Author: Francis Muli

TikTok has confirmed that it testing stories on the platform. The news comes just days after Twitter officially discontinued a similar feature, Fleets. TikTok stories was discovered by Twitter user Matt Navara, who shared some screenshots on the tweets. TikTok Stories what the… 😳 pic.twitter.com/PIUpKMhj0k — Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) August 4, 2021 “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. Currently we’re experimenting with ways to give creators additional formats to bring their creative ideas to life for the TikTok Community.” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. Read: Twitter…

An inquiry has found that Peter Munga pocketed Ksh135.7 million worth of dividends in 2016 for Britam shares that he did not own. According to reports by Business Daily, Munga signed a secret deal with top officials of Mauritius government giving up the rights to earn dividends on the shares before he acquired the shares. Munga’s firm, Plum LLP signed an agreement to buy 452.5 million Britam shares from the government of Mauritius on June 10, 2016, a day after the book closure date. Under normal circumstances, the dividend, which was paid on June 24, 2016, would have gone to…

A 16 year old form one student has been found safe after she disappeared 15 months ago. The Kambala girls secondary school student who hails from Molo was found in Nakuru. The parents of the teenager had appeared on mainstream media appealing for help in tracing their daughter. Nakuru East Deputy County Commissioner Eric Wanyonyi said the girl was found after a good samaritan recognized her and lured her before handing her over to the police. “On Tuesday evening, a man who knew the girl’s parents traced her in Nakuru town. They met at a hotel and later called the…

Content creatorson YouTube can now earn money by creating Shorts. The feature which was rolled out last month allows creators to make short TikTok-style videos on the platform. YouTube launched a fund to reward customers with up to $10,000 for making original popular Shorts. The company plans to make payments of up to $100 million starting this year through 2022. The payment will be based on a number of issues, such as location and popularity of the videos. The videos have to be original and not contain any watermark from platforms such as TikTok, Reels or Snapchat. Read: YouTube Rolls…

Safaricom has announced a Ksh1 Million sponsorship for rally driver Maxine Wahome ahead of this weekend’s Kenya National Rally Championship’s Voi rally. Maxine, popularly known as the “riding queen” for her prowess in motorsport, will be driving a Subaru N10 with seasoned navigator Linet Ayuko on the dusty Voi route. She successfully completed the 2021 WRC Safari Rally held in June finishing in 23rd position. “I switched from biking to compete in rally and autocross because it has always been on my to-do list, and the experience I have gained especially during the Safari Rally has been immense. I thank…

WhatsApp has started rolling out a feature that allows users to send “view once” images and media to their recipients. Once the recipient opens the “view once” image, it will disappear without a copy getting saved on the phone. The messaging app said the feature is designed to give users more control over their privacy. WhatsApp says that just like personal messages  the ‘view once’ media are end-to-end encrypted. If you activate the feature, you will see an icon showing that they will disappear after viewing. Read: Whatsapp “View Once” Option for Photos and Videos Now Available on Beta ‘View…

US Basketball star Stephen Curry is in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania to celebrate his 10th anniversary of marriage with his wife Ayesha Curry. Curry, who plays for Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2015 and 2016. He also played a key role in helping his club, Golden State Warriors, to secure the NBA title in 2015, 2017 and 2018. On August 3, 2021, Curry agreed to a four-year, $215 million (Ksh23.4 billion) contract extension to remain with the Golden State Warriors through 2026. Curry is placed third in MVP voting…

Bernard Ngugi has exited Kenya Power and Lighting Company as its CEO, after serving the company at the helm for two years. In his place, Engineer Rosemary Oduor has been appointed in an acting capacity pending the appointment of a substantive CEO. Eng Oduor is the current General Manager, Commercial Services and Sales for Kenya Power. Ngugi, an accountant by profession took over from former acting MD Engineer Jared Otieno in October 2019. He was plucked from his position as the head of procurement where he had been serving as the General Manager Supply Chain. Before that, he was the…

Deputy President William Ruto’s ally Harun Aydin, who was to accompany him to Uganda, is an investor who has visited Kenya severally in the past, the Turkish Embassy in Nairobi has said. According to reports by the Nation, the Embassy was however reluctant to divulge the details of his investments, only insisting that he was a “law-abiding citizen with no criminal records”. The Turk first visited Kenya in 2018 and this year alone has made a total of six trips to Kenya originating from Istanbul, Cairo and Addis. In an interview on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, Ruto said the incident…

United States International University Africa (USIU-Africa) has appointed former vice-chancellor Professor Freida Brown to serve as the acting vice-chancellor. The appointment takes effect on August 16, 2021, as she takes over from Paul Zeleza, who is set to leave the private institution in November for “greener pastures”. Previously, Prof. Freida Brown served as the vice-chancellor of USIU-Africa since January 1994. She has a doctoral degree in Developmental Psychology from Michigan State University. She has taught at several institutions including Howard University and Washington University in St. Louis. She has written and made presentations in the areas of cross-cultural psychology, psycho-social development…

Ethiopia has announced plans to reopen bidding for a second telecoms operator in the country this month. Government officials said the bid would be licenced to a mobile operator who would also be given the rights to offer mobile financial services. Ethiopia has a wide potential market, with a population of over 100 million. The government is reopening the bid after it awarded Kenya’s Safaricom with the first license, citing a lower than expected price for failing to award the second one. “We have made some changes that can uplift its value, for instance mobile financial service,” Balcha Reba, director…

Twitter has partnered with Associated Press (AP) and Reuters in its fight against misinformation.  The two publications will be tasked with quickly providing credible information on the platform. Social media companies gave put in more effort to curb the spread of misinformation since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The run up towards the US general elections last year saw the platforms heighten their efforts even further. Read: Twitter Testing Tiered Label Design for Misleading tweets Twitter launched Birdwatch in early 2021, a program that would allow users identify and check misinformation on the site. The new partnership would see…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved USD650 billion lending capacity rise in a bid to help poor nations financially. The program which had been given initial clearance by the board of governors in mid-June will kick in on August 23, 2021. “This is a historic decision – the largest SDR (Special Drawing Rights) allocation in the history of the IMF and a shot in the arm for the global economy at a time of unprecedented crisis. It will particularly help our most vulnerable countries struggling to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 crisis,” said IMF head Kristalina Georgieva…

Twitter users can now sign into the platform using their Google accounts for web and android, and Apple ID for iOS. The social media network rolled out the beta version of the feature last month, and has now launched it officially. Twitter announced the latest development on its Twitter support page. “Now, when you log in or sign up to join the conversation on Twitter, you have the option to use: Your Google Account on the app and on web, or your Apple ID on iOS, and soon on web” the update said. Read: Twitter Fleets to Be Discontinued on…

Safaricom was the fastest mobile internet provider, with an internet speed score of 27.54Mbps and a consistency score of 84 percent in Q2 2021. Airtel took second spot with 17.48Mbps while Faiba came in third with a speed score of 14.38Mbps. Telkom took the fourth spot with 8.17Mbps The global index analysis by Ookla, through its Speedtest tool, shows internet speeds in the country for the months of April, May and June. According to the report, although Safaricom maintained its lead, there was a general drop in speeds compared to Q1 of 2021. Read: Safaricom Increases Skiza Revenue Share For…