Author: Francis Muli

Over 13 Kenyan legislators are currently receiving cancer treatment in Indian leading hospitals. They include nine MPs and four senators, who are being treated in top hospitals such as the Apollo Hospital and its outlets in New Delhi and other cities. The news were revealed by Juja MP Francis Munyua Waititu, popularly known as Wakapee, who was successfully treated of brain cancer last year where he had stayed for seven weeks. In October last year, he further revealed that around 63 MPs and Senators are suffering from cancer, a figure that was disputed by the national assembly health committee chairperson…

The Wiper Democratic Party has elected former ambassador Chirau Ali Makwere as the acting chairman, months after fallout with Makueni governor Kivutha Kibwana. Mr Makwere was Kenya’s ambassador to Tanzania before the 2017 general election, when he resigned to contest for the Kwale gubernatorial seat but failed. In a  National Executive Council retreat that was held at the Kenya School of Law in Karen, Nairobi, the party also elected Mrs Anne Kanyi as Acting National Vice-Chair. The election of the two will be ratified at a National Delegates Conference in a date yet to be communicated. The party also said that…

Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) sleuths have arrested Mr Francis Muse Liseche alias Moi alias President who was captured on a viral video savagely cutting a man on allegations of stealing a chicken. Three other suspects have also been arrested including the owner of the alleged stolen chicken. The incident took place at Shinyalu in Kakamega and the victim died from the brutal cutting. “We urge members of the public NOT to take the law into their own hands,” tweeted the DCI. Read: Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali’s Son Drowns In The US The four suspects will be arraigned on Monday…

A General Service Unit (GSU) officer was on Saturday shot dead at Wilson Airport. The unknown assailants took away his two rifles after the incidence. According to information from the Kenya Airport Police Unit, the officer was in the company of another when they were approached by two men in full police uniforms claiming to be police officers from GSU, at around 10 pm. The ‘new police officers’ wanted assistance on a vehicle with a mechanical problem at Bypass, according to reports by the Star. They agreed but a two more men in jungle uniform joined them 200 meters away.…

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) has written a letter to the Kenya Pipeline  Company (KPC) demanding explanation on why the company and its executive dropped plans of leak sensors on the Mombasa-Nairobi oil line. Epra now demands an explanation why the executive should not face punishment over the 450km Ksh48 billion pipeline for illegal design changes, that saw sensors excluded from the line. The line has been experiencing several leakages which take weeks to find out and repair, the biggest being at Kiboko, Makueni County where at least 551,000 litres of fuel valued at Ksh63 million was lost.…

The Africa Electoral Observation Group has faulted the way Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) verified the Punguza Mzigo Bill, with the Election Observation Group (Elog) as the only observer. According to the group, the commission did not issue a notice of referendum before inviting ELOG for accreditation to observe the verification exercise. “Applications for accreditation by observers should be made after the Commission issues a notice of election or referendum. Such a notice is issued through the national daily newspapers and the website of the commission,” says Africa Electoral Observation Group head of mission Robert Foulser. Foulser said that…

M-PESA, Airtel Money, Equitel mobile money users will now be able to make direct payments to international companies such as eBay, Facebook, Airbnb, Spotify, Uber and Netflix. This follows a partnership between global payments firm Adyen and pan-African payments firm Cellulant to offer its global merchants access to key local payment methods in major African markets. Adyen replaced Paypal on Ebay, and will now have access to 40 mobile money operators, over 600 local & international merchants and over 120 banks in Africa who work with Cellulant. Read: Cellulant Partners With Adyen To Enable Merchants Accept Key Local Payments “We are happy to extend our payments capabilities to Adyen…

South African government through its rail, port and pipeline company Transnet could have lost Ksh30 billion (R4 billion), if it were not for the intervention of a private forensic investigator, Paul O’Sullivan. Transnet had entered into a Ksh30 billion contract with CMC di Ravenna, which was dubious according to a whistle-blower within the company in 2018. O’Sullivan pioneered the formation of Forensics for Justice, a platform that allows citizens to volunteer information regarding corrupt deals for investigation. In an interview with South African business magazine Biz News, they were able to stop the alleged theft within a weekend, after months…

