The residents of Berlin supported a referendum to socialize properties owned by the rich landlords to control skyrocketing housing and rental prices in Germany.
The berlin renters who make up roughly 85% of the population sought a democratic approach via a referendum after the 2020 rent cap was unsuccessful in the federal constitutional court. In April this year, Berlin’s constitutional court ruling found it unconstitutional to impose a rent cap that would overshadow the already existing federal laws in Berlin. A rent cap is a set limit of rent to be paid by renters
“For many of us, it feels like the end of a four-year marathon. Or at the very least, we’ve reached a major high point.” Kalle Kunkel, an activist told Euro News. The locals supported expropriation by 56% to 39%.
If the bill passes, private landlords who own more than 3000 units risk having some of their apartments folded into the city’s affordable housing stock. More than 240,000 apartments may be seized by the state.
Berlin’s parliament will have to debate the initiative not necessarily enact it. Its success would mean mass expropriation may face the same Berlin’s constitutional court that deemed the rent cap unconstitutional.
The campaign that is meant to curb gentrification is named after Deutsche Wohnen, a private landlord that held more than 110,000 apartments in Berlin.
Deutsche Wohnen campaign argues that article 15 of the constitution allows socialization of the public good – housing. Socialization of the project is costly and estimated to be about 30 billion euros by Berlin’s parliament.
Berlin was once known as Europe’s most affordable capital city until it experienced a housing crisis and rents began to double in the last decade. The referendum for many supporters is about ensuring Berlin is accessible to all, not just the rich.
Activists still have a long road ahead to make the referendum a reality.
RNB star Robert Sylvester Kelly has been found guilty of sexual exploitation and sexual violation by a federal jury in Brooklyn, New York. The 54-year-old faces a minimum of 10 years in prison after three decades long of numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children.
In the federal court, the jury found him guilty of all nine counts; one count of Racketeering and eight counts of violating the Mann Act. Racketeering is organized crime in which a group will extort, coerce or otherwise develop some type of scheme that will allow them to collect money repeatedly over a period of time.
The Mann Act is a 1910 law that made it illegal to transport any woman or girl across state lines for immoral purposes in the USA.
Of the 14 underlying offences of Racketeering, prosecutors had proven all but two of them thus he was convicted of the charge. He needed to be found guilty of at least two to be convicted of that count.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations(RICO) statue was passed in 1970 in an effort to fight organized crime, carries a significant charge of 20 years. Prosecutors used the RICO case which can go back 10 years in proving some of the charges against him.
A jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of violating the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law, by transporting girls to his location using his entourage of bodyguards, employees and managers. According to witnesses who consisted of former associates and multiple accusers, this was done routinely.
Attorney Gloria Allred admitted to the press that Kelly was the worst predator she had ever come across. She represented three of the six victims testified at the trial
“Of all the predators I have pursued, Mr Kelly is the worst for many reasons: targeting them, recruiting them, isolating them from their friends and family, forcing them to follow his abusive rules in order to control them, punishing them if they didn’t follow his rules to the letter, hitting them and threatening them, giving many of them genital herpes.”
R KELLY ARRAIGNED IN A FEDERAL COURT IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK,Photo Courtesy of news.sky.com
The legal expert Michael Bachner said in an interview with NBC that the Jury deliberations were very short due to the defendants’ inability to prove every victim a liar. The jury’s verdict took only nine hours over two days.
“It’s not just one person coming forward, it’s a multitude of victims coming forward. And it causes the defense to have to try and argue that everybody’s a liar. And juries just routinely do not accept that defense,” Bachner said.
One of the final witnesses in the testimony, focused on Aaliyah, a famous singer who died in 2001 after a plane crash at age 22. R Kelly had produced her 1994 debut album, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” The witnesses claimed that she was abused around 1993, when she was just 13 or 14 years old.
There were also testimonies about fraudulent marriage schemes hatched to protect Kelly after he feared he had impregnated Aaliyah.
R Kelly is awaiting his sentence on May 4 and faces up to 20 years in prison. He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
Trial dates in those cases have yet to be set. He had been acquitted before in Chicago following a child pornography case in 2008.
The University is set to temporarily move back to the UMS system on Monday 27 September.
The UMS system is scheduled to be opened for re-registration on Monday 27 midnight (1200hrs).
According to the internal memo sent to the students today 25 September, it has been a struggle for the university to settle in the new system.
“Before the new semester began, we rolled out a new ERP system as communicated. However, the new system has taken longer than expected to stabilize our operations, “stated the internal memo.
Students are required to re-register their units for the August semester once more in the old system. The time give for re-registration is one week that is till October 4.
This will ensure the school sorts out a few issues with the new system. “In a progress review meeting yesterday, the University management has taken a decision to temporarily revert to the old system (UMS) until we resolve a few outstanding issues with the new system,” states the internal memo.
