Author: Francis Muli

Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE) and MultiChoice Group have today announced the launch of action movie channel KIX, on DStv. KIX will launch on DStv’s Premium, Compact Plus and Compact packages across Africa from 1st October 2020 at 7pm. The launch of KIX marks CTE’s first foray into Africa. CTE is the operator of the largest bouquet of pan-Asian channels dedicated to Asian entertainment. KIX offers action fans a high octane blend of martial arts, action and thriller movies from the East and West, all presented in English.  CTE says that apart from the latest star-studded blockbuster premieres, KIX will also showcase movies…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has won a tax suit filed by Highlands Mineral Water Company Limited challenging a tax demand of Ksh255.4 Million. This is after the Tax Appeals Tribunal dismissed with costs, the Water Company’s Appeal against KRA. The amount demanded include interests and penalties. The dispute emanated after KRA’s decision to disallow the Water Company’s Input VAT claimed on self-assessment VAT returns submitted late, on account of being time barred contrary to Section 17(2) of the VAT Act due to late filing of the VAT returns inclusive of penalties and interest. The Water Company in its appeal…

The Safaricom Foundation has donated various medical equipment to St.Mary’s hospital and Mary Rice Centre in Kibra through its Ndoto Zetu initiative. St. Mary’s hospital, which has been facing difficulties in attending to patients in a catchment area of 2,000, received incubators, ultrasound machines, delivery beds, hospital beds, microscope, sanction pumps, waiting room chairs and shelves all worth Sh500,000. Read: Murang’a County Receives Health Infrastructure Support From Safaricom Foundation Mary Rice Centre Kenya, which takes care of 80 children living with disabilities in Kibra, received therapy equipment valued at Sh300,000. Joseph Ogutu, Chairman, Safaricom Foundation said that through the  equipment,…

At least 200,000 families have been saved from extreme poverty by mobile phones, a new report from GSM Association shows. The global lobby for telecommunications service providers determined that thousands of families in Kenya have been pulled out of poverty mainly because they own a mobile phone. “In Kenya, access to mobile money has lifted two per cent of households (almost 200,000 households) out of poverty. In rural Uganda, evidence shows that mobile money can improve the welfare of rural households by smoothing consumption and curbing poverty,” said GSMA in the report. The report looks at the impact the telecommunications…

Jubilee Holdings Limited (JHL) has sold at least two thirds stake of its business ventures to global insurance giant Allianz for Ksh10 billion ($100 million). Allianz which operates 12 companies locally is expected to merge its local general insurance outfit to that of JHL across East Africa and in Burundi and Mauritius. However, Jubilee will retain the control of its life and health business in the deal. “We’ve had so many international companies wanting to merge with us but we feel this was one transaction with an overall benefit to Jubilee Holdings,” said JHL Chairman Nizar Juma. Nizar says the…

Motorists will pay between Ksh500 and Ksh3,000 per year to cater for damaged road infrastructure in new amendments. The amount will cater for damaged road infrastructure such as  signage, guardrails and streetlights, according to the Kenya Roads Board (KRB). The move will see the government collect at least Ksh10 billion from motorists every year, but will first require an amendment to the Insurance Act. Read: NCBA Bank Customers Express Frustrations On Social Media Over Intermittent Services “It does not necessarily mean motorist will pay more because the amount is already covered in the current third party insurance fees. It will…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has retained the Central Bank Rate at seven percent, terming the current monetary policy appropriate. In a statement, CBK governor Dr Patrick Njoroge said that the foreign exchange reserves stood atUSD8,605 million, a 5.22 months of import cover. Month-on-month overall inflation remained stable at 4.4 percent in August and July 2020, and is expected to remain within the target range in the near term. The banking sector remains stable and resilient, with strong liquidity and capital adequacy ratios according to CBK. The ratio of gross non-performing loans (NPLs) to gross loans stood at 13.6…

