Author: Francis Muli

Google has today announced a $25 million (Sh2.7 billion) grant to non-profit organizations that address economic challenges affecting women and girls. The initiative is part of the Google.org impact challenge that seeks to fund non-profits geared toward solving societal problems. “This is an open call for applications, and selected charitable initiatives will receive up to $2 million, as well as opportunities for mentorship and additional support from Google.” the company said in a blogpost. The tech giant encouraged non-profits to send in their applications, outlining their planned objectives and how their projects will help solve economic barriers. Read: Google Launches…

Meru senator Mithika Linturi has now been accused of using forged signatures to secure a Ksh530 million loan from Family Bank, an allegation that could see him arrested. Linturi and his current wife Emily Nkirote Buantai have already moved to the High Court seeking an anticipatory bail to prevent their arrest. In his filing, Lintury says that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has already recommended his arrest in connection to the alleged fraud among 38 other allegations. “The imminent arrest, charges and prosecution also relate to fraudulent change of directorship, shareholding and share capital of the Atticon…

Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce co-chair Dennis Waweru has dismissed claims that the secretariat is divided and the process is about to collapse. Responding to allegations from a section of politicians from Raila Odinga’s ODM political divide, Waweru termed the allegations as propaganda, saying that the process that is culminating into a Constitutional amendment is still on course. “I am not aware of any rift within the secretariat. If there are issues, we have an internal mechanism for dealing with them. The BBI train left the stage a long time ago. We are on course and are committed. This is…

Politicians planed and executed chaos during the just concluded by-elections, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i has said. Speaking in Nyamira on Sunday, Matiang’i said that the government will not allow politicians to cause disharmony in the country through violence in public functions such as elections and burials. “We must speak the truth about what happened. Kenyans have always remained peaceful; the challenge is on how to handle the reckless and greedy politicians. It is high time we tell them off,” said Matiang’i. This follows the arrest of Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei and MPs Didmas Barasa (Kimilili), Wilson Logo (Chesumei) and Nelson…

Presidential aspirant and former UNCTAD boss Mukhisa Kituyi was forced to change his route for stopovers in his home turf Webuye, after his audience turned hostile to his speeches. During the stopovers, the jeering crowds accused Kituyi of failing to help them when he was a cabinet minister and in foreign mission Chants of ‘hatukutaki hatukutaki” (we do not want you, we do not want you) were unbearable to Kituyi, who even cancelled a rally he was planning to hold at Posta grounds. In the few chaotic stopovers, Mukhisa promised to work with other leaders in his 2022 Presidential quest.…

At least 20 people have been confirmed dead and over 30 others injured in a car bomb blast in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Friday night. According to the police, a car packed with explosives detonated at Luul Yemeny restaurant, claiming the lives. Heavy gunfire followed the explosion, according to reports by CNN. “Plumes of white smoke covered the city after the enormous explosion followed by gunfire,” said witness Liban Yusuf. Read: Gov’t Asks Somalia To Desist From Dragging Kenya Into Its Domestic Issues Terror group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack through a statement posted on its affiliated sites. This…

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has issued a notice reminding Kenyans to purchase their electronics from trustworthy dealers. Through a post on Social media, the DCI  urged people to desist from purchasing gadgets such as  laptops, mobile phones and TV sets from individuals without a fixed address with requisite authorization such as licenses, permits and other statutory approvals. The DCI also said that upon purchase of any of the electronics, one should insist on a receipt which should be photographed and stored securely. Read: DCI Warns Kenyans Of International Scam Calls “Wangiri” The DCI said there was a huge…

