STEPHEN MUDIARI | NATION Ms Phoebe Hughes (left) hugs her nine-year-old daughter Rose Nasimiyu at Nation Centre in Nairobi on Wednesday.

A bubbly personality.

That sums up nine-year-old Rose Nasimiyu whose radiance lights up any room she walks into, her gait a mark of confidence.

Yet at her tender age, Rose is dealing with a disease that sometimes denies her the chance to be a child, but has catapulted her into something of a celebrity, with numerous appearances on TV and newspapers.

The Standard Four pupil at CathSam Primary school in Umoja Innercore, Nairobi, has become the childhood face of cancer; she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last April.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer of lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, bone marrow, and other sites.
Keep smiling

Her three-months have been excruciating but courage triumphed over fears, and inspired thousands.

In Nasimiyu’s facebook, Matriah Griffin Amalemba, for example, writes: “Your braveness puts tears in my eyes. Keep smiling baby. God’s with you.”

She lives by the adage: “Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death” — a testimony to her wit and intelligence.

According to her mother Phoebe Hughes, 34, Nasimiyu or Princes as she is fondly called, contracted chicken pox, which was treated last November, but weeks later she noted a growth in her left armpit.

This set off fruitless medical sojourns made even more agonising by the lack of a proper diagnosis.

“Princess had undergone some investigations and was told to wait for a day, but due to the anxiety I went to another doctor for interpretations. The anxiety was killing me,” she explained.

The doctor assumed she had already been briefed and told her she needed to start chemotherapy right away.

“Your daughter has cancer,” are the last words she remembers before she broke into screams.

Three months later, Princess now has to go through 16 courses of chemotherapy at Gertrude’s Children’s hospital every fortnight.

“I’ve undergone six now and I have another 10 to go,” Princess prompts. “I will conquer cancer and not vice versa.” Chemotherapy costs Sh50,000 to Sh60,000 per session.

Mother and daughter are a playful jolly pair who consider themselves friends first, before anything else. But where do they both draw their strength?

“From her?” they reply in unison each pointing at the other.

“God allows us to face challenges so they can make us stronger people to deal with tougher issues,” Nasimiyu chips in before she saunters away to converse with a journalist.

When she paid a visit to Nation Centre on Wednesday evening, Nasimiyu’s premier interest was to meet the team behind the children’s corner in the DN2 pull-out.

It is her inquisitive nature that fuels her well informed arguments in any crowd. Her favourite reading comprises fairy tales like The Ugly Duckling, Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She also keenly follows on current affairs.

Cartoons too, are close to her heart.

Though two years old, her younger brother Zac has noted that some days, his sister Nasimiyu is not as cheerful and playful — after chemotherapy.

“He will cautiously approach where Nasimiyu’s is lying and caress her cheek, then sit, closely watching her,” her mother says.
As schools close for August holidays, she will have attended school for a cumulative 15 days in Second Term, yet her academic scores are impressive.

Nasimiyu’s second term report card reads: English 86 per cent, Kiswahili 86 per cent, Social Studies 94 per cent, Mathematics 72 per cent and Science 84 per cent. Her total score is 422 marks out of a possible 500.

Her ambition is to become a paediatric oncologist and a part-time model. Paediatric oncology is the branch of medicine in the study of childhood cancers.

Nasimiyu prefers indigenous foods and finds the knife-and-fork protocol at formal luncheons and dinners, rather cumbersome.
She has written a song I believe which gives an account of her feelings and hope.

The CD is at the DVD centre located at Lonroh House mezzanine 2 for Sh500. She hopes the proceeds will help with medical expenses.

As Nasimiyu and the Nation chat away, her mother Phoebe Hughes’ phone 0724551754 beeps.

A Good Samaritan has sent a contribution through M-Pesa. The family has also opened a Barclays Rose Nasimiyu account number 075 1391641 for any well-wishers to help her fight cancer.

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Our+amazing+childhood+face+of+cancer+/-/1056/1209806/-/cqqpvez/-/index.html

Related Story: Videos: The story of 9 year old Rose Nasimiyu

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 28 – The government said on Thursday that it was not aware of any Kenyan who had died as a result of the biting famine that is affecting four million citizens in northern parts of the country.

Spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua said Kenya had enough food to feed those starving in Turkana and other parts of the country, but was only facing the challenge of distributing relief supplies.

“So far the government does not have an official report of a Kenyan that has died as a result of the hunger,” Dr Mutua told a news conference in Nairobi.

“We are asking anybody who has information of a confirmed death due to starvation to let us know; the government needs that information because it is very wrong for a Kenyan to die or starve whereas there is food in the country,” he asserted.

Dr Mutua confirmed that the government was in the process of changing its approach to relief operations that have failed to yield favourable results in the past.

“Currently, the government does not lack food to feed the hungry; we have set aside Sh10.5 billion to feed Kenyans.”

Dr Mutua also reiterated that the government would feed Somali refugees, but it would not create new refugee camps in Kenya

Dr Alfred Mutua also hit out at foreign journalists and non-governmental organisations, which he said were exaggerating the drought situation.

Source: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2011/07/28/kenyans-dying-of-hunger-where-dr-mutua-asks/

July 27 (Bloomberg) –  Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport plans to begin construction of a  $500 million terminal early next year to meet a forecast increase in passenger  numbers.

The terminal, the  first expansion at the airport since 1978, will have the capacity to handle 20  million passengers, the chairman of the Kenya Airports Authority, Martin  Wambora, told reporters today in the capital, Nairobi.

The tender for the  project will be advertized on June 23, with bids expected in September, the  authority said in a statement handed to reporters. The project, which will  include a railway terminal, 60 check-in counters and 40 boarding gates, will  take about 24 months to complete, according to the statement.

The airport is  forecast to handle 6.03 million passengers this year, up from 5.5 million in  2010. That number is expected to rise to 38 million by 2030, Lucy Mbugua, the  general manager for marketing and business development at the airports  authority, told reporters.

Revenue generated by  the airport in the 12 months through June rose to 5.97 billion shillings ($66.1  million) from 5.05 billion shillings a year earlier, Mbugua said.

The new terminal is  expected to generate revenue of $111 million in the first year of operation,  with an annual growth estimated at 10 percent, general manager for projects and  engineering services, Philemon Chamwada, told reporters.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/07/26/bloomberg1376-LOZPZF1A74E901-6JN5VHAHMODHNG4N8I9EV1SGGS.DTL#ixzz1TK7gpvI4

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 27 – For the first time in Kenya’s history, citizens living in the Diaspora are set to vote in the presidential elections next year. This move has been made possible due to a new constitution which was largely endorsed by the majority of Kenyans last August.

A draft bill of the proposed legislation, the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Bill was released in the past week, and is expected to be tabled in parliament for debate before being passed as a law. The new law will allow Kenyans, including those holding dual citizenship to seek elective positions during the Kenyan elections.

An estimated 3 million Kenyans live abroad; they participate in the country’s affairs largely by proxy. They send cash remittances to relatives in Kenya. Infact, in the recent past, the money sent has earned them the distinction of being ranked as the fourth highest foreign exchange earner for the country’s economy, rivalled only by horticulture, tea and tourism.

These Kenyans in the Diaspora had in the past expressed disenfranchisement when it came to having a say in national issues and elections, owing to their inability to vote. These reservations constantly surface whenever government delegations meet them in their countries of residence.

Upbeat and ecstatic

Those who live in foreign countries including the Netherlands either work, study, seek political asylum or relocate. Faith Ogeto, a Kenyan in Newcastle, Australia is upbeat and ecstatic about the new development: “It’s a great opportunity to participate in choosing leadership when we are far away. It gives us a chance to quit complaining about how everyone else is corrupt, and actually put our vote where our mouth is.”

However, there may be challenges ahead as only a manual voting system, and not a more efficient electronic one will be used in the 2012 elections. This may make it hard for expats to vote, as the manual system is too elaborate and less user friendly.

There are also concerns about how the Diaspora voter will be able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of prospective candidates, since they will be largely detached from daily Kenyan affairs, and will have to largely depend on what they see or hear in the media. Amina Bakari, a Kenyan in Bonn, Germany disagrees:

“When you are within a country, your perspectives are narrowed. Those of us who live outside are better voters, as we have a deeper appreciation and perspective of what development entails.”

