Author: Francis Muli

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives have arrested two suspected M-Pesa fraudsters said to have been terrorising residents of Machakos County and it’s environs. The two suspects; 23-year-old Kevin Sagini Oroko and 27-year-old Dominic Otiso Nyabuto were apprehended from their hideout at Miwani Estate within Machakos town. In a statement on Twitter, the DCI said that over 600 assorted Safaricom and Airtel Sim cards and 96 Kenyan national identity cards bearing different names were recovered. Read: Police Arrest Mulot SIM Swap Scammers After Kahawa Tungu Exposé Also recovered included six mobile handsets, KCB Inua Jamii cash transfer cards, 16…

The Public Service commission has shortlisted 12 candidates to fill the Data Commissioner’s post with the interviews set to be held on September 22. The Data Commissioner will be responsible for the enforcement of the Data Protection Act with duties such as exercising oversight on data processing operations, promoting self-regulation among data controllers, promoting international cooperation in data protection related issues and conducting research on data processing development. Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru revealed in June that the position would be filled by July. However, the PSC suspended plans to fill the position after Lawyer Adrian…

India is planning to introduce a new law banning trade in cryptocurrencies in new law. The Bloomberg reports that the federal government will encourage blockchain, the technology underlying cryptocurrencies, but is not keen on cryptocurrency trading. In 2018, India through its Central Bank had banned crypto transactions but the ban was overturned by the Supreme Court in March 2020. Cryptocurrency, the global unregulated currency, has gained momentum in the recent years, with countries such as China contemplating on government-backed cryptocurrency coin. Read: What You Need to Know About China’s New Cryptocurrency China has been known for its strict regulatory systems…

The government has released a list of  parcels of land that will be acquired for the construction of Nairobi Expressway Road Project. In a Gazette Notice dated March 12, 2020, the National Land Commission said that Doshi Steel and Simba Colt’s lands are among those targeted for acquisition, which will see structures therein demolished. “In pursuance of the Land Act, 2012, part VIII, the National Land Commission on behalf of Kenya National Highways Authority gives notice that the Government intends to acquire the parcels of land for the construction of Nairobi Expressway Road Project,” the notice read in part. Other…

Innovators, Start ups, online businesses and entrepreneurs are set to benefit from a merger between Kenya’s largest co-working space, Nairobi Garage and entrepreneurial club, METTA. The merger will give the community access to various work spaces and networks. Around 150 companies are spread out in Nairobi Garage’s four premises across the city. Members are given flexibility depending on the location and the space they need as well as opportunities for business development, networking and collaboration. 370 members in Nairobi and 15,000 digital members make up METTA’s entrepreneurial club. The community share ideas and bring them to life with one another’s…

A Facebook former employee, Data Scientist Sophie Zhang sent out a 6,600-word internal memo to her colleagues detailing the scope of work she had done affecting national presidents without her knowledge. “I have blood on my hands,” she wrote in the memo, which was partially published by Buzzfeed. The excerpts, which were published without her consent, outlined the job Zhang had done at the tech giant “In the three years I’ve spent at Facebook, I’ve found multiple blatant attempts by foreign national governments to abuse our platform on vast scales to mislead their own citizenry, and caused international news on…

19-year-old developer who founded Finitech App, Kyanda App, Mr Collins Kathuli has been nominated for this years Founder of the Years Awards (FOYA Awards) 2020 in two categories; Fintech founder of the year Under 30 and Techprenuer of the Year Under 30. Kyanda launched their app in August with the aim of helping its customers make mobile transactions at the lowest costs possible. The Kyanda app allows users to make easy, cheap and fast money transfers, purchase discounted airtime, pay bills and get instant discounts and one feature that can greatly benefit a lot of users is that you can…

The Ministry of Education has released Covid-19 guidelines for re-opening of schools even as dates for re-opening remain unknown, with the government giving shaky information. The schools were closed in March after the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Kenya, and the government had set January 2021 as the date for re-opening. However, Education CS George Magoha, who has been issuing conflicting information, recently announced that the schools could re-open in November. In the 50-page document highlighting the guidelines, institutions will be required to develop policies and procedures suitable in their own environment to enable smooth reopening of the…

The Sub-Sahara African finals of the Huawei Global ICT Competition, under the theme of “Connection, Glory, Future”, kicked off on 10 September with an online opening ceremony. The event covered 14 countries and attracting over 50,000 students from Africa. The Huawei ICT Competition launched in Africa just five years ago has developed into the largest ICT skills competition in Africa. Globally the Huawei ICT Competition 2019-2020 has covered over 70 countries, with 150,000 contestants from more than 2,000 universities and colleges. Read: Huawei Kenya Launches Online UniTech Talk Lecture Series on Latest Technologies During the opening ceremony attended by industry…

MultiChoice Kenya has announced new shows and channels on DStv and GOtv during its first annual content showcase under the theme “A never ending story of value” held in Nairobi. MultiChoice Kenya Managing Director Nancy Matimu said that Multichoice had invested a total of $573.8 million (Ksh57.4 billion) in direct and indirect investment to the Kenyan GDP over a 4-year period running from April 2015 to March 2019, one quarter of which was channeled towards supporting the local entertainment sector. “Our contribution has been one of creating shared value in the broadcasting sector in the country. We have not only…

Google has announced that it is eliminating its entire carbon legacy and committing itself to fully operating on carbon free energy by 2030. The tech giant said that the plan would be more taxing as opposed to the traditional approach of matching energy usage with renewable energy hence the time frame. As of the time of announcement, Google said that they had managed to erase its entire carbon legacy setting their current footprint at zero, making it the first company ever to do so. Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai announced that they “will do things like pairing wind and solar…

I&M Holdings is the most attractive bank in Kenya, supported by a strong franchise value and intrinsic value score, Cytonn Investments’ H1’2020 Banking Sector Report has shown. 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. “Asset quality for listed banks deteriorated in H1’2020 with the Gross NPL ratio rising by 1.6% points to 11.6% from 10.0% in H1’2019. This was high compared to the 5-year average of 8.5%. Consequently, this led to increased provisioning across the industry to proactively manage risks given…

Tuskys Greenspan Mall branch has been closed by auctioneers over Ksh30 million rent arrears. The branch was raided by Sannex Auctioneers who are preparing to auction Tuskys’  stock next Tuesday, September 22. “They owe the landlord over Ksh30 million in rent arrears. The money has been pending for a long duration,” a representative from Sannex told Nation. This comes a few days after the Kisumu branch in United Mall was raided and closed by auctioneers over rent arrears. The branch was however reopened a day later after Tuskys paid part of the rent and negotiated a deal with the landlord.…

YouTube has started rolling out its short video making tool “YouTube Shorts” to compete with the popular Chinese app, TikTok. Creation of the video making tool was announced a few months ago and now, the beta version is being rolled out in India. “We’re excited to announce that we are building YouTube Shorts, a new short-form video experience right on YouTube for creators and artists who want to shoot short, catchy videos using nothing but their mobile phones.” YouTube announced in a blog post. Shorts operates a bit like TikTok, and will allow users to create short 15 second long…

Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) has recommended the expulsion of Tana and Athi River Development Authority (TARDA) managing director Steven Maina Githaiga for lying about his date of birth. In a letter dated September 10, 2020, EACC CEO Twalib says that Mr Githaiga was first registered in 1979 and issued with a National Identity Card No. 1901968 indicating his year of birth as 1953. However, in 2015, Mr Githaiga applied for change of his date of birth on his National Identity Card from October 20, 1953 to October 20, 1958. “This change was approved by National Registration Bureau on the…