Author: Francis Muli

The Ministry of Health is staring at a Ksh40 billion ‘debt’ owed to tenderpreneurs who have been awarded the amount by courts in a span of 21 years over tender wars. The amount was awarded to two entities, Equipment Agencies Limited and Faram East Africa Limited, who had sued the ministry for breach of contract. The amount has accrued interests over the years, and if paid at once could cripple services at the ministry which received a budget allocation of Ksh80 billion in the current financial year. “We have historical pending bills that goes back to the year 1999. We…

Chinese man who was quarantined earlier today in Kitui over suspected Coronavirus infection did not test positive, doctors have said. The man was an employee of Synohydro Corporation, the company tarmacking Kitui-Kibwezi road and had been reported to have arrived in the country on Sunday in the company of 18 other Chinese nationals. However, the company’s acting project manager Zeng Yuh said the worker was among a group of 14 who had gone to China on leave but that he returned alone. “We did not have 18 people coming to Kenya from China as reported,”  Zeng said. Read: Chinese National…

Safaricom has announced the roll out of new mobile number prefixes 0110 and 0111. The telco will also give out free SIM cards in all their shops, but will need to be activated with a Ksh50 airtime. Its competitors, Airtel and Telkom has also been giving out free SIM cards, with subscribers required to activate them with Ksh50 airtime. Customers will also be allowed choose their own number rather than the traditional pre-assigned mobile phone numbers. The new prefixes were allocated by the Communications Authority of Kenya in 2019 after the exhaustion of the 07XX prefixes. Other Safaricom prefixes include…

The prisons departments has said it will not pay Ksh6.2 billion it owes to suppliers since 2009, due to irregularities. In a statement, the  Correctional Services Department said that it took 40 auditors 60 days to scrutinize and review all the outstanding claims, with the claims worth Ksh6.2 billion found irregular. “In a bid to commence the settlement of these outstanding claims, the Department wrote to the National Treasury on the 1st of November 2018, requesting for a team of auditors to verify the claims. The National Treasury commissioned a team of 40 auditors who took 60 days to scrutinize…

At least 40 aides who worked for the late retired President Daniel arap Moi will be rendered jobless after the states cuts funding. The staffers were under the state payroll under the retirement benefit scheme for all retired Presidents, which sees millions withdrawn from taxpayers money to maintain a lavish lifestyle for former heads of state. Under the scheme, Moi received a lump sum payment of one year salary for each term served and a monthly pension of Ksh1.155 million. He also received Ksh200,000 entertainment allowance, Ksh300,000 monthly housing allowance, a furnished office, four cars replaceable every three years, Ksh200,000…

Patrick Ayoyi Ajunga, a man who recorded himself defiling an alleged niece has been arrested in Kericho. According to K24 Digital, the man was arrested in Kericho town on Saturday afternoon, February 15, 2020. The suspect is being held at the Nyagacho police station, 3km from Kericho town. In the video recording that has gone viral, the man is seen defiling a young girl, believed to be 16-years-old, for nearly half an hour. The man later deleted his Facebook account and went into hiding, before he was later arrested. It is not yet clear whether the girl in question was…

Deputy President William Ruto’s aide Kelvin Kipkoech Musundi is alive and at work and was not involved in an accident along Lang’ata Road as alleged by sections of the media. Initial reports indicated that Kelvin Rono, DP Ruto’s aide is the one who had died in the accident. However, there is no person working in the office of the DP under the name Kelvin Rono. Speaking to Kahawa Tungu, Musundi said that he is already at work and the reports has caused a lot of worries to his relatives. “I am alive and at work. I am with the boss…

Kenyans could be slowly dying from medication that is meant to cure them of their illnesses, even as National Quality Control Laboratory (NQCL) and the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) lock horns over control of the health industry. The two bodies are tasked with ensuring a safe health industry in the country, as well as regulating imports into the country. However, the two bodies seem to be too focused on outfoxing each other, leaving Kenyans exposed to poisonous medication as cartels mint millions. Read: Half Of Hospitals In Kenya Do Not Get Rid Of Expired Drugs -Study In one instance,…