Too few

The question of whether the number of Kenyans in the Diaspora will have any impact remains open. Critics have questioned what significance the modest numbers will have. Faith explains:

“I think there is a feeling that we are too few to sway votes or make a big impact in terms of affecting the national outcome, but I think where it will be more influential is in the counties and upper house votes.”

Kenyan elections have historically been hotly contested. Past elections have been marred by claims of vote rigging, the manipulation of results and outright stealing of ballot boxes. Election time has always been full of suspense and anxiety.

The last elections saw a disputed presidential poll between incumbent president Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga drive the country to the brink of a civil war. Post election violence claimed approximately 1300 lives and displaced a few hundred thousand.

The country is eager to mop up its dented image, even as those in the Diaspora are allowed to vote. How these elections will turn out will be a major credibility test of Kenya’s electoral process, even as it includes the voters living abroad.
This article was first published by Radio Netherlands International

UDM-BOUND: William Ruto

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission is in a position to organise a mini-election to replace Eldoret North MP William Ruto and the 10 or so rebel MPs if they are stripped of their ODM party membership.

Suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto and 30 of his allies in ODM risk losing their seats if the party succeeds in stripping them of their party membership.

Last week ODM filed a constitutional application at the High Court seeking to strip Ruto, Charles Keter, Isaac Rutto, Aden Duale and Joshua Kuttuny of both their party membership and their parliamentary seats.

The petition by two party members was filed by lawyer Cecil Miller, of Miller & Company Advocates, and the success of the suit could result in a mini general election.

Strategists for the Ruto group say at least 10 other ODM MPs will resign if Ruto and his allies are stripped of their membership and therefore their parliamentary seats.

The strategists say the mass resignations would deny ODM the slight majority it currently enjoys over its coalition partner PNU in the House. They hope to eventually force out Prime Minister Raila Odinga. “If ODM has decided that we have to go, we shall go. But I want to warn my brother Raila that he will live to regret this,” Ruto said.

He said every resource will be mobilised to ensure that all the 10 MPs who are dismissed from the party defend and retain their seats but on the UDM ticket. “We will wait for the court decision. But if ten of us go for by-elections on the UDM ticket, we shall all win,” Ruto said.

Yesterday the IIEC chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan said the commission is ready and that Sh1.8 billion would be needed to conduct the by-elections.

Isaack said the by-elections would give the commission an opportunity to test its programmes and structures even as it prepares for the 2012 general elections. He said the commission will apply for a special budget allocation from Treasury if the seats fall vacant. “At the moment we have no money to go into such an election but if such a situation arises then we shall definitely be in a position to handle it. At least we have the structures to do it,” Isaack said.

Speaking from Lagos, Nigeria. where he is on official trip to study how the electronic voting system worked during that country’s recent elections, commission secretary Major (rtd) James Oswago said the commission budget allocation does not anticipate holding such a large number of by-elections at once. “We were given a budget that can only allow us to conduct up to seven by-elections but if the MPs resign in such a big number or if the courts annul their elections then we shall go to Treasury for more money to conduct the by- elections,” Oswago said.

He however warned conducting such a large number of by-elections at once would force the commission to slow down on its preparations for the general elections next year. “If MPs or the courts put us into such a situation, then it means our preparations for the 2012 polls will be interrupted,” Oswago said .

He estimated that a by-election would cost taxpayers an average of Sh50 million per constituency and would take up to four months to prepare and get it done.

Yesterday close Ruto sources said the strategists were considering which among the Ruto ODM allies were strong enough to be able to survive a by-election. These are the ones who will be expected to resign as they are assured of reclaiming their seats.

Ruto, Charles Keter (Belgut), Zakayo Cheruiyot (Kuresoi), Aden Dualle (Dujis) are considered among those who can survive the by-elections. Others are Isaac Rutto (Chepalungu), Benjamin Langat (Ainamoi), Moses Lesonet (Eldama Ravine). “We will fund the elections of these three since their biggest problem is lack of resources,” said our sources.

Former nominated MP Mark Too said he was trying to reconcile Gen (Rtd) John Koech  with Ruto whose allies claim to have ousted the former soldier as UDM chairman.

