Author: Francis Muli

Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi has applied to cross-examine both the current Safaricom CEO and the immediate former, Bob Collymore and Michael Joseph respectively. The blogger wants the two to answer integrity questions concerning the firms management in connection to the CCTV project between Safaricom and the government and also transmission of election results in the 2013 general elections. The cross-examination will also touch of the forensic audit of the firm by KPMG in 2016 which touched on integrity issues such as corruption in the awarding of tenders, where the names of senior officials of the firm feature prominently. Read: Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi Released…

Visa has announced Aida Diarra as Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for Visa Sub-Saharan Africa, effective November 1, 2018. Aida joins Visa from Western Union, where she was the Regional Vice President for Africa & Managing Director for more than four years. Diarra will oversee all Visa operations in forty-eight markets across Sub-Saharan Africa. She will report to Visa’s Regional President of Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA), Andrew Torre, and join CEMEA regional management team. Read: Sylvia Mulinge is the new Safaricom’s Chief Customer Officer, Steve Okeyo Sacked Prior to her position at Western Union,…

The government is set to sell its stake in 26 companies to private investors in a bid to fund the budget deficit, and repay debt. Among those to be sold include 36 companies owned by the government were declared insolvent by the 2015-16 government audit report. The companies according to the audit report required at least Ksh118.76 billion to save them from collapsing. The auditor general attributed their poor performance to pending debts amounting to billions and dating back to almost two decades ago. Also, unapproved increase in expenditure and double payment of debts owed to service providers was another reason for…

Kenya Power will on Wednesday November 7 shut down their prepaid system from 10pm to 6am Thursday November 8 for maintenance. Token generation will resume thereafter until 10pm on the same day when the second shutdown will start and end at 6am on Friday of November 9, 2018. “During these two periods of shutdown, our customers on the prepaid system will not be able to vend for electricity tokens. Customers are being advised to purchase tokens early enough to avoid inconveniences that are bound to result from the shutdown,” says Kenya Power through a statement. This comes a week after the company shut down prepaid service for…

Safaricom has inked a deal with Western Union that will allow M-pesa customers to send and receive money at any Western Union branch centers across the world. Under the deal, Mpesa customers will be allowed to send and receive a maximum of Ksh140,000 per day globally through their mobile phones. The new mobile money transfer service will allow transactions in 130 world currencies. However, Mpesa global bank transfers will only be available in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Germany. Safaricom’s Chief Financial Services Officer Sitoyo Lopokoiyit stated that the new service is set to bring the convenience,…

Pay-TV Company Kwesé is shutting down its operations in Kenya as a result of stiff competition and hard economic times. The company will henceforth shift focus to Over The Top (OTT-streaming services) and video-on-demand services, according to a statement from the firm. This comes barely two years after launch as Econet, a reflection of stiff competition from the numerous digital service providers in the country. “Refocusing our business offering across markets, is a strategic move which aligns our business to Over The Top (OTT-streaming services) and video-on-demand trends which present significant growth opportunities for Kwesé. This renewed focus on digital…

Equity Group has reported an eight percent growth in profit after tax for the third quarter ending September 2018 to reach Ksh15.8 billion up from Ksh14.6 billion in 2017. The Group now has a liquidity ratio of 55 per cent with non-funded income contributing 40 per cent, subsidiaries contribute 18 per cent of earnings while costs have declined by four per cent to Ksh26.9 billion from Ksh28.0 billion over the past one year. The group reported differentiated revenue growth of one percent to Ksh49.3 billion up from Ksh48.7 billion. Non-funded income held strong to reach Ksh19.8 billion driven mainly by remittance…

