Author: Francis Muli

Kenya’s largest free newspaper People Daily has closed its weekend edition, People Daily Wikendi (PD Wikendi). The Mediamax-owned newspaper published their last weekend edition on June 9, sending their weekend readers to blackout this weekend. The move has been linked to cost reduction as the company struggles to attract advertisers in the weekend edition which has been running dry of ads. According to sources privy to the move, advertisers have been shunning the weekend edition due to circulation challenges. PD Wikendi has been facing circulation challenges on Saturday, being a non-working day for most organisations in Kenya, including government. Its distributors…

The three businessmen who were arrested a week ago  in Eastleigh have been released on a Ksh300,000 cash bail or an alternative bond of Ksh2 million each. Dahir Ahmed Hassan, Mohammed Dahir and Ahmed Sheikh Mohamed – who are believed to be directors of Diamond Wholesalers stores sugar company in Eastleigh have been charged with offering for sale a total of 1,126 bags of substandard white and brown sugar. The three are also accused of applying Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) standardization mark on Kabras sugar brand without permit. Read: Ksh2.7 Billion Unaccounted For At The Ministry Of Health, Edward Ouko…

Facebook users on the Safaricom Customer Care Page have been angered by a case where a subscriber sent Ksh10,000 airtime by mistake, and Safaricom has been unable to reverse. According to the customer care agent in charge of the page, the recipient had used part of the airtime, hence they were unable to reverse the money. “Hi Hasham, The recipient has used part of the airtime for a reversal to be effected,” replied Safaricom on request for reversal. According to Safaricom Terms and Conditions, any wrong transaction is only reversed on condition the money remains ‘intact’ in the recipient’s phone.…

Auditor-General Edward Ouko has unearthed yet another scandal in the Ministry of Health worth Ksh2.7 billion. According to a report Ouko tabled in parliament, the ministry cannot account for the money spent on the controversial purchase of portable container clinics, free maternity, family planning and managed equipment service in the 2015/16 financial year. “Out of the 100 portable clinic containers contracted to be supplied by M/s Estama Investment Limited, only 80 LPOs were availed for audit review,” Mr Ouko says in the report. He adds that documents relating to the procurement process and contracts signed with suppliers of food rations/supplements…

Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, Mo Salah, may not play in their World Cup Opener match against Uruguay, dwindling hopes for the African soccer giants The star, popularly known as Mo Salah has not been included in the starting eleven in their match against the South American country that will be played today at 3.00pm East African Time. The star striker, who turned 26 on Friday, suffered the injury three weeks ago in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid. He became fans’ favorite after steering ‘the Reds’ to the Champions League finals. Read: World Cup Players Minting More That…

Each of the 736 players in the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be minting between Ksh1.17 and Ksh5.6 million in a day, depending on the level they reach. Each team that is eliminated at the group stages in the world cup will take home $8 million (Ksh809 million) – Ksh1.17 daily for each player, while those that qualify for the last of 16 will bag $12 million (Ksh1.2 billion) – Ksh1.74 million daily for each player. Any team that will be lucky to reach the quarter finals of the tourney will dribble away with $16 million (Ksh1.6 billion) – Ksh2.3…

Homa Bay County Assembly Accountant Mr Maurice Amek has been shot by unknown people outside his gate in Sofia Estate within Homa Bay Town. According to County Assembly Clerk Bob Kephers Mr Amek was shot around 8pm on Thursday night as he entered his compound. Read: Audio Leaks of Nairobi MCA Admitting To Bribery Homa Bay County Police Commander Marius Tum has affirmed that officers are investigating the incident. Mr Amek was rushed to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital and later transferred to a Kisumu hospital. The extent of the officer’s injuries is still not known neither is the identity…

