Author: Francis Muli

City lawyer William Oketch has been appointed as the chairman of the Media Complaints Commission by ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru. Mr Oketch is a former acting chairman of the Communications and Multimedia Appeals Tribunal. He holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Strathmore Business School, a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Kampala International University and postgraduate diploma in Legal Practice from the Kenya School of Law. He is also a certified mediator. Mr Mr Henry Omusundi Maina, the regional director of Article 19 Eastern Africa, was also appointed to the commission as a member. Others appointed…

Google has launched one feature that will prove useful to very many people. You will now be able to hum a song for about 10 or 15 seconds and let Google conduct a search of the very song you are looking for. The feature will not expect you to type in a name, song title or singer to conduct the song. It will simply conduct the search based on the tune you hum. Have you ever gone somewhere, heard a really good song, but couldn’t find the lyrics or singer? It” easy to lose good songs, and sometimes, you may…

Nairobi is the leading city in Africa for online food deliveries, a survey by the Kenya Food Index has reported. It is followed by Casablanca (Morocco), Lagos (Nigeria), Kampala (Uganda) and Abidjan (Ivory Coast). The Report shows that Kenya has approximately Sh1.8 billion worth of market size for online food and beverage. According to the African Development Bank (AFDB), it is projected to reach 3.8 billion by 2024. Kenya currently has 2.1 million active members and this figure is expected to double by 2024. “This projection is encouraging as it promises job creation and an injection to the local economy…

Kenya’s Covid-19 ICT Advisory Committee has picked a total of 85 ICT innovations for potential support and scale up. This follows  two rounds of calls for submissions that can combat the pandemic and beyond, as well as stimulating economic activities. The 85 were identified out of the 706 applications received in the first and second rounds of call for submission to the Committee. The potential innovations identified are divided into the five (5) categories as follows: Health (35), Education (11) , Agriculture (6) , Transport (8), Economy (25) The identified innovators have either been linked to Government Agencies or connected…

MultiChoice Trust Foundation (MTF) and the Kenya Film Commission (KFC) have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed to promote the development and uptake of local content in Kenya. The MoU will allow both organizations to work collaboratively in marketing and distributing films through film markets, festivals and competitions, as well as undertaking capacity building efforts through film masterclasses, workshops, seminars, boot camps and short courses. MTF and KFC will further partner in organizing screenings of local films and in promoting and marketing the Kalasha International Film and TV Festivals. “We are optimistic that with this partnership, we will…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has revoked the appointment of Gutamo Yattani Kinacho, wife to Treasury CS Ukur Yattani, as the chairperson for Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Council. In a gazette notice dated October 16, the President replaced Ms Gutamo with Ambassador Mahboub Maalim. Ms Gutamo was appointed to the position in November 2019, and was to serve for a term of three years. Her replacement, Ambassador Maalim, will take over on Friday, October 16. Maalim’s appointment came a day after the President appointed Asman Kamama to the same position. Mr Maalim is the current chair of the…

Kenyans transacted Ksh3.068 trillion on mobile money between January and August 2020, amid Covid-19 pandemic. The amount reflects a seven percent growth compared to a similar period in 2019, when Kenyans transacted Ksh2.87 trillion on mobile money.. According to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), mobile money transactions hit a new monthly high of Ksh473.52 billion in August. The data further reveals that mobile money transaction volumes have been rising month-on-month since May, following a sharp dip to Ksh308 billion in April. Read: Mobile Money Transactions Decrease Due to Coronavirus Pandemic The growth is mostly attributed to Safaricom’s…

Population Services (PS) Kenya in partnership with Stanbic bank, has announced that it will hold a series of cancer screening events targeting over 2500  women in various areas of the country to mark the Breast Cancer Awareness month. Women aged 25 years and above in Nairobi, Kisumu, Kiambu, Mombasa and Nakuru will be screened for breast and cervical cancer in a bid to decrease preventable deaths through early detection. The screening services will be taken to low income areas of Nairobi where the residents tend to stay away from hospitals due to the high cost of healthcare in the country.…

Facebook has unveiled a fresh new look together with a new logo for Messenger. The company is rolling out a redesigned version of the app with a vibrant logo, default chat colour, additional themes and custom reactions. The giant social media network announced the developments in a blog post on its website today. “The new look reflects a shift to the future of messaging – a more dynamic, fun and integrated way to hang out with your favorite people, on your favorite apps and devices,” Facebook said in the post. Read: Facebook Marketplace Begins Rolling Out in Kenya Facebook released…

Boniface Mwangi’s “Softie” the film has been nominated for the best documentary feature in the 2021 Oscar Awards. The film has been shortlisted among 40 other documentaries. Softie has been written and directed by Sam Soko and produced by Toni Kamau. The film follows Boniface Mwangi’s life, through his activism, protests and attempts to enter Kenya’s political scene. It also explores the impact his activism has had on his life and family. The film has already won a Special Jury Award for Editing at Sundance, America’s premier film platform, and most recently, the Best Documentary at this year’s Durban International…

Troubled National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock) has projected a Ksh1.4 billion loss for the year ended June 2020, even as it sinks deeper into financial woes. The firm which owes creditors at least Ksh5.3 billion recorded a Ksh300 million last year. According to documents submitted in Parliament, Nock recorded a 61.3 percent decline in fuel sales from 322.8 million litres a year earlier to 124.8 million litres in the period under review. Hopes of the fuel retailer now lies in the government, as it hopes to get a capital injection that will help it pay banks and suppliers. If…

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) has today held the Annual Supplier Diversity Summit that brought together key stakeholders from across Kenya to discuss how inclusive supply chains can be encouraged and developed during and post Covid–19 pandemic. The one-day summit was held to discuss and understand how the Coronavirus pandemic has especially affected women and youth- led and owned businesses. A study conducted by KEPSA in May this year to assess the impact of Covid-19 found that 82% of women-owned/led businesses were highly affected by Covid-19 pandemic negatively. Only 2% reported positive impact and 1% were not affected. Speaking…

Live streaming is fast becoming the entertainment choice for many homes in Kenya. With services such as Netflix and Showmax gaining traction, most people are now more inclined to getting their series and movies online. Smart TVs are the latest and most popular if you want to watch content online. There are a variety of affordable smart TV brands in the market with different features and prices for you to choose from. Samsung UA40T5300AUXKE 40″ LED Smart TV  The LED TV features HD resolution with USB and HDMI slots as well as a Digital tuner. The TV runs on Quadcore…

Kenyans will pay Ksh2.18 less for a litre of diesel in the next one month, and Ksh0.72 more for a litre of petrol. In the October 2020 review of fuel prices by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), the price of kerosene will remain unchanged. “Taking into account the weighted average cost of imported refined petroleum products, the changes in the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices in Nairobi are as follows: Super Petrol increases by Ksh0.72 per litre, while Diesel decreases by Ksh2.18 per litre. The price of Kerosene remains unchanged since no cargo was discharged at the port…

As of 2007, Kenya had five giant sugar millers among them Muhoroni Sugar Company, Sony, Nzoia, Chemilil, and Muhoroni. Fast forward to July 10, 2020 when the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) through its Director General, invited international expression of interest for leasing and operating the five state-owned sugar factories. Unknowingly or ignorantly, the government did not know that Miwani Sugar Company could not be leased, since the land that the factory sat on was auctioned in 2007 due to debt. The auction was decreed by the court after Miwani Sugar company failed to pay a debt for consultancy services…