Too said he had also attempted to reconcile Raila with Ruto. “I have been calling Raila so many times. But every time I get him he keeps telling me, let’s wait, let’s wait,” Too said.

Keter confirmed his group were preparing themselves for possible by-elections. “The ground is ready for a by-election. The situation on the ground is such that any one of us who resigns is assured of getting back to Parliament because the people will not allow anybody to oppose us. They want us to finish our term,” he said.

Keter said they would however minimize the number of MPs resigning to ensure some of their allies are left in Parliament to push the UDM’s parliamentary agenda.

Source: http://www.nairobistar.com/national/national/33251-ruto-by-elections-to-cost-sh18-billion

The National Assembly. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka listed the Unclaimed Assets Bill among the urgent proposed laws to be processed during the current session of parliament. File

If you migrated from Kenya and left a fixed deposit account in a bank you have not transacted for a long time — dividends you have not claimed for years or a life insurance policy that matured while you were way — move quickly and claim your money before a new law now pending in Parliament catches up with you.

Parliament is about to pass a Bill that will create a new government agency, the Unclaimed Assets Authority, with powers to take over all unclaimed assets sitting in dormant accounts with either commercial banks or insurance companies or unpaid dividends sitting on the books of quoted companies.

If you migrated overseas a long time ago and left behind a deposit with a utility company such as Kenya Power or Nairobi Water Company Ltd, the monies will be deemed as abandoned assets under the new law and handed over to the new government agency.

Money kept for long periods in safe deposits boxes with commercial banks will also be declared abandoned and remitted to the new agency.

The list of assets to be treated as unclaimed assets and handed over to the government agency include mature life insurance policies, travellers cheques, money orders, and bankers cheques which have not been cashed for long periods.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the Unclaimed Assets Bill — a private members motion by Laisamis MP Joseph Lekuton — is the proposal to grant the proposed new government agency powers to sell the abandoned assets at public auction to the highest bidder after only three years.

The implication of this is that an owner or beneficiary whose assets are handed over to the proposed authority shall not be entitled to interest or dividend on the assets once they have been liquidated.

Banks and insurance companies are also alarmed at the intention to make the proposed law retroactive.

If it is passed, the new law would apply even to dormant bank accounts and matured life policies that existed before the new law comes into effect.

The Unclaimed Assets Bill was tabled for first reading on May 10, 2011.

On Thursday, the Leader of Government Business and Vice-President, Mr  Kalonzo Musyoka,  listed it among the urgent Bills to be processed during the current session of Parliament.

This action has sent shock waves through boardrooms of big banks and insurance companies who are uncomfortable with the prospect of having to hand over unclaimed assets to an authority under the control of political appointees.

Their point is that the Bill as presently crafted may force them to hand over assets to the new government agency, yet they would remain liable to any owners who emerge later to lay claim to the assets.

Under the Limitation of Actions Act, assets can only be treated as abandoned after a period of seven years. Banks and insurance companies maintain that it is a bad Bill because it seeks to circumvent the law of contract by breaking the six-year limitation.

Industry sources have said that players are planning meetings to lobby for amendments to the Bill to introduce a longer period after which unclaimed assets can be declared abandoned.

They will also be seeking an amendment to state clearly that once assets have been handed over to the authority, the owners cannot claim anything from them.

Kenya has not had a comprehensive law governing the handling and disposition of unclaimed assets.

Indeed, the country does not have so much as a rudimentary system of monitoring unclaimed assets sitting in dormant bank accounts or dividends that remain unpaid for years.

In 2007, then minister for Finance Amos Kimunya amended the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Act by providing that any dividend unclaimed for a period of seven years must be transferred to the Investors Compensation Fund. However, the compensation fund is yet to take root.

Initially, it was estimated that the value of unclaimed assets sitting within the financial system, the corporate sector and even utilities was in the region of Sh200 billion. But an empirical study by a government task force on unclaimed assets in 2007 came up with a much lower figure.

The survey put the total unclaimed assets at Sh9.1 billion. Of this, banks reported Sh7.4 billion, listed companies Sh1.5 billion, insurance companies, Sh283 million, one pension fund (NSSF) Sh243 million and one utility (Kenya Power) Sh66.8 million. The survey did not receive sufficient response from insurance companies.

