Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

The Somalia government has sent a team of 20 doctors to Italy to help the country in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Italy is one of the countries worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with hundreds of deaths reported every day. The medics, Ismail Mukhar, the Government Spokesman, said are volunteers from the Somali National University, who have been in some European countries. So far, the East African country has confirmed three cases of COVID-19. Consequently, the Somalia government banned all domestic and international flights in a bid to contain the spread of the contagious virus. Read: “History Will…

Nyali Member of Parliament Mohammed Ali now wants the National Assembly to convene a special sitting to deliberate on ways to cushion Kenyans from the adverse effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Coronavirus pandemic that has claimed one life and infected at least 40 people in the country, has resulted in adverse effects on businesses, as some have been forced to halt operations and send employees home. In a letter addressed to House Majority Leader Aden Duale, Ali said the Executive and particularly the Health Ministry can not be left to fight alone as the pandemic poses a great…

A Kitui County Catholic Priest, who hit headlines after defying self-quarantine directive, has been transferred to the Mbagathi Hospital’s isolation ward. The man of the cloth identified as Nicholas Maanzo was admitted at the facility after he exhibited coronavirus-like symptoms. “Kitui County Health Officials report, after routine checkup, revealed the cleric exhibited fever, coughing and had a headache,” a source intimated to a local media. Maanzo is set to be tested for COVID-19 which has so far infected 42 people in the country. The priest returned to Kenya from Italy through Ireland on Monday, March 23 after a study tour…

Kenya has confirmed four more cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), raising the total to 42. In a statement on Sunday, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said the patients include a Kenyan citizen and three foreigners from US, Cameroon and Burkina Faso. He noted that a total of 69 samples have been analysed over the past 24 hours. Of the four new cases, the CS said, three are based in Nairobi and one from Mombasa. “Nairobi continues to lead with 31 cases followed by Kilifi with 6, Mombasa with 3 while Kajiado and Kwale have one each. Out of the 42, 24…

Stanbic Bank Kenya has announced a three-month loan repayment holiday for its customers to cushion them from adverse effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy. In a statement on Sunday, March 29, 2020, Stanbic Bank Kenya’s Chief Executive Charles Mudiwa said this applies to all Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and personal banking customers. The loan holiday, Mudiwa said, will be effective April 1, 2020. “We recognize that we are collectively affected by the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and strive to put in place contingency plans to mitigate against disruption to our customers. The reality is SMEs are going through a…

Two preachers were on Sunday morning arrested within the Changombe area, Kitengela, Kajiado County, while conducting a church service. The two, Paul Nzungula and Peter Kimani of Tabernacle church , were preaching in an empty church. Reports indicate that the loud sermon attracted a crowd that formed outside the church, curious on whether church services were still ongoing days after religious gatherings were banned in the country over Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The police officers, who were acting on a tip-off, confiscated a speaker, a piano, a mixer and one microphone which will be taken to the court as exhibit. Kajiado…

The number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country could be higher as a huge number of Kenyans, who recently returned into the country, are yet to be tested for the virus, Dagoretti South Member of Parliament John Kiarie has said. In a series of tweets, the lawmaker said a number of 7000 Kenyans, who travelled home between Wednesday and Sunday, are quarantined in his constituency. The MP said the Kenyans are quarantined at Lenana School and Kinyanjui Technical Institute. The number of confirmed cases in the country rose to 38 on Saturday with Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe expected to…

A section of Kenyans online is now calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to divert funds that the government had set aside to implement the Buiding Bridges Initiative (BBI) report to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the country. Kenyans on Twitter, popularly known as KoT, took to the microblogging site on Sunday to call on the Head of State to heed to their call using the hashtag #10BforVentilatorsNotBBI. In a series of tweets, KoT urged President Kenyatta to use the monies to buy much-needed ventilators to help COVID-19 patients. As of Sunday, March 28, Kenya had 38 confirmed cases of…

Royal Media Services (RMS) has notified all its employees of a plan to reduce their gross salary by 20-30 per cent due to adverse economic effect posed by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In a memo addressed to all members of staff dated March 27, RMS Group Managing Director Wachira Waruru stated that the “temporary” deductions will come into effect from April 1, 2020. Waruru, however, noted that the salary cuts will be based on the employees’ job levels. “The unprecedented outbreak of the coronavirus in the world and Kenya, in particular, has had serious repercussions on businesses, including ours. This…

Two patients infected with Coronavirus (COVID-19) are currently admitted at Aga Khan Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has said. The two include a french national and a Kenyan citizen. In a press statement on Friday, Kagwe said that the tally of confirmed cases in the country stands at 31 as now new infections have been reported within the last 24 hours. “In the last 24 hours, a total of 156 samples from suspected cases have been tested in various laboratories in Kenya. All the 156 cases have tested negative,” said Kagwe. The CS noted that…

The government is in the process of distributing free alcohol-based hand sanitizers in a bid to contain the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country. Kahawa Tungu understands that the sanitizers are ready for distribution across the 47 counties with some officers in government acknowledging receipt of the liquid that has come increasingly popular in the wake of the fight against COVID-19. Nzioka Waita, the State House Chief of Staff, confirmed on Friday that his office had received the sanitizers. “Received my bottle of FREE hand sanitizer produced by GOK . These sanitizers will be distributed countrywide for FREE!” Nzioka said…

Dr Fredrick Ouma Oluga, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General, has been deployed to the newly created Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) office in Nairobi. In a circular from the Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua dated March 23, Oluga was appointed the new Chief Officer of Health in Nairobi County. The vocal trade unionist is among 32 individuals who been deployed from various government ministries and departments to join the NMS team that was unveiled by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 18, 2020. “The concerned Ministries/Departments and County Governments are required to release the above-mentioned…

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested Goldenscape Greenhouses CEO Peter Wangai who has been on the run for the past few weeks after the firm was accused of defrauding Kenyans. Wangai was arrested on Thursday by sleuths from DCI’s Serious Crime Unit (SCU). According to DCI, Wangai’s firm lured investors to invest in Greenhouses that were to be set up in Ol Kalou, Nyahururu and other places in the country which turned out to be a fraudulent investment deal. “He will be charged with the offence of obtaining money by false pretences, conspiracy to defraud, false…

The Ministry of Health through the Pharmacy and Poisons Board has with immediate effect banned the sale of Hydrochloroquine and Chloroquine medicine to persons without a valid prescription from a medical doctor. In a notice to all health care professions, the board noted that members of the public have been stocking the drugs as self-medication for Coronavirus (COVID-19). This is after United States President Donald Trump touted the drug as a possible treatment for Covid-19. The board warned that the irrational use of the drugs may lead to irreversible blindness. “Following the news that the United States of America is…

A Catholic Priest in Kitui, who recently returned from Italy, the epicentre of Coronavirus (COVID-19), has been condemned by residents after defying self-quarantine orders issued by government. The man of the cloth identified as Nicholas Maanzo was on Tuesday, March 24 spotted at a supermarket in Kitui town before visiting an ATM machine in the same area. The priest returned to Kenya from Italy through Ireland on Monday, March 23 after a study tour in Italy and was spotted roaming in the streets forcing the residents to alert the police. Italy has recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in…