Author: Francis Muli

Five-day inferno at Mt Kenya has been put out after razing down 39 acres (16 hectares). The inferno comes two months after another fire outbreak razed over 80,000 hectares of Moorland in the same area. The fire that lasted for more than five days, razed down the better part of Mt Kenya National Park in Tharaka-Nithi county, leading to the death of several animals. In a statement, KWS said it had rescued visitors who were still trapped in the area. “All visitors who had been trapped on Mt Kenya during a fire outbreak have been safely evacuated,” KWS said on…

Over 20,000 youth are expected to be trained in hairdressing and beauty therapy under the Wezesha Youth programme in a bid to grow local small and medium enterprises while supporting the reduction in unemployment among youth. The program – a partnership between the Council of Governors and Godrej Group of Companies – will be rolled out nationwide as part of the National Government competence-based education for vocational training centers. Speaking during the launch of the program at Chebigen Vocational Training Centre in Kericho, Godrej Kenya CEO Gaurav Kaushal said that the programme will promote sustainable enterprise development in Kenya. “Through the…

A video of young Deputy President William Ruto has emerged online, leading choir in 1980 during retired President Daniel Moi’s era. The song in praise of former President Moi demands that ‘weeds’ on Moi’s farm should be done away with. “Kwekwe shambani mwa Nyayo na zilimwe. (Let weeds on Nyayo’s (Moi) farm should be cultivated),” the students sing as led by Ruto. https://youtu.be/_tY6regnwYM This is not the first time archives a spiting Ruto’s past in music. At one time, the Kenya Film Classification Board chief executive officer Ezekiel Mutua shared photos of the DP carrying a bible on one hand…

On April 13, a police officer in Kisumu, Ronaldo Otieno, was arrested demanding bribes from a businessman in Kisumu. The officer was attached to Alpha Two that deals with operation and intelligence and was intercepted along Ahero-Kisumu highway by speed check Kisumu officers for speeding in Toyota Fielder Reg No. KCM 681L. The said police officer who had no Certificate of Appointment with him was holding a police pocket phone, one Luo male adult aged 27 years namely Swalleh Omondi handcuffed and was in the company of a driver who escaped. The traffic officers got suspicious since the said officer…

Likoni Deputy Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Joab Omondi has shot dead his girlfriend, a barmaid and later on killed himself in a bar. Police reports have identified the woman shot in the Thursday night saga as Peninah. She was shot in a bar in Mtongwe where Omondi was a regular customer, well known to attendants and other regular customers. Peninah, the barmaid, was shot minutes after serving the two. The incidence happened after a heated argument between the three, but it is not yet clear what the argument was about. Peninah was rushed to Coast General Hospital for treatment after…

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has said that the government will switch off phone sim-cards whose owners fail to register for Huduma Namba by May 18. Speaking while in Kisumu, CA Director  General  Francis  Wangusi said that defaulters may miss services such as use of their mobile phones, access to MPesa  Service, Airtel Money, and ATM withdrawals. This is despite an existing court order barring the government from making the National Integrated  Management Systems (NIIMS) regstration, popularly known as Huduma Namba, compulsory. The government has given Kenyans a 45-day ultimatum, which expires on May 18. It said that there is…

Kenya Commercial Bank Group has proposed a 100 percent stake takeover of cash strapped National Bank of Kenya (NBK). The offer which has been approved by KCB board has been submitted to NBK for review, before proceeding to the Competition Authority of Kenya. The offer proposes a 1:10 ordinary share-swap, culminating to a 100 percent stake takeover. “We KCB Group Plc hereby give notice that we intend to acquire 100 per cent of the ordinary shares with a par value of Ksh5 of NBK. The offer shall be by way of a share swap of 10 ordinary shares of NBK…

