Author: Francis Muli

A National Population and Housing Census enumerator has gone missing in Marani, Kisii County since yesterday. Police trying to trace him to recover data kit, which the enumerator is said to have lost. According to reports, he left the gadgets – a tablet and a power bank – in the house from where they went missing. This comes a day after another official from Nyamira county was arrested for allegedly offering census palmtop computer and a  power bank as collateral after failing to clear bills at a local bar. According to reports, the official, an IT expert, had checked into…

Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) has been dealt a blow after at least 90,000 teachers bolted out following frustrations by the employer, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). This comes days after TSC announced promotion of at least 38,000 Kenya Union of Post Primary Education (Kuppet) teachers, leaving their counterparts in Knut, in the implementation of Collective bargaining agreement (CBA) 2017-2021 as of July 1. This was after Kuppet showed open support for TSC, which has been at loggerheads with rival Union, (Knut) to an extend of refusing to remit deductions from teachers. Read: KNUT Council Gives Sossion One Week…

Rubis Energie has finally acquired 100 percent stake at KenolKobil, prompting the fuel company to be delisted from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as from today. This concludes a bumpy journey for the acquisition, which has left many casualties following reports of insider trading. “The delisting has been approved by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). We are therefore giving a notice on the delisting of KenolKobil from the Nairobi Securities Exchange effective August 23,” read an NSE communication. Read: KenolKobil Takeover By Rubis Under Probe For Possible Underhand Dealings KenolKobil, worth close to $225 million (Ksh22.5 billion) by market capitalisation,…

Commercial plane manufacture Boeing is now facing new suits worth Ksh100 billion filed by Ribbeck Law Chartered and Global Aviation Law Group  in U.S. federal court in Chicago. Ribbeck Law Chartered stated it has filed 40 cases against the Boeing Company in Federal Court in Chicago for the recent Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crashes so far, which claimed the lives of 32 Kenyans. “We have added an additional case for a passenger from Kenya who died in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash. Our clients are seeking more than a billion US dollars (Ksh100 billion) for their damages. Next…

You might not find your favourite loan app on Google Playstore in a months time, if Google implements its new rules against loan apps. In the new rules, Google will not allow apps that promote personal loans which require repayment in full in 60 days or less from the date the loan is issued. “This policy applies to apps which offer loans directly, lead generators, and those who connect consumers with third-party lenders,” stated the tech giant in part. Read: KRA Seeks To List Tax Evaders, Defaulters On CRB Also, apps will be required to disclose the minimum and maximum…

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) could now run for an undetermined period of time without a CEO after outgoing Director General Francis Wangusi vowed not to hand over to the new CEO Mercy Wanjau. Speaking to the Star,  Wangusi said that Ms Wanjau’s appointment had been rejected by the board, and that she was forced into the position by few individuals with selfish interests. “It is sad that a few people with selfish interests are forcing an incompetent person to head such a vital government institution,” Wangusi said. Read: Mercy Wanjau Replaces Francis Wangusi As CA Director General He said…

Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja is now accusing Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of being used by competitors to stifle Keroche business through mudslinging. Kahawa Tungu learns that KRA summoned all Keroche directors for a ‘hearing’ in its Upperhill offices early this month, where only Ms Karanja attended the hearing. However, according to the CEO, the ‘hearing’ turned out to be a humiliation which she left after three hours following the ‘disrespectful and humiliating’ ordeal. She left after receiving intel from junior Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials that their seniors were planning her “detention and arrest.” Two weeks later, the…

Safaricom has signed an MOU with the Kenya Forest Service to plant five million trees within the next five years in a bid to achieve the 10 percent forest cover by 2022. This was announced during this years Safaricom sustainability report, where Safaricom said that it was also moving away from diesel-powered generators in their masts, to minimise carbon emissions. “As a first step towards reducing this footprint, we have began to work on moving more of our network sites away from diesel-powered generators and onto the national grid. We are also exploring clean energy solutions to power these sites.…

