Girl who uses medical marijuana to help treat epilepsy, seizures

When you think of the stereotypical medical marijuana user, Charlotte Figi may be the last person that comes to mind.
That's because Charlotte is 6 years old.

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She also suffers from debilitating seizures as a result of a rare form of epilepsy, a condition that's driven the family through just about every possible treatment, searching for some form of normalcy.
Desperate for options, Charlotte's dad, Matt, told CNN they took her to a specialist who recommended a highly specialized diet. That helped slightly, for a while until "at one point she was outside eating pine cones and stuff, all kinds of different things," Matt said. "As a parent you have to say, let's take a step back and look at this. Is this truly beneficial treatment because of these other things?"
With no other choices, the family explored cannabis oil -- an unconventional treatment, to say the least -- but they told KDVR it worked immediately.
According to a blog by Charlotte's mom, Paige, her daughter's seizures fell from 300 a week to around 3 over an 8 month period. She does note the program was first approved by a team of neurologists and pediatricians. Other benefits:
[Charlotte] is consistently eating and drinking on her own for the first time in years. She sleeps soundly through the night. Her severe autism-like behaviors of self-injury, stimming, crying, violence, no eye contact, zero sleep, lack of social contact ... are a thing of the past. She is clear-headed, focused, has no attention deficit. Charlotte rides horses, skis, paints, dances, hikes. She even has friends for the first time. Her brain is healing. She is healthy. She is happy.
Charlotte is highlighted in a CNN documentary set to air this weekend, in which Sanjay Gupta, the news network's chief medical expert, engages in a national conversation about marijuana.
On Wednesday, Gupta apologized for having "misled" Americans regarding the effects of the drug. He's also penned an article titled, "Why I changed my mind on weed."
-Adapted from Huffington Post

Untold story of Kenya’s biggest mining contract

Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala

Kenya: A director of Erad Suppliers seeking to auction assets of the cereals board over a Sh600 million debt owns shares in a mining firm whose licence was cancelled on Monday.

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Documents in the possession of The Standard show that Mr Jacob Juma owns 30 per cent of Cortec Mining Kenya, a subsidiary of Canadian Pacifi c Wildcat Resources (PAW), a mineral exploration company.
Cortec Mining received the licence from the Government on March 26, the same day that the Supreme Court began hearing a petition by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga against the March 4 election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The licence was issued even as Kenyatta, then President-elect, ordered all ministers and Permanent Secretaries in the former Grand Coalition Government not to approve any contracts or licences on behalf of the incoming Jubilee government.
Cortec is among 31 mining firms whose licences were revoked by Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Monday.
And it is now emerging that the discovery of niobium and rare earths in Kwale is at the centre of the cancellation of mining licences, The Standard has established.
Just a few days prior to its licence being cancelled, Cortec had announced the discovery of niobium and rare earths minerals whose value it estimated to be more than Sh51.2 trillion.
Managing Director David Anderson claimed the mineral find is the world’s sixth-largest reserve of the rare metal with a mine-life of up to 18 years.
Rare earths is used in modern technology including cars, phones, diode lights among others. Niobium is specifically used to make alloys for jet engines and to strengthen steel.
But Cortec has been in the crosshairs of government especially given its ownership structure and the nature of its licence.
A list of cancelled licences from the ministry singles out Cortec and another nondescript firm — Wanjala Mining Company Ltd — as operating under a special mining licence described as “the first of its kind.”

massive recruitment at egerton university

Egerton University invites applications from suitably qualified and experienced individuals with excellent credentials to fill the following posts:

