Author: Francis Muli

Interior CS Fred Matiang’i has urged coast residents to use persuasion mechanisms to fight radicalisation in the region which is on the rise. The CS spoke in a meeting with National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) from Kwale county at the Kenya School of Government (KSG) Matuga. The CS also instructed the administrators to increase the war on drugs in the area so as to help the youth. The CS has also asked the administrator to be vigilant especially as the election season approaches for groups which might be up to radicalise youth. The CS said that besides investing in youth…

Twitter has announced plans to discontinue the new threaded conversations layout that was launched this year. The social media network made the announcement via a tweet on its Twitter support page. “Your feedback shapes Twitter,” the tweet said, “We asked and you let us know this reply layout wasn’t it, as it was harder to read and join conversations. So we’ve turned off this format to work on other ways to improve conversations on Twitter.” Twitter launched the new layout for threaded conversations earlier this year, with an aim of making the conversations more organized and easier to follow. The…

Kenyan Artiste, Jacob Obunga, who goes by the stage name, Otile Brown has the most watched YouTube Video by Kenyans. According to a YouTube survey, Otile’s song ‘Dusuma’ featuring Burundian Meddy, is the most watched YouTube Video in Kenya this year. The song was released in June this year, and was pushed to the top by a social media challenge which grew around it. It currently has over 16 million views. The YouTube report is prepared by YouTube annually. It showcases Kenyans watching habits, analyzing views by Kenyans on local artistes’ and International artistes’ YouTube channels. Read: Google Terminates Flaqo’s…

Kenya Railways will charge commuters Ksh500 for an express trip from the Nairobi Central station to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on the newly acquired Diesel Multiple Units(DMUs). This was announced by Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia who said that the trip will be 20 minutes long will help commuters avoid traffic jams. Commuters will have an option of paying Ksh100, but the train will make stops at three different train stations. Passengers heading to the airport will be ferried in Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) to Embakasi Village Station, where they will board a courtesy bus bound for JKIA. https://twitter.com/KenyaRailways_/status/1335868300606246912…

Chrispin Achola has been appointed the managing director for British America Tobacco (BAT) Kenya following the resignation of Mrs Beverly Spencer. Mrs Spencer will be leaving the company on December 31, 2020 after serving for nearly 4 years in the position. Mrs Spencer will continue to serve in advisory capacity “for a period of time to ensure smooth transition”. Before this appointment, Mr Crispin Achola served as the General Manager at Kimberly Clark for West, East and Central Africa and Managing Director for Nigeria. Prior to that, he worked for BAT Kenya & BAT Group from 1999 to 2017 having held several roles…

The Higher Education Loans Board (Helb) is seeking Sh2.5 billion from the treasury to be channeled as loans to government-sponsored university freshmen for the procurement of at least 60,000 laptops. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, schools in the country were closed and most students were forced to take up e-learning to continue with their studies. However, a number of students not able to facilitate their studies online due to lack of essential resources such as computers. Read: Helb Waives “Punitive” Ksh1,000 Non-beneficiary Compliance Certificate Fee Helb CEO Charles Ringera introduced the idea to facilitate online learning as opposed in-person classes…

TV host Anne Kiguta has resigned from Mediamax-owned K24 TV. Ms Kiguta resigned on November 21 and made it public on Sunday, citing “fundamental disagreement on the editorial processes and direction the show was being forced to take”. “It is with regret that today I announce that I will not be returning to the program.  Owing to a fundamental disagreement on the editorial processes and direction the show was being forced to take, I suspended my services as an independent contractor to the show on 21st November 2020 My decision was guided by the Code of Conduct contained in the…

The High Court has stopped the board of Nairobi Hospital from hiring a substantive CEO to replace sacked CEO Dr Allan Pamba. Dr Pamba moved to court challenging his sacking, saying that it was illegal, revealing that the board was planning to unveil his replacement on December 10, a decision that would seal his fate. Justice Nzioki wa Makau ordered that the case be heard on October 10. Through his lawyer Paul Muite, Dr Pamba argued that the hospital can run smoothly since there is an acting CEO. He said that before he was hired in March, the hospital had…

