Our website use cookies to improve and personalize your experience and to display advertisements (if any). Our website may also include cookies from third parties like Google Adsense, Google Analytics, and Youtube. By using the website, you consent to the use of cookies.

Kenya’s business activity shows first expansion since Aug, PMI survey shows

Kenya’s business activity shows first expansion since Aug, PMI survey shows

KENYA'S private sector activity bounced back in February to record its first expansion since August, helped by easing inflation and gains in agriculture, manufacturing and services, a survey showed. The Stanbic Bank Kenya Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) jumped to 51.3 in February from 49.8 a month earlier. Readings above 50.0 signal growth, while those below point to a contraction. It is the first time since August that the figure has gone above 50. "Business activity expanded across the Kenyan private sector ... as a further softening of inflationary pressures supported a fresh increase in new order volumes," Stanbic Bank said…
Read More
Kenyans use humour to counter unpopular state policies – memes are the latest tool

Kenyans use humour to counter unpopular state policies – memes are the latest tool

SEEMINGLY disillusioned with the country’s leadership, Kenyans have taken to new ways of expressing their anger and frustration with their government. On social media and in everyday conversations, President William Ruto is now referred to as Zakayo, named after the infamous Zaccheaus, the much-hated chief tax collector in biblical Jericho. Ruto is also called Kaunda Uongoman, which mimics the stage name of a controversial Congolese musician, Kanda Bongoman. The first name is a reference to Ruto’s recent penchant for Kaunda suits. The surname is a portmanteau of the Kiswahili word uongo, meaning liar, and man. These nicknames are examples of…
Read More
Kenya’s had unusually hot weather – an expert unpacks what could be causing it

Kenya’s had unusually hot weather – an expert unpacks what could be causing it

IN early 2024 most parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, experienced unusually high temperatures. The World Meteorological Organisation described the hot weather as a global phenomenon: record high temperatures were recorded in 2023. January 2024 has been recorded as the hottest month on record so far worldwide. Gilbert Ouma, the coordinator of the University of Nairobi’s Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, and an associate professor at the Department of Meteorology, answers some key questions. GILBERT OUMA, Associate Professor, Meteorology Department, University of Nairobi What is unusual about the weather in Nairobi? The annual average temperatures for Nairobi are normally moderate,…
Read More
Kenya marathon hero Kiptum honoured at funeral as unique talent and family man

Kenya marathon hero Kiptum honoured at funeral as unique talent and family man

Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum, whose dreams of breaking the race's two-hour barrier were ended by a car crash earlier this month, was remembered for his talent and humility at a funeral service in western Kenya. The service in the Rift Valley village of Chepkorio was attended by political and sporting dignitaries, including Kenyan President William Ruto and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe. The 24-year-old Kiptum had only run three international marathons but each was among the fastest seven times ever recorded. He set the world record in Chicago last October in two hours and 35 seconds, shaving 34 seconds off his…
Read More
Francophone Africa tech hubs grow their investor appeal, footballers join the fray

Francophone Africa tech hubs grow their investor appeal, footballers join the fray

WHILE Africa’s ‘big four’ tech hubs of Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt maintained their top spots in a difficult funding year, their 2023 rankings were increasingly challenged by Francophone countries according to recent reports. Partech’s 2023 Africa Tech Venture Capital Report shows that Francophone Africa recorded a 3% rise in funding, against a wider 50% drop among the 'big four". Similarly, the number of French-speaking tech hubs among Africa's "top ten' also rose, with five slots now filled by Francophone countries. “In 2023, Francophone Africa distinguished itself as a dynamic and growing force in the tech sector, defying broader…
Read More
This popular floating restaurant was on the rocks until Frida Njeri took over

This popular floating restaurant was on the rocks until Frida Njeri took over

THERE are no land rates for this bar and restaurant that floats on the sea waters of Lamu Island in Kenya. People have lived here for over 700 years. Lamu Old Town is older than Zanzibar, and other settlements in East Africa where Bantu, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and European influences fused into the Swahili culture. The town, with its relatively well-preserved buildings and traditions, is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. The island’s natural beauty, history, culture, and popularity with tourists, are what led the bar and restaurant’s original owner to situate it right in the Indian Ocean canal that…
Read More
Kenya’s Sarah Chepchirchir gets 8-year ban for second doping violation

Kenya’s Sarah Chepchirchir gets 8-year ban for second doping violation

KENYA'S Sarah Chepchirchir has been hit with an eight-year ban after the former Tokyo Marathon winner was found to have violated anti-doping regulations for a second time, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a statement. Chepchirchir had returned an adverse analytical finding for testosterone, the AIU said. The sample was collected at the Bangsaen42 Chonburi Marathon in Thailand in November. The 39-year-old was previously banned for four years in 2019, backdated to April 11, 2018, because of abnormalities in her athlete blood passport. The latest ban will be backdated to December 22, 2023, and Chepchirchir's competition results from November…
Read More
Kenya’s double-digit debt costs sign of the tough times

Kenya’s double-digit debt costs sign of the tough times

KENYA has just taken a calculated risk that paying more than 10% on a new international bond is worth it to avoid a default later in the year, even though history is littered with examples of this kind of gamble ending in tears. While interest rates have shot up everywhere over the last couple of years, a double-digit borrowing cost remains one of the most obvious warning signs that not all is well in a country. Kenya's hand was forced to a large degree, as it was facing the possibility that it wouldn't be able to cover a $2 billion…
Read More
Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive

Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive

KENYA has scores of youth gangs known for their violence and links to the politically powerful. None is more infamous than the Mungiki movement, with a past membership estimated to be at least a million. Though banned, it’s constantly in the news as a tool or target of big political players. Bodil Folke Frederiksen, who has studied Mungiki as part of her field-based research on youth culture in Kenya, traces the origins, growth and persistence of the group. BODIL FOLKE FREDERIKSEN, Associate Professor Emerita, Roskilde University What gave rise to Mungiki? Mungiki emerged in the late 1980s in what was…
Read More
Family mourns Kenya’s marathon prodigy Kelvin Kiptum

Family mourns Kenya’s marathon prodigy Kelvin Kiptum

KELVIN Kiptum's devastated wife had been looking forward to watching him try to become a marathon legend as the first athlete in under 2 hours. Now she is wondering how to tell their two children that their father was killed in a car accident. Sobbing next to her in the village where they all lived, Kiptum's father is desolate that his only child has died, and with him the hopes for a better life for the family. Police said the athlete lost control of the vehicle he was driving and veered off the road into a ditch, travelling for about 60 metres…
Read More