The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)  has suspended all operations of bus company Modern Coast.

This comes a day after an accident involving one of its buses killed 33 passengers, and injured scores at Nithi bridge. 

In a statement, NTSA Director General George Njao said that the suspension will apply to 31 buses belonging to the company operating several routes with the country.

"A thorough multi-agency investigation into the crash and an evaluation of the operator's safety operational standards is currently underway," reads part of the statement.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the Sunday accident hit 33 on Monday morning after more passengers who had sustained injuries succumbed while undergoing treatment. 

Nyali ODM parliamentary seat candidate Said Abdallah Saido has vowed to address the issue of youth unemployment in the area if elected in the August polls.

According to Abdallah, youth unemployment is among the major challenges facing the constituency thus the need to urgently address the issue.

Addressing a group of youths from all the wards in the constituency at the Uwanja wa Mbuzi grounds, Abdallah said he will  he will create projects that aim at increasing the economic productivity of youths within Nyali constituency to improve their livelihoods through sustainable income generating activities.

"Youthful population accounts for 71% of Nyali Constituency and it is very sad to see them suffering for lack of jobs. We are ready to explore the potential in youths through empowerment and mentorship programmes" said Abdallah.

Abdallah also urged the youths to avoid being misused by politicians during this election period.

Abdallah charged "I know they are now coming to you with alot of promises and money, please do not let them incite you against others or other aspirants. Be on the look out and avoid any incidents that are likely to interfere with our peace"

Meanwhile, Abdallah's bid got a major boost after one of the aspirants of the Nyali seat Joshua Ndere shelved his ambition to support him. 

Ndere was previously vying as an independent candidate

Fast- rising Ugandan singer Azawi last month announced her maiden concert to her fans. Through her socials, she promised an action-packed show.

"MY MAIDEN CONCERT. 22 JULY. LUGOGO. 3 Years of work packed in one evening of magic. Vibes only, No bad energy.. party mood only," she tweeted.

The announcement immediately got the attention of her fans that in a matter of minutes it was already trending on social media.

It is still this same speed at which tickets to the concert sold. In just a week, early-bird tickets to the show had already sold out!

By 8pm Friday night, the host venue, Zoe Grounds was already full to the brim.

Dressed in white pants that went slightly below her knees and a matching coat and top, the long awaited musician, Azawi real name Priscilla Zawedde finally hit the state at 10pm. She kicked off her performance with her hit, "My Year", sending thousands of revellers into a frenzy mood. This was followed with more bangers; Crazy Love, Ache For You and Gimme.

This was followed by more hit songs; Slow Dancing, Lo Fit, Fwa Fwa, Party Mood and Majje all of which revellers sang word for word. 

She used the show to pay homage to her management by performing one of their hits, "I know", where she was joined by both Vamposs and Benon.

She was also joined by Weasel and Viboyo to pay homage to the late Mowzey Radio by performing "Nyumbani".

She capped up a rather beautiful show by thanking her fans for turning up. "Thank you all for coming out. Thank you for your support. You guys have definitely made this my year!"

True to her promised when announcing the concert, Azawi indeed delivered one of the best shows by a Ugandan musician.

She has since been lauded by many music critics and experts for not only being immensely talented and well behaved and decent.

"Azawi had all her clothes on and the music did all the talking. Let's just say she planned to showcase just the music to her adoring fans. Those who had hoped to see other things sorry this is Azawi not...You can sellout in Uganda with your clothes on. Proof of concept," a fan commented.

"Azawi’s concert should serve as a lesson to these upcoming artistes that you get genuine love and support from people if you make good music, stay humble and avoid drama!!" another fan remarked.

Azawi had earlier remarked the concert would not have been possible if it were not her managers' trust in her. She last week confessed on Tv that she was pretty scared of holding a concert having been in the industry for less than three years but was encouraged by her management. 

“I was scared but what motivated me is that I had so many people that show faith in me saying we can do it. So we went with faith and released the posters on social media, and at that point it was irreversible,” she said.

