Author: Francis Muli

Former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa has been arrested in connection with Matungu killings. It is reported that Echesa was arrested after attending a function hosted by former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, who announced his defection to Jubilee. The police were pursuing Echesa and Matungu MP Justus Murunga, who were trying to escape using Deputy President William Ruto’s Convoy. Read: Woman Claims Life In Danger After Sleeping With Senator Cleophas Malala – VIDEO Murunga managed to escape, and was given six hours to surrender or be treated as the key suspect in the killings. Earlier on , Kakamega Senator Cleophas…

Japanese national Tasunori Asano has accused city lawyer Joel Kimutai Bosek of being at the centre of fake gold scammers who conned him Ksh72.9 million in gold deal gone sour. According to the Japanese businessman, he hired Bosek as a manager and lawyer in a deal where he was buying 100 kilograms of gold from Kenyan dealers. The deal was struck in 2016 between Kenyan logistics firm Customs Cargo Handlers through its managers Solomon Ligaga and Allan Collins Illunga and Asano, where a kilo of gold would cost Ksh300,000. Read: 75 KRA Employees Interdicted, Over 200 Arrested For Abetting Tax…

The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) will acquire shares of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) at Ksh4.19 each. This represents a discount of 25.7 per share on the NBK’s trading price of Ksh5.64 per share when the deal was announced. “The swap ratio has been determined on the basis of a book discount to the value of NBK’s 180 day volume weighted average price up to and including March 16, 2019 (the date before the KCB Group board approval of the proposed offer) of one NBK share on the NSE to factor the limited enterprise value of NBK in its…

‘Secret’ wealth continues to accumulate at the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority, with the current unclaimed wealth amounting to Ksh10 billion. In 2017, around Ksh8.53 billion lay at the agency, even as more Kenyans die without revealing their secret wealth and investments to the next of kins. According to a financial statement from the agency, it received unclaimed assets worth Ksh10.62 billion as of December last year and reported 22.39 million units of unclaimed shares. This included Ksh371.75 million is in cash and cash equivalents, Ksh464.89 million in receivables and Ksh11.89 million in investments. Read: Not Stopping Soon: Kenya Seals Another…

Former Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mombasa chapter chairperson Rukia Rashid snubbed a handing over ceremony to welcome her successor Mohamed Ramadhan Mustafa.  According to those present, Rukia arrived late for the ceremony forcing the newly elected team to wait patiently for her. When journalists were ushered in to cover the function, Rukia received a call on her cell phone and walked out of the venue leaving her handbag behind. Read: Richard Ngatia, James Mureu Lock Horns In KNCCI Succession Politics As journalists were setting up their cameras ready for the ceremony Rukia came back, hurriedly picked her…

Newly appointed Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta) and Tana and Athi River Development Authority (TARDA) board members will not assume office for now, the court has ordered. Making the ruling on Wednesday, Justice John Mativo said that the appointees will remain out until a case filed by lobby consisting of lawyers, dubbed Chama Cha Mawakili, was determined. He however said that the matter will be addressed on priority basis. “Pending the hearing and determination of this case, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued prohibiting the appointed persons from assuming offices for which they have been appointed by the…

Online retailer Jumia has been sued by Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. on behalf of purchasers of Jumia shares in the New York Stock Market between April 12, 2019 and May 9, 2019. The case revolves around Citron Research report where Jumia was exposed as a fraudulent, worthless company. The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period (April 12 to May 9), Jumia made materially false and misleading statements about its business. Read: Jumia Exposed As A Fraudulent, Worthless Company By Citron Research These statements are alleged to be materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose that Jumia…

The government has sealed a  $2.1 billion (Ksh210 billion) Eurobond from the United States and the United Kingdom, days after Kenya was allegedly denied a loan from China. The Eurobond will be repaid in two tranches of 7-year and 12-year tenors, according to information from the Treasury. The government said that the bond has been priced at seven per cent for the 7-year issue and eight per cent for the 12-year plan. “Throughout the roadshow, the investors appreciated and welcomed the strong and resilient economic growth that Kenya has welcomed and the expected growth in 2019,” noted Treasury Cabinet Secretary…

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Nairobi businessman Mr Rodrick Muhoro Sh 208 Million and banned him from the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) for 10 years for front running. Front running, also known as tailgating, is the prohibited practice of entering into an equity (stock) trade, option, futures contract, derivative, or security-based swap to capitalize on advance, nonpublic knowledge of a large (“block”) pending transaction that will influence the price of the underlying security. In a statement, CMA says that Muhoro used privileged (non-public) information on bond trades, which he used to front-run the market and make dual trades…

Senior Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has read tribalism in the way President Uhuru Kenyatta gazetted Law Society of Kenya (LSK) male representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Macharia Njeru.  Njeru won the seat on Thursday by garnering 2,738 votes over Ojienda’s 2,545 votes in a tightly contested elections. He was gazetted yesterday, Monday by President Kenyatta, almost immediately after the weekend. However, the same urgency was not applied in Justice Ahmed Warsame’s case, who spent nine months in court battles before he was sworn in in February this year. “It took H.E UHURU a day to Gazette Macharia’s election to…

Your messages, voice and video calls of Facebook-owned Whatsapp could not be secret, as government spies could be having easy access to your account just like you do. This was discovered early this month by Whatsapp, after is was announced that Israeli company,  NSO Group, developed a spyware that opened your data to the government. The company exploited a vulnerability by Whatsapp that allowed third party users to remotely install spyware on targeted phones. According to Tech Crunch, the spyware leveraged on a bug in the audio call feature of the app to allow the caller instal spyware on the…

Kenya is now seeking a $2.5 billion (Ksh250 billion) Eurobond from Europe and the United States in a bid to finance its budget, service loans that have matured and complete stalled projects. According to reports, treasury officials last week flew to US and Europe to seek he loan, the country’s third in half a decade. The East African reports that the Treasury officials were due to start meeting investors on Thursday May 9 to market the bond which is being sold in two tranches of 12 and 31 years. This comes days after Kenya’s quest for a Ksh386 billion loan…

Recently, Mumias Sugar Company advertised a bid to lease what they call non-core properties to private entities, but as this desk learns, it could hold more than meets the eye. One of the ‘non-core’ property being ‘disposed of’ is the prime Mumias Sugar nucleus estate, which this desk learns that is being acquired secretly by the controversial Rai family through a proxy company. Rai Family, which owns the West Kenya Sugar Company in Kakamega, plans to plant sugarcane on the estate for supply to its factory, at the expense of the cash strapped Mumias Sugar. The leasing of this facility…

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has released a list of 48 officials of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) suspected to have gone hiding following Friday swoop where over 75 staffers were interdicted. The list entails 32 officers from KRA’s Domestic Taxes Department, 15 from the Customs and Border Control Department and one from the Investigations and Enforcement Department. The officials were sent packing for allegedly abetting tax evasion and engaging in related fraudulent deals. The employees, are accused of facilitating irregular cargo clearance, fraudulent amendment of tax returns so as to help taxpayers evade taxes and irregular issuance of tax…

Over 300 workers of the Sony Sugar company have been sent packing in what the management termed as a three-month compulsory leave following dwindling profits. The workers are a part of 1500 who participated in a go-slow last week demanding salary arrears of three months from the company. Sony acting Managing Director James Oluoch stated that the company had been experiencing unfavourable business environment characterised by massive loss of cane to private millers through theft. “In the period February to date we have experienced declining performance and inadequate milling cane something that compelled us to send the said employees on…