Division of Academic Affairs

Faculty of Education and Community Studies

Department of Psychology & Education Foundation

1. Professor Grade 15 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0735

2. Lecturer Grade 12 - (2 Posts) EU/AA/2013 - 0736

Department of Applied Community & Development Studies

3. Lecturer Grade 12 (CTID) - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013- 0737

4. Technical II Grade 7 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0738

Department of Agricultural Education and Extension

5. Senior Lecturer Grade 13 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0739

6. Lecturer Grade 12 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0740

7. Assistant Lecturer Grade XI - (2 Posts) EU/AA/2013 – 0741

Faculty of Science

Department of Biological Sciences

8. Lecturer Grade 12 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0742

Department of Biochemistry

9. Lecturer Grade 12 (Biomedical) - (2 Posts) EU/AA/2013 – 0743

Mathematics Department

10. Lecturer Grade 12 (Statistics) - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 - 0744

Faculty of Agriculture

Department of AGEC/AGBM

11. Senior Lecturer Grade 13 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0745

12. Lecturer Grade 12 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0746

13. Assistant Lecturer Grade XI - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0747

Office of the Dean of Students

14. Braille Transcriber Grade 9 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0748

Nakuru Town Campus College

School of Law

15. Associate Professor Grade 14 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0749

16. Senior Lecturer Grade 13 - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0750

17. Lecturer Grade 12 - (3 Posts) EU/AA/2013 – 0751

Faculty of Commerce

18. Lecturer Grade 12 (Insurance) - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0752

Faculty of Health Sciences

19. Lecturer Grade 12 (Pathology) - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 – 0753

20. Lecturer Grade 12 (Psychiatry) - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 - 0754

21. Lecturer Grade 12 (Internal Medicine) - (1 Post) EU/AA/2013 - 0755

Division of Administration and Finance Audit

22. Internal Auditor Grade 12 - (1 Post) EU/AF/2013 – 0756

Department of Finance & Accounts

23. Chief Accountant Grade 14 - (1 Post) EU/AF/2013 – 0757

24. Senior Accountant Grade 13 - (1 Post) EU/AF/2013 – 0758

25. Accountant II Grade XI - (1 Post) EU/AF/2013 – 0759

26. Accounts Assistant II Grade 9 - (3 POSTS) EU/AF/2013 – 0760

Department of Procurement

27. Procurement Officer II Grade 12 - (1 Post) EU/AF/2013 - 0761

Directorate of Institutional Advancement

28. Communication & Marketing Manager Grade 12 - (1 Post) EU/AF/2013 – 0762

More information on the posts and mode of Application can be found on the University website: www.egerton.ac.ke

Deadline for application is 9th August, 2013

The Deputy Vice Chancellor

(Administration & Finance)

Egerton University

P.O. Box 536 – 20115

Egerton

FULL-TIME DRIVER JOB

World Meteorological Organization

Office for Eastern and Southern Africa Nairobi

Full-Time Driver

Duties and Responsibilities:

Drive WMO Representative and delegates to meetings both inside and outside the United Nations complex, including possible long distance trips;

Meet official WMO visitors at the airport and provide local transportation as may be necessary;

Ensure that the statutory vehicle requirements such as Inspection and Insurance are fulfilled on time and that periodic scheduled vehicle maintenance is completed and reported;

Ensure the office car is clean and in good working condition all the time and that the mileage book entries are up-to-date;

Carry out errands including paying of the bills, delivery of documents and mail (UNDP pouch, post office) and prepare monthly vehicle expenditure report;

Drive the office staff to the bank and to official venues, including meetings at the UNON offices;

Undertake any other related duties as required.

Qualifications and Experience:

·                     Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education with a minimum of Grade C.

·                     Possess a valid driving license issued by the Kenya Government for at least five years with a clean driving record.

·                     A minimum of three years experience in employment in a Driver capacity.

·                     Familiarity with Nairobi roads and major places (Embassies, United Nations offices, etc.).

·                     Physically qualified to drive a motor vehicle. Must be presentable, service minded, self-motivated and performance driven.

·                     Excellent knowledge of English and knowledge of other local languages.

·                     Understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.

·                     Commencement of Duties: As soon as possible after the closing date.

·                      

Applications:

Applications should be made in an up-to-date WMO Personal History Form, which can be downloaded from the Internet at http://www.wmo.int/vancancies.

Complete the Form, scan and send together with your detailed curriculum vitae as attachments to pamimo@wmo.int

Closing Date: Applications should be received at the above email address not later than 7 August 2013.

Applications received after this date will not be considered.

Pet snake ‘strangles’ two Canadian children

A snake escaped from a pet shop and killed two children in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, police say.
In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they believed the reptile had strangled two boys, aged five and seven, in Campbellton.

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The boys were staying overnight at a friend's apartment above the pet shop.
Police said they believe the snake slipped out of its cage overnight and travelled through the ventilation. The serpent has been captured by police.
'Tragedy'
Officers were called to the address on Monday morning where the two boys were found dead, said a police statement. The flat was located above the Reptile Ocean exotic pet store.
"The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a large exotic snake had escaped its enclosure at the store sometime overnight, and got into the ventilation system, then into the upstairs apartment," said the statement.
Post-mortem examinations will be performed on the two boys, thought to be brothers, on Tuesday. No charges have been laid so far.
Campbellton's deputy mayor, Ian Comeau, said the incident was a "tragedy".
"The city is in shock," he added.
Experts say attacks by exotic snakes are extremely rare.
David Rogrigue, director of Montreal's Ecomuseum Zoo, told Agence France-Presse news agency that this attack was "difficult to believe... very, very extraordinary, and very improbable".

