Author: David Indeje

The Cestobal Kenya Federation is now officially active in the country, following a period of training coaches and technical officials and promoting the game since December 2020. “Cestoball is a new sport,” said Lawrence Adera, President of the Cestobal Kenya Federation, during the launch at Nyayo National Stadium on July 10, 2021. He added that the sport has significant potential in Kenya and will create numerous opportunities, particularly in talent development. Cestoball, an Argentine sport created by Professor Enrique Romero Brest, is similar to netball but uses a ball akin to a handball. The sport can be played both indoors…

Kenya and South Sudan have waived visa and work permits for their citizens, showing their resolve to mend ties. This means South Sudanese travelling to Kenya will be able to enter for free, as long as they have a valid passport and meet other health conditions for travellers. “Premised on the principle of reciprocity, the Republic of South Sudan has also waived visa requirements for Kenyans wishing to visit their country,” Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement read in part. During the 21st ordinary summit of the heads of states of countries in the East African Community, President Uhuru Kenyatta…

South African firm City Lodge Group has sold its hotels in Kenya and Tanzania for around Ksh 2 billion to subsidiaries of the UK-based investment firm Actis. This is mainly to reduce its debts incurred from the loss-making hotels. The Kenyan hotels – the 127-room Fairview Hotel in Nairobi, the 171-room City Lodge Hotel at Two Rivers and the 84-room Town Lodge Upper Hill in Nairobi will be sold for an estimated KSh1 billion. The Tanzania unit, City Lodge Hotel Dar es Salaam at Ksh 7.3 million. “The losses attributable to the Kenya Assets and the Tanzania Assets including impairments…

Mobile operator Vodafone Group Plc in a trading update for its fiscal Q1 reported strong growth in Africa. This was driven by its financial platform M-Pesa which saw its transaction volumes increase 45 per cent year-on-year processing almost 4.5 billion transactions. “These are staggering numbers for a platform that’s number one in every market we’re in,” Vodafone CEO Nick Read said. Read hinted at the possibility of expanding M-Pesa both geographically and in terms of the product set. “There is an opportunity to take M-Pesa out of our footprint in Africa, while we’re also looking at the journey from feature…

Africa continent has witnessed a substantial drop in Covid-19 cases, ‘the first time in 8 weeks, data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows. New case numbers in Africa fell by 1.7% to nearly 282 000 in the week ending 18 July. This was largely attributed to a sharp drop in South Africa which accounts for the bulk of the continent’s reported cases. “We must double down on prevention to build on these initial positive steps,” WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, noted. “Twenty-one countries are experiencing a resurgence.” Besides, she also warns that “the gains in South…

Kenya’s forex reserves declined by $250 billion to stand at $9,371 billion in the week ended July 23, CBK data showed on Friday. This represents 5.73 months of import cover. “This meets the CBK’s statutory requirement to endeavour to maintain at least 4 months of import cover, and the EAC region’s convergence criteria of 4.5 months of import cover,“ the regulator said. The drop is attributed to a Ksh 35.2 billion payout to China by the National Treasury. This is the first repayment of the loan used to build the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Nairobi to Naivasha. Initially, it…