Author: Francis Muli

Things are getting murkier for Kenolkobil, even as another senior officer resigned this week. David Ohana, the managing director, quit silently and his successor introduced to staffers this week. Ohana was left out of legal proceedings by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) in the scandal that is threatening to sink big names like stockbroking agent Aly-Khan Satchu. Charges against Ohana were dropped after investigations failed to prove misconduct against him. In the scandal, shares worth Ksh6.1 billion were traded before the takeover deal by French firm Rubis. This comes barely a week since Kestrel Capital East Africa CEO Andre DeSimone…

Early this year, a middle aged Kenyan man committed suicide following Arsenal’s loss to Bate Borisov. The man identified as Duncan lost Ksh60,000 after three successive bets of Ksh20,000 each. He is not the first case, neither is he the last. In September 2018, another one committed suicide after losing the same amount in a Kenya vs Ghana match, with Kenya hammering Ghana 1-0. The disorder does not only affect the ‘commoners’. Former England midfielder Paul Merson says he is “taking one day at a time” after revealing he is again struggling with gambling addiction. Merson, 50, who is a…

Kenya Airways (KQ) has temporarily suspended its flights to and from Sudan over the coup that has seen President Omar al-Bashir ousted. Speaking on state TV, defence minister Awad Ibn Ouf said the army would oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections. He also said a three-month state of emergency was being put in place. However, the nation is still in a state of instability after protesters vowed to remain in the streets demanding a civilian council to lead the transition rather than a military one. Mr Ibn Ouf said the country had been suffering from “poor management, corruption,…

Pope Francis on Thursday caused a stir after kneeling to kiss the feet of warring South Sudan President Salva Kiir and  Riek Machar who had gone for a spiritual retreat at the Vatican. The gesture could be translated as a form of humility of trying to unite the leaders. Hosting the leaders, the Pope called for peace and reconciliation in the country, and that he wishes to visit South Sudan. “I am asking you as a brother to stay in peace. I am asking you with my heart, let us go forward. There will be many problems but they will…

The political war between Deputy President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga are escalating, with the former terming Ruto as a pathological liar. In a statement meant to debunk Ruto’s statement against Mr Odinga, ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna said that Ruto lied throughout an interview he had with Citizen’s Hussein Mohammed. “Among these lies was that the Rt Hon Raila Odinga approached him four times prior to the famous handshake for purposes he did not disclose. This would be laughable if the accusation didn’t raise such grave concerns,” said Sifuna. “Rt. Hon Raila Odinga had ran in the…

Even as Mumias Sugar company sinks in losses, the board of directors are determined to lick it dry by raising their pay with little or zero performance. The directors now receive 31 percent higher of their wages, as per the financial report of the year ended June 2018. This hiked the pay to Ksh37.2 million as compared to Ksh28.4 in the previous year (2017). In 2016, the pay stood at Ksh12.4, meaning that the pay more than doubled in 2017. As if that is not enough, the chairman of the board Kennedy Ngumba added himself a 70 percent pay rise.…

The government has backtracked on its plans to have Kenya Airways (KQ) take over operations of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). Appearing before the National Assembly’s Transport Committee, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that the government was exploring other ways of rejuvenating cash strapped KQ. “Following concerns that have been raised by the public, we are now exploring other opinions of delivering the objectives of the government to consolidate our aviation sector. Once an agreed option has been identified we will submit the same to the Cabinet for approval as directed by it,” said Macharia. This follows a…

Yesterday, reports emerged of confrontation of the regular police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives over a truck that was carrying illegal ethanol from Tanzania. Trouble started when officers manning the major roadblock at the base of the town flagged down a Scania-make truck, registration number KAW 092K towing trailer registration number ZC 4138. As usual, police officers manning the roadblock asked for documents of the consignment, but the driver was adamant to hand over the documents. A passenger in the truck suspected to have crossed over from Tanzania to Kenya through Namanga border intervened and introduced himself as…

Kenyans could be staring to another food shortage this year, even as the long rains season delays while food prices start tor rise. The price of maize flour rose by 28 percent to about Ksh109 from Ksh85 for a 2-kg packet, while that of long-life milk increased by Ksh5 for a 500ml packet from Ksh50 to Ksh55. Maize millers attribute the rise shortage of supply from farmers. “There has been scarcity in supply of maize in the market and we are hardly getting stocks from farmers even with increased purchase price of Ksh2,700 for a 90 kilo bag. The increase…

Spring Valley Estate along Peponi Road is experiencing water shortage, the second day in a row. The Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company had not issued a notice to the residents, who were caught by surprise by the abrupt water hitch. A customer care representative who spoke to Kahawa Tungu said that they were not aware of the situation, and that they would mobilise their technical team. “We are not aware of the situation but we will look into it,” said Michael, a customer care representative. The estate is known for hosting senior government officials, which Kahawa Tungu could not mention…

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila Odinga should be emulated as role models in the country’s political scene, embattled Nairobi county assembly speaker Beatrice Elachi has said. Ms Elachi said she has learned a lot since seeing the two leaders embrace each other through a handshake after the 2017 general election. She spoke during the launch of Women Embrace Movement Mombasa chapter and Bridge Initiative held at Sheikh Zayed Children Welfare Centre in Kisanui constituency, Mombasa county. She vowed not to insult her political rivals or incite people against them during and at the end of campaign period. The embattled speaker challenged leaders to stop…

American IT company Cisco has announced the launch of a Ksh69 million Incubation hub in Kenya. The Incubation Centre targets Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME’s) in the ICT space. This centre will be hosted at the University of Nairobi and is a first for Cisco in East Africa and the second in Africa, having launched a Hub in South Africa last year. “This Hub known as the ‘Cisco EDGE Incubation Centre,’ is aimed at providing a platform for SMMEs to collaborate with Cisco’s experts across the globe to enable the small businesses to bring customers into the centre to…

Developers and contractors have been offered a training on practical lessons on the execution of a public-private partnership  (PPP) projects. The two-day fully sponsored training scheduled for April 24 and 25 will be conducted Shelter Afrique through its  Centre of Excellence (CoE) Masterclass Series. “There is a visible lack of capacity on the continent for large scale development. Usually, large public-private partnerships are done through a consortium of developers which leads to problems of quality control, design dissimilarities and responsibility. This course seeks to work contractors and developers through the PPP process, from inception, project implementation and handover to equip them…

A former employee of Windsor Hotel and Country Club was last month awarded Ksh2.6 million after she was fired for being pregnant. Ms Tracy Wangechi Mugambi was was sacked just after resuming duty from maternity leave, which the court found discriminatory. “It therefore follows that the respondent (Windsor) had no valid reason to terminate the services of the petitioner,” Justice Hellen Wasilwa ruled. Ksh2 million will be paid for discrimination on account of pregnancy, three months’ salary in lieu of notice, gratuity for working for six years and 12 months’ salary for unlawful termination. Ms Mugambi was sent on compulsory…

The pain of being falsely accused of stealing at a work place can be stressful, demoralizing and traumatizing. The situation is even worse when you’re arrested and put behind bars for what you honestly believe is a witch hunt. To one, Morgan Otieno, an employee at Victory Farms – a firm dealing in fish business in Kenya – accusations linked to fraud in the fish business is at the verge of ruining his successful career. Reports indicate Otieno, who joined the company in July, 2018, has in the recent times had a tough time at his place of work after…