LUC Eymael: i am here to stay

 

The Belgian tactician has moved to reassure club fans that he was still in charge of the team despite reports that he had tendered his resignation

Kenya Premier League side AFC Leopards’ tactician Luc Eymael has moved to reassure club fans that he has not quit the club. Speaking exclusively to Goal, the Belgian said he had only raised some issues he wanted solved with club chairman Allan Kasavuli during a meeting on Monday and ‘the chairman promised to get back to me within the next 48 hours.”
“I want to assure club fans that I am still the head coach of AFC Leopards'. We held a very fruitful meeting with chairman Kasavuli on Monday where we discussed a number of issues.
“He (Kasavuli) promised to get back with solutions to the problems raised within the next 48 hours and that is what I am waiting for. Furthermore, we have decided to give players’ some time off to rest since we don’t have any league assignment this weekend."
"When my time comes to quit the club...I will do that in a very professional way. I will inform the media but I have not talked to anyone on the same at the moment. It is a pity that some guys have now gone ahead to start spreading lies about my stay at the club. I love this club and would want to see out my contract."
Ingwe are not in action this weekend following postponement of their derby against rivals Gor Mahia. The match has been pushed to August 25 meaning Leopards’ will not play until August 18 when they take on Nairobi City Stars.
On Tuesday, there were reports that Eymael, who took over the reigns of coaching the side after the sacking of Tom Olaba, had tendered his resignation to the club’s top hierarchy.

Kenyan students face hard times in UK

Photo: Courtesy

Thousands of Kenyan students come to the UK for studies. Many gain qualifications and return home, but others fall on hard times because of finances and immigration rules. They also fall prey to British conmen, often being forced to do things against their will, writes SHAMLAL PURI.
When Kenyan students come to the UK for further studies, they have dreams of a successful life after completing their degrees, but many end up falling on hard times, a situation that also worries the diaspora parents here.
The plight of one Kenyan student was revealed in a London courtroom drama on July 19, in a case involving Mark Lancaster, an employee of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). He had exploited a female student desperate for financial help.
Lancaster, 40, a top-level computer consultant, was jailed for 16 months in connection with a “pitiless deception” in which he sought to con hard-up students into having sex with him in exchange for falsely offering to pay their university fees.
Lancaster, of Horndean, Hampshire, was exposed by the London newspaper The Independent, following an undercover investigation into the website sponsorscholar.co.uk and a fictitious business he established.
The 18-year-old Kenyan woman fell victim when Lancaster duped her into travelling to a rented flat in Milton Keynes, 87 kilometres from London, where he filmed her using four secret cameras before having sex with her.
Appearing at the Southwark Crown Court, the pornography-addicted father of two admitted a charge of voyeurism and another of trafficking.
The Kenyan woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had found Lancaster’s website on the Internet while desperately searching for a loan to finance her studies. The website offered up to £15,000 (about Sh2 million) in return for four meetings a year with non-existent “sponsors”.
The woman came from a single-parent family and faced a university course fee of £11,000 (about Sh1.5 million) starting in September last year, and a further £5,000 (Sh670,000) for accommodation. The prosecution said the Kenyan wanted to “reduce the burden on her mother”, who is a nurse.
Although she became aware that the site was soliciting sex, she sought a meeting with Lancaster to find out about his offer.
In spite of her plan to control her involvement, she was overwhelmed by Lancaster’s personality and the situation.
Unsuccessful
Afterwards, when she did not hear back from Lancaster, she contacted him and was told that her “application” had been unsuccessful. He gave her £60 (Sh8,000) and invited her to re-apply in future.
Her world was torn apart — she was humiliated in front of her friends and forced to miss a year of her studies
Lancaster was sentenced to 16 months for voyeurism and the same for trafficking, to run concurrently.
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Meet Paulo Machado, the man who has lived in hospital for 45 years

Paulo Henrique Machado has lived almost his entire life in hospital. As a baby he suffered infantile paralysis brought on by polio, and he is still hooked up to an artificial respirator 24 hours a day.
But despite this, he has trained as a computer animator and is now creating a television series about his life.

