEBC.

–

Source: Daily Mail

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Wafula Chekubati also confirmed that only President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga would be on the new ballot.

Mr Kenyatta had been declared the winner of last month’s vote.

But Mr Odinga complained of widespread irregularities and the Supreme Court declared the first poll void.

The decision is the first time in African history that a supreme court has upheld an opposition challenge in a presidential election and ordered a re-run.

In a ruling on Friday, Chief Justice David Maraga said the 8 August election, in which Mr Kenyatta won 54% of the vote, had not been conducted in accordance with the constitution, declaring it “invalid, null and void”.

They said that some members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had committed “irregularities and illegalities” in the transmission of results.

The opposition demanded that some IEBC officials be removed to ensure that the problems are not repeated in the second ballot.

In the shock verdict, the court said it would give further details about the decision within 21 days.

IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati said it was “imperative that a detailed judgement… is released in order to allow the commission to identify areas that require improvement”.

After the Supreme Court’s decision Mr Odinga called the electoral commission “rotten” and called for its members to resign and face prosecution.

He hailed the decision as a “a historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa”.

It is the third time Mr Odinga has disputed national election results, having also lost against the sitting president in 2007 and 2013.

Mr Kenyatta initially called for calm after the decision in a television address, but later referred to the judges as wakora (meaning crooks in Swahili), saying they had “decided to cancel the election”.

The decision to only include Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga on the ballot has been controversial, with at least one of the six other candidates threatening legal action over their exclusion.

The poll had raised fears of major violence similar to that following a disputed vote in 2007, when post-election violence left 1,200 people dead.

Although the unrest after this year’s vote was not as serious as that in 2007, days of sporadic protests left at least 28 people dead.

–

Source: BBC

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He also lauded the defeated Raila Odinga’s decision to head to Kenya’s Supreme Court to contest the validity of the elections which Foreign observers had described as free and fair.

The election was seen as a key test of Kenya’s stability given the ethnic tensions that manifested before in violent clashes after the 2007 elections, where some 1,200 people were killed and more than 500,000 displaced.

“His main contender, former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, is also to be commended for the peaceful manner in which he conducted his campaign, and for indicating his decision to seek redress in Kenya’s Supreme Court over the results of the election,” he said in a statement.

Mr Odinga, who has said the poll was rigged, had previously refused to appeal to the Supreme Court.

President Kenyatta, who has been in office since 2013, took 54.3% of votes, ahead of  Mr.Odinga, with 44.7%.

Redress in the Supreme Court is an avenue President Nana Akufo-Addo is well familiar with as he also resorted to the Supreme Court to contest the legitimacy of the 2012 election which he lost narrowly to John Mahama.

The election was not without some minor incidents after protesters and police in Kenya have clashed Odinga first claimed he was cheated of victory by a hacking attack that he said manipulated the election results.

Find below Nana Addo’s full message

This is to extend my warm congratulations to President Uhuru Kenyatta, on his hard-fought victory and emphatic re-election in the Kenyan presidential election of August 8, 2017.

His main contender, former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, is also to be commended for the peaceful manner in which he conducted his campaign, and for indicating his decision to seek redress in Kenya’s Supreme Court over the results of the election.

The Kenyan people, by this vote, have moved to strengthen the frontiers of their democracy, and it is my hope that, regardless of the decision taken by Kenya’s Supreme Court, the delivery of progress and prosperity to the Kenyan people will continue in a process of national reconciliation and in conditions of freedom and the rule of law to the benefit of the welfare and stability of the Kenyan nation.

–
Nana Akufo-Addo

–

By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Chief electoral officer Ezra Chiloba told reporters the systems were not compromised at any point.

He spoke out after presidential candidate Raila Odinga rejected provisional results indicating a strong lead for President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The opposition’s claim led to sporadic outbreaks of violence.

Mr Chiloba said his team had “established that the claims being made could not be substantiated”.

He added: “I wish to take this opportunity to confirm that our elections management system is secure. There were no external or internal interference to the system at any point before, during or after the voting.”

His comments were made amid repeated calls for calm. Many fear a repeat of the violence after the disputed election 10 years ago when more than 1,100 Kenyans died and 600,000 were displaced.

After this year’s vote, two protesters were shot dead in Nairobi, where police also fired tear gas at crowds who burned tyres and blocked roads throughout the day.

