Author: Francis Muli

A court of Appeal in Milan, Italy, has ordered Facebook to pay $4.7 (around Sh515 million) in damages to an Italian Software developer that accused the giant social media platform of copying its app. In court documents seen by Reuters, the Judges said that Facebook had copied its ‘Nearby’ feature from Italy’s Faround app, developed by Business Competencies. Both the app and the Nearby feature help users identify shops, restaurants, clubs and other places in the surrounding through geolocalization. Read: Facebook Adds Campus Feature For Students Business Competencies filed a lawsuit in 2013 and sued Facebook for copying its Faround…

US President Donald Trump is trending on Twitter after his account was banned permanently. A visit to his handle @realdonaldtrump shows the message “Account suspended”. Twitter says Trump’s account has been suspended “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” The company also said it arrived at the decision after closely reviewing Trump’s latest tweets. President Trump has been facing social media censure since the attack of the government premises at Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Trump took to social media to support the protesters, calling them patriots over acts that US citizens felt he should have condemned strongly. Read:…

Lawrence Njoroge, son to a Kiambaa family whose four members were murdered early this month has gone missing. Lawrence, who is a student at Mount Kenya University, went missing on the night of the murder, the Daily Nation has reported. On January 6, Kiambaa residents woke up to the cold-blood murder of Nicholas Njoroge alongside his wife Ms Wanjiku Njoroge, their son Mr C. Njoroge, his nephew Mr Maxwell Njoroge, and their farmhand. According to Kiambu County Commissioner Wilson Wanyanga, Lawrence switched off his phone on the night of the murders, and he hasn’t been traced since then. “Nothing has…

Samsung has projected that its earnings rose at least 26 percent in Quarter 4 of 2020. This means that there was a sustained demand for its products despite the Covid-19 pandemic and tough competition in the smartphone market. The Korean company said that it expects to post profits of at least $8.2 billion for the period between October and December 2020. The figure is an increase from the previous year’s earnings in the same period, but off estimated earnings by analysts. The company had projected earnings of about $56 billion which was in line with the estimates from analysts polled…

Labour CS Simon Chelugui has appointed  former Othaya MP Mary Wambui as chairperson of trustees of the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund. The Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund is mandated with coordinating rehabilitation activities for street families and also conducting public education on street families issues. The fund also mobilises resources and fundraising as well as receiving donations and funding street families rehabilitation programmes. The Fund also manages the donations for the rehabilitation of street families through a trust fund. Read: Blow To Mary Wambui As Court Overturns Appointment To Employment Authority It also advises the government and other relevant agencies on…

Apple reportedly rejected a request from Kenya to unlock two iPhones that were part of police investigations in the second half of 2020. Reports indicate that fillings from the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 23 show that Apple received an appeal from Kenya seeking access to communication details in two iPhones that remained locked. “Examples of such requests are where law enforcement agencies are working on behalf of customers who have requested assistance regarding lost or stolen devices,” said the SEC in a report that lists countries that sought access to blocked iPhones. Read: Here’s How To Check…

You might have seen a pop-up on Whatsapp with new terms and conditions giving you an option to agree or delete your account. The popular messaging app is changing its privacy policy and users are set to lose their accounts if they do not agree to the update by February 8, 2021. The pop-up is alerting users of Whatsapp’s intention to share data with social media platform, Facebook. Users are only given two options, to agree or visit the help centre through the link to delete their account. This said, many users have simply clicked to agree to the terms…

US President Donald Trump’s social media censure continues after Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg announced that his account had been suspended indefinitely on the both Instagram and Facebook. Through his official Facebook account, Zuckerberg condemned the recent events where protesters attacked the Capitol hill, resulting in the death of four people. “Trump’s decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world. We removed these statements yesterday because we judged that their effect -and likely their effect- would be to prove…

Interior CS Fred Matiangi on Thursday led at least eight CSs to inspect the state of schools in Kajiado county to assess the preparedness of schools towards implementing the back-to-school roadmap. The CS was accompanied by fellow CSs, Joe Mucheru, Prof. George Magoha, Amina Mohammed, Keriako Tobiko, Simon Chelugui, Adan Mohammed, Najib Balala and PS Charles Hinga Mwaura. The CSs, who visited visited Oloolua Primary School in Kajiado North, were impressed by the efforts made by the school administration and gave their donations of foodstuff, building materials and promised to rehabilitate the school borehole to ensure there is enough water…

A cross-petition filed by impeached governor Mike Sonko in a bid to block the vetting of Ann Kananu Mwenda as Deputy Governor appointee has been thrown out. Sonko had moved to the anti corruption court seeking to bar petitioner Peter Agoro from withdrawing his case that barred vetting of Ms Kananu. According to Justice Hedwig Ongundi, the petition (by Sonko) had not been paid for, hence it could not affect the withdrawal of Agoro’s case. This now leaves open ground for Kananu to be hastily vetted by the county assembly and sworn in as the deputy governor. Consequently, in Sonko’s…

The BBC has announced its first ever international podcast competition for residents in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. The winner with the most original, interesting and creative podcast will get the support of BBC’s production team and launch it to become a BBC World Service Podcast. Interested applicants will be required to fill an online application form and give a summary of their original podcast idea by uploading a 2 minute audio describing what makes it distinctive. Competitors must be residents of the three countries and must be adults above 18 years of age. The competition opened on January 5…

Koko Kamillah, the woman pictured with Omar Lali in a viral photo has dismissed claims that they are dating. In an Instagram post, Ms Kamillah termed Lali as “just an old friend”, dispelling rumours that he was dating the late Tecra Muigai’s boyfriend. “So I woke up today to lots of dm’s and Whatsapp messages telling me that I’m trending…(For the wrong reasons) Someone took my pic with my old friend and posted it with totally out of context captions and now I’m just enjoying the show,” she posted. Lali came into limelight in May 2020 after Keroche Breweries owners,…

Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat have suspended US President Donald Trump’s accounts after he tweeted his support to protestors who attacked Capitol Hill. In a social media message, he told the protestors he loved them, asking them to go home while reiterating his fraud claims regarding the US elections. Twitter earlier declared “severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy” on three of Trump’s tweets, with a threat to block the account for good if they were not removed. The company said that “Future violations of the Twitter Rules… will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account”. It seems the threat…

Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa on Thursday read President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tribute at the requiem mass for Musalia Mudavadi’s mother the late Mama Hannah Atsianzale. This is despite Deputy President William Ruto being present at the venue. The Deputy President is the principal assistant to the President, and under normal circumstances he is designated tor read the President’s speech to the public when the President is not there. On December 23, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka read President Kenyatta’s tribute during the burial of the late Machakos senator Boniface Mutinda Kabaka. The mass for Mama Atsianzale was held at Friends International…

The Medical laboratory workers have resumed their strike, following the lapse of a 48-hour notice that they had issued. The workers through their union, Kenya National Union of Medical Laboratory Officers (KNUMLO), had called off their strike five days ago, following a commitment by Council of Governor (CoG) to resolve the stalemate. However, CoG turned against the agreement, forcing the workers to issue a new 48-hour ultimatum. “No hospital can give accurate diagnosis without the services of the laboratory officers who have been neglected by their employer, the health ministry. For the neglect we have seen, we have decided we…