Author: Francis Muli

“The 2021 General election (in Uganda) seems to have been increasingly polarised as it is perceived to be the last one that will see the incumbent contesting as he paves way possibly to his eldest son (Muhoozi Kainerugaba) who is the current commander of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces Special Forces Command.” These are the words of Boniface Mwangi, a Kenyan human rights activist who toured Uganda ahead of the January 14 General Election in the capacity of Africans Rising Ambassador. In his mission, Mwangi says that the election has been extremely polarised, due to increasing repression and reduced space…

It’s common to forget your password and even go as far as requesting to change it before gaining access to various websites. Cryptocurrency digital wallets are however more secure and failure to get your digital key can result in the loss of bitcoin. Programmer Stefan Thomas has found himself in a similar situation. He has lost the password to a hard drive containing $240 million (26 billion)worth of bitcoin and now his plight has gone viral after he tweeted offering a reward for anyone who could assist him.  “Um, for $220m in locked-up Bitcoin, you don’t make 10 password guesses…

Two suspects have been charged before Hamisi law court with possession of excisable goods affixed with counterfeit excise stamps worth Ksh473,793 of taxes. The two accused persons; Morris Musyoka and Philimon Talam were separately arrested on  December 29, 2020 at Lusengeli area and Shiru area respectively within Vihiga County. Musyoka was found in possession of 300 cartons of Idakho vodka while Talam was found in possession of African Spear containing 20 bottles of 250ml each all affixed with counterfeit stamps that they purported to have been issued by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). “Possession of counterfeit stamps is contrary to Regulation…

Kenyans spent Sh16.290 billion buying laptops, computers and networking equipment between April and October 2020. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on the trade of ICT equipment in the country, this is a 60 percent increase compared to Sh10.207 billion spent in the same period in 2019. The spike can be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted the work culture forcing companies adopt work-from-home models. The pandemic saw most households add more devices, up from one shared PC in the recent past. The world turned to technology during the pandemic for education, work and entertainment driving…

British Computer Scientist, Sir Tim Berners-Lee who invented the internet navigation system known as the World Wide Web wants to remake cyberspace. Berners-Lee’s new quest is to fix common problems that he says have handicapped the open web in an age where huge, closed platforms such as Facebook have exploded. Through a new startup called Inrupt, Berners-Lee is building on concepts from an open-source software project called Solid to develop a web which he says people can use a single sign-on for any service. Personal data will then be stored in “pods,” (personal online data stores) that are controlled by the…

Netflix has released its Film slate for 2021 and its roster has more than what Disney and Warner Bro’s combined. The list includes directorial debuts by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Halle Berry and the much awaited final installment in the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before trilogy. The list is bound to expand with Netflix expected to acquire more films as the year progresses. The company is also well positioned to acquire movies from highly rated studios such as Paramount and Universal. Netflix had a great 2020 despite the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the global stage also experienced a surge in streaming services,…

Instant messaging app, Telegram, has recorded a surge in the last 72 hours following a mass exodus form users on Whatsapp. Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Russian founder, said the platform recorded 25 million new users in the last 72 hours and as of January, has 500 million monthly users. “In the first week of January, Telegram surpassed 500 million monthly active users. After that it kept growing: 25 million new users joined Telegram in the last 72 hours alone,” said Mr Durov, adding that new users came from across the globe. Read: Whatsapp Reassures Users of Privacy Despite Policy Update Out…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is set to hire at least 2,000 officers, who will be deployed to investigate wealthy individuals for tax cheats. The National Treasury has been directed to provide the funds for hiring the officers, even as the taxman struggles to meet its tax targets. “The National Treasury should allocate additional funds under the supplementary Estimates 1 to employ additional 2,000 staff,” said the Parliament’s Finance and National Planning Committee said in report tabled in Parliament. Already, the taxman has announced recruitment of senior investigative officers in its investigative and enforcement arm. Read: KRA Pardons Taxpayers With Penalties…

The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) chairman Peter Kanyago and the CEO Lerionka Tiampati are set to resign soon, Kahawa Tungu can authoritatively report. This follows the enactment of the Tea Act 2020, that saw several changes take effect in the tea sector. The Act reestablished the Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) and the Tea Research Foundation (TRF), two institutions dissolved in 2014 in favor of an Agriculture Fisheries and Foods Authority that managed eight sectors including coffee, tea, coconut, cotton, sisal, sugar, and pyrethrum. Under the raft of changes brought about by the Act, farmers will be paid directly…

Patricia Kihoro, Michele Adagala and Kaluhi’s Kitchen have been selected as the #YouTubeBlack Voices creator grantees from Kenya, in the program targeting creators from across Africa. 36 grantees have been selected from across the continent for the #YouTubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2021. “In the coming months, we will work closely with the Class of 2021 to grow the creator’s channels. This will include dedicated partner support through our team of growth specialists, seed funding invested into the development of their channels, and participation in an intensive, 3-week incubator program, followed by ongoing bespoke training, workshops, and networking programs,” says Alex…

Ugandan telecom and internet service providers recorded increased demand for data services in the last quarter of 2020. According to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), at least 20 million mobile subscribers, accounting for 50 percent of Uganda’s population are connected to broadband. This is the first time the number of connected users has crossed the 20 million mark, which means that one out of every two Ugandans is connected. The country experienced higher subscriptions during the Covid-19 pandemic when more people started working from home. “This growth is mainly attributed to the shifting work culture driven by the Covid-19 pandemic,…

Boeing has agreed to pay Ksh273,875,000,000, following a criminal charge related to a conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Of the amount, Ksh54,775,000,000 is expected to go to the Ethiopian and Indonesian crash victims’ families. The US Justice Department (DOJ) said that it had reached the agreement with the plane manufacturer, bringing to a close the case that has been going on for sometime now. “According to the settlement agreement with the DOJ, Boeing will establish a Ksh54,775,000,000 fund to compensate the families of the 346 victims who died in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines ET302 in Ethiopia…

The Amani National Congress (ANC) Party has threatened to impeach Deputy President William Ruto if he does not resign. In a statement on Tuesday, ANC Deputy Party Leader Ayub Savula said they had already prepared a motion of impeachment, “to protect Kenya against violent implosion being clandestinely fermented by Ruto”, terming him as a “a rich and powerful man in government pretending to be poor”. “In that impeachment motion, we will make the case that because his ambition is in competition with priorities set by the government he serves in, he is a danger to the stability of the nation…

A new World Bank Report has revealed that most Start-ups in Kenya do not make it past the inception stage due to corruption and excessive bureaucracy in the country. The report also said that the country relies heavily on more established companies, some of which have been around since Kenya got its independence. The country is reportedly at the mercy of these few companies, some of which are unproductive, due to the fact that very few new businesses find room to grow and establish themselves. The Systematic Country Diagnostic report from the World Bank identifies country-level actions and investments. In…

Taxpayers with tax penalties accrued over the past five years will now be eligible for full or partial relief, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced. In a statement, KRA announced that the penalties will include interests on the undisclosed taxes, and will be implemented under Voluntary Tax Disclosure Programme (VTDP) that was introduced through the Finance Act, 2020. “VTDP applies to all tax liabilities accrued/derived in the specified period including individual Income Tax, Corporate Tax, PAYE, Withholding Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Value Added Tax, Withholding VAT, Excise Duty, Monthly Rental Income Tax and Turnover Tax,” said KRA. Read: KRA…