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The Brazilian's first memories are of exploring the hospital he has lived in for 45 years by wheelchair.
"I explored up and down the corridors, going into the rooms of other children that were here - that is how I discovered my 'universe'," he says.
"For me, playing football or with normal toys wasn't an option, so it was more about using my imagination."
Machado's mother died when he was two days old, and as a baby he contracted polio - the result of one of the last big outbreaks of the disease in Brazil.
Ligia Marcia Fizeto, Machado's nursing assistant, began working in the hospital - Sao Paulo's Clinicas - shortly after he arrived.
"It was very sad to see all those children, all lying there immobilised in their beds, or with very little movement," she says.
In the 1970s, children with polio were encased in a "torpedo" - a body-encasing iron lung - and doctors at the hospital gave grim assessments of the children's prospects. Few in the "polio ward" were expected to reach adolescence - their life expectancy was just 10 years.
With very limited mobility, Machado's world formed around the friends he made on the ward.
"There was me, Eliana, Pedrinho, Anderson, Claudia, Luciana and Tania. They were here for a good length of time too, more than 10 years," he says.
With the innocence of childhood, he never imagined that they would be parted. But by 1992, some of the children had begun to deteriorate - one by one, his friends began to die.

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Forget Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga, Kenyans are changing

Every single day, we are told how the government is implementing something or failing in its responsibility to provide basic services to the public.

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On the other hand, we are told of how the opposition led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is not sincere in its evaluation of government performance. - Who should we trust?

I think we should not trust anybody, not the government or the opposition.

What we should not miss out are the challenges facing Kenyans, be it in Kisumu or Malindi. All the people of Kenya want to see improvement in their personal safety and security, they want their children to access affordable and quality education, and want to live a descent life as opposed to abject poverty in which the majority live today.

Yet politicians are only divided when it is time for elections, when their political life is under threat. Once they surmount election hurdles, they unite and vigorously wage fierce battles to fight for their self-interests, emoluments or entitlements.

Paradoxically, this is where the behaviour of a politician and a common citizen is at crossroads. The common aspiration of all Kenyans is to have a prosperous nation. It is on this premise that they overwhelmingly voted in support of the new constitution which sadly is now the centre of controversy as every institution attempts to find its true platform in the new legal environment.
Unlike politicians, Kenyans are ever divided in matters nation building.

You cannot be mistaken; the Jubilee government is a government managing transition. President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto must know they are at a historical high point, overseeing Jubilee Kenya moving into the future.

President Uhuru’s biggest test is devolution, but if he wants to pass this test, he must persuade every single Kenyan that he has sincere intentions that transcend his own political interest, for the wellbeing of the nation.
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AFC Leopards raid Ulinzi Stars

Ulinzi Stars’ Moh-Hassan tackles AFC Leopards’ Allan Wanga during their Kenyan Premier League match at Afraha Stadium, Saturday.

Ulinzi striker Mohammed Hassan was given his marching orders late in the second half as AFC Leopards   gunned down Ulinzi Stars 1-0 in a tough Tusker Premier League match at Afraha Stadium, Nakuru, last evening.

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Hassan punched second half substitute Michael Khamati, forcing referee Nassur Doka to send him off for indecency.
As the match was headed for a barren draw in the injury time Leopards striker Allan Wanga picked a loose ball at the edge of the box and riffled home the all-important from a goalmouth melee.
Wanga said: “Although it was a difficult match, we kept on pressing till we got what we wanted.”
Ulinzi will have to blame themselves for not earning maximum points after wasting begging opportunities in both halves with the main culprit being striker Oscar Wamalwa.
Wamalwa shot a powerful drive into the waiting hands of Ingwe custodian Patrick Matasi in the 82nd minute after being put through by second half substitute Steve Waruru.
Earlier, Ulinzi striker Elvis Nandwa’s 72nd minute powerful drive was parried out for a fruitless corner by Matasi.
Sensing danger
Ten minutes later, Wamalwa followed with another volley that hit the post.
Sensing danger, Leopards coach Luc Eymael brought in Charles Okwemba, Mike Baraza and Michael Khamati for Edwin Seda, Noah Wafula and Martin Imbalambala respectively which changed the match tempo resulting in Wanga’s goal.
Thika United rediscovered their winning ways by stopping Mathare United 1-0 at City Stadium yesterday.

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Jubilee plots to wrestle Western from former Prime Minister Raila Odinga

The Jubilee coalition is working on a plan to gain political muscle in Western Kenya. It involves using Government-friendly MPs to reach out to the electorate and also involving former Vice-President Musalia Mudavadi and former Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa more in the agenda.

