Author: Francis Muli

Several people are feared dead after an Ethiopian Airline Boeing 737 crashed this morning. In a tweet, the office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia confirmed the crash, without giving much details. “The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning,” read the tweet. Read: DPP Haji Calls For International Cooperation To Unearth Faces Behind Ksh21 Billion Dam Scandal The plane #ET302 is…

Celebrated American Musician R Kelly was on Saturday released from jail after USD161000 (KSH16.1 million) was paid for child support to ex-lover. The musician was arrested on Wednesday over the unpaid support for three children he has with Andrea Lee, his ex-wife. “I promise you, we’re gonna straighten all this stuff out.That’s all I can say right now,” Kelly told fans outside Cook County Jail. However, reports by the Reuters indicate that the source of the funds was unclear, with the name section of the bond slip left blank. Sections of the media reported that an unidentified benefactor helped him.…

It has emerged that former Embakasi South Mp Irshad Sumra could have used Constituency Development Funds (CDF) for ‘personal’ uses, among them buying a PSV vehicle in 2015. In 2014/2015 financial year, the CDF kitty was used to buy a school bus (KCE 129L) for St Stevens Secondary School in Embakasi. However, as fate could have it, the school never had the services of the bus for even a single day, as it was converted to a Public Service Vehicle (PSV) almost immediately, working under the City Shuttle banner. The bus has been operating in the city, but when the…

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has said that investigations to the Ksh21 billion dam scandal will require the help of international community to unearth its beneficiaries. In a statement, DPP said that preliminary investigations had proved that it is true Ksh21 billion had already been lost, and they were pursuing leads to top government officials involved in the scandal. “I have also noted the shocking magnitude of the amounts involved and the parties involved that are of interest in the investigations. This has in turn made the investigations complex requiring investigators to cover a wide range of…

The Nairobi City County Government as embarked on a mission to bring down illegal billboards. A live video shared today on Governor Mike Sonko’s Facebook Page showed the county officials bringing down one of the billboards along Mombasa Road. “As promised the Nairobi City County Government is still dealing with rogue outdoor advertisers who have failed to comply with the laws. Read: Third Time Lucky; Laikipia Governor Nderitu Muriithi Survives Petition “More billboards which have been erected contrary to the Nairobi City County Outdoor Advertising Act 2018 are being brought down by my administration along Mombasa road,” said Sonko. Email…

Bishop David Kariuki Ngare alias Gakuyo will remain in office ogether with oher management staffers at Ekeza Sacco, the court has ruled. The new directive now bars the Commissioner of Co-operative Development from instating the new managers at Ekeza Sacco. This comes as a win for a section of Ekeza Sacco members allied to Gakuyo, who had filed a petition to stop the Commissioner of Co-operatives from installing new management. The sacco has been on a standstill since last year when the Government revoked its license following complaints that it was sharing office space and bank accounts with Gakuyo Real…

Serikali ya Muungano wa Tanzania imebatilisha sherehe za maadhimisho ya Siku ya Wanawake Duniani katika mikoa miwili, na kuviomba vyama andalizi kujiunga na serikali katika maadhimisho rasmi. Sherehe hizo zilikua zimeandaliwa na chama cha Chadema katika Mkoa wa Geita na Act Wazalendo katika Mkoa wa Katavi. Aidha, barua kutoka wakuu wa jeshi la polisi la mikoa yote miwili zilizolifikia chapisho la Kahawa Tungu zimewataka wakuu wa vyama hivyo kuweka kando mipangilio yao na badala yake kujiunga na serikali kuadhimisha siku hiyo. Read: Indo Solutions Yashutumiwa Baada Ya Kukiuka Mkataba Wa Korosho Na Nchi Ya Tanzania “Kwa barua hii ninawazuia kufanya maadhimisho…

The party for ‘sacred cows’ at the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) is finally over, with the government now opting to hand it over to private investors after years of loss making. According to Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri, the process of privatising the entity starts next week, as a taskforce has already been set up. “We are going to privatise Kenya Meat Commission. We are in the process and we are setting up a task force next week, which will comprise officials from the Privatisation Commission,” said Mr Kiunjuri. Livestock Principle Secretary Harry Kimtai is optimistic that “privatisation of the…

A Turkish businessman identified as Bulent Gulbahar attacked security guards and injured one at Gateway Complex along Mombasa Road. In a CCTV footage obtained by Kahawa Tungu, the businessman is seen forcing his way to the premises by hitting the gate with his car. It is alleged that he was accompanied by his lawyer, whom we are yet to identify. Bulent is said to have leased the property and abandoned it, and the guards were not aware of him when he came on the material day shouting to them that he owned the property. “The innocent guard has no idea…

To what extend the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury Henry Rotich is implicated in graft, only the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) knows after close to 26 hours of grilling. However, one thing is for sure, Rotich sits uneasy at the helm of the national treasury, with pressure mounting from all corners for him to step aside. The latest to call for sacking to CS’s implicated in graft is Musalia Mudavadi, who has called on to the President to fire immediately CS’s facing graft allegations. Kenyans led by members of parliament (MPs) have started calling for his resignation, while others…

New York Times foreign correspondent Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura’s appointment to work in Kenya has been revoked. Before being appointed to be the East Africa Bureau Chief for the New York Times, Tamura worked as a correspondent based in London for the American paper. She came under heavy criticism from Kenyans who wanted her barred from working in Kenya for publishing images of dead bodies of the January Dusit D2 attack in Nairobi. Different images of bodies at the scene of the attack from Getty Images and The Associated Press were used in an article done by Tamura. Netizens were not…

Deported MTN Uganda CEO Wim Vanhelleputte has taken to court to protest his deportation, terming it as illegal and an abuse of his rights by the government of Uganda. In court papers, Vanhelleputte says that he did not commit any crime that warranted him a deportation therefore wanted the deportation order quashed. “The applicant has never committed any offence or criminal act under the laws of Uganda and neither is he responsible for breaking any law. That there’s no lawful reason whatsoever for his deportation. That it is in the interest of justice that his deportation be quashed,” read his…

The Stima Investment Co-operative Sacco is glaring at a possible Ksh500 million fraud case involving top officers. As a result, the commissioner of Co-operatives has ousted the entire board, who represented the 13,565 members at the management level. An audit by Deloitte reveals that the money was lost through multiple irregular land purchases without prior due diligence. Other purchases were left halfway after the initial deposits. For instance, in 2016, the sacco is said to have acquired a 15-acre piece of land in Kisumu at Ksh48 million and paid 20 percent of the amount. The members were shown the wrong…

Deputy President William Ruto’s pilot, Captain Mario Magonga and four Americans have lost their lives in a plane crash in Turkana. The plane is reported to have gone off radar on Sunday and crashed around 8pm. The remains of the five and wreckage of the plane were recovered at 2am near Lake Turkana. “Available information indicates that two helicopters had landed earlier at Labolo tented Camp on the National Park’s Island, however one managed to clear the area safely,” the National Police Service said. “Security personnel dispatched to the scene confirmed that among the five were four Americans and the…

Behind the simmering scandal of JKIA takeover is another scandal led by Kenya Airways (KQ) CEO Sebastian Mikosz and Chairman Michael Joseph, who have engineered a Ksh1.8 billion loot from the ‘pride of Africa’. In the face of loss making, KQ has been turned into an airline taken hostage by a bunch of rogue white supremacists, leading to the loss of over Ksh1.8 billion in the last 18 months since Mikosz took over. Unlike loss making in other business entities, the money ended up in people’s pockets, something that has crippled KQ. Mikosz alone pockets Ksh8 million every month, as…