Nairobi - The African Mirror

May

15

2024

Four rescued from collapsed Kenya building, more people likely trapped

NEWS

RESCUERS have pulled four people out of the rubble of a collapsed building in the Mathare neighbourhood of Kenya's capital, but more people were likely trapped, the Kenya Red Cross said. "Three out of the four rescued have been taken to a nearby health facility, while one with minor injuries was treated at the scene," the Red Cross wrote on social media platform X. The building was undergoing demolition when it collapsed, the Red Cross said. Mathare, in the east of Nairobi, is home to several hundred thousand people and one of the city's largest informal settlements, where planning regulations…

May

10

2024

By CYNTHIA ROTICH, BIRD STORY AGENCY

How one woman’s pain launched a business

BUSINESS

A cloud of aromatic steam and the happy sound of bubbling fills the tidy, tiled room in Karen, a suburb in Nairobi, as Harriet Chebet shows off the machinery that helps her produce a range of medicinal herbal products. The remedies, which Chebet promotes as herbal solutions to health issues ranging from endometriosis to joint pain, are delivered daily to women across Kenya. As to their effectiveness, Chebet should know - she started the business after herbal remedies rescued her from a lifetime of pain. “Every month for one week, I was in a lot of pain, throwing up, constipation…

Apr

24

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African cities with the most millionaires

NEWS

GROWING private wealth in Africa is transforming the continent's major cities into hubs for millionaires and billionaires, according to the latest Henley & Partners Africa Wealth Report. Collectively, these urban centres are home to 135,200 millionaires, 342 centi-millionaires with fortunes exceeding US$100 million, and 21 billionaires. With the number of high-net-worth individuals projected to jump by 65% over the next decade, these cities are not only expanding economically but are also setting the stage for a new era of prosperity and influence. bird TenX lists the top ten cities and regions for private wealth in Africa:1. Johannesburg, South Africa: 12,300…

Mar

12

2024

By ESTHER MUSEMBI, BIRD STORY AGENCY

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

NEWS, MULTIMEDIA

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

05

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

03

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

23

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

28

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

01

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

17

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…