Author: Francis Muli

Kenyans have a sigh of relief after MPs voted to suspend the controversial 16 per cent petroleum levy for two more years, which will now take effect on September 1, 2020. The amendment on the Finance Bill was tabled by Minority Whip Junet Mohammed who cited high cost of living in Kenya. “The House has this afternoon approved an amendment to Clause 18 of the Finance Bill, 2018, sponsored by Minority Whip Junet Mohammed, suspending the implementation of 16% VAT on fuel, which was to take effect on 1st Sept. 2018, for a period of 2 years, citing the high…

Africa is one of the continents leading in unemployment rates, with countries such as Kenya having almost half of its population being jobless. Around 40 per cent of Kenya’s population have no jobs. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Namibia have unemployment rates of 46.1 per cent and 34 per cent respectively while South Africa, percieved to be among the developed countries has 27 per cent unemployment rate. 18.8 per cent of Nigerians are jobless. However, tech start ups have come up to bridge the gap between employers and those seeking for jobs. According to the recently-released Future of Work: Exploring the…

A messenger who lost his employer’s money has been ordered to pay Ksh5.5 million. High Court judge Joseph Sergon ruled that Robert Ndaru and his boss, Evans Mburu, pay the amount equally and bear the cost of the case. Ndaru lost a total amount of USD 6.8 million (Ksh680 million) in 2004 which he had been sent to bank by his employer, the Del Monte Kenya Limited. Ndaru allegedly lost the money after suffering an epileptic seizure on the streets of Nairobi. Justice Sergon found that Ndaru was reckless for not taking his medicine. “The defences put forward by the…

Kenya Airports Authority has received the Last Point of Departure (LPD) clearance for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from the American government. This gives the green light for airlines to fly directly from JKIA to any destination in the U.S. The LPD clearance was the last remaining hurdle in the planned direct flight operations for Kenya Airways. “This is a major achievement for Kenya as JKIA becomes one of the elite African airports to be certified as a last point of departure to the United States. JKIA is now poised to become the premier hub in Africa.” – KAA MD Jonny…

Kenya suffered a Ksh21 billion loss on cyber security crimes according to 2017 Seriamu report on the status of the Kenya Cyber security. In turn, the central Bank of Kenya (CBK) proposed implementation of new cyber security rules that would see the cost go down, or done away with. In the new rules, the board of directors and senior management of payments service providing institutions are expected to formulate and implement cyber security strategies, policies, procedures, guidelines and set minimum standards set for the institution. All these must be documented and made available for review by external auditors and CBK…

The Speaker of the Ugandan National Assembly Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga has written to the President Yoweri Museveni demanding that the officers involved in the arrest and torture of six members of parliament on August 13 at Arua Municipality be arrested and prosecuted. In the letter dated August 27, Ms Kadaga indicates that unless the officers involved are apprehended, it will be difficult for the parliament to conduct government business. Among the MPs arrested in the August 13 Arua by-election saga include Jinja East MP, Paul Mwiru, Ntungamo Municipality MP Gerald Karuhanga, Arua MP-elect Kassiano Wadri, Kyadondo MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine,…

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party has cast doubts on the arrest of Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, saying that the move could be politically instigated. In a statement to newsrooms, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said that Mwilu’s case should have first gone through the Judicial Service Commission as is the norm for disciplinary cases involving high ranking judicial officers. “We want to give the DPP the benefit of doubt but the signs are troubling. The office of DCJ is a high level constitutional office and like other Judicial offices has an elaborate mechanism for enforcing discipline. Indeed cases of…

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives have arrested Kisumu OCS Kennedy Saina for allegedly demanding Ksh20,000 bribe to set free a suspect in defilement case. This comes at a time when the EACC has made it public that they want the police barred from investigating corruption cases due to their tainted image. A 2016 survey by the EACC indicated that most bribes are paid at police stations, county health departments, chiefs’ offices, Office of the Registrar of Persons and county commissioners’ offices in that order. The average bribe given out is now Ksh7,081, an increase from Ksh5,648 recorded in the previous…