The 2018/2019 budget is out and the CS Henry Rotich has indicated that Kenya will spend approximately Ksh2.55 trillion. Reading the budget, Rotich noted that the country’s economy is likely to grow by 5.8% in 2018. The CS further noted that Key drivers will be agriculture, favourable weather and increase in exports. He further says that the economy generated 898,000 jobs in 2018. In a bid to achieve maximum revenue collection, Rotich has proposed increase in excise duty from 20% to 30% on private passenger vehicles whose capacity is more than 2500cc for diesel and 3000 cc for petrol vehicle, rubbing the…

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a petition by Jack Ranguma against |Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o citing lack of merit in the case. Ranguma, the former Kisumu governor, lost to Prof. Nyong’o in the 2017 Kisumu Gubernatorial race and moved to the High Court in a suit against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the county Returning Officer and Prof. Nyong’o. The judge further ordered that Ranguma pay Ksh.5million in damages to the respondents. Read: Bedfordshire Comes To Governor Nyong’os Rescue, After Firefighter Mishap Dissatisfied with the decision, Ranguma moved to the Court of Appeal to seek redress.…

Kenya’s external debt has hit the Ksh5 trillion mark, all-time high in her history. This is after accumulating an external debt of Ksh2.448 trillion in three months, bringing it to a total of Ksh5.011 trillion. By the end of February, Kenya had borrowed Ksh2.563 trillion. The tremendous growth of public debt has not only worried Kenyans but also government agencies. According to sources in the country’s spy agency – the National Intelligence Service (NIS) – whose chief function is to ensure the nation’s safety and economic well-being, the organ is said to have classified debt as a threat to national…

Embattled IEBC CEO CEO Ezra has won big in a case he filed challenging a decision by Chairman Wafula Chebukati to send him on a compulsory leave. Employment and Labour Relations Court has allowed Chiloba to go back to work pending the hearing and determination of an application he filed challenging Chebukati’s decision. The CEO has been missing in action after Chebukati sent him on leave in March to pave way for investigations into the procurement of elections materials. Disgruntled Chiloba unsuccessfully opposed the move in court. On April 13, Justice Stephen Radido declined to suspend the forced leave pending the…

UK based donor agency the Bedfordshire has come out to explain why the firefighter engine donated to Kisumu County was branded Meru, causing a social media frenzy. Fredrick Kiogora Atandi, the man behind the Kenya Fire Engine Service confirmed it was true that the Kisumu engines had been branded Meru. “Meru is the central logistics point of our distribution of fire engines and the branding happens in the United Kingdom through one company,” said Atandi. According to Atandi who works with the former Hertfordshire Fire Service manager Raymond Willets in sourcing the machines from donors in the United Kingdom explained…

The three policemen arrested and detained by Ugandan policemen have been released. The officers were rounded up and put together with Kenyan fishermen found catching fish in Ugandan waters. This comes at a time when the Kenyan police in Busia, in what appeared to be a retaliatory move, arrested 53 Ugandan nationals ostensibly for being in the country illegally. Read: Three Kenyan Policemen Arrested And Detained In Uganda The government is yet to issue an official statement in what appears to be a diplomatic row simmering in the background. Kenya has been previously been involved in a conflict with Uganda…

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji has said that he is unable to prosecute graft suspects presented to him by the Ethic and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for lack of sufficient evidence. Haji told the Senate Legal Committee that only one out of the four cases in which EACC wanted governors dragged to court this week over alleged corruption is solid. “(For) some, we have asked them to proceed with prosecutions and others we have asked them to address the gaps. All the 57 files we received from EACC were returned on Monday,” he said. Read: UoN Clerk Charged With Ksh4.4…

Employment and Labour Relations court has issued a new directive that requires all government procurement and finance officers to proceed on forced leave to allow their employer time to vet them. Justice Onesmus Makau gave the directive on Wednesday after setting aside his earlier orders stopping the audit. The judge ordered all procurement and accounting officers to provide the required documents within 10 days —  by June 22, 2018. According to the judge, the earlier order in favour of the petitioner, activist Okiya Omtatah, was issued without proper disclosure of facts. Read: Court Suspends President Kenyatta’s Order On Vetting In…