Airtel Kenya subscribers who shop online will now be able to complete their transactions on Jumia using Airtel Money. The two companies have partnered to allow seamless online transactions for users with Airtel lines. “Millions of Kenyans rely on mobile money daily to make fast payments. By expanding our payment options to include Airtel money, it will make it easier for more consumers to incorporate online shopping as part of their daily transactions,”  Nelly Movine, Head of Financial Services at Jumia, said. The service will enhance Jumia’s efforts to promote contactless deliveries debuted during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.…

Infinix HOT 10 is now available in the Kenya, just a few months after the HOT 9 series debuted in the market. The HOT 10 series comes in two models; The Infinix HOT 10 and The Infinix HOT 10 LITE. The HOT 10 stands out in the HOT series due to its new Helio G70 Processor and the new RAM and storage options. The phone features a 6.78 inch display with a 720×1640 resolution . As for the design, the phone has a punching hole design for the front 8MP camera while the back features a 16MP Quad camera setup.…

KTN’s feature reporter is among the 12 finalists nominated for the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist Award 2020, and the only East African. Mr Otieno, one of the youngest reporters at KTN, was nominated for his story that revealed the sorry states of street children following the outbreak of Covid-19 and implementation of lockdowns. “I was very very elated. It’s a great honour for someone’s work to be recognized globally. But more importantly, I’m happy that the nomination has attributed to the great wuatlity of journalism that is still present in East Africa and in Kenya particularly. I’m one among only…

Kenyan Start up, OkHi and Nigeria’s ThankUCash have been accepted into Hong Kong based Betatron accelerator that will give them access to secure $500,000 in funding and mentorship. The Betatron accelerator is an investment firm that was founded in 2016. It runs a 4 month accelerator programme every year assisting businesses to expand their operations into Asia and secure funding. Each selected start up secures $500,000 worth of funding from the programme, as well as mentorship and guidance to facilitate for a smooth expansion process. Read: 19-year-old Kyanda App Developer Nominated For Founder of the Year Award Betatron received more…

Cytonn Money Market Fund (CMMF) achieved significant growth realizing cumulative new sales growing by a staggering 757 percent and served to grow net assets under management above the Ksh600 million mark. Cytonn Unit Trust Funds registered a 67.4 percent asset growth against an industry average of 7.5 percent. This was announced during the Cytonn Asset Managers Limited (CAML), an affiliate of Cytonn Investments Management PLC, Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday September 24, 2020. “We are delighted to report the funds’ performance for the year under review. Our performance is encouraging bearing in mind the age of your fund and…

Embakasi East MP has become the latest to castigate Deputy President William Ruto over the much-hyped ‘Hustler’ narrative, that the latter uses to identify himself with low-class Kenyans. Speaking exclusively to Kahawa Tungu’s newly launched segment the ‘Coffee Talk’, the vocal Mp accused DP Ruto of degrading the youth by giving them ‘useless’ items such as handcarts and wheelbarrows instead of empowering them. “I will never ever support Ruto. There is this notion that Ruto is a hustler. Baba (Raila Odinga) is more of a hustler than Ruto. Ruto supported a dynasty in Moi, Ruto supported Kibaki, Ruto supported our…

A report released by the UN last week shows that at least one third of children affected by the Covid-19 this year lack access to virtual learning. The study estimates that over 463 million children worldwide lack the resources needed to pursue online learning even as most countries effected school closures. The report is based on data collected from around 100 countries. The data included measuring the country’s public access to the internet, television and radio. Read: Public Schools Digital Literacy Programme to be Piloted During the Pandemic Period- CS Mucheru According to the UN report, about 1.5 billion school…

Reports today indicate that the State House Facebook page live streaming the Covid Conference hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta actively blocked users commenting on the absence of the DP William Ruto. Entries including the names ‘Ruto’, ‘Hustler’ or ‘ WSR’ were met with a ‘cannot post’ response. It is speculated that the admins feared a popular public blacklash, taking the focus away from the important conversation around the country’s response to the pandemic. By the time the President arrived at around 2:20pm, the DP had not arrived forcing the event organisers to remove the seat that was designated for him…