Author: Francis Muli

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will commence hearing of the Kenya-Somalia maritime border case on Monday, March 15. In a statement on Tuesday, ICJ said that public hearings will be conducted between Monday March 15 to Wednesday, March 24. “The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings in the case concerning Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia v. Kenya) from Monday 15 to Wednesday 24 March 2021, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court,” the statement read in part. The hearing will be conducted…

Taxi Hailing service Bolt, has added a new ride category called “Bolt Green” which offers eco-friendly rides as part of the company’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. The company announced Wednesday that the new category will comprise hybrid and electric cars which reduce emissions during trips, providing greener transport options. Bolt Green will have similar rates to the Basic Bolt Category, with a minimum fare of Sh300. “We continue to scale up our operations for the benefit of our customers and the communities in which we operate. Having electric and hybrid vehicles on our platform is a step towards…

Apple has cut down the production of iPhone 12 mini by at least 70 percent in the first half of this year. The number makes up 20 percent of the planned productions of iPhone 12. Some suppliers have reported that they have been asked to stop the production of the iPhone 12 mini components, while other parts have been re-allocated to the production of iPhone Pro and Pro Max. The Nikkei Asia also said that the production of two new Apple Silicon MacBooks which were due for mass production in May and June had been postponed to the second half…

You will be fined between Ksh5 million to Ksh20 million for being in possession of narcotic drugs if the the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 sails through in Parliament. The Bill set for discussion on the floor of the National Assembly on Thursday, March 11, proposes more punishment for drug handlers and dealers, with more sanctions for public servants found in drug dealing. According to the Bill, law enforcement officers who contravene the Bill will be fined not less than Ksh20 million or imprisonment for not less than 20 years or both. The Bill, fronted by…

Microsoft has partnered with Tech4Dev to launch the Women Techsters Innovation in 54 countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The programme will train women and girls on coding and equip them with deep tech skills in efforts to bridge the digital and technology divide. As a result, they will benefit from equal access to opportunities in the continent. The programme was first piloted in Nigeria and is now being rolled out to other countries. “When we empower girls and women in the ICT industry, through greater access to skills and training, we not only unlock innovation but also…

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) is set to employ 37,000 teachers in the next financial year, 25,000 on permanent basis and 12,000 on internship. The move is aimed at manage the double transition to secondary schools, according to a budget policy statement presented to the National Assembly’s Committee on Education. The commission will use at least Ksh10.75 billion to recruit permanent teachers and Ksh2.4 billion to hire interns. The transition will see the current grade four and Standard Six pupils transit to junior secondary and form one, respectively, in 2023. “This will lead to higher enrolment which will call for…

YouTube has announced plans to deduct US taxes from all creators, including those outside the region. This will only affect the revenue generated through US viewers. Kenya has a lot of bloggers and content creators who will definitely be affected by this new change. The company sent out an email to partner creators notifying them of the changes. “We’re reaching out because Google will be required to deduct U.S. taxes from payments to creators outside of the U.S. later this year (as early as June 2021). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking you to submit your tax info…

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Director- General, Pavel Oimeke has resigned. Oimeke revealed that he submitted his resignation on February 16 to Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter. “I Pavel Robert Oimeke, EBS would like to announce my resignation from the position of director-general at the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority,” he said. Oimeke, who has served as Director-General for four years, has an ongoing court case over bribery allegations. According to the Ethics and anti-corruption Commission (EACC), Oimeke received a bribe of Ksh200,000 to approve the reopening of a fuel station in Oyugis, Homa Bay County,  which the authority…

Swvl Kenya has today announced the resumption of its regular commuter services across Nairobi city as it aims to scale up operations in the country. This adds to their recently launched innovations; Swvl Carpool and Swvl Travel, launched during the Covid-19 pandemic period. “During the pandemic period, we took our time to analyse the patterns and needs of commuters. We identified the areas of change and have used the information to advise our new innovations and the decision to fully restart our regular rides service across the city. Our aim is to ensure that we provide a service for every kind of…

Lancet Kenya founder and CEO Ahmed Kalebi is set to leave the firm as a CEO and a shareholder on  April 30 when his employment expires. Dr Kelebi, who founded the firm in 2009, has been working as East Africa CEO and chief consultant pathologist. In a letter by his lawyer Donald Kipkorir ahead of today’s board meeting, Dr Kelebi says that he will not seek a fresh mandate to head the firm, or even remain as a shareholder. He is therefore seeking close to Ksh1.9 billion as exit packages for his shareholding and employment. “The current term under the aforementioned…

The Media Council of Kenya has called for entries to the Annual Journalism Excellence Awards (AJEA) 2021. All MCK Accredited journalists working in Kenya are eligible to enter their published or broadcast stories between 1st June 2019 and 31st January 2021. Consequently, the Council says it will not accept hard copy entries, advising journalists to make their submissions using the new AJEA online portal https://ajea.mediacouncil.or.ke . This is in line with the Covid-19 prevention guidelines. Entries should be stories published or broadcast on local media between 1st June 2019 to 31st January 2021. Read: IEBC To Take Punitive Action Against Staffer…

YouTube will consider lifting former US President Donald Trump’s suspension if the threat of violence decreases. According to Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s Chief Executive, the company will observe government warnings and violent rhetorics to determine when its safe to lift the suspension. Trump was suspended from YouTube and other platforms including Twitter, Google, Facebook and Instagram in January. Trump was accused of inciting protests at Capitol Hill that saw five people lose their lives. “It’s pretty clear that right now where we stand, that there still is that elevated risk of violence,” the YouTube chief said. Read: Twitter Bans Trump’s Account…

Digital TV set-top box provider, StarTimes is facing possible liquidation over an Sh11 million debt. beIN media has moved to court seeking to wind up the company over unpaid football broadcasting rights. According to court documents, StarTimes failed to honour a contract for broadcasting rights between themselves and the French football league, Ligue 1. StarTimes signed a deal with beIN media group which holds international Ligue 1 rights from 2018-19 to 2023-24. The deal gave StarTimes the rights to broadcast English and local language Ligue 1 in sub-Saharan Africa. Read: StarTimes Launches Online Shopping Platform, StarTimes GO Before the 2019-20…

Former CS Mwangi Kiunjuri’s The Service Party (TSP) and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) have signed a coalition agreement ahead of 2022 polls. According to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in our possession, the agreement was signed on February 14 and is focused on the 2022 succession politics. “The purpose of this MOU is to formalize a framework of cooperation and to facilitate collaboration between the Parties in support of the 2022 Agenda for capturing the presidency, building on their comparative advantages and ensuring their complementarity and mutual reinforcement,” the document reads in part. The document recognises Mwangi Kiunjuri as…

Whatsapp is testing a new feature that will see messages disappear after 24 hours. This was revealed by WABetaInfo, which updates users about new developments on the platform. Whatsapp already allows users to set their messages to disappear after seven days. To do this, click on a group or contact where you want to apply the setting, tap view contact from the three dots on the top right-hand side, and scroll down to “Turn on Disappearing Messages”. WABetaInfo announced the latest update on Twitter over the weekend, prompting confusion among users. The platform moved to issue clarification, saying the new update…