The race for Mombasa county governor took a new direction on Monday, after former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko officially endorsed United Democratic Alliance part candidate Hassan Omar for the top seat.

Omar,a distinguished lawyer and human rights activist now enjoys full support from Sonko's supporters who were heartbroken after his bid for the Mombasa governor seat was suddenly halted by the supreme court.

Omar is seeking to dislodge a ten term ODM reign in the Coastal city.

The duo who spoke at a media briefing at the UDA Coast headquarters in Nyali, Mombasa, vowed to conduct extensive campaigns seeking to marshal enough votes in quest to capture Mombasa leadership.

This is as it emerged that both Sonko who was previously vying on a Wiper party ticket  and Omar are planning for a meeting to deliberate on how some of the candidates supporting the two may be forced to step down for popular candidates.

“My plan is not to bring divisions in Kenya Kwanza, that’s not true, what we are planning is to have  meeting to discuss how we can deliver victory for Mombasa people, we may consider some of stronger candidates to be on the ballot,” said Sonko

Sonko also asked Mombasa electorates to vote for deputy president Willian Ruto, who he said has demonstrated capability of uplifting the lives of Kenyans.

Sonko said his plan to withdraw support from Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga to William Ruto was out of his  personal choice.

Sonko said it remains his right to support deputy president William Ruto for presidency in the August 9 polls.

"I was  fought politically , but that is not the end of the world, it’s my right to join any political side,I joined Kenya Kwanza and there is no turning back,” said Sonko.

On his part Omar has hailed the former Nairobi governor, who has won many hearts through his philanthropy, saying Sonko's agenda resonates with that of Kenya Kwanza of uplifting the lives of the poor.

“Kenya Kwanza-Team Mombasa welcomes you to the winning team. Let's deliver a just and equitable Mombasa. Real change .Freedom is Coming,” said Omar in reference to Sonko backing his bid.

Omar is also set to capture the Mijikenda vote block which is the largest in Mombasa owing to his appointment of Selina Maitha, sister to former powerful cabinet minister Karisa Maitha.

The UDA team is preparing a mega rally at the Tononoka grounds on Thursday 4 to rally the people of the coast ahead of August 9 polls.

"We want to ask our people to start calm and not to be destructed by our opponents, we have a plan we will be holding our final rally in Tononoka on Thursday to rally our people,” said Omar.

Omar said part of his plan is to dismantle cartels in Mombasa and reverse transactions of projects that do not meet the standard.

Speaking at the same occasion Nyali Mp Mohamed Ali said his life has been threatened by his opponents when 13 young people were injured during a door to door campaign.

"If anything happens in Mombasa, related to security, we will blame the police for failing to provide security,” said Ali.

Ali said the Azimio la Umoja coalition has no agenda for the coastal region because they are the one to blame for the economic woes that have beleaguered the coastal region.

“We want to ensure that no Kenyan will be blocked or threatened from participating in the general elections,” said Ali.

More security personnel including General Service (GSU) and the quick response units have been deployed in Nyali to quell building political tension, Mombasa county commissioner John Otieno has said.

This is in the wake of a building political tension in Nyali constituency after rival camps pitting area Member of Parliament Mohamed Ali and his competitor Said Abdalla clashed leaving several people injured.

Nyali Mp who was accompanied by a campaign team on Saturday was attacked at Kongowea area by a group of youth believed to be supporting his opponent Said Abdalla.

Abdalla is contesting the seat through the Orange Democratic Party ODM while the incumbent Ali is in the United Democratic Alliance UDA party. On Sunday police launched a probe into the matter.

The duo were on Sunday summoned by top security chiefs at the Mombasa county commissioners office to shed more light over the  matter and commit themselves to maintain peace.

Speaking when he met the two candidates at the Uhuru na Kazi building in Mombasa, the Mombasa county commissioner warned them against distracting peace saying More security personnel has been deployed to reinforce existing forces for the installation of peace.

