Author: Francis Muli

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is planning to introduce electronic logbooks (e-logbooks) to curb vehicle ownership related fraud. In a statement, director-general Francis Meja said that the move will improve information sharing through its online register, the Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS). “We are currently reviewing the option of having electronic logbooks that can be easily verified through the system and also seeing how the system can be integrated with insurance firms to know who actually has insured their vehicle,” stated Meja. According to Meja, the elogbook and the system will reduce instances of fraud by allowing financial…

The government has extended the mandate of the interim management team at Kenya Power, for two more months. The management led by acting Managing Director Jared Omondi was instituted after Dr Ken Tarus, who was then the MD, and 13 others were arrested in a Ksh409 scandal. The accused were charged with conspiracy to defraud the parastatal of over Ksh409 million. They reportedly purchased substandard transformers from Muwa Trading Company. Read: Safaricom To Increase Call, Data And SMS Charges As From Midnight The officials have also been accused of aiding fraudulent acquisition of Ksh202 million as payment for the supply of the transformers.…

Renowned lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has revealed that former DCI boss Ndegwa Muhro, who is now Kenya’s ambassador to Malaysia wanted to kill him, but did not reveal the reason. Speaking to Citizen Tv, Abdullahi revealed that  over 300 Kenyans disappeared during Muhoro’s tenure under unclear circumstances. “The former DCI boss was a disgrace the only thing he used to investigate was expired title deeds, only. The current DCI concentrates on the right job,” said the senior counsel. The lawyer also faulted the current parliament, saying that it has been turned into a conveyor belt doing anything the President wants without…

A month after Kahawa Tungu ran an expose on how John Ngumi and his cronies embezzled funds in the Kisumu Oil Jet Construction, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has taken up the matter and is investigating seven top officials of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC). The officials led by the Chairman John Ngumi implicated in a Ksh1.8 billion scandal in the construction of the oil jetty, a project that may never work. Partner states in the project have refused to undertake the project in their end, which would have made it viable. Among those summoned include the Chair of…

Safaricom has announced that it will increase voice calls, SMS and data tariffs as from midnight in line with the Finance Act 2018. In the revised tariffs, voice calls and data charges will increase by 30 cents while SMS charges will go up by 10 cents. “Therefore, as a result of the increased taxes passed in the Finance Act 2018, we wish to notify our customers that from midnight tonight, the 18th October 2018, our headline price for voice calls and data will increase by 30 cents and SMS by 10 cents,” Collymore said in a statement. After the Finance Bill…

The ICT Authority cannot produce payment vouchers for Ksh15.2 billion spent on the government’s flagship free laptops project. This is according to a new report from the Auditor General Edward Ouko. Instead, the Authority only provided nine letters of credit (LCs) as documentation for the payments. The authority also lost Ksh603 million to the purchase of faulty laptops, according to the report. The supplier was supposed to take care of the faulty devices, but up to the time of the audit, nothing had been done. “It has not been possible to confirm the propriety of expenditure totaling Sh15,151,069,367. After supply and…

The effects of the Finance Act 2018 are being felt across board, and now depositors will have to feel the pinch as the banks will have now to cut interest earned on deposits following the deposit floor scrap. The Act scrapped the floor that mandated lenders to pay at least 70 percent of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) signal rate. Already, several Financial institutions have signaled that they will cut interests earned on deposits. For instance, the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has introduced a tiered rate that will see only customers with more than Ksh2 million earn interest above…

Canada has legalised possession and use of recreational cannabis, opening a nationwide market for for the plant on Wednesday at midnight. Following the legalisation, adults will be able to buy cannabis oil, seeds and plants and dried cannabis from licensed producers and retailers and to possess up to 30 grams (one ounce) of dried cannabis in public, or its equivalent. Edibles, or cannabis-infused foods, will not be immediately available for purchase but will be within a year of the bill coming into force. The delay is meant to give the government time to set out regulations specific to those products. However,…

Homa Bay County Assembly speaker Madam Elizabeth Ayoo has been rushed to Kisumu hospital for treatment after being assaulted by a male Member of County Assembly this afternoon. Chaos erupted in the county assembly today over leadership positions in the county assembly, with MCAs accusing Ms Ayoo of changing list of new office holders. Madam Ayoo was allegedly assaulted by Kakelo Kokwanyo MCA, Dan Were who is said to have attacked the speaker with a chair. Read: Nairobi County Assembly Clerk Jacob Ngwele In Hiding Following DPP’s Order For Arrest Residents are angered over Speaker Elizabeth Ayoo’s assault. Do you have a story…

Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government Dr Fred Matiang’i has directed National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) to launch a ruthless operation in the Central Kenya region to crush criminals and cartels involved in coffee theft by the end of this year. Dr Matiang’i ordered this while addressing security chiefs from central Kenya in Nyeri today. “We have received so many complaints from cooperative societies and individual farmers; it’s clear this epidemic has reached chronic proportions, and we can no longer make excuses in addressing this and other contextual security issues,” Dr. Matiang’i stated. Matiang’i…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered Energy Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Energy to review electricity tariffs, with the aim of reducing the cost for small businesses within a month. The President ordered this at the Round Table forum for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) owners in Nairobi at the Strathmore University where he met the traders to discuss the challenges facing them. “We have to agree on the issue of financing SMEs and how to improve infrastructure. We have to deal with issues of access to markets, we must deal with the cost of electricity.” The President has directed his…

Wananchi Group, owner of pay and internet TV firm Zuku is planing to exit the Kenyan market following a tax battle with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). The firm has already contracted a US sales consultant Lizard Limited to work on a potential sale plan as top investors with combined shareholding of 85 per cent look to exit. The three top investors include Liberty Global, Altice Europe NV and London-based Helios Investment Partners whose stakes at the company are valued at $500 million (Sh50 billion) including debts. However, according to KRA, the three firms registered outside Kenya are just virtual vehicles used…

Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen has died of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a type of cancer that originates from the lymphatic system – at the age of 65. Allen founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in the 1970s, but left the company in 1983 due to the battle with Hodgkin’s disease which he succumbed to on Monday. In a statement, Gates eulogised Allen as a true friend and partner. “I am heartbroken by the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Paul Allen. From our early days together at Lakeside School, through our partnership in the creation of Microsoft, to some of our joint…

Cash-strapped Nakumatt has closed its Nakumatt Mega branch, for good. The chain retailer announced this through a notice to its customers yesterday, advising them to visit its remaining branches in the country. So far, the retailer remains with six branches across the country which include Prestige, Lavington, Embakasi, Mega City (Kisumu), Nakuru and Highridge which was reopened recently. Mid this year,Nakumatt Holdings CEO Atul Shah said the firm is collaborating with the Court Appointed Administrator Peter Kahi to recalibrate the business through the remaining seven branches. “At all the seven Nakumatt BounceBack branches, customers can enjoy a refreshed Nakumatt experience with…

Kenyans could have bought faulty 6kg gas cylinders from the government after it emerged that at least 67,251 cylinders supplied under the ‘Mwananchi Gas Project’ were defective, out of the 185,217 cylinders supplied so far. The cylinders were rejected by the National Oil, which was to retail the cylinders. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is now investigating how the gas cylinders worth more than Ksh3 billion were supplied under the programme to provide cheap cooking fuel to the poor. The programme was targeting to buy up to one million cylinders by 2019. Read: Ethical Hackers To Earn Between Ksh25,000 To Ksh200,000…