Telkom has made senior appointments aimed at building its leadership bench strength; fortifying its operations and customer service excellence and aligning these with its new strategic direction. Claire Munene and Saddiq Mwai join as the new Director, Customer Experience, and the Director of Digital Financial Services, respectively, within the Telkom Consumer Service Delivery Unit, with Elam Muchira, joining as Director, Internal Audit. Claire has over 14 years’ experience in Customer Experience, with a focus on the telecommunications and banking sectors. Prior to joining Telkom, she served as the Vice President – Partnerships at Ajua – Africa’s first Integrated Customer Experience…

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has been named this year’s Bank of The Year in Kenya, in The Ft Banker 2020 Awards run by the Financial Times of London. “As Co-op Bank implements its digitisation strategy plans, it is enjoying gains from increased efficiency and enhanced digital offerings to its customers. Products such as E-credit and Mcoopcash are continually upgraded,” reads the Award Citation. This comes at a time the bank launched paperless, end-to-end digital opening of accounts by customers. With this digital account-opening, customers will no longer have to fill account-opening forms. Only the National ID will be required,…

The M-Pesa Foundation has committed Ksh22.5 million to improve menstrual hygiene among teenage girls as part of Safaricom’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The Foundation in partnership with NGO Huru International will distribute sanitary towels and offer sexual and reproductive health education to 30,000 teenage girls in Kilifi, Siaya and Murang’a counties. “We have in the recent past seen stories of teenage girls especially from disadvantaged backgrounds trading sex for sanitary towels. It is a sad state of affairs when teenage girls are reduced to making such compromises to access a basic need,” said Les Baillie, Executive Director, M-Pesa Foundation. The programme will…

After successfully piloting “Gumzo For Schools”, a video conferencing system designed specifically for e-learning in Africa; Usiku Games has enhanced its platform to allow tutors to continue providing private tuition as the government announces a return to the school schedule for January 2021. Dubbed “Gumzo For Tutors”, the platform enables professional Tutors to host online lessons with a real classroom experience. Tutors will be able to pick up students for the online classes based on their expertise and an online schedule without worrying about their location. For those looking to match with the perfect tutor, check out TutorMap for tailored…

Recent statistics have shown that several women searching for love online end up getting duped or are lured into traps only to be robbed later. DCI boss George Kinoti sounded an alarm asking those who are looking for love online to be wary of criminals lurking in dating sites. “We are appealing to young college students to be wary of such criminals preying on them on social networking sites,” the DCI said in a tweet recently. Read: Local Bank Employee, Two Students Nabbed With 400 Sim Cards, IDs In Suspected Crime Syndicate -DCI One such lady goes by the name…

Warner Bros is planning to release all its 2021 movies for the year in theatres and on HBO Max simultaneously as part of a new distribution strategy. “Wonder Woman 1984” is slated for release on Christmas Day and on HBO Max. Similarly, WarnerBros entire 2021 playlist, comprising 17 movies in total, is will be released on the WarnerBro’s streaming service and in theatres worldwide. The films will be available on HBO Max for a month before leaving the platfor to continue playing in theatres with the normal distribution windows. Read: M-Net Movies Collection Pop-Up Channel Airs on Channel 111 From…

Showmax Original film Rogue is now streaming on the platform. Rogue, stars Megan Fox, popularly known for her roles in the Transformers franchise and cult classic Jennifer’s Body. It is a co-production between MultiChoice, Capstone and Mannequin. Rogue continues a move towards co-productions from Showmax’s parent company, MultiChoice, which partnered with HBO on last year’s Trackers, an adaptation of the bestselling Deon Meyer novel, whose viewership outperformed Game of Thrones in South Africa. Read: Showmax Pro Launched In 40 Countries Across Africa In Rogue, Fox stars as Samantha O’Hara and leads a team of mercenaries on a mission to rescue a group of kidnapped schoolgirls. When their plan goes south, the…