 “In the past few days Nyali has experienced some sort of violence when the two leaders are doing their campaigns, and because there has been a problem, that is why we have called them here to iron out a few issues and know how we can stop this trend,” said Otieno.

The government official warned the two candidates to stick to campaign schedules so as to avert collisions during their meet the people tour campoaigns.He said insecurity in Nyali has increased and should be solved amicably.

“They have agreed that they will maintain peace until the elections, because they have committed themselves to o so, we have warned them that at any time there should be no violence, and if they can’t control their supporters, we will have no option than having iebc stop suspend their candidature,” said Otieno.

Otieno said he acted on intelligence reports that had revealed that there was a plan to disrupt elections in some parts of Nyali.He said Nyali still remains a security hotspot and will keenly be on security watch.

“We are calling on police to fast track this cases so that culprits can be taken action, we have also asked the candidates to adhere to campaign schedules, we have also asked them to stop using goons, because goons are the youth who are being misused, “said Otieno

The county commissioner said they will deploy General Service Units GSU and Lebanon security teams to ensure there is enough security so that elections can go on as planned.

“We will have enough security deployed, we will deploy GSU officers to reinforce security officers on the ground, we will ensure the candidates have security as they go on with their campaigns to avoid the clashes,” he added.

Speaking after the meeting,Nyali Mp candidate Said Abdalla said they will heed the  calls by security apparatus to ensure peace prevails.

On his part Nyali Mp Mohamed Ali said he is ready to conduct his campaigns in accordance with the iebc schedule. He asked the government to ensure there is enough security before, during and after the elections.

Independent electoral and boundaries commission Mombasa returning officer Swalha Yusuf said the commission will have no option than suspend elections in Nyali if the two leaders continue to cause chaos.

“I really urge all the voters to stay calm, because there is a need to ensure everyone is given an opportunity to vote peacefully,” said Yusuf.

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu has called on members of the Kamba community in Mombasa to vote for Mvita Mp Abdulswamad Nassir as the next Mombasa governor in the coming polls.

Nassir is vying for the Mombasa governor seat on an ODM ticket.

Speaking during a consultative meeting with the Akamba Community at the Ronald Ngala grounds, Ngilu termed  Nassir as the best candidate for the job.

"I worked with your father for a very long time, I did not even think that his son will be an Mp and a governor. To you my people I would like to tell you to stick with him (Nassir), he is your best bet" said Ngilu.

Following her successful debut EP, A Side Of Me, having been voted as the best female artist in East Africa and won the best RnB song ‘Ex’ at the AFRIMAs Nikita is at it again, this time the multitalented singer, songwriter is back with Last Name.

The single is also her debut single having signed with Universal Music Africa.

About Last Name

“It's real-life experience, just going into a space where someone's essence builds your mind and without fail you just approach them. The song speaks to my personality a lot. The song is just a vibe, it's nothing too serious. It's about going to a space, going out, one night, and walking into the space and being blown away by how this person looks and it completely makes you lose track of everything that's going on around you. It's about being free and doing whatever it is that you want to do with regards to the person.” Nikita narrates.

As it has almost come with a norm, the creativity of SoFresh, add that to mastering and engineering pro-es of Trevor Magak, then complement all these with the angelic voice of Nikita, what you get is a recipe of something magnificent.

What Next For Nikita

“I think people should expect someone who is more experimental, someone who is definitely free to tell her own story and more honest and real honest with her work. I needed time to understand myself and what I really, really wanted to make creatively. I think sometimes when your project does well it's easy to hop on the trends and try and do whatever it is that's trending, so I think I just needed to find time to find myself.”

Last Name is part of a larger project Nikita has in store for her fans as she looks to end the year as the undisputed vocal powerhouse. Her new project draws inspiration from a phase in a life and relates to it in a personal way, one which all Ringerz across Africa and the world at large will truly relate to. And when the project drops, everyone will remember her LAST NAME.

Federation of Women lawyers (FIDA Kenya) has called out Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) George Magoha to take personal responsibility for his utterances and resign from public office.

