Author: Francis Muli

Kikuyus hold 120 of the 416 senior positions in government, a new report by the Ministry of Public Service has shown. The report presented in Parliament by CS Margret Kobia shows that Kalenjins take the second slot with 45 positions followed by Luo at 41, Luhya at 33 while the Kamba and Meru close the list of top five with 27 each. The Kisii community is ranked sixth with 22 of its tribesmen in top government jobs followed by Maasai (19), Mijikenda (10), Taita (8), Turkana (7), Boran (7) and Embu (6). Kenyan Asians hace one position, Gabra (3), Degodia (1),…

The continued closure of bars will cost sorghum farmers, workers and the government Sh9.1 billion, the Alcoholic Beverages Association of Kenya (ABAK) has said. ABAK, which brings together key players such as Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL), said that the measure accounts for the loss of 57,000 jobs in the three months leading to September. Since the government shut bars in March this year, there has been a massive disruption in the alcohol chain which is mainly dependent on bars and restaurants. The government ordered the closure of bars as one of the measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19…

The Council of Governors (CoG) has issued a warning that counties could shut down in two weeks if the revenue sharing stalemate continues. In a statement, the governors say that they will be forced to send all employees on leave on September 17, which will see devolved services paralysed. “If the prevailing situation persists, effective Thursday September 17, Counties will have no choice but to shut down. Consequently, we shall release all county employees to proceed on leave until an amicable solution on the issue is reached,” they said. The governors are also threatening to sponsor a motion that will…

Data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) shows that the value of mobile money transactions peaked to Sh450.98 billion in the month of July, a 14.96 percent jump from Sh392.17 in June. The numbers plummeted in April following the economic slow down brought about by strict protocols including curfews, lock-downs and travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The value of mobile money transactions dipped to 308 billion in April and have been on a steady rise every month since May. Analysts have attributed the increase to the gradual resumption of economic activities around the country. The travel restrictions…

Renowned lawyer Donald Kipkorir says that businessman Chris Kirubi forced him to resign from his three jobs in 2017 for supporting ODM leader Raila Odinga. In a tweet, Kipkorir said that he was a director of three companies owned by Kirubi, and his boss asked him to stop supporting Baba (Raila Odinga) for President or else resign. “In 2017, I was a Director in three or four companies of Dr. Chris Kirubi … He gave me a BINARY CHOICE: Stop supporting Baba or resign from his companies … I chose to follow my conscience & resigned …I will not abjure…

Ride hailing app, Bolt, has expanded its Bolt-Lite services to users in Nakuru and Kisumu. Bolt Lite is a more affordable ride category on the app and the company says that it will “increase the number of rides and decrease the time drivers wait for the next order.” Bolt has four categories on the app: The base option, XL for those who prefer luxury, Protect which has extra precaution against Covid-19 and now Bolt Lite depending on the rating of the vehicle. Drivers can switch to different categories on the platform to maximize their returns. “We launched Bolt Lite in…

Apple has released iOS 13.7, with support for a new Covid-19 tracing system. The operating system is just an extension of the already existing contact tracing exposure notification that was built in collaboration with Google. The only difference is that users from any country or region will not be required to build a new app for the same function. The software framework was expected following the announcement by the two tech giants back in April. Google and Apple said that they were designing a contact tracing system through a complex BLE Beacon protocol. BLE stands for Bluetooth Low Energy, which…

Twitter has officially rolled out the new ‘quote tweet’ feature to all its users after successfully testing it last week.If you have been on Twitter, at the bottom of your tweet you will see the number of retweets, the number of quoted tweets and number of likes. If you click on the “Quote tweet”, you will see the people who have retweeted your tweet with a comment. Previously, users could only search for quoted tweets by entering the tweet URL on twitter’s search box, but with a dedicated button right under your tweet, you can conveniently follow the conversation regarding…

92 scholars from the Equity Leadership Program (ELP) comprising of Wings to Fly alumni beneficiaries as well as those who topped the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in their respective sub counties have received admission to 43 global universities. The 43 institutions are across five continents in different countries including the United States, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Ghana, Mauritius, Rwanda and South Africa. This year’s admission is the largest single year cohort with a total number of scholars who have so far gained admission to global universities under the…

Nokia phone manufacturer HMD Global has pledged device security through regular software and security updates for Nokia smartphone users. In a statement, the company said that Nokia smartphones lead in software and security updates against other major Android brands with 94% of the portfolio updated to the latest Android version within a year of release. The company also allows up to two years of free OS upgrades on their devices. For instance, the company says that the latest version of Android 10 is already available across the majority of the Nokia smartphone range. “With Nokia smartphones, customers get a pure,…

Safaricom has expanded its strategic collaboration with M-Gas to enable joint technology development, expertise sharing, co-creation of solutions, and market support between the two firms. Provided by Circle Gas, M-Gas is a digital service that leverages Safaricom’s connectivity enabling the purchase of gas through a smart meter. “M-Gas seeks to bring clean, affordable, convenient and reliable cooking gas to millions of homes in Kenya who have previously been locked out by the prohibitive costs. We are glad to have a unique partner in Safaricom with their wide network and cutting-edge solutions providing the best launchpad for our pay-as-you-go innovation,” said…

Kenyan Tech Start-up, Usiku Games has developed the Seedballs Game to help aid reforestation of Kenya’s lost forest cover. Kenya targets to increase its forest cover to 10 percent from the current 7 percent by 2022. A Seedball is a coated tree (or grass) seed inside of a ball of recycled charcoal dust mixed with some nutritious binders. The biochar coating of the ball helps protect the seed within from predators such as birds, rodents, and insects and extremes of temperature until the rains arrive. Once soaked, the seedball will help retain and prolong a moist environment around the seed…

WomenWork in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has launched Rebuild, a program that offers emergency loans and business expertise to women entrepreneurs in Kenya. The Rebuild Program includes an emergency interest-free short-term working capital loan for businesses, expert-driven business training and support from an engaging peer community of other women entrepreneurs – all delivered online. This is the first time that WomenWork is running such an initiative in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation in Kenya. The emergency loan facility is aimed at providing a soft landing against COVID-19 which has disproportionately affected women-owned businesses. The Rebuild business support loans for women-owned…

TikTok creators will soon be able to design their merchandise and sell to their fans directly on the app. A creator commerce platform by the name Teespring will reportedly roll out the integration soon. The app is currently testing the new function with a small group of users. Some TikTok creators have already partnered with Teespring to design merchandise for sale to their fans. The integration will allow users design their own merchandise through Teespring, push it directly to TikTok and the fans can then buy directly  through TikTok, Teespring CEO Chris Lamontagne said. Teespring is reportedly still tying a…

Ousted Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director General Pavel Oimeke now says that President Uhuru Kenyatta will help him back to the office. In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, Oimeke said that he had the backing of the President, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i and Energy CS Charles Keter to get back his job, which was recently handed to Mueni Mutung’a in an acting capacity. “Soon and very soon, am returning to office at EPRA courtesy of HE President Uhuru Kenyatta, Hon CS Dr Fred Matinag’i and CS Hon Charles Keter. What will my distractors say? I…