Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

On Friday, May 1, Kenya recorded 15 new cases of COVID-19 raising the national tally to 411. The number of fatalities also rose to 21 after four deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. As the government fights to contain the spread of the disease in the country, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe noted that 23 areas in Nairobi and Mombasa have been identified as COVID-19 hotspots. In a press briefing on Friday, the CS pointed out that the ministry has embarked on a thorough exercise of tracing contacts of 13 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Kawangware.…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has defended the government’s move to send over 300 bouquets of flowers to United Kingdom (UK) in a show of solidarity with health workers in the wake of Coronavirus outbreak. Kenyans on social media had expressed their concerns accusing the Head of State of ignoring the welfare of local health practitioners while trying hard to impress colonial masters. But in his Labour day address from State House, Nairobi, on Friday, the President laughed off the claims calling on Kenyans to look at the bigger picture, economic growth. The President said the government had good intentions and only…

Kilifi County doesn’t have any active case of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at the moment, Governor Amason Kingi has revealed. In a statement shared on his Twitter account on Thursday evening, the Governor stated that the last six patients who had tested positive have been discharged from hospital after recovering. At least 11 cases had been confirmed in the county by the Ministry of Health. “Today I visited the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)- Kilifi, for a briefing on the fight against #covid_19Ke in Kilifi County. This is after the last two cases of Corona Virus infections fully recovered and…

Tanzania has suspended Parliament sittings following the death of Sumve MP Richard Ndassa on Wednesday in Dodoma. Ndassa, 61, is the second legislator to have died in the past 10 days in Tanzania Tanzania’s National Assembly Speaker Job Ndugai said the MP died after a short illness but did not reveal the cause of death. Word has it that the MP succumbed to COVID-19. Reports by The Citizen indicates that the hotel where the MP was residing was disinfected by medical personnel from the Ministry of Health and no one was allowed into the facility. President John Pombe Magufuli led…

The High Court has suspended the appointment of retired judge Erastus Githinji as chairperson of the Tax Appeals Tribunal. Justice Hellen Wasilwa on Wednesday temporary barred Githinji from assuming the position pending hearing and determination of a petition challenging his eligibility. Chama Cha Mawakili lobby group had moved to court seeking to bar the retired judge from being sworn into office. The 71-year-od was appointed to the position by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani and gazetted on April 15, 2020. But the appointment sparked a heated debate on social media with a section of Kenyans criticising the Jubilee administration…

The Senate ad-hoc committee on Covid-19 pandemic has summoned Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i over failure to appear before the senators four times. The committee chaired by Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja had summoned the CS and his Health counterpart Mutahi Kagwe over police brutality witnessed across the country as the authorities implement the dusk-to-dawn curfew. Many Kenyans who flout the rules are arrested and placed under a mandatory 14-day quarantine a move that has elicited an angry reaction from a section of Kenyans. The two CSs were summoned after a committee of the National Assembly declared two sets of rules…

At least 133,657 Kenyans have been rendered jobless as the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to take a toll on businesses in the country. In a report tabled in parliament this week, the Ministry of Labour revealed that all the lost jobs so far are in the formal sector. The number excludes employees on unpaid leave and those who have taken pay cuts as the global health crisis eats into company profits. Since the country reported its first case mid-March, many companies closed down businesses or scaled-down operations as part of the measures to contain the spread of the disease in…

The Nation Media Group (NMG) has joined a list of other media houses in the country that have slashed employees salaries as the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to take a toll on businesses. But unlike its competitors, NMG spared members of its staff earning a monthly gross pay of less than Ksh50,000. The pay reduction that ranges between 5-35 per cent depends on individual staff gross pay. The pay cuts take effect on May 1. In a memo to all members of staff on Wednesday, Stephen Gitagama, the Group Chief Executive Officer, said the management took the decision following a…

The number of confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Tanzania now stands at 480 after 196 people tested positive. At the same time, the East African country has reported six new deaths raising the COVID-19 fatalities tally to 16. The Country’s Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa gave the update on Wednesday. Majaliwa said of the 196 new cases 174 are from Tanzania Mainland and 22 from Zanzibar. According to the Prime Minister, the number of patients who have survived the disease in the country now stands at 167 after 119 people recovered. The latest comes at a time the…

Over the past few days, Deputy President William Ruto has been citing bible verses that have been interpreted by many as well picked messages meant to expose his political foes. Coming at a time the DP is fighting to take control of the Jubilee party that is said to be in shambles over deep leadership divisions, Ruto has been portrayed as a desperate man by a section of the media. The Standard, a daily newspaper owned by the late President Daniel Moi’s family, on Wednesday ran a story with the headline “Speaking in Tongues” and highlighted that the feeling of…

President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed George Opondo Ooko as Chairman of the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) board. In a gazette notice dated April 22, President Kenyatta appointed Ooko to the position for a 2-year period effective April 21, 2020. Ooko takes over from former Rarieda Member of Parliament Nicholas Gumbo whose appointment has been revoked before the expiry of his three-year term. The President picked Gumbo to chair the board in April 2019 meaning he has only served for about a year. The biggest public hospital in the country has in the recent past been accused of negligence. Recently, the…

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has renewed his bid to stop President Uhuru Kenyatta’s right-hand men at Harambee House including Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries from what he recently termed as embarrassment and humiliation targeted at ruining his political ambitions. Sonko has in the recent past accused Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho of being behind malicious damage of his sanitising booths erected in Nairobi. In a suit filed at the High Court yesterday to protest the damages, Sonko also listed Kibicho’s boss Fred Matiang’i and Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe as respondents. Sonko believes the two were part of the plot…

The High Court has issued an injunction barring the state from demolishing sanitiser booths erected in Nairobi by the Sonko Rescue Team (SRT). The Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) associated with Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko had moved to court to protest demolition of its booths erected in various parts of Nairobi by police and officers said to be from the Ministry of Health. Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe and his Interior counterpart Fred Matiang’i were named as respondents in the case. In the orders granted on Tuesday, Justice Korir ordered that pending hearing and determination of the case the ministries of…

The National Water Harvesting Authority board has picked Sharon Obonyo as acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) days after Geoffrey Sang was arrested over Ksh231 million graft allegations. The authority’s Chairman Erick Okeyo said Engineer Sang’s appointment was revoked during a special meeting the board held via Zoom. “We sought the permission of the Cabinet Secretary and were allowed to hold a special meeting which resolved that his appointment be revoked. We have appointed an acting CEO for now,” he said. Sang was arrested on Friday alongside three others by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over a suspected…

Standard Chartered bank is temporary closing down eight of its branches as the country grapples with the increasing number of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. In a notice to its customers, the bank indicated that it will be closing Koinange, Harambee Ave, T-Mall, Two Rivers, Garden City, Upperhill, JKIA, and Maritime Branches for 3 months effective May 1, 2020. The bank noted that the move is aimed at containing the spread of the contagious disease. Customers have been advised to seek services at branches within proximity at Kenyatta Avenue, Moi Avenue, Thika Road Mall, Muthaiga, Galleria Mall, Yaya Centre, Industrial…