Author: Francis Muli

National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) is planning to fire at least 207 of its 414 pilots in the next three years in cost-cutting measures. According to the cash strapped carrier, the pilots’ salaries amount to 45 percent of its payroll costs, despite pilots being only 10 percent of the workforce. KQ expects that the move will save it Ksh3.24 billion every year. In the year ended December 2019, the company total wage bill to pilots only amounted to Ksh6.48 billion. This translated to Ksh1.3 million per pilot per month. “Based on our three-year projection, we will require 50 percent to…

Senior Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) managers have been summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to record statements over misappropriation of funds. This comes after farmers complained of the loss of hundreds of millions that was paid as legal fees to some law firms. In the letters summoning the officials, the managers have been asked to assist the detectives who are “investigating a case of conspiracy to defraud…which I have reasons to believe that you (have) information which can assist me in my investigations.” Among those summoned include the CEO Mr Lerionka Tiampati, company secretary Dr John Omanga, head…

153 inmates in Amuru Prison in Amuru town Council, Amuru District in Uganda have tested for Covid-19, forcing the government to shut down the facility. According to reports by the Monitor, one prison staff alsotested positive to Covid-19 as per data from the Ugandan Ministry of Health. The facility has 205 inmates, meaning that only 52 prisoners tested negative for Covid-19. The prisoners were evacuated to Gulu Main Prison for treatment and quarantine, while the prison staff together with their families have been placed are under self-isolation from their respective homes. Read: Six More Patients Succumb To Covid-19 As Kenya…

Deputy President William Ruto has termed Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leaders as the “Lords of Corruption”, following an earlier statement defending the looters of Covid-19 billions. In a tweet that did not mention names, Ruto also castigated the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM Leader Raila Odinga, saying that it was in self interests. “The pretentious (former)Opposition, now turned Lords of corruption, attempted defence of the Covid19 grand larceny is NOT shocking. It confirms the worst of Kenyan’s fears that their side of handshake was never interested in the people’s good but opportunity to loot.What a shame,” wrote…

Five years after the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta became the President of the Republic of Kenya, he commissioned a British teacher to make a bronze sculpture that would become a landmark in the capital city, Nairobi. In 1969, the late President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta commissioned James Butler, who was then a teacher at the City & Guilds of London Art School, to make the sculpture. This marked the end of teaching career for Mr Butler, who embarked on the work to make the 12-feet sculpture. According to archidatum.com, the cast bronze statue was entirely made in England with every detail…

The Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) for Education Zachary (Zack) Kinuthia has said that the payment for Board of Management (BOM) teachers has been delayed due to unverified data from school heads. In a Facebook post over the weekend, Kinuthia says that the ministry received data from school heads that conflicted the data held by the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC). This, he says, has forced the ministry to embark in a verification exercise “which is in advanced stages”. “What is holding the money is the Unverified data that was submitted to us from the field, vis-a-viz the data we have with…

The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) has filed a suit in court seeking to recover Ksh51 from a Mandera County government employee, suspected to be proceeds of graft. The Ksh51 million is part of Ksh61 million that Mr Abdi Mohamed Ali deposited in his account, with Ksh10 million claimed to be his salary. According to Mr Ali who is the director of livestock production in the county, the money is proceeds of his honey and animals business. However, Justice John Onyiego felt that the explanation did not satisfy the court that such a huge amount was from the sale of animals. “It…

The Nandi County Assembly has suspended operations in Kapsabet after one of its members tested positive for Covid-19 It is reported that the Tinderet ward MCA Kipkurui Chepkwony contracted the disease before the county assembly sittings resumed. County Assembly Speaker Joshua Kiptoo said that Chepkwony had already isolated himself. “Immediately he ( realized that he was positive he isolated himself out of his family, neighbors and Assembly Members for the required duration and now he is improving and County Assembly has been fumigated as expected,” Kiptoo said. The Nandi county assembly has been on recess from July 16th and was…

The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has suspended plans to privatize Ethio Telecom. The ECA announced in May that the Ethiopian government would be open to selling a 40 percent stake in the state-owned company. The announcement attracted bids from the regional and international front. Safaricom and its Parent Company, Vodacom applied for the bid along with other international companies such as Orange, MTN South Africa, Etisalat and Saudi Telecom In early August, the country announced that it would not consider bids from foreign or international companies. However, regional companies were not affected and there was still some hope for the…

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is planning to install Intelligent Video Surveillance Cameras at 300 major junctions in Nairobi County. The cameras will aid in easing traffic congestion in the city, reducing accidents, air pollution and eliminating fraud. The cameras used will be able to detect and record motorists’ behaviour on the road, capture the pictures of both the car and the driver, offence committed, details of the offence such as place and time as well as the car’s registration number. The information captured will then be relayed to two command centres located at the Kenya Urban Roads Authority…

Wordpress, the open source content management system that most websites are built on, has accused Apple of denying users the ability to update the app, unless the company adds in-app purchases on the app store and enable Apple get its 30 percent cut. Wordpress is available on iOS, allowing users to build and manage their websites from their iPhones for free. However, going forward, users will not be able to update the app on the app store unless they make in-app purchases. Before this, the Wordpress app has not been selling anything. It simply allowed users to create their websites…

Taxi-hailing service Bolt has announced that it is venturing into the food delivery business in Kenya. The company is exploring alternative revenue streams since the ride-hailing business was hit hard following restrictions in place due to Covid-19. Bolt advertised the position of a Country Manager for its food delivery business in Kenya, with operations expected to commence towards the end of the year. “We’re already present in 30+ markets across Europe and Africa. Now, it’s time for us to bring the know-how around building a mobility platform to the food delivery industry,” read the notice by the firm on the…

Facebook has announced that its ‘classic’ experience interface that comes with an iconic blue navigation bar at the top will disappear for good in September 2020. Facebook updated its support page letting users know that everyone will soon have the new design. Currently, you still have the option to switch back to the classic interface on the app and vice versa, but the page now warns that “the classic Facebook will no longer be available starting in September. Facebook’s new design was announced during Facebook’s developer conference last year and was first rolled out on iOS and Android versions of…

Airbnb has announced a global ban on parties and events on properties listed on its platform. The company has said the ban is in a bid to comply with Covid-19 health protocols worldwide. Airbnb said through a blogpost, that the ban also applies to future bookings and will limit occupancy to 16 people. The company cited various public health mandates on gatherings in different countries and pointed out that some customers have chosen to “take bar and club behaviour to homes, sometimes rented through our platforms.” Airbnb said it would expel or take legal action against hosts and guests who…

Due to increased production costs associated with 5G hardware in the latest iPhone 12 series, the company is looking to reduce costs by using less expensive components in other areas. According to Apple analyst Ming-chi Kuo, Apple believes the biggest cost reduction will come from the iPhone battery technology. Kuo says that the tech company is reducing the number of layers in the battery board and also placing the cell components in a smaller area. The reduction will result in a battery board that is 40 to 50 percent cheaper than the equivalent parts on iPhone 11. Kuo says that…