Furthermore, the survey excluded non-financial assets such as land and property and found significant under-reporting of unclaimed assets by government agencies like the Public Trustee.

The biggest contention is how the Bill defines an unclaimed asset and shortens the period for which monies left in dormant accounts can be declared unclaimed.

While CMA Act stipulates that dividends can only be designated as unclaimed after  seven years, the cut-off point stated in the Bill is much shorter. In the case of dividends, a listed company would have to immediately hand over to the government agency dividends not claimed after three years.

Source: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/State+prepares+to+take+over+unclaimed+billions/-/539546/1207694/-/5mwy5/-/index.html

Lands ministry and the taxman are looking for information to unravel the stamp duty racket known to involve lawyers, law firm messengers and lands officials. File

Rampant fraud at the Ministry of Lands has left millions of property owners holding onto fake stamp duty and land rent receipts even as they remain unknowingly indebted to the government.

The real estate investors, whose number is yet to be determined, are keeping fake documents, mostly sourced from the notorious Nairobi River Road area, in the mistaken belief that they have paid the required levies to the taxman.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, is dealing with 14 cases of large diversions of tax revenues worth millions of shillings.

Stamp duty, which is payable to Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, is charged with the change in property ownership at the rate of between two and four per cent of the value of the transaction. The higher rate of taxation mostly applies to sale of land or building ownership in urban areas while land rent is paid for exclusive leases in towns.

A Nairobi-based lawyer, who worked with the Ministry of Lands, says the cartels have become particularly active in recent years as most leases granted by the colonial government at the beginning of the 20th Century come up for renewals.

“In Nairobi people have been paying between Sh2 million to Sh3 million for lease renewals on expiry,” said the advocate, who cannot be named because of possible retribution from the Lands office for which he handles various transactions.  Lands ministry and the taxman are digging up for information that can help unravel the multi-million shilling stamp duty racket known to be involving lawyers, law firm messengers, paralegal staff, bank and Lands officials.

The two government departments have more recently agreed to conduct a forensic audit of past transactions as it becomes clear that the manual processing of payments has allowed lands officials to issue confirmation of levy payments to customers without the government getting a cent.

The extent of the fraud became clear in the past few months as stamp duty collection rose to nearly Sh8 billion with the automation of the land registry.

Three years ago, the taxman collected an average of Sh1 billion out of lands transactions annually.

Dorothy Angote, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands, acknowledges high level fraud in land transactions but insists firm action is being taken against the suspected perpetrators.

Ms Angote told the Business Daily that the ministry has forwarded the relevant files to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in the hope of nailing the fraudsters.

“The racket is being run by people who could not be acting alone but with the help of accomplices in banks and law firms,” she said.

The most common thread in the theft that is rampant at the lands office has involved transfer of cheques paid in by land buyers to transactions that are of similar values but not related to the payments.

When the fraudsters get a transaction cheque from a law firm, land company or individual, they sound off partners in the network to find a transaction of similar amount that is being paid for in cash.

“The cheque is presented for payment with documents for different transactions and with different parties as beneficiaries but of the same amount reflected on the cheque,” said KRA commissioner in charge of investigations Joseph Nduati.

The issuer of the cheque, having been issued with fake documents and stamp duty, would not know what transpired until the authorities come calling for unpaid dues.

KRA and Lands ministry officials have quickly discovered the loopholes with the automation of the land registry – causing fear among the racketeers. In one recent case, the taxman and Lands officials were surprised when they questioned a particular payment only for the victim to be refunded through a cheque drawn from a bank different from the ministry’s.

The racket has unravelled as Parliament’s Budget Committee pushes for allocation of additional Sh650 million to fully automate Ardhi House – with an eye on improving property tax collection for county governments.

“To fully automate the land registry, which is a key prerequisite for collection of property tax for county governments, we must allocate the Sh650.346,484 to the ministry,” says the Budget Committee report.

KRA and the Ministry of Lands have invited the CID to investigate the scam and prosecution of suspected fraudsters, including advocates, has started.

