US-Based Kenyan CoupleArrested for ExploitingHomeless People in MedicaidFraud Scheme

By John Wanjohi  Fri, 12/20/2019 @ 09:45am 3939 views 20 comments

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A US-based Kenyan couple was on Thursday arrested over allegations of engaging in a Medicaid fraud scheme that involved exploiting homeless people.

John Wachira, 52, and 60-year-old Joanne Wachira of Chelmsford, Massachusetts were arraigned before Middlesex Superior Court where they were charged with Medicaid false claims, larceny over $1,200 and Medicaid kickbacks, Attorney-General Maura Healey’s office said in a statement. The two pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against them.

The Wachiras, who operate Petra Health Care, a home healthcare company that provides in-home services to patients, are said to have recruited at least 10 people to live in their house for free but required them to be MassHealth members. The recruitment happened in the period between July 2015 and December 2017, according to the statement from AG’s office.

The people in the house were allegedly required to sign up to receive Petra’s home health care services as well as false timesheets showing they were receiving certain services such as bathing and medication reminders, the AG office added. 

The couple and Petra went ahead to bill MassHealth for those services even though they were not provided. As a result of the fraudulent scheme, John and Joanne obtained $543,542.19 from MassHealth.

This is not the first time the Wachiras are being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office. Last year, the couple was ordered to pay over $200,000 in restitution and penalties to resolve allegations that they neglected to pay their staff for overtime and travel.

Kenyans in Diaspora SendHome KSh256 Billion in 11Months

By John Wanjohi  Sat, 12/21/2019 @ 02:00pm 287 views 4 comments

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Kenyans in the diaspora sent home $2.546 billion (KSh256.4 billion) in the first 11 months of 2019, according to the latest data from Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

The 11-month diaspora remittances represent a growth rate of a measly 3.8 percent compared with $2.453 billion (KSh.247 billion) sent home in the same period in 2018, the slowest rate in three years. In the same period last year, money sent home by Kenyans living and working abroad grew by 40.7 percent from the previous year.

The figures from CBK show that Kenyans in North America maintained their grip as the largest contributors to Kenya’s diaspora inflows, contributing 47.84 percent of the total remittances in the 11-month period. Kenyans living in Europe sent home the second-highest amount of remittances with 23.9 percent while the rest of the world combined accounts for 28.07 percent.

Kenyans abroad remitted $218.8 million (KSh.22.03 billion) in the month of November, a 2.4 percent decline compared with October’s remittances, which stood at $224.3 million (KSh.22.6 billion).

Since 2015, diaspora inflows have been Kenya’s top foreign exchange income earner ahead of tourism, tea, coffee and horticulture exports. Last year, the World Bank placed Kenya’s diaspora remittances at Sh280 billion, which was Sh38 billion more than the rest of Eastern Africa nations including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia combined (Sh242 billion).  

85-Year-Old Woman Chargedwith Murder after the DoubleShooting of Two Kenyan Sistersin Federal Way, Washington

By Irungu Thairu  Wed, 12/25/2019 @ 12:45pm 468 views 2 comments

Composite of sisters Janet Oyuga (pictured right) and Angela Oyuga (pictured left).

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An 85-year-old in Federal Way, Washington has charged with premeditated murder and first degree assault in the shooting of two sisters. The shooting led to the death of one of the two sisters.

Police say they responded to a 911 call from the house at around 12:30am on December 19th. They say they initially did not know who the suspect  was and who the victims were, as they found 85-year-old Beverly Jenne on her bed with an electrical cord wrapped around her neck and a gun next to her, according to Q13 Fox TV.

They also found Janet Oyuga’s body in the home with multiple gunshot wounds. Janet’s sister, Angela Oyuga, was also in the house, shot and fighting for her life.

Police say that the three women lived in the same house, and believe Beverly killed Janet then lay in wait for her sister Angela to get home from work. As soon as Angela got home, Beverly shot her in the back. Beverly then tried to commit suicide, according to police, who say they found a suicide note inside her car. In the note, Beverly said Janet was not a very nice person and that Janet was getting ready to evict her. "I think she was getting ready to evict me, and I'm 85 and have no place to go,” read Beverly’s note.

Investigators say Beverly had lived in the house since 1979, but the house was foreclosed and cold in November, 2019. The new owner allowed Beverly to continue living in the house while it was being renovated. Janet and Angela Oyuga then entered into a rent-to-own agreement with the new owner and allowed Beverly to continue living in the house until she found another place to live so that she would not end up homeless, according to Q13 Fox TV.