The ruling Jubilee Party is facing a major rift following Treasury CS Henry Rotich’s arrest over the Arror-Kimwarer dams scandal. Speaking to journalists today, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi appeared to ‘insult’ President Uhuru Kenyatta, telling him he has a problem for “terming Rotich as a thief after seven years of service”. The MP went ahead to tell the President that he (Sudi) can be a better president, if given a chance. Sudi accused the President of “using and dumping hard working people like Rotich and PS Kamau Thugge”. Here’s the video:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-ZMfBGjZ8w “Within three months I can do better…

Kenya today returned 35.34Kgs of gold and Ksh15,610,310 stolen from Tanzania, for prosecution evidence following a bank heist in Tanzania in 2004. The amount and the gold was stolen on May 25, 2004 from Tanzania’s NBC bank in Moshi, in denominations of US Dollars, Kentan shillings and Tanzanian shillings. A total of USD77,500, Ksh171,600,000 and Tsh170,000,000 was stolen from the bank, as staffers were locked up in a safe. The gold stolen is approximated at Ksh168 million, according to the Gold Price website. The main suspect Patrick Ayisi Ngoi was arrested in Kenya with the wealth, and was repatriated to…

Members of Parliament on Tuesday voted to adopt a report seeking to nationalise national carrier Kenya Airways, to save it from cash crunch. The carrier which is currently  48.9 percent government-owned and 7.8 percent held by Air France-KLM has been making loses year-on-year, and efforts to rescue it from the turbulence have been futile. The airline is reeling on a Ksh200 billion debt, even as the leadership faces management crisis that has seen the current CEO Sebastian Mikosz announce his exit in December. “Nationalisation is what is necessary to compete on a level playing field. It is not what we…

An investigative report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has revealed how senior government officials are using shell companies to loot the government dry, as well as avoid taxes. A report released last night reveals the extent of the rot, with several officials using Mauritius as the major tax haven. Among those implicated is ICT CS Joe Mucheru, who is a shareholder at the Umati Capital, a credit facility company. Other shareholders include Dominic Kiarie (address in Kenya), Anne Marie van Swinderen (address in The Netherlands), Ace Micro Services Limited (address in Kenya), Dataposit Limited (address in Kenya),…

The High Court has refused to grant orders to reopen Kalembe Ndile’s Macha Beach Hotel in Machakos, citing health reasons. Delivering the ruling, Justice George Odunga of the High Court said the enforcement of public health and environmental laws was in public interest and should not be subjugated to the private right of a profiteering businessperson. The hotel was closed in June by Machakos governor Dr Alfred Mutua prompting Nairobi governor Mike Sonko to stage protests demanding the release of staffers who were arrested during the raid. Press Secretary and Communications Director of Machakos county  Mutinda Mwanzia in a statement…

Cash strapped Uchumi Supermarket is now blaming rogue employees and suppliers for its fall. According to court submissions by the retailer, employees colluded with fraudulent suppliers to fleece the Supermarket through fake claims. “As a result of the audit (by KPMG), it was discovered that a large quantity of goods from various suppliers were neither ordered for and or delivered at our stores and thus became necessary to ascertain what goods were ordered and supplied by Smart Brands whilst simultaneously verifying the Local Purchase Orders,” Uchumi said in its submissions. Uchumi turned against Smart Brands, one of the firms seeking…

Controversial political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has hinted at an imminent removal from office and arrest of Deputy President William Ruto. In a tweet that has since sparked controversy, seemingly commenting on information from the DCI, Mutahi said that a total of Ksh4 billion from the Kimwarer and Arror Dams saga was withdrawn from a bank in Westlands and taken to an “INFLUENTIAL BIG Person”. According to Ngunyi, the person was ‘bigger’ than Cs Henry Rotich and PS Kamau Thuge who have already surrendered to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) after being mentioned as key suspects in the Ksh21 billion…