Top news items in major Kenyan media outlets

The following are news highlights in Kenyan media outlets on Monday.

-- President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged to peacefully hand over power to the opposition should his Jubilee party lose the August elections.

Kenyatta said Sunday he will respect the will of Kenyans and abide by their decision. He called on the electoral commission to start mobile voter registration in semi-arid and pastoralist areas and chiefs to deliver uncollected national identity cards to their owners to enable people register. The electoral agency targets six million new voters in the ongoing mass registration ending February 14. (Daily Nation)

-- Doctors' union officials face one-month in jail for defying a court directive to call off their strike, which enters the 50th day today. The medics are further expected to start receiving their sacking letters today. But they have vowed to remain on strike until their demands are met. (The Standard)

-- The manufacturing sector is poised for a sluggish growth this year due to the current political climate as the country heads into the general election, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers said Sunday. It noted that foreign direct investments and business ventures are expected to shrink as investors adopt a "wait-and-see" approach. (The Star)

-- Kenya plans to import maize from Mexico to ease the current shortage that has seen the price of flour rise to 1.2 dollars, a five-year high. It would be the first time in nine years the country is buying the staple outside Africa. (Business Daily)

-- President Uhuru Kenyatta is eagerly waiting to see the policy direction that will be taken by the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump.

Kenyatta said Kenya hopes the new administration will have a favorable foreign policy for the continent, as witnessed during the immediate President Barack Obama's eight-year rule. (People Dail