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Some of the 15 MPs who met the President and his Deputy William Ruto last week, strongly argued the case for Mudavadi and Wamalwa, who are currently in ‘political Siberia’. The region currently lacks a leader who can rally the community into making binding political decisions as a block, as was the case during the Masinde Muliro and Kijana Wamalwa eras.
Apart from sub-tribe rivalries, leaders from the region spent their energies and resources destroying each other’s political careers, as was the case of former ministers Dr Mukhisa Kituyi and Musikari Kombo.  It emerged as a big surprise when Eugene abandoned Uhuru’s Jubilee and his own presidential ambition to join Mudavadi’s campaign in the last election.
The latest drama of local rivalry involves Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, who is reportedly being fought by a senior CORD leader through propaganda over alleged misuse of devolved funds.
Fielding candidates
Ruto and Uhuru are keen on fielding candidates to help the Government get a seat in the Senate and a few more in the National Assembly should the on-going election petitions succeed.
Currently, neither Uhuru’s TNA nor Ruto’s URP have a single seat in Bungoma, Kakamega and Vihiga counties, and the same applies in the neighbouring Trans Nzoia county.
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s CORD has the largest number of MPs, Senators and Governors, followed by Mudavadi-Wamalwa’s Amani coalition.
This week, Uhuru held a meeting with 15 MPs led by Lugari MP Ayub Savula, where the President and the legislators agreed on a roadmap of the Jubilee government’s plan for the region. “We asked the President to consider the fate of the two, who at some point worked closely with the current Jubilee leadership in G7, and he promised to look into their fate,” said Bumula MP Bonface Otsyula (New Ford-Kenya).
The region overwhelmingly voted CORD in the March 4 General Election, with one of its co-principals, Ford-Kenya leader and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula, being the Minority leader in the Senate.
Infrastructure collapsed

Deadly alert as criminals buy viruses from mortuaries

Police officers  guard a body at the  Chiromo Mortuary. [PHOTOS: FILE/STANDARD]

By Paul Wafula
Kenya: Criminals are now buying deadly viruses from mortuaries in what brings a new dimension to the underground body parts business thriving inside Kenya’s funeral homes.

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Highly infectious human tissue, body fluids and used bath water are eclipsing human organs as the hottest selling products.
Morgue staff drawn from Nairobi’s three largest mortuaries interviewed for this story reveal how lack of regulation and weak enforcement has seen players in the sector break ethics of last respects to make an extra coin.
Attendants are earning between Sh5,000 to Sh100,000 to smuggle out pieces of the dead, wrapped in specimen bags, briefcases and envelopes.
They also swap specimen to tilt police investigations from those seeking to change evidence of a case.
“The common ones are blood samples for people who die in road accidents under the influence of alcohol and their lawyers or relatives don’t want this to affect their insurance claim,” an attendant said.
“We just swap blood samples with someone else who did not die while drunk. We can get the blood from the heart and label it, then hand it to the police,” he added.
Swap samples
Multiple sources within Nairobi’s biggest public morgues told how a combination of poor pay and laxity in monitoring has pushed the morgue attendants to go to deadly lengths to earn illegal cash.
Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), City Mortuary and Mbagathi District Hospital have mortuaries located within a 300 metres radius that arguably host Kenya’s largest concentration of unburied bodies.
The practice they say is fueled by poor pay on one hand and a growing underground market drawn mainly from witchdoctors and their followers. “Most of my clients are just ordinary men and women on the street. But I have also sold some items to members of the military and police,” an attendant at KNH, who previously worked at City Mortuary told in confidence. But what is likely to worry policy makers is the revelation that some of their clients are specifically asking for specimen from victims of highly infectious diseases including Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis.

African Union: Zimbabwe poll was free, honest and credible

Updated Friday, August 2nd 2013 at 12:08 GMT +3 Zimbabwe's presidential and parliamentary elections were "free, honest and credible", the African Union observer mission's head has said.
Olusegun Obasanjo said the incidents reported during Wednesday's poll could not "change the outcome".

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The largest observer group said earlier the poll was "seriously compromised".
President Robert Mugabe's party is claiming victory in the election, which was rejected as a "huge farce" by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

EVERY MORNING...

Primary teachers to be paid for 10 days

  

Teachers Service Commission Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Lengoiboni (second right), exchanges a pay agreement with the Kuppet Secretary General Akello Misori (second left) during the signing ceremony at TSC offices in Nairobi, July 11th, 2013. Mr Lengoiboni Thursday said Section 80 of the Labour Relations Act states: “An employee who takes part in a strike is not entitled to any payment or any other benefit during the strike period.”  

