Author: Francis Muli

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has accused his predecessor Dr Evans Kidero of stealing funds meant for Pumwani Maternity Hospital upgrade. In an interview with Citizen TV last night, Sonko said that Kidero used the account of murdered lawyer Wachira Mburu to wire Ksh58 million from the county coffers and later rewired to his own account. He also refuted claims that Pumwani is understaffed, saying that the facility has 161 nurses working in two shifts. He said that the doctors are to blame for not reporting to work as required. “The nurses at Pumwani told me that mothers are suffering in…

Ten Ugandans who were being trafficked to the middle East by a Kenyan, Dorothy Katunge Mulavu, were arrested in Uhuru Estate, Nairobi. The ten women being trafficked were promised jobs, a trend that has been rampant in the East African countries. Victims of trafficking end up facing mistreatment, assault and even some die in the foreign countries. The Kenyan trafficker,Ms Mulavu will be arraigned in court tomorrow. Earlier today, the police arrested 15 Chinese nationals including underage girls suspected of practicing prostitution in Nairobi’s South C estate. Do you have a story you want told? Do you know of a sensitive…

Fear, intimidation and coercion have been used to perpetuate corruption at the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA). According to a letter written by a section of NITA employees to the Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Labour Ukur Yattani, the Federation of Kenya Employer (FKE) and Central Organization of Trade Union (COTU) representation, Director General (DG), Director, Human Resource & Administration (DHRA), Manager Legal Affairs (MLA) & Manager Internal Audit (MIA) are a mere alignment of corrupt and institutional capture delinquent individuals. The chairman who is relatively new has been unable to provide direction to the organisation, due to the…

In the memorandum on the Finance Bill, 2018, President Uhuru Kenyatta suggested that cashless/mobile money transfers excise duty be increased from 12 per cent to 20 per cent, a 66 per cent increase. “Excise duty on fees charged for money transfer services by banks, money transfer agencies and other financial service providers shall be 20 per cent of their excisable value,” said the President in the memorandum. President Kenyatta also suggested that taxation imposed to betting firms be reduced from 35 per cent to 15 per cent, whilst all winnings for gamblers be slashed by 20 per cent in terms…

Real Estate firm Cytonn is set to buy Nairobi’s luxury hotel-cum-furnished apartments vendor Wasini Resorts. The buyout was authorised by Competition Authority of Kenya through a Gazette notice last week. This will see Cytonn acquire 100 per cent shareholding in Wasini Resorts. The firm’s head of private equity (real estate), Shiv Arora, confirmed entering into discussions with luxury apartment owners but declined to divulge details. “For Wasini, we are in discussions with the proprietor, however, transaction details remain undisclosed at this point in time. As developments occur, we shall keep you updated,” he said as quoted by a local daily.…

The Communication Authority of Kenya (CA) has banned SIM card hawking following an audit report that found that subscriber information with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) is inaccurate or incomplete. In a statement to newsrooms, CA states that anybody found hawking SIM cards risks a fine of up to Ksh500,000 or 12 months imprisonment or both. In addition, subscribers must appear in person and provide correct information. Providing incorrect information is an offence that attracts a fine Ksh100,000 or imprisonment for six (6) months or both, according to the statement from CA. The Francis Wangusi led authority has also directed all MNOs to…

A row between Banda Homes and a member of the Kenyatta family Catherine Kihanya is simmering over a 20-acre piece of land in Juja, Kiambu. Banda Homes had advertised the piece of land, but Ms Kihanya came out in public to claim that the homes developer was misleading the public on the status of the ownership of the land. Media reports indicated that Kihanya, President Uhuru’s niece had said that the piece of land in Juja constituency belongs to the family and no sale agreement had been reached between Banda Homes and the family. Read: Former Vodacom Accountant Demands Ksh45 Billion For ‘Please…

Vodacom may be forced to pay Ksh45 billion to its former employee Kenneth Makate who is believed to be the mastermind behind the famous flashback message ‘please call me’. Mr Makate went to court over the issue and won the case over copyright of the service but he is yet to be paid a penny following the final agreement. According to a local daily, talks between Makate and Vodacom lawyers hit a snag over the payment, forcing the company CEO Shaamel Joosub to take over the talks. Makate is said to have come up with the idea in 2000 out of…

Digital taxi drivers working with leading taxi hailing apps were still working on Tuesday morning despite a strike call from their leaders. A spot check by Kahawa Tungu revealed that a good number of drivers working for Uber and Taxify were still online and ready to take rides. A request for Uber showed that the driver was six minutes away, while a check on Taxify showed that the driver was one minute away. The drivers had vowed to down their tools in a push for implementation of better pricing by the dominant app companies, which they say have continued to…

MeForest Initiative has partnered with Machakos Senator Boniface Kabaka in a bid to increase forest cover in the ASAL regions, by planting a million trees in every county. Meforest is a youth initiative aimed at coordinating the production of seedlings for the afforestation and re-afforestation of the Kenyan landscape, at the same time creating income for jobless youths and women. In a statement to newsrooms, the organisation says that it will first focus on Machakos county then spread wings to other parts of the country that are adversely affected by deforestation. “Meforest Initiative in its initial program in collaboration with…

55 engineering students from the Technical University of Kenya (TUK) failed to graduate in the University of Nairobi (UoN) September 14 graduation, after the two university technically refused to comply with a court order. The students were supposed to graduate last year according to a court order issued by Justice Chacha Mwita, but TUK leadership frustrated their efforts to graduate by refusing to forward their names to UoN. TUK, formerly Kenya Polytechnic, was a constituent college of UoN, before getting a chatter from the government in 2013. The 55 joined the University College (TUK) in 2009 to pursue a degree in…

More could have happened behind the scenes that led to the bitter rivalry between Britam and four of its former employees who unceremoniously bolted out to form a new company. Kahawa Tungu’s investigative desk has delved into the matter and discovered that Edwin Dande, Patricia Wanjama, Elizabeth Nkukuu and Shiv Arora who were once the senior-most officers at Britam left after a major disagreement with the company. According to Britam insiders who spoke to Kahawa Tungu on condition of anonymity, the four rendered their resignation letters due to an operating environment that was fraught with illegalities and unethical business practices that…

World Bank has revealed that Somalia approximately conducts over 155 million mobile money transactions worth US$2.7 billion (Ksh270 billion) every month, making it one of the most active mobile money markets in the world. According to the word Bank report, over 70 percent of adult Somalis use mobile money services regularly despite a lack of robust consumer protection and know-your-customer requirements. Lead ICT policy specialist at the World Bank Tim Kelly says private sector actors have given Somalia a unique opportunity to leapfrog towards widespread financial inclusion. “World Bank will continue to support the partnership between the Central Bank of Somalia, the…

Trouble for Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is far from over, after it emerged that the bank could have employed unqualified or careless employees in its accounting department. This was noted in the 2017 Annual financial report in which there was a mix up of detail, after the department released a report in which the details for total deposits and total assets for Equity Bank figures were used as those of Co-operative Bank and vice versa. In the appendix IV of the report on page 56, CBK indicates that the Co-operative Bank had total net assets worth Ksh406 billion as…

Apple has announced iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max, the most advanced iPhones ever, taking the vision for the future of the smartphone to a new level. The 5.8-inch iPhone Xs and 6.5-inch iPhone Xs Max feature Super Retina displays, a faster and improved dual camera system that offers breakthrough photo and video features, the first 7-nanometer chip in a smartphone — the A12 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine — faster Face ID, wider stereo sound, a beautiful new gold finish and introduce Dual SIM to iPhone. “iPhone Xs is packed with next-generation technologies and is a huge step forward for…