This comes after Magoha allegedly profiled a female Muslim journalist as a possible Al-Shabaab representative.

The lobby through a statement shared to newsrooms signed by the federation chairman Nancy Ikinu demanded that Magoha should apologize for failure to which legal action should be taken upon him.

 “This is simply hate speech and sad that a whole Cs can target  profile and verbally attack female journalist in the course of her duties based on her assumed religion and further associate her religion with terrorism,” said Ikinu.

The lobby says Magoha acted in violation of Article 32 of the constitution that guarantees every Kenyan the right of religion, freedom of coexistence, belief and opinion and therefore Magoha was wrong to profile the journalist with her religion.

“The Cs utterances resulted in pure discrimination and violation of himan rights contrary to and prohibited by Article 27 (4, of the constitution,” added Ikinu.

She added “we recognize that Alshabaab is a terrorist organization that has been linked to the deaths of many Kenyans, however, associating every Kenyan muslim  and in particular the female journalist with an illegal;l group is unacceptable,”.

Pressure continued to mount after other organizations like FIDA-Kenya stated should Magoha fail to apologise, they will petition relevant institutions to institute disciplinary actions against him.

“Magoha’s utterances resulted in pure discrimination and a violation of human rights contrary to and prohibited by Article 27 (4) of the Constitution.

"We demand that he makes a public apology to the journalist. FIDA-Kenya also demands that CS Magoha takes personal responsibility for his utterances and resign from public office failure to which FIDA-Kenya will petition relevant institutions to institute disciplinary actions against the CS

On Wednesday the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) asked the National Cohesion and Integration Council (NCIC) to sermon the CS over his remarks

 On Thursday Kenya Women Muslim Alliance director Farida Rashid said the minister remarks also were condemned by saying Magoha is a disgrace to Kenyan leadership for the disrespect.

“Magoha remarks should be treated as incitement, because the country was calm until a whole minister resurfaces with Alshabaab remarks profiling a journalist, he should apologize to Kenyan muslim leaders,” said Farida.

Speaking in Mombasa Farida said women Muslims will take to the streets to demonstrate demanding him to resign. They want President Uhuru Kenyatta to crack the whip on the minister for his disrespect to women.

“We will go to the streets to demonstrate that our religion is very important, if the president does not fire Magoha,we will force him out of office,” said Farida, who led women leaders in a media briefing.

Mvita Mp Abdulswamand Nassir also weighed in on the matter saying rights of muslims should be respected because it is within the law to enjoy rights and freedoms in Kenya in accordance with the constitution.

“I am very disappointed with the Cs George Magoha, for his remarks, that is out rightly wrong, you cannot do that,I represent all religions, such kind of remarks can spark religious animosity,” said Nassir.

Super star Kenyan artist based in the US King Kanja has released “Because of You” - new single and video. The soulful Afrobeat smash was produced by Houston-based Kenyan producer Giggz who recorded Tems’ verse for “Essence” collaboration with Wizkid.

Kanja says, “The new single is inspired by the feeling of being in love and wanting to do whatever it takes to show your partner how meaningfully they impact your life journey. “

Its video shot in Miami and at the Belaire HQ in NYC was directed by Kanja’s long-term collaborator Yahu Edits, a Kenyan music director who is based in the US. Kanja says, “The visuals are lush and I am just having a good time with my lady.”

“Because Of You” on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RCaqg-h6Jo

In King Kanja’s own words, “I recorded this song in Houston, Texas with Giggz who I actually met in Los Angeles at Christian Longomba’s funeral. One day, I decided to pass by Giggz studio just to meet him and catch his vibe while on my way to a club appearance."

Adding "The song was created on a whim delaying the club appearance to work on this song and the lyrics just flowed through me. I wrote everything except the second verse that my cousin, Big J in London wrote. I'm the only vocalist on the song.”

