Author: Francis Muli

The Standard managing editor Denis Galava has resigned from the Standard Media Group, Kahawa Tungu has confirmed. According to reliable sources from the media house, Galava has been serving notice in the last one month, and yesterday, December 16, was his last working day. Galava joined the Standard in October 2019, three years after his controversial exit from the Nation Media Group. Galava was dismissed from Nation Media Group in 2016 after he wrote a hard-hitting article criticizing President Uhuru Kenyatta. Read: Denis Galava Appointed Standard Managing Editor 3 Years After Controversial Sacking At Nation The editorial criticized President Uhuru Kenyatta’s…

During the annual leaders summit held at the African Union (AU) Headquarters this year, employees of the international organization discovered that a breach had allowed hackers to steal footage from their security cameras. The AU technology team were tipped off by Japanese Cyber researchers leading to the discovery that a group of suspected Chinese hackers had infiltrated servers at the basement of an administrative annex and were siphoning surveillance videos from the AU quarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “We cannot estimate the quantity and value of the data which have been stolen,” the memo said, adding that while AU technicians…

Gozem and Asia Africa Investment & Consulting (AAIC) have announced that they will work closely together to launch health services inside the African Super App. This partnership is the result of a recent investment from AAIC in Gozem’s pre-series A round. Early this year, Gozem launched its Super App that enables its base of customers to access a suite of services such as transport, payment and delivery. Gozem will leverage AAIC’s vast experience in this sector and its portfolio of companies to identify and launch the best suited health-related services for Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. Read: Apple Compels Apps to Disclose How…

Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op Bank) has partnered with Thunes, a cross-border payment provider, to launch an alternative global money transfer solution, Co-opRemit. Co-opRemit streamlines the process of real-time money transfers particularly within Africa, allowing Co-op Bank customers in Kenya to move funds across the world quickly at an affordable rate. Customers may send money directly to a foreign bank account or mobile number, and money transfers through this platform will bear no extra charge beyond the tariff thus offering full transparency on forex fees. With access to Thunes’ fully-integrated global network, Co-opBank will enhance its digital banking services and…

Mobile data traffic in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to hit about 5.6 exabytes(EB) by 2026, the Ericsson Mobility Report says. The current figure is expected to grow at least 6.5 times the current figure at a rate of 0.87EB per month in 2020 to 5.6EB in 2026. The report says that the SSA “has a very high growth rate, but from a relatively small base.”  It also projects growth for average traffic per smartphone to about 8.9 GB per month in the period in forecast. Mobile service providers are also expected to continue investing in their networks to accommodate the…

Julius Wambua, the man who was jailed after being convicted of defiling her daughter will be retried, after the daughter recanted her testimony saying that she was forced to frame her father. Mr Wambua has now been released on a Ksh30,000 awaiting retrial. “The case should begin afresh and all sentences by the Kithimani Court and High Court be quashed,” Justice George Odunga ruled. Wambua had been serving a life sentence after he was found guilty of defiling his daughter in 2011, but will now be deemed innocent until his retrial is concluded. Wambua’s daughter, Dorcas Wambua, in March 2019…

iPhone users will now have an in-depth look at how apps behave on their devices. Starting this month, Apple app stores will show details regarding how data is gathered and used. The company says it is not seeking to change how the publishers’ on their app store run their business models. However, developers will now be required to show what information they gather, listed in terms of what is taken to track users and what is linked directly to the. Apple apps have not been exempted for the rule. Read: Apple To Launch Subscription Services With New iPhones In October…

Kenya and Somaliland have agreed to start diplomatic relations as early as next year, with Kenya set to open its Consulate in Hargeisa, Somalia by end of March 2021. Somaliland would also upgrade its Liaison Office in Nairobi within the same timeframe. In a joint statement after President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Muse Abdi of Somaliland, the two agreed that Kenya Airways and other Kenyan airlines will commence direct flights between Nairobi and Hargeisa by end of March, 2021. Senior officials on a pre-determined list and travelling to Kenya on Somaliland travel documents will also apply for e-visa and…

A committee has been formed to examine and resolve the diplomatic tiff between Kenya and Somalia, hours after Somalia announced that it has severed ties with Kenya. This was announced by government spokesman retired colonel Cyrus Oguna who said that a lot was at stake, after Kenyan diplomatic staff in Somalia were given seven days to leave the country. “There is a committee that has been put in place to be able to look into the issues that are coming between these two neighbouring countries that have a lot of history between the two of them. Once the issues are…

The Supreme Court has allowed the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to go after directors of collapsed Imperial Bank who issued a Ksh2 billion bond a month before it collapsed. In court filings, CMA said that the lender issued the bond despite the directors knowing that the bank was on the red line, and would collapse soon. “The petitioners’ appeal is allowed to the extent that the respondent may proceed with its enforcement proceedings against the petitioners through its delegated authority under Section 11A(1) and or Section 14(1) of the CMA Act,” Justices David Maraga (chief justice), Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala,…

Troubled Energy & Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) director general Pavel Oimeke has been suspended, and his place taken by Daniel Kiptoo in an acting capacity. Oimeke’s suspension was not officially announced, but a statement announcing fuel price changes on Monday, December 14, was signed by Daniel Kiptoo, designated as the acting director general. This comes at a time Oimeke is facing bribery allegations, and spent the weekend behind bars awaiting arraignment. Mr Daniel Kiptoo is currently the Legal Advisor in the State Department of Petroleum and is also the Chairman of the Government’s First Oil Committee charged with delivery of…

Kenyans will dig deeper to pay for fuel prices between December 15, 2020 and January 14, 2021, as Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene prices increase by Ksh0.97, KSh1.12 and KSh1.93 per litre respectively. As a result, Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene will now retail at Ksh106.82, Ksh91.82 and Ksh83.56 respectively in Nairobi starting midnight. “The changes in this month’s prices are as a consequence of the average landed cost of imported Super Petrol increasing by 0.65% from US$ 316.64 per cubic metre in October 2020 to US$ 318.71 per cubic metre in November 2020; Diesel increasing by 1.75% from US$…

I&M Holdings has been ranked as the most attractive bank in Kenya, supported by a strong franchise value and intrinsic value score. This is according to Cytonn Investments Q3’ 2020 Banking Sector Report. The franchise score measures the broad and comprehensive business strength of a bank across 13 different metrics, while the intrinsic score measures the investment return potential. The report, themed “Erosion of the Banking Sector’s Asset Quality amid the COVID-19 Operating Environment,” analysed the Q3’2020 results of the listed banks. Asset quality for listed banks deteriorated in Q3’2020 with the Gross NPL ratio rising by 2.6% points to…

Companies cooking fast foods like chips, fried chicken, sausages and foods with bad cholesterol are on the rise, and so are the orders. A recent research shows that 70 percent of women classified as upper-middle-class consume sausages, chicken with skin and deep-fried chicken daily, with the majority using butter or margarine spreads every day. As a result, this has seen obesity levels shoot to 27 percent among women in reproductive health, mostly in Nairobi. The study by Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Kenyatta University and Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada shows that women employed…

President of Somaliland Musa Bibi Abdi is set to visit Kenya on Monday and hold talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta. Currently, Kenya has no diplomatic representation in Somaliland, and was recently accused by Somalia of manipulating the country politically. “Somaliland is an important partner in the Horn of Africa region in the fight against terrorism and particularly Al-Shabaab,” said Foreign Affairs CS Raychelle Omamo. According to Omamo, the meeting is set to lobby for more cooperation between the two countries in banking and financial sector to accelerate more investment opportunities for both parties. The two Head of States will also…