The new system is scheduled to be blocked by the registrar on 27 September to give time for students to re-register on the old system.
Students are urged not to registered for new units but only re-register for the ones they had registered for. Those boarding in Athi River Campus will be required to re-register for their hostels and indicate if they swill be serving from the Cafeteria or not.
It has been a struggle to settle to this new system even four weeks into the semester.
The new students for August Semester will have to redo the processes required in order to have a portal in the UMS portal.
The elearning, classes and semester timetable will remain uninterrupted.
As the university prepares to revert to the UMS system, they ask for cooperation, patience and grace from students.
Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Instagram (dusacouncil_official)
The DUSA congress passed a vote of no confidence against the Secretary General, on Friday 10 September, with 17 votes out of the 27 members present voting for the motion.
This comes after an earlier Congress special meeting held on 2 September saw the members present resolve to summoning the Secretary- General over his decision to suspend the President and treasurer to explain his actions to the body.
Nairobi Campus Deputy Speaker Miss Diana Monthe said that the actions to be taken after the vote of confidence are yet to be decided thus better kept in house.“That is still a pending decision so we would like to keep it in the house until a conclusion is made,” said Miss Monthe.
The Congress speaker, Noel Shimba had earlier stated that the actions taken by the Council members to eject the president and treasurer were wrong as they did not do that through congress. As the meeting continued, the Council members were given a chance to address the sitting and the Secretary General was called upon to defend himself against the allegations raised by his fellow council members.
The sitting was in light of the conflict around the DUSA hierarchy. The sitting was graced by the DUSA Council members, with the president in from the beginning with the Secretary General, Nairobi Campus Secretary and Treasurer joining in later. There were calls for Congress to take firm action and act upon the disarray of the DUSA council and it was even brought forward as a petition by Congressman Victor.
The Nairobi Campus Governor, Brian Achoka, however, felt the DUSA Congress did not look into the matter carefully and instead were led by propaganda and rumours in the making of their decisions.
“The Congress seam to be led by emotions instead of looking into this matter with a clean eye. If the could have gone down on into this matter they could have come up with clear resolutions and they could have seen what is really going on,” he said.
The next congress sitting is scheduled for October 1.
As the DUSA government representatives “dance” to their duties yet they have a constitution to guide them , students’ eyes are on them as their clocks tics, it seems they are a government on trial.
Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Instagram (daystar_uni).
The DUSA President Marco Laboso and the treasurer Wambui Njoroge resume their duties. The secretary General Caleb Paul alias Msando sent an email to students informing them of the President’s and treasurer’s resumption of duties.
This came after the DUSA council had a meeting with the Dean of students Rev. Mutinda Musyimi and the Associate Dean Madam Grace Karanja. The meeting was held on Friday 10 September in Valley Road Campus. Unfortunately only two council members were present Brian Achoka and Caleb Paul, with the rest, including the President and the treasurer, who formed the major part of the discussion, absent. After much deliberation, it was agreed that Marco Laboso and Wambui Njoroge would be “reinstated” in their roles as President and Treasurer respectively.
Even though the two were reinstated, the Nairobi Campus Secretary Brian ‘Zaza’ Achoka remained adamant that this was a wakeup call for the two. Zaza pointed out that the same urge one had to get into office and serve the students during the campaign period should be present after securing the seat. He went ahead to state that the DUSA council has no misunderstanding but dysfunctional members. He also added that since the air had been cleared, it is important that the council pulls together and resume their roles.
“We had several resolutions in today’s meeting and we agreed that some DUSA council members need to wake up and serve students. It is unreasonable for one to hold office and yet they cannot serve but you had the urge to get into office. It is unfortunate that some have to be pushed to work. We as an association need to forge ahead so that we can serve and produce results to the fullest because we are here to serve students and not ourselves,” he said.
The Secretary General of DUSA, Caleb Paul, better known as ‘Msando’, reiterated what was said by Zaza on having the urge to serve in office before and after the campaign period. He also stated that he hopes their presence will be felt as it was felt during their campaign period.
“DUSA oversees what is being done for the students, and being too busy to serve the people who gave you the mandate to serve them then it is not okay. Now that the treasure and present have resumed their duties we hope they will be upto their tasks. We are yet to have a budget yet it’s two months since the financial year began. This is a wake up call for them to come back in full capacity,’’ said Caleb Paul alias Msando.
With the Council back intact and members wanting to pull together and work, how will the current DUSA government fair in their remaining months in office, considering their loopholes are yet to be covered.
Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Instagram (daystar_uni).
The Daystar University Students Association DUSA sent an email on Tuesday 1st September 2021 which stated the appointment of Monica Gitau as the acting president. The email stated that the council had unanimously agreed to appoint current vice President Monicah Gitau as the acting president because of the unavailability of President Marco Laboso due to personal reasons.
