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Nation

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Nation

IG Kanja bombshell: Why 'rogue' governors remain beyond my reach

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja. Inset (left): Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo.Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja has blamed a possible infiltration of government intelligence by ‘rogue’ governors to avoid arrest by the National Police Service for snubbing Parliamentary summonses.The police boss had come under fire from senators after failing to arrest and produce Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo before the Senate despite a warrant of arrest against the county boss.This is after the IG had said his officers will not hesitate in effecting warrants of arrest orders against “rogue” governors snubbing Parliamentary summonses, adding that there is no public officer who is above the law.However, the police boss pleaded his case revealing that the police had constituted a team of police officers to arrest Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo following a warrant of arrest issued against the county boss by the Senate, only for the first term governor to escape the police dragnet.In a letter to the Senate’s County Public Accounts Committee on Monday, Mr Kanja was at pains to explain how the governor got wind of the well-planned manhunt.“I wish to reiterate beforehand that upon receipt of its (the committee) request, I immediately constituted a team of officers to carry out the important assignment. However, the honourable governor apparently got wind of it and successfully evaded our dragnet,” said Mr Kanja in the letter.The revelations by Mr Kanja appear to confirm a recent drama when police officers staged a siege at City Hall on March 30, 2026 to arrest Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja for repeatedly snubbing Parliamentary summonses.Nonetheless, the governor narrowly escaped after evading officers who had arrived to enforce a Senate committee's arrest warrant for contempt of Parliament.A contingent of police officers—including Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud and the Police Spokesperson—camped outside City Hall to execute the order. However, it is claimed the governor was tipped off about his imminent arrest before he managed to evade the dragnet.Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja when he appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget at Bunge Tower in Nairobi on June 18, 2026.Interestingly, the first term governor presented himself before Parliament the following day to face the dreaded committee.The committee chaired by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ had last month given the IG 10 days to arrest and produce Governor Guyo before it.The warrant of arrest followed constant snubbing of the committee by the governor who continues to rebuff attempts by the committee to have him account for use of public funds by his administration.Senator Kajwang’ had said Isiolo County is being run like a criminal enterprise and Governor Guyo has no option but to account for billions of shillings of taxpayers’ money disbursed to the county government with the Auditor-General flagging damning financial improprieties in successive financial years.Governor Guyo has gained notoriety for snubbing Parliamentary committee appearances and also not cooperating with auditors, incurring several summonses in the process.He has been at loggerheads with other committees of the Senate where the Health committee directed for his arrest but he rushed to court and obtained conservatory orders stopping his impending arrest. A similar scenario was also witnessed with the Labour committee.Last month, senators threatened to recommend to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to declare Governor Guyo unfit to hold public office.Apart from Governors Guyo and Sakaja, his counterparts including Abdulswamad Nassir (Mombasa), Lati Lelelit (Samburu), Amos Nyaribo (Nyamira), Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi) and Fernandes Barasa (Kakamega) have also incurred the wrath of the Senator Kajwang’-led committee over failure to honour summonses.Mr Kanja was set to appear before the committee on Monday to explain why Governor Guyo had not been arrested despite an existing warrant of arrest being issued.However, Mr Kanja said he was scheduled to travel to China on an official visit on the same day of his appearance to attend the 2026 Conference of the Global Public Security Forum in Lianyungang.“My attendance has already been confirmed and all necessary logistical arrangements finalised. Due to the foregoing I respectfully request the committee to reschedule its sitting for another suitable date,” he said.Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja speaks during the sensitisation forum on the New Service Standing Orders and police reforms at the National Police Leadership Academy in Ngong, Kajiado County, on August 12, 2026.The committee has, however, threatened to have him appear before the Senate plenary to explain why he had not arrested Governor Guyo, who has skipped all the Committee's invitations and summonses.Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo said the IG was contemptuous of Parliament, accusing him of using every available excuse to avoid appearing before the Senate.