In Summary

• The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has threatened to call another strike next week if the teachers are not paid their July salary in full.

All primary school teachers will only be paid a 10-day salary for July, their employer said Thursday.

Those who did not participate in the strike will be reimbursed a salary of 21 days once an audit to ascertain teachers who absconded duty is compiled.

The Teachers Service Commission chief executive officer, Mr Gabriel Lengoiboni, said Section 80 of the Labour Relations Act states: “An employee who takes part in a strike is not entitled to any payment or any other benefit during the strike period.”

The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has threatened to call another strike next week if the teachers are not paid their July salary in full.

Teachers in secondary schools will get their full pay as their union called off the strike as directed by the Industrial Court.

At the same time, Knut, which represents the teachers, will not receive Sh90 million in union dues.

Other institutions that are set to suffer include the Higher Education Loans Board, banks, credit institutions that lend teachers money and insurance companies.

In June, when the strike started, the teachers commission sent out Sh6.5 billion to these institutions, including university loan recovery (Sh53 million), loans and credit extended to teachers (Sh1.7 billion) and the National Health Insurance Fund (Sh87 million).

The amount checked off to the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies for loan recovery was Sh1.5 billion and contributions Sh487 million .

Knut chairman Wilson Sossion said they would call a strike next week and that they were not worried by the failure to remit union dues.

He accused the government of being unfair to teachers since the term dates had been extended to recover the time lost during the 24-day strike that started on June 25.

Education Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi and his Principal Secretary Richard Kipsang did not respond to calls or text messages to explain the pay cut yet the term was increased by two weeks.

But Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi reiterated that the “government will only pay the teachers for what they have done.”

Catholic bishops criticised the pay cut, with the Justice and Peace Commission chairman, Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth, saying teachers were being punished for rightfully demanding their long-awaited pay.

“Why the double standards? Are some people more equal than others?” he asked during a press conference at Kolping Centre in Lang’ata, Nairobi.

Tension mounts as Mugabe claims poll win amid opposition protests

This combination of two pictures shows Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe (at L) and Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (at R). President Robert Mugabe's rivals rubbished his claim to election victory on August 1, branding the vote a "sham" and calling for a campaign of resistance to bring Zimbabwe to a standstill. Photo/AFP 

In Summary

• Tsvangirai terms election a huge farce as Zanu-PF leaders insist victory is theirs
• AU and SADC observers clash with their local counterparts over exerciseinShare

Zimbabwean presidential hopeful Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday described Wednesday’s election as a “huge farce”— hours after Robert Mugabe’s allies claimed victory.

The Movement for Democratic Change candidate warned that the country faced a serious crisis.

“It’s a sham election that does not reflect the will of the people. In our view this election is null and void,” Mr Tsvangirai said, pointing to a litany of alleged irregularities in the vote.

“This election has been a huge farce,” he said. “The shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis.”

Mr Mugabe’s allies claimed an “emphatic” victory, but local observers have called the vote “seriously compromised”.

Election day had passed off without widespread violence, but critics pointed at a flawed electoral roll, among other problems.

Mr Mugabe’s critics have accused him of rigging the poll to extend his 33-year-rule. The 89-year-old leader is running for a seventh term as president.

Unofficial results compiled by civil society groups appear to show that he did surprisingly well in urban areas, where he normally falls flat.

Mr Mugabe’s allies claimed his Zanu-PF party was headed for a ‘landslide victory’.

Early indications showed that Mr Tsivangirai performed below expectations.

Although official results were expected to start trickling in late on Thursday, Zanu-PF officials on Thursday claimed ‘resounding victory’ on social networks.

The were backed by their poll monitors who were relying on results being posted outside polling stations as vote counting was continued.

Zanu-PF has since posted a disclaimer on its Twitter feed, saying the results being peddled by its officials were not authorised.

Mr Mugabe has since threatened to arrest anyone who releases the election results without the approval of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

The commission said vote counting at polling stations had been completed on Thursday, and results were now being collated, the AFP news agency reports.
It is illegal to publish unofficial election results in Zimbabwe. Police have warned they will take action against anyone trying to leak early results.

Extra police units—some in riot gear—have now been deployed in the capital, Harare.

Legal challenges are now likely to follow, but much will depend on whether Zimbabwe’s neighbours endorse the poll, the BBC’s Andrew Harding in Johannesburg reports.

The unofficial results show Mr Tsvangirai trailing the veteran ruler in some of his urban strongholds.