E-commerce platform Jumia has been trending on social media since yesterday. Using the hashtag #JumiaExposed, netizens have cited a number of issues contributing to negative experiences on the platform. Among the issues raised is the sale of counterfeit goods on the platform. One user said he bought a counterfeit iPhone costing about Sh47,000 only for Jumia to reject the return of the order. Read: MTN Seeks To Sell Stake In Jumia https://twitter.com/Geoffreysaved/status/1368057345788481537 https://twitter.com/kinyuapharis/status/1368113676356567042 https://twitter.com/KaranjaSuzanne/status/1367911835895234560 https://twitter.com/KevinOc20693317/status/1367887312160493570 https://twitter.com/Nyanqash/status/1368121724617822210 Influencers also complained of unpaid dues from Jumia, and being taken round in circles when they asked. Read also: Jumia and Twiga Foods Partner…

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) is now partially in charge of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) operations such as ticketing, security and fuelling. This is according to KRC chairman Omudho Awitta who says that the state corporation has started a gradual takeover of operations of the railway line, which has been under the Chinese company Africa Star Railway Operation Company. “KRC has not terminated its contract with Africa Star Railway Operation Company (AfriStar). We have negotiated so that we take over the running of the standard gauge railway (SGR). The contract between the two parties was to run for 10 years…

Safaricom is seeking to partner with software developers in efforts to build more in-house web applications. According to the Business Daily, the giant telco is looking to tap into Kenya’s pool of well-resourced web developers. “The partners will co-create the software with Safaricom…the partners can then agree on a marketing and operations model,” said Safaricom in internal documents seen by the Business Daily. The development of new web applications will expand Safaricom’s revenue streams especially with the voice business is saturated. Read: Safaricom Announces Ksh18 Billion Dividend To Shareholders M-Pesa is one of Safaricom’s most successful products with 27 million…

Facebook has announced the expansion of two initiatives focused on increasing transparency and controls on social issues, electoral, and political ads. The initiatives target countries around the world, including Ethiopia and Kenya who are facing elections this May and 2022 respectively. The first one empowers people to have more control over the ads they see on their feeds. Facebook will create controls that give people the option of seeing fewer social issues, electoral, and political ads. Read: Facebook Rolling Out Security Feature For Journalists in Kenya, Nigeria, and Other Countries Facebook’s Policy Director, Africa Kojo Boakye said that When people use…

TikTok has rolled out a new Q&A feature to enable creators respond to common questions using text or videos. The creator’s comments on their videos can be designated as Q&As, and they can also add the link on their bio. The new feature will be available for both live and feed videos. TikTok creators, especially those with a huge fan base, often get a number of follow-up questions on their videos. In most instances, the creators have to go through the comments responding to questions which could be similar in nature. In other cases, they have to do a second…

Former BOC Kenya chairman Mr Ngugi Kiuna has petitioned the Capital Markets Tribunal to stop the BOC Kenya buyout by Carbacid Investments. According to Mr Kiuna who holds 1.4 million BOC shares equivalent to a 7.6 percent stake, BOC Kenya was undervalued in the deal and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) erred in approving the buyout. Mr Kiuna also accuses CMA of disregarding the protection of interests of minority shareholders. “That the approval granted by the first respondent in respect of the proposed takeover offer by Carbacid Investments Plc and Aksaya Investments LLP to acquire up to 100 percent of…

Safaricom has unveiled the second edition of the ‘Browse Bila Waas’ campaign that will see customers enjoy free 500MB daily bonus data with every purchase of a personalized no-expiry data bundle. Both Prepay and PostPay customers can access their personalized data bundles on *544# under the option “0” – Special Data Deals. Upon purchase of the bundle, which is available every day until May 23, 2021, customers will instantly receive a bonus of 500MB data valid until midnight of the same day. “By expanding our network coverage, giving our customers more data for less, and availing affordable 4G devices, we seek…

Whatsapp is rolling out voice and video calls for desktop today, the company has announced. The popular messaging app will now offer end-to-end encrypted calls to mobile and computer users. This means that neither Whatsapp nor Facebook will be able to listen to your calls. Voice and video calls are already available for mobile Whatsapp users on Android and iOS. In late 2020, the company rolled out desktop calls as a pilot for a small group of users. The feature will now be available for all users after today’s launch. Read: WhatsApp Web To Get Call And Video Call Features…