When asked for a comment the Deputy President, Monica Gitau had none. The president however seems to be absent in all these with no comments heard from him.
The email also stated that the council agreed to have the International students’ representative Duc Florian as the acting treasurer again, due to the unavailability of Treasurer Wambui Njoroge.
When questioned by Involvement Newspaper, the DUSA Secretary-General, Caleb Paul alias Msando, seemed agitated by the absence of the President and the Treasurer especially at a time he felt they were needed the most.
“In as much as we demand for services, we cannot demand for services that we do not offer ourselves that is why this was a wakeup call for the president and the treasurer” he stated. “These are people we have talked to several times and they know what they need to do according to the constitution.”
The Secretary-General also aired his disappointment at the absence of the president and treasurer during the entire enrolling and orientation of freshmen for the new semester. He felt that during the implementation of the school’s new Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system – a change which brought a lot of issues for student registration- the whole council was needed around both campuses to give answers and assist the students.
His actions however seem to have disquieted Congress. The DUSA Congress speaker, Noel Shimba, stated that the Secretary-General is not in a position like his to declare positions empty and again, he is not the congress that appoints people into the vacant offices.
“We are having this the Secretary-General performing his role of communicating, but the content of his communication is what I would render null and void because ideally he is not supposed to act on behalf of the congress,” stated Shimba, “he is supposed to act on behalf of the council and his message should receive approval from the chair of the DUSA Council and this is the president Marco Laboso himself.”
He said that there is a conflict and confusion caused by the communication sent by Mr. Caleb Paul.
The student association has slated a meeting for Friday 10th of September to address the current state of conflict and confusion in the body. Speaker Noel Shimba termed it as ‘having a difficult conversation but it has to happen to clear the air and ease the tensions.
Orie Rogo Manduli, Kenya’s first female rally driver, a veteran journalist, and former MP, has died at the age of 73. She passed on at her Riverside home on Wednesday 8 September. She was known for describing herself as a “lioness in her cage”. Most Kenyans recognize her for her distinctive and colossal head scarves, which frequently accompany the Nigerian-style clothes she adored.
She was born Mary Orie Rogo in Maseno to Gordon Rogo and Zeruiah Adhiambo who were teachers. Manduli attended three high-schools NNg’iya Girls High School, then Butere Girls and then Machakos Girls.
She was the first East African woman to participate in safari rally in 1974 and 1975. She then proceeded to Machakos Teachers College and got married upon her completion. Manduli changed her name to Mary Orie Rogo Ondieki. They were blessed with three children, all daughter.
After five years of marriage they got divorced. She remarried in 1980 to Norman Manduli, who was a Zambian, hence her name changed to Orie Rogo Manduli. Norman died in 2003.
She served at the National Council of Non-Governmental Organisations, International Council of Women’s Council representative to the United Nations Environment Programme and Habitat.
She was the frist woman to hold the position of the Administrative Mananger at the Coffee Board of Kenya.
She was hosting a show in KBC- Women’s World- after interviewing rally drivers in this show she developed her interest for the safari rally.
“The safari was hectic, it was beautiful, the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life. I was the driver, I am always the driver. It’s just that I’m always the driver in any situation. We did not finish but managed two legs,” she previously told the Nation.
It was a good weekend for the Daystar Chess Falcons who managed to climb up the ladder from 10th to 6th position in the ongoing Kenya Online Chess League. A total of 21 teams are participating in this prestigious event.
Three games were played over the weekend on 28th and 29th of August 2021. The team managed to secure three wins with a total of 10 rounds yet to be played.
Playing online is a new experience as some players can be prone to mouse slip and poor network; a drawback which wouldn’t be seen in a physical match. However, there are also benefits such as quick analysis of one’s game and opponents. This in turn helps to strategize and prepare against the next team.
The Kenya Chess Federation has adopted a hybrid system where the league will be conducted online on Tornelo platform, approved by FIDE (the international governing body of chess). Open tourneys will be physical under the guidance of the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Daystar was represented by the following Chess Falcons:
Board 1: Glen Kingoina
Board 2: Edwin Kipterem
Board 3: Weldon Ngetich
Board 4: Brian Ngetich
Board 5: Karan Christie/Vincent Muthuiya
Board 6: Olive Sang/Wamuyu Macharia
Daystar Chess Falcons continue to grow in number and in strength.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of businessdaily.africa.com
Nine people have lost their lives and one sustains serious injuries after a crane collapsed during the construction of the new student residence located near Daystar University.
The incident happened today at around 12:30pm when, according to one of the workers on site, the crane malfunctioned and ended up throwing off the workers from the building.
According to eye witnesses, the workers were in the midst of dismantling the crane when it crumbled about 70 metres down leading to the loss of seven Kenyans and two Chinese workers.
