• The stories making headlines in the Star this morning.
Good morning,
State House digital communications director Dennis Itumbi now says he has proof that a meeting to assassinate Deputy President William Ruto happened.
In an affidavit seen by the Star, Itumbi on Thursday told the court that he has audio and video recording material that shows a meeting could have happened at the La Mada hotel which discussed the possibility of assassinating Ruto.
Itumbi, however, said he will not disclose his sources on grounds that he is a journalist and bound by ethics not to disclose them.
Here are the other stories making headlines in the Star this morning.
Today's top stories in the Star. See stories https://bit.ly/2XMBcRT
Collymore chose modest send-off, did not want politicians to attend
Leaders led by President Uhuru Kenyatta relived their last moments with the late Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore as they painfully addressed faithful during a memorial service in Nairobi.
Speaker after speaker at All Saints Cathedral, with profound words, narrated how they learned that Collymore had only a few days to live and how they had hoped the information would have been wrong.
Kikuyus dominate KRA workforce, records reveal
Members of the Kikuyu community hold a firm grip on the country’s tax collections, holding almost half of senior executive positions at KRA.
The authority’s own documents tabled before a Parliamentary committee indicate skewed hiring, in which senior-level management — where key decisions on the country’s revenue measures are made — is slowly turning to be a Kikuyu affair.
State questions Sh300bn costing of Nairobi-Mombasa expressway
The Transport Ministry has rejected the US$3billion(Sh307.6 billion) price tag on the Nairobi-Mombasa expressway project as it emerged that the costing was inflated.
The 485-kilometre mega project is yet to kick off despite the ground breaking set for June.
It has emerged that the project would cost approximately $1.8billion (Sh184.6billion ) 66.7 per cent less compared to the Sh300 billion earlier quoted.
State to spend Sh585 million on army worm control
The government has set aside Sh585 million this year to fight the fall army worm.
Agriculture CAS Andrew Tuimur said the pest has been reported in 43 counties but effect has not been as bad as last year.
“The pest was first reported in Western region in March 2017 and since then it has been reported in 43 counties. Only Marsabit, Wajir and Garissa counties have not been affected by the pest,” Tuimur said.
House where broken women find solace
You may find them in the dead of the night at your favourite nightclub or local brothel, but unlike most, instead of a good time, they are looking for souls to rescue.
Their mission is simple: to find women who have been battered and oppressed and those forced into prostitution for survival and rescue them from the oppression of 'the enemy'.
They are led by Susan Owitch, a pastor who runs the 'Beautiful Ashes Rescue Centre' in Kiambu county.