Author: Wycliffe Nyamasege

The Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) has announced a plan to publish names and pictures of defaulters in newspapers in a bid to recover money to finance other needy students in the country. This affects the beneficiaries of the loan from the year 1975 to date. According to the loans board, some beneficiaries have not responded to calls to repay the monies owed to the government and have made it difficult for other Kenyans to benefit from the program. “Some beneficiaries who are in default have not responded to previous communication …therefore sustained default, hinders funding of other deserving Kenyan…

Tanzanian rapper Rosa Ree has been dealt a blow in her music career after she was handed a 6-month ban following the release of a raunchy video with Kenyan artiste Timmy Tdat. The suspension was announced by Tanzania Music Regulatory board, which is known as Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa (Basata). The board had summoned Ree over the lewd video with the sensational rapper dubbed “Vitamin U”. At the same time Basata’s Acting CEO Onesmo Kayanda said on Thursday that the board also imposed a Tsh2 million (Ksh88,891) fine on the artiste for working with Kenya’s Timmy without seeking a…

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Somalia counterpart Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo have agreed to restore issuance of travel visas on arrival arrangement for citizens of the two nations. A statement from the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit (PCSU) indicates that the move is aimed at enhancing free and unhindered movement of people and commerce between the two countries. In May this year, three senior Somalia government officials were refused entry at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya for lacking visas. The officials were part of a government delegation that was scheduled to attend the launch of a European Union-sponsored cross-border…

The late Churchill Show comedian Njenga Mswahili was on Thursday afternoon laid to rest at the Lang’ata cemetery, Nairobi. Daniel Ndambuki aka Churchill, the head of Laugh Industry that runs the comedy show, led a team of friends and colleagues to give the late Njenga their last respects. In photos, Churchill shared on his social media accounts, sombre mood engulfed the Lang’ata cemetery grounds as fans and close friends carried the casket carrying the remains of Mswahili to his final resting place. Read: Eric Omondi Regrets Not Helping Out Departed Churchill Raw Comedian Njenga Mswahili Read Also: Churchill Raw Comedian…

Kenyans who rely on petroleum products for their daily lives will from Friday night dig dipper into their pockets after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced an increment in fuel prices in the November review. In the review, the prices of Petrol and Diesel increase by Ksh2.54 and Ksh2.65 per litre respectively. The price of Kerosene will also rise by Ksh2.98. Following the increment, a litre of petrol in Nairobi will from Friday, November 15, retail at Ksh110, diesel Ksh.104.61 and that of Kerosene at Ksh104.06. Read: Relief For Motorists As Petrol, Diesel Prices Drop In October Review…

The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed a petition filed by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s nominee to the South Korean Embassy Mwende Mwinzi terming it as premature. In a ruling delivered on Thursday morning, Justice James Makau stated that Ms Mwinzi’s vetting process is not complete and that the petitioner should have awaited the decision of the President before filing the suit. While referring the matter back to parliament, the Judge said, “Considering the position of the matter is still in progress. It’s not complete and the process should be allowed to be completed.” Ms Mwinzi had moved to the court…

Two people burnt to death on Thursday morning after a fuel tanker and truck collided and burst into flames at Ntulele area on the Narok-Mai Mahiu road. The two, a driver and his turnboy, were burnt beyond recognition in the accident that occurred at around 2.30 AM. Narok East Sub-County Police Commander Philip Musyoka confirmed the incident saying the tanker was speeding down a section of the Narok-Mai Mahiu road when the driver lost control and hit the rear of a canter before bursting into flames. Read: Recklessness Or Ignorance? Kenyans Spotted Siphoning Fuel From Overturned Tanker In Mai Mahiu…

Sarah Wairimu, the widow of murdered Dutch tycoon Tob Cohen has filed a formal application seeking to be granted access to her Kitisuru house in order to pick up some of her personal belongings. Top on the list in the application filed on Wednesday, Wairimu wants the court to allow her to pick among other things her two dogs Major and Snow, a Rottweiler breed and a Doberman breed respectively. Wairimu, who is out on bail, also wants the court to allow her to collect personal effects including her clothes, shoes, handbags and grooming tools. In the application filed by…

A Standard Group staffer Erickson Macharia has been identified as one of the eight Kenyans that were recently arrested in neighbouring country Rwanda for attempting to hack Equity Bank. Eric Merchant, as he is famously known among his colleagues and friends, worked at KTN’s technical department before his arrest on October 25. A source intimated to this desk that Erickson travelled to Rwanda on October 21 and asked for more days off and has never reported to work ever since. This writer understands that efforts are underway for KTN to air the story on the identity of the eight individuals…

Identities of the three out of four police officers who were caught on camera brutalising a student from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) have been revealed. The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) on Wednesday named the three as police constables George Wathania, Kibet Chemipei and Boniface Muthama. NPSC Chairman Eliud Kinuthia said the fourth officer is yet to be identified. “The identification of the 4th police officer is delaying because, it’s a process, and the angle of the image on what is happening needs assurance and should be right,” said Kinuthia. The information, however, contradicts a…

A court in Nairobi has allowed an application to have parties in the late Fidel Odinga’s property row settle the matter out of court. In his ruling on Wednesday, Justice Aggrey Muchelule allowed Phoebe Akinyi Ogweno, the mother of 4-year-old twins allegedly sired by the late Fidel, enjoined in the dispute pitting Fidel Odinga’s mother Ida and her daughter-in-law Lwam Bekele, Fidel’s widow. Justice Muchelule gave the parties 14 days to settle the matter out of court failure to which the court will be forced to hear and give its orders in the matter. The court heard that Lwam’s lawyer…

A man interviewed by British Media Sky News on a stowaway who fell off the undercarriage of a Kenya Airways plane in London has denied that the man identified as Paul Manyasia is his son. On Tuesday evening, Sky News premiered an investigative piece which revealed the identity of the man who fell from the plane moments before landing at the at London’s Heathrow Airport in June as Paul Manyasia. Speaking on KTN News on Wednesday, the alleged father stated that his son is alive and he was planning on filing a suit against the international media for misleading reports. He…

A statement released by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) discrediting a report by international media Sky News over the identity of a stowaway who fell off the undercarriage of a Kenya Airways plane in London has faced a backlash on the internet. On Tuesday evening, Sky News premiered an investigative piece which revealed the identity of the man who fell from the plane moments before landing at the at London’s Heathrow Airport in June as Paul Manyasia. According to the report, the 29-year-old was an employee of Colnet, a company that provides cleaning services at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. In…

Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok has nominated the County Assembly Speaker Shadrack Rotich as his deputy. In a letter seen by Kahawa Tungu dated November 12, Barchok forwarded Rotchi’s name to the County Assembly to be vetted for the position of Deputy Governor. Barchok, a former lecturer at Egerton University, who also served as Bomet DG, was sworn in on August 8 as the third governor of Bomet following the death of governor Joyce Laboso. Laboso succumbed to cancer at the Nairobi Hospital on July 29. Calls for a female Deputy Governor  In the appointment, Governor Barchok has ignored calls from…

A cargo plane operated by local airline Jetways was on Tuesday forced to make an emergency landing at Garissa airstrip after developing engine problem mid-air. The plane with registration number 5Y-JWC was en route to Mogadishu, Somalia, from Nairobi. There were no casualties reported during the incident. Jetways Airlines is based at Wilson Airport, Nairobi. According to the information on its website, it offers services in Kenya and the greater East and Central African region. The Tuesday incident comes hours after the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCCA) suspended Silverstone Air from flying its Dash-8 planes they use for passenger flights…