KRA says automation of the lands registry has reduced cheque diversion by helping the taxman and the lands office to exchange real time information on-line.

Land transaction lawyers are also taking extra caution to prevent fraud. They are writing two lines of transaction description on the cheques to avoid the diversion.

Transactions

“In the past people would just write a cheque in the name of Domestic Taxes Commissioner but today doing that raises the chances of the money going into the wrong hands,” said the ex-Ardhi House advocate.

Lawyers say most property owners are cheated because of the hurry to complete transactions at Ardhi House.

People familiar with the land transaction processes say it has created room for brokers who are partly responsible for diversion of funds.

Lands officials have made processing of transactions and payments so difficult for the ordinary person that most have to involve the brokers who in turn work with Ardhi House insiders to divert the cheques.

Recently, a frustrated Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority head Patrick Lumumba joined demonstrators against the Lands office over corruption.

mwahome@ke.nationmedia.com

Source: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Land+buyers+lose+millions+in+sham+Ardhi+House+deals/-/539550/1208276/-/12tmr2q/-/index.html

Photo/FILE Kenyan rapper Stella Mwangi, who was chided by confessed mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, calling her an asylum seeker

A Kenyan criticised by the man at the centre of Sunday’s Norway mass murders is still stunned.

Rapper Stella Mwangi, who was chided by confessed mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, calling her an asylum seeker says she is sickened by his comments and actions that have left the world in shock.

(READ: Norway killer’s diary entry sarcastic of Kenyan singer)

Breivik, the Norwegian, killed at least 76 people in an Oslo bombing and youth Labour Party shooting spree on an island.

He went ranting in his diary in May about the Kenyan rapper popularly known as STL, writing: “My country has a (censored), politically correct contribution.

“An asylum seeker from Kenya, performing a bongo song — very representative of Europe and my country. I hope Germany wins.”

Breivik’s diary

Mwangi, who moved to Norway with her parents as a child says she learnt about Breivik’s diary entry through the BBC when they called her for an interview.

“I had not heard or read about it, and when they asked me, I was so shocked, didn’t know what to say,” she said.

“I was a bit scared at first, but I decided not to think about it too much because people will always have an opinion about what I do. But I am just sickened by the fact that he wrote about me on his diary.”

She participated and emerged the winner in the Norwegian national selection Melodi Grand Prix 2011 to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest.

On May 10, she represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Haba Haba but failed to qualify for the Eurovision final.

“As an artiste, I live to make songs and I can’t make songs for everybody and I’m cool with that because at the end of the day, I’ve many more who appreciate me.”

The Haba Haba singer who has been in Norway since she was five years old says Breivik’s remarks will not change anything as she loves Norway and its people.

“I love Norway, the people are really nice and they are very good at welcoming others and not judging them by colour, age, religion or any background,” says Mwangi.

“The fact that I won the Norwegian song contest with a Swahili song shows how advanced they are, and they appreciate that I’m a child of both worlds.

“Everybody has been affected by the tragedy in one way or another. A friend of mine lost his best friend in the shooting.”

Her music has seen her become one of the most popular artistes in Kenya with songs like Biashara, Happy and Dreamer proving popular in Kenyan radio and dance scene.

At the age of 11 she started rapping and entered the Norwegian hip-hop scene as part of an African youth group called The Rise.

They performed for former South African president Nelson Mandela in 2005 during an Aids eradication campaign.

According to her website, her songs have been featured on popular American TV shows and movies like American Pie, Ghost Whisperer, CSI:New York, CSI:Las Vegas, Americas Next Top Model, Scrubs and Melrose Place.

Mwangi says that her life is not in danger, but adds that those are some of the challenges she faces as an international star. She is strong and takes strength from her family, friends and fans, she says.

“I have grown to trust myself, the people around me and learnt how to please my fans. I do get hurt when people say terrible things about me online and I do not read comments as they may ruin my day and year or even me.”

As for Kenya, she says this is the country she wants to retire to. “I really love Kenya and that is where I will grow old, when I have achieved what I want.”

Source: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenyan+criticised+by+mass+killer+is+full+of+praise/-/1056/1208284/-/item/1/-/13c92rpz/-/index.html