Patrick Ayoyi Ajunga, a man who recorded himself defiling an alleged niece has deleted his Facebook account and gone under, even as sleuths from the Child Protection Unit launch hunt. It is not yet clear whether the girl in question was underage or not, but incest charges could be preferred against the man. The Sexual Offenses Act in Kenya defines incest as sexual relations between a man and a female relative whom he knows to be his daughter, granddaughter, sister, mother, niece, aunt or grandmother, and sexual relations between a woman and the corresponding male relatives. Read: Italian Priest’s Defilement Case In…

Deputy President William Ruto has opened up about media reports that detectives raided his Harambee House Annex offices in connection with the Ksh39 billion scandal. In a tweet, Ruto questioned motive behind the narrative, wondering whether the investigators had visited concerned departments like the Department of Defence (DoD). He questioned the motive of the “23-minute visit at Annex”, saying that the Office of the Deputy President (ODP) is not involved in any procurement. “ODP does NOT procure for any ministry/department. Question:other than 23min in Annex,for months,which government offices involved in the ‘tender’ did the scammers visit? Did they access DOD?…

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives on Friday are said to have raided Harambee House Annex in search of leads for the Ksh39 billion scandal that has seen former CS Rashid Echesa arrested. Harambee House Annex is the complex that houses Deputy President William Ruto’s office, and the deal is said to have been struck there. This is despite revelations by Kahawa Tungu showing that the DCI and office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) did not mention DP Ruto or his office in their court papers. Read: Propaganda? DCI Fails To Name DP Ruto, Annex Office In…

Super Petrol and Diesel prices have increased by Ksh2.67 and Ksh2.13 in the February 2020 review, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has announced. In the review, kerosene price has dropped by 1.26. “Taking into account the weighted average cost of imported refined petroleum products, the changes in the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices in Nairobi are as follows: Super Petrol and Diesel increase by Ksh2.67 per litre and Ksh2.13 per litre respectively while Kerosene decreases by Ksh1.26 per litre,” said EPRA. Read: Toyota Recalls 700,000 Cars Over Faulty Fuel Pumps, Lexus Most Affected This will put petrol and…

The Senate has summoned outgoing Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki over an illegal contract for provision of Ksh4.9 billion Health Care Information Technology (HCIT). It has emerged that the ministry did not consult the Attorney General before signing the deal, that could emerge as another multi-billion scandal for the Jubilee government whose administration has been dotted with several multi-billion scandals in the last seven years. Ms Kariuki was expected to appear before the Senate ad hoc committee on Medical Equipment Service (MES), of which HCIT is a component, on Friday but failed. Read: Health CS Sicily Kariuki Makes New Appointments…

Kenyatta family’s Brookside company is now shutting down its Taita Taveta regional factory reflecting an economy on its knees. The regional factory, Wumingu Cooling Plant, will be closed effective March 1, 2020. The Cooling Plant located in Wundanyi town has a capacity of processing 10,000 litres of milk per day. The closure of the factory is set to render hundreds of residents jobless, and deprive dairy farmers of income in millions. Read: Brookside Looking To Control Dairy Industry Through Dairy Regulations 2019 – Farmers In 2017, the company paid farmers a total of Ksh52 million for supply of milk. In…

The Kenya Ferry Service (KFS) on Monday withdrew the services of two ferries at Likoni Ferry Channel over mechanical problems, leaving only three in operation. According to media reports, one of the ferries withdrawn is MV Kilindini, which is said to be having a problem with its propeller. Reports by the Standard indicate that MV Kilindini only ferries light vehicles and is not allowed to ferry passengers as it can sink anytime. “The MV Kilindini has structural weaknesses and can’t withstand rough ocean currents,” Standard quotes a source. Read: Shame As Mayfair Insurance Company Capitalises On Likoni Tragedy For Publicity…