National Treasury acting Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Ukur Yattani has lauded the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for the various tax administration, modernisation measures it has put in place. The Acting Cabinet Secretary, who was on a familiarisation tour of the KRA operations at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Embakasi today, said that automation of tax administration functions is key in enhancing both transparency and efficiency. He added that automation of KRA processes has reduced human intervention in handling cargo right from the Port of Mombasa to the ICD and other destinations. Read: Not Now, It’s 2024: Tullow Pushes Kenya’s Full Commercial Oil Export Date To further enhance efficiency and reduce cargo clearance timeframes at the ICD, the CS said that the Government will install more…

BLAZE by Safaricom has launched an e-sports tournament in partnership with Pro Series Gaming (PSG) and Standard Group, for youth aged between 18 and 26. The tournament targets both casual and avid gamers across the country. “People from all over the world are making a living out professional gaming, which is why we have introduced an e-sports Tournament, to affirm to the youth that you can commercialize whatever skills and talents you have. Our commitment is to support the youth in their journey to economic empowerment, however unconventional it may be,” said Michael Joseph, Safaricom CEO. Read: KRA Set To…

Statistics in the insurance sector indicates that more Kenyan’s are now willing to save for the future than before. Industry figures indicate that there has been enormous appetite for a pension which has seen the industry total pension funds under guaranteed arrangement grow from Ksh163 billion to Ksh183.7 billion, a growth rate of 12.7 percent despite the heavy withdrawals during the same period which was as a result of mergers and acquisitions and closure of big stores like Nakumatt in 2018. It is  projected that pension under this class will grow to Ksh300 billion by 2020 with the supporting regulation…

Kenya Airways (KQ) will pay UK firm Aviation and Aeroscope Consulting Services (ICF) Ksh25 million to investigate collision of two Embraer jets in February this year. The company will investigate how the two jets collided while undergoing repair in a repair hangar, and present a report within a year. “Kenya Airways has recently suffered a number of maintenance incidents resulting in serious damage to aircraft that could also have endangered the lives of those involved or those in the vicinity, the most serious being the collision of two Embraer aircraft during engine runs,” says ICF in its proposal for engineering…

Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho and business mogul Kiprop ‘Buzeki’ Bundotich’s firms are among 27 firms illegally allocated Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) 900 acre-land in Machakos. The land, acquired from East Africa Portland Cement for the development of a bulk cargo handling and transshipment facilities in Athi River, cost KRC at least Ksh1.2 billion, but was transferred almost immediately to the firms. Joho’s  Autoport Freight Terminal Ltd was allocated 50 acres, as well as Mohammed Jaffer’s Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd (GBHL). Buzeki Enterprises, which is owned by Bundotich, was allocated 20 acres. Yussuf Abdiwahab Ali’s Aya Traders Company Ltd was…

Kenya will not export oil by 2022 as earlier indicated, but instead the first export of Kenyan oil is expected to be in 2024, according to British oil explorer Tullow Oil. Tullow, which is commissioned with exploring oil in Turkana, says that Kenya will not have reached commercial production stage by 2022. However, Kahawa Tungu learns that the delay could be as a result of failure for the government of Kenya to sign a Final Investment Decision (FID) with Tullow Oil and its partners. Without the FID, financiers cannot commit finances for laying of infrastructure and starting operations that could…

You risk a fine of up to Ksh100,000 or six month in jail for giving false information during census according to the Statistics (Amendment) Act and the Accreditation Service Act. Also, dodging the exercise will attract a fine of up to Ksh100,000 or one-year jail term. This follows signing into law the Statistics (Amendment) Bill and the Accreditation Service Bill by President Uhuru Kenyatta last month. The law aims at enhancing authenticity of the data collected and public compliance with the census. “Any person who hinders or obstructs the director-general (of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics) or any authorised…