The city’s police chief Japheth Koome said the young men had tried to “attack our officers with pangas (machetes) and that’s when the officers opened fire on them”, according to news agency AFP.

Regional police chief Larry Kieng also confirmed to AFP officers killed two men in the western town of Kisumu, an opposition stronghold.

They were allegedly part of a gang which attacked a vote tallying station, stabbing one man. The motive was not known.

Raw polling data published on the website of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says that with almost 97% of results in, Mr Kenyatta – who is seeking a second term – is leading with about 54.3%, to Mr Odinga’s 44.8% share of the vote.

These suggest Mr Kenyatta is heading for a first-round victory.

However, the results have not been certified officially by presiding officers of polling stations.

But Mr Odinga said in a tweet that his party’s own assessment put him ahead of Mr Kenyatta.

He alleged hackers had gained access to the IEBC computer system by using the identity of the commission’s IT manager, Chris Msando, who was killed last month.

Observers from the African Union and the European Union among others issued a joint statement urging political parties “to use the legally provided channels of dispute resolution in case of any dissatisfaction with the process”, adding that police should “avoid excessive use of force”.

They also said the IEBC should carry out the tallying process “with full integrity and transparency”.

The commission has not said when it will publish the final results. Legally, it has to announce the results within seven days of polling stations closing.
–

Source: BBC

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In many areas across the country, there were delays, with some skirmishes also reported as contestants accused their opponents of rigging.

Mr Kenyatta admitted to reporters that not enough election materials had been provided.

The primaries are in preparation for August’s national poll.

The election will take place nearly a decade after disputed election results fuelled violence that left more than 1,000 dead and 500,000 displaced.

However elections in 2013 passed off relatively peacefully.

Mr Kenyatta said his Jubilee Party had underestimated the number of people who would turn out for the nominations.

“Let us avoid pointing fingers,” he said in a series of tweets.

Mr Kenyatta called on voters and contestants to be patient as the party prepared to repeat the vote in the affected areas.

The Jubilee party was holding primaries in 21 out of the 47 counties on Friday, most of them party strongholds.

Nominations in the capital Nairobi had already been pushed back to Monday. The remaining counties will nominate their candidates on Tuesday.

Parties must hold their primaries by Wednesday, the election authorities have said.

Last week, similar polls for the opposition Orange Democratic Movement led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga witnessed violence, particularly in the western Kenya region.

Mr Kenyatta is seeking a second term in office.
He is being opposed by a coalition of opposition parties known as the National Super Alliance, which is expected to announce its presidential candidate next week.

–

Source: BBC

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“We wish to state that if by July 14, directives have not been issued for the transfer of funds to various public sector schemes, we will advise ourselves,”  said Mr Awotwi Nkansah, Deputy Executive Secretary of GNAT in charge of Labour at a press conference.

Organised  Labour was represented at the press conference by Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOSSAG), Health Services Workers Union (HSWU) Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Judicial Services Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG), Ghana Medical Association (GMA) and Government Hospital Pharmacist Association (GHOSPA).

Organised  labour said it would resist any imposition of a Trust by government on their members in the Public Services.

Mr Awotwi Nkansah, who spoke on behalf of Organised labour, said it had become necessary for them to come together to fight as a body “because all our schemes are currently going through trying and frustrating  moments.”

“The Board of the National Pension Regulatory Authority (NPRA) is saddled with another trust Pension Alliance Trust (PAT) Limited that has been tasked by Government to run the three tier pension scheme for all workers in the public services on government payroll.”

Mr Nkansah said there was no law that said the government should appoint a trust and impose a scheme on workers and that it was also not right to appoint a company that had not been approved by the NPRA.

It said the Public Services of Ghana comprised independent and autonomous services and therefore cannot be lumped together for the purpose of running a two tier Occupational Pensions Scheme.

“In as much as it would be morally wrong to take control of money that does not belong to you, we deem it puzzling that the government would find it convenient to unilaterally enter into a contract with PAT to manage the contributions of each public service workers in various public services,” he said.

Mr Nkansah said by doing so government was taking away the right of workers to choose a Trust of their own.

He added: “On the contrary, if government does not rescind its decision, then it has defeated the rationale for establishing the NPRA and we refuse to remain unconcerned when it is obvious that government’s action and inaction  in the implementation of the mandatory occupational Pension Scheme points to eventual collapse of the three tier pension scheme.”

Source: GNA

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