Author: Francis Muli

Kenya Airways might have to restrategize and come up with an alternative recovery plan following the High Court’s suspension of its decision to lay off staff and send others on unpaid leave. Justice Hellen Wasilwa also suspended the Carrier’s intended pay cuts on staff who will be on duty once operations resume. In President Uhuru’s July 6th state address, he announced that Kenya Airways would resume domestic flights on July 15 and International flights on August 1. KQ has been gearing up to resume and had come up with a recovery plan that was expected to cut costs and cushion…

Taxi operators are experiencing a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic as banks close in on car loan defaulters. Recent lock-downs and restrictions have resulted in lower margins for ride hailing apps, slowing down business altogether. Stanbic bank already put out an advertisement auctioning 72 vehicles, 31 of them being Suzuki Altos which are synonymous with Uber Chap Chap. Stanbic Bank, in partnership with Uber and CMC motors entered into  a deal offering drivers low-cost vehicles valued at Sh 835,000 at 14 percent interest to be paid over three years. In its latest monthly Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on June…

Lang’ata Hospital has refuted reports that it has been closed for fake Covid-19 tests and stocking expired testing kits. Instead, the management in a statement say that all its patients who required testing for Covid-19 were taken to Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) under a special arrangement. “In an effort to respond to the needs of our patients, we reached out to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) on the possibility of referring our patients for testing at its facility. We received an affirmative response from the relevant officers at KEMRI, and it is on that basis that we put…

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed’s bid for the WTO Director-General position has been dealt a blow after Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Egypt’s Abdel-Hamid Mamdouh joined the race. Ms Amina is angling to succeed the current Director-General, Mr Roberto Azevêdo, who has announced he will step down on August 31, 2020. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Currently, Dr Okonjo-Iweala is Chair of the Board of Gavi, a Vaccine Alliance. Previously, Dr Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigeria’s…

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe was on Thursday found guilty of contempt of court after disregarding an order that prohibited him from transferring two officials at the National Quality Control Laboratory (NQCL). Kagwe will be sentenced on July 23, for transferring NQCL Chief Executive Officer Dr Hezekiah Chepkwony and Deputy Director Dr Pius Wanjala on June 12, against a court order. Chepkwony was transfered to the Kenya Medical Training College while Wanjala was sent to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. “That the Honorable Cabinet Secretary, Mr Mutahi Kagwe, is hereby cited for contempt of this court’s judgment/decree dated 31.1.2020 for…

Nigerian lender Access Bank paid Ksh1.4 billion to acquire cash strapped Transnational Bank, it has emerged. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) had approved acquisition of Transnational Bank by Access Bank early this year, though it was not yet clear the amount involved in the transaction. This now paves way for the lender to inject capital into the bank as it seeks to return to profitability. “It will be paid for in cash so we have taken out the existing shareholders and we will basically inject a bit more equity into the institution,” Mr Wigwe said. The transaction is said…

Investments firm TransCentury has announced plans to delist from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). According to Company Secretary Virginia Ndunge, delisting from the bourse will be the main agenda in the upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). “In line with ongoing strategic initiatives by the company, all the issued ordinary shares of the company comprising 375,202,766 shares of par value Ksh 0.50 each shall be de-listed from the official list of the Alternative Investment Market Segment of the NSE,” said Ms Ndunge. The company which is in a financial crisis owns East African Cables Plc and also bought out Civicon, an…

WhatsApp is rolling out animated stickers for both Android and iOS users. You can now access the animated sticker packs alongside the regular sticker packs in the in-app sticker store. The animated stickers packs have a play button which is the main difference with the regular sticker packs. The newly introduced sticker packs for both Android and iOS include Rico’s sweet life, Playful Piyomaru, Bright days,Moody Foodies and Chummy Chum Chums. The animated stickers support is also rolling out to Whatsapp for desktop. https://twitter.com/i/status/1280849242634850304 Read: Facebook Looking To Integrate Messenger With Whatsapp How to add the stickers Open a chat…

Deputy President William Ruto has promised to help Steve Odhiambo and Dennis Omondi purchase a machine that will help them make foldable garden benches. The DP announced this after the duo delivered his order of five benches, that he had ordered sometimes back. “Stephen Odhiambo and Dennis Omondi delivered the innovative work of their hands this afternoon. I had their balance, which they asked me top up and buy a specialised machine that will help them fasten their workmanship. I promised to invest in their dream and support their hustle,” tweeted Ruto. Basically, the bench is designed to accommodate three…

Tinder has introduced a video calls feature called “Face to face”. The feature, which is rolling out to select users in a few countries first, will not require users to exchange their private phone numbers. Tinder is rolling out the test in the US in Virginia, Illinois, Georgia and Colorado, as well as in countries such as Brazil, Australia and France. The company is hoping the test will help evaluate certain technical aspects, such as how well the servers can handle the video calls, before rolling it out more widely. Face to Face differs from a variety of video calling…

Twitter appears to be building a subscription-based platform for its social network. The company recently posted a job listing revealing that Twitter has a new internal team using the code name “Gryphon” that is “building a subscription platform”. The social media platform is recruiting engineers to join Gryphon while working closely with the payments team. Twitter has been generating a majority of its revenue through ad sales and data licensing. However, Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey is under pressure from activist investors to accelerate the platform’s business. A subscription service offering additional special features to the most for frequent users…

The Galana Kulalu irrigation project in Kilifi and Tana River Counties will be subjected to a viability test before handover to the private sector, Interior Ministry Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho has said. The PS who is the chairperson of the National Development Implementation Technical Committee (NDITCC) said that he had been impressed with the progress of the project after a site visit at the 10,000-acre model farm. “This fact-finding mission has allowed us to evaluate the viability of this project and whether it’s suitable for continuation or not. Of the 10,000 acres, 5,200 acres are already in use. But at…

Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, 75 per cent of German Internet users have been spending more time on social media. As a new infographic from Kryptoszene.de shows, this is benefiting above all the Facebook group. The three most-used services by far; WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, belong to the Menlo Park-based company. The proportion of those spending more time in social media is highest among 16-29 year olds. Here, 86 per cent report that the Corona crisis has given their media consumption a boost. Yet even among 50-64 year-olds, 74 per cent are stepping up their use of social…

Open Banking is a global FinTech trend that according to NETInfo is revolutionizing the financial services landscape across the world by enabling banks acquire the skills and tools required to build their own ecosystem through the Open Banking infrastructure. The company believes that African banks are well-positioned to embrace the opportunities created by Open Banking through transforming their offerings with innovative, agile and efficient solutions that will strengthen customer relationships and increase revenue for the banks. The platform eliminates the restriction that limits access to customer financial data, with the bank with which they have an account. The account holder…

LinkedIn has a new feature that will now allow you to record a 10-second audio clip to help other users pronounce your name. The professional networking platform has designed the 10-second audio clips to appear as an icon on the right-hand side of profile names. You can only add the audio clips using Android and iOS although anyone can play it back on desktop and mobile. To add a recording, open the platform on your mobile phone and log into your profile, click on ‘view profile’, then ‘edit’ and then ‘record name pronunciation.’ It is a simple feature, first offered…