Author: Francis Muli

US First Lady Melania Trump has arrived in the country for a two-day visit to promote health, education and environmental conservation. Mrs Trump jetted in in an Air Force plane. She has been received by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta and former US ambassador Robert Godec at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport this evening. She has already visited Malawi and Ghana, and is later expected in Egypt. On her four-country, week-long tour of Africa, Trump is aiming to cast a more positive light on her embattled husband’s administration and its “America First” agenda. Read: JKIA To Close Terminal For Melania Trump’s Arrival,…

Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA) has called on the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate and prosecute Githunguri Member of Parliament Mr Gabriel Kago for allegedly battering his wife Ms Emily Wanjiku. The MP is said to have pounced on his wife with kicks and blows at the home in Loswan estate on Kiambu road and inflicting serious injuries on her, after being accused of infecting her with STIs on two counts. Emily sustained injuries on the neck, scalp, thighs , upper back and experienced trouble swallowing. In a statement, FIDA has vowed…

The Kenya Union of Teachers (KNUT) has issued a 14-day strike notice to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) after talks between the two hit a snag. The two met last week for talks about teachers’ transfers, promotions and appraisals in which TSC issued a statement yesterday accusing Knut of issuing fresh demands. “We have been shocked by TSC statement as it is full of lies and we are giving them 14 days to address our grievances or face the consequences,” said Knut Secretary General Wilson Sossion. Sossion denied claims by TSC that they walked out of the negotiations, saying that…

Ugandan army has launched its own brand of condoms, Ulinzi Condoms, to be used by the officers in case they engage in extra-marital sex while on duty. According to the ministry of health in Uganda, the new condoms should help stop soldiers bringing HIV back home after a tour of duty. “The nature of this job has many challenges. [The soldiers] sometimes go to war zones where they meet up with women for pleasure. They have to protect their lives to avoid infecting their wives back home,” said Vastha Kibirige, the minister of health. Read: Akothee’s Manager Warns ‘Thirsty’ Presenters Trying To…

Sendy, an online delivery platform and Yamaha have inked a deal that will see the latter train motorcycle rider affiliated to the former. The deal aims to give motorcycle drivers professional training on how to safely ride motorcycles to reduce the rate of injuries and deaths caused by accidents related to motorcycles. “The number of motorcycle accidents has evidently been on the rise and partnership with Yamaha will see them get training on motorcycle best practices and make the best out of the safety gadgets these motorcycles come with,” said Mr Meshack Alloys, Sendy Founder and CEO. Data from National Transport and…

The High Court yesterday ruled that the disputed law of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act remains suspended, saying that the laws should first pass the constitutional validity test. The ruling was issued by Lady Justice Wilfrida Okwany, following an appeal by the government to allow the Act to be applied. Justice Chacha Mwita had earlier on suspended 22 sections of the act, in which the Bloggers Association of Kenya sued the Attorney-General, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Inspector-General of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions over abuse of freedom of expression. The suspended sections touched on child…

The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) is poised to take over defunct Imperial Bank Limited, which was placed under receivership in October 2015. The announcement was made yesterday by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), who revealed that KCB submitted a binding offer on September 27. “Central Bank of Kenya and Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation announce the receipt of a binding offer dated September 27, 2018, from KCB Bank Kenya Limited with respect to Imperial Bank Limited (in receivership) as part of the Expression of Interest (EOI) process that was announced on October 13, 2017,” read…

Facebook has announced partnership with two third party fact checking firms in Kenya to help assess the accuracy of news being disseminated in its platform. The fact checkers include Africa Check, Africa’s first independent fact checking organization and AFP which is a well known news organization. Currently, Facebook relies on feedback from people as one of the many signals used to raise potentially false stories which are then given to fact checkers for review. Local stories will be fact checked alongside the verification of photos and videos. If a story is found to be false by the fact checking partners, Facebook will…

Truecaller has launched an instant messaging (IM) platform, Truecaller Chat. The IM platform will allow users to report links, ensuring that fake news is not circulated unchecked by users. Users will be able to mark website links as spam if they suspect it to have incorrect information, which will then help chatters make a more informed decision about what information is false. Read: Instagram Users Panic As App Stops Working The caller identification app also plans to apply machine learning and use the aggregated spam reports to predict any upcoming viral trends. “As a one-stop communication platform, our IM service will…

MultiChoice has appointed Nkateko Mabaso as the CEO of M-Net in Sub-Saharan Africa to replace Yolisa Phahle who has stepped into the role of CEO of General Entertainment for the Video Entertainment segment. The appointment takes effect immediately. “Nkateko has been appointed in recognition of his continued commitment and contribution to local programming that audiences love and watch in increasing numbers year on year. He is passionate about our continent’s film and television industry and I and wish him every success,” says Phahle. Mabaso holds a degree in Marketing Communications and started his career in the advertising industry, working on…

Three suspects have been arrested in Kisii with Ksh38 million fake dollars in Kisii, stashed in two saloon car at Gionseri area in Nyamache Sub County. The fake money was in 100 American Dollar notes packed in parcels that were in the Subaru Impreza and Nissan Bluebird vehicles and also in a home where they were going to engage in their clandestine activities. Chemicals and other equipment used in minting the money were also nabbed in the operation, according to Nyamache OCPD Japheth Mwirichia. “We found 270,000 dollars in the two vehicles in possession of the three suspects while 110,000 dollars was…

Safaricom is about to launch a new product dubbed auto-okoa, to compliment the already existing Okoa Jahazi service that lets you borrow airtime when faced with a situation that you need to make calls but airtime is not readily available. In the new product, your call will not be disconnected in case your airtime is exhausted. Instead, you will be automatically advanced airtime to avoid embarrassment in important calls. Kahawa Tungu has however learnt that the country’s largest telco does not own the idea, and has not paid even a penny to the mastermind of the idea. Our investigative…

The National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) has been captured by the HR Director Julius Olayo, who has been acting as he wills, even in contravention of the law. Kahawa Tungu’s investigative desk has discovered that in the June recruitment at the authority, one Mr Julius Olayo recruited members of his family, and if not so close friends. Sources within the organisation reveal that since his reporting to Nita in 2014, Olayo has set up a rigged system and captured the authority in its recruitment processes so that in any recruitment, Mr Olayo and his friends’ preferred candidates only succeed to be…

President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to sign the Kenya Prisons Enterprise Corporation Order of 2018, that establishes the Kenya Prisons Enterprise Corporation. A statement to newsrooms from the National Government Communication Centre states that the corporation will be mandated to expand the scope of the prison work programs with the aim of unlocking the revenue potential of the prisons industry and ultimately turn it into a reformative and financially self-sustaining entity. “The new Corporation will also contribute to the realization of President Kenyatta’s Big 4 Agenda, particularly Food Security, Affordable Housing, and Manufacturing. In this regard, it will be mandated…

Taxify on Tuesday announced that customers will now be able to get an estimate for a Taxify ride, duration and fare in Google Maps right next to other transport options. The new option will require customers to open the Google Maps app on their smartphones. After searching for their destination, they will need to tap directions and open the ride services tab next to the familiar car, public transport and walking options. The tab will display information about how close the cars are as well as an estimated fare. After selecting Taxify as their ride and tapping on “Open app”,…