This was not the first time her management showed their trust in her. Three years ago, we hardly knew who Azawi was. At the time, she was merely a songwriter, a talent she had been nurturing since 2005 when she joined Kika dance troupe as a child. As a song writer, she had written songs for some artists like; Lydia Jazmine, Nina Rose, Eddy Kenzo and many more.

When she set out to sell songs to Swangz Ave in 2019, that turned out to be her turning point. The record label not only bought her songs but also signed her.

Swangz Ave unveiled her as their artist in November 2019.

This year, she released her debut five-track EP titled LO FIT

For the past 12 years, we've watched rapper K ing kaka tell stories in each and every one of his songs! And now we're about to watch his brilliant entrance into the film industry as writer, director and producer.

The pucnhline maestro is today (Friday) expected to release his debut film dubbed ‘Kamtupe’. The red carpet event is expected to go down at the Anga Diamond Cinema.

Kamtupe is a thrilling story about a government official trying to locate his relative in the wrong neighbourhood one night.  Anything he could have imagined goes wrong, but what happens after that is what will determine the fate of millions of people.

Voiced by media personality  Jeff Koinange,  the film stars Jimi Gathu, Stanley Obienji, Kelvin Musili, Femi One, Joyce Maina, Femi One & many more.

The film is fused with music that features King Kaka, Otile Brown, Femi One, Kanambo Dede, Ndume, Mbithi & Jadi.

Watch the trailer below..

Equity Bank Kenya has signed a partnership with NALA Payments Limited, a remittance payment processing platform licensed in the UK and United States, to facilitate diaspora remittances into Kenya.

This partnership will allow Kenyans living in the United Kingdom and United States send money directly from their banks, through the NALA app, instantly and at the most competitive rates to EquityBank Kenya accounts and other mobile wallets.

Equity Bank Kenya offers integrated financial services to their clients and by engaging NALA as their technology partner, the Bank fortifies its position in remittances by giving its customers access to simple, competitive and faster services leveraging off the growing popularity of digital channels.

In turn, NALA gains reach to serve more users in the United States and United Kingdom who would like to save and invest in the Kenyan economy through solid financial infrastructure.

NALA CEO Benjamin Fernandes commented, “NALA’s mission is to increase economic opportunities globally and partnering with Equity Bank is a foundational step for us. Combining NALA’s technology with Equity Bank’s reach allows us to build stronger financial infrastructure for Kenyans worldwide. Payments in Africa are 1% built, and technology enables us to make strides towards integrating the
financial tools for advancement.”

Robert Kiboti, Equity Head of Private Banking who spoke on behalf of Equity Bank Kenya's Managing Director Gerald Warui said that this partnership cements the position of the bank as the leading bank supporting Kenyans in the diaspora to send money to their loved ones as well as for investments.

He added that the bank is delighted to work together with NALA to bridge the access gap.

He attributed this linkage as one that will help widen the geographical reach in the remittances segment.

“Equity will continue to build linkages with likeminded partners such as NALA to ensure that all its members’ have access to seamless and most competitive remittance services. Using fintech capabilities has given us a global presence, and as a result we have become a major processor of remittances payments around the world including across currencies,” he said.

Equity grew the volume of diaspora remittances it processed by 39 percent in 2021 compared to the  corresponding period in 2020, leveraging on the growing popularity of digital channels for sending money home from abroad.

It handled Sh383.5 billion in remittances in the 12 months to December, up from Sh279.4 billion in 2021.

NALA is also opening a new office in Nairobi, to host a third of the company’s staff.

While NALA operates with a globally remote workforce, operational components like partnerships and customer support will be grounded in the Nairobi Headquarters under the leadership of NALA COO Nicolai Eddy.

Despite the array of options for sending money to Africa from abroad, the continent continues to be the most expensive place to send money.

The World Bank estimates average transfer fees to Africa at ~9%. Further, many of the existing options include hidden fees that make it hard to discern the true
cost of sending money.

Last year the two entities inked a similar deal in Tanzania.

NALA and Equity Bank are changing the

paradigm of financial tools across the region by providing fair and transparent services to empower people with control over their finances.

Kenya’s fastest-rising music star Iman is here once again with his third music video release this year.

