Nairobi - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Gloria Kisilu’s digital supply chain is turning rural artisans into global entrepreneurs

WHEN Gloria Kisilu arrived at the Mwende Munyanya Women's Group in Katangi, some 100 kilometres from Nairobi recently, the women engaged in weaving sisal baskets paused their work and broke into song and dance. The women, whom Kisilu regards as both friends and business partners, have, thanks in large part to Kisilu, been able to continue a long-standing tradition of weaving baskets, called viondo. The technique they use has been passed down from generation to generation among Kenya's Akamba people. At 28, Kisilu could be some of the weavers' granddaughter. She has brought a fresh vision to the craft, as…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

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

ENVIRONMENT

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,…

Feb

2024

By HUMPHREY MALALO and THOMAS MUKOYA

Kenya gas truck explosion torches Nairobi cylinder depot, kills 3

NEWS

A gas truck exploded in Kenya's capital Nairobi, sending a huge fireball into the night sky and causing a blaze that killed at least three people and injured 300, authorities and first responders said. Residents in a nearby building screamed as a column of flame shot hundreds of feet into the air just before midnight, briefly forming a mushroom cloud, a video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed. The government said three people had died in the explosion at a gas refilling plant and 280 more were being treated at hospitals around Nairobi. The Kenyan Red Cross…

Jan

2024

By ANN MBUTHIA, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Her passion for dance transformed Moesha Tajiri’s life. Now she’s changing the lives of hundreds of children

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, MULTIMEDIA

ON any given day, Moesha Kibibi Tajiri's house, located in the heart of scenic Madaraka Estate in Nairobi, can be home to as many as 30 children, all eager to welcome visitors with the greeting, “feel at home.” It may be a crowd, Tajiri is quick to explain, but these are just some of the over a thousand she has "adopted", country-wide. “I have four types of kids: orphans, children from mentally unstable parents, special needs children and those coming from vulnerable spaces. I pay rent to 14 different houses in different ghettos in the country. And despite all challenges,…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya police probe suspected killings on Del Monte pineapple farm

NEWS

KENYAN police said that they were investigating the suspected killings of four men on a Del Monte pineapple farm near Nairobi, months after a media report said security guards on the same farm had killed and assaulted trespassing villagers. Friends and relatives of the latest victims urged the government to intervene to explain how the four ended up in a river, around 40 km (25 miles) from Nairobi. Multinational food company Del Monte said its local unit was cooperating with the authorities and alleged there was rampant organised crime around pineapple theft in the region. "Our security footage from when…

Dec

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

NBA Africa expands in the East

BASKETBALL

NBA Africa has established a subsidiary in Nairobi, adding a fifth office to a network that includes Cairo, Johannesburg, Dakar, and Lagos. According to NBA Africa/s new CEO, Victor Williams, the NBA Kenya office will bolster basketball within the country, especially in the school curriculum. “We want to train more teachers and coaches in the game to strengthen the administration of the game by also offering clinics to referees. We also want to work with prospective partners who see the game as a vehicle to engage young people,” Williams explained. The NBA launch event on November 29th included a junior…

Nov

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI and GEORGE OBULUTSA

Kenya gets additional $938 mln from IMF, soothing nerves

BUSINESS

THE International Monetary Fund has reached a staff-level agreement with Kenya, unlocking immediate access to a $682.3 million tranche and boosting the current lending programme by $938 million, the fund said. The East African nation is grappling with acute liquidity challenges caused by uncertainty over its ability to access funding from financial markets before a $2 billion Eurobond matures next June. Its balance of payments and financial positions have also been strained by the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic and frequent climate change-induced droughts, the fund said after a two-and-a-half-week review mission to Nairobi. "The tightening global financing conditions for…

Nov

2023

By DUNCAN MIRIRI

Kenya president urges progress on global treaty against plastic pollution

NEWS

NEGOTIATORS working on the world's first treaty to curb plastic pollution need to hurry up and strike a deal, Kenyan President William Ruto said at the start of talks in Nairobi. The world produces about 400 million metric tonnes of plastic waste annually and less than 10% of it is recycled, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. At least 14 million metric tonnes end up in the ocean every year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says, while more piles up in landfills. International delegates meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi for the third round of talks will consider a list…

Nov

2023

By SETH ONYANGO AND BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Africa’s creatives converge in Nairobi

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NAIROBI'S skies, a canvas of moody grays, occasionally part to let the sun toss a warming glance at the vibrant city below. This is the backdrop for a gathering of some of the continent’s most creative minds as Nairobi this week hosted the inaugural Africa No Filter Summit. Here, journalists, content creators, filmmakers, and a kaleidoscope of creatives convened armed with the power of multiple approaches seeking to drive alternative narratives seeking to redefine Africa's global image. Themed #AsWeAre, the summit was more than an event; rather, a movement celebrating the rich, nuanced stories of Africa. According to Moky Makura,…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Tax-hike protesters clash with Kenyan police, two shot dead

NEWS

STONE-THROWING demonstrators clashed with police and two were shot dead, officers on the scene said, in anti-tax protests in cities and towns around Kenya called by opposition leader Raila Odinga. Police fired tear gas to disperse protests in the capital Nairobi, the port city of Mombasa and several other towns, according to Reuters reporters and footage aired on Kenyan television stations. Some of the most intense clashes took place on the expressway linking Nairobi to its international airport, where protesters lit fires and pulled down the flower boxes that usually line the road to use as barricades. Police officers patrolling…