“Because of you” is one of the lead singles off King Kanja’s upcoming fifth studio project titled ‘KanJah’ currently in its final stages of production. He credits Bobby V, his close music associate for enlightening him on the power of having other songwriters involved in your creative process. He has teamed up with his cousin Big J to co-write all his upcoming new hits. Their chemistry and creativity is unmatched.

Kanja says, “As teamwork, working with like-minded people makes the dream work.” 

Kanja sums it up: “ There are many records on the KanJAH album, whose title shows the God in me and also as a creative. My producer / engineer, Gilly aka Real Mckoy gave my name a twist while we worked together on the VIBRATIONS Reggae album. It stuck on me and I knew then it would be the name of my next album.”

King Kanja is multi-talented and one of Kenya’s most popular artists living in the US. Earlier this year he met with Mr. Brett Berish–the president and CEO of Sovereign Brands. He is constantly making major moves and performing around the globe, with most recently shutting down a sold out show in Lusaka, Zambia alongside Bobby V and Rotimi.

His discography has consistently grown over the past years, having released two successful EPs: VIBES (2017), MUCHOKI (2019), albums: VIBE LORD (2020) and VIBRATIONS (2020). 

By Imraan Kharwa, Data protection officer at Infobip

For years the privacy sword of Damocles hung precariously over South African businesses, threatening severe consequences and penalties for non-compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”).

Now, nearly a year since it activated in July 2021, organisations are settling into the reality of conducting business in alignment with its regulations and data protection best practices. While many organisations have placed compliance at the core of operations, there has sadly been a surge in data breaches impacting South African businesses in the same period, creating a climate that is ripe for POPIA enforcement.

The first anniversary of POPIA

POPIA governs the processing of personal information of individuals and juristic entities (“Data Subjects”) by organisations (“Responsible Parties”) in South Africa. regulates the processing of personal information of individuals by organisations from collection, aggregation and usage all the way through to retention and destruction.

Encouragingly, the Information Regulator, empowered to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of POPIA, has been active in engaging with organisations that have experienced data breaches over the past 12 to 18 months.

The added scrutiny means organisations must be far more cognisant of how they process personal information, ensuring that  their security controls are adequate and effective.

Gateway to international arena

While compliance has historically been viewed as an administrative burden, many organisations now realise that privacy enablement is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a valuable necessity of being able to do business. In tandem, technology companies are ensuring privacy forms a key part of their offerings.

The role of the Information Officer

The mandatory appointment of an Information Officer in all organisations remains one of the more contentious aspects of POPIA. Without clear guidance on where this role needs to be positioned, organisations have adopted differing approaches. In practical terms, this is often driven by the size of the organisation, the resources at its disposal and the level maturity of its data protection programme.

Whereas smaller organisations are likely to appoint a multitasker, where the role of Information Officer will be added to the existing headcount in the business, larger arge organisations are more likely to hire a full-time candidate who will be dedicated to the role and oversee a discrete data protection function.

A seat in the boardroom

As more organisations begin to recognise the impact of data protection, both fiscally and reputationally, –privacy has become a business imperative requiring executive input. This often becomes the preserve of Chief Information Officers, but there is an increased focus on appointing experienced Chief Privacy Officers with specialised skills in ensuring POPIA protocols are followed.

Attention to third parties

One of the biggest challenges for local organisations is the lack of attention to privacy risks associated with third parties. As operators in the POPIA relationship, they must also play their part in preventing security compromises.

It is therefore imperative to consider the reputation of the third party, the maturity of their privacy programme and whether they employ suitably qualified and certified privacy and security personnel to oversee their operations.

A final, overarching component of the compliance journey is ensuring that awareness of data protection obligations and privacy rights permeate all levels of the organisation through regular privacy training. Privacy training must be regularly conducted, departmental based and appropriate to the organisation.

The adage “privacy is everyone’s responsibility” holds true, which is why organisations must improve accessibility to data privacy practices and ensure all employees are cognisant of the privacy regimes within their organisation. Data protection must become part of the living culture of all organisations.