Tanzania’s President John Pombe Magufuli has commended Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta’s nomination of Ambassador Amina Mohamed for the position of African Union Commission Chair and assured her of Tanzania’s endorsement. Amina Mohamed is Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs. She joins the race after the withdrawal of Uganda’s Dr. Wandira …
Read More »Anger, outrage as Kenya Revenue Authority exempts Uber from paying VAT
Kenya Revenue Authority’s recent decision to spare the tax hailing firm Uber from paying Value Added Tax on rides has prompted outrage and anger among the company’s drivers. It has also angered regular cab companies operating in Kenya as they have to pay VAT on their services rendered. KRA has …
Read More »Wilderness Safaris eyes East Africa
Botswana based multi-national ecotourism company Wilderness Safaris, operating nearly 40 luxury safari camps across eight African countries, has raised US$35 million bilateral loan for the purchase of a new ecotourism company in Kenya and for further expansion across Africa. Keith Vincent, the Chief Executive at the Wilderness Safaris said ‘in …
Read More »Kenyatta in Sudan as African decisions loom on ICC
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta began a two-day visit to Sudan on Saturday, just days after Khartoum issued a call to all African countries to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Sudan has urged African members to quit the Hague-based ICC which it said was a …
Read More »Man shot dead after stabbing officer outside US embassy in Kenya
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A man was shot and killed by Kenyan police outside the US embassy in the capital Nairobi on Thursday after stabbing an officer with a knife, police said. “The man was shot after stabbing a GSU officer in the hand and left him with injuries,” …
Read More »Twelve killed in northeast Kenya bomb attack
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A bomb blast at a guesthouse in northeast Kenya killed at least 12 people on Tuesday, the same area hit earlier this month by Shabaab militants, police said. “We have found 12 bodies so far after we managed to access the building,” one senior police …
Read More »Kenya commutes sentences of over 2,700 on death row
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday commuted the sentences of 2,747 death row inmates, who will now serve life in prison. Kenyatta signed documents commuting the sentences during a ceremony at his official residence and also pardoned 102 convicts who were serving long jail terms. …
Read More »Uganda opens consulate at Mombasa Port
In addition to the High Commission in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Uganda has opened a consulate in the coastal town of Mombasa at a colorful ceremony presided over by State Minister for Regional Cooperation, Okello Oryem. Because of the growing demand for consular services in Kenya, Margret Kafeero, the head of …
Read More »Kenya’s new chief justice Maraga vows to fight corruption
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya’s new chief justice was sworn in on Wednesday pledging to root out corruption in the judiciary. David Maraga, 66, replaces Willy Mutunga who took early retirement in June, triggering a parliamentary vetting process in which Maraga emerged as frontrunner out of a dozen candidates. …
Read More »Strikes cause turbulence at Kenya Airways
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya Airways, already facing financial difficulties and a threatened pilots’ strike, cancelled five flights on Sunday after outsourced cabin crew walked off the job. While the stoppage only involved a small number of workers, it coincides with a deep malaise at the airline, which in …
Read More »