Author: Francis Muli

Uganda’s High Commissioner to Kenya Phibby Otaala has refused to hand over office to Hassan Galiwango, the newly appointed ambassador to Kenya. Speaking to NTV Uganda, Ms Otaala says she has not been recalled by the appointing authority President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. “I’m still the substantive ambassador of Uganda to Kenya. I don’t have any recall letter from my boss (the President),” she told NTV Uganda. Ms Otaala downplayed reports that she had resigned, accusing her enemies of fabricating lies to oust her from office. “I did not resign. I just came to participate in my party elections because before…

Garissa University attack convict Rashid Mberesero has committed suicide inside Kamiti Maximum Prison where he was serving life sentence. Mberesero is the only one who refused to appeal his sentence while all other suspects appealed. According to reports, Mberesero was always violent and fought other prisoners. Mberesero, alongside Mohamed Abdi Abikar and Hassan Aden Hassan were found guilty of conspiracy to commit a terror attack after phone records and handwriting linked them to the 2015 Garissa University assault that killed 148 people. Rashid Mberesero and two others were convicted on June 19, 2919 by Milimani Magistrate Francis Andayi. His co-conspirators,…

Weeks before the launch of signature drive for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitutional amendment Bill, there seemed that there would be two camps, a “no” camp and a “yes” camp. It was obvious that President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga would lead the “yes” camp, while Depiuty President William Ruto had shown signs of leading a “no” camp. Ruto had demanded several changes to the document so that the country would have an uncontested referendum. Negligible changes were done in the last minute, and in a turn of events, Ruto turned around leaving his supporters stranded, despite…

President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Leader Raila Odinga formally launched the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) signature drive last week. At least one million signatures from registered voters are required to support the draft constitutional amendment bill. According to BBI Secretariat Junet Mohammed, the signatures will be collected until end of this month. Thereafter, they will be taken to the IEBC after which they will be forwarded to the County Assemblies, Parliament and finally to the Public through a referendum. Here’s how to append your signature if you are in favour of the BBI Read: DP Ruto A No Show At…

Kenya has been declared the World’s best Safari destination for the 7th time and 6th time in a row.The announcement was made during the  Annual World Travel Awards Grand Final 2020. The 27th edition of the global awards celebrates excellence in all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry.This is the 7th time and 6th in a row that Kenya has won after scooping the award in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. The chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board, Jimi Kariuki, celebrated the win saying it was a confirmation of the country’s excellent offering of the ultimate…

A man is seeking justice after it emerged that his son had died at the much hyped Nai Fest event held last month. Geoffrey Gikonyo’s search for his missing son, popularly known as ‘Shanty” was concluded when they found him at the city Mortuary. 17 year old Shanty’s body had been battered, with visible injuries on the head. It was evident that he had died a painful death. “His body seemed okay from the neck down, but his head had a lot of injuries. It felt mushy when I touched it and one of his eyes had been perforated.I know…

The Energy and Petroleum Regulation Authority (EPRA) has drafted a proposal with regulations to govern the manufacture, importation, installation and maintenance of solar components and systems. Last week, the media was awash with reports of a mass exodus to solar power. Corporate heavyweights that make up a big portion of the industrial consumers sought to adapt to solar power citing unreliability and high bills from Kenya Power. EPRA raised concerns over the reports that could see Kenya Power lose some of its consumers who account for at least 54.8 percent of its sales revenues. Read: EPRA Denies Reports That It…

DHL country manager for Kenya Andrew Mutuma  is on the spot for allegedly disobeying several court orders issued against him in a child custody case between him and former wife Faith Watari. The case, according to reliable sources, has been on for over eight years since the two part ways, and the child (name withheld) has been under the custody of the mother. However, in 2017, Mutuma moved to court seeking full custody of the minor, which he was denied. On April 3, 2018, the court ruled in favour of the mother, and was granted primary care and has been…

The High Court in Nairobi has issued temporary orders requiring Safaricom and Jamii Telecom Limited to pull down and disable 141 websites that are suspected to be infringing on Multichoice Kenya’s copyright. Justice Winfrida Okwany allowed the prayer by Multichoice Kenya to have the websites containing the offending content pulled down as per section 35D (2) of the Copyright Act pending full hearing of the suit on March 3, 2021. The judge gave these orders as interim measure to prevent further infringement of copyright before the matter is conclusively determined. “A temporary order is hereby issued as per Section 35D…

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives attached to the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) last night smashed a fake gold syndicate and arrested two suspects accused of swindling a foreigner a substantial amount of money. The two, Jackson Maina and Awuyene Mbombo, were arrested at house No. 91 in Nairobi’s Convent Drive, Lavington. Detectives seized four metal boxes containing fake gold nuggets, assorted stamps and gold smelting equipment. Read: Four DCI Imposters Arrested In Kasarani For Obtaining Sh29 Million In Fake Gold Deal The two, directors of Airlink Freight Limited, were arrested after a national from Burkina Faso filed a complaint with…

On November 13, the High Court stayed orders that froze all bank accounts and paybill numbers used by sports betting firm Sportpesa, marking the return of the company to the Kenyan market. The orders had been issued following a long tussle between the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Sportpesa parent company Pevans East Africa Ltd over Ksh14 billion withholding tax. The tussle seemed to have been buried when Sportpesa resumed operations in Kenya under a new entity, Milestone Games Limited, which has caused jitters in the boardroom. One of the founding shareholders, Paul Ndung’u, wrote a public statement revealing an…

Two people who had been given a contract by the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to digitize records at the National Lands Commission have been arrested over the loss of crucial computer hardware. Humphrey Wairori Wanyonyi and Pius Mutune are in custody and will be charged for the offences on Monday. Detectives submitted a miscellaneous application to have them detained for three more days to allow them complete their investigations. The two clerks were arrested on Thursday by detectives attached to the Special Services Unit (SSU). During the arrest, detectives recovered computers and a variety of computer components that…

The Trump administration has given Chinese app, TikTok a one week extension on its deadline to finalize a deal with Oracle and Walmart. TikTok parent Company, ByteDance, has been in talks with the two american companies as it seeks to avoid a possible ban from the US. US president Donald Trump in August issued an executive directive giving TikTok a 90 day ultimatum to sell its US operations or face a ban. Microsoft was initially considered a front-runner in the acquisition of the short video making company’s US operations. However, in October, Oracle and Walmart expressed interest in a deal…

Kenya is now relying on a new e-commerce platform to link exports with the International markets. The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (Keproba) has shifted its sights online amid travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Manufacturers, farmers, traders, Small and Medium Enterprises,marketing agencies and international buyers including importers, retailers, agents and wholesalers are set to benefit from the scheme. Keproba said virtual transactions could help them grow annual exports by about 6.5 percent over the next two years. Read: How Covid-19 Boosted Online Deliveries and Electronic Money Transactions “As the future of everything is digital, we want to…

A research conducted in 15 African countries has revealed that Kenyans are the most active participants in Facebook Groups. The survey conducted by the social media giant showed that out of the people quizzed, 45 percent indicated that they were active in various Facebook groups for multiple hours in a day. The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the reasons that has driven up social media visits, with many expressing that they had shifted online to be able to maintain social distancing protocols. Read: Facebook Infrastructure And Connectivity Investments In Africa To Grow Economy By $57 billion The survey also showed…