The court today has allowed National Land Commission Chairman Muhammad Swazuri back to his office on grounds that the court cannot oust him from a constitutional office. He will however bear limited access to the office, only after informing the Commission’s CEO and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. Trial Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi ruled that Swazuri can only access the office under supervision to avoid interference with prosecution witnesses. Mugambi said that the court has no power to bar or suspend him from entering his workplace given that he occupies a constitutional office. Read: DCJ Philomena Mwilu Freed On A Ksh5…

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu has been arraigned at Milimani Law Courts and released on Ksh5 million bond and ordered to appear in court tomorrow at 9 a.m together with her co-accused Stanley Muluvi.  She faces abuse of office and tax evasion charges. Mwilu appeared before Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi, and was represented by James Orengo and John Khaminwa among other lawyers. Read: DCJ Philomena Mwilu Faces Probe Over Graft, Fall Of Imperial Bank DCJ Mwilu is accused of obtaining execution of a security belonging to Imperial Bank Limited by false pretense, abusing her office for personal gain, accepting a…

Kenyans have taken to social media to critic a photo being shared online showing the leading digital start-ups in Kenya, which entirely features foreigners. The photo shows Jumia CEO Sam Chappatte, Jumia MD Shreenal Ruparelia, Mkopa CEO Jesse Moore, Bitpesa CEO Elizabeth Rossiello, Mshule CEO Claire Mongeau and KOKO Networks CEO Greg Murray as the best techpreneurs in the country. Others include Audrey Cheng (Moringa School), Johnni Kjelsgaard of growth Africa, Melissa McCoy of ConnectMed and David Auerbach from Sanergy. According to people who reacted to the ‘joint’ photo, the foreigners are exploiting Kenyan programmers and taking the credit. https://twitter.com/mustermann_ser/status/1034158851510206464 Others…

Ghanaian agri-tech startup Cowtribe is set to reach all farmers in the country in the next 18 months with its solution that helps farmers access animal vaccines quickly and reliably. The mobile enabled on-demand service platform for veterinary extension was launched in 2016 and recently named winner of the Ghanaian leg of the Seedstars World competition Cowtribe enables animal vaccines to be ordered via USSD, text and telephone, as well as through a network of community agents. The startup sources and aggregates genuine and affordable vaccinations from large suppliers, and works through a network of qualified agents to deliver them to farmers. According…

Co-operative bank has devised simple payment solutions to help parents in the back to school period save time instead of queuing in banking halls waiting to pay fees. The bank is encouraging parents to pay school fees anytime, anywhere through M-Pesa PayBill 400222, MCo-op Cash App via MCo-op Cash USSD *667#, or at a Co-op Kwa Jirani. Here is how you can use the three modes of payment:- How to pay through M-Pesa PayBill Go to Lipa na M-Pesa (PayBill) Enter Business Code 400222 Enter Account Number as School Code followed by # followed by the student number, for example, 1059#123456789…

Lesotho will be the first country in Africa to enjoy 5G internet speed in Africa after the Vodacom Group created the first commercial 5G in the country. Vodacom used 3.5GHz spectrum to initially deliver Fixed-Wireless Access broadband services to two enterprise customers in Lesotho. The immediate benefit of 5G technology for Vodacom subscribers in Lesotho includes the quicker deployment of broadband services with fibre-like speeds. Vodacom has also deployed the same standards-based 5G technology in South Africa, with speeds in excess of 700 Mbps and latencies of less than 10 milliseconds. This will exceed 1Gbps as new software versions and…

Technology giant Microsoft has launched a mobile application meant to streamline business communication. The new app, Kaizala Pro app, is designed to connect millions of users and has no membership limitation, making it possible for large companies to accommodate employees and even customers under a single platform. The app is available as a stand-alone or as a package integrated with Office 365, giving its users ability to execute multiple functions. Microsoft reveals that Kaizala group users are only able to access information or features that their respective organisations’ administrators have allowed. The administrators are also able to restrict some actions including…