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Nation

Are Kenya’s cows stressed? Expert explains milk shortage, gives tips for detecting adulteration

A dairy farmer, Agnes Wangari Wanyaga, milking a cow at her Giachumi home in Githunguri, Kiambu County on August 4, 2026.Due to the reduction of packed milk countrywide as a result of drought, fears are rife that unscrupulous traders are seeking to plug the gap by adulterating the product to increase volumes.On Thursday, the Kenya Dairy Board (KDB) warned traders against lacing milk with water, chemicals or other substances, urging consumers not to buy unpasteurised milk from unregulated traders.KDB Chairman Genesio Mugo said those caught selling adulterated milk would face the law. Kenya’s Dairy Produce Safety Regulations define adulteration as adding or subtracting a substance so that milk’s natural composition and quality are negatively affected.The guidelines prohibit selling adulterated or misbranded dairy produce. Offenders face a fine of up to Sh10,000 or imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.Mr Alex Gathii Gitonga, founder and managing director of Tanolope Consultancy Limited, a firm that targets improving dairy farming in Kenya and other African countries, said adulteration entails changing milk’s natural composition.“When you adulterate milk, it will behave in funny ways. It will change the boiling point, it will change the colour, it will change the way it tastes,” said Mr Gitonga, adding that consumers may notice an unusual smell, colour, taste or thickness. Milk containing peroxide, he said, may taste unusually acidic or produce a burning sensation. Unscrupulous traders add hydrogen peroxide to prolong milk’s shelf life.Amid the adulteration conversation, Mr Gitonga said the current milk shortage opens a window into the problems plaguing Kenya’s livestock sector.State Department for Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke (centre) with Kenya Dairy Board Chairman Genesio Mugo (left) and Kenya Dairy Processors Association (KDPA) Chairman Kenneth Gitonga address journalists on the current milk supply situation in the country at Kilimo House, Nairobi, on September 3, 2026.According to KDB, formal deliveries to processors fell from 88.89 million litres in May to 84.44 million litres in June, and June’s intake was 6.4 per cent below the same month of 2025. In July, processors received 84.4 million litres in June to 81.3 million litres, a 3.7 per cent decline, and preliminary August figures pointed to a further fall.KDB has attributed the “temporary” constraints mainly to dry and cold conditions in key milk-producing areas.But for Mr Gitonga, the drought is only the most visible part of a deeper production problem. Many cows, he told Nation, are short of protein, energy and quality minerals, while poor agronomy and late harvesting leave fodder fibrous and less nutritious. At the same time, farmers pay more for commercial feed whose quality can be uneven.“The cows are supposed to be lying down between 14 to 16 hours. There is poor cow comfort. The Kenyan cow is stressed, actually,” Mr Gitonga said in an interview on Friday. “There’s heat stress, there’s water stress, there’s social stress.” He estimated heat stress can cut milk output by 10 to 15 per cent and urged farmers to provide each cow with 100 to 150 litres of clean water a day, shade, ventilation, comfortable resting space and consistent rations.“Milk production is not a matter of performing miracles. It is feeding. It is the feeding system. It is management,” he said, cautioning against buying high-yield genetics before fixing basic husbandry. Kenya already has enough cows, he argued, but average output remains low because farms do not measure feed costs, growth, conception and daily yield.“Even when there is bumper fodder, still our milk processing plants are operating below 50 percent,” Mr Gitonga argued. “Our installed capacity is under-utilised because nobody is investing in the milk production due to lack of fodder plans.”KDB’s dairy profile estimates national production at 5.2 billion litres a year, with average yields of only seven to nine litres per cow per day. It says about 1.8 million smallholder households depend on dairy and that licensed processing capacity is about 3.75 million litres a day.Mr Caleb Korir, Tanolope’s business development manager, said feed planning should begin with a full-year calculation of what a herd will need.“When farmers lack that business planning in terms of the projection and say, ‘This year I need these tonnes of feeds and minerals to be able to take care of my cows for the entire year,’ then once the drought hits, you won’t be able to sustain your farm,” he said.The board also urged consumers not to buy unpasteurised milk from unregulated traders.Mr Gitonga recommend properly timed fodder harvesting, silage and hay conservation, and fodder merchants who can supply cooperatives throughout the year.Even if rain began immediately, he said, pasture would need another month or two to recover. The official October-December 2026 outlook projects above-average rain across most principal dairy counties, including Kiambu, Kericho, Nakuru, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Uasin Gishu and Nandi.

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