“The African culture teaches you to extend grace to those who need it support the needy, more so the elderly, the children and the sick,” Pastor Festus Gumbo, who knew the sisters, told Q13 Fox TV.

“And they thought it wasn't going to take a long time before the previous owner of the house to move out, little did they know that the previous owner had plans of not wanting to move, going by what happened.”

The family plans to send Janet’s body back to Kenya for burial. A GoFundMe account has been set up for this purpose.

Uhuru to Launch Constructionof Sh30 Billion Mau Mau RoadProject that Links 4 CentralKenya Counties

By John Wanjohi  Sun, 12/22/2019 @ 09:38am 2329 views 16 comments

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The government has announced that the construction of the Mau Mau Road that will traverse four Central Kenya counties will commence in January next year.

The 150-kilometer road will start at Gataka in Githunguri, Kiambu County, and terminate at Njengu, Nyeri County where it will join the Nyeri-Nyahururu Highway. 

It will pass through 69 shopping centers in Nyeri, Muranga, and Kiambu, with a branch through the Aberdare Forest to Njabini in Kinangop, Nyandarua County. The road traces the routes that were used for transport and logistics by Mau Mau freedom fighters.

The Sh30 billion project will be done in four phases with a two-year completion period, according to Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia. Macharia, who spoke on Friday during an inspection of the roads ahead of construction, said the project will be handled by four contractors.

“President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged that before his term ends, Mau Mau Road will be done in honor of freedom fighters who made huge sacrifices for the liberation of this country,” said Macharia.

Transport Ministry officials said the project will see more than 80 feeder roads (540 kilometers) leading to Mau Mau Road upgraded to bitumen standard.

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Brampton City in Canada toHonor Kenyans in the Diaspora

By John Wanjohi  Fri, 12/13/2019 @ 10:40am 406 views 2 comments

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The Kenyan national flag is set to be hoisted for two weeks in the city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada in honor of Kenya’s Independence Day.

The flag-raising ceremony, which also seeks to recognize the contribution of Kenyan-Canadians living in Brampton, will be held at Brampton City Hall by the Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown on Saturday, December 14th, a day when Kenyans living in Canada will mark the 56th Jamhuri Day.

The proclamation will take place following a successful application to the City Council by Kenyan Canadians living in Brampton through Kenyan Canadian Association (KCA), according to Daily Nation. A proclamation is a ceremonial document issued and signed by the Mayor on behalf of the City Council. The document will recognize Kenya’s Independence Day and the contribution of Kenyan-Canadians to the City of Brampton annually.

Various political and community leaders including Federal Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament as well as Regional and Municipal Councilors in the Greater Toronto Area are expected to grace the inaugural flag-raising event. The Kenya High Commission in Canada is also expected to send a representative to the ceremony.

“This is a great achievement and a milestone not just to the Kenyans living in Canada but to Kenya as a country. We are so proud to have the Canadian government recognize, for the first time, the contributions of Kenyans in this country.”

“This is a significant step towards getting integrated with other communities that form part of the immigrant Canadian society,” said KCA President Ephraim Mwaura.

Kenyans in the Diaspora CanSend Home Sh500 BillionAnnually, Gov’t Told

By John Wanjohi  Mon, 12/09/2019 @ 12:12pm 503 views 3 comments

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Kenyans abroad have the potential to send home Sh500 billion annually if the government supports them, a diaspora lobby group says.

Kenya Diaspora Alliance (KDA), which represents more than 30 diaspora organizations, said little or no support from the State has led to underutilization of the investment potential of Kenyans living and working abroad.

Last year, Kenyans in the diaspora sent home about Sh280 billion and this amount could double in a short time if the government took diaspora affairs seriously, according to KDA. In the nine months to September 2019, diaspora inflows stood at Sh215.6 billion with the World Bank projecting the total remittances for the year at Sh285 billion.

“This is possible because we have a case of 10 million Filipinos abroad who remit over Sh4 trillion a year to their country, yet there are about four million Kenyans in the diaspora who could easily be sending Sh500 billion every year,” said KDA Global Chairman Shem Ochuodho.

Ochuodho blamed the low Kenya diaspora remittances on inadequate State support, arguing that most of the money sent from abroad go down the drain through unplanned spending, with less than 30 percent going to meaningful investments.

Since 2015, diaspora inflows have been Kenya’s top foreign exchange income earner ahead of revenue from tourism, tea, coffee and horticulture exports.

In 2018, North America was the leading continent in terms of remittances with 47 percent, followed by Kenyans in Europe (24 percent) and the rest of the world (29 percent).