Author: Francis Muli

Former Treasury CS Henry Rotich aided the payment of Ksh11 billion to an Italian insurance company in the Arror and Kimwarer Dams saga, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has said in court. In court documents, Haji revealed that Rotich aided the payment to an offshore account belonging to SACE Insurance, contrary to the law which requires that all payments be  processed through the consolidated account in Kenya. This was a contravention of Section 50 (7) of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA). “SACE collected the Ksh11 billion from the four private commercial Italian banks and lenders (of…

Apple has reported that about 30,000 Mac devices with M1 chips have been affected by a mysterious malware. Researchers at security company, Red Canary said they are yet to determine the purpose of the malware attack spread out to users in 150 countries. The malware attack appears to call a command-and-control server every hour, from an infected machine, to check for “further instructions.” “It also has a system in place to self-destruct and hide its existence entirely.” the BBC Said. Read: Apple Accidentally Approved Malware For MacOS Update The researchers said the malware, a silent “Silver Sparrow’ strain  “did not…

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has recorded a 13.3 percent dip in tea prices in its factories in the last seven months to January. The prices have dropped to $2.22 (Ksh240) from $2.56 (Ksh280) for a similar seven-month period in the previous financial year. Green leaf deliveries however dropped to 726 million kilos in the seven months compared to 770 million kilos in a similar period the year before. “The high production coupled with the high volumes in the global supply chain has kept the prices at the auction depressed,” KTDA managing director Alfred Njagi said. Read: KTDA Chairman, CEO…

Master KG’s Jerusalema was the global lockdown hit in 2020. Individuals, corporate companies, and groups jumped on to the challenge, showcasing their dancing skills as they swung to the rhythm of the catchy tune. Kenya’s Diana Marua cracked ribs online after her dancing skills to the famous tune were put to the test during a holiday in Mombasa. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf0GPjU6ot8] Naivas introduced a Jerusalema Challenge for a majority of its branches, crowning the winner at the end of it. Mombasa county was also not left behind, with matching outfits and sleek moves, the governorship highlighted the feats the coastal town…

Norwegian Browser Developer Opera Mini has launched a new dedicated chat service dubbed Hype fast which will be piloted in Kenya. “Chat services and browsers are apps people use every day and feel very personal about,” Product Lead for Hype, Charles Hamel said. “With the integration of Hype in Opera Mini, we are not only rethinking what a chat service should be like in 2021, but also changing the very definition of what a mobile browser should be.” Users in Kenya will from today be able to set up Hype accounts on their Opera mini browsers and chat with a secure…

Spotify is expanding its subscription streaming service to 80 new markets including Kenya. This is the company’s broadest expansion plan allowing over a billion users access to the platform in over 36 languages. Spotify Founder and CEO, Daniel Ek said that they would work with local artists and partners to cater to the musical needs for each care. AndroidKenya reports that the company has been running tests with artists in Kenya and Tanzania in the last few weeks. This is partly because they intend to integrate the app with local payment gateways such as Safaricom’s MPesa. Spotify will offer both…

Engage BCW, a PR agency affiliated to troubled WPP Scangroup, is now on the spot after one of its agents tried to bribe a journalist to expose one of their clients, British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the agent was seeking a leak of an investigation on how the company has targeted young non-smokers. The Bureau had commissioned Edwin Okoth to do the investigation when the unnamed employee approached him after getting wind of the investigation. “Morning, please send me a snippet from the dossier, or what is your price?” reads a WhatsApp message…

Kenyan digital taxi drivers are now seeking employee benefits after a landmark ruling in the UK declared Uber drivers as workers. The Supreme court declared that Uber drivers are employees as opposed to contractual workers, and should be treated as such. Now Kenyan taxi drivers signed on various apps including Uber, Bolt, and Little Cab are demanding similar terms. “This ruling in the UK affirms what we have always been saying. Digital taxi drivers are workers and not independent contractors as purported by the owners of the application,” said Wycliffe Alutalala the Secretary-General to the Digital Partners Society (DPS). Read:…

Juja MP Francis Munyua Waititu alias Wakapee is dead. Wakapee has been battling brain cancer since 2018, and as of December 2020 reports indicated that he had lost all forms of memory. The legislator passed on at MP Shah Hospital on Monday evening. Waititu’s death was confirmed by his wife Susan Munyua. “It with deep sorrow that we announce the passing on of our loving dad Hon. Francis Munyua Waititu. May his soul rest in eternal peace and may God grant him the divine grace to accept his will,” said Mrs  Munyua. In October 2018, the MP revealed that at…

Whatsapp users who do not accept its new terms and conditions will have their messages switched off. The company extended the deadline to May 15 after which users will be unable to send or receive messages. According to WhatsApp, calls and notifications will continue functioning, albeit for a few weeks. Whatsapp announced news of the intended update in January and faced a lot of backlash from users after claims emerged that the company was planning to share private user data with Facebook. A big number chose to join competitors Telegram and Signal. Last week, Whatsapp attempted to explain to its…

Smartphone manufacturer OPPO has introduced two additions to its Reno series in the Kenyan market with the launch of the Reno5 and Reno5 F. “With revolutionary camera technology spanning both hardware and software, Reno5 gives users the power to magically bring to life the color and the light of the world in their own distinct style. By effortlessly capturing outstanding portraits in video or in the photo, night or day, Reno5 empowers us to ‘Picture Life Together” Muthoni Wachira, Head of Communications & Projects at OPPO Kenya said. The Reno5 features a 6.4-inch 90Hz AMOLED screen with a single punch-hole…

Silverstone Air has announced plans to rebrand, a year after exiting passenger services following questions over safety of its planes. The carrier in 2019 experienced a series of minor accidents with its planes, forcing it to suspend passenger services. In October 2019, one of its planes skid off the runway at Wilson Airport injuring two of the 50 passengers on board. In the same year in November, another passenger plane belonging to the company made an emergency landing at Eldoret International Airport after one of its wheels came off. Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) then temporarily suspended Silverstone’s Dash 8…

Huawei is reportedly planning to cut its smartphone component orders by about half in 2021. A report by Nikkei Asia cites a number of suppliers who have revealed that the company is planning to order components for about 70 to 80 million smartphones, a 60 percent decline from 189 million Huawei smartphones shipped last year. Huawei has been in a tight spot after the US Department of Commerce placed it on its entity list. Tensions between China and the US saw a number of Chinese companies sanctioned. Huawei suffered a setback after the US and its allies, including the UK…

The Kenya Wildlife Society has responded to an incident where three Rotchschild giraffes were electrocuted at Soysambu conservancy over the weekend, saying that Kenya Power is currently assessing the situation at the conservancy. Reports indicate that the giraffes were moving along a low-hanging local power transmission line within the vast conservancy when they got electrocuted. The incident caused an uproar especially after conservationists revealed that close to 11 endangered giraffes have so far been electrocuted since 2019. The Kenya Wildlife Society has responded to the incident, saying that Kenya Power is currently assessing the situation at the conservancy. Read: Poachers…

Rifts in former National Super Alliance (Nasa) partners are getting wider, with the ODM party now accusing Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka and Amani National Conngress’ (ANC) Musalia Mudavadi of clinging to Raila for political survival. In a statement on Sunday, ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna accused Mr Musyoka and Mudavadi of having no political stand. “In 2002, he (Mudavadi) fled the Rainbow movement and returned to be a three-month VP when the whole country was recalibrating its politics and seeking a fresh start. Later in 2013, he fled ODM to seek the presidency on his own. Available data shows that he…