The song is titled Nisugue, produced by Ihaji Made It, and the visuals are directed by Nezzoh Montana.

 The singer’s theme in this song is love and good vibes, similar to his past two releases, and this confirms that Iman is here for the long haul, to cement his position as one of the best singers doing African pop music that has an RnB feel.

Watch “NISUGUE” here: https://youtu.be/G723E2Nb-wI

The song is now available on YouTube and all digital platforms via this link: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/imanke/nisugue

Mombasa Continental Resort finally reopened it's Le Club night club to revellers, last Friday 15th July 2022.

The night club located at the underground of the resort had been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Partygoers were ecstatic to see the reopening of their favourite club. 

Some of the partygoers described the occasion as pure happiness welcoming the move by the hotel management.

The club will now be hosting weekly theme nights and drink offers.

Revellers will be sanitized before entering the club.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta today promised to continue with the work of supporting disadvantaged groups in the country even beyond President Kenyatta's tenure.

The First Lady who spoke on Tuesday at State House, Nairobi when she received delegations from Precious Blood Children's Family from Kawangware and Ghetto Classics, a music group from Korogocho slums in Nairobi City said although President Kenyatta's tenure will soon come to an end, she would still be there for the less fortunate in this country.

"I just want to say thank you to old friends and new ones. I just want to thank you for the love...am just overwhelmed and I shall continue being your Patron," the First Lady told members of the Ghetto Classics, for which she has been the Patron.

"I shall begin again working with the Precious Blood Children's Family. I will be there for you. Although we shall be out of this house, I want to assure of that," the First Ĺady told members of Precious Blood Children's Family.

Precious Blood Children's Family which was founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood 28 years ago supports children rescued from streets of Kawangware and surrounding slums and rehabilitates them as well as giving them a decent living and education.

Ghetto Classics is the flagship community programme of the Art of Music Foundation established in 2007 that involves over 500 children and youths in Korogocho slums and which seeks to change their socio-economic lives through music.

During the ceremony, the two groups presented First Lady Margaret Kenyatta with presents in recognition for her excellent service to marginalized groups in the country.

Speaking during the event, the Director of Precious Blood Children's Family Sister Anne Grace and Ghetto Classics Founder and Executive Director Elizabeth Njoroge thanked the First Lady for her tireless and exemplary support to the two organizations.

The ceremony was attended by scores of children and youths from the two organizations as well as senior officials of the two organizations.

Over the years, I have always considered Daresalaam my second home and great source of content for my blog although I have not visited the city for two years due to the obvious reason, outbreak of coronavirus.

Well, as things start getting back to the new normal, I returned for a visit on 3rd July 2022, for a series of interviews with local Tanzanian artists, just to get new and fresh content for my blog and youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCieUsRDkVsZscgIuWJ0BR8w).

Before travelling to Daresalaam I contacted several hotels for partnership, luckily several agreed to my request but I decided to settle on one, South Beach Resort due to it's uniqueness.

South Beach Resort is your ideal resort if you are looking for a unique and quiet resort away from the hustles and bustles of the city.

The welcome and hospitality at this resort was palatable. The resort is located in the Kigamboni area, 8 kms from the Kigamboni ferry.

The resort overlooks a pristine ribbon of powdery sand and aquamarine waters, the South Beach Resort features an exclusive location on the Indian Ocean front. It is the most exquisite and highly-sought-after beach hotel in Kigamboni with a reputation of among other things, an array of leisure activities of both adults and children.

Some of the leisure activities include, Water Sports - Jet Skis, Beach Volleyball.

The resort boost of well furnished, air conditioned 36 rooms with one double bed and one single bed in each room. Every room also offers a private balcony overlooking the Indian Ocean - perfect for watching sunrises, and also includes satellite television and in-room safes for securing your valuables.

At the resort's Rifu bar and grill I enjoyed an array of local dishes and drinks.

The resort also features a modern sports lounge just a few steps away from the beach.

The resort’s swimming pool also features a dance floor topped by rain simulation. The resort also boasts of a 22 seater Jacuzzi.

The resort also offers conference facilities with a conference room that accommodates up to 400 people.