Kenyan-Born Woman in Agony After Court in Missouri Terminated Her Parental Rights to Her Daughter

 

By John Wanjohi  Fri, 11/13/2020 @ 09:40am  3246 views 24 comments

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A 26-year-old Kenyan-born woman, Maria Samantha Mungai fears she will never see her 7-year-old daughter again after her parental rights were withdrawn by a court in Kansas, Missouri.

Clay County circuit court judge Kathryn Elizabeth Davis terminated Maria’s parental rights in 2019 following a year-long court battle over who is best-equipped to raise the minor.

The girl was placed in a foster home in November 2018 after she was found home alone while Maria was working an overnight shift as a dancer. She was four years old at the time.

Kansas City Star reported that a permanency review hearing was scheduled for Thursday but Maria, who last visited her daughter more than a year ago, was not allowed to participate.

Maria’s cousin and her husband, Eddah and Brian Malicot, who want to foster the child were also not allowed to participate.

Most of the conditions set forth for Maria to reunite with her daughter at the start of the legal battle were reasonable but others were more difficult to meet, Kansas City Star added.

Paemon Aramjoo, Maria’s court-appointed attorney had asked the Missouri Supreme Court to hear the case after the Missouri Court of Appeals (Western District) upheld the lower court’s decision but the request was recently denied. 

Court records show that on several occasions, caseworkers praised Maria for taking steps to meet the conditions set out for her but Clay county deputy Juvenile officer Heather Kindle recommended the termination of her parental rights to judge Davis.

Why did Kindle recommend the revocation of Maria’s rights as a guardian despite positive appraisal from caseworkers?.

“It’s more than just unfair,” Maria.

Court papers filed by the juvenile officer state that Maria “was gainfully employed, had a stable place to live, and was drug- and alcohol-free at the time.” She also appeared to have a good relationship with her daughter, Kindle wrote in court documents dated April 2nd, 2019.

“The child is extremely excited to see her mother and disappointed when the visits do not happen,” Kindle wrote.
 

Kenyans in Diaspora Send Home Sh28.4 Billion in September

 

By John Wanjohi  Mon, 10/26/2020 @ 09:09am  367 views 4 comments

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Kenyans in the diaspora sent home Sh28.4 billion during September, the latest data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows.

This represents a 4.38 percent drop from the Sh29.7 billion remitted by Kenyans abroad in the previous month (August).

The cumulative diaspora inflows in the 12 months to September 2020 totaled $2,967 million (Sh322.8 billion) compared to $2,786 (Sh303.1 billion) in the 12 months to September 2019.

Kenyans living and working in the United States were the largest contributors to the diaspora remittances in the year leading to September 2020.

“The US remains the largest source of remittance flows to Kenya recording a growth of 25.2 percent in the year to September,” CBK says in a weekly bulletin.

The Kenyan diaspora community wired home Sh31.28 billion and Sh30.03 billion in the months of June and July respectively.

CBK had earlier this year projected a sharp slump in diaspora remittances citing job losses and salary cuts affecting Kenyans living abroad, especially the US where 40 million people have been rendered jobless by the Covid-19 crisis.

Diaspora inflows have remained Kenya’s leading source of foreign exchange since 2015 ahead of earnings from tourism, tea, coffee, and horticulture exports. 

In 2019, Kenyans abroad sent home $2.7 billion (Sh280 billion), a new annual record, according to CBK. This represented a 3.7 percent growth from the previous year when diaspora remittances stood at $2.6 billion (Sh272.3 billion).

In Africa, Kenya is the fourth-largest recipient of diaspora remittances behind Egypt, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Uhuru Becomes First Kenyan President to Visit the Vatican Palace, Meets Pope Francis

 

By John Wanjohi  Fri, 11/06/2020 @ 11:08am  511 views 2 comments

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President Kenyatta held a meeting with Pope Francis during his official visit to the State of Vatican.

He landed in Italy on Thursday evening aboard a Kenya Airways aircraft and was welcomed to the Vatican Palace by the pontiff—his host.

Kenyatta, who is in Rome at the invitation of Pope Francis, became the first Kenyan president to visit the Vatican. 

On arrival at the official Papal residence, Uhuru was accorded a full Apostolic Palace State reception comprising a guard of honor mounted by the Pontifical Swiss Guards, an army of 135 highly-trained marksmen tasked with protecting the Pope and the Vatican Palace.

Uhuru later held a private meeting with Pope Francis before leading a small Kenyan delegation in bilateral talks with their hosts led by Cardinal Bishop Pietro Parolin, who is Secretary of State of the Holy See and runs the Secretariat of State and Diplomatic Service of the Vatican City State.

The discussions touched on several subjects of mutual interest including education, health, regional peace and security, and the fight against Covid-19. Kenya established diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1965.

“This visit is extremely rare. The reason that it is rare is that it is not usual for the Holy Father to have an audience with just any Head of State. He values the role that our President is playing in very many aspects,” Kenya’s envoy to the Vatican Prof. Judi Wakhungu said ahead of Uhuru’s visit.

“We expect our two Heads of State, in other words, the Holy Father and His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta, to discuss, compare notes and strategies on Kenya’s important role in the UN Security Council.” 

Uhuru is also slated to pay a courtesy call on his Italian President Sergio Materrela on Saturday at the Quirinal Palace in Rome.

The two leaders are expected to discuss various subjects of mutual interest between Kenya and Italy among them trade and investment, as well as the fight against Covid-19.

Uhuru is being accompanied by Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo among other government officials.

Pope Francis Appoints First African-American Cardinal - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/25/us/pope-francis-cardinal-gregory.html