The bodies of the deceased have been taken to Chiromo Mortuary for their families to claim. Construction of the 14-storey building has been halted as investigations begin in order to determine what led to the crane malfunction.
Zhejiang Chengjian Construction Limited, who is the main contractor of the project, will be liable to provide answers on what went wrong during the construction.
This incident comes months after a similar one happened in March this year after two construction workers lost their lives while two others sustained injuries during the construction of the Qwetu residence located near the United States International University.
The cause of the accident was unknown and it led to a two month suspension of all construction activities at the site.
Details on investigation findings were not revealed upon resumption of the construction.
Having played host to the 2021 World Athletics Championships over the past week, Kenyan athletes took advantage of their home and emerged as the top country. They held 16 medals in total (8 gold, 1 silver, and 7 bronze). Finland emerged second with 5 medals (4 gold and 1 silver) and Nigeria was third with 7 medals (4 gold and 3 bronze). Let us take a look back over the 5 days in which the championships ran to see how Kenya managed to achieve this.
Sunday 22nd August
On the final day of the championships, Emmanuel Wanyonyi won the gold medal. He set the championship record in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:43.76. Our own Noah Kibet secured a bronze medal in this race while Algeria’s Mohammed Ali Gouaned took the silver.
Purity Chepkirui wins the 1500m race narrowly beating Diribe Welteji from Ethiopia Photo Courtesy of Jonah Onyango.
Purity Chepkirui earned Kenya’s seventh gold medal in the women’s 1500m final on the same day. She narrowly beat Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji in the last 50m and clocked a time of 4:16.07. Chepkirui expressed her joy at beating the experienced Ethiopian who is fresh from the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.
“This was my first time to represent Kenya and I am happy. Going up against an experienced runner in the Ethiopian, who is the defending champion, I knew I had to get my finishing kick right and it took everything in me to win,” she said.
Chemutai’s compatriot Winnie Jemutai also performed commendably earning a bronze medal despite having planned for a 1-2 finish for Kenya.
Kenya also dominated the men’s 3000m steeplechase with another gold and bronze combo. Amos Serem won the race in 8:30.72 while his teammate Simon Kiprop came in third with a time of 8:34.79. They were again split by an Ethiopian, Tadese Takele who finished second in 8:33.15.
The Kenyan quartet (Joshua Wanyonyi), Elkanah Kiprotich, Kennedy Kimeu, and Peter Kithome) won a bronze medal in the men’s 4x400m relay final with a time of 3:05.94. They came in behind Botswana and Jamaica in this very last race of the championships.
Saturday 21st August
Vincent Keter celebrates after winning the 1500m at the World Under-20 Championships in Nairobi. Photo Courtesy of Raymond Makhaya.
The fifth gold medal was earned by Vincent Keter in the men’s 1500m. With a time of 3:37.24, he blazed through the final lap to win the race. It would have been yet another Kenyan gold and bronze combo but Kamar Etyang was disqualified for lane infringement despite finishing third. Ethiopians Wegene Addisu and Melkeneh Azize, therefore, finished in second and third positions respectively.
“I am really happy with the gold medal today. We had talked with Etyang and we had agreed to work as a team and then the best man to win. It is a good day for Kenya. I had a small injury in the middle of the race but I am thankful to God that I have made it,” said Keter.
Earlier that same day, Herringtone Wanyonyi won Kenya’s very first 10km race walk gold medal. He finished with a time of 42:10.84 ahead of Amit from India and Paul McGrath from Spain. He previously ran the 10000m race but was made to change to race walk by his former primary school teacher Wesley Korir.
Friday 20th August
With a personal best time of 9:27.4, Jackline Chepkoech clinched the gold in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase on. Kenya attained a bronze medal again with Faith Cherotich coming in third while Ethiopia’s Zerfe Wondemagegn won the silver.
Thursday 19th August
Japan-based Teresia Muthoni blazed through the women’s 400m to clinch Kenya’s second gold medal in a time of 8:59.78. Her fellow Kenyan, Zena Jemutai won the silver awarding Kenya a 1-2 finish. Ethiopia’s Melknat Wudu came in third.
The very first Kenyan gold medal in these championships was won by Benson Kiplangat in the men’s 5000m. In a personal best time of 13:20.37, he beat Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku who had won the men’s 3000m the previous day. Kiplangat said that he was happy and surprised to have won the race as he had not expected to even get a medal. He was ultimately proud to have done so. This race also saw the first Kenyan gold and bronze combo in the championships with Levy Kibet coming in third and winning Kenya’s first bronze medal.
Wednesday 18th August
Kenya was off to a rocky start on the first day of the championships earning no medals at all. They suffered a crushing defeat in the men’s 3000m with representatives Daniel Kinyanjui and Bernard Yegon coming in seventh and ninth places respectively.
It is amazing and exciting that Kenya was able to move from a rather disappointing start to such a marvelous finish in these championships.
