Good morning,
Details reaching our news desk reveal that the petitioner seeking a ban on TikTok over inappropriate content has changed his position just days after meeting the company’s directors.
Appearing before the National Assembly Public Petition, Bob Ndolo, the Executive Director General of Bridge Consultancy, said he has amended his petition to focus on regulation through legislation due to pressure from stakeholders and the App’s users.
Last month, President William Ruto held talks with TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew and reached an agreement on moderation mechanisms to reduce negative content on the App.
“We have been receiving calls from Tiktokers and that’s why we wanted to push for its regulations to protect national security and protect the youth from inappropriate content,” Ndolo told the committee chaired by Vihiga MP Ernest Kagesi.
Asked whether he had been pressurized by the government to drop his earlier position, Ndolo denied receiving any call from the President or any State official over the matter, but admitted meeting the company directors and held a closed-door meeting whose content he did not reveal.
Meanwhile, here are news stories making headlines on Opera News today;
Treasury plans to scrap tax on early pension withdrawals
The government is considering scrapping taxation on pension withdrawals by savers aged below 65 years, handing relief to those eyeing early retirement but presenting a headache for pension administrators.
The Treasury, in its revenue strategy for the medium term, revealed plans to overhaul the current pension laws that make it costly for workers to tap into their pension before hitting 65 years. The changes could come as early as July next year.
“During the strategy period, pension tax structure will be reviewed from exempt-exempt-tax to exempt-exempt-exempt to make withdrawals exempt irrespective of the taxpayer’s age,” it said in its revenue plan.
Allow audit of the presidential poll, Bomas team told
The talks team sitting at the Bomas of Kenya has been challenged to allow the auditing of the 2022 presidential election.
Various petitions made to the National Dialogue Committee, which has representatives from both the ruling Kenya Kwanza and minority Azimio coalitions said that such an audit would help the country to identify weaknesses in the electoral system with a view to improving the conduct of future elections.
Among those who made presentations yesterday was the Elections Observer Group (ELOG) lobby group, which added its voice to the growing calls for a comprehensive audit of the electoral process regardless of whether the outcome was disputed or not.
Police arrest main suspect in Nairobi Hospital finance boss murder
The main suspect in the murder of Nairobi Hospital Finance Director Eric Maigo has been arrested.
The girl, who is said to be underage, was arrested on Tuesday by sleuths attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
She has been on the run, they said.