Author: Francis Muli

Students from Jamhuri high school have finally been released to go home after a fire ravaged a dormitory in the school on Sunday. According to reports from the school, the administration held consultative meetings and decided to release the students in batches. KUPPET Secretary-General Nairobi Branch Moses Mbora confirmed that the students had been allowed to go home. “Yes a meeting was held today and the students have been allowed to go home until further notice,” he said. Read: Kakamega High School Students To Pay Ksh9,800 Fine Each Before Resuming Studies Form ones were the first to be allowed to leave.…

Mobile money lending apps often require a lot of permissions upon sign up ranging from phone contacts, location and access to messages. In addition to this, users are also required to provide details with information such as salary, next of kin and job specifications. The Data commissioner’s office has now launched investigations into a number of digital lending apps accused of sharing borrowers’ confidential data. Read: Why Mobile Loan Apps Are Nolonger Lending To Some Customers According to the Data Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait, the office has received multiple reports regarding breach of data by the mobile lending apps. It is alleged…

Residents of Laikipia County can now breathe a sigh of relief after Peace was restored in the area, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya has said. In a press briefing, Natembeya said the ongoing cleanup had shaken up criminals who had invaded the Laikipia Nature conservancy. “Government has restored peace and security outside Laikipia Nature Conservancy, normalcy has resumed and all displaced families who had camped at Ol-Moran town have gone back to their homes,” Natembeya said. Read: Learning Resumes in Laikipia County Amid Tight Security He however said the area was still infested with bandits, noting that four security…

The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is expected to visit Kenya next week. He is slated to come to Kenya, after which he will visit Nigeria and Senegal starting November 15 to 20. According to the US State department, Blinken will kick off his African tour with a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta to discuss issues such as the Covid pandemic, and reviving the global economy. Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amb Raychelle Omamo is also expected at the meeting where the prevailing security condition in the region will be discussed. Read: Recruitment of Kenyan Nurses by UK Gov’t Still…

The Inspector General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai has directed that all police officers on leave and off duty report to work by November 15. Regional Police commanders have been tasked with ensuring the directive is implemented. The order comes just after President Uhuru Kenyatta called for tighter security measures in the country due to heightened risks in the region. Read: Non-residents of Laikipia Asked to Leave Over Ongoing Insecurity The President on Friday directed internal security agencies to heighten vigilance and surveillance following the unfolding security situation across the country. The National Police Service had expressed concern over the recent…

A YouTuber in Rwanda has been jailed for seven years after he criticised the government on his channel. Dieudonne Niyonsenga was sentenced to seven years in prison by a Kigali Court after he was found guilty of impersonation, forgery and humiliating state officials. Niyonsenga is the  latest government critic to be jailed  following a series of crackdowns against  political YouTubers in the East African country. Read: Police in Rwanda Arrest YouTuber, Opposition Members for ‘Undermining National Security’ “We are appealing this verdict against Niyonsenga with immediate effect. It is simply not right,” his lawyer Gatera Gashabana said on Friday. Niyonsenga’s…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has come out to clarify its stand on social media riches, saying people living a fake life have nothing to worry about. Speaking at a radio station this morning, KRA’s digital economy manager Nixon Omondi said the authority was only interested in the people who were not tax complaint. He said those who were feeling targeted by the Authority’s recent announcement were people who had not files their tax returns. Read: KRA Softens Stance on Dormant Tax Payers “People who fake lifestyles on social media have no reason to worry. As KRA, we cannot assume…

Former Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa has been arrested and taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters on Kiambu Road for questioning. According to reports, Mwendwa was arrested moments after leaving Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi where he was following up a case challenging the disbandment of FKF by the government. “He (Nick Mwendwa) is at Mazingira House where our detectives are interrogating him. We shall release a statement later,” said National Police Service spokesperson Bruno Shioso. Sports CS on Thursday disbanded FKF and in its place appointed a 15-member team headed by retired judge Aaron Ringera…

The High Court has quashed petitions filed by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeking the removal of Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu from office over alleged gross misconduct. According to Justices Said Chitembwe, Roselyn Aburili and Weldon Korir, any petition emanating from the DCI of DPP seeking to remove Mwilu violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Four petitions had been filed separately seeking to remove Mwilu from office over graft allegations leveled against her in 2018. The other three petitions have been suspended awaiting the outcome of the two appeals filed…

An original Apple computer has fetched Sh44,760,000 from an auction in the US. The still functional Apple-1  device was built by Apple founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs in 1976. It is just one among the original computers made of rare Hawaiian Koa wood sold in kit form. Included in the sale are user manuals and Apple software on two cassette tapes. The Koa wood case was an addition of a pioneer computer retailer in the US, Byteshop, which facilitated delivery of about 50 of the Apple-1 machines. Read: Apple Unveils Macs with New m1 Processor According to John Morgan…

The United Kingdom has halted the recruitment of Kenyan medics after it emerged that there was an existing workforce shortage in the country. The British Government health department announced on November 11 that it was putting the process on hold so that it could carry out a needs assessment and audit. The UK noted that although it was still very much committed to take on the medics, the process should be mutually beneficial to both countries. In the statement, the UK noted that Kenyan medics already in the country had contracts which had not expired. Read: UK, Kenya Ink New Security…

Kenyans paid at least Ksh5.06 billion to Kenya Power in the year ended June 2021 as a result of electricity theft, according to a report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu. Some of the losses occur due to leakages from electricity bought from generators such as KenGen that does not reach homes and businesses, known as system losses. Initially, Kenya Power used to charge consumers 14.9 percent before the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) allowed the utility company to charge 19.9 percent of the units it buys from generators. In the year ended June 2021, Kenya power experienced system losses amounting…

Instagram is testing a new ‘take a break feature designed to remind customers to take time off the app. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri shared the update saying the feature would encourage users who have spent a lot of time on the photo sharing platform to take breaks. “It does what you think it does. If you opt in, it encourages you to take a break from Instagram after you spend a certain amount of time on the app; 10, 20, or 30 minutes,” Mosseri said in a video posted to Twitter. Take a break is expected to start rolling…

Kenya recorded 32.8 million cyber attacks in the first half of 2021, the highest number among the continent’s most targeted countries. According to a report from Internet security group Kaspersky, South Africa followed closely with 31.8 million threats while Nigeria recorded about half the number, with 16.7 million threats. The figures demonstrate a rise from the number of threats recorded last year during the same period when Kenya recorded the lowest percentage of attacks at 15.9. Nigeria had the highest number of threats at 24.6 percent while South Africa cam second with 16.6 percent. Read: Maraga Warns Of Surge In Cyber-Crime…

Kenyan fishermen and businessmen are counting losses after Ugandan authorities blocked them from transporting fish worth Ksh200 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through their territory. The move by Uganda hit them by a surprise, breaking a norm that has been in existence for over 13 years. The salted fish, according to media reports, are rotting in stores at the Busia border after Uganda’s Fisheries Protection Unit banned Kenyan fish exporters from the country. “Kenyan fish traders who find themselves in Uganda are now being arrested and prosecuted,” said Busia Cross Border Traders secretary Reuben Khayofu. Read: Two Charged for Defrauding…