Eating buns and driving could land you into trouble with the police in case they test you for drunk driving. In a video that has surfaced online, an officer from the  University Police in the US is seen testing the alcoblow and his alcohol level is zero. The policeman is then given a Traditional Hot Cross branded bun. After two bites, the officer then takes the alcoblow test another time. This time, the results come out positive at 0.21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFmRQ18LJjQ This means that bakery products could be containing substantial amounts of alcohol. It is clear whether the alcohol is intentional…

Clearing and forwarding agents this morning held demonstrations at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Embakasi, Nairobi, after being denied entry into Kenya Revenue Authorities (KRA) for unknown reasons. According to sources who spoke to Kahawa Tungu, KRA officials are only allowing entry to agents who are known to give bribes, while others are locked out. Currently, operations are on standstill as over 100 agents from different companies have crippled services, demanding unconditional service. Read: Kitui Woman Wants DCI To Help Reunite Her With Son ‘Kidnapped’ by Estranged Husband The agents accuse the head of the bureau Mr Irungu of…

TV host Tony Gachoka is on the spot for hosting anti-Ruto crusaders in his show on KTN, Point Blank. Since he started the show, Gachoka has hosted a total of 10 guests, most of whom have declared political fight against Deputy President William Ruto. In the first show on February 13, Gachoka hosted former governmrnt adviser  Peter Kagwanja, who has been seen to remain neutral, however secretly supporting the anti-Ruto crusaders by showing Ruto as a weak camp through his columns on Daily Nation. The second guest was ODM leader Raila Odinga, who has severally termed Ruto as the lord…

18 suspected criminals have been arrested in Eastleigh and Pumwani in connection to organised crime and touting. According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the suspects have been illegally manning stages and engaging in other organized crimes. The operation was led by officers from the DCI, Administration Police and the Regular Police following information from the public. They will be arraigned in court tomorrow The Traffic Act of Kenya outlines touting as a criminal offence that is punishable by a Ksh50,000 fine or 12-month jail term. The law states that “No person shall, for the purpose of obtaining passengers…

Kenyans today raged an online war against the 1.5 percent housing fund levy that the government intents to implement by the end of this month. On Twitter, they used the hashtag #ResistHousingFundLevy to express their anger against the levy. This comes at a time the labour court has suspended the implementation of the law, which is pegged on the controversial Finance Act of 2018. The court said that the tax will stay on hold until the matter is heard on May 20 in a case filed by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK). “The Housing Fund Levy will compel employees…

Steve Okeyo has been appointed as the new Managing Director for Telkom Kenya’s Mobile Division. Mr Okeyo is taking over from Amer Atwi, who resigned to pursue personal affairs. “He (Atwi) led and was highly instrumental in Telkom’s rebrand from Orange, our revamped distribution network as well as our re-aligned product development strategy. In the last three years, Amer and his team have positioned Telkom as the mobile data services provider of choice.” Okeyo left Safaricom last year, where he was the Director of Regional Sales and Operations. Prior to this, Steve was Director for Sales Force Effectiveness at Lafarge…

Rental prices in upper market areas in Nairobi went down by four percent in the first three months of 2019 by, real estate firm Hass Consult has reported. According to the report released yesterday, the drop s attributable to last year’s government crackdown on expatriates working in the country illegally, most of whom prefer living in the areas. The crackdown saw over 4,000 foreigners arrested, with some being deported while others were detained. “This steady attrition in numbers was accelerated last year in the new government drive curbing work permits. This triggered a new uptick in international departures, which by…

Kisumu County will lose a total of Ksh260 million in the purchase of governor Anyang’ Nyong’o’s residential house, if nothing is done. According to a weekly publication, top officers at the county are intending to buy a house belonging to controversial business tycoon Ketan Somaia’s family located at the junction of Ringroad and Jomo Kenyatta Avenue. The house and overlooks Lake Victoria and shares a fence with Impala Park, and is valued at Ksh90 million. However, the family is said to have rejected the valuers’ amount, terming it as too low. Instead, the family demanded Ksh200 million in the sale.…