Several Government websites were shut down over unsettled debts between the Kenyan government and Microsoft. Those affected include the Ministry of Lands, Labour, Ministry of Energy, Mining and Petroleum, and that of the Ministry of East Africa Community among others. All the websites are hosted by Microsoft’s Azure. The Ministry of ICT on Monday night issued a statement confirming the shutdown. Read: IBM Buys Red Hat At Ksh3.4 Trillion In Historical Tech Merger “Some government of Kenya websites were down and the ICT Authority was working round the clock to ensure that the issue is urgently resolved and normal services resumed.…

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) acting managing director Daniel Manduku is technically locked out in the ongoing recruitment of a new Managing Director. According to a public notice in the recruitment exercise to succeed former managing director (MD) Ms Catherine Mturi Wairi, the KPA Board of Directors has set out tough requirements for the position that automatically lock Manduku out of the race. Candidates applying for the position are required to have knowledge and experience of the port operations of not less than 15 years and have to have served in a managerial cum leadership role in an organization of similar complexity as the KPA for at least eight years. Manduku has…

A group of Kenyans under the organisation CitizenGO have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health Sicily Kariuki demanding that Marie Stopes licence be revoked for its abortion ad. This follows an ad by the health facility that has been promising ‘solutions’ for unwanted/unplanned pregnancies to women and young girls. The ad has been seen as a way of promoting abortion, which is illegal in Kenya unless the life of the mother is in danger. “Marie Stopes Clinics have been associated with illegal abortion activities not only in Kenya but internationally. The clinic operating under the guise of “safe reproductive health…

Kenyan business and academia community travelling to South Africa will now be issued with multiple entry visas valid for up to 10 years while frequent travelers will be eligible for 3-year multiple entry visas effective December 1, 2018. The country agreed to ease visa application rules and entry conditions for the above categories following extensive deliberations between the Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Dr Fred Matiang’i, and South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, in Pretoria earlier today. Government officials travelling on official business to South Africa will be granted 3 months free…

Internet service provider Liquid Telecom has partnered with cyber security consultancy Serianu to bring a new service targeting local savings and credit cooperative societies (saccos) help them mitigate possible losses from internal and external fraudsters. Known as SIEMaaS, an acronym for Security Information and Event Management As A Service, it provides a technical solution to identify and qualify cyber security risks faced by the sacco. According to Liquid Telecom, SIEMaaS builds technical controls to protect access to sacco members’ personal data and funds. The technical controls are then monitored and any fraudulent access is alerted on and acted upon to…

Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Mombasa John Njenga has passed on at Mater Hospital at the age of 90 after a short illness. The news of his death was confirmed by the Archbishop of Mombasa Martin Kivuva when he met family members and friends of the archbishop at the hospital. Kivuva termed the clergy as a man who was dedicated to serving both the Church and country. “He served as the chairman of the Bishop’s Conference and rendered his services with a lot of dedication and commitment. He will be remembered for his passion and immerse contribution to the development of education…

Today, Deputy President William Ruto hosted President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga for lunch. The three gathered at Ruto’s home in Karen, immediately after attending the requiem mass of the late former Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organisation chairperson Jane Kiano at the St Francis ACK church, Karen. Kipchumba Murkomen also accompanied the leaders. Despite several photos being shared online, the details of the ‘lunch’ meeting remain tightly guarded as bodyguards and aides were kept at bay during the meeting. Read: Is Ruto In The Dark Over State House Developments, Left Alone In 2022 Bid? Of late, the three leaders…

Safaricom raked in Ksh31.5 billion in net profits in the half year ending September 30, 2018. This reflected a a 20.2 per cent  increase compared to Ksh26.2 billion recorded within the same period last year. M-Pesa revenues increased by 18.2% raking in Ksh35.5 billion in gross profits while mobile data revenues also recorded an increase of 10.2% to bring in Ksh19.45 billion. Messaging revenue recorded a drop of 1.2 per cent to Ksh8.81 billion while fixed service revenue increased by 21.0 per cent raking in Ksh3.91 billion. Read: Safaricom Lost Ksh293 Million To Fines For Poor Service In 2017 The telco paid…