Author: Francis Muli

Google has recently updated features on Google Workspace, making it the go-to app for almost all functions online. The tech giant has now revealed that users will be able to make voice and video calls to other users directly from the Gmail app. This will come in handy for colleagues who wish to communicate easily without having to schedule a Google Meet. Google describes the feature as a spontaneous option especially in the hybrid work environment where other people are working from home.  Video conferencing through Google Meet, Zoom, Teams and other platforms have become the order of the day…

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has barred media houses from the airing of programming that promotes gaming and gaming adverts (betting, lotteries, and prize competitions/promotions) during the watershed period, effective immediately. In a statement on Thursday, September 9, 2021, CA noted that broadcasting stations are airing and promoting gaming activities and related advertisements in violation of the provisions of the Kenya Information & Communications Act 1998 (KICA), Kenya Communications (Broadcasting) Regulations 2009, the Programming Code, Broadcasting license conditions as well as the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act, Chapter 131 of the Laws of Kenya. “Broadcasters are required by license…

Kenyans have adapted more to Online Newspapers than the traditional print media. According to The Economic survey 2021 shows that hard copy Newspapers have been on a steady decline for the last five years. The Covid-19 pandemic further aggravated the matter in 2020 as more Kenyans adapted to online operations to curb the spread of the virus. According to the report, 62.9 million copies of daily English newspapers were circulated in 2020 compared to 94.3 million sold in 2016.The main hard copy publications include the Nation, the Standard and The Star Newspapers. Only 3.5 Kiswahili Newspapers were sold in 2020…

Twitter has announced the development of Communities, a new feature that will allow users to publicly tweet in a group about specific topics. The feature is being rolled out for testing and will allow users on the platform to find topics they are more interested in. Twitter currently allows users to follow specific topics, but the communities will offer more intimate conversations with better moderation. The feature mimics Facebook’s Groups, which allow like-minded individuals to come together in a public or private space. The Groups are created based on various topics such as cooking, fashion etc. Some popular groups in…

Online car seller, Cheki, has been acquired by Nigerian automotive tech company Autochek for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Uganda will complete Autochek’s expansion into the East African Market after the company acquired the Nigeria and Ghana business from Cheki in 2020. Cheki was launched as a startup in Nairobi in 2010. It operated as an online car classified for importers, dealers and private sellers. The company then expanded its operations to Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The company was acquired by Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM) in 2017. Read: Lawyer Among Three Suspects…

Over 740,000 jobs in Kenya have been lost to Covid-19 pandemic as the number of employed people fell to 17.4 million from 18.1 million at the end of 2020, the Economic Survey report has shown. Wage employment in the private sector declined by 10.0 percent from 2,063,000 jobs in 2019 to 1,856,000 jobs in 2020. on the other hand, wage employment in the public sector increased from 865,200 in 2019 to 884,600 in 2020. 83 percent of jobs recorded in 2020 were in the informal sector while 2.9 million jobs were in the formal sector. The nominal wage bill for…

Children and adults living in Kenya’s most scarcely populated regions are battling a hidden hunger epidemic, with thousands of children facing a severe food crisis and sliding into severe malnutrition. Traditional herding families are enduring the worst of the crisis, with many skeletal animals dying as they make the journey to find water and food. Long-lasting, prolonged and repeated droughts, failed rainy seasons and desert locust swarms have contributed to massive food insecurity and disease outbreaks across Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions. In mid-August, the Kenyan government issued a drought alert across 12 counties, with an estimated two million people…

Verified Twitter accounts belonging to high-profile Kenyan citizens are being used to spin propaganda, push sponsored agendas using hashtags and fuel unfounded assertions. A report from the Mozilla foundation shows that the Twitter personalities are recruited by secret agencies to launch well coordinated online attacks by hijacking Twitter’s trending algorithm. “This research provides a window into the booming and shadowy industry of Twitter influencers for political hire in Kenya. This industry’s main goal is to sway public opinion during elections and protests,” the report says. The report further indicated that millions of Kenyans were being manipulated by the Tweeps whose…

A witness in the ongoing money laundering case against Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua now says he was coerced to sign a previous affidavit in the payment of over Ksh123 million. Jim Carter Njagi, a director of Encartar Diagnostics Limited, says they had a deal for the supply of hospital operating theatre, ICU and maternity equipment to Bungoma county. Njagi says that recently, he was forced to sign an affidavit indicating that the money was paid to his company’s account, which is false. He says that on March 11, 2021, he received a call from Gachagua to go to his office…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared the ongoing drought a national disaster. As a result, he has instructed the National Treasury and the Ministry of Interior to spearhead government efforts to assist affected households with water and relief food as well as livestock uptake. The decision follows today’s meeting between the Head of State and 85 leaders from Kenya’s Arid and Semi Arid Lands (ASAL) led by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani. Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu

In the last 24 hours, 649 people have tested positive for Covid-19, from a sample size of 7,704.This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 241,783. The cumulative tests conducted so far are 2,429,337. The positivity rate is now 8.4 percent. In the same period 333 people have recovered from the disease. Out of these, 221 people have been discharged from various health facilities across the country and 112 are from home-based care. The total number of recoveries is now 230,095. Currently, 1,790 people are admitted in various health facilities across the country while 4,419 patients have been placed…

WhatsApp has updated its privacy options, allowing specific contacts to view their last seen status. The feature allows contacts to see when you were last on the app. The privacy options for Last Seen in the settings gives visibility for three categories of users: Everyone, My contacts and Nobody. WhatsApp is now planning to add a fourth option: My contacts except…This will allow users to select the contacts that should not view their Last Seen. Read: WhatsApp Rolls Out Face, Fingerprint Authentication for WhatsApp Web Some users would want their family and close friends to view their Last seen, but…

The Ministry of ICT, Innovation, and Youth Affairs and the World Bank have awarded Ksh120 million to Afya Research Africa, Hydroponics Africa Limited, Life In Abundance-Kenya and TakaTaka Solutions Limited, the four organizations that emerged as winners of the Future Bora Grant competition. The Future Bora Initiative, which was launched in October last year, aimed at infusing capital to organizations that are creating income-generating opportunities for orphan youth, youth affected by conflict, persons with disabilities, young single mothers, street youths and youth from vulnerable and marginalized communities. “The four organizations, with transformational solutions for creating economic empowerment opportunities for the…

It will cost the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Ksh17.4 billion to complete the construction of the Lamu Port and buy equipment for full capacity operations. The amount, which is not readily available at the moment, will be borrowed from both international and local lenders. Ksh12.4 billion will be borrowed from both local and foreign banks, while Ksh5 billion will be acquired internally. The Ksh5 billion acquired internally will be used to purchase general equipment security and ICT installations. On the other hand, Ksh3.2 billion will be used to complete construction works at the port while Ksh3.1 billion will be used…

You will pay more than double to file a case in the Kenyan courts starting this month according to a fees schedule published by Chief Justice Martha Koome The schedule, which took effect on September 1, stipulates that filing of any type of application at the High Court except on criminal matters has been doubled to Ksh1,500 up from Ksh750. Registration of arbitration awards related to disputes at the Environment and Lands Court will cost Ksh10,100, up from Ksh2,250. Court library membership and annual subscription is now Ksh1,000 from Ksh1,000